Are the Twelve Primals too?

[Elladie]

Apologies if this has already been discussed, I couldn't find mention of it on the lore forums. During the quest An Univited Ascian, Nabriales says explicitly to Minfilia that the staff Tupsumati is able to draw upon a vast amount of ether from its surroundings. He also states that this was why Louisoix didn't need a large number of crystals to summon the Twelve. This seems like an explicit statement that the Twelve are primals. Yet the peoples of Eorzea treat the Twelve with veneration whereas Ifrit et al are seen as monstrous. Are there different degrees of 'primal ness'?
Also what is the 'horn' that Nabriales mentions in the same conversation?

[Anonymoose]

That's one of the bigger questions in the game (well, more specifically, if the Twelve are independently real). From Gaius van Baelsar to Louisoix to the Ascians themselves, everyone seems convinced that anything that comes out of a summoning is going to be an aether-sucking primal(-like entity).

But does something exist? Are there Twelve true gods? Ascended mortals? Mortals that history remembers inaccurately? We're not sure yet.

We can be pretty confident that summoning them is a bad idea, though.

[Cilia]

Well, it takes just a little research. Primals are identified as banshin in the Japanese version, which literally translates to "barbarian gods." They're basically just the beastman answer to the Eorzean pantheon, religiously speaking.

Summoning one of the Twelve is still a really, really bad idea, as it would eat up aether just like summoning a Primal would. Gaius helpfully pointed out this similarity prior to going Super Sai- err, powering up for your fight with him.

[MaethusXion]

The Twelve are likely primals the same way Enkidu, Shiva, and King Moggle Mog are. IE, with enough crystals/aether and enough belief you can bring them to life as a primal-like entity. There was even a MSQ where a kid from Ala Mhigo wanted to steal Amal'jaa crystals to summon their deity because of an Ascian telling him that he could

[Zohar_Lahar]

The Twelve are likely primals the same way Enkidu, Shiva, and King Moggle Mog are. IE, with enough crystals/aether and enough belief you can bring them to life as a primal-like entity. There was even a MSQ where a kid from Ala Mhigo wanted to steal Amal'jaa crystals to summon their deity because of an Ascian telling him that he could

I imagine Ifrit, Titan, Garuda, Leviathan, and Ramuh originated in the same way at some point.

[myahele]

Somebody mentioned that Atomos is a primal also, since in WoD we face Atomos Prime and that the crystal was actually Atomos?

If such a thing is to be believed, then the 12 do exist since they appeared to Louisoix in a form of crystals.

[Genz]

You can summon anything if you have enough aether and enough faith/willpower/something.
For Dalamud, the goal of Louisoix wasn't to summon "the twelve gods", but only to gather a lot of aether and for that he needed every eorzean to focus their thought on the same thing, and it just happens that the concept of "the twelve gods" is something shared by all Eorzea.

"Primal" is just a name for anything summoned, but it also has some political meaning : we believe in gods, it's a good word so we're good, and they believe in primals so they're bad. ... even though Ifrit, Ramuh, Titan, etc. are simply the gods of each beastmen tribe.
And, that being said, I wouldn't call Shiva the goddess of a people. She looks more like the boss of a band of thugs. They just share a very strong belief in their ideal.

And there is this someone who crossed all Eorzea and helped all of its inhabitant with big and small tasks. I wonder what could happen if they all prayed for him/her...

[Toranja]

No.

We know they are very similar in some aspects but can't tell what sets them apart. But we do know there are differences, even if it isn't just the fact Twelve are the Enlightened counterpart. We will have our answer in Heavensward as the Ascian lay the way for Ishgard to summon Halone.

If it hasn't been mentioned yet, I draw attention to the rather peculiar fact the Twelve speak with the living even when they aren't summoned. This was shown in the bonding quests.

[Fenral]

And there is this someone who crossed all Eorzea and helped all of its inhabitant with big and small tasks. I wonder what could happen if they all prayed for him/her...

Can we please have that as a solo boss? Please? A (repeatable) mirror boss based on your own equipped class and gear, and not just a tease like they did in that one storyline.

[T2teddy]

Ok, cast your memory cells back to the day you created your characters! Remember the page where you had to select a 'guardian'? Well that was one of the 12! Each of the elements is shared by two of them, plus each astral or umbral moon is associated with one of our 12 Guardians of Eorzea.

Here's the list as well as where each one's prayer altars are located.