Obscure Theories and Plot Analyses

[Enkidoh]

OH MY GOD EVERYONE YOU'VE EVER MET IS AN ASCIAN!

Or a vampire (No shadow/reflection). After all, that Ascian does look very wraith-like.

Oh goddess, if one is shown in 2.0 to be all glittery I'm quitting for good and burning my copy of the game. ><

(Will not really quit nor burn the game, but will in fact burn a certain detestable novel instead)

[Yrusama]

One nifty little tidbit they mentioned a while back (shortly after the servers when down, IIRC) was that the Ascian you see in one of the main scenario quests may have been in more than just that one cutscene. Ascian is a word adopted from ancient Greek meaning "without a shadow." We were told we should go back and watch the old cutscenes and look for anyone who doesn't have a shadow.

Might be worth a look.

I totally forgot about the Ascian! This is closer to what I'm thinking of, but it's still an official statement from SE. That's actually really creepy, though, and I might have to look into it. Watch it turn out to be our path companion. Or Gaius. Or Ifrit.

@Darkillumina: Yes, XI had a lot of great story content, but I don't feel the need to dig deeper into the story. All of it was pretty clearly explained, even CoP.

And I don't know who this "Word of God" thing is, but I haven't seen enough info to deny the Ulti-Rinoa theory. It might not be an intended interpretation, but SE didn't help by giving Ultimecia the same weapon type as Rinoa in Dissidia.

[Yrusama]

I watched all the cutscenes after the scene with the Ascian (which indeed has no shadow), but didn't find anything. It might be in one of the guild cutscenes, or at some point before it. Anyway, it's sort of hard to derive tidbits from 1.x since we don't have it anymore.

One thing I've always been curious about: were the Gelmorrans Duskwight Elezen? They lived underground in fear until they learned to communicate with the Elementals. The Elezen were the first race on Eorzea, and the Duskwights lived in caves.

[NoloeTazier]

I watched all the cutscenes after the scene with the Ascian (which indeed has no shadow), but didn't find anything. It might be in one of the guild cutscenes, or at some point before it. Anyway, it's sort of hard to derive tidbits from 1.x since we don't have it anymore.

One thing I've always been curious about: were the Gelmorrans Duskwight Elezen? They lived underground in fear until they learned to communicate with the Elementals. The Elezen were the first race on Eorzea, and the Duskwights lived in caves.

Yes, Gelmorrans were Duskwight Elezen or atleast precursors to the Duskwight Elezen. As I've stated in multiple posts I believe that Hellsguard Roegydan and Duskwight Elezen are the only "native" races to Eorzea. Hellsguard living in the mountains to the north of Ishgard and Dravania, Duskwight Elezen living in natural and 'man'-made caves under the Twelveswood.

As for Ascians, we searched extensively (we, being multiple people from the CG Midlander thread a.k.a. Lore Central) for characters without Shadows, only 1 was found and that was Travanchet, who along with not having a Shadow has his own theme music.

• Does FFXIV have something like this in the lore? Very much so. The entire Ul'dah Storyline is very vague and leaves question after question. i.e. What happened to Corguevais? What happened to the Horn he stole? What was in the coffin when Niellefresne opened it and gave him such a shock? List could go on.
• Can an MMO have any ambiguous plot elements? Yes.
• Do you think this type of trivia helps sustain interest in a game many years later? Not everyone will be into the Story and are more into the rush of Raids. While I'm into Raids AND into the Storyline. That's why I'm here, it's a Final Fantasy title that will (or should) get better with each patch. There's plenty of antagonist to keep things going as well: Garleans, Ascians (maybe?), Primals (maybe?), Beastmen (maybe?), and Enemies Within (Lord Lolorito maybe?). Lots of maybes but that's only because we don't know if they're truly 'Evil.'

As for why Gaius van Baelsar calls Bahamut/Dalamud a 'sin,' its because he's on the side of the Emperor, they view Primals as abominations and that's who their 'real' enemy is.

[Yrusama]

As for why Gaius van Baelsar calls Bahamut/Dalamud a 'sin,' its because he's on the side of the Emperor, they view Primals as abominations and that's who their 'real' enemy is.

Good answers, especially this one. I suppose the summoning of an Eikon falls under the "sin" category.

I didn't get to see all of the Ul'dah storyline because I never started a character there, and it was cut short on youtube. If anyone knows where I can see all of it (including the non-cutscene portions), I'd very much like to finish it.

That's a good list of villains. A lot of Final Fantasy titles involve the party facing opposition from a variety of factions. (FFVII had Shinra, Sephiroth, Weapon, and the usual monsters). Did any of you watch Mortal Kombat Conquest? Very few of the villains were ever outright killed. They tended to run away in case the writers needed to recycle them for later episodes/seasons. The series was cut short, though, and ended poorly (not that it was great to begin with).

[MrKupo]

Good answers, especially this one. I suppose the summoning of an Eikon falls under the "sin" category.

I didn't get to see all of the Ul'dah storyline because I never started a character there, and it was cut short on youtube. If anyone knows where I can see all of it (including the non-cutscene portions), I'd very much like to finish it.

That's a good list of villains. A lot of Final Fantasy titles involve the party facing opposition from a variety of factions. (FFVII had Shinra, Sephiroth, Weapon, and the usual monsters). Did any of you watch Mortal Kombat Conquest? Very few of the villains were ever outright killed. They tended to run away in case the writers needed to recycle them for later episodes/seasons. The series was cut short, though, and ended poorly (not that it was great to begin with).

Supposedly the Sahagin will be in the game soon too. That could mean the return of Hyllfyr and the Bloody Executioners (Merlwyb's nemesis?)

[Felis]

One nifty little tidbit they mentioned a while back (shortly after the servers when down, IIRC) was that the Ascian you see in one of the main scenario quests may have been in more than just that one cutscene. Ascian is a word adopted from ancient Greek meaning "without a shadow." We were told we should go back and watch the old cutscenes and look for anyone who doesn't have a shadow.

Might be worth a look.

See here a man without a shadow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttrF7...ailpage#t=315s

[radhaz]

Make sure the novel is Atlas Shrugged.

Or a vampire (No shadow/reflection). After all, that Ascian does look very wraith-like.

Oh goddess, if one is shown in 2.0 to be all glittery I'm quitting for good and burning my copy of the game. ><

(Will not really quit nor burn the game, but will in fact burn a certain detestable novel instead)

[Shougun]

See here a man without a shadow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttrF7...ailpage#t=315s

Wow..~

Thanks for that! I really didnt know how much I could be missing.

Definitely on my list of things to do now (try other cities quests).

Hopefully the good stuff isnt removed for 2.0 >.> lol

[Jinrya-Geki]

The Hyur Midlander Theory:

He suffers post traumatic stress disorder. Constantly having flashbacks of battle/wars he's been in. Losing himself from all the conflict.

Each race in the group he is in is really himself. Why else would he be a ranger at one point, but then become a warrior?
In short, we are him, what we do is what he thinks he is.

During the Dalamud Crisis, he was fight against the garleans so much he has no clue of what to make civilians do in his mind, which is why the NPCs of the game never really cared about the moon getting closer.