Tales from the Storm Discussion

[Daralii]

Great story, well told, once again affirming that the lore around the Azim Steppes were the best conceptualised in this expansion.

It also reminds me that I've been wanting to discuss the Dawn Father and the Dusk Mother, and the more I think about them, the more I believe them to be xaela mythic re-imagination of Zodiark and Hydaelyn.

I know there's a popular fan theory that the myth is about Bahamut and Tiamat, but I've never liked that hypothesis very much, not least because there's no strong link between the au ra and dragons, other than the scales.

Why would Hydaelyn/Zodiark be reimagined with their aspects reversed?

[FJerome]

Why would Hydaelyn/Zodiark be reimagined with their aspects reversed?

The myth goes that the Dusk Mother created the moon so that actually sort of works since Hydaelyn imprisoned Zodiark on the moon. Zodiark's potential association with the sun is less clear but there's a lot about him we don't know.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Why would Hydaelyn/Zodiark be reimagined with their aspects reversed?

Why not? Have you never played a game of Chinese whispers?

In this single story alone, the Dusk Mother was wrongly named once as the "Dawn Mother". Did you spot it?

Imagine how much more a myth would change over multiple iterations, handed down through the generations.

The core elements — of a celestial father and mother, once united, but now driven apart — remain, but many details have changed over the millennia, to become the xaela creation myth.

[Mysterysword]

Funny how I didn't think of it until it was specifically spelled out for me, but Magnai gathering all the women of the Steppe before him, reminded me of the ball in "Cinderella", except this had a very different ending.

Anyway, it feels thematically odd to have 3 stories set in Eorzea and 1 in Othard, but I guess we can't suit a trend. This story, like all the others in Storm tales, could've done with some better editing (start a narrative in the present tense then abruptly transition to past tense, no, that's not confusing at all), but it's time to accept that whoever did the HW tales is gone.

I had a working theory that Magnai's soulmate, if she even exists, is actually a Raen, and he'll never find her by just sitting on his throne all day. Good thing we kicked him off it so he finally has time to go look for her!