Revelations from Patch 5.5 (Part 2)

[Nanchi]

Main scenario and some inconsistencies between the different languages (I'm native german but speak eng/jp):

In the second to last screenshot, Fandaniel is adressing to use That which can look into dreams. Zenos responds with this.

"...構わん。アレにとっては、むしろ本望だろう。"

Basically saying "I don't mind. As far as THAT is concerned, it would be rather pleased. (as in: on the contrary it would be satisfied)

The main thing to take away here is the use of あれ it does not imply that he was talking about himself but about something else.

In german it is:

"Ganz und gar nicht. Er scheint es zu genießen."

Meaning "Not at all. He seems to be enjoying it." applying masculine pronouns to whoever he is adressing.

and in english it is:

"So be it. The dreamer will not complain."

Many will come to the conclusion that dreaming is related to Zenos having dreams about the final days and it would make sense in context, however given how the sentence is delivered I think there must be more to it.


Another thing that i noticed is the whole last bit of this cutscene where Zenos is having a monologue. In english it is this:

"While I await you, I shall drink a sea of souls and gorge myself upon the darkened moon. Then you shall come to me, all roiling rage and rancor... And the stars shall bear witness to our final contest."

In german it is:

"Unzählige Leben werde ich verschlingen... Ja, den Mond höchstselbst vom Himmel fressen... in einer unendlichen Sehnsucht auf unser Wiedersehen. Mein eisiger Zorn, der das Blut in meinen Adern zum kochen bringt, soll der Brennstoff meines Hasses sein. Und dann... wird die ultimative Jagd ihr Ende finden."

Translated:
"I will devour countless lives. Yes even the moon I shall gobble up. In an endless longing for our reuinion. My icecold wrath that is boiling through my veins shall be the fuel of my hatred. And then the ultimate hunt shall find its end."

In Japanese he says this:
"数多の命も　闇夜の月も　喰らいつくして　お前を待とう。怒りを燃やせ　憎悪に滾れその果てに―　至極の―戦を果たそうぞ。”

Translated it would be:
"All the life, the moon, I will devour them all while I wait for you. Burn up with anger. Let your hatred boil over. And then... let's have our ultimate battle."

As you can see the german translation talks about Zenos hatred and anger, while english and japanese both adress the WoL (well in japanese it is implied) I sadly don't speak french but I would be interested to read the differences in text.

I'll take a look at what seems to be Venat/Hydaelyn later since that one was also a very intersting cutscene, albeit a bit short.

[Teraq]

(cutting the post short for character limit, sorry)

Main scenario and some inconsistencies between the different languages (I'm native german but speak eng/jp):

[…] Many will come to the conclusion that dreaming is related to Zenos having dreams about the final days and it would make sense in context, however given how the sentence is delivered I think there must be more to it.

"While I await you, I shall drink a sea of souls and gorge myself upon the darkened moon. Then you shall come to me, all roiling rage and rancor... And the stars shall bear witness to our final contest."

[…]

Translated:
"I will devour countless lives. Yes even the moon I shall gobble up. In an endless longing for our reuinion. My icecold wrath that is boiling through my veins shall be the fuel of my hatred. And then the ultimate hunt shall find its end."
[…]

As you can see the german translation talks about Zenos hatred and anger, while english and japanese both adress the WoL (well in japanese it is implied) I sadly don't speak french but I would be interested to read the differences in text.

Very interesting post, because I've always found the Eng text to be... vague at times.

Here's my French version of the lines:

Fandaniel: "Unfortunately, if we power up aether absorption to its maximum, someone [male gender] is going to keep dreaming for quite some time still. I hope you have no problem with this."

Zenos: "None. Anyway, that is his dearest wish."

[skipping a line]

Fandaniel (talking to, er, the tower in the background?): "The time has come to work harder, my sweet dreamer! You are going to suck the aether out of this planet to its last drop... for me! And for you as well!" (next line) "And, of course, for all these human wretches, so very worried about their pathetic fate!"

Zenos monologue: "Whether I must sacrifice all life... or even lay waste to the entire moon... nothing shall stop me. My anger shall consume the universe, and my hatred shall be limitless... until you are standing close to me... for our ultimate fight." (very romantic tbh)

So the German translation is close to French.

Discussion of that word/concept in the scene:

While we're talking dreamers, I know everyone is thinking of Zenos's 5.2 dreams, but could I mention Elidibus explicitly mentions seeing our fight with Emet in a dream? First he mentions it as a dream during our Crystarium talk, then he mentions it again to G'raha and Beq Lugg as an "incidental vision". I concluded dreams was just his version of the "Echo" like Emet's is soul sight and harnessing the power of the dead. I find it weird I've never seen anyone mention this, though it might just be because nobody cares; is this not in the English text? Is it in German and/or Japanese?

[Iscah]

I adhere to the theory that Hydaelyn choosing us to be her champion was a Horizon Zero Dawn style Hail Mary (for those who understand the reference).

I am only halfway through that game but I am seeing parallels. Aloy would make an excellent Warrior of Light. Very dedicated to her fetchquests.

Also is "chosen one of the Goddess" except the Goddess appears to actually be an AI built by the ancient civilisation that looks an awful lot like modern-day Earth. Also she may be some kind of reincarnation of its past saviour.

Short bit on MSQ before gathering my thoughts

Urianger uses "wherefore" CORRECTLY! The number of times I've seen Juliet's "wherefore art thou, Romeo?" as "Where are you, Romeo?" is ASTOUNDING. It means WHY, not WHERE

If anyone is going to get that right, it's going to be him.

[Lauront]

A decent patch to set up EW. Purely commenting on the MSQ for now as I’ll get round to Bozja later. Might have more thoughts on it later.

Daddy…

…Leveilleur. I expected his appearance based on the way they worded matters when describing him. The Forum’s utter unwillingness to listen to Krile does suggest, IMO, that G’raha is right, and there is a reason that the island is not showing all its cards yet, rather than genuinely ignoring the problem. That reason being it has its own plan. I got the impression Fourchenault was cutting ties in order to protect his children (remembering back to the New Year greeting), since his position is derived from the Forum and one which he must act on whether he wills it or not. Also if he were to try convince his children to return and did so successfully, their meddlesome friends would soon follow, too, potentially frustrating their pans. With that said, maybe he wants them free to act, away from prying eyes.

So this to me looks like a front. Sharlayan is the next destination, so we will find out in due course. IMO the change in policy must have coincided with the withdrawal from their colony – their isolationist stance was not always thus, as the island used to try convert others to its brand of astrology, as per this (quoting from EE2). Even though Fourchenault was in favour of an isolationist stance, the entire stance of the Bibliothecs seems concocted to withdraw Sharlayan from the whole affair. I enjoyed daddy Leveilleur’s voice acting.

As an aside, the similarities between this sight of the Pleroma (lore) from the Antitower and Sharlayan’s emblem and persistent spiral shapes, dating all the way to Amaurot (and in turn, their connection to the ones appearing within Fandaniel’s towers) have me intrigued.

Alphinaud

Well, as always he received more character exploration, having to confront once more his track record with the Crystal Braves and use the experience in a productive fashion, as he marches on his path to being the “hero” of the story. Looks like Arenvald was crippled from the experience, but nonetheless spurs Alphinaud on; the dialogue with Fordola suggests he has a role to play yet. By all appearances, he was even harder hit in a sense by their father’s decision, feeling inadequate to convince his father or the Forum to change tack, when his grandfather could not, then rallying after some convincing from Arenvald.

Dreamer…

So the way this was worded initially made me think it is Zenos, since he’s been having dreams of the Final Days. Yet judging from the dialogue translated from the French version, I think it is indeed the tower (or more precisely, something embedded/held in it), and it is a living organic thing, with a shriek at the end. I wonder if this is Fandaniel’s [redacted]. Certainly, the "you know what" that he wants Zenos to control.

My supposition is that Fandaniel is incapable of creating the Final Days in exactly the same way, since sundered mortals lack the ancients’ unique capacity for creation magicks. With the clear dreams Zenos has of the Final Days, perhaps that has been embedded into whatever the structure is and is allowing Fandaniel to exploit this. By dreaming more, it can gather more aether, probably siphoning it as the towers do. Possibly requiring an act of control from Zenos to do it. Although gathering more aether by dreaming would appear inconsistent with a Primal, mayhap it would not be if it’s draining the land to fuel this dreaming and start the inception of the Terminus beasts. Fandaniel refers to the “gateway of the gods” being complete. Maybe a bit of embellishment but perhaps it is in relation to whatever he truly serves. It calls to mind the floating Zealaurot zone, although that could also tie into Sharlayan's plans in some manner. With the dreams plus Anima, as others have noted (and some pointed out this as well) - the X refs do seem to be coming in thick and fast.)

The ability of his glyphs near the Confluences to sow chaos amongst the elements again reminds me of an aspect of the Final days, detailed by Hyth. Whether this is a different method to how it was achieved in ancient times or not remains to be seen, though the Walls of the Forgotten has long had me suspicious in its resemblance to a Telotower (top here and also here). Perhaps they hid any such structures better back then. Either way it does look like the ultimate plan was to route all the aether back to Garlemald. We’ll see what more the towers are hiding.

They continue to each operate based on their own obsession; Fandaniel, to bring the end of all life, and Zenos to get the fight he wants and bait the MC, roiling with rage. Finally, we saw the moon take on its ominous reddish hue.

Even with the cure for tempering, some soldiers in the fight remain too far gone to rescue.

Mysterious Lady

Almost certainly Venat. From the mask, with its ancient styling and symbols reminiscent of Hydaelyn’s winged form, to the way she beckons the MC with the “Hear”, it all points to her. Elidibus had the following line in the FR version and we’re probably seeing something like that, with this just being a projection of her true form. I remain convinced that there will be friction in dealing with her in some facet or other, but with it looking more likely that Fandaniel does indeed serve some other force, that to me will likely be the true antagonist of 6.0. Guessing the MC will be keeping that ghostly sight to themselves for a while...

The oddness in the whole encounter is the fact that she's projecting herself, rather than speaking via the Primal or appearing directly. Running with the assumption that she is Venat... for as long as the Blessing of Light is there we can assume so is the Primal, but as the scene cuts off then that isn't really determinative of much. So it could mean any number of things, including contacting the MC from somewhere difficult to reach (Aetherial Sea... better yet, the moon...) or the Primal is fading as she does it, which is of course going to have implications as to the Blessing itself, hence making me sceptical of that being the case so soon... Thancred's language about there being no more primals, taken to its logical conclusion, means no Hydaelyn or Zodiark left in the long term either...

The passing similarity of the spirals on her mask to several designs within Sharlayan have me wondering if there is a direct connection, given their fascination with studying Hydaelyn, or whether it's just more generically Amaurot-inspired.

[13:58] ??? : Votre Mère vous accorde encore sa grâce, mais vous sentez certainement vous aussi que son énergie s'amenuise progressivement. Ce n'est qu'une question de temps avant qu'elle ne soit complètement tarie.
= “Your mother still grants you Her grace, but you too must certainly feel that her energy is gradually dwindling. It’s only a matter of time before it is completely dried up.”

[13:58] ??? : Bientôt elle disparaîtra, ou plutôt elle retrouvera sa forme initiale.
= “Soon She will disappear, or rather She will regain Her original form.”

[KarstenS]

As you can see the german translation talks about Zenos hatred and anger, while english and japanese both adress the WoL (well in japanese it is implied) I sadly don't speak french but I would be interested to read the differences in text.

Hm. Just one opinion.

Why do you think the german version is not adressing the WOL? It is not exactly named in the text. Sure. But we all know, that he means the WOL with the "ultimate hunt". So the WOL is adressed, but between the lines, which is a common thing in german language.

The dreamer. For some reason that remenbers me most on Yu-Yevon.