Faith or the blessing of light? (spoilers)

[Transient_Shadow]

So I had a discussion while I was running Sohm Al hard. I suggested what if the warrior of light was gaining strenth by the faith of the people of eorzia. But then I reconsidered could it simply be the blessing of light? I believe it is a bit of both. so let me propose a theory.

Any being with sufficient Aether will inevitably begin to feed off of the faith of others. intentionally or no

Why is this? well lets think back to summoning. it only requires two things. will and Aether. A single man can create a god with enough aether. weather or not he controls said god depends on if there is a host.

So we come to the warror of light (wol) how the seven hells could he be a primal? But thats just it hes not... yet.

[Transient_Shadow]

SORRY long post is long

through out the timeline of the wol we have gone from

1. Novice: no renoun & blessing of light
2. Hero: some fame & blessing of light
3. Savior of Eorzia & blessing of light
4. Exile (and beyond mortal ken as said by the big dead dragon guy) "no blessing of ligh"
5. God like (from the white ascian) & blessing of light

It is at the transition to god like that I think the faith begins to take effect. the stronger we grow the more aether we consume and we eventually lose the blessing of light but still truck on.

I believe that the wol now also garners strength from the faith or collective will of the people the same way the pheonix did when it bound bahamut

[DizzyDharke]

Apologies for the wall of text...

There's three factors which go into summoning primals, in any form: Proximity, Aether Density, and Desperation.

A mortal cannot summon a primal or eikon distances away. They must be close by the source of aether and the vessel (provided there would be one). For this, I'll use the Leviathan encounter as an example. There's a massive amount of crystals stored in the ships which are tied together, but the Warriors of Light are the only ones in any sort of close proximity to the aether. Those who have faith and pray for us to find the strength to defeat Leviathan are leagues away, safely aboard a ship, or back on the coast and in Limsa Lominsa.

[DizzyDharke]

Consider the conditions of all primals and eikons' summoning.
Ifrit, Garuda, Titan, Ramuh, Leviathan, Shiva, Ravana, Bismarck...all were summoned by the beast tribes and heretics, who collected the crystals into one place, then summoned the primals. The Eikons were summoned by virtue of the Allagans capturing loyalists and beastmen, and forcing them into desperation for their gods to save them, and simply feeding aether into the containment bays. Even when she was alone, Ysale still REQUIRED close proximity to large amounts of aether, in the form of the crystals gathered by the Gnath, to summon Shiva. Additionally, the Archbishop and the Heavens' Ward required proximity to Nidhogg's eye to transform.

[DizzyDharke]

Continuing on, the density of aether is required to be extremely significant in order for a summoning to take place. Aside from the Crystals of Light which we carry on our person at all times (of which I'm certain have special properties which prevent them from being used as normal crystals), the only form of extremely condensed aether I can think of is our Anima and Zodiac weapons. But these weapons aren't considered canonical to the main story, otherwise there'd be mention of them during the story. So with that considered, there's never a dense enough source of aether when the faithful, as we'll call them, are in close proximity to us.

[DizzyDharke]

Finally, Desperation.
It doesn't take just faith and prayer to summon a primal. It takes desperation. Desperation born of hopelessness. One's faith must turn wholly to the summoning, and the belief that the summoned entity is the only method of salvation.

Ixali are wingless, and their territory is constantly contested with the Gridanians, so their only option is to turn to Garuda.

Amal'jaa have been exiled for decades, and pushed to the brink by the Ul'dahns, Imperials, and even Ala Mhigans, so their only option is to turn to Ifrit.

Ilberd knew he would lose to us. He would overtake Baelsar's Wall, blame the Eorzean Alliance, and force us to fight the Imperials for Ala Mhigo. But that wasn't going to work, and he knew it. He knew we'd put a stop to his plans. He was desperate to defeat us, and take back Ala Mhigo from the Imperials.
So, in his last, desperate breath, he summoned Shinryu.

[DizzyDharke]

This desperation is what you're talking about. The Eorzean Alliance were desperate for us to defeat Ultima and Gaius. The Ishgardians were desperate for us to defeat Nidhogg. The Scions and Unukalhai were desperate for us to defeat the eikons. So, for this, I see where you're coming from.

But they all lacked the first two components: density of aether, and proximity to us.

[Erroe]

Came in to read the discussion, as it sounded interesting.

I'm in agreement with Dizzy. The concept that the Warrior Of Light is (or could become) a being summoned by the people of Eorzea is interesting, but would require that certain parts of summoning as we know it be incorrect to our knowledge. Unless it's shown at some point that a summoning can take place without a congregation of people and creatures to do so, and unless it's shown that there's somehow a condensation of aether on or near us at all times to maintain this summoning, the idea of us being equivalent to a primal in nature seems quite unlikely. I can't say that it's impossible, though, as we can only refer to our knowledge of summoning as we've observed it.

[DizzyDharke]

Actually, the theory isn't that we're primals. It's that we're vessels for primal-like power, like how Shiva was, or more accurately, the Heaven's Ward. Shiva in particular did not require a congregation, either. Just one woman, totally devout and desperate, and a whoooole bunch of aether. Just clarifying that stance.

[Erroe]

Ah, my mistake