"Answers" mark 3.

[HakuroDK]

So, basically, the Ascians. Who work against the Light and seem to view the world as being out of balance.

But that's the thing. If the Ascians really were the Warriors of Darkness, they wouldn't work against the Light. They'd instead cooperate with the light and ensure that the balance of light and darkness was kept. At least as far as Lahabrea was concerned, the Ascians (other than that one white-robed emissary) don't really seem all that interested in cooperation moreso than they are with reviving Zodiark to supplant Hydaelyn as the guardian force of the world, which is not at all what the Warriors of Darkness would do, unless they're just as ignorant as the Warriors of Light are.

[Cassandaria]

Now, the Warriors of Darkness are not meant to be "Evil", mind you. They're just meant to be folks who, much like the Warriors of Light fight off the forces of darkness to prevent them from swallowing the world, the Warriors of Darkness once fought off the forces of light to prevent them from swallowing the world, both trying, albeit ignorant of their true purpose, to keep the world in balance.

For those who need more context on the Warriors of Darkness: http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Warriors_of_Darkness

The warriors of Darkness actually combated the light. As Light and Dark are simply powers that balance each other out, neither being evil, the fact of the matter is, it's how they are used that dictates what kind of warrior comes about. The warriors of light combat the darkness, the warriors of darkness combat the light. This would fit in with the fact we have seen another crystal, similar to the one of light, but in darkness. So it IS highly possible, with the addition of the crystal tower that part of FF3's storyline will seep into our world here and I would not mind at all.

[gornotck]

[...].

It is true that the Emissary is... different. He seems to think that if you only knew what they knew, you'd help revive Zodiark too.

There are heavy themes of the struggle between life and death, over and over. Astral light and umbral darkness. The thaumaturges used to be a very explicit example of it.

[Quintalian]

"Our souls have been torn, and our bodies forsaken."
The word 'forsaken' as thematic to primals seems to hold water. What if primal summoning requires the sacrifice of a physical body, whose soul is merged with the primal's essence?

-The Echo-using Sahagin priest becomes able to transfer his soul to a new body, but is then absorbed into Leviathan.

-The ritual foci mentioned in the Extreme primal cutscenes are made of beastmen remains, fashioned by the Ascians, and have the effect of enhancing the powers of the primal. Why should the bones of beastmen have such an effect?

-Odin's physical form is altered to resemble an adventurer who fought him before. Is his essence 'borrowing' the body of a powerful fighter who felled him?

The 2.3 story teaser image of a mysterious, silver-haired maiden was almost unanimously heralded as being that of a non-primal form of Shiva, but made me wonder, how? Is she is intended to be a physical ideal, or a sacrifice, to bring Shiva into being?

[Viridiana]

The 2.3 story teaser image of a mysterious, silver-haired maiden was almost unanimously heralded as being that of a non-primal form of Shiva, but made me wonder, how? Is she is intended to be a physical ideal, or a sacrifice, to bring Shiva into being?

Hmm. . .but then, the actual footage of Shiva herself shows dark hair. . .

[Anonymoose]

As much as I try to keep from speculating about future matters these days, it could stand to be mentioned that the object of the song, if primal-related, need not be about the demigods themselves. Throwing on the ol' darksteelfoil hat, it could just as easily be about the tribes that worship them, as if the song were a warning from "those who walked before" to "those who walk after" that if you go about this whole Era / Ascian / Calamity / Hydaelyn / Zodiark thing in the wrong way, that your soul will be torn and your body forsaken. An origin story for our enemies, perhaps.

[Darske]

The epilogue segment is very, very interesting to me, because I get such strong vibes of it being directed specifically at Louisouix.

"Thy Life is a riddle, to bear rapture and sorrow.
To listen, to suffer, to entrust unto tomorrow.
In one fleeting moment, from the Land doth life flow.
Yet in one fleeting moment, for anew it doth grow.
In that same fleeting moment,
Thou must live
Die
And know."

But, examining it as if it was talking to the primals, doesn't this seem to hint at the theory that's been floating around that the Ascian summoning methods are somehow corrupting the Primals or bringing about incomplete versions of themselves? Much like a riddle, we really know nothing about the Primals' origins or motivations. They are forced to listen to the suffering of their people, and bring them hope, but being incomplete they must drain the very land they seek to save of aether.

They take life from the land, yet that act in itself brings about life. (Perhaps hinting that bleeding the land of Aether will give rise to Zodiark?)

...I'll admit I'm at a loss for Live Die and Know for Primals, though. Perhaps in death, they return in some way to their true nature, untainted by Ascian summoning, and know.... something we don't yet. This feels like a bit of a stretch to me though.

[Xmbei]

I still operate under the idea that the Ascians are the Allaghans that did something that ripped there existance and world apart. Kind of like a phase shift. A veil has dropped across Eorzea after this event. Those Ascians were stripped of their corporal forms, and seek to return from the rift/other side of the veil to our world. Hence the Echo may let us see across this veil at times. But with the Ascians work of draining the aether... It might not be world lifestream but the aetheral magic of this veil being drained and weakened. Hence revealing, "the real world" as the Ascians know it. Hence why Crystal tower just reappeared one day after the Calamity. And the seal that was broken at Silvertear was the key needed to start weaking the veil.

[Xmbei]

As for the primals I think they are actually not that bad but also seek to get the veil to drop keeping them locked outside our world, once the veil drops I foresee the primals being true form and not corrupting. Which will lead the player Free Companies finally being able to summon them into the real noninstanced world. Like was discussed prelaunch.

Sorry phone formatting

[Anonymoose]

I still operate under the idea that the Ascians are the Allaghans that did something that ripped there existance and world apart.

This is another of the possibilities on the list - to a degree. It would explain their point of view about Hydaelyn and the original state of the world. But, if this were the case, why do they worship the dark half as the One True God? The only glimpse of Zodiark we've seen is a crystal just like Hydaelyn but dark - or so some of us have assumed thus far.