6.0 Predictions: Will it be Garlemald, Sharlayan, or Meracydia?

[Veloran]

No, the 8th calamity caused by Black Rose/Flood of Light has been averted. Yes, we've created a new future but that doesn't conclude all the possible plans and contingences at the Ascian's disposal. Their end game is to cause an 8th calamity and allow Zodiark out of the moon.

In case you forgot, ARR was about giving the Empire Allagan weapons to use against beast tribes and Eorzea for the 8th calamity (stopped by us @ ultima weapson and stopping the primals), then tried to manipulate the escalation of the dragonsong war (stopped by us, again) to bring the 8th calamity, then use the unrest caused by the liberation of Doma and Ala Mhigo to unleash Black Rose to cause an 8th calamity (they also gave the nidhogg eyes to summon Shinryu escalating the liberation too), not to mention they were playing Ardbert and the others on the First at the same time to cause an 8th rejoining with the flood of light. Noticing a pattern yet?

We don't know much about Fandaniel, but what little we do know is he has a plan, and going by what we know about Ascians is they are all about causing calamities/rejoining to get to Zodiark. So until Fandaniel belies otherwise, we have to assume he is tempered by Zodiark and is working towards the same goal.

Zodiark and the Ascians need an 8th calamity. That's the only way they win. Everything else is just a means to an end, including the empire and Zenos.

I've said this before, but again, do we have reason to believe the Sundered Ascians are tempered? Fandaniel's dialog at the end of 5.3 strongly implies that his will is his own.

[Kesey]

I've said this before, but again, do we have reason to believe the Sundered Ascians are tempered? Fandaniel's dialog at the end of 5.3 strongly implies that his will is his own.

It can also be read as insanity or recklessness. I think his freeing of the yoke of the unsundered means he doesn't have to follow a fine tuned plan and can do whatever is necessary to make Zodiark happen.

[BlitzAceRush]

It can also be read as insanity or recklessness. I think his freeing of the yoke of the unsundered means he doesn't have to follow a fine tuned plan and can do whatever is necessary to make Zodiark happen.

While it could be true, he dose say "Free of mouldering memories of damable 'DUTY' Free at last to live for the moment!" To me with how fixated on Duty Eledibus was, using that word was no mistake, even outside of that, claiming you're free from Duty isn't something one would say if they really meant. "I'm free from my Duty! .... which I shall now do anyway! only differently...."

[Kesey]

While it could be true, he dose say "Free of mouldering memories of damable 'DUTY' Free at last to live for the moment!" To me with how fixated on Duty Eledibus was, using that word was no mistake, even outside of that, claiming you're free from Duty isn't something one would say if they really meant. "I'm free from my Duty! .... which I shall now do anyway! only differently...."

But the "duty" is it to summon Zodiark? Or bring back the Ancient society? I'm fairly sure he meant the Ancient's society. He's sundered, that society is at best a vague memory. Heck, Emet is relying on the WOL to remember, not his gang of Zodiark fanatics? Fandaniel doesn't care about their old world the way the sundered would.

[YianKutku]

I've said this before, but again, do we have reason to believe the Sundered Ascians are tempered? Fandaniel's dialog at the end of 5.3 strongly implies that his will is his own.

Depends on how you want to interpret Emet-Selch's poetic phrasings. He states outright that Zodiark tempered those that summoned him, although at this time Emet-Selch doesn't actually clarify which of the Ancients did the summoning, just that Ancients like him summoned Zodiark. This dialogue is after the return from Rak'tika and the assault on Lakeland.

Then, after defeating the Lightwarden of Amh Araeng and planning the next trip to Kholusia in the Crystal Tower, Emet-Selch says that while he and the other Unsundered could raise any soul to the Ascian ranks, they prefer to use "we whose fervent entreaties brought forth Lord Zodiark -- whose souls He claimed in the beginning -- who make the truest servants."

(Much later, when we visit Amaurot for the first time, we learn that the specific group of Ancients who summoned Zodiark were called the Convocation.)

Therefore, the most obvious interpretation is that the Convocation summoned Zodiark, and Zodiark tempered them. And since tempering can be referred to as "claiming souls", when Emet-Selch was talking about his preference to raise the "claimed souls", he was talking about the Convocation members who were tempered by Zodiark.

Ergo, the Ascians, who are the sundered souls of the Convocation (minus the three deceased Unsundered), are tempered by Zodiark.

Now, there is an obvious loophole: Emet-Selch says that this raising of sundered Convocation souls is what usually happens, and that he has seen this changing of the guard several times already. (The word he uses is "ordinarily".) So there is always the implicit possibility that some extraordinary circumstances may have arisen, and a non-Convocation soul was promoted to Ascian.

[Draginhikari]

I've said this before, but again, do we have reason to believe the Sundered Ascians are tempered? Fandaniel's dialog at the end of 5.3 strongly implies that his will is his own.

The thing about tempering is that it is not a perfect process. Going back to Amalj'aa Beast Tribe Quests, we kind of saw a situation with one of the character's mother being tempered by Ifrit. However, rather than turning her into a perfect servant it instead drove her insane and though she still was devoted to Ifrit by wanting to sacrifice her child to Ifrit but she had been driven so insane that she was incapable of recognizing the child and assumed it was a doll. Though a will of a primal can influence their tempered, it does not appear to be guarantee that in would be in a productivity manner for the Primal if something goes wrong in the process.

[Kesey]

The thing about tempering is that it is not a perfect process. Going back to Amalj'aa Beast Tribe Quests, we kind of saw a situation with one of the character's mother being tempered by Ifrit. However, rather than turning her into a perfect servant it instead drove her insane and though she still was devoted to Ifrit by wanting to sacrifice her child to Ifrit but she had been driven so insane that she was incapable of recognizing the child and assumed it was a doll. Though a will of a primal can influence their tempered, it does not appear to be guarantee that in would be in a productivity manner for the Primal if something goes wrong in the process.

Yes, but that would assume that something went wrong when Fandaniel was tempered. Unfortunately, there isn't any evidence that has happened (although it's 100% possible). We just don't know enough at this juncture.

[Ursa_Vonfiebryd]

If it's not Garlemald, we rage.

[FrightfulNight]

If it's not Garlemald, we rage.

For me i just feel it has to be, nothing else makes sense at the moment, it feels like everything is leading toward the finale of the season 1 story line, SB did was stated as being the beginning of the conclusion for the Garlemald storyline and ShB was the same for the Ascians and the Zodiark/Hydalyn storyline, so it makes sense for them both to merge and be finished in a big epic finale in the next expansion, long held by Yoshi P. to be the season 1 finale. Not only that but numerous cutscenes both in SB and ShB have been pushing it for pretty much both expansions, one of the lines you can ask G'raha during ShB when he asks what will you do when you return home is settle your score with the empire, they even have locations developed there, i just do not see those locations like the capitol being developed if we are not about ready to go there.

I just do not see them doing a misdirect again like with ShB since they already did it after SB. I will be extremely disappointed if it is not Islabard and does not include Garlemald for it's conclusion and instead this storyline goes on for another expansion, i for one do not those meanwhile at the imperial palace cutscenes to go on for another expansion while i wonder when i can finally go there and as Master Chief once said Finish the Fight. They have done about everything they can do with the empire in the story and wrapping all of these storylines up will allow them to move on to both new storylines and arcs as well as new antagonists and threats, something i believe Yoshi P. has stated he wanted to do for a while.

[Mimilu]

If it's not Garlemald, we rage.

Maybe Zenos will get bored of just the Source and declare war on all the shards? >o>
Going back to the Source to deal with him just feels so insignificant and petty to me, having done so much meta-verse stuff in the First. :B
If we do just stay in the Source this time (which is probably likely) I really hope we at least get some options to just treat him like a minor annoyance to his face and not like some grand rival, which is what he clearly wants.