Fiend Lyrics & Lore Book Updates

[Vexander]

I really hope this'll be available for those not going to fanfest.

That said, if the book is being presented as if from someone's point of view, I would imagine they'd be a Sharlayan Scholar. It's as close to unbiased as you'd get in-universe, and as thorough in detail as you could hope for.

[Daemius]

Has Arazlam Durai been referenced at all in game yet? I know there's a Durai memorial TT tournament but that's about all I can think of. I could see the lorebook being written from his perspective as some sort of Sharlayan scholar. Would be a nice little fan service nod.

[Rocl]

Off the top of my head, I can't recall any direct references to Arazlam or Orran. You would think, though, that there would be a living Durai since iirc all the other Triple Triad Tournaments are named after living people? Well, there's Rowena, Manderville, and the Spinner's Pull to go with the Durai Memorial. The last one doesn't fit the pattern, bah. I wouldn't be surprised if the Durai Memorial was a sort of reference to the fact Orran was an Astrolger in FFT and Astrologians in FFXIV use cards.

Maybe. I don't recall if we know anything about the "founders of Sharlayan Astrology" so that might be a good fit for Orran? Which'd also still set up the cute nod with his descendant, Arazlam chronicling the story of Hydaelyn.

[Toranja]

Someone on the team must love Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Can't blame him. :-)

[Hinoto-no-Ryuji]

Someone on the team must love Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Can't blame him. :-)

Alright, I'll bite.

Evangelion simply drew from the same source for symbolism as the FFXIV lore team did for Sephirot. I highly doubt there's any direct correlation between the two.

[Toranja]

Oh, no. It's not about that. But in these lyrics exactly, you have "when the world comes tumbling down". You won't find them in the Talmud or Bible.

But in the game itself, the most glaring nod was the ending cutscene of 3.0. That was just too perfect.

Only one way to find out anyway - gotta ask Koji. And if I had to guess, I would say this is Oda's doing.

[Hinoto-no-Ryuji]

Oh, no. It's not about that. But in these lyrics exactly, you have "when the world comes tumbling down". You won't find them in the Talmud or Bible.

But in the game itself, the most glaring nod was the ending cutscene of 3.0. That was just too perfect.

Only one way to find out anyway - gotta ask Koji. And if I had to guess, I would say this is Oda's doing.

Nah, still not buying a connection.

The phrase "tumbling down" is a big part of Komm, Süsser Tod, it's true. It's also not exactly an uncommon turn of phrase in and of itself, and it isn't used by The Fiend in a way that would even subtly imply a reference to Komm, Süsser Tod; it follows a totally different lyrical pattern without any of the repetition, and occupies a place in the song nowhere near as isolated, central, or distinct. As for the cutscene, I can only assume you mean the bit on the moon, with the half-buried Zodiark statue. That's probably MORE likely to be an Eva shoutout than The Fiend's lyrics, but...well, "the moon" carries a central role in so much fiction that it would have to do a lot more than just take place there and have an old statue to scream "Evangelion Reference". In fact, given FFXIV's fondness for appropriating past franchise elements into its own world and narrative, I'd say it's more likely that someone on the team loves FFIV.

I know Evangelion is a still a huge pop cultural touchstone in Japan, and I'm as big a fan as any, but nothing about The Fiend (or the Ascians/Zodiark on the moon) seems an obvious shout-out.

[Morningstar1337]

Yeah I don't think there are any Eva refernces, most of the horrors are pretty much traditional and I feel that the plot if more transparent/easier to follow than that of Eva.

Though it would be interesting if the Ascians reviving Zodiark has anyone capable of sapience being merged into him as a side effect, espeicly if the writers decide to copy certain plot points from XI

[Yitan]

Better to serve in a waking nightmare
Than rule in their paradise
What is gold, always glitters
But it still comes with an unpayable price

Loved this part, thanks a lot for the lyrics!

[Vaprotan]

Hello all!

And, while we’re here, how about an update on the lore book as well? I thought you’d never ask!

As I mentioned in my PAX East interview with Gamerescape, the book is planned to clock in at a little over 300 pages of content. Going by what I’ve written so far, each page will have, on average, between 600 and 700 words, along with several illustrations. Only about 10% of the written content will be taken directly from in-game text or Lodestone/official website articles. The rest is all new. Now by “all new,” I do not necessarily mean “never-before-seen.” Our plan behind the lore book is not have it serve as a comprehensive guide to Eorzea and her history, which means we’ll be touching on a lot of stuff that (if you’ve paid attention during quests) a lot of players are already familiar with. That said, I’d still estimate that at least a third of the info you’ll find in the book is completely new...or at least things that have been hinted at but never actually confirmed in an official forum

Fernehalwes,

I noticed on the latest PB Blog update about the upcoming Fan Festival. It mentioned the FFXIV Book of Lore as some rewards, I was wondering if these will be available online to purchase around that same time (other than at Fest Fest) as well.

Another question, will the book be available for order on Amazon and others (like which ones if you can say), whenever it does get a street date. I'm planning to pre-order it once that becomes an option, I guess I'm just curious as an option.

I'm incredibly excited for this book and can't wait to get it and read it!

Thanks for everything and all that you do.

Thanks,
Brad
Vaprotan Luzaf - Gilgamesh