what came first..

[WyrahFhurrst]

I do wonder about Ramuh's statement on Light and Darkness, about how there was no light and darkness before man. Could he be wrong? Or could it be that his viewpoint is incorrect, and that man's birth was a consequence of the division of light and dark from their primordial unity?

[Cilia]

I do wonder about Ramuh's statement on Light and Darkness, about how there was no light and darkness before man. Could he be wrong? Or could it be that his viewpoint is incorrect, and that man's birth was a consequence of the division of light and dark from their primordial unity?

He didn't make a statement, Ramuh was simply musing on the origin of Dark, questioning if it came into being with the birth of Man.

From what we can tell and what information we've been given, this isn't true. According to Hydaelyn Light and Dark existed before any sapient race (or hell, even the planet we live on), so Ramuh's guess is wrong. Probably. That said, both Ramuh and Kan-E-Senna have questioned whether or not Dark is an inseparable part of Man's existence (with Ramuh's above musing on its origin, and Kan-E stating that the Dark within us attracts the Dark without).

That said, Man coming into existence as a byproduct of Light and Dark separating is possible. Very possible. But so are many things.

[Anonymoose]

I do wonder about Ramuh's statement on Light and Darkness, about how there was no light and darkness before man. Could he be wrong? Or could it be that his viewpoint is incorrect, and that man's birth was a consequence of the division of light and dark from their primordial unity?

Ramuh is a really weird case. Everything about him.

First off, he's not wrong that - before man - Light and Dark were as one. Hydaelyn confirmed this. We didn't really even doubt it so much as wonder how he could know given that he wasn't around; there's zero hints to him being an Elder Primal. Apparently, the Sylphs can just imagine an all-knowing god based on the stories of the Wise Man of the Wood, and he actually does know quite a bit. Or, perhaps, the thing that answers the Sylphs beacon is that old, but wasn't worshipped for that long. Hells if I know. The thing that caused doubt for me was that he seemed to (like Elidibus) be saying that balance was important. However, after reviewing it several times, I don't think that's what he's saying at all. He's clearly championing harmony in the Light by casting out the chaotic influences of Darkness.

Next you've got his identity - based on the Wise Man of the Wood, and yet the thematic connections between Ramuh and the Twelve are undeniable (though, of course, Eorzeans could just be wrong in connecting them thematically). Look at the Astrologian card for The Spire. Byregot's tower is topped by with the exact same motif as that which sits upon Ramuh's staff, and a bearded old man bearing a striking resemblance to Ramuh sits below the symbol of the Destroyer. And that's to say nothing of how the story very clearly matches how Dalamud would charge the Crystal Tower.

Ramuh seems to have been right to correlate the events. Hydaelyn cast out Zodiark and created Life seemingly around the same time. He's also not wrong that man is easily corruptible and there is always danger that the Darkness will influence or even overtake them. All the Warrior of Light did was prove that there's hope for man to deny it. But if, as it appears, he was trying to imply a causal connection (Light and Dark were given form when man was born, and thus because man was born), that seems less likely.