Ascians

[treuhavik]

While it may be obvious to some, others might not notice that Ascians’ names, glyphs and, in some cases, abilities tie them to characters or enemies in past Final Fantasy titles. Here, I’ll be pointing out what I know of these links for further speculation and reference.

Lahabrea

In a vision received from Hydaelyn in the opening sequence of A Realm Reborn, we encounter our first Ascian, Lahabrea. If you played FFXII, you may recall that name being used for the light scion (Abyssal Celebrant) opposite Mateus (the Corrupt).

When our XIV Lahabrea taps into his power, a glyph appears over his mask, and sure enough, it bears a striking resemblance to the XII glyph of Mateus.

Nabriales

Like Lahabrea, the name “Nabriales” also refers to a light scion (the Majestic) from FFXII with his glyph matching that of the dark counterpart, Cúchulainn (the Impure).

Elidibus

Elidibus looks just like the other Ascians, complete with personalized red mask, but his robes are white. He also states that he’s Zodiark’s emissary and he seems far less hostile and more diplomatic compared to the black-robed bunch.

The only other mention of the name Elidibus was in Final Fantasy Tactics, in which he was an optional boss who holds the Serpentarius Zodiac Stone, transforming into a Lucavi (demon) who possesses an ability titled “Zodiark”. It’s also noted that Elidibus in FFT doesn’t seem to have affiliation with the other Lucavi, sharing no interest in reviving their leader, Ultima, which requires an enormous amount of blood be spilled.

This is somewhat reflected in how Elidibus interacts with the other Ascians in XIV. While they all share the same goal, it seems he's privy to Zodiark's plan and doesn't fully disclose it with the others. He's above them - Zodiark's chosen. This seems to be cause for some friction between himself and the more aggressive types: Lahabrea and Nabriales; who seek to best Elidibus somehow and claim his spot as Zodiark's right hand.





Although we don’t see the glyphs, the naming scheme continues for Pashtarot (Zeromus) and Igeyorhm (Shemhazai), who are seen in a short clip at the end of the 2.0 storyline, and Emmerololth (Famfrit) and Altima (Ultima? Sabik?) at the end of the quest "What Little Gods are Made of".

Pashtarot







Igeyorhm







Emmerololth







Altima







Unknown Ascian #1

You may remember defeating this particular Ascian and his gargoyle minion around level 15. Anyway, what’s interesting here is the glyph he displays – it looks as though it may belong to Zodiark himself.

But it couldn’t possibly be Zodiark, could it? Perhaps all black-masked Ascians bear this mark for lack of their own primordial identity…

Unknown Ascian #2

This Ascian (who I’m naming Loghrif, the Transcendent) taught Tristan Nightflicker, a dark Summoner, to summon Belias-Egi during the Summoner storyline. No name or glyph is seen here, though I’d like to think there’s some connection between the Egi and the keeper of its knowledge. Both Belias from XII and Belias-Egi in XIV use the ability “Painflare”.

Travanchet

Last, and probably least, is Travanchet. Travanchet is the main antagonist in early XIV 1.0 for Lominsans, teaming up with the Sahagin in a play for a “key” found on the mysterious isle of Seal Rock. Travanchet can be counted among the Ascians, as the word “ascian” can be translated to “without shadow” and it was made obvious in the cutscenes that Travanchet lacks one himself. Also, the song “without shadow” can be heard whenever an Ascian, including Travanchet, appears on-screen.

EDIT:

At the NAFanfest they more or less confirmed that Travanchet was dropped entirely. He was going to be part of what seemed to be a much slower build-up to the reveal of what the Ascians were - like we'd get full answers about that at the *end* of 1.x or somesuch.

With the revised plot, the lore and story team decided to massively accelerate a couple of reveals, including going straight to dealing with the Ascian overlords and the true nature of Dalamud and whatnot. Travanchet is more or less pointless at this juncture (it's insinuated he was one of those lesser Ascians who doesn't even have a fancy mask) and there's no real point in going back to him. Might be a bummer for some folks, but them's the breaks.

Anything missed / that you would add here?

If not, let’s get some discussion going. What do you make of these connections?

[Enkidoh]

SE confirmed long ago there is no actual direct link with FFXII though or any other FF game - the use of those names are simply fanservice referencing and not a hint of something far deeper, as revealed by Bayohne in this old thread which seems to have disappeared (luckily I copied and pasted the quote from it for posterity):

Q55: There are a lot of names from Ivalice such as Dalmasca, Belias, and Zodiak that have been mentioned, is there some connection between Hydaelyn and Ivalice?

A55: 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. Based on this, there are connections between the things that appear in the world, and we’ll be revealing more in the future.

Basically, the Ascian names are simply another example of referencing for nostalgia purposes to past FF games without being a direct connection or crossover, like the Crystal Tower or magitek armour. In fact the only real direct crossovers in FFXIV with another FF game are of course, Lightning, Shantotto and Gilgamesh's appearences - Cloud's Advent Children veteran reward costume has no actual lore explanation however from what I'm aware.

[treuhavik]

Oh, no, maybe I should've clarified - There's no way the worlds are connected, otherwise every allusion would have to fill the same role in which it was previously seen, which the Asicans do not. However, the fact that their likeness' are mirrored could give us hints at what to expect from their future involvement.

Personally, I see the Ascians' "dark scion" alter egos as potential primals, and wouldn't be all that surprised to find that each Ascian has this power sealed within them. It could explain how, say, "Loghrif" teaches Tristan to summon his primal form, Belias, as an Egi. Elidibus' implementation also makes sense given his previous incarnation - of the Ascians but not among the Ascians.

I thought it was a cool idea worth some discussion and speculation, if no one else does, that's fine, just let this thread drift into obscurity.

[Viridiana]

If your starting city-state is Limsa Lominsa you may remember defeating this particular Ascian and his gargoyle minion in a lower level battle at Swiftperch. What’s interesting here is the glyph he displays – it looks as though it may belong to Zodiark himself.

Same guy shows up in Gridania, so most likely shows up in Ul'dah as well. I'd tentatively say you're probably right about black-mask Ascians.

[DarthSanguine]

I can't find the cutscene, but I distinctly remember one where we see all the Ascians having a meeting in the Crysalis. In this cutscene we see more Ascians that are named after Scions of Light. There is also one named Altima who is presumably standing in for the Esper Ultima (since that name had already been used).

[lololink]

I can't find the cutscene, but I distinctly remember one where we see all the Ascians having a meeting in the Crysalis. In this cutscene we see more Ascians that are named after Scions of Light. There is also one named Altima who is presumably standing in for the Esper Ultima (since that name had already been used).

Final scene of the 2.3 main quest.

[treuhavik]

Final scene of the 2.3 main quest.

Do you have the quest name or link for that?

EDIT: The last quest (which leads to the last scene) of 2.3 is "Brave New Companions" and ends showing Lahabrea and Elidibus on either side of the Ishgardian throne.

[lololink]

Well I said that because the last scene is usually ascian plotting in the dark ( Insert evil laugh ) scene, let me check again in the inn...
Last scene of "What Little Gods Are Made Of".

[treuhavik]

Last scene of "What Little Gods Are Made Of".

Thanks! I had nearly forgotten this CS in its entirety. I'll plug Emmerololth and Altima in the OP.

[treuhavik]

There is also one named Altima who is presumably standing in for the Esper Ultima (since that name had already been used).

It seems Altima was an alternate name of Ultima in Final Fantasy Tactics. This makes Altima the only other one (so far) besides Elidibus to be found outside of XII. Even more interesting is that in neither game does Ultima/Altima have a contrasting entity. However, if Altima wants to fit in with the rest of the Ascians, we'll have to implant one, won't we?

...How's Sabik sound?