Do the Scions know? (Spoilers)

[Veloran]

that means very little, since a soul does not define a person.

I think if anything can be said to define a person, it's their soul. And that statement kind of falls flat when you consider the people we know to be shards of each other, and see that they all share major similarities. Yes Ardbert grew up helping others in a small village, but it's hard to say that he wouldn't have ended up a helpful adventurer anyway given that WoL can quite literally be anyone from anywhere and they turn out the same way. It's pretty much impossible to buy the idea that one's soul is meaningless when we meet people like Grenoldt, Mowen, and Taynor on the First.

[Eloah]

I think if anything can be said to define a person, it's their soul. And that statement kind of falls flat when you consider the people we know to be shards of each other, and see that they all share major similarities. Yes Ardbert grew up helping others in a small village, but it's hard to say that he wouldn't have ended up a helpful adventurer anyway given that WoL can quite literally be anyone from anywhere and they turn out the same way. It's pretty much impossible to buy the idea that one's soul is meaningless when we meet people like Grenoldt, Mowen, and Taynor on the First.

I'd say think of a soul as more like a template and not a blueprint. It's been established that imprinting on the soul does leave a lasting impression, but from a template one can expand and grow. Whereas a blueprint has a definitive end.

[YianKutku]

I think if anything can be said to define a person, it's their soul. And that statement kind of falls flat when you consider the people we know to be shards of each other, and see that they all share major similarities. Yes Ardbert grew up helping others in a small village, but it's hard to say that he wouldn't have ended up a helpful adventurer anyway given that WoL can quite literally be anyone from anywhere and they turn out the same way. It's pretty much impossible to buy the idea that one's soul is meaningless when we meet people like Grenoldt, Mowen, and Taynor on the First.

How do we know Grenoldt is a soul fragment of the same soul as Gerolt? How do we know Mowen is a soul fragment of the same soul as Rowena?

[LineageRazor]

How do we know Grenoldt is a soul fragment of the same soul as Gerolt? How do we know Mowen is a soul fragment of the same soul as Rowena?

We don't - and, in fact, in an interview just prior to the release of Shadowbringers, Yoshi P mentioned that we might see familiar faces on the First, but that these people are not necessarily shared souls. Rather, that certain trades tend to attract a certain type of person, nothing more.

The fact that these people are similar to counterparts on the First is not an indicator that they share souls. In fact, the one undeniable instance of shared souls we know about (the WoL and Ardbert) would indicate that people with shared souls are NOT similar in appearance. (That is, unless you created your WoL to look just like Ardbert, I suppose.)

Veloran is correct in that Ardbert and the WoL have a lot of similarities, and that they share these similarities with Azem - a penchant for gathering allies, wandering the land, and performing acts of dogoodery. However, the Azem example is the ONLY confirmed example of a shared soul we have on hand at the moment. Anyone else is speculation, not confirmed by any means - and thanks to Yoshi P's interview, outright suspect at best. Mowen is similar to Rowena because her profession tends to attract Rowena-like people, nothing more. Could she be a shared soul? It's not impossible, but it would require an AMAZING set of coincidences to pull off, considering that time moves at a different rate on the First than it does on the Source, and considering that soul fragments can be reborn as any race. We'd need both Mowen's and Rowena's shards to be born into Hyur/Hume bodies at just the right time so that when the WoL winds up traveling to the First they both happen to be the same age.

[Rasler_Heios]

The fact that these people are similar to counterparts on the First is not an indicator that they share souls. In fact, the one undeniable instance of shared souls we know about (the WoL and Ardbert) would indicate that people with shared souls are NOT similar in appearance. (That is, unless you created your WoL to look just like Ardbert, I suppose.)

Yes, I know this feeling, as I have my avatar to look like Ardbert after 3.4. I originally have as much as possible close to Deplander in the trailers (I am lazy at character creation pages). After 3.4, I tweaked it a bit to look more like Ardbert, as I like that character. I keep telling my FC mates going through the MSQ if they have met already my twin. Little did I know what will happen in 5.x. Having the same appearance as he is going through the 5.x MSQ, it made me felt MORE the fact that we are from the same soul. Note the word MORE, I am not saying it is any different if a player's avatar looks completely different than Ardbert. I actually agree that people with similar counterparts is not an indicator that they share souls, it just makes it more empathic if they are, especially if it is your avatar and a story NPC.

[Veloran]

How do we know Grenoldt is a soul fragment of the same soul as Gerolt? How do we know Mowen is a soul fragment of the same soul as Rowena?

Because I didn't say who they were supposed to be fragments of and you instantly knew anyway.

We don't - and, in fact, in an interview just prior to the release of Shadowbringers, Yoshi P mentioned that we might see familiar faces on the First, but that these people are not necessarily shared souls. Rather, that certain trades tend to attract a certain type of person, nothing more.

The fact that these people are similar to counterparts on the First is not an indicator that they share souls. In fact, the one undeniable instance of shared souls we know about (the WoL and Ardbert) would indicate that people with shared souls are NOT similar in appearance. (That is, unless you created your WoL to look just like Ardbert, I suppose.)

Veloran is correct in that Ardbert and the WoL have a lot of similarities, and that they share these similarities with Azem - a penchant for gathering allies, wandering the land, and performing acts of dogoodery. However, the Azem example is the ONLY confirmed example of a shared soul we have on hand at the moment. Anyone else is speculation, not confirmed by any means - and thanks to Yoshi P's interview, outright suspect at best. Mowena is similar to Rowena because her profession tends to attract Rowena-like people, nothing more. Could she be a shared soul? It's not impossible, but it would require an AMAZING set of coincidences to pull off, considering that time moves at a different rate on the First than it does on the Source, and considering that soul fragments can be reborn as any race. We'd need both Mowena's and Rowena's shards to be born into Hyur/Hume bodies at just the right time so that when the WoL winds up traveling to the First they both happen to be the same age.

They quite literally have all the same appearance settings outside of their haircuts, they're in the exact same lines of work, and they have the exact same personalities to the point of speaking exactly the same. Being the same races isn't much of coincidence either, especially since 90% of the First was nuked. Saying that they're not shared souls, especially when Mowen says that she's somehow dreamed of being business partners with WoL before they first appear (And as we see with the Pixies there's some weird connection with crossing the rift and dreams), is just raw denial.

[YianKutku]

Because I didn't say who they were supposed to be fragments of and you instantly knew anyway.

Because I'm approaching it from the point of media analysis, not diegetic assumptions. Please don't pretend that this has not already been discussed many, many times prior in this lore forum.

[thegreatonemal]

How do we know Grenoldt is a soul fragment of the same soul as Gerolt? How do we know Mowen is a soul fragment of the same soul as Rowena?

They aren't the devs already said we wouldn't be meeting this shards version of this and that person. You all have to remember most of the first's population is already dead or a sin eater.