Archon Theorizing

[Quintalian]

The talk of Ahldbhar fighting "a clan of wicked sorcerers" with dark powers likely refers to the Ascians. If that's true, then perhaps the fact that he fell into despair and joined them is related to Minfilia seeking the "true nature of the Echo" and Elidibus's claim that the users of the Echo are not that different from the Ascians. Perhaps Minfilia will be faced with a similar crisis of conscience when she discovers the answers she seeks...

Speaking of Minfilia, for a while I was getting her name confounded with Menphina. By your theory, perhaps she is the analog to that member of the Twelve? Perhaps she has a brand somewhere that we can't see. As for the Nald'thal, Alphinaud and Alisaie seem to be twins, right? They may be the modern successors of Nald and Thal. There's also the matter of G'raha Tia in the Crystal Tower quests, he also has the brand on his shoulder. Could he be related to Oschon, the Wanderer, who also wields a bow? That does leave several of the Twelve unaccounted for, of course...

What's more, during the opening movie, Louisoix clearly manifests the emblem of Althyk when using the spell that sends the Warriors of Light into the time rift. At first I thought he was merely invoking Althyk's power since mastery of space and time is attributed to Althyk, but perhaps the connection runs deeper?

CAUTION -- SPOILERS AHEAD

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If that is the case, could it be that "the key which only [Alphinaud and Alisaie] possess" is actually "the key to the gates of the underworld" or something similar? Nald'thal are the keepers of the underworld, and making sure that the dead remain dead would be a fitting task for them. The idea that Louisoix's shade would require invoking such an ability is an intriguing one, considering that it might reveal the nature of the Circle of Knowing members, if this theory is indeed true.