The Light of the Crystal

[PArcher]

Just something else on Tempering...are there any accounts of people/things being Tempered outside the Primals' "home"? Like when you were captured by the Amalj'aa, you were brought to the Bowl of Embers, and then Ifrit attempted to Temper you. Garuda and Titan stayed in the Howling Eye/Navel and you went to them...I'm not sure what Ramuh's place is called, but I recall in the Sylph dailies (or its a Fate in the Sylphlands...I'm not sure which, maybe both) that says the Sylph "bulbs" are brought to Ramuh to be Tempered...The other point I have to back this up is when Titan and Leviathan attacked Limsa...I don't remember anything said about mass-temperings during that fight (I could be wrong)

Maybe Tempering has more to do with these areas than we think?

[Enkidoh]

Well, the only times we actually see Tempering occuring is when the Primals are summoned, which only take place in one of those specific locations. 1.0 it was the same thing - the player (along with their Path Companion) was captured, held in that cell in Zan'rak along with several other prisoners, and then taken to the Bowl of Embers where Ifrit blew his blue flames and Tempered all those present (naturally it didn't work on the player and their Path Companion).

It should also be noted that it was never actually called 'tempering' in 1.0 - all the player saw is Ifrit doing it to other prisoners and that "the flames must have done something to their minds". Interestingly there was a suggestion in 1.0 that the tempering process was imperfect - that is, a tempered could actually be 'snapped back to their senses' (as the Path Companion termed it), although that might just be an example of someone so Tempered actually being disabled and hence unable to fight back, but still remaining a thrall of the beastmen.

In any event, it doesn't seem that the Primals can't actually temper anyone outside of where they're summoned (Bowl of Embers, Navel, Howling Eye etc). I think Leviathan might be the exception though with the Serpent Reavers, who have long been stated as being 'mindless slaves of the beastmen', which definetely suggests they've been Tempered too, yet it was long stated that the sahagin lacked the ability to summon Leviathan due to not having a crystal supply to do it. So how do you explain the Serpent Reavers then? So many unanswered questions...

[PArcher]

Interestingly there was a suggestion in 1.0 that the tempering process was imperfect - that is, a tempered could actually be 'snapped back to their senses' (as the Path Companion termed it)

Do the Amalj'aa beastman quests. I don't want to spoil it, but there is a bit to tempering in it...

[Kyan]

I think Leviathan might be the exception though with the Serpent Reavers, who have long been stated as being 'mindless slaves of the beastmen', which definetely suggests they've been Tempered too, yet it was long stated that the sahagin lacked the ability to summon Leviathan due to not having a crystal supply to do it. So how do you explain the Serpent Reavers then? So many unanswered questions...

Was it not stated through 2.0's missions, that Limsa fought of simultaneous attacks of Titan & Leviathan 5 years ago, or something along those lines? Leviathan was summoned, they just cannot currently summon him - that's the impression that I have Enkidoh!

[Enkidoh]

Ah, that makes sense (I was Gridanian in 1.0 as well as ARR so I never saw that part of the story, but that does make sense!) Thank you for clarifying that.

[Anonymoose]

I went back looking for mentions of the Starshower, Viridiana might have been right about the player not awakening to the Echo itself until they touched the first Crystal of Light. Hydaelyn does reach out to the player earlier, offering a vision of Lahabrea and our destiny, but we don't see the Starshower until we pick up the first crystal of light and, after that, our next crossing of paths with a Scion procs the first echo vision. Here's a list of Starshower references.

• 1.0 | Seen by new adventurer to Ul'dah in 1572 (vision)
• 1.0 | Seen by many from Ul'dah as the Echo sounds in 1562 after Neille is murdered
• 1.0 | Seen by a new adventurer to Limsa Lominsa in 1572 (vision)
• 1.0 | Seen by many from Limsa Lominsa as the Echo sounds in 1562 right before Travanchet appears to take the key.
• 1.0 | Seen by a new adventurer to Gridania in 1572 (vision)
• 1.0 | Seen by many from Gridania as the Echo sounds in 1562 after Khrimm is reclaimed from the elementals.
• 1.0 | Seen by a walker of the path near Ishgard in 1562, awoke to the Echo after.
• 1.0 | Seen in 1562 by a highborn child of Ishgard who was exiled by her family for seeing visions afterwards.
• 1.0 | Seen in 1562 by a lowborn neighbor of the child, took her in out of empathy.
• 1.0 | Seen by the Version 1.0 path companion at an unknown time (vision?)
• ARR | Seen upon collecting the first Crystal of Light and speaking to Hydaelyn for the first time
  • I forgot about those figures flying around with us when we pick up the first crystal... who the hell are those people?
    I still say one kinda looks like Rhalgr...

INTERESTING NOTES

• In the German version of Fade to White, Minfilia specifically refers to the sky growing "dunkelviolet" - dark purple - during the starshower. This fits with the color of Ascian magick, as well as the hue we saw when witness to a vision of the dark crystal, possibly Zodiark, at the end of the 2.00 Main Scenario.
• All who awaken to the Echo see the starshower, but everyone gains different abilities as a result.
• Many of those who have been Walkers of the Path since 1562 saw the Starshower from Ishgard, though Yda exclaims that it seems to be centered over Silvertear Lake.
• Wait, that scene looks famil- ... <dramatically removes imaginary glasses> ... My gods... I'll be back later.

[Enkidoh]

Moose, I don't think those other people you see in that first Echo scene with the Mothercrystal are meant to be anything other than fellow adventurers - if you pay close enough attention one of them looks like that female elezen ARC you later see during the level 15 dungeon quests (the one who accompanied Arvere and Edda). The roegadyn MRD I'm pretty sure is also later seen in the same way and is not meant to be that Rhaglr-Archon long rumoured because, well, that would kind of be silly.

So yeah, I think that scene is just to show that the player 'is just one of many chosen by Hydaelyn', even if later events kind of throw that idea to the wind.

[Anonymoose]

I think that scene is just to show that the player 'is just one of many chosen by Hydaelyn'

Yeah, probably

even if later events kind of throw that idea to the wind.

They're still out there. They just have zero Crystals of Light and I'm currently sitting on all of them. Suckers.

Anyway, I'm back from that break I needed to repair my absolutely blown mind.

After a little digging, I think I'm starting to believe my theory that the Starshower is the moment the border between the physical and aetherial realms broke wide open a bit more seriously. First, we have Minfilia's reference to it as dark purple and we have the fact that if you watch the portal open frame by frame, it glows purple before it opens, swirling similarly to the Ascian teleportation magick.

In all three 1.0 introductions, we see the Starshower (an enormous, swirling portal high above Silvertear Lake that spews lights similar to shooting stars), but in Gridania and Ul'dah, the "Echo within an Echo" moment preceding the Starshower happens incidentally as part of those unique stories, which explore the Circle of Knowing gathering intelligence about Imperial spies in Ul'dah and secret resistance groups in Gridania. In Limsa Lominsa, however, it's directly tied to what's happening in the events seen in the quests.

Moments before the portal is opened, The Key, a strange horn sought by the Ascians, is accidentally activated by Sthalmann. As it glows and sends aetheric ripples through the air, The Echo sounds, and in all three cities an Echo within an Echo takes place. Earlier in the quest line, Y'shtola remarks, "Of course, they will use the key to summon an army." and moments after the Starshower occurs, Travanchet, an Ascian within the Sahagin's Serpent Reavers, appears to take possession of The Key, remarking, "Power as this does not belong in the hands of your kind." It's as if he could sense The Key activating and could follow it to its source, which was exactly when the portal opened and Hydaelyn sounded the Echo. It all looks related. But then what army might have gained portage?

Oh.

So, perhaps we can infer that the seal on Mor Dhona broke and the flood of aether weakened the border between realms, spurring Ascians to begin to possess people through the tear as "shadoweaters." Via these possessions, they manipulated the beast tribes into summoning their primals by acting as Paragons and seeking out items such as The Key to advance their agenda. Sthalmann accidentally activated The Key, thinning the veil between worlds further, allowing Ascians to come pouring through, and Hydaelyn sounded The Echo, awakening the first round of Walkers... but then everything went silent. The Empire retreated to Ala Mhigo and Eorzeans had no idea who these Paragons truly were. Minfilia and the Circle of Knowing established the Path of the Twelve, and those walked it to the end dared not speak of what they saw, but eventually the Calamity drew near and Hydaelyn started recruiting hundreds for the coming war between light and dark. Sounds plausible... but that's one big house of cards.

Can we even establish that the Starshower happened at this exact point in the timeline? After the Battle of Silvertear Skies released the primals? How do we know the seal on Mor Dhona wasn't breaking in the distance and that's what set off the events that led to the Starshower? It turns out SE may have left a gigantic clue in one of the cutscenes and I didn't notice it until today.

In the LV9 cutscenes, when we first use the Echo, we see a series of events in our particular Scion's recent history. The last scene takes place right before they come to our aid in the LV5 quest (an interesting side note, this is the exact same moment we see them experiencing in the A New Beginning trailer). The scene before that takes place as the Circle of Knowing resolves to summon their master, Louisoix, realizing that his prediction that the realm would drastically change as a result of primal summoning and Dalamud's fall was right all along. The scene before that takes place before the Starshower of 1562.

In the Ul'dahn echo, we see Thancred overhear that the Amalj'aa have attacked yet another crystal caravan, and he stops to ponder on his assessment that they must be planning to summon Ifrit. Here, he is acting as an intelligence gatherer, trying to blend in with the usual city folk. At that moment in time, he's wooing two ladies at once - an elezen in a blue shirt on his right, a blonde hyur in a pink shirt on his left.

"Where in this marvel of a city might you lov-"
Hey, wait a minute...

Check out the background of the first Version 1.0 Ul'dah Echo of 1562, a few days to a fortnight before the Starshower.

BOOM.

During all three scenes where the Starshower is happening the same music track plays. This track is identified by the Before Meteor soundtrack as having the name Suspicious Corridor in Japanese, but in English it was named Neverborn. That sounds pretty Ascian, especially if you know the term from the Wheel of Time saga, where the Neverborn look like this.

What do you think? Am I getting somewhere or am I finally absolutely losing my mind having studied this same friggin' issue since 2010?

[Darske]

I think you may be onto something, but I'm not quite sure I follow your train of thought. I don't mean to be a bother, but could you explain what exactly that would mean in regards to the timeline?

[Anonymoose]

I think you may be onto something, but I'm not quite sure I follow your train of thought. I don't mean to be a bother, but could you explain what exactly that would mean in regards to the timeline?

It's more about an attempt to identify the nature of the Starshower than confirm anything about the timeline; it's just worth bullet-pointing that if these two Thancred scenes are one in the same, then the Beast Tribes were already preparing to summon their primals before the Starshower occurred, which means the seal on Mor Dhona had already been broken. It narrows down the nature of the Starshower a little further - if it's not something to do with the breaking of the Mor Dhona seal or the first appearance of the Ascians - what is it? If I'm on to anything, it would mean that it's the actual border breaking open, allowing the Ascians to do more than possess people through a thinning veil.