[SPOILER]Theorizing The Warring Triads Identity

[Mimilu]

For those who are ignoring the Spoiler warning and haven't gotten that far in the story, The Warring Triad are the first three primals the Allagan had captured and sealed in the floating islands of Azys Lla. Archbishop Thordan VII and his Knights of the Round traveled to Azys Lla to try and absorb their power, in doing so beginning their waking process.

FF History
The Warring Triad are not new the FF series. They originated in Final Fantasy VI. In VI's lore, the Warring Triads were three gods, Demon, Fiend, and Goddess, who feared each others' power and began warring amongst themselves. Humans who were caught in the middle of this war were transformed into Espers, magical beings who when killed would turn into magicite, the precursor to VII's matiera. Seeing what they had done, the Triad stopped fighting and sealed themselves away in stone, telling the Espers "Never must we be woken".
A thousand-years later, during Emperor Gestahl's drive for power and hunt for Espers, Kefka (the games protaganist), awakens the warring Triad and uses their power to obtain godhood. In order to defeat Kefka, the heroes had to go to his tower and defeat each Triad member.
Additionally, right before fighting Kefka, the party must battle the Statue of the Gods, which is a gauntlet-boss battle where you fight three bosses, each representing the triad in some way.

Using this information and SE's love of using past lore as fanservice, we can guess the the Warring Triad in XVI will some how reflect the Triad from VI, most likely being a Demon, a Fiend, and a Goddess.

While the Triad did have names during the concept stage of VI, Zurvan the Demon, Sephiroth the Fiend, and Sophia the Goddess, these names were dropped during their actual implementation into the game. While I can see SE using these names for them, I think there are other candidates as well they could pull from in the FF mythos.

While I haven't been able to guess candidates for the Demon and Fiend roles, I do have a few for the Goddess role:
- Sophia: They could easily just use the Triad's concept-design names.

- Yunalesca from X: Yunalesca is heavily based off of the Goddess from the Triad, using the Goddess's signature pose during her second form and when she casts spells, her third form looking like the head the Goddess stand on, and both love the tactic of turning the party into zombies. Yunalesca is also heavily entwined in the Yevon faith of X, which would be very easy to translate into the worship of a primal in XIV.

- Asura from IV: IRL Asura is a goddess in several faithes. She is also has heavy plot relevance in VI and is one of the few female summons we get in the series.

-Lakshmi from VI: Another female summoned based on an IRL goddess. She is also from VI.

What are your guys' thoughts and theories on the the Triad?

[myahele]

I am curious how they came to be? Were they the 1st ever primals to exist and that they are the basis to which all primals are created? Did they turn people into primals and forced them to fight?

Did they cause the 3rd/ Fire-aspected Umbral era?

In regards to name I think they'll probably use their original names from FF6 that you've already mentioned

Even in FF6 there really isn't too much info regarding them.

[treuhavik]

I'm still holding to the belief that the Allagan Empire found the Triad, already sealed, and used their power as the basis for magitek - a technology later replicated by the Garlean Empire.

I am curious how they came to be? Were they the 1st ever primals to exist and that they are the basis to which all primals are created? Did they turn people into primals and forced them to fight?

It's certainly possible that the development team will underplay it all and write them off as simple primals, but I think it unlikely. No, I believe the Triad to be, or at least be among, the recently mentioned "Eikon" class being. There's a lot more conjecture on this rolling around upstairs, but we should probably hold off until there's a solid foundation on which to build.

[HodgepodgeMcDodge]

Would not surprise me if they turn out to be Chaos, Cosmos and Shinryu. Though grant it, Shinryu is generally a dragon, the statute did look like it had draconian armor. In my opinion, at any rate.

[Alberel]

The three statues on Azys Lla are directly based on the original three from FFVI so I wouldn't go assuming they would be different for any reason here in FFXIV. Why do they have to be specific characters with specific names? Why can't they just be Goddess, Demon and Fiend as before?

Just to point out also: the Triad are not primals, they are eikons. Urianger has been pretty explicit now that they are actually an entirely different class of creature to a primal, if possibly similar in nature. We still don't know exactly what makes them so different but we know they are far more powerful.

[Chewy2nd]

I'm gonna throw this in there.

The Heart of Sabik pre-dated the Allagans, the Warring Triad being imprisioned possibly lead to the rise of the Allagan Empire and the 3rd Astral Era, could the Heart be related in some way to the Warring Triad?

[WyrahFhurrst]

Would not surprise me if they turn out to be Chaos, Cosmos and Shinryu. Though grant it, Shinryu is generally a dragon, the statute did look like it had draconian armor. In my opinion, at any rate.

Turns out Shinryu's already in FFXIV. It's what Hraesvelgr is known as by the Ishgardians int he Japanese translations.

[myahele]

SNIP

I also think that they were "discovered" that way, too.

You know what's interesting? Sabik and Unukalhai are both stars in the Ophiucus/Serpens constellation........which also represents Zodiark: the 13th Zodiac



Additionally, Elidibus in previous FF has always been closely tied to Zodiark + in Tactics he looks like this:



Back on topic: another poster said that in the French translation that the Triads were from a different dimension. Very far fetched theory, but what IF they're the same Triad from FF6? That after Kefka's defeat they somehow teleported into FF14's world?

[Cilia]

My crazy theory: Hydaelyn is a usurper to the role of "world crystal," and eikons are primals from before she took over that role (e.g. when Zodiark was in control).

[silentwindfr]

don't some lore say that the primal was given by the ascien to the one rebelling against the allagan?