So, Seiryu is a snake...

[Iscah]

That's true, it's a bit odd with Soroban, though they were also doing it through artificial means. It just seems to me though that an actual dragon auspice wouldn't actually get much out of it beyond a phase 2 transformation I guess.

From what Genbu was saying, the only thing artificial about Soroban becoming an auspice is that they were using the "box of time" to speed up the process instead of waiting centuries for him to develop naturally.

[CaesarCV]

From what Genbu was saying, the only thing artificial about Soroban becoming an auspice is that they were using the "box of time" to speed up the process instead of waiting centuries for him to develop naturally.

This involves some speculation, but it might be more unusual than it seems. In the lorebook, it's specifically mentioned that an Auspice has to outlive their natural lifespan (usually getting to a hundred counts for this) to actually become one. Although it's also mentioned that at this stage of Auspice development they are actually not especially powerful, even if they gain sapience. When they get to a thousand years old, they go through another transformation, gaining the sorts of miraculous powers and human forms that we see with the Four Lords. The Four Lords (some of them at least) passed through this second phase after their travels with Tenzen, although they would have had to pass through the first beforehand since, well, they were sapient back then. Suzaku, as an example, did not have the miraculous powers of healing and resurrection yet, and in her fight she bemoans how Tenzen never even got to see her (gorgeous) human form. Kojin are mentioned as having long lives, and there were distinct fears that the Tamate-Bako of Geomancy (hope I got the name right) would instantly kill any human. Comically enough it does almost kill poor Tataru, but the effects are at least temporary. I think it's possible he might not normally survive that long, but thanks to the whole magic nature of his (temporary) ascension he did and thus gained great power. We also might want to take stuff related to Soroban in that story with a grain of salt. It's quite clearly meant for comic relief, hence the fight with his auspice is probably the funniest duty in the game, and the poor guy got possessed and turned into a giant tortoise after Suzaku.

[LineageRazor]

Honestly, the most satisfying explanation for Seiryu I've seen in this thread is that he was a normal snake who assumed a legendary, dragon-like form when he achieved his full auspice power, much like Suzaku gained the powers and form of the legendary phoenix. So, while he may not be a true dragon (as this game defines them), he essentially BECAME a dragon. Still doesn't satisfy my curiosity (can unlikely creature X become an auspice???), but I suppose it does make him dragon-like enough to qualify for the role of Seiryu.

[ChaoticCrimson]

In regards to Kohryu, didn't we already get a glimpse of him during Suzaku's quest in the flashbacks? I thought he was basically super-Kirin, though I grant you if we do end up facing him in a solo fight after Seiryu it's very likely the Kirin form could just be his first form before turning into a dragon-like form. It'll be interesting to see what comes of Kohryu, though it's a shame that he won't get his own trial fight. As for Soroban, he's genuinely an unknown quantity in terms of what he's going to bring to all this in the end. Honestly, it's probably anyone's guess. For all I know he could either jump in to save the day in spinny-turtle glory only to be swatted away comically, or he might actually succeed in turning the tide in our favor against Kohryu. I suppose we'll see in a few days.

I'm also interested to learn more of Seiryu's bond with Tenzen. Based on the trailer, Seiryu seems adamant to uphold some sort of oath, and I can only assume it has something to do with Tenzen. I suppose the simple suggestion is that he swore to keep Kohryu sealed away, but I can't help but feel there could be more to it than that. Of course, it could also still be nothing more than simply that.

[Jonnycbad]

The fact that Seiryu wields a sword makes me inclined to believe he was the edgy frienemy/rival of Tenzen. Byakko is the burly tiger guy with a big heart, Genbu is the old wise man, Suzaku was the love interest, and Seiryu, being a dragon/snek, is probably the type of guy who originally distrusted Tenzen. Like they might have been rivals, but Tenzen proved to be a superior swordsman and then Seiryu began to respect him as being the only mortal to ever defeat him in a sword fight.

[LineageRazor]

The fact that Seiryu wields a sword makes me inclined to believe he was the edgy frienemy/rival of Tenzen. Byakko is the burly tiger guy with a big heart, Genbu is the old wise man, Suzaku was the love interest, and Seiryu, being a dragon/snek, is probably the type of guy who originally distrusted Tenzen. Like they might have been rivals, but Tenzen proved to be a superior swordsman and then Seiryu began to respect him as being the only mortal to ever defeat him in a sword fight.

I don't disagree that Seiryu might make good rival material, but I doubt there was any swordfighting involved. From what we've seen, the Four Lords remained animals for the entire span of Tenzen's life. They only gained their humanoid forms centuries afterwards. Though, if a snake could fight decently with a sword in his mouth, that WOULD be something impressive!

There could be a love triangle, though! Maybe Seiryu was sweet on Suzaku, and intensely jealous of Tenzen, the apple of her eye?

[Yuyuka3]

This iteration of Seiryu appears to be most similar to Yamata no Orochi in Japanese Mythology. This was an 8 headed, 8 tailed Japanese dragon. In the Japanese lore, Yamata no Orochi was fought and slain by Susano-o because the dragon was eating the daughters of an deity.

While I'm used to seeing Seiryu as a serpentine dragon based on eastern dragon mythology, but seeing this version is interesting due to the mix of two dragons in Japanese mythology. Granted, I could imagine it having the traditional serpentine form at some point in the fight (just as most of the four lords had two fighting forms).

Considering that I anticipate a fight with the great golden dragon Kohryu after the fight with the four lords, I imagine that it is going to have the traditional eastern dragon form.

Yeah, Yamata no Orochi was my first thought seeing Seiryuu, too, and the official full render with the obviously eastern-style dragon body just makes it even more clear for me. Also, please note that while Orochi is a dragon, his name translates to "8-branched giant snake". In other words, in this case, dragon and snake seem to be interchangeable.

Seeing how Tsukuyomi was also gender-bent (Tsukuyomi, the moon, is a male god in shinto, while Amaterasu, the sun, is female; however, Tsuku in FFXIV is female), I can imagine that they decided that a dragon auspice, as some here already mentioned, was too unbelievable, then turned to a likely alternative and decided to use a Orochi-like auspice, that happened to be a snake originally.
Here is the Wikipedia article about Yamata no Orochi:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamata_no_Orochi

PS: the sword he holds could be Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, which Susanoo pulled out of Orochi's body after he was killed. Or based on it at least.

[Songwillow]

Yeah, Yamata no Orochi was my first thought seeing Seiryuu, too, and the official full render with the obviously eastern-style dragon body just makes it even more clear for me. Also, please note that while Orochi is a dragon, his name translates to "8-branched giant snake". In other words, in this case, dragon and snake seem to be interchangeable.

Seeing how Tsukuyomi was also gender-bent (Tsukuyomi, the moon, is a male god in shinto, while Amaterasu, the sun, is female; however, Tsuku in FFXIV is female), I can imagine that they decided that a dragon auspice, as some here already mentioned, was too unbelievable, then turned to a likely alternative and decided to use a Orochi-like auspice, that happened to be a snake originally.
Here is the Wikipedia article about Yamata no Orochi:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamata_no_Orochi

PS: the sword he holds could be Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, which Susanoo pulled out of Orochi's body after he was killed. Or based on it at least.

I was rather surprised when they gender-bent Tsukuyomi, though they did it well considering the story and it turned out to be one of my favorite primal fights. I also will say that Suzaku was an amazing story in this game. So I am very excited for this new chapter for Seiryu.

[Ramesses]

Also the representation on the map of Hydaelyn:



Unless that's Kohryuu and Seiryu is off the map edges for some reason.

Nods... exactly this. I had been staring at that dragon on the map since the 4.1 and can see some semblance of a correlation.

[Jonnycbad]

Why does he also use water magick like Genbu?