Fan Fest Lore Revelations [Spoilers]

[Lauront]

I know but Ascians were always the big bad of the game, will we face sudden other big bad that come out of nowhere or will be just deal with normal villians on each country?

The Void remains as a significant threat, as well as any other baddies they intend to concoct. They have stated they have already got the storyline down up to and including 6.0, IIRC. There is also trouble brewing in Sharlayan, based on the AST quests.

People also need to remember that SE has a habit of playfully deceiving players, so it's an open question whether the Ascians and Hydaelyn/Zodiark will actually be finalised in 5.0 - it's far from a foregone conclusion. The Empire as an Ascian tool could come to an end in 5.0, but Garlemald as such will endure beyond that, I am sure. I've stopped taking everything they say at face-value, because they like to inject white lies so as to surprise and build hype.

Unless she is the actual "bad guy" not zodiarc and we switch sides because we realize it.

I've made this point before, but many leap to the assumption that they're easily shoehorned in the good/evil dichotomy. In the end, they are supernatural, divine beings, the true agendas of which may not really be readily understood by mortals, or even their immortal servants, like the Ascian Overlords. I don't see light as necessarily good or darkness as necessarily evil - they are forces in the multiverse and it's possible that Hydaelyn, as a manifestation of light, and Zodiark, of darkness, proliferate their respective force. I would hazard a guess that deeds done in the name of the light or darkness (e.g. Igeyorhm overwhelming the 13th) could throw things into an imbalance either way, and this to an extent is out of the control of both gods.

So yeah, we can assume for the time being that Hydaelyn is "good" (which may or may not be true), and I don't think the trailer is enough to arrive at the conclusion as to who is the good or bad guy, but the interesting thing about it is that it shows Thancred, just after Yoshi mentioned we'd be facing the Empire unaided by the Scions. This, plus the progression of the WoL during the cutscenes, do suggest a time skip to me, but not on our world, but perhaps the First. It also helps make some sense of the following from the 2018 anniversary event:

O hero of rebirth traversing,

Soar you the azure skies.

Upon your breast a crimson crest,

Shine Light down from on high.


O hero of rebirth transcending,

Weave you an azure lie.

By your deeds doth crimson bleed,

And Darkness quench the fire.

Then there is that scene in 3.4 where Arbert claims that it is not about darkness or light, but about how they are used.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMMr_BZddAw


My view is that we're now seeing these threads connect and play out.

We'll learn of her true nature, and Zodiark's, in due course.

The Kuribu in the cutscene is interesting - I wonder if these statues were fashioned after the image of a goddess, or perhaps beings we've yet to encounter. Maybe not the equivalent to Voidsent from a Light flooded world, but nonetheless beings which draw upon it. Although PoTD is its own microcosm, the Kuribu form in PotD is markedly more angelic.

The impression I got from the trailer is that the story will be evolving into more complex arcs. I am glad that Solus and Elidibus will feature as major plot points into 5.0. The fight scene in the trailer with "Zenos" is intriguing, because it almost looks as he and the WoL are coordinating before they unleash whatever move it is they do; we'll know more once further pieces of the trailer emerge. The girl is interesting, and could be Minfillia, which would be particularly reasonable if it's a time skip. Other suggestions where Rielle and even a cloaked Viera (which I doubt) or a young Urth. I think Minfillia reborn makes the most sense for now. It is certainly not Unulkahai, which I had first thought it was, as the attire and overall facial structure is very feminine.

The opposite of the Warrior of Light is not the Warrior of Darkness, but an Ascian. Both the Warriors of Light and Darkness were blessed by Hydaelyn and follow her ideals ultimately. Even when Albert and Co. became WoDs, their goal was to save the aether (life) of their Shard from nonexistance. I can easily see us becoming a WoD not because we havr to fight against Hydaelyn, but because Hydaelyn herself says we have to do that for some reason. We know she cares about preserving life, so I could see her be willing to do whatever she has to to preseve it. Even if that means asking us to spread Darkness.

That's certainly not how it worked out for Arbert, as he specifically mentions joining his former enemies, the Ascians, after mentioning he carried out the instructions he received (by whom? presumably, Hydaelyn) to the letter. He is particularly annoyed by the fact that Hydaelyn only chooses to manifest before them through Minfillia after summoned by Urianger. So what you say is possible, but I don't really see it, and I would find it to be a particularly dull arc. Although I claim no particular insight into SE's plans, I remain open to the prospect that she is as honest as she needs to be given her own agenda.

The term "Warrior of Light" is not particularly well-defined and appears to originate more from how the people in the setting view your deeds, with the term WoD being the more "synthetic" of the two. What I mean by this is that your label, WoL, originates from the heroic deeds you perform in the setting. Arbert repeats this as well. The term WoD, by contrast, appears to be taken on with the imbalance of light and darkness in mind, so it has a rather more fundamental, ontological meaning to it. I.e. it transcends the original provenance of the term and reinvents it.

The Ascians' goals differ to yours, thus far at least, in that the resurrection of their god would entail the obliteration of all life. That's what we've been told and what many of them believe. Insofar as their powers (the Echo) and nature is concerned, though, I like to see the Ascian Overlords as immortal champions of darkness and their god's will as they interpret it. Taken thus, they're your dark analogue.

I'll add that we've seen next to nothing of the Twelve. These entities, worshiped as gods by the Eorzeans, have had remarkably little presence so far. I wonder what they are and if they will factor into this conflict, and if so, how. Will they ultimately just end up being powerful manifestations of Primals, like the Warring Triad?