Song Lyrics in FFXIV: Compilation, Discussion, and Interpretation

[Riastrad]

So It's from the Ascians point of view, begging Azem to save them from what they believe they need to do. Put them out of their misery.



Brother stay this descent to madness
Come and save us. Catch us before we fall

That is truly tragic and seriously is sending me into a depression spiral.

[MrThinker]

So It's from the Ascians point of view, begging Azem to save them from what they believe they need to do. Put them out of their misery.



Brother stay this descent to madness
Come and save us. Catch us before we fall

That is truly tragic and seriously is sending me into a depression spiral.

I agree, this is a big OOF if I've ever seen one.

[Bluemagedood]

So It's from the Ascians point of view, begging Azem to save them from what they believe they need to do. Put them out of their misery.



Brother stay this descent to madness
Come and save us. Catch us before we fall

That is truly tragic and seriously is sending me into a depression spiral.

If so, this could be portentous of future plot turns going forward. Considering how they've humanised both Elidibus and Emet Selch as both doom driven and tragic figures despite their capacity for mosterous action, this would line up their characterisation of Amurotines as a whole and set them up to be understood in terms of their end and their current state amongst those who remain as parts of primals.

We may be looking at a MSQ that will devote more emotional weight to saving Amurotine souls from their own actions, beyond what was already guessed. Which is cool, because it also opens the doors for storytelling involving the influx of so much more soul(s?)/anima(?) being unleashed on Eorzia which could have potentially huge implications if the writers focus on it. Like, will we free the souls that compose Hydalin in the way we're presumably going to attempt to do so with Zodiark?

[Veloran]

"Stay this descent to madness" and "Catch us before we fall" implies he wanted Azem to save them in the past, not in the current time.

[Trunks]

"Stay this descent to madness" and "Catch us before we fall" implies he wanted Azem to save them in the past, not in the current time.

I'm not sure that's right. The song has four segments, two before and two after the first chorus, which form a chronological timeline of the conflict between Light and Dark:

The first segment retells the decline, division, and fall of Amaurotine civilization between Zodiark's summoning and the Sundering. "Brother stay this descent to madness / Come and save us. Catch us before we fall". This recounts the separation of Elidibus from Zodiark: "Reconciliation. Elidibus. I was needed."

The second segment describes the Sundering: "Like broken angels, wingless, cast from heavens' gates". The key here is the final line: "Quick to their ends our candles burn until we're free" - a clear description of the newfound mortality of the Sundered.

The third segment tells of the three surviving Unsundered. "...we cast the first stone" - the Great Rejoining. "In our cages..." - duty / tempering - "...we know not what we do" - which drove once-decent souls to commit genocide. The subsequent verses describe each in turn:

"Indecision here at the crossroads / Recognition, tomorrow's come too soon"

As Emet-Selch watched "duty" wear away at his brothers, he made preparations for the mission's failure. In the end, he asked his sworn enemies to remember them - "wavered" as Elidibus put it.

"Follow blindly like lambs to slaughter / At the mercy of those who ply the sword"

Lahabrea manipulated, and was manipulated. His journey could be accurately described as "live by the sword, die by the sword".

"As our song wends dead underwater / We're forgotten for now and evermore"

Elidibus. This speaks for itself.

The final segment is from Azem's POV. "Without a compass wand'ring lost in lies of faith / (Faith slowly wasting away)" - dead giveaway, this is us being deceived by, and losing faith in, Hydaelyn. The rest is straightforward. We live to fight. We lament the cyclical desperation and summoning. "The final hour upon us"... oh, I could cry.

Truly a masterpiece. It's up there with "Answers" in my book.

[Veloran]

Setting aside the overall accuracy of that interpretation (I think every line is from Elidibus' perspective even if many sentiments are applicable to others, it's his theme song after all), doesn't that match what I was saying about those lines referring to the PAST, not the present?

[Trunks]

Oh, certainly. I did not mean to dispute that - only that it referred to Azem at all. Indeed, if it’s entirely Elidibus’s song, that can’t be the case - he doesn’t remember Azem in the present, and he was one with Zodiark when the schism occurred.

Ordinarily I would agree that it’s ‘his theme’. But the post releasing the lyrics said specifically: “These lyrics are supposed to represent the characters involved in the Patch 5.3 trial. Those who became incapable of bringing things to an end, and those who arrived to bring closure.”

But the clincher, to me, is the word “indecision”. I just can’t see any interpretation where that verse fits Elidibus.

Such is the joy of art, though, yes? We can all listen to the same song and each hear different things. :-)

[Vulcwen]

But the clincher, to me, is the word “indecision”. I just can’t see any interpretation where that verse fits Elidibus.

Actually, that part very much could refer to Elidibus, if you consider it as looking back on the past (with his memories intact, like after we beat him).

My interpretation of that verse:

"Rock of ages, we cast the first stone" > Zodiark, we took the first step (either by summoning him, or by suggesting the sacrifice of new life)
"In our cages, we know not what we do" > Trapped in faith, we don't know what we do

"Indecision here at the crossroads" This refers to the conflict between letting the new life Zodiark created live, or sacrifice them to bring back what was.
"Recognition, tomorrow's come too soon" Elidibus recognized that he was needed, he seperated from Zodiark and needed to find a solution quickly (hence his obsession)

"Follow blindly like lambs to slaughter" The Ascians, still stuck in faith, couldn't resolve the conflict with words, setting the stage for their extinction.
"At the mercy of those who ply the sword" > At the mercy of those that summoned Hydaelyn.

"As our song wends dead underwater" > And as the star gets sundered
"We're forgotten for now and evermore"

So it basically tells the tragedy that came from the summoning of Zodiark and Hydealyn.