Quote Originally Posted by Enkidoh View Post
I can steer you in the right direction - the very first meeting you have with Minfilia
There's the reference I was looking for. I looked up that cutscenes, her exact words are

Yours is the power to transcend the boundaries of the soul--a power known as the echo. The echo allows you to pass through the walls of a man's soul, and hear the resonations of his past. You will be in his memories, and see things as he saw them. You may even interact with that which you see, though you cannot change the outcome of events. For another blessing, the Echo will enable you to know a man's mind even if you cannot comprehend his words.
Now that I have this quote though, I want to play devil's advocate. It describes the echo as transcending the boundaries of the soul, but the context of that statement only ever speaks of other people's soul, not the echo user's. Nothing, at least from this quote, expressly says it does anything to our soul or even requires that we have one. It's a logical assumption, but not expressly laid out.

Also, does all life come from Hydaelyn? The Ascians appear to be alive, but (unless they were from Hydaelyn to begin with and were turned) their origin looks like it's from some other source. I also thought I read somewhere that Midgardsormr is not of Hydaelyn? So if Hydaelyn is only a source of life and not the source, can she only give the echo to life she is the origin of? How do we know this?