Revelations from Keynote II

[DarthSanguine]

The first lore book has more direct info, but doesn't actually say much about the technological level they would have been at by the end of the First Astral Era into the Second Umbral, just that the Second Umbral/Astral didn't advance that much as they believed many of the advances made during the First Astral helped lead to their undoing.

Actually it did. It said that people didn't discover how to make stuff out of iron until the 2nd Astral Era, meaning the 1st was Bronze Age at it's end.

[Daralii]

I'm going to guess that it won't necessarily be time travel(though it would be fitting, since the pixies and Titania were in XI during Wings of the Goddess), just based on the cinematic dialogue. A forest that's confirmed to be Rak'tika is engulfed in an inferno, and Matoy'shtola says that she'll hold the line until "Our friend," presumably the WoL/WoD, returns. Despite this, the footage we have of Rak'tika is blooming with life and serene to the point that parts remind me of TERA's environments. In the older footage, Derplander is walking aimlessly as just an archer before receiving what seems to be an echo vision of events from 1.0 to 4.57, and his demeanor changes immediately.

My flimsy assumption is that Minifilia will return to the Source and, with her and Matoya, the Scions will have their souls pulled back, with Matoya possibly using her own soul to bolster Y'Shtola. Come 5.0, we cobble together a way to travel to the First(souljacking our counterpart) with the goal of stopping the Flood of Light, which is now leaking to the Source, entrusting the Scions to hold the line until we finish our job.

I'm just guessing at this point. I have to think it's either shard travel or some weird time crap like 8(which would be appropriate, considering they based Gunbreaker on Squall) or even 13-2(string theory, changing the future to correct the past). The problem is that I don't see where the new zones would fit in what is an apocalyptic scenario on both shards.

[Cybylt]

Yoshida pointed out how the wooden fort resembles the burning location in the trailer but looked already burned down in the exploration trailer and screenshots. Considering the disrepair but lack of smoldering and smoke, and conversely the lack regrowth into it from the woods around it it can't be too long after the fire is cleared that we get there. The fire seems to have been contained to that settlement.

[Lauront]

I think at this point in time, there's several key points in the plot which could have a number of different interpretations, which I'll recap with my own speculative views.

1. The true nature of Zodiark/Hydaelyn. You can divide this into a number of possibilities:
a) Everything we've been told about Zodiark is true and he willingly sought to overpower Hydaelyn; b) it was true that he was growing in power but that this was the natural result of how he was constituted in some way (fits with how he's portrayed in some other FFs); c) the High Seraph in Orbonne is emulating a little more than just Hydaelyn's appearance (an assumption of mine, but the stance of the body with the crossed arms, attachment to crystals and the halo-like crown on the statue, all of which are analogous to Zodiark's depictions, suggest something is going on here) but her demeanour, too; d) some other scenario.

I don't think these are equally probable, and of these I'm inclined to believe b), and that Hydaelyn has had good reason for remaining silent on what is going on with the floods of Light and chosen to deal with them only now via Minfilia. I have a hunch that unless the two Crystals are rejoined (albeit not by the methods the Ascians are pursuing), the floods will be recurring and eventually unstoppable, until all worlds fall to them, and so we will have to find a way to deal with this Gordian knot that neither the Crystals nor the Ascians thus far have been able to resolve.


2. The motivations and plans of Elidibus. This hinges strongly, IMO, on Zodiark's nature, and how much he himself knows. I like the hypothesis that the Ascian Overlords are individuals who, though perhaps were WoLs, caught on to the possibility of the light/dark imbalance and, with Zodiark's "dormant" state, came to the conclusion that they needed to become WoDs, only to later transcend into Ascians. They possibly did not realise they could go overboard with spreading darkness, until the 13th fell, and at that point Elidibus was tasked with reining them in.

He had intended for the WoDs to deal with matters on the Source, but that's not an option, so I think his plotline could be leaning to him taking direct action to rectify the imbalance, even though he would not typically be so hostile to the WoL, as to allow the Source to fall to the imbalance would jeopardise Zodiark's resurrection permanently, along with any other ill effects it would have. What I think has made matters more urgent is that the Light being "absorbed" by Minfilia isn't just going into Hydaelyn but permeating the entirety of the Source. I don't think he had really foreseen this possibility. It also ties in with what Moose mentioned about what Solus may be planning re the Black Rose. His role will thus depend on what steps the Zodiark plotline would require to resolve, and could cast him in the role of enemy, ally or someone we're forced to cooperate with for a time. I think if we do fight him, one will "die" but neither will perish, as a result of the Echo, and we'll see the catalyst for the transition to the WoD.

3. Solus/the other Overlords. Is he really on board with everything Elidibus is doing? Or will he turn the moment that he sees Elidibus is working with the WoL, either due to raw opportunism or a belief similar to Nabriales's, that Elidibus was working with the enemy? His admission to Varis that he planned for the chaos in the war of succession make it obvious that he relishes in causing it. I have to wonder if Elidibus is putting on appearances to keep the other Paragons at bay, and whether this attempt at luring out the WoL is an intended means of getting him to meet with Zodiark... or maybe he is just following Zodiark's master plan. All depends on Zodiark. Lastly, is he Emet-Selch as we've been assuming? We know he is an Overlord due to his mastery over possessing bodies and reviving himself, but is he that Paragon - a Paragon of the Source, no less - or another? If so, what signifance will the attributes associated with Emet-Selch (Gemini; seraph of death; angel of truth) take on, if any?

4. The mysterious figure in the right corner of the expansion image. G'raha Tia looks like a very good fit and he has a trait which would make him possibly very useful to an Ascian (Elidibus? Emet-Selch?) seeking to use the Crystal Tower in some way. The body is mutated in several ways and the robes are highly suggestive of an Ascian. To what end would they seek to use the Crystal Tower? Possibly to sustain gateways to other worlds and maybe across timelines. Even if Zodiark possesses mastery over the domain of time, it may be one of his agents who actually gets the ball rolling.

5. The mysterious voice. I'm listing it here, because I think so much of who it might be depends on the above, including the significance of phases such as "throw wide the gates"; "let eon become instant", and "History must be changed.

The most recent element of the game to touch on this is the fortune teller, who says to ware the words of this echoing voice... but why? I believe it relates to the next fortune they give, that the WoL/D will be dragged into conflict regardless (by whom? the leaders of the city-states and Garlemald? The Ascians? Both?) and that this will force them to walk a path of thorns. So the warning might in fact relate to what accepting this voice's exhortations involves (the "only you can forestall" bit), because the calamity is becoming increasingly evident and no one, not even Hydaelyn, has disputed its reality, so the warning must, I think, relate to what will be required of us, although perhaps the speaker's motives, too. It is worth remembering these incidents began after Y'shtola wove her magic in the House of the Crooked Coin, and I have to wonder whether what was there was a fragment of Zodiark, much like what is housed in the Heart of Sabik according to Lahabrea (also why this weapon could backfire spectacularly if it is what Gaius is using), but different in that it's capable of opening some channel of communication. The voice has appeared at all times when the ensuing war came up, and who it is may explain what's happened to the Scions. It could relate to G'raha's new form (including whoever is possessing it), Zodiark, or someone else, but the way it all started and the nature of it makes me think it's one of the former two.

Lastly, relating this back to the following:



This again refers to what appear to be hints at time travel, because "destiny" I take to mean the trajectory - based on things as they are (again, this ties into how I think Zodiark might view time, as a compressed singularity). It's been suggested the second part refers to the transition to the WoD (darkness joins light), and the first to the possible world and time travel we're going to see. In conjunction with the phrases the voice uses, I find it hard to say there's not very strong hints at time travel. But where? IMO, the "Master Matoya" thing will also become clearer once we get answers to this.

6. Varis. His speech in the tent was jarring, in some ways, because it was so at odds with his beliefs in many respects. He had quipped at Elidibus in the past that the Rejoining would mean the end of life as we know it, with disapproval, and also gone to pains to state that he was only considering the use of the Black Rose to preserve Garlean lives... plus he grew irate at Solus when he mentioned the harm their agenda had caused the Empire and when he said he had planned for the succession war's chaos. The same Varis, later on, is wholly on board with the Ascian agenda, admits this will require the erasure of Garlemald in its present form and then goes on to speak of the dissension of "races" (he really seems to mean souls) following the fragmentation of the shards, and then oddly puts this down as his plan to deal with the Ascians... having wholly surrendered to their terms. I think what was telling here were the flickering lights, with black moths accompanying them, as this is a common trope in movies to suggest observation (or even possession) by another entity. If this was Varis, and not Solus possessing him (the basis for this is the "since we may not meet again in this lifetime"), it's worth recalling he insisted on the presence of the Scions and the WoL. He may be doing this in a way that, to the Ascians, appears he is following orders to the letter, but is actually serving to expose the severity of the situation in Garlemald, maybe hoping it could rid him of Elidibus at the least. If it was Solus briefly possessing him, well then it becomes even easier to parse.

This costs the Ascians very little, because they want this conflict and perhaps need it to carry out Zodiark's revival. They're not stupid, so by now they will have figured out that the Scions will take this as a call to move into the Empire... but this is what they want.

7. Zenos's role. It seems fairly minor. The trailer suggests he's cutting down an imperial troop at some point, no doubt due to being in a Resistance member's body. To what end? To get to his old body? Or to the WoL? Either way, I think one of those will spell his permanent end, albeit after he proves to be an irritant. However, I've also come across the hypothesis that Elidibus might simply return the body to Zenos, since their current agenda aligns - he could then empower him, to try even the odds a bit, and let him go after the WoL, whilst he lays claim to another body. This makes a lot of sense as a possible plotline they might go for, since Elidibus doesn't engage in pointless fights and is a methodical thinker, and I can easily see him putting Zenos to such a use. This could then set the scene for a re-match between Zenos and the WoL.

All of this leads me to think we're not going to Ilsabard as a matter of urgency, where the situation will be very tricky and delicate due to the prospect of the loss of innocent lives on both sides, but will need to deal with matters elsewhere more urgently, and this has been spurred by the revelations in Orbonne that point to imminent moves in Dalmasca, which is where I think the Garlean conflict of the 5.0 will be based initially, with the added complications on other worlds (the First, at least) perhaps taking us there, too, maybe leaving Ilsabard and Garlemald proper for 6.0.

Apologies for the length, but I think there's so many different storylines moving together, in tandem, that their outcomes will have implications for all the rest.

Really looking forward to 4.57 and the next trailer.

[DamianFatale]

I feel like a lot of people are getting too complex. Time travel might happen, but I highly doubt that in a game with instanced zones, and daily content do within them, that they would separate them from the world too much.

Keep in mind that beast tribes will need to be done daily. II Mheg will have to be a zone that one can teleport to, and instantly back out of. Zones have purposes, and weird restrictions would complicate things.

There are only a few areas in the game that are impossible to reach without teleporting from outside regions. That is Vylbrand, and The Far East. You can still teleport to those with ease, or take a boat. Even Azys La is accessible with ease once you unlock it.

[Katie_Kitty]

I'm going to guess that it won't necessarily be time travel(though it would be fitting, since the pixies and Titania were in XI during Wings of the Goddess), just based on the cinematic dialogue. A forest that's confirmed to be Rak'tika is engulfed in an inferno, and Matoy'shtola says that she'll hold the line until "Our friend," presumably the WoL/WoD, returns.

If this is the only reason why you think it's not time travel then I think you should reconsider. There is every reason to believe that she was referring to y'shtola herself, and very little or none to believe she was referring to the WoL given the circumstances that we know of.

[Dualblade]

Actually it did. It said that people didn't discover how to make stuff out of iron until the 2nd Astral Era, meaning the 1st was Bronze Age at it's end.

*shrugs* I didn't look much at the Second Astral part so there you go, I miss things. Its how weird theories happen sometimes.

[CrimsonDark]

i don't know why are thinking that is possession... IMO Matoya It seems to be the inherited name in this case. just it.
but that implies that old matoya has died and y'shtola inherited his name, powers and secrets.
seems interesting to me... but this game tends to surprise me. so, who know what can happens? right?

[Cilia]

Do we ever learn anything about them? I always assumed they were nods to Dissidia, where most of them are just as you said. The few that are more then that are where I get the idea for YoRHa being able to be manikins in the XIV version. Even more so since the manikins that (seem to) gain souls in Dissidia are the ones given transplanted memories just as YoRHa have transplanted memories (though in that case its to give them a sense of purpose in fighting for humanity while they also are completed aware the memories don't belong to them.)

As shown by A2 and 9S, the YoRHa units are certainly capable of self-determination, even if it causes internal conflicts with their programming, and they very obviously have emotions and self-awareness. The Allagan manikins don't show any of these traits that, arguably, are what collectively define humanity (and thus human measure of "having a soul") - they just sit around in Azys Lla attacking intruders to the Fractal Continuum.

Dissidia's manikins don't show any of these traits either, with few exceptions. Chaos (an amalgam of 10 peoples' memories), Cosmos (a replica of Cid of the Lufaine's wife), and the I Warrior of Light (a replica of Cid himself). Even they may have started out without souls, simply carrying out roles assigned to them - but by the time of 012: Duodecim and Dissidia proper, they've very obviously developed emotions and some degree of self-determination. Conversely, the Allagan manikins show no degree of anything resembling sentience, simply acting as highly-advanced mechanical (?) guards for the Fractal Continuum.

That's not to say the XIV adaptation of the YoRHa units can't be top-secret, highly-advanced Allagan manikins... there's just no evidence leading to that conclusion. There's no information given on the Allagan manikins, though, so I will retract my earlier statement that they are definitely flesh-and-blood; they could easily be advanced clockwork constructs, but that's still not as advanced as a YoRHa unit (see above rambling on souls)...

Meh. Best thing to do at this point is shrug and wait, in my opinion.

Oh, yeah, and our oft-forgotten magitek armor "Maggie" arguably has a soul too.

[KageTokage]

I can't help but find it a bit curious that Varis is absent from the Shadowbringers art, nor was he noted as being a major player in the expansion.

I'm wondering if Solus's words that he probably wouldn't see him again are an implication that the Ascians intend to get rid of him. It would be simple enough for them to have Elidibus replace him when he's already ceded control of the imperial armies to him.