Let's play a game: Save the Ancients!

[redheadturk]

...what? You've never put forward this 'make Zodiark using ambient aether' idea, nor has anybody else. You're gonna need to explain it, and how it is not going to somehow kill the planet by draining it of all its everything. And presumably, why the leading minds of Etheirys never came up with it if it's a perfect, no-downsides solution.

Maybe because those consequences existed more in the Source/Shards where there was far less aether to spare? The Unsundered World had exponentially more aether between the aether pools of the Ancients themselves, [which remember, shield created prior to the Final Days reaching Amaurot means having significantly more of them around. ] and the well of aether of the world itself. No where near the concern of say. . .a Primal on the Source. Also, because they #1 did not know what they were dealing with until crap was too late [Because, ya know, they got lied to by the person you seem to have a thing for.] and #2 by the time they did know all the aether they had left to work with was themselves. You also seem to forget Zodiark provided a shield that last 12k years even ssundered and unmantled and likely would have protected Eitherys for many thousands of years more if we hadn't been forced to put Zodiark down

Where I draw criticism in the "Message is a Bottle" route is that there isnt a scenario where someone finds that message whilst the WoL isnt it Elpis. Like even as of the current patch the WoL can still actively travel back and forth to Elpis however any effect on the future only happens when the WoL is present (The Athena Saga has many examples of this).

Once the congruence has happened, there is really no worry of us getting stuck even if we do happen to be there running fates/cleaning up the monster prison/etc when it happens.

[Cleretic]

Maybe because those consequences existed more in the Source/Shards where there was far less aether to spare? The Unsundered World had exponentially more aether between the aether pools of the Ancients themselves, [which remember, shield created prior to the Final Days reaching Amaurot means having significantly more of them around. ] and the well of aether of the world itself. No where near the concern of say. . .a Primal on the Source. Also, because they #1 did not know what they were dealing with until crap was too late [Because, ya know, they got lied to by the person you seem to have a thing for.] and #2 by the time they did know all the aether they had left to work with was themselves. You also seem to forget Zodiark provided a shield that last 12k years even ssundered and unmantled and likely would have protected Eitherys for many thousands of years more if we hadn't been forced to put Zodiark down

I'm sorry, but none of these arguments really explain why the Ancient world just... didn't do, or ever bring up, the approach that had no downside whatsoever.

If this theory was plausible but just not on the table for time constraints from not knowing, then one of Elidibus, Emet-Selch or Lahabrea would've been mad when they posthumously learned they weren't given the info. They were not; Emet directly agreed that Venat made the right call, and Lahabrea just knows he'd do the same thing all over again. (Elidibus avoids the subject, probably because Lahabrea already talked about it.)

But there's that Venat element again: Venat has this information. If there was enough time and resources to make a Zodiark out of dirt, she and her crew would've known; that's especially thanks to the existence of Thaliak's predecessor, the head of Akadaemia and general Knower of Things. We all know Lahabrea can keep a secret and is willing to do shadowy stuff for what's right, so you could get him secretly on-side for the construction, and you can probably get Fandaniel on side as long as you avoid the M word; in fact, I'd even argue that if this were viable, it'd be a really good outlet for him.

So the fact that she didn't do it, and that none of the post-death Ascians begrudged her for that, suggests that 'Zodiark out of ambient aether' doesn't work. Perhaps it wasn't possible in the time they had; perhaps it wasn't possible at all; or perhaps, a society that was deeply invested in enriching their planet didn't want to lop off a chunk of it until they were a couple mass sacrifices in and their priorities shifted.


Honestly, I think your problem on this--I find it a little ironic that I'm saying this to you--is that you need to give the Ancients more credit. The Ancients were flawed, and their fall was tied to that fact, but 'stupidity' wasn't one of their flaws. They're a society that can think their way around so many problems, and both sides of the eventual conflict had their best and brightest focused on it. Do you really think that, if there was a better solution, they wouldn't have found and tried it? Most of those best and brightest had thousands of immortal years to stare at the aftermath of the problem; don't you think that, if there was a better way that was this supposedly easy and effective, they'd be cursing fate for not giving them the chance to try?