Revelations from SHADOWBRINGERS

[Crushnight]

Now the only mystery left unanswered in Shadowbringers... Where the heck is the Deep Dungeon... The Dawn of Souls playing nerd inside me still wants to say that it's at Wright and Whisperwind Cove...

Not going to lie i would love this and the way it could work out is it could be the place where they transformed people into citizens and where they produced moel can have plenty of different type of monsters in a sin eater den and the final boss could be the person who forced the deed (as i doubt someone who knew what they were doing in that sort of place would just stop)

[JeanneOrnitier]

I'm betting the Weapon trial series will be a follow up to that experimental Ultima that Estinien fought. Like that was a prototype to the empire making their own version of Ultima, the Ruby, Emerald, and Diamond Weapons.

[Jandor]

Now the only mystery left unanswered in Shadowbringers... Where the heck is the Deep Dungeon... The Dawn of Souls playing nerd inside me still wants to say that it's at Wright and Whisperwind Cove...

That big hole in the sea near the Ivalice raid lighthouse maybe?



I kind of just want to see what's down there tbh.

[SaitoHikari]

I just realized something, and I don't think I'm the first person to speculate this.

We never actually see what happens to Varis' body. No funeral procession or anything.

I'm not saying he's alive, at least not in a traditional sense. But consider that weird Ultima Weapon-like contraption. I expect Varis to be strapped to one of them, most likely the last boss of the Weapon trial series.

[RicaRuin]

I just realized something, and I don't think I'm the first person to speculate this.

We never actually see what happens to Varis' body. No funeral procession or anything.

I'm not saying he's alive, at least not in a traditional sense. But consider that weird Ultima Weapon-like contraption. I expect Varis to be strapped to one of them, most likely the last boss of the Weapon trial series.

I follow the principle of not thinking someone dead without seeing a corpse. While it is possible, I don't think the general public would accept the lack of a funeral. The Emperor is almost worshipped there as the parley suggested, and the Cutscene back in ARR suggested that Solus' funeral was kinda a great thing. If they buried an empty casket, however...

Fun thought excursion I have on Varis: Remember how the Legati often follow a theme from the Final Fantasy Main Title corresponding to the number of their legion? (e. g. Nael as Legatus of the VII. Legion -> Meteor, parallels between Zenos from XII. Legion and Vayne from FF XII...)
It was stated that before he became Emperor, he was Legatus of the II. Legion. Final Fantasy II had Emperor Mateus...

The Emperor who was killed only to come back.

[Enkidoh]

I follow the principle of not thinking someone dead without seeing a corpse. While it is possible, I don't think the general public would accept the lack of a funeral. The Emperor is almost worshipped there as the parley suggested, and the Cutscene back in ARR suggested that Solus' funeral was kinda a great thing. If they buried an empty casket, however...

Fun thought excursion I have on Varis: Remember how the Legati often follow a theme from the Final Fantasy Main Title corresponding to the number of their legion? (e. g. Nael as Legatus of the VII. Legion -> Meteor, parallels between Zenos from XII. Legion and Vayne from FF XII...)
It was stated that before he became Emperor, he was Legatus of the II. Legion. Final Fantasy II had Emperor Mateus...

The Emperor who was killed only to come back.

That was a really old theory from 1.0 that has since well and truly been disproven - not only did Zenos (the Legatus of the XIIth Legion) have virtually no connection to Vayne or the Archadian Empire from FFXII, or, anything from FFXII really, the Return to Ivalice raid introduced none other than Gabranth in identical armour to his FFXII version (or at least, a direct Garlean copy of him) as the Legatus for the IVth Legion. So, I think we can well and truly put a well deserved bullet behind the ear of this theory.

EDIT: Okay I guess Zenos did take control of Shinryu (essentually becoming a dragon of sorts) along the lines of how Vayne became the Undying, but even that's a big stretch.

Re: Solus. The original body Emet inhabited as 'Solus' really was buried/intered/cremated or whatever funeral tradition the Empire has, they had just cloned him beforehand, which is the body he was using throughout ShB (this was demonstrated towards the end of the SB patch story when Emet was first introduced - Varis shoots him dead, only for him to instantly show up in a brand new body identical to the one just killed. Gaius also confirms that the Empire has been using Allagan cloning technology at the facilities where Black Rose was being produced and that the cloning capsules were all filled with cloned bodies of "a young Emperor Solus".).

So it's pretty clear that the 'original' Solus is dead and buried, he just had himself cloned, and it is these cloned bodies which Emet has been using ever since (it should also be noted that it's only recently that Emet started 'body-surfing' unlike other Ascians, he outright mentioned that when an Ascian constantly switches bodies it actually drains their power, which incidentally explains why he was so much more powerful than Lahabrea had been despite both being 'unsundered' Ascians - Lahabrea was constantly jumping from host to host, probably for countless millenia, and that it affected him to his detriment (according to Emet anyway).

Emet however seemed to prefer to live in the one host from their birth (or at least from early in their life) through to their natural death and so was able to better preserve his power, which is why as Hades he was so powerful (and how our usual tricks when dealing with them... didn't seem to work). He had only now started moving into his clone bodies after his original 'Solus' body finally died from extreme old age, but still had all that power to burn accordingly, which he did at the Dying Gasp. But I digress...

[RicaRuin]

Concerning Gabranth, I always assumed that they wanted to call the Legatus in Dalmasca Gabranth since it kinda fits with Garlean names and because of the obvious FF XII connection. However, he is of the IV. Legion as you claim, but at that time, Zenos was still around, so the writers couldn't use the XII. for him. Since Gabranth has yet to become relevant, it's not completely out of the question that something about him/his actions will relate to something from FF IV.

Your wall of text was a really interesting read and held quite a lot of information, I almost don't dare to claim that the discussion was about Varis and a lack of his corpse, I only used Solus' funeral as an example for the Emperor funerals being a big thing...

[Eloah]

.Re: Solus. The original body Emet inhabited as 'Solus' really was buried/intered/cremated or whatever funeral tradition the Empire has, they had just cloned him beforehand, which is the body he was using throughout ShB (this was demonstrated towards the end of the SB patch story when Emet was first introduced - Varis shoots him dead, only for him to instantly show up in a brand new body identical to the one just killed. Gaius also confirms that the Empire has been using Allagan cloning technology at the facilities where Black Rose was being produced and that the cloning capsules were all filled with cloned bodies of "a young Emperor Solus".).

So it's pretty clear that the 'original' Solus is dead and buried, he just had himself cloned, and it is these cloned bodies which Emet has been using ever since (it should also be noted that it's only recently that Emet started 'body-surfing' unlike other Ascians, he outright mentioned that when an Ascian constantly switches bodies it actually drains their power, which incidentally explains why he was so much more powerful than Lahabrea had been despite both being 'unsundered' Ascians - Lahabrea was constantly jumping from host to host, probably for countless millenia, and that it affected him to his detriment (according to Emet anyway).

Emet however seemed to prefer to live in the one host from their birth (or at least from early in their life) through to their natural death and so was able to better preserve his power, which is why as Hades he was so powerful (and how our usual tricks when dealing with them... didn't seem to work). He had only now started moving into his clone bodies after his original 'Solus' body finally died from extreme old age, but still had all that power to burn accordingly, which he did at the Dying Gasp. But I digress...

This brings up a question that has bothered me for a while, what happened to the real Solus? He had a life before he was "possessed" at around 25 or so, so what became of him?

Did he die, similar to the humans possessed by parasites in the anime Parasyte. Was he alive and Emet-Selch was a "voice" in his head. Did he become like a vegetable, able to experience things but not able to interact because Emet-Selch was the dominant force controlling his body. Imagine being alive and unable to interact with the world, but by the time you were "free" you died.

I mean when Lahabrea possessed Thancred, Thancred didn't "die" so why would Solus? And Emet-Selch kept referring to Solus's body as a seperate entity. Why do that if the body was "yours"? So many unanswered questions.

[Alleo]

I mean when Lahabrea possessed Thancred, Thancred didn't "die" so why would Solus? And Emet-Selch kept referring to Solus's body as a seperate entity. Why do that if the body was "yours"? So many unanswered questions.

It is an interesting question. Thancred was not that long under his control and he had that crystal around his neck. Did Solus have that too? Or was he more like what Minfilia did to a lot of the other oracles, taking over their body completely when they gave up (thus either killing the soul or absorbing it, just like Ryne did with her at the end).

Its also horrible when one remembers that nobody had a clue that he was not Solus anymore...someone sleeping with him thinking its another man while its Emet using the body. The children thinking of him as their father while its just a body being used by someone that really does not care. (Other than that short feeling of hope) Family believing it to be their member while its just a imposter.

[Erendis]

Re: Solus. The original body Emet inhabited as 'Solus' really was buried/intered/cremated or whatever funeral tradition the Empire has, they had just cloned him beforehand, which is the body he was using throughout ShB

Ascians can't travel shards with bodies, so Emet-Selch was not using a clone on the First.