Tales from the Shadows

[Anonymoose]

I remember reading that a "thousand thousand" is used in Japanese as an unspecific-but-big number. So it's more like saying "countless" than giving a statistic.

It's the character for ten thousand (万); it can mean "myriad" or "beyond counting" or "all".

For example, in the Fatal Frame series there is an HP-Restore item called 万葉丸 (10,000-leaf Pills) which is kind of just a dismissive hand-wave anyone will understand; you're magically healed because ALL THE HERBS. Every time I see a [10,000] in something localized from JP, my mind reflectively checks whether that's legit or an accident, lol.

The Japanese script decided to have Emet-Selch instead say, "I've lived among your kind longer than anyone else!" FR matched JP, DE matched EN.

[Helliebabe]

Why do I get this sneaking suspicion Hythlodaeus played us like fools in the past during ancient times?

[RyuDragnier]

Why do I get this sneaking suspicion Hythlodaeus played us like fools in the past during ancient times?

Now you got me thinking that it'll be revealed that he was the true villain all along.

[Daralii]

Why do I get this sneaking suspicion Hythlodaeus played us like fools in the past during ancient times?

The man whose name literally means "Speaker of nonsense" in Greek? It's possible.

[Alleluia]

Why do I get this sneaking suspicion Hythlodaeus played us like fools in the past during ancient times?

.... Oh.

Oh.

Oh, I like this theory. I mean, its full of tinfoil and I don't think its likely, yet. But still, it could be interesting.

When he said the thousand-thousand lifetimes thing, my first reaction was to count up how many lifetimes I could conceivably fit into 12,000 years and then I sent a friend of mine a tell that just said, "Absolute drama king." I'm glad other people had similar reactions, lol.

I didn't bother counting and just assumed it was hyperbole for "I've been here a really long time and I've hated it, okay?!". I mean, at the time I was just enthralled with the scene, but yeah. lol "drama king".

[YianKutku]

I didn't bother counting and just assumed it was hyperbole for "I've been here a really long time and I've hated it, okay?!". I mean, at the time I was just enthralled with the scene, but yeah. lol "drama king".

"I have lived a thousand thousand of your lifetimes."

"But it's only been twelve thousand years since the Sundering."

"Twelve thousand years with nobody but Lahabrea and Elidibus for real company is a thousand thousand lifetimes."

[Rannie]

Makes me think that Emet was really stuck in hell for all that time with no one but his mother in law lol

[Alleluia]

And just like that, I sympathize with him even more. Elidibus seems alright but 12 thousand years with Lahabrea, Master Orator? /shudder

[Alleo]

You know this story might even answer my question on why Elidibus never took us out as soon as he saw us in the earlier story...our soul is not complete so the color is probably not that easy to see and he might simply not be one of the Ancients that can see them.

Still wonder why his position allowed him to go against their dress code and let him wear white..

[Jandor]

It may be significant, that in contemporary times the idea of creating a Soul doesn't seem to be that big a deal (the Heavensward Relic being one example), whereas the Ancients considered it to be flat-out impossible. This may be due to the way that the current Lifestream is constantly dispersing and assembling souls - soulstuff may simply be more malleable now?

Maybe it's a matter of perspective?

Ancient souls are like floodlights compared to the dying embers of the sundered, maybe they could whip up what we consider to be souls, but they didn't consider them as such.

If what you're going for is blinding light and what you actually get are a few paltry sparks, you could hardly consider the attempt a success.