Thread: Revelations from Patch 4.4

For Gaius I wonder what his end game was. Did he think that if he conquored Eorzea that the Emperor would forgive his transgressions and allow the XIVth back into the fold? Or did he plan to simply rule it himself as a rival to Garlemald?

The Garlean War of Succession is happening all throughout 2.0. I don't think Gaius could have known who would win it, although that might not have really mattered to him. As it is, Gaius' stance doesn't identify with either the Populares and the Optimates. The Populares want to stop Garlemald's conquests, which Gaius thinks they should continue. The Optimates think Garleans are better then everyone else just because they are Garlean (race/culture) which Gaius definetly doesn't agree with. He's got the Optemates' desire of conquest (particularly towards nations who aren't governed well) and the Populares respect of people who have earned it (race/culture isn't a factor for him). So he doesn't really have a side in the War of Succession. Meanwhile, he knows Eorzea has problems with summoning eikons and with the Ultima Weapon, he's got a way to put a stop to it. I can see him gambling that the winner of the War of Succession is going to okay with what he ends up doing so long as the eikon problem is ultimately dealt with.

Of course, that's not what ends up happening. Giaus finds out that eikon summoning is simply a means to an end for something even worse. And that the Eorzeans figured that out before he did and the Garleans don't know anything about it...

Originally Posted by Ceasaria

After watched the trailer and then listen the mysterious voice from 4.4, all in french, for me i'am almost certain, it's Zenos.
He will play an important role in the future, that's sure.

Zenos? The real one in Elezen body?

The Source is not experiencing a Flood. What the Source is experiencing is the draining of aether that happens before a Calamity (Rejoining). There's a very, very good reason that the Voice in 4.4 refers to "Twin Dooms" instead of "Twin Calamities" or "Twin Floods" or "Twin Rejoinings". In the context of FFXIV, a Calamity is a very specific event, one that, by definition, can not involve a Flood. Just as a Flood isn't an instantaneous event, so to is a Calamity. 1.0 is all about the lead-up to the 7th Umbral Calamity and how may of the things leading up to it drove many things in the Realm haywire. What is unusual is how quickly the 8th Umbral Calamity is coming after the 7th Umbral Calamity. Calamities have always been very far apart from each other (we're talking thousands of years here). Now we're getting one not even a hundred years after the last one.

What I don't think has ever happened is that a Calamity and Flood has happened at the same time. In a Calamity or Rejoining, the wall between one of the Shards and the Source collapses and the Shard rejoins the Source. All the aether from the Shard is rejoined to the aether of the Source, killing all life on the Shard (but probably not annihilating its aether). However, Shards that have been Flooded can not be Rejoined to the Source. The Ascians want Rejoinings to happen. What I wonder, is if the Shard that the Ascians are planning on Rejoining to the Source this time around is about to be Flooded. Which might break things even the Ascians don't want to be broken.

The other thing that might be happening is that there's been enough Rejoinings for Zodiark to come back and that ends up playing havoc with a bunch of stuff other then just Zodiark (like Hydaelyn). The keynote specifically said the 8th Umbral Calmity would be the last one, and bringing Zodiark back is the entire point of the Calamties. So... yeah...

So far, the only "dimensions" that we've seen Floods happen in is Shards and the only "dimension" we've seen a Calamity happen in is the Source. So until we get more information, it's most likely that the Source isn't about to be Flooded, but that some other Shard is.

Originally Posted by ObsidianFire

The Source is not experiencing a Flood. What the Source is experiencing is the draining of aether that happens before a Calamity (Rejoining).

Can we be sure of that?

I also noticed the lorebook mentioning that the Flood was preceded by the draining of aether, which is what seems to be happening now. Perhaps it's a sign of imbalance in either direction.

The full quote:

On the Warriors of Darkness (EE Vol.1 p.214)
Born in the First, the Warriors of Darkness wer once adventurers in their own world. It is said that no Dark entity could withstand them, and in the end, they vanquished a high Ascian known as Mitron the Chastiser. Alas, the strength of their Light was too great, and with their victory came a Flood of Light, threatening a return of their realm to nothingness. Ever so slowly, the aether began to drain from the First. To save their world from becoming a void itself, the heroes believed they had no recourse but to attempt a rejoining, and thus sought to incite a calamity from within the Source. With Elidibus's guidance and knowledge, they ended their lives, and transcended the dimension to be born again as the Warriors of Darkness.

So... is the "Flood of Light" not yet the end, but a sign that it is coming? (And it's still terribly vague as to what it actually involves... but it sounds like we might be in for a much closer look fairly soon.)

Very sure, I'd say. This happened before in 1.0 before the 7th Umbral Calamity happened. At the very least, Y'shtola and Urianger recognize the aether drain.

This is what Y'shtola has to say about what's happening.

Originally Posted by In Doma

Y'shtola
A local miner who supplies crystals for the rebuilding effort. Of late, he claims to have struggled to find a crystal with so much as a trace of elemental energy.
Upon learning that I had some knowledge of aether, he came seeking my counsel. Just now he brought me one of his recent finds.
It was precisely as he described─devoid of elemental energy...and eerily reminiscent of the deaspected crystals that manifested in Eorzea in the days prior to the Calamity. We would be wise to investigate this phenomenon more closely.

Originally Posted by At the House of the Crooked Coin

Y'shtola
While the device itself harbos a surfeit of aether, the opposite is true of the surrounding area...
An effect of regulation, perhaps? A similar phenomenon seemed to be occurring in Doma...

Originally Posted by In Mor Dhona

Y'shtola
One other thing, During my visit to the Far East, I observed a strange phenomenon.

Urianger
Thou referest, I presume, to the localized reduction in aetheric density?

Y'shtola
Well, that spares me the trouble of an explanation. Yes. I noted precisely that the two apparently unconnected locations. I take it the phenomenon is not limited to the Far East?

Urianger
Indeed not. Of late, our agents charged with surveiling the beast tribes have spoken of little else. In every corner of the realm, they tell of places in which the aether hath grown thin.
Naturally, my suspicious first turned to primal activity, but the areas thus affected betray no evidence of summoning. I must confess to being quite perplexed.

Y'shtola
If the same phenomenon is being observed in multiple locations on opposite sides of the world, we may safely discount regional factors. Needless to say, this warrants further investigation.

So the same aether drain prior to the 7th Umbral Calamity is being seen world-wide again. Unless Urianger and Y'shtola are mistaken, then it's very good evidence for another Calamity happening. At least, until the next patch and we find out more information.