Revelations from Patch 4.4

[AmemeAmeklin]

On Dotharli beliefs...

The Dotharl believe that if you kill yourself in the House of the Crooked Coin, you remove your soul from the reincarnation cycle. The idea that it isn't just Ascian/Echo users' souls that can float around after death and attach to a body but everyone is intriguing...but more interesting to me right now is the idea that perhaps all those Dotharli who killed themselves on the statue (who removes the bodies?!) actually had their aether integrated into it.

We already know it's possible for souls to follow others around post-demise, ex: Haurchefant and Ysayle appeared to help us save Estinien. For the Dotharl reincarnation cycle to be true, their children would have to be without a soul at conception, meaning they are all technically just empty vessels waiting around for a soul, meaning no new souls are generated. Sometimes, they say, a soul from another tribe or place is reborn as a Dotharl (to explain unfamiliar souls).

It was an interesting concept before but now I really wonder how much of it is actually true and what connections Nhaama/Azim have to the facts we currently know about gods, deities, kami, and ancient civilizations...

[Iscah]

...as we know that [Ascians] require a host to manifest on this star.

I've forgotten the details of the "how Ascians work" information - does it say for sure that they need to be within a host at all times? Or are they perhaps just a lot more vulnerable without one. (Not trying to prove you wrong, just trying to reconcile that information with what we've seen happen.)

The Black Rose:

Gaius suspects that the Ascians are responsible for making use of the Black Rose. This could very well be true, though I reckon there's another viable alternative. Zenos. The original one, that is. He did have access to pretty much everything in Ala Mhigo after all...and he's depraved enough to use it on a whim, perhaps in an effort to lure the Warrior of Light for another confrontation in the hope that he can get the true death that he desires? Even if the original Zenos is unrelated to the use of the poison, the fact that he did not show up at all in the latest batch of MSQ's makes me even more certain that he'll be dealt with as the final boss of 4.5 - as a loose end to tie up.

I'm not sure it would be Zenos's way to use poison like that. Given his 'thrillseeking' mindset and love of swordfighting, if he wanted to kill an entire encampment of people, I feel like he'd do it himself.

Also it seems like a very long shot to do that out in the middle of nowhere on the off chance that the Warrior of Light happens to stumble across it. It would be different if it was in an area we're active in, or we were already on his trail and he wants to get us riled up.

I always thought that was his Uncle Titus' casket?

I don't think it was ever said that Titus had died? The only death directly talked about is Solus, and then it shows the coffin and Varis spitting on it. I assumed it was therefore Solus, and it set Varis up in a negative light in his introduction. It wasn't until reading other people's discussions here that I heard it might be Titus instead, which made more sense (at the time), assuming we were supposed to read between the lines that Varis 'won' the war of succession because Titus had died / was assassinated.

It also doesn't help that we (the players, not the WoL) know what Zodiark looks like. He looks like Hydaelyn's dark purple twin. I'd kind of expect to see him if he was the one talking to us...

Do we know that for sure? Or has it just been assumed that dark crystal was "Hydaelyn's opposite" Zodiark?

I interpreted it as a vision of Hydaelyn being corrupted somehow.

about Solus

so is that the real solus or ascian possed solus im confused

I took it to be "the Ascian who was possessing the person named Solus throughout most-if-not-all of his military career and reign as emperor" who is now 'freed' from that body, but still essentially is the person who built and ruled the Garlean empire all this time.

On Dotharli beliefs...

The Dotharl believe that if you kill yourself in the House of the Crooked Coin, you remove your soul from the reincarnation cycle. The idea that it isn't just Ascian/Echo users' souls that can float around after death and attach to a body but everyone is intriguing...but more interesting to me right now is the idea that perhaps all those Dotharli who killed themselves on the statue (who removes the bodies?!) actually had their aether integrated into it.

I took it as the person jumping into the chasm, and presumably being absorbed entirely into the pool of aether.

And a random thought:

Because I clearly have my priorities straight... at whatever point we have the Scions 'recovering after getting their souls back', I wonder if we get to see Urianger's face properly again? I'd wondered prettymuch from the start of the game what he looked like, so it was good to finally see him without his hood and goggles in the Warriors of Darkness arc (once I'd gotten over the shock of it being him). Was just getting kind of used to it and then he was back to usual.

This may also be part of why I want Estinien to get back into the story. Still getting used to him with that appearance and connecting it up mentally to Edgy Heavensward Dragoon, because we only ever see him briefly and then he's off again. Still, it's been nicer replaying HW with my alt knowing what he actually looks like, being able to picture him reacting to things more easily, because it was bothering me throughout my first time around. (But I do also want him back because he's an interesting character.)

[Lauront]

I've forgotten the details of the "how Ascians work" information - does it say for sure that they need to be within a host at all times? Or are they perhaps just a lot more vulnerable without one. (Not trying to prove you wrong, just trying to reconcile that information with what we've seen happen.)

It's a good question and I've not been able to find a solid answer, as the lorebook is somewhat nebulous on their true nature. They certainly don't need to be in a host to exist, and we know this because if their host dies, the Overlords at the very least can simply vanish away to safety through the power of the crystal of Darkness, in the Aetherial Rift - weaker Ascians don't seem to share this power, perhaps due to their lack of adequately developed mastery over their Echo. The Overlords don't even appear to even be more vulnerable without a host - not unless you catch them right after defeating them in their host form, have the means to trap them and the means to slay them through concentrated use of aether. However, I think they do need a host to manifest their powers in different worlds to their own, and this is something which we probably don't fully understand as yet. Bear in mind that most of our knowledge on them is based on prior encounters, and therefore most likely incomplete. I am fully expecting Elidibus and "Solus" to be full of surprises.

[Lauront]

Regarding Zodiark...

I watched the scenes again. The alteration of the speaker's voice, from one which sounds like Arbert's, to a booming one, is ostensible. Still, could it be the result of mere distortions?

Though the "eon become instant" line is suggestive of time compression, what if he is simply saying we need to bring things forward... faster? The "History must be changed" line does point to time travel... BUT - what if it is not the past in the strict sense but the trajectory we're on? This could make sense if the person speaking is doing so with a vision into the future in mind. What I have in mind is that not only is Zodiark able to manipulate time but also sees it as a compressed singularity.

Another possibility that crossed my mind is that some of his words may have been lost during transmission, e.g. as with the "That way... sorrow" part. So we might not be getting the full picture.

I'm also not convinced that the "we" part is decisive, even with the knowledge that Zodiark is a deity and adept in such practices as soul merger. It might be intended, though, to create the ruse that it is the Warriors of Darkness.

It's probably the part of the lore I am now most eager to find out more about. I had always thought Zodiark was dormant and unable to perform such acts - maybe he has regained enough power to do so? Or is it Arbert acting at his or Elidibus's behest? Arbert's conviction was certainly very strong, and here is a reminder of the outcome of that storyline. with his parting words of wisdom: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMMr_BZddAw