Questions/Theories About Coil (Long Read SPOILERS)

[Marishi-Ten]

I was in T5 last night and noticed some things and I noticed something interesting. The right claw of Bahamut shows Bahamut's, well, claw. But we can see (screenshots below) that his arm is bound in place.How can this be? The last we saw of Bahamut he was ravaging and in general wrecking everything in reach. We see him again in Coil inert and in pieces. At the end we can see him very much alive (though his heart is essentially in his throat). We also see a couple of old faces that have been MIA.

This raises some questions:

1.) It looks like Bahamut was dismembered. This I imagine would have taken immense power. What could have caused him to be torn literally limb from limb?
2.) The shackles on his arm seem to imply that SOME portions of Dalamud were able to reseal him. If this be the case, who initiated the protocols?
3.) The Binding Coil is in pieces scattered throughout remote parts Eorzea miles apart, so the "binding" couldn't have taken place on the ground. How was Dalamud reformed?
4.) I doubt Bahamut would accept his fate lying down. When did the "binding" happen and how long did it take?
5.) How is it these pieces are are still intact? The pieces of Dalamud were thrown across Eorzea, but why do they contain limbs of Bahamut?
6.) How many actual pieces of Dalamud are actually visible and what are native to Eorzea?
7.) The Allagan were the strongest and most advanced civilization to walk Eorzea. For them to fear Bahamut (enough to put him in orbit) is pretty telling of the destruction he has/could wrought upon them. Why not simply kill Bahamut? Perhaps they couldn't? Perhaps being an Elder Primal, he can't be killed?
8.) The Allagan went to great lengths to ensure that Bahamut wouldn't be unleashed under any circumstances going so far as to building an enormous prison with highly advanced defense systems in case of intrusion (hello ADS) and making sure no one could get to it at all by putting it in orbit (which tells us volumes about the Allagan and Bahamut). Why wasn't Odin treated the same?





I can only hypothesize, but I do have ideas for the above:

1.) I'm of the mind that the Bahamut we saw in 1.0 wasn't Bahamut physically, but almost an aetheric manifestation of him or his "will". When Dalamud broke apart, the physical being was torn apart and thrown to the ground (as he was shackled inside of Dalamud and can be seen in T5) and all we see is a projection.
2.) It may not have been initiated at all. If it was an Aetheric manifestation, Bahamut would have always been sealed (which makes sense looking at the damage of the shackles themselves. Some are bent and some teeth are broken but are still intact).
3.) The same theory described in 1 could account for this one.
4.) I don't think we have enough information to answer this one. His manifestation could technically still be around somewhere or simply dissipated due to the lack of Aether in the area (I would imagine it would take humongous amounts to "summon" something as large as Bahamut).
5.) Dalamud is huge. HUGE. Some pieces hitting the ground and retaining their composition is feasible.
6.) I count 6. Castrum Occidens (La Noscea), Finder's Bluff (The Black Shroud), The Burning Wall (Thanalan), The Nail (Coertheas), Dalamud's Talons (Thanalan), The Salt Strand (La Noscea), The Singing Shards (Mor Dhona). This makes sense seeing as how each area would get their own "coil" while all would be connected to the Talons. If so, that would mean there is at least one Allagan building native to Eorzea: Boulder Downs (Coerthas). The Allagan structure in Boulder Downs is in a natural depression and doesn't have the color of over aspected crystal that all the Dalamud ruins seem to take on (Boulder Downs is blood red crystal see screenshots below). It also doesn't look like any other piece from Dalamud and actually looks like a building of some kind. Perhaps a repository?



7.) I think this ties back to Bahamut being an Elder Primal. They can't be killed (see Odin) and seem to have the ability to "summon" themselves at will. What we saw of Bahamut and what we see with Odin may just be their projection or "will".
8.) This is the big one for me. I would think the Allagan would have just killed Bahamut (if they were able) and not gone to EXTREME lengths to bind him. The Allagan had an incredible grasp of Astronomy, Telemetry, and Physics to be able to put a "moon" into orbit (this shows how incredibly advanced they were seeing as how half of Eorzea thinks the Sun revolves around Hydealen) let alone the ability to build it (Advanced weaponry guarding the inside of Dalamud that the Garleans can merely mimic and an obvious AI detection and interception node(s) ). I would imagine if anyone could slay Bahamut, it would have been the Allagan. So, it's likely Bahamut cannot be killed probably due to being an Elder Primal. The same wasn't done to Odin. He was sealed in crystal at Urth's Gift. It seems crude and rudimentary compared to Bahamut. Unless the Allagan civilization was still in it's infancy stages when Odin was bound and at their peak Bahamut was bound (makes sense as Acheron was an Allagan usurper telling us not all was well in the realm during the last days and civilizations typically peak and start to rot from the inside).

Whew! This went on longer that I had anticipated. Anyway, just a few thoughts and possible explanations. Thanks for the read!

[Sholah]

The pieces of Dalamud don't actually contain Bahamut. He's actually underground beneath the Carteneau Flats (his head is anyway), and the Dalamud pieces are, for some reason, all leading to where he is. Alisaie notes that the bindings on Bahamut's wrist are strikingly similar to those on Twintania, hinting that they may have actually been able to control him to some extent. There are a few reasons he may have been sealed away rather than killed. The most probable is that Primals are incapable of being permanently killed, and they imprisoned him in a corporeal state to prevent him from being resummoned. The Allagans actually did the same thing with the elemental Primals and Odin, but through different methods. The second idea goes back to the hint at their being able to control him. It's possible they were weaponizing Bahamut and put him in the sky in case of emergency.

[RolandDebreton]

/cracks knuckles.

Long have I waited for a chance to ramble on about this....


Major spoilers in the midst of this!


You've been warned!


My current speculation is that the Allagans fitted Bahamut with the crystal that is Zodiark, seeing it as a near endless source of aether. Just with the Heart of Sabik they utilized Ascian tools in their technology without fully understanding what it was. Thus the giant purple crystal in his chest.

First they allowed Bahamut to be summoned, then shackled him using the Allagan dragon control devices such as they use with Twintania. You can see Bahamut is covered with Allagan hardware. Then fitted him with their impromptu energy source in an attempt to sustain him as one massive super-powered weapon of war. However, being a sentient crystal, a world to himself, Zodiark corrupted Bahamut and began using him to drain the world and Hydaelyn, from within his massive nigh indestructible vehicle.

Seeing their mistake too late the Allagans used their lunar base, Dalamud, rife with aether absorbing technology, as gaol to bind the terrible beast and its evil spirit occupant. They managed to seal it, but not before the course of destruction and the aether Zodiark/Bahamut had drank rendered the world into an estate of desolation harkening an Umbral Era.

It took the Aescians millennia, but they finally succeeded with Nael Van Darnus in unleashing their god once more, which is why they cheered on the falling Dalamud from the hills overlooking the fall.

[Sholah]

/cracks knuckles.

Long have I waited for a chance to ramble on about this....

This... is extremely plausible.

[WellGramarye]

/cracks knuckles.

Long have I waited for a chance to ramble on about this....

This is pretty much my theory as well but with a few exceptions:

I really feel Bahamut has been sealed in the Binding Coil since long before modern Eorzia existed; back in the Allagan age. What was within Dalamud I believe is the Aetherial avatar/aspect of Bahamut and not it physically. Dalamud released its "charge", the Bahamut weapon comes out and razes the world to ash, and with its power spent dissipates. This would explain why just a mere few years later its not still raging around. Why does everyone forget the heroes? Well the amount of Aether released from the Allagan weapon could have affected the populace as everything was soaked in it causing side effects and memory loss. I also think the Allagans were using Bahamut to control the Dravian hordes in their day.

[RolandDebreton]

I also think the Allagans were using Bahamut to control the Dravian hordes in their day.

The only problem here is that they didn't need Bahamut to control them. To quote Alisaie, "The dragon you vanquished earlier (Twintania)─doubtless you noticed the peculiar contraption about its neck. It was likely a receptor of some description, used to enslave the creature. Ancient Allag possessed the means to control dragons, it would seem. The Ishgardians would kill for this knowledge, though to be sure, it could as easily be brought to bear against them. An army of dragons could turn the tide of any battle, as the Garleans once learned to their sorrow. I would not be the least bit surprised if they now sought to exploit this power."

Not only did their technology allow them to send Twintania about to guard their satellite, they had balls bigger than Thal himself, the shackled the dragon's "god." Bahamut can be clearly seen wearing all the same bangles as Twintania in full view of the Burning Circle battle field of Turn 5 on his wrists. In fact, his whole body is infused with Allagan Shackles:



The question you really have to ask yourself is this: If Allag could put a dragon deity on a leash, seal Odin away in a crystal, devise mech that could gobble up lesser Primals for a power source, and so on, what did they fear enough to use a weapon like Bahamut? They had to know he was a aether-gobbling, planet-drinker, heck we in the dark ages have that figured out. What's scary enough to an Allagan to risk holstering a nuclear option, bio-mechanical, rabid dog at your side like the King of the Skies Bahamut?

[Nialle]

The question you really have to ask yourself is this: If Allag could put a dragon deity on a leash, seal Odin away in a crystal, devise mech that could gobble up lesser Primals for a power source, and so on, what did they fear enough to use a weapon like Bahamut? They had to know he was a aether-gobbling, planet-drinker, heck we in the dark ages have that figured out. What's scary enough to an Allagan to risk holstering a nuclear option, bio-mechanical, rabid dog at your side like the King of the Skies Bahamut?

The Ascians?

They also seem to me to have been a totalitarian society (from the dialogues ingame talking about Acheron's origins) -- so perhaps a civil war of some kind, with both sides having access to powerful magic technology that they turned against each other and destroyed themselves with?

[WellGramarye]

That's my point though! Shackle the Dragon God and through him control the others. The collars themselves seem to be as you said receptors. So they used Bahamut to remote them. The Allagans seem really good a manipulating aether but not so much matter. This would also be because of perhaps Ascian influence. Most of the Allagan tech you see is manipulating aether in some way. Crystal Tower for example seems to be an aether generator and processor. The final boss of the labyrinth being a member of their race infused with Aether technology.

As for what they were "afraid" of:

I believe before their decline they were working towards invading/exploring the Void/Zodiark/wherever Ascians come from/other world because of the fact that they seemed so interested in Aether and biotech as it were not to mention that the "twelve deities" are supposed as being Allagans. Perhaps the Twelve experimented to create forms like the Ascians but instead some how "ascended" to a "divine" state instead, or indeed went to the other world but were changed by it.

Bahamut as a weapon seems to be the last resort protection in case something from the other side were to threaten their lands. Ever see Stargate?

[Anonymoose]

If so, that would mean there is at least one Allagan building native to Eorzea: Boulder Downs (Coerthas). The Allagan structure in Boulder Downs is in a natural depression and doesn't have the color of over aspected crystal that all the Dalamud ruins seem to take on (Boulder Downs is blood red crystal see screenshots below). It also doesn't look like any other piece from Dalamud and actually looks like a building of some kind. Perhaps a repository?

My own theories on the topics in this thread are too disjointed and incomplete for me to contribute much right now, but I didn't want to let the opportunity pass me by to keep discussion of Boulder Downs going.

The actual depression at boulder downs is very unlike the others; there seems to be no chaotic, over-aspected aetherial reaction, but a huge amount of what looks like red obsidian surrounding buried Allagan ruins. It looks like chunks of rock were removed with intense heat - like the road above were riven from the earth. Hey, wait a tick...

Rivenroad, final battlefield against Nael van Darnus

This is one possibility. However, if you go to Coerthas 23X Y25, you can see some of the same jagged, metallic ruins of Dalamud (?) sticking out of the ground nearby and still no chaotic aether - so maybe it really is just crashed Dalamud fragments that didn't get the same reaction as the others.

[Skyhound]

I'm so glad we're talking about boulder downs. I was looking around there and comparing the Crystal formations with others found in Eorzea.

Four things stuck out to me: the Crystal formation envelops the allagan structure almost like a dome, this domed formation also seems like it was layered in some way, the Crystal is extremely dull which leads me to believe that it has been there for a very long time, AND the giants are there.

I don't believe boulder downs has any thing to do with Dalamud aside from having allagan origins. I believe it's another instance of them trying to keep something hidden away, but was eventually found.

People have speculated that Acheron is actually a giant and another person has speculated that the Crystal Tower is a prison. Acheron's chamber(cell) is called the Hall of the Inexorable, which means something that cannot be stopped, persuaded, or altered. This leads me to believe that Acheron was actually the leader of a Giant rebellion. Perhaps Acheron was chosen to guard CT as punishment while his comrades were imprisoned in boulder downs?