The questions I want EW to answer the most: WHY and HOW was the world sundered?

[KageTokage]

Then there's only one person I can think of who it could be. The Dreamer.

Everything we know thus far is suggesting that the "dreamer" is Anima and it being described as a being of pure agony further suggests it's most likely just a primal summoned through circumstances similar to Shinryu; that is, an extremely powerful catalyst and tons of aether and emotion from sacrifices knowing or otherwise.

With all the fighting going on in the capital and the different Garlean factions fervently desiring to perpetuate Garlemald in their own way, the former may have been all that was needed to kickstart a summoning ritual.

[MikkoAkure]

Whoever this is, it's not Venat, but we're meant to assume it is.

I think it would be weirder to assume she isn’t, considering they just spent a few patches talking about Venat and showing the truth of Elidibus and then at the beginning of the end, a glowing white-robed woman only we can see, holding an Amaurotine mask, and wearing a hairstyle reminiscent of Minfilia’s braids appears to us at Silvertear Lake, a location heavily linked to the Lifestream and Hydaelyn herself.

She tells us that Darkness comes and that it’s up to us to save the Star, in between scenes of both us and Zenos looking at the Moon, where Zodiark is kept.

Venat is also the only ancient woman we know who isn’t an Ascian. There are some clues in the artwork as well that shows her with the same swirly lines around her like the Mothercrystal. Why would the same woman be in both the end cutscene of Shadowbringers as well as the topmost featured character of the Endwalker artwork after all of this setup and the promise that we would hear the tale of the Shattering from Hydaelyn’s point of view if she’s not Venat?

Narratively, it doesn’t make much sense for her to be anyone else unless they’re going to have some stupid twist somewhere, which I wouldn’t put past them but I think is unlikely.

[Cleretic]

Everything we know thus far is suggesting that the "dreamer" is Anima and it being described as a being of pure agony further suggests it's most likely just a primal summoned through circumstances similar to Shinryu; that is, an extremely powerful catalyst and tons of aether and emotion from sacrifices knowing or otherwise.

With all the fighting going on in the capital and the different Garlean factions fervently desiring to perpetuate Garlemald in their own way, the former may have been all that was needed to kickstart a summoning ritual.

What's pointing at that being Anima, if 'everything' is saying that? Because all I really know we have on Anima is 'she's coming and she's angry', which doesn't tell us much (and in fact, that second part isn't even news when talking about Anima). There's nothing to really relate her to being 'the dreamer', which we also know very little about, beyond 'presumably sleeping'.

Personally I've been assuming 'the dreamer' is just a poetic term Zenos and possibly Fantastic Daniel are using to refer to Zodiark. Who's not easily described with English terminology in his current state, but yeah, I wouldn't deny the reading of 'sleeping'.

[RyuDragnier]

Everything we know thus far is suggesting that the "dreamer" is Anima and it being described as a being of pure agony further suggests it's most likely just a primal summoned through circumstances similar to Shinryu; that is, an extremely powerful catalyst and tons of aether and emotion from sacrifices knowing or otherwise.

With all the fighting going on in the capital and the different Garlean factions fervently desiring to perpetuate Garlemald in their own way, the former may have been all that was needed to kickstart a summoning ritual.

Well what does The Dreamer look like prior to being Anima? If we assume it was an individual turned into Anima much like how Ysayle, Vauthry, Yotsuyu, and basically any one of those who used the auracite in the Ivalice and Save the Queen questlines were transformed, then they have an actual mortal form. Either this is Venat, or this is the actual mortal manifestation of The Dreamer warning us in advance (assuming it isn't both at the same time). There is no way in hell that this is not one of them.

[GoldStarz]

Much the same could be said of Yotsuyu. She summoned Tsukuyomi into herself with a few chests of crystals and a hand mirror. Like Thordan she seemed to not have the echo. Although there is something Tsukuyomi did that no other primal has done: Draw strength not from faith or crystals, but from her summoners memories of suffering. Since a part of tempering is the dampening of a sense of self it seems peculiar that a primal can draw from something that requires a strong sense of self.

You're slightly mistaken, the mirror itself was an object of faith. It had a centuries of prayer from the Kojin poured into it which is what gives it the power to summon primals, much like Susano was summoned when no one was actively praying for him.

Regarding the question of the WoL being tempered or not, it's my belief that Hydaelyn doesn't even have the power to temper. Her command is to "Hear, Feel, Think." That's the opposite of tempering.

Well a couple things to keep in mind: we know that some Primals can't help tempering other if their aether/willpower/word of the day is strong enough. Also, we know that the echo isn't enough to protect from a strong enough force from tempering you because the Convocation were tempered and they had the fullest extent of the Echo. So it's not absurd to say that she tempers you to have your own free will so that you're immune to even Zodiark's ability to temper.

[Alenore]

Well what does The Dreamer look like prior to being Anima? If we assume it was an individual turned into Anima much like how Ysayle, Vauthry, Yotsuyu, and basically any one of those who used the auracite in the Ivalice and Save the Queen questlines were transformed, then they have an actual mortal form. Either this is Venat, or this is the actual mortal manifestation of The Dreamer warning us in advance (assuming it isn't both at the same time). There is no way in hell that this is not one of them.

Why would you assume it's that kind of summoning? For all we know, Anima may as well be a creature from the Final Days, one of the things locked in Pandaemonium, or something else altogether.
It's not mentionned to be a primal, nor a god, or a being willed into existence, as far as I know.

"The Dreamer" can refer to a lot of people. Interesting fact: in French, "The Dreamer" is mentioned to be male, and is said to want to stay asleep.
Which would excludes Venat herself, and that apparition in Silvertear.

[Katie_Kitty]

Well a couple things to keep in mind: we know that some Primals can't help tempering other if their aether/willpower/word of the day is strong enough. Also, we know that the echo isn't enough to protect from a strong enough force from tempering you because the Convocation were tempered and they had the fullest extent of the Echo. So it's not absurd to say that she tempers you to have your own free will so that you're immune to even Zodiark's ability to temper.

Pretty much how I see it. I wouldn't call it another form of tempering personally, but I always thought it would make sense if Hydaelyn was summoned expressly with the power to protect against or reverse tempering. If Venat's crew saw that the convocation was now in thrall to the god of their own creation, then it would make sense that their answer to Zodiark would be a primal capable of protecting others against his influence.

[Veloran]

Ok, I think I figured it out and if I'm wrong I'm going to unsub permanently and uninstall FFXIV from my laptop (I will post videos of me uninstalling FFXIV).

A few issues.
First, "Darkness" and "Zodiark" are used interchangeably just as "Light" and "Hydaelyn" often are. In the conversation with Word Minfilia she continually refers to the Ascians and Zodiark in the same context as "Darkness", and says that both Light and Darkness (IE herself and Zodiark) did once dwell as one. So if Hydaelyn/Zodiark are the "Light" there's no explanation for them being one with the Sound, nor an explanation for Venat saying they'll summon the "Light" if Zodiark already existed. And of course Zodiark was aspected astrally, not towards the Light. And the Sound "coveting power" hardly makes sense given it was simply reducing the entire planet to a lifeless husk.
It should further go without saying that the "Darkness" in that conversation being recontextualized as the Sound would be a drastic change to the point of retcon.

On the topic of tempering, I think it's very likely that WoL is indeed tempered. With what we know now, having one's aether attuned to that of a primal certainly does sound like the Blessing of Light, which connects WoL to Hydaelyn. And Hydaelyn's interactions with Minfilia and Ardbert, with the former being convinced of her godhood and the latter being forced to stop in his tracks with a wave of her hand, is a bit telling.

[Geriel]

On the topic of tempering, I think it's very likely that WoL is indeed tempered. With what we know now, having one's aether attuned to that of a primal certainly does sound like the Blessing of Light, which connects WoL to Hydaelyn. And Hydaelyn's interactions with Minfilia and Ardbert, with the former being convinced of her godhood and the latter being forced to stop in his tracks with a wave of her hand, is a bit telling.

Exactly.

Minfilia (Word of the Mother) basically tells you that the Blessing of Light is just a nice way of saying 'tempered minion'.

"As the Ascians must serve as instruments of Zodiark's will, so too must others carry out the will of Hydaelyn."

[MikkoAkure]

On the topic of tempering, I think it's very likely that WoL is indeed tempered. With what we know now, having one's aether attuned to that of a primal certainly does sound like the Blessing of Light, which connects WoL to Hydaelyn. And Hydaelyn's interactions with Minfilia and Ardbert, with the former being convinced of her godhood and the latter being forced to stop in his tracks with a wave of her hand, is a bit telling.

The problem with the theory that the Blessing is tempering is that Midgardsormr completely removes our Blessing of Light in the run-up to Heavensward. If the Blessing is tempering, then how was he able to do that and why does he not even bring up tempering at all? How did we not see that we were tempered after we had the Blessing removed?

Then you also have the Warriors of Darkness and Cylva who all had Blessings of Light and all joined the Ascians to fight against Hydaelyn, in addition to Saint Ajora who also had the Blessing and summoned an extremely evil entity to the planet that nuked a whole city and threatened to corrupt Hydaelyn herself.

People have brought up Minfilia stopping Ardbert before in these forums and that's a very weak argument for his being tempered when all that happens is that she stops him so she can explain herself to him and then he gives up. If he were tempered, then she wouldn't explain herself after.

As for Minfilia, she doesn't even have the Blessing of Light, so you can't really consider her actions to be a result of being tempered. Hydaleyn does indeed call out to her and takes advantage of her faith and that's a super dick move, but I don't think that's a part of her "tempering". Having a belief in a god doesn't necessarily equal tempering. All of the beastmen and the Ala Mhigans had beliefs in their own gods before they summoned them as primals or at least attempted to.

Then you have all of the Scions and Midgardsormr, none of whom have the Echo or the Blessing and do more to protect Hydaelyn and promote her than we ever do.

If we're indeed tempered, then we are given so much free will that we are able to take action against Hydaelyn and at that point may as well not be tempered to begin with so it doesn't even matter.