Sundering stuff established in the Q&A

[EaraGrace]

There was no actual proof high aetheric density makes someone incapable of utilizing Dynamis. That was Venat's assumption, but it wasn't able to be substantiated before the Sundering. The WoL is 8/14ths rejoined and utilizes Dynamis far better than just about anyone. Merging with Ardbert actually seemed to increase their compatibility with it, not decreased it. It seems quite probably the Ancients couldn't utilize it because of how their emotions are handled. Beyond that, the lack of suffering in their society simply left them ill prepared for the kind of emotional turmoil one needs before they can access it.

Then allow me to rephrase. Their is no logical, rational, justified, believable, evidenced reason to believe they could affect Dynamis. Hermes was the only Ancient we know of to effect change on the Elpis flower, and even then he needed Meteion to control it. When Meteion panics and flees, no one save us could hear her cries or find where she went. The other Ancients that know of Dynamis ignore it entirely because of how useless it is to them.

Being 8/14th rejoined leaves the WoL with roughly 57.14% the aetheric density of their Ancient counterpart. For the rest of the Scions the amount is a straight 50%. That is a significant decrease in aetheric quality. Meteion herself excitedly proclaims we’re like her even with Emet giving us aether to return us to our natural state (or a close approximation).

All of this points to the one conclusion. We don’t have word of god that this is 100% fact, but come on.

As always comes up when people put this forth as a valid option—and what I was alluding to, possibly too vaguely—they have no way of knowing that Meteion exists as a threat.

No one takes precautions for a threat they don’t know exists. If an earthquake happens, we modify our buildings to better withstand the quake and build new ones with increased protections, not assume it is actually the beginning of a large scale attack from the dread Pararamuktipu from another dimension! (A being who can only be defeated if we actually leave our city in ruins, move to the countryside, and train ourselves to do handstands several hours a day!)

The Ancients were amazing at sacrificing themselves for the greater good of the star. Just imagine if that’s what was asked of them in the first place, instead of killing the 25% that remained because they didn’t offer to immediately do it again.

Accepting death as an inevitability, and learning to deal with pain does not require knowing of Meteion to accept. If Meteion wasn’t there that truth would still exist.

And on whether they were good at sacrifice: They showed a willingness to sacrifice themselves, with conditions. They’re souls we’re still to remain intact even after creating Zodiark, the sacrifice was designed specifically to do that. And even then, those left behind labored to bring them back at the sacrifice of innocent lives.

Now before someone misunderstands, I’m not saying they are evil or weak for doing so, far from it. They are, in fact, just like us. Whether that means they are good sacrificing themselves is up to you.