Nael Van Darnus -- A Love Story

[Anonymoose]

Warning: I'm writing this after my first skim of the post. I will edit this accordingly if I realize I'm wrong after more careful analysis.

Garlemald didn't know what Nael was doing. As far as they were concerned, he was going to drop a space rock on Eorzea and save a metric ton of military strategy and paperwork.

Meanwhile, in Garlemald...

Gaius suspected what he was doing, but wasn't able to conclusively prove it until he observed it first hand from his position "on high" at the Battle of Cartenau.

Therefore, I don't think he has a change of heart at all - I think he's more confident than ever that he's the only one who truly understands "the truth." I think Nael's last words are that he pities the foolishness of The Empire for having a vision so much less than his own that they never even realized his true intentions. All they care about is the conquest of Eorzea and eradication of the Primals, whereas he understands the existence of the Mother Crystal and the goals of the ancient Allag.

This is a very rudimentary analysis, of course, because I've been doing the storylines in order and I have to get through the three intro scenarios in order to do the main scenario so I can do the Seventh Umbral Era scenarios... which is why it's so important that we tackle Lominsa as hard as possible as soon as possible ... so, uh, please accept this IOU for a full analysis of van Darnus at some point.

</em winces>

Please look forward to it? /ashamed

EDIT: Alright, you got me, hold on. It's time for a Lominsa break for a few minutes. I'm gonna do a YouTube playthrough of the Seventh Umbral Era and see what I come up with.

[HiirNoivl]

Therefore, I don't think he has a change of heart at all - I think he's more confident than ever that he's the only one who truly understands "the truth." I think Nael's last words are that he pities the foolishness of The Empire for having a vision so much less than his own that they never even realized his true intentions. All they care about is the conquest of Eorzea and eradication of the Primals, whereas he understands the existence of the Mother Crystal and the goals of the ancient Allag.

D= Are you sure?

His speech in It Kills With Fire is one step below your picture in levels of blatant patriotism. Garlmald is the savior of the world! The fulfillment of the prophecy of old Allag! They're the bold! The beautiful! The light!

How does he go from that to calling even his fellow Garlean's beasts and fools? Was it really all just an act? Also, Gaius words say that he was "altered" after finding out about Dalamud's true nature. How could he say he was altered, if he was always some sort of weirdo and traitor?

[Anonymoose]

D= Are you sure?

Never.

Such is the fate of lore analysis - frequent mistakes as you get closer and close to the truth. Hell, if you read the Loremonger for the opening cutscene to 1.X and then go back and read the GC Midlander thread, you'll see how the progression goes. My post there was basically my first guess, lol.

[cracks knuckles and opens YouTube]

The reason he rose so quickly was due to his own power, knowledge, and ruthlessness. It seems that he executed those directly above him to take their place. This new Legatus is placed in charge of a new Legion - built mostly with indoctrinated children of Ala Mhigo if I read it correctly.

It Kills with Fire
When we first meet him, he extends a "helping hand" on behalf of the Empire, claiming that their true goal is to eradicate a plague on the world - likely referring to the primals draining the planet's lifeblood. He gives false hope in the idea that through the Empire's grace, their "radiance" will cleanse the land and offer them the chance to rule with the bold and beautiful.

He then activates some sort of resonance with the aether, surprising even those of his own legion, and severs the aether line in the land. The fact that you know the prophecy's words but not its meaning angers him and says his ancestors are rolling in their graves; that he must explain it to you as a child.

The prophecy means that the moon will fall, that nothing lasts forever. His line stewards these truths and technologies of the Allag - there is no option but to serve them. Dalamud must come down, the land must be purged. This is the first hint that something is amiss; those two ideas are kind of mutually exclusive.

In for Garuda Wakening
Nael confesses that he sees the death rattle of Garuda as radiance, dismissing the Twelve entirely for how they stood by as corpses littered the battlefield while you alone took down the enemy of all: an Eikon. For this, Garlemald owes you a debt...

But the death of the primal is all Garlemald is concerned with. Nael, however, looks beyond this simplicity. The death of the primal has feed the planet's lifeblood to Dalamud, thus bringing the prophecy closer to completion. You believe that you are serving Eorzea, Garlemald believes you are assisting their cause, but in truth all that is happening is that the prophecies of old are coming closer - Naels raison d'etre is met.

Here he drops another key hint: "When the seal is broken..."

This is the second time the term "seal" has been used; the first being the aether under Mor Dhona, and the second the "lock" on Dalamud's "cage." In fact, this is sort of sounding like modern Earthly apocalypse theories and the "breaking of the seals."

Like Father, Like Son
Nael confronts Cid, demanding to know some specific, esoteric information on the Allag that has been lost to him. He implores Cid's nature as a patriot of his homeland and heir to his father's legacy as an attempt to get this information, but loses him when he refers to total destruction as "the purity of nothingness."

He then activates the aetheric control again, except this time it swirls around his wrist in runes similar to that of Second Dalamud during the attempt of the summoning of the Twelve (interesting...)

It's a shame that this quest was city-specific, because Nael confesses the truth:

"A new world awaits, and only by the strength of Garlemald will it be realized."

Remember, Nael is Allag - the Allag were of Eorzea. He is fulfilling the prophecy that dictates the future of this land, his home. The prophecy must come true - Dalamud must fall - the purity of nothingness must consume the land he holds as his own legacy, and the only way he can do that is to use the Garlean's power as his own.

Two vans are Better than One & Alive
These are not quite as important as Like Father, Like Son, but they show an important fact: even Gaius, who actively suspects Meteor to be more than it seems, still thinks that Nael believes he's serving Imperial interest.

It starts to become clear that Darnus has been manipulating the Empire's direction for some time. He convinced Midas that Dalamud's fall could be controlled, and when the true destructive power was seen at Bozja Citadel, he claimed they could be protected by the Tombstones, which, as we have been told, are quite possibly worthless.

Nael has no intention of protecting the Empire from Dalamud's legacy, but still tries to convince Gaius to remain subservient to the cause by trying to redirect his assertion that conquering a void is pointless into accepting that from a void is pure potential for creation.

It at least gets Gaius off his back for now, which forces Cid to point out how far Gaius has truly fallen.

United We Stand
As Dalamud begins to descend, filled with the aether of fallen Eikons as well as that which he was able to directly feed to it from crystal mines within Toto-rak, Mor Dhona, and the Dzemael Darkhold. On top of this, he rebuilds the Lunar Transmitter technology to control the moon's descent. However, once it's destroyed, Nael descends, too late, on the party and, in his frustration, spilles a little more of the plan.

"This realm has seen six cycles of death and rebirth, yet man refuses to learn from past mistakes. Ever does he find a way to defile the sanctity of creation, and so the cycle must persist. But, no more. But no more, I shall halt the turning of this wheel of darkness. He has willed that it be so, and so it must be!"

When he activates the aetheric power this time, the moon lends him power, filling him with a sense of purpose and acceptance. He abandons the need for man's technology and ascends to commune with the God who has accepted him.

We see here that purification doesn't simply come at the hands of indiscriminate annihilation, but at His judgment. How did the Allag become to tied into Dragon gods? Who knows... (Yet.)

To Kill a Raven
At this point, Nael feels like he's already won and descends into lunacy and the "bliss" of having done something at the same time destined but impossible. However, as he tries to enjoy the final descent, members of the Eorzean Alliance arrive to challenge him, and, against all odds, best him.

This paradigm shift in the situation shatters how he perceives what's going on. A moment ago he was ecstatic that he had fulfilled the prophecy and brought about His return, and now these wretches show up in an attempt to stop it as if they know nothing at all; they don't respect inevitable destiny and for some reason will not celebrate His return-the coming of purification. Only fools would not be able to comprehend it.

"...And that the worst of them should hail from my own land!"

In this phrase he's expressing his dissatisfaction with how Garlemald has handled the situation. When Darnus came to power, the Empire desired that he wipe out the primals and conquer Eorzea. He delivered them so much more. He wouldn't only conquer Eorzea, he would purify his homeland entirely by fulfilling the prophecy, bringing about His return, and leaving them the opportunity to rebuild the Empire in the ways of the Allag upon the void of creation left behind - but they understood nothing of it. All they cared about was that the land was conquered and the primals destroyed.

There is something that I think I'm missing, however:
The Circle of Knowing says that it is the summoning and sustinence of the primals that is killing the planet - so what does Nael mean when he says that the eradication of the primals will leave a land "bereft of the crystal's light" and the leftovers of false gods?

Anyway, Nael lost his faith in the Empire entirely and kept the truth about His return to himself, using the Garlean's power to achieve the fulfillment of the prophecy covertly instead.

[Yrusama]

How did the Allag become to tied into Dragon gods? Who knows... (Yet.)

This is an interesting question, but I'm going to respond to it with another question: How do we know that Nael was aware it was Bahamut? To me it seems more likely that Bahamut fed Nael abstract ideas telepathically, without ever giving his actual name. Nael continued to refer to the presence as Dalamud, when he was otherwise so candid toward the player about his plans. Perhaps the word "He" came from an abstract awareness that the presence within Dalamud is male, alongside an equally abstract awareness that the presence needs Aether, just like any other "god" in Hydaelyn.

As far as I can tell, Bahamut, from within Dalamud, sought a man with Allagan blood and fed him only enough information to carry out his escape from Dalamud. But I haven't pored over the dialogue nearly as much as you have.

While I'm here pestering you, Mr. Moose, do you have any thoughts on the Paladin job quest NPC who exclaims "Bahamut's Fang!" when you happen to have the soul stone?