Quote Originally Posted by Anonymoose View Post
"The Twelve are the souls of Venat's friends who sacrificed themselves to summon Hydaelyn, and then after Her victory over Zodiark and the Great Sundering, She released those souls, albeit forever changed, not unlike Minfilia, to guide the broken and confused survivors. And then, when the first Calamity came, the circumstances somehow necessitated that they withdraw unto their 'heavens' and they have been watching quietly from there ever since."
They must have had an active presence at some point in time, though, in order for them to be so ingrained in the consciousness of the public. At the very least, I'd guess that they were probably active during the Sixth Astral era, given that various city states are affiliated with individual members of the Twelve and there are a couple of cases where their appearance is linked to its founding (i.e. Halone and Thordan being the most direct link). There's also the question of why anyone knows what they look like, given the various statues that we've encountered as well as the depictions on the astrologian cards.

I wonder if there's a connection between the original Twelve Archons and the Twelve. Or at least, that's an angle that I hope they take, because I do want to know more about the individual members.