[4.4 Spoiler] Alpha and Omega

[Bright-Flower]

Maybe but considering Ilberd made a reference to Bahamut during the summoning but not to Rhalgr I didn't really get the feeling he ever intended to make 'Rhalgr.' Why don't we just go ask him...oh right nevermind.

[ChaoticCrimson]

Maybe but considering Ilberd made a reference to Bahamut during the summoning but not to Rhalgr I didn't really get the feeling he ever intended to make 'Rhalgr.' Why don't we just go ask him...oh right nevermind.

That's what I remembered too. It's been a while since I watched those scenes, but I do remember Ilberd saying something along the lines of wanting to call on a being comparable to the one that caused the calamity. The case of Shinryu's summoning is a bit unique in its own right though, as it was fueled by the dying hatred of all the soldiers that were caught up in his plan rather than religious fervor. In any case, I think those scenes are definitely worth revisiting in light of recent events.

[Cybylt]

I think it's possible that Ilberd's intent was to summon Rhalgr (compare the early-game plot in Little Ala Mhigo where the Ascians are encouraging them to do the same) but somewhere along the line it got mixed with the concept of a dragon - whether because of the dragon's eyes he was using as a power source, or just looking for a more imposing form - or perhaps because his original plan was interrupted by us, he didn't have as firm a grip on exactly what he was summoning.

I also think it's likely he wasn't going to sacrifice himself, but only did so because (due to our unplanned victory over him) he was dying anyway. Thus, he wasn't around to control the summoning as it took form. If we hadn't intervened, perhaps it would have been Rhalgr that manifested.

(Running from memory on all this, though. I haven't rewatched those cutscenes since I first saw them.)

Ilberd, Alphinaud, and the quest text all pretty specifically point out that what he's trying to do is make the calamity of Bahamut happen again. He also makes specific mention of not channeling faith in his summoning, the burst of aether of the dead and dying, their rage and hatred are the fuel and channeling motivator. Further, I don't think the eyes have influence on the shape of the primal they're fueling otherwise Thordan might have had draconic features, and Thordan happened when the eyes still contained the sentient will of Nidhogg.

I'm not sure there's any overlap between the Rhalgr and Midgardsormr since the prevailing faith around Rhalgr is built around a 1000-ish year old story of the post-Magi war survivors following a comet. Midgardsormr and Omega came to this planet at least 5000 years before that happened, as Omega was dug up by the Allagans and Midgardsormr had been around so much longer than that that his brood had propagated into multiple societies of their own.

What Cid posits is that as the Ur-Dragon, Midgardsormr is even more embedded to the collective unconscious in visions of dragons than Bahamut, who would only be recalled by surviving western Eorzeans and some Garleans.

[ObsidianFire]

To go with the above, Shinryu is called Shinryu in the first place because the Doman refugees thought he looked like their stories of dragons, one of which was named Shinryu. To go with that, Midgardsomr has Shinryu's ultimate, Protostar in O10. Or rather, Shinryu probably has a smaller version of Midgardsomr's ult...