Just a Stormblood's Future Theory

[Rayo]

First Post, so please mind any mistakes or anything wrong.

Anyhow, I got a little theory for the future of Stormblood:

Zenos at the end of 4.2 is the one and the same Zenos, no clone or fake. He survived his own suicide because the Garleans got to him before we could get rid of the corpse.

Anyways I believe that Zenos will be our unknown "ally" through out now and the rest of the securing the stability of the two Nations storyline we got going on. Crippling and sabotaging the Garleans attempt to retake or sabotage or whatever they want with the two territories. He Does this all in an attempt to prevent the Garleans from beating you, his only "friend" and enemy. Eventually this will get him to have one final confrontation between you "two" (as an 8 man trial of course) all so he can have his one true thrill, and go out the only way he would want, defeating you or being defeated by you.

[KageTokage]

I'm curious as to what the "surprising new story" we'll be getting after Doma is, because pretty much anything related to the Garleans isn't going to be terribly surprising.

[Anonymoose]

The big thing that needs to be bridged in this theory is that if Zenos's dead body had not been successfully buried by the Eorzean Alliance, there would be no rhyme or reason to the Eorzean Alliance letting you know that Zenos's grave was disturbed. We don't know how long he was buried, but he was certainly "dead" long enough to be confirmed dead, carried off a roof, carted to a grave, buried, and then removed from said grave in such a way that the Alliance confused it for being part of a wide-spread pattern of mobs forming to take vigilante justice on imperial collaborators and destroy all remnants of the Empire, including gravesites.

[SicariusSeven]

I want this theory to be true. Mostly cause I want Zenos to to back hand Ashai in front of us.

[Remedi]

I'm still thinking that there has been an unforseen side effect of the resonant

[Rayo]

I'm still thinking that there has been an unforseen side effect of the resonant

I was thinking the Resonant and him being now a pure blood Garlean housing Primal Aether may have to do with him surviving his own suicide (which I believe he really did intend on taking his own life, not realizing he would survive) and potentially Garlean Spies or Ascian intervention brought the body to be healed up. He decided to roll with it and see what happens next.

[Remedi]

I would rule out the ascians simply because the emperor seems to despise them also I question elidubus' loyalty too since he seemed quite uncaring that the emperor would go after them.

That said the Sahagin priest beign effectively immortal makes me think that the echo is a possible blame for this event, I mean that scene of the leviathan story made me think that it was extremely important, it kinda foreshadowed what would happen to Lahabrea but the reanimation with the echo could've been important too

[Ilenya]

I would rule out the ascians simply because the emperor seems to despise them also I question elidubus' loyalty too since he seemed quite uncaring that the emperor would go after them.

That said the Sahagin priest beign effectively immortal makes me think that the echo is a possible blame for this event, I mean that scene of the leviathan story made me think that it was extremely important, it kinda foreshadowed what would happen to Lahabrea but the reanimation with the echo could've been important too

That was my thought as well. He very clearly put more thought into the Echo than the people allied with the WoL, and it wouldn't really surprise me to find out this isn't the first time it's happened.

[Jyera]

I'm still thinking that there has been an unforseen side effect of the resonant

This is my thought, too. Both Echo and Resonance seem to greatly expand the territory of what's liminal for their bearers. Dying is probably one of the most liminal zones a person can be in, so I can't help feeling it's fair grounds for Echo and Resonance to tinker with.

[Anonymoose]

While it would lead to some fresh possibilities (even at the risk of further generalizing the Echo) the thing that makes me nervous about "It's actually Zenos again for some reason...because...Resonance maybe?" is that it seems like such an unnecessary risk in terms of him having a satisfying character arc. Where the story is going in the long-term seems fairly predictable at the moment but why is this the best way to get there is something I can't for the life of me understand yet, lol.

Zenos was a useful tool in terms of using unexpected and brutal tactics; no doubt he was a valuable asset in the War of Succession and stamping out the fires of rebellion on the fringes. However, ultimately, while he obeyed his father's orders to the letter, he would and did go rogue of the spirit of his orders any time he could fulfill a selfish whim vis a vis trapping everyone around him into a bestial worldview where all that matters is wielding force against whoever would deny your ambition in hopes that some day, some one would shake out of "the hunt" capable of pushing him to his limits - to feel that animalistic, survival-of-the-fittest life-or-death high.

We finally gave him that, and the only thing he thought was worth doing was killing himself to preserve that one moment of contentness in an otherwise meaningless world before it could be sullied. That is a fitting end for a character who, if you strip away The Hunt, is otherwise an entirely unlikeable character for its own sake on Yoshi P's orders.

Moreover, Varis deliberately sacrificed him (seemingly for technological advancement in the face of Eorzeans becoming more and more capable of countering Garlemald's only battlefield advantages). For a man who wants to build an Empire that will bring the world to order, Zenos's usefulness was swiftly drawing to an end and it was better to trade a bad heir for good tech, even if it (temporarily?) lost some land.

Sure, if he survives it unintentionally you can explore the consequences of that on the way, but on the way where? Why is this a good idea? What more of him is there to see? Why is that the most interesting story to tell? Why is that going to do for the Stormblood narrative that makes us glad 4.00 wasn't his last appearance? It can't just be a convenient excuse to have him strip away the last vestiges of Garlemald's gray, right?

Unless all of these questions have solid answers, it actually being Zenos feels bizarre.

(AND WHILE THERE'S A "DEAD" LEGATUS WITH UNFINISHED BUSINESS TO BOOT. /s)