Quote Originally Posted by Iscah View Post
I don't think we need spoiler tags since it isn't anything the OP won't have seen by the point they're asking this question.

It doesn't really get explained beyond that early introduction.




My impression was that it wasn't so much about practicing the spell itself (rather than his aim!) but that the spell had to be 'calibrated' for the target to successfully pull them into the aetherial space where we first meet him in 4.55. I'm not sure we were bodily transported there - it seems more like just our soul, and he's made contact just to direct us to the "beacon" that will allow us to physically travel to the First.

Instead, because he "grabs the wrong person" the spell doesn't work properly, and pulls the soul out of its body and all the way to the First. Perhaps he can't control them in the same way, or their soul hasn't kept an aetherial link to their body that they would have if they were the intended target.

Whatever the reason, the outcome is that they were transported to the First by a very different method (soul magically pulled without its body) to our character (physically transported by the beacon).

So as covered by the others, we're physically there on the First (and thus able to teleport back and forth) while the others are essentialky very solid ghosts, and different - not very well explained - rules apply.

(Though it's worth noting that from a story perspective, it seems to be written as if we can't teleport freely, and stay on the First throughout the game. The ability to return to the Source whenever we like is more of a gameplay convenience.)

Bold part, that is exactly my thought as well the way Exarch welcome and explains the situation. That was the impression I got, I am stuck here physically as well and due to the gameplay world. It feels like entirely a new game in the new world which is why we have mogstation story skip... Probably no relation to the source until later in the expansion... (maybe)... For now we get to go back to play other quests/classes/friends etc.

Thanks for the explanation to both of you.