So, Seiryu is a snake...

[SannaR]

Going on a tangent slightly here but the idea of snakes being 'evil' is more a Western/Judeo-Christian concept (due to a confusion of the Biblical story of the Fall of Man being caused by a snake tricking Adam and Eve into eating the Forbidden Fruit with the seperate idea of Satan as an enemy of God), as there are a number of cultures where serpents are not evil, but benevolent (Australian Aboriginal belief for example, the Rainbow Serpent is a creator deity responsible for creating the entire universe - read: the Australian landscape). Snakes being evil beings has probably come about simply due to their cold-blooded nature as reptiles and how many snakes (serpents included), are not only highly venomous but downright aggressive - it's not hard to then take that further as making them into an evil flying menance tormenting the 'just and good'.

Seiryu being based on Chinese/Japanese mythological ideas thus makes sense - dragons in many Asian cultures naturally being regarded as divine entities and Seiryu as a serpent Auspice in an Asian-counterpart culture fits the bill nicely.

Oh I know but then look at older FFs where Lamia always try to put you to sleep or charm your whole group. It's not just a western thing though as there is a whole trope of eastern stories where the strange things happen around this beautiful young woman who turns out is actually a snake lady. Yes there are times where it's a spider lady but when it's not a spider lady it's a snake. Though in those instances it's more often a constrictor than say a viper.

Also how can one not think about snakes when his arena has snake in the name?

[Draginhikari]

I think a lot of it has to do that the term 'dragon' has a very specific meaning in FFXIV world relating specifically to those who descend form Midgardsormr and his children while the Auspices are animal, likely native to the world that have under gone the change over extended periods of time. Going for something close like a Snake probably close enough without creating a lore confusion by having something both as a dragon and as a Auspice.

[DrWho2010]

i think it had to do more with there's already a lot of dragon type stuff from heavensward and with midgardsormr and his brood. hence snek boy instead of a dragon.

[AtraVeritas]

To be fair, there are a veritable TON of dragon and dragon-esque enemies in game already. I know that it is not totally in line with its origin, but i really like the design and from what we have seen, looks to be an awesome fight as well

oh and also... DAT FIGHT THEME THO!

[RokkuEkkusu]

To be fair, coeurl-like creatures such as Imdugud from Turn 10 and the S-Rank hunt Leucrotta are "dragons" too.

[Bright-Flower]

I suspected something like this would happen, that it would be one kind of reptile or another.

Because...what's the point of a dragon auspice?

Auspices are special because: They live a long time, they're smarter than regular animals, and can become very powerful over time.

Dragons...have that already. Dragons in FF XIV are not just big lizaards. They're very smart and, if they live long enough, become very powerful. At that point, why not have an au ra become an auspice?

[RokkuEkkusu]

At that point, why not have an au ra become an auspice?

*Points to Tamamo Gozen and the fate chain involving her, albeit the Au Ra being a vessel. (Bonus points for Tamamo Gozen becoming the mount for getting all of the SB EX Trial Wolves.)

[Iscah]

Dragons...have that already. Dragons in FF XIV are not just big lizaards. They're very smart and, if they live long enough, become very powerful. At that point, why not have an au ra become an auspice?

Because Au Ra aren't dragons? They just look a little bit like them.

They're also not beastmen, even as the line between "men" and "beastmen" becomes increasingly blurred. It sounds like only animals can become auspices, and Kojin are included, but there's no mention of it happening to the "human" races.

---

It also occurred to me that Seiryu might not be a snake but a peiste, or a hydra if they count as normal animals. They're designed as snakes with legs to begin with, so it makes sense, and the model for Seiryu probably is reusing that 'skeleton'.

[Rongway]

not a snake

He is, though. 1h16 into PLL XLVIII we see that his animal form is a green snake before he transforms into his humanoid-hybrid form.



But I don't find this super problematic because, as others before me have pointed out, it fits better within the parameters of the Auspice story arc than a literal blue dragon.

[CaesarCV]

I think that it should also be mentioned that Snakes and Dragons are surprisingly interchangeable in a lot of mythological systems around the world. In South American traditions they are often mixed, even leading to mythical creatures like the Couatal. In Greek Myth, the word 'dragon' most often refers to snakes even though it's at the root of quite a bit of Western Mythology. Additionally, Snakes are not always as connected to evil as they are in Abrahamic traditions. For example, the Greek myth of Tiresias has him being turned into a woman due to interrupting a 'dragon' mating ritual, which was actually serpents. It was called interrupting a 'holy act', a bit unlike the sinister depiction of snakes in later myths and stories. So there's kind of a lot going on there.

Additionally, since Dragons are a very specific creature in the FFXIV universe, I'm pretty fine with him being something else, especially since he still carries a lot of draconic visual traits and motifs. Otherwise we'd have to explain why all old Dragons (at least in Othard) aren't Auspices, and that would make things a lot more complicated. Not to mention that, well, mythologies misinterpret things both in Real Life and in FFXIV. In universe, it would make sense if humans spread the wrong stories about him or reinterpreted the powerful Auspice as a dragon, especially since Midgardomr's Children appear to be rather rare in the Far East. All of the FFXIV versions of the four lords are different than their mythological counterparts after all. Genbu's not a chimera, and they all turn into human forms after all! Also snakes are cool. I'm overall pretty cool with the decision!