Revelations from Patch 5.4

[Cilia]

In Japanese, though they refer to it directly as, "Black Auracite: Sabik?"

It's offhandedly confirmed to be a piece of auracite in the Sorrow of Werlyt story. Strange place to put such an important-seeming detail, and oddly low-key to boot; but yes, the Heart of Sabik is (was?) just a piece of auracite.

Raises the question of why Allag barely comprehended what it was and what it could do, given a random Sharlayan scholar Student of Baldesion has intimate knowledge of how they function, but... eh, chalk it up to retcons.

As for the IVth Legion Saga... the story's not to my taste and the gameplay (of Bozja at least) isn't my speed, so not interested.

[Theodric]

Well, side quest content is essentially MSQ content for the most part. It's just put elsewhere to make it more accessible and to prevent the MSQ from suffering from pacing issues. I've always operated under the impression that the best way to soak up the game's lore is to dabble in everything at least to some extent. A lot of the side quests and side content offer further depth and elaboration on various matters.

The Warring Triad side quests were meant to originally be a part of the MSQ's back in Heavensward, I believe. It was around that point that the approach to side content shifted.

[Lauront]

Hmm that's interesting, that it's ultimately an auracite. It further strengthens speculation that Zodiark and Hydaelyn's "crystals" are giant auracites to power them without the need for constant aether, like regular primals. It'd explain why, even though it's but a sliver, it's capable of yielding such power when put to use by Lahabrea.

[RyuDragnier]

Hmm that's interesting, that it's ultimately an auracite. It further strengthens speculation that Zodiark and Hydaelyn's "crystals" are giant auracites to power them without the need for constant aether, like regular primals. It'd explain why, even though it's but a sliver, it's capable of yielding such power when put to use by Lahabrea.

That also makes you wonder just how common Auracite was back then, and just how much power it used to be able to hold. Assuming of course it existed way back when.

[Lauront]

That also makes you wonder just how common Auracite was back then, and just how much power it used to be able to hold. Assuming of course it existed way back when.

My assumption is that it did, given that Lahabrea is tying it to Zodiark. There's some hints (there are a bit out of order unfortunately) that it's synthetic in nature. It's properties taken in aggregate, plus this revelation that the Heart of Sabik is ultimately an auracite, all strongly lends itself to this conclusion in my view.

When I first saw the towers, I more readily associated them with Mhachi designs then anything else, and the presence of distinctly Mhachi architecture in Endwalker further makes me think they're a combination of their arcane know-how and Garlean magitek.

Considering the drastic transformation the Garlean royal palace seems to undergo by 6.0, it wouldn't surprise me if Fandaniel is able to just magick the things into existence somehow despite his presumably limited power as a sundered Ascian.

TBF, he could do it as a black or white mage does it - manipulating extrinsic aether. Particularly if he's harvested a lot of it for use. Another possible way is channeling that aether into a Primal. With that said, he supposedly holds some big secret, so we'll see what he truly is.

[Iscah]

I could see them having Gabranth be MSQ or the very least a story that doesn't need all of Bozja to complete if they don't have him appear before us in Bozja storyline, so there wouldn't be any awkward situations of him not addressing us as having met in a future storyline.

Crystal Tower is kind of different in that the plot of 5.0 and especially 5.3 makes no sense if you don't do the CT series. We've seen before with Coil that some dialogue changes if you've done the content or not, which seems simple to integrate Gabranth into the MSQ if he's not fought in Bozja and is instead relegated to an "As you know, Noah van Gabranth was the Legatus of the IV Legion, he broke from the Empire and blah blah blah", and removing the "As you know" if you didn't do the content.

I don't think bringing him into MSQ would be that simple - not without making either the Bozja conclusion or his hypothetical MSQ appearance very inconsequential.

Even if he doesn't directly appear before us in 5.5X, the outcome of the plot is surely going to have an impact on the status of his effort to build his new nation. And if the status is unimportant to what he's doing in the MSQ, then what is he there for instead?

Simply enough, while of course it's a long way out, I don't see a particular need to cross those plot threads back over. At home, the Garlean Empire is falling apart and isn't going to be chasing after renegade commanders who've picked a fight in a distant region they're in no state to hold onto anyway. Over in Bozja, Gabranth's army is entirely disconnected from Garlemald and has no established reason to go back.

I think it's more likely that we'll just stay away from that plot in the MSQ entirely.

[YianKutku]

It's offhandedly confirmed to be a piece of auracite in the Sorrow of Werlyt story. Strange place to put such an important-seeming detail, and oddly low-key to boot; but yes, the Heart of Sabik is (was?) just a piece of auracite.

Raises the question of why Allag barely comprehended what it was and what it could do, given a random Sharlayan scholar Student of Baldesion has intimate knowledge of how they function, but... eh, chalk it up to retcons.

Yeah, I've always wondered what made the Heart Of Sabik so special that the Allagans apparently could not figure out all that it could do, when the Allagans made the Crystal Tower (as in, the auracite-replacement that helped defeat Elidibus in 5.3).

[MoofiaBossVal]

I'm kinda rooting for Gabranth to eke his own empire, but AFAIK his primary goal was to secure Dalmasca, a sea port, but the narrative is clearly heading towards Ashe retaking Dalmasca in the end. And Gabranth is willing to lose - and has been losing - Nagxia and Bozja in the process of trying to hold onto Dalmasca, so it's not like he's going to have anywhere left to occupy.

At best, maybe the Gabranth becomes Ashe's general (or marries her?) and the 4th Legion becomes Dalmasca's official army. But Gabranth won't have any kingdom to himself.

[Hank_Hotspur]

Well Dalmasca is split in two in FFXIV: Dalmasca Superior and Dalmasca Inferior. Dalmasca Superior contains Rabanastre which was the seat of the kingdom of Ivalice and the Garlean conquerors before so many rebellions reduced it to rubble and Dalmasca Inferior which contains the current capitol of the Garlean/Now Gabranth and the IV Legion forces in Lea Monde and the port city of Valnain.

So the story could contrive to have the Ivalice Resistance liberate Dalmasca Superior and install a new government in Rabanastre while Gabranth and his forces could hold onto Dalmasca Inferior and rule from Lea Monde (which is an important setting in Vagrant Story, another Ivalice Alliance game, but in that it was essentially a ghost city).

If they want to keep up with Vagrant Story and Ivalice conventions, they could have Gabranth and the IV Legion declare their territory as the new kingdom of Valendia, which in the original Ivalice lore was the kingdom that contained both Valnain and Lea Monde.

[RyuDragnier]

Well Dalmasca is split in two in FFXIV: Dalmasca Superior and Dalmasca Inferior. Dalmasca Superior contains Rabanastre which was the seat of the kingdom of Ivalice and the Garlean conquerors before so many rebellions reduced it to rubble and Dalmasca Inferior which contains the current capitol of the Garlean/Now Gabranth and the IV Legion forces in Lea Monde and the port city of Valnain.

So the story could contrive to have the Ivalice Resistance liberate Dalmasca Superior and install a new government in Rabanastre while Gabranth and his forces could hold onto Dalmasca Inferior and rule from Lea Monde (which is an important setting in Vagrant Story, another Ivalice Alliance game, but in that it was essentially a ghost city).

If they want to keep up with Vagrant Story and Ivalice conventions, they could have Gabranth and the IV Legion declare their territory as the new kingdom of Valendia, which in the original Ivalice lore was the kingdom that contained both Valnain and Lea Monde.

I'm hoping this happens, and Gabranth showing up again in the future, as either a friend or an enemy. Perhaps willing to ask for our help to deal with a problem where he is, one that we don't realize at the time is essential to his country gaining a "super weapon" to keep the other countries off them.