[4.4 Discussion] "Change the Future"

[EdwinLi]

SPOILER discussion below this line....

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
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So suddenly we have a new voice in our head who is trying to summon us to where he is....

All of this for the single goal of changing the future where our actions caused a Calamity because we follow our current path.

So many people are being removed so the future can change to prevent the original future from happening but what action did the WoL and Scion's influence cause that created this Calamity?

So what do you think happened that caused a Calamity in the original timeline where the WoL and Scions played their roles normally (where the voice never interfered nor had any influence on events) and who is the Voice trying to prevent this Calamity by change the present/past by removing the Scions from influencing WoL?

[Anonymoose]

Man oh man.

I'm still in the pre-assessment phase - making sure I know how all the puzzle pieces are REALLY shaped and laying the out on the table before I try to fit any together.

As such I've got a lot of wrong and irresponsibly loose ideas floating around, lol.

The only thing we've ever seen summon our soul from our flesh like that was when Hydaelyn brought us to the Sea for a chat. Could this be Zodiark? (Why does he sound like Arbert? Shouldn't Zodiark sound more ... more?)

Ahead looms Calamity and Flood? Are these the twin dooms? Or is the Calamity doom in tow worlds and the Flood the continuing result of this path...?

What do you mean let expanse contract, let eon become instant? This sounds like some god-tier Time Compression stuff. Is this going back to Nabriaes's whole "Zodiark is the King of Precepts, even time bows before Him!" thing?

Are the gates in question the gates in the Chrysalis which symbolize that it's in a vague ELSEWHERE that one must enter from OUTSIDE conventional space? did Zodiark Echo-drag us into the Rift for a moment!?

Is this connected to Y'shtola mucking around with a dark purple crystal associated with the moon and surrounded by serpent statues right before this?

If not Zodiark, WHO?

Why did this voice show up 30 seconds after Thancred states his plan, like, "HEY. BAD PLAN."

How long as he been watching? Why has he never spoken before?

I cannot make all these pieces fit together without pre-supposing that someone is lying.
Until I get a better idea what I'm working with, knee-jerk gut instinct wants Zodiark to be setting up a total Palpatine-esque clean up and seize all the pieces for Himself.
Gotta stay #TeamHydaelyn. Gotta stay the course.

But if there was ever a time I was tempted to doubt...

[Ramesses]

Three things I'll state here until much later when I can fully gather my thoughts...

• The reveal of who was sitting behind the throne. Six years ago, I speculated in this thread that Solus may have been a either a rogue "god" or Banshin in human form. Even then, I have to admit that the happenings at the end of 4.4 still caught me sideways.
• The voice speaking (that the voice belongs to Arbert is still my favourite on the wager's list)... what gates does he keep referring to? A gate within ourselves?
• The wonderful Shadowhunter continues to keep abreast of ongoings in the Empire and he seems to want to reveal more... to confide in Alphy. What does he really know and what is his plan? Can't wait to see if he already knows about the madness that is House Galvus.

[EdwinLi]

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For me I can only speculate that something horrible goes completely wrong in the original timeline that may in fact harm and destroy both sides of the conflict but by the time someone realize things have gone completely wrong it was too late and a Calamity not even the Ascians could have predicted happened in a scale that cost even them everything.

If things was to go only on one side, either the WoL wins or Ascians wins, i don't think such a drastic measure would have been needed to actually alter the past (our present) by removing and "calling" key characters from that time that will influence the path that the WoL takes. Not to mention if this "calling" is from the Future, then that means everyone we lost in 4.4 are not stuck in the Future where this Calamity already happened and now we need to find a way to bring them back from that Future (and maybe even enter that Future to see what is this Voice trying to change)

There is also a noticable event happening all over the world now where Aether is disappearing from the land. I can only assume this is part of the Calamity the Voice is trying to prevent that may have made the World complete devoid of Aether in the Future the Voice is from and thus difficult to support life to a point even Ascians regets their actions since they need a world of aether to support their God Zodiark. After all our World is the Main world and if it becomes lifeless then all sides of the conflict are doomed.

[Alien_Gamer]

Maybe its in reference to the flood on the shard the WoD came from? Minfilia wasn't able to prevent the flood and this other voice is someone from there trying to get more help?

A few other points for consideration. There's an underlying theme of going to war with Garlemald and nobody having enough manpower to effectively win that fight. The voice asking for us to open a gateway so they can come could be leading to a situation where we'll have refugees from another shard that join us in the fight against Garlemald.

You mention only Hydaelyn has pulled us into the sea so far. Minfilia is effectively an avatar of Hydaelyn now, its quite possible she could pull on Hydaelyn's power to project Arberts voice to us in warning.

If it is Arbert its possible they've gone through similar events on their world and its not that they can see the future but they have previous experience that lets them know the path we're on won't work. Or possibly Minfilia is able to see the future and influence Arbert?

[ObsidianFire]

Going to copy/paste this from my post in the Revelations thread...

What was said to us was really confusing. First it's mentioned that a Calamity is going to happen. Then it's mentioned that what sounds like a Flood of Light is going to happen. And those can't happen to the same shard at the same time! Calamities involve Shards becoming one with the Source and Flooded Shards can't be joined to the Source in a Calamity, so... yeah... I'm confused.

I'm honestly more confused then anything else. The entire thing seems very self-contradictory.

[Grimr]

Maybe its in reference to the flood on the shard the WoD came from? Minfilia wasn't able to prevent the flood and this other voice is someone from there trying to get more help?

A few other points for consideration. There's an underlying theme of going to war with Garlemald and nobody having enough manpower to effectively win that fight. The voice asking for us to open a gateway so they can come could be leading to a situation where we'll have refugees from another shard that join us in the fight against Garlemald.

You mention only Hydaelyn has pulled us into the sea so far. Minfilia is effectively an avatar of Hydaelyn now, its quite possible she could pull on Hydaelyn's power to project Arberts voice to us in warning.

If it is Arbert its possible they've gone through similar events on their world and its not that they can see the future but they have previous experience that lets them know the path we're on won't work. Or possibly Minfilia is able to see the future and influence Arbert?

OBVIOUSLY SPOILERS AHEAD YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!!

That would seem to me we are repeating the warriors of darkness mistakes i guess. I was never one for all out war against garlemand they can stew in their own pot for all i care. But it would seem we need to do things differently. Without light there is no darkness and without darkness there is no light. If those aether crystals are draining then it would seem a calamity is coming. Though i have no idea where it would come from. It could be a summoning or some other heavenly object the allagans threw into orbit.

For the record and it has been mentioned in the revelation forum, I too had thought azs La came from mercydia not the burn. Allag needed that land to keep those thralls in suspension. For now i must assume some error on se's part. I really wish prelude to violet had not ended on a cliff hanger.

[ObsidianFire]

Azys Lla didn't come from Mercydia. In fact, it's never mentioned where it came from. What came from Mercydia was one specific structure, the Cathedral of some of Sephirot's worshipers. The rest of Azys Lla existed before it was taken to Azys Lla.

[Mieck]

So... my feeling are that it is still likely to be Arbert.
His specific request to us - "one fool to another" - is to "forge a different path. Choose a better fate." Their quote unquote mistake in the first was just doing what they thought they needed to do to defeat the Ascians, and we see them defeat their final Ascian in the Echo in 3.1. Look what that got them...

Then, here's the WoL in the Source, happily bumbling along, pointed down a path by well-meaning companions. Well, Arbert thinks we're doing a pretty lousy job of heeding his warning. Off we trot to slay all the Ascians! Hurrah! The chances of us actually defeating the Ascians in the Source is probably quite high, and what then? Another flood of light? Mistake officially repeated. Arbert is looking on going, "I gave you one job to do!"


So he starts removing the people who would normally point us the way. Who do we turn to? Most likely Gaiushunter - an uneasy alliance with an old foe.

And... maybe... Elezenos? Nah, I reckon not. He only wants to face the Warrior of Light again, but he's still an unknown in the equation. My suspicion is that Elidibus does not know Zenos is still out there, and there's potential for a big wrench to get thrown in plans because of it.

To wrap up, Arbert says "Light, Dark. It doesn't matter. All that matters is how you use them."
The solution is stalemate.

Now, who do I pass this darksteel foil hat to next?

[Theodric]

I don't think it's a coincidence that the voice started speaking the moment that the Eorzean Alliance agreed to go along with Thancred's plan. Nor do I feel like it's a coincidence that the voice first showed up after Y'shtola was fiddling with the relic in the Steppes.

I'm still very much of the firm belief that the story is going in a direction where both Zodiark and Hydaelyn will need to be subdued somehow. Their struggle is, perhaps, a selfish one - with mortals as their pawns. They are, ultimately, two parts of the same being. One cannot exist without the other, so Hydaelyn banishing Zodiark may have actually been a major mistake. That's even assuming she's telling the truth. It seems strange to me that she was supposedly the 'weaker' of the two yet managed to create different worlds and banish Zodiark in the process.

That alone wouldn't make me doubt her, but the way in which she took over Minfilia combined with what happened to Arbert's world makes me wary. Simply destroying the Ascians does not appear to be wise. Yet it's not necessarily a case of not defeating them...it's a case of ensuring that there's both 'Light' and 'Dark' in equal measure.

Perhaps by putting the reigns of man's future into man's own hands, as a certain someone desires...