Lesser Ascians

[Zohar_Lahar]

In the final SMN quest, the Ascian of the Twelth Chalice brings three other minions of Lahabrea to permanently die with him try to stop the Bringer of Light from mastering the Dreadwyrm Trance. Aside from the fact two of them were encountered earlier at Haukke Manor and the first Extreme Primal quests, I noticed something else about them.

Specifically, their nomenclature brings to mind card suits, like the Cardians from FFXI. I wonder if that sets a limit on how many there are are and whether there are any "jokers."

[Anonymoose]

The appearance of the Sword and Chalice in the 2.0 series was a big hint we were dealing with Tarot suits, and now we have the Pentacle and Staff to confirm. The only thing I was never sure of was the numbering. There is no twelfth in the minor arcana; after the tenth, you get your titles (as in card suits today). I could never figure out of the twelfth was to refer to something in the Ascians in general, or mark which they were loyal to, or whether they were all twelfth because, in the minor arcana, the twelfth position is the Knight, as in the Knights of Darkness.

[Exodus-E]

The appearance of the Sword and Chalice in the 2.0 series was a big hint we were dealing with Tarot suits, and now we have the Pentacle and Staff to confirm. The only thing I was never sure of was the numbering. There is no twelfth in the minor arcana; after the tenth, you get your titles (as in card suits today). I could never figure out of the twelfth was to refer to something in the Ascians in general, or mark which they were loyal to, or whether they were all twelfth because, in the minor arcana, the twelfth position is the Knight, as in the Knights of Darkness.

Or maybe...if we consider that these particular underlings were all followers of Lahabrea specifically, and he
(if we go by his FFXII equivalent) is the Scion of Light associated with the sign of Pisces (the 12th Zodiac)...
we can at least assume that the numbering refers to the Overlord any given Lesser Ascian is associated with.

[Anonymoose]

the Scion of Light associated with the sign of Pisces (the 12th Zodiac)

Ohoho, very astute catch! I'd never taken that double leap when mulling it all over. Pisces is also the twelfth sign in general, really, so this still lines up with the FFXII-inspired retcons of Final Fantasy Tactics, specifically the Lucavi, who I suspect are a much more accurate link to the Ascians than simply looking at FFXII. I've been trying to nudge applicable theories in that direction, lol.