So about that Eden

[Daralii]

I did not fight Eden in FFVIII, so I don't know if this is something peculiar only to FFXIV's version of the guardian force:

Eden's limit break summons a force field around a planet, arranged in twelve directions.

Is that coincidence? Or is it a subtle hint of the Twelve? My current theory is that Hydaelyn was summoned by a rebel group of 12 Ascians, in opposition to the summoning of Zodiark. Perhaps Eden was also created by the rebel Ascians, before the fall of Amaulot?

There are texts in Akademia Anyder that say

Lahabrea and his colleagues were doing research into the creation of beings they dubbed Guardian Forces, and discovered the necessity of sacrifice to make them manifest. Them trying to create a large GF that operates on a planetary scale would make sense as a proof of concept for the idea that would become Zodiark.