Warrior of Light wandering in Lakeland, likely after we first pass to the First. We meet a lookalike of the carriage driver. We all know each starting city gets a different identical and now we get a fourth. This is a nice homage to the beginning of our journey! It's also definitely going to get people going and looking for First versions of other NPCs, and if those versions actually exist... it begs to question what the difference between the Shard really amounts to... if the same (or remarkably similar to the point beyond coincidence) people are born despite radically different histories.
The idea of there being no Dark Knights for a hundred years is bothersome to me as well. It implies a sort of drought of capital D Darkness impedes the ability to wield lowercase d darkness. Cave paintings (weird that these cave paintings explaining the history of the world never came up on the Source) depicting a mono-god and immediately to the right, a split god. This appears to be the sundering, and the idea that Zodiark and Hydaelyn are lesser halves of a whole God, I guess. It looks like Urianger, Minfilia, Y'shtola and possibly Thancred/Minfilia are with the WoL in this scene. It zooms in on a specific cave drawing that it's difficult to make out what is, but it kind of looks like "the Source" island in Lakeland at a glance.
Drawn image of Miniflia stopping the Flood of Light from devouring Amh Araeng. There's a female voice whispering in the background here, I can't make it out. We see the Warrior of Light shoot through darkness studded with floating crystals depicting the faces of our friends and foes. Some highlights include: Gaius van Baelsar (mask), Y'shtola, Urianger, Yotsuyu, Hien and the Warrior of Light himself reaches out for a crystal w/ Arbert's face. Time and space warp and blended in unexpected ways; this sentence is probably going to help us explain Trust and any time-skip shenanigans we get. Expecting us to spend forever in the First and it to be "a second" on the Source, or something (faint voiceover by Arbert). It sounds like our voicover is explaining to us Urianger saw the FUTURE while travelling between realms (and that explains his job change, I guess!).
Image of Sin Eaters descending on Amh Araeng and a flash of older Minflia against a backdrop of white growing light. We're taken to battle scenes, the Warrior of Light leads a party of Trusts in the "burning village dungeon" with Enigmatic Figure on Thaumaturgy, Alphinaud on Scholar and Alisaie on Red Magic. Sin Eaters attack the Crystarium, and a Kuribu descends to face the Warrior of Light. We're given a primer in both voiceover and video on how Sin Eaters are born; they were one living people/beings who were (caught in the path? called to take part?) in the Flood of Light. There is no known cure—I wonder if this might explain Voidsent as well, that they were once living beings caught in the Flood and warped into monstrous beings. Which is why they manifest on the source primarily in the bodies of living beings on the Source, maybe whatever they were on the Thirteenth? Idle speculation. The Sin Eaters and Flood of Light is dated to be "nigh on a hundred years." One of the paths we see the WoL run up reminds me of the Second Coil of Bahamut tbh. There's just a white bear meandering around the Crystarium guards fighting Sin Eaters, wut. I guess white diremites and white bears are Sin Eaters too. We learn Sin Eaters are hard to kill because they function somewhat like self-summoning Primals? You kill one, and its aether reconstitutes into another Sin Eater not soon thereafter.
Oh baby we see Eulmore. Totally jackin' Limsa Lominsa's style again, just with a bunch of purple tarps thrown over it. Sin Eaters are a part of Eulmore society! Some Light Succubus-looking creatures hang about a Winged Lion and an obvious Don Corneo homage. "That's him, that's Volthree[????]" sounds like Alphinaud. A mysterious mummer smiles at us while escorting townsfolk? It looks like there's another mummer and given Mt. Gulg, perhaps these are the Zorn/Thorn people have so long looked for since the Imperial twins showed up. A Gunobald look alike trains Thancred in the Crystarium, maybe Syrcus itself. A Sin Eater Kuribu goes to strike down what looks like an Auri child. I expect this Sin Eater to have been the parental/fraternal figure to said kid before dying and becoming an Eater. A Miqo'te man appears to have slashed his own wrist and arm to a group of shocked onlookers including the player character and Alphinaud in Eulmore. Voicover drones on about Sin Eaters being part of Eulmore society, which I suspect explains why Sin Eaters don't make a habit of razing the city when they can—they've formed a symbiotic relationship. The voiceover is definitely Mega Don Corneo who explains they feed the Sin Eaters living aether; human sacrifice, cool.
Thancred takes on a Kuribu. Y'shtola erects her famous barrier to block an incoming hostile person, somewhat robed; the mad lad has his back to us so we can't make anything out. We get a close of up gritty Y'shtola, eyes still white, hair still immaculate, weird coat checked. Interesting serpent brooch thingy on her necklace. Alisaie attacks a Sin Eater in Amh Araeng. Some purple armoured folks in Lakeland have captured young Minfilia and are leading her somewhere. I suspect they caught her hiding out and are taking her to Eulmore, so she can't stop the Flood any further, or something. Because I guess Eulmore loves the Flood or whatever. We see older Minfilia stopping the Flood in Amh Araeng, it looks, it also appears to be an Echo flashback, but it's hard to tell. Urianger gives Thancred and the WoL a refresher on the Essences & Permutations—A Treatise on the Six Elements. Glad he's teaching the Sharlayan classics. Enigmatic Figure introduces us to a fae pixie in the Crystarium. A viera lancer prepares for battle and Alphinaud looks scornful in Eulmore. "This world is beyond saving, as are there those who tried to save it. This world has had its fill of heroes." Why so pessimistic? What did the Warriors of Darkness do? Did Norvrandt just lose hope as nothing changed after they left... but Minfilia came to help and stemmed some of the Flood! Why doesn't that inspire hope?
IMPORTANT NOTE: A HERO WHO HARNESSES LIGHT AND DARK
So, we're not going "full" Darkness, I feel. Gutfeeling. Wild, I know; right before our favourite surprise Ascian. Solus reveals his glyph. It's fainter than the other ones we've seen, weirdly enough, but like the others it's lifted from FFXII's Esper gylphs. This one is Zalera's and being such marks him as Emet-Selch. Suppress your shocked gasps, please, I've got another two minutes to go here. We cut to another dungeon, we know it's a dungeon because it has Urianger. They're fighting a gallu type monster model from FFXI while a city burns in the background. This city's architecutre looks like Sharlayan Hinterlands to me. Weird. The other Trusts are Y'shtola and Alisaie. There's an armadillo boss in another dungeon; one of the Eulmore Sin Eater gals takes up a spear and looks like Scathach, a Cerberus lumbers forward in Rak'tika. Titania appears to have summoned a giant tree spirit akin to some of the several giants we've fought recently in Swallow's Compass, or Sephirot, or Bardam etc. and executes her 'ultimate skill.' Innocence is shown taking up arms versus Eight Adventurers, with wings made of swords apparently. I can't quite place where this battle takes place, perhaps Eulmore or perhaps somewhere new! Her ultimate skill reminds me of Agrias' from the Orbonne Monastery.
Estinien and Gaius speak. The Enigmatic Figure speaks to Alisaie, Alphinaud and the WoL. These scenes seem to be distinct having different backgrounds. It looks like hooded friend found a copy of Edmont's memoirs and read them. Some quick shots, we see Thancred, Alphinaud and the WoL lie knocked down. Arbert attacks something in Lakeland with a voiceover "Everything we did, everything we gave; what was it for?" Alphinaud looks upset at the Warrior of Light. A bunch of fast shots. Important notes: a giant symbol appears on the "star;" it looks similar to a Summoner's Involute markings in their recent Stormblood arms and has similarities to FFVIII's summoning of Eden (I guess! Other people say this and I see it too) Don Corneo has a purple fist glowy fist. Alphinaud cradles his limp sister's body in his arms and cries to the heavens. Please no. The Warrior of Light [?] stumbles forward cloaked in Darkness. Thanred is defeated and bruised in Amh Araeng. Flashback [?] of Enigmatic Figure in the Crystarium doing something with his staff. A bunch of those crystals from the beginning when the WoL flew through the void crash into the WoL and make a bunch of aetherial sparklies. The WoL is standing in the void, but on no seal whatsoever. Two Minfilias meet. The Scions watch something rise from the ground (fall?). The Warrior of Light is cloaked in bluish white aether and looks up and channels it to cut apart the Light and bring back the Night. "How many years have I waited for this moment, for the one possessed of Her Blessing, for you"
SOLUS: Through prayer and sacrifice, the Will of the Star was made manifest.
ALPHINAUD: I'm sorry I can only assume I misheard. It sounded an awful like you were implying that Zodiark and Hydaelyn are not gods but...
SOLUS: They are gods after a fashion, yes—the eldest and most powerful of Primals
I hate this bit, and for reasons I will explain after the break.
Originally Posted by RukiaFae
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