Quote Originally Posted by EdwinLi View Post
As for how, it can be easily implied their souls have been reincarnated since by the First timeline, Arbert and his companions caused the Flood of Light 100 years ago but enough time has passed since their return to be fully reborn into a new body.
I'm not sure what shenanigans will allow the WoDs to still be alive - but I don't think simple reincarnation will be the reason. According to what we know about the Lifestream, the souls of the deceased are broken up and dispersed into the Lifestream, blending together with all the other souls and eventually producing entirely new souls for new living things. Reincarnation doesn't happen, because the soul is essentially destroyed upon death.

I think that it's much more likely that when they returned to the First, Minfilia and Hydaelyn were with them, and did something to preserve their souls.

Of course, reincarnation isn't TOTALLY out of the question. The Dotharl Xaela believe that their souls are reborn into another Dotharl upon death (or, rarely, into another tribe, or another tribe's soul is reborn into theirs). They may have unique circumstances that allow it (perhaps their traditions have "trained" their souls in ways that regular people have not), or they may simply be mistaken and it's just a traditional belief. It's also possible that the Lifestream simply works differently on the First - but that seems unlikely, given that the Lifestream there started out as a copy of the one on the Source. Going by what the Scions have told us, however, reincarnation simply isn't a thing.