Question about LV50 Dark Knight quest *Spoilers*

[CyrilLucifer]

Basically, he's hypothesizing that light and dark only exist because of the spoken races. Which... as he says, would explain much and more than he realizes, I think. The rest is the usual "Don't lose your way, Warrior of Light" stuff everyone says.

... so we exist because of the darkness, or the darkness exists because of us...

The Ramuh comment, and really, the first part of your second statement, is why I think hope they might go the FFXI route with Altana/Promathia and Hydaelyn/Zodiark. Before CoP (the second expansion) Promathia was definitely considered a Dark, evil God in the lore. After CoP, however. . .

I cannot express how disappointed I will be if Elidibus is just a meanie head who should bathe in all glorious, radiant light to cleanse his dark aether soul.

[Fenral]

So, if Hydaelyn and Zodiark are older than man, would that make them older than light and darkness? That would mean the "darkness" used by Dark Knight (which is essentially the same stuff that Zeromus was made out of) is not a part of Zodiark, but it would also mean that Hydaelyn and Zodiark can't actually be the avatars of light and dark we currently see them as. They can still be in eternal conflict, but light and darkness are merely the tools of their conflict, not what they represent.

Maybe. Might still need more coffee for this one.

[Cilia]

Ehhh... while I do consider the "we're all tiny bits of Zodiark" theory a viable one, I'm not going to put my chips on it. References and shout-outs are cool, but to reuse entire plot points... not cool, guys. Not. Cool.

Anyway, we do need more information, and Ramuh is just making a wild guess (or, in Moose terms, putting on his Darksteel Foil Hat). It could be that we're all tiny pieces of Zodiark. Or it could be that Zodiark only exists because of us. Or we only exist because of the darkness and vice versa, so as long as man is around so too shall be the darkness. Ramuh's belief in the inverse (darkness shall linger as long as man exists) is why he passes his harsh judgment, and then says he'll go on a genocidal rampage if we can't prove to him that not all men are evil by enduring his wrath.

My personal theory is that Hydaelyn is somehow an invasive parasite who took over the planet from Zodiark at some point in the distant past, and created us as containers for his essence to keep him weak / sleeping / dead. It explains a significant amount of the non-"generic evil megalomaniac" dialogue of the Ascians. I'm probably wrong on that, but from what information we have... it's the best I can put together.

[CyrilLucifer]

My personal theory is that Hydaelyn is somehow an invasive parasite who took over the planet from Zodiark at some point in the distant past, and created us as containers for his essence to keep him weak / sleeping / dead. It explains a significant amount of the non-"generic evil megalomaniac" dialogue of the Ascians. I'm probably wrong on that, but from what information we have... it's the best I can put together.

I was considering something like this as well. I'd really be okay with anything that's not "Zodiark is pure evil because darkness" though.

My own pet-and-definitely-wrong theory is about the balance and flow of Aether. There should be natural flow between Zodiark and Hydaelyn, waxing and waning. Balance, to throw Elidibus' term around. Hydaelyn and light in general somehow unbalanced the long-term overall Aetheric flow, drawing too much and being "parasitic" to either Zodiark or the dark. This caused not only damage to Zodiark, but to Hydaelyn. It may seem counterproductive, then, for the Primal summoning to drain Aether, but the Ascians would need to weaken Hydaelyn enough so that they can reverse the dominant flow initially.

Because damn if that scholar in 2.5 seeing something wrong with the Aether in South Shroud and then never being mentioned again wasn't the biggest tease I've ever seen.