Hydaelyn and Zodiark

[Kicha]

Was going through and rewatching the story CS from 2.0 main story, and came across something that made me think. In the post credit roll CS where Bahamut roars, we undergo a migraine/echo vision of a giant dark crystal, which with the following CS with the Ascians, we all assumed that darn crystal was Zodiark. But we see it via the power of the echo, so what if that crystal isn't actually Zodiark, but Hydaelyn losing her light? Perhaps her losing her light turns her into Zodiark? Are Hydaelyn and Zodiark one and the same being, neither existing while the other does, and so must wait for the power of the other to wane?
The scariest part of all this is that the Echo seems to serve as a direct link to Hydaelyn in our minds....if that is Zodiark and we can get visions of it like that, it doesn't bode well for us since that means Zodiark would have a direct link into our minds as well. O.O

*Runs to grab a darksteel hat before its too late.

[Anonymoose]

what if...

What if, indeed. All of those are possibilities.

The only reason I've been leaning toward the interpretation that it was the "dark crystal" (for now) is how well it fits with old school Final Fantasy lore and the fact that we had just spoken to Hydaelyn a short time before and she seemed fine. Not all that much happened between the time we drove out Lahabrea and killed(?) Gaius and the time we celebrated driving out Lahabrea and killing(?) Gaius. Thancred's still so weak he's in his pajammers. Could Bahamut's stirring drive that much power out of her? And why cut directly from that scene to the reveal of Zodiark's name?

On the other hand, the "dying Hydaelyn" interpretation certainly explains why she's been pretty quiet for a few patches...

[Enkidoh]

Indeed, I've been partial to the same idea, particularly as watching the ending scenes to the main scenario seem to basically shout that (the dialogue the Mothercrystal states clearly hints that Zodiark, far from being 'a different side of the same coin', is in fact co-existing with her, and for the player to be mindful of him (spoilered for those just joining us):

"Hear... feel... think..."
"Warrior of Light. Beloved <son/daughter>"
"The Darkness hath fled before the unclosed brilliance of thy spirit."
"Yet it lingereth still beyond the sight of men, in forgotten corners of the world."
"In the depths of the abyss yet resideth the Dark One, watchful ever."
"Til this evil be cast out, never shall the world know aught but a passing peace."
"Yet for the present, a gentle light shineth o'er the realm of Eorzea."
"With thee at it's heart."
"From sparkling mote shall it swell to glorious sun, and all the world shall bask in it's warmth."
(The Mothercrystal then moves away, and the player's character desperately reaches out to Her)
"Blessings and joy be upon thee."
"Go forth, my child, and be as a beacon of hope for Eorzea and the lands beyond, through all the days of thy life."

Some interesting ideas were hinted at here. Not only the fact that it seems Zodiark is not actually an 'opposing state' of Hydaelyn - that he in fact seems to already exist, somewhere, and that Hyadelyn was fully aware of that... that also that whole scene indeed seemed in hindsight to be something of a "goodbye and goodluck" gesture by the Mothercrystal - that the player had completed their task and were now being left pretty much to their own devices and she she was wishing them well in whatever the future holds. It would definitely explain Her lack of appearances since then in the storyline in any event.

[Anonymoose]

that whole scene indeed seemed in hindsight to be something of a "goodbye and goodluck" gesture by the Mothercrystal

I got that feeling, too.

At first I had the feeling that we were dealing with a Light World / Dark World and a crystal for each scenario, whereby each crystal found the other's existence an abomination but were in fact co-dependent on balance. I was thinking for a while that the Warriors of Light vs. Ascians as the Warriors of Dark would eventually unfold into both sides against the forces of chaos and oblivion folding in on both worlds. With all we've learned since, I've decided against trying to make predictions until we get something more substantial as a clue - that'll be when I come back for these breadcrumbs, lol. Idkwtf to expect anymore :P

I'm gonna stick to collecting stuff about the world and the past for now.

[Kerberon]

The question in my mind is, Is the echo just Hydaelyn's version of tempering us? And if it is, will we get to have a few dark quest objectives if Zodiark takes over?

[Anonymoose]

Something tells me I might start moving away from the "duality of the crystal" theory a little faster now.

There also seem to be twelve of those platforms there...

[Mergadeth]

Something tells me I might start moving away from the "duality of the crystal" theory a little faster now.

There also seem to be twelve of those platforms there...

What is that image from??

[Anonymoose]

What is that image from??

New trailer! Go see, go see!

[Eltaire]

What I find interesting is that the Ascians are all named after Scions of Light from Final Fantasy XII.

I am wondering if Eorzea may be a pre-Ivalice.

The evidence is in the uniforms of the officials in the Garlean Empire highly resembling that of Judges.

Not only that, but Hunts are being introduced, which was in Final Fantasy XII.

A Belias-egi was summoned by Tristian in the final Summoner quest, and it was confirmed that Belias is an Elder Primal. The Ascian that gave the power of the summon, could very well have been Loghrif.

So much to consider, and so many exciting things on the horizon!

[Anonymoose]

I am wondering if Eorzea may be a pre-Ivalice.

You'll find strands of DNA from several Final Fantasies, but such theories have come up enough times for this to have been said:

To be absolutely clear, there is no connection between FFXIV’s Hydaelyn and FFXII’s Ivalice.
Likewise there is no connection with FFXI’s Vana’diel.
Each are their own individual world.

Answer #55 from the now-missing Patch 2.2 Letter from the Producer LIVE Q&A.

Think of it as FFXIV being both its own world and a loving homage to previous installments of the franchise. You'll even see this separation bent a little bit at times, like when the devs nudge you like, "Ehhh? Remember that? EHHH!?" on things like the item description of the Smallshell.