What is a Warrior of Light?

[Ginal]

What exactly is a Warrior of Light, and furthermore, how many are there?

Is a Warrior of Light someone in communication with Hydaelyn? Would that then include Minfilia and Iceheart, or s it someone with only a specific blessing?

Are the Warriors of Light from before the Calamity the same thing as our current player characters? Do any of them still technically live?

Lastly, is there really only one Post-Calamity Warrior of Light?

[Anonymoose]

The specific term Warrior of Light is used a few different ways, but ultimately means the same general idea.

At first, you have the NPCs who are using it in the early story to refer to the adventurers blessed with the Echo who stood beside Louisoix at the Battle of Cartenau and were sent into the interdimensional rift. When people try to recall them, they cannot. They liken it to trying to make out their silhouette against a blinding light - ergo, the Warriors of Light.

This is how term is used for the whole of the early game, but it fades out such use quickly and you stop hearing about them in the plural altogether. There is just you, the Warrior of Light, who, if a Legacy player, is a Warrior of Light returned. Once the story stops treating Legacy players and new players slightly different, Hydaelyn starts to refer to you as Warrior of Light, as well, and then, after that, you pretty much never hear of a Warrior of Light or the Warriors of Light. It's as if you're the only one left worthy of the name. At this point, it starts to seem like NPCs came up with that name coincidentally.

Summary so far, it pretty much seems exclusive to "the player"; Hydaelyn's Champion. Used in the plural, it usually refers to players in general.
Historical figures, however, seem to have borne the title before you (including, but not limited to, those who were also at Cartenau).

What to call NPCs blessed by Hydaelyn (who are not The Champion, but still chosen) varies a bit by time and language. German actually had a neat way of doing it, referring to you as the Warrior of Light and to Iceheart as a Bearer of the Light. In the same instance, English called her simply "The Gifted". There's a scene in Toto-Rak where some languages specifically have Lahabrea point out that it's been a long time since he's seen a true Warrior of Light, so I suspect that it refers specifically to a true Champion of the Light - a chosen bearer of many Crystals of Light. Hydaelyn seems to be able to protect you at least somewhat even if you only have one (given that Krile survived Val), however, so perhaps having all of them just makes it that much more powerful of a blessing (the glyph thing).

It might be fair to just say anyone with the glyph has the Warrior of Light's level of blessing.

Have other pre-Calamity Warriors of Light returned? Not as far as the story includes, but it doesn't really preclude it, either.

Did I answer the right things in there somewhere? Sometimes a "thorough" answer misses the main point being sought, lol.

[Morningstar1337]

Have other pre-Calamity Warriors of Light returned? Not as far as the story includes, but it doesn't really preclude it, either.

That might depend of what we might find out about the Warriors of Darkness (who look like the 5 Warriors of Light that Louisoux flung into the future)

Speaking of which I was wondering if anyone had these silhouettes? I want to see if they also look like that group of echo-users

[Ginal]

So as far as the primary story is concerned, there is only one champion-warrior of light, but there are at least a handful of others with lesser degrees of Hydaelyn's blessing?

[Belhi]

So as far as the primary story is concerned, there is only one champion-warrior of light, but there are at least a handful of others with lesser degrees of Hydaelyn's blessing?

That seems to be the case.

[Delily]

So as far as the primary story is concerned, there is only one champion-warrior of light, but there are at least a handful of others with lesser degrees of Hydaelyn's blessing?

A lot of people are confused by the difference between the Echo and the Blessing of Light. I believe most of the scions have the Echo. That grants a person resistance to the tempering effect of primals, the ability to understand multiple languages, and the power to see things from another person's perspective.

The Blessing of Light is a distinct power that has only been used, as far, as I can tell, once, and that was during the battle with the Ultima weapon. It some defense against Zodiark's power, but I don't think it's been formalized as to what the blessing is. It's tied to the crystals a person has; we have all 6, Ysayle had 1.

The Warrior Of Light is therefore an individual who has the Blessing of Light. I think the only other warrior was Ysayle.

Another concern has to do with each individual's strength. Ysayle was clearly very powerful, as summoning a primal into her body and controlling it is not an easy task. An issue that was hinted at in the end of HW and then revisited in 3.1 is how our character is not just powerful, but probably the single most powerful entity on Eorzea. We're not strong enough to take down the Empire singlehandedly, but we've (lorewise) fought alone against various primals. The scales are tipping in the favor Light, but it's not confirmed that's a good thing.

[Frederick22]

snip

ehhh.. I think Ginal was right. Its you who is confused.

[Delily]

ehhh.. I think Ginal was right. Its you who is confused.

In what sense? There is a distinction between the Blessing and the Echo. The Echo is what lets us get the Blessing. We have 6 crystals, Ysayle had 1.

[CyrilLucifer]

sniperoo

Hmm, with a quick glance, of the named Scions, only you and Minfilia had the Echo - and Krile now, I suppose, if she counts. A few generic Scions that were killed in the Garlean attack did as well, but the others (Yda/Papa/'shtola/was-better-as-Lahabrea) don't. Moenbryda absolutely didn't.

Having a few crystals doesn't automatically makes you a Warrior of Light, though. Remember, until after you defeat Lahabrea, even Hydaelyn calls you 'crystal bearer.' Ysayle is just an Echo user, not one of Her Warriors.

The Echo also seems to grant us a wider array of abilities than what you mentioned, eg, the ability to form the Blade of Light is absolutely Echo-based, and we can enter someone else's soulspace directly with our resonance, as we did to confront Lahabrea, rather than the sort of passive touch used for translating. We also seem to be able to use it to sense Ascians? Not just see, which the Echo is confirmed to help with, but sense without sight; Nabriales mentions we have that ability, and we didn't have the Blessing then, so.

So yeah, while you have the overall point right and I agree, a few tiny things were wrong. Not really enough to call you out, though, since they're kinda nitpicky details.

This all being said - there's still plenty of mystery about being WoL. Why does Hydaelyn choose who she chooses? What is our ultimate, final role? And, everyone on this board's favorite, do we have any choice in any of these matters?

[DPZ2]

At first, you have the NPCs who are using it in the early story to refer to the adventurers blessed with the Echo who stood beside Louisoix at the Battle of Cartenau and were sent into the interdimensional rift. When people try to recall them, they cannot. They liken it to trying to make out their silhouette against a blinding light - ergo, the Warriors of Light.

Aaaaaand the last vision of a certain religious personage suddenly makes sense..