The Exarch's Dream

[ClaireFaye]

The Exarch, or G'raha Tia, once explained that it was his dream to be able to travel with the Warrior of Darkness as well as hear more of their adventures and journeys. And that was one of my favorite scenes in ShB. And I know that he feels guilty over the fact that the other Scions are trapped here and so he is working as hard as he can. But something he says just catches my attention and I find myself listening to it a few times.

"And given to stubbornness, I'm afraid. Especially when I have a stake in the outcome."

What did he mean by this? I know that he wishes to return the Scions home, but it sounds like there's more that he wants to do with these spirit vessels. Is he hoping to find a use these spirit vessels to be able to travel with the Warrior of Darkness or have it work as some kind of special link pearl with them? Or maybe find some way to free him from the Crystal Tower. We did see part of the scene where he was in a lot of pain from the crystal on his arm and perhaps he wishes to be free from his dependency on the tower?

Yet, in the Japanese version I think he said something along the lines of 'If my dream is to come true'...? It sounds like he really does want to use this to continue being an important figure in the Warrior of Light/Darkness's life and I want to see that as well.

He's such an amazing character and I don't want to have to say goodbye to him. I don't think he will be leaving the Crystarium because it has been his home for a century now, but I do think that he will want the chance to be allowed to leave the tower for longer periods of time than what he has right now.

Another thing? In one of the last few scenes of 5.2 where he's struggling and failing to get the Spirit Vessel to work properly, I noticed that there were only four of them on standby whereas there are five Scions that are trying to get home. Is that a possible clue that someone may be staying behind? My best guess would be Y'shtola because she really seems to have found a new place among the Blessed?

[Anonymoose]

There's a lot of good points and questions here.

I have a hard time ever feeling like I've fully unpacked the Crystal Exarch. On one level, he's the G'raha Tia we knew in the 2.x series - an eccentric who idolizes things for what they stand for, from the Warrior of Light to the Crystal Tower itself. On another, he's fulfilling that dream - becoming the vessel of the hopes of an entire world to save the Warrior of Light so that they can save their past and change their future, with the Crystal Tower finally a symbol of hope once more. On yet another level, between G'raha Tia and the Crystal Exarch, is a man not of our world - a man who lived through the 8th Umbral Calamity and bears memories of a broken world, of untold suffering, and given what we know of time travel in FFXIV should have vanished once 4D spacetime changed (as it would have dissolved the "before" and "after" and there would simply be "the (new) way it always was"). (Even G'raha doesn't understand why he didn't, though the hints we have suggest the 4D block of spacetime has become, to use a crystallography term, a macle - or a twinning. At least for the time being.)

Anyroad, it's hard to pinpoint which of these G'raha's is providing the majority of a given sentiment, sometimes. Is it the man we knew? The man from another, fallen world? Or the man who's lived his own lifetime as we knew him another four times over as the Exarch?

Thankfully, in the context of your main, specific question, it doesn't affect much.

G'raha is just saying that when he commits to something, he tends to overwork himself. His resolve is such that he's prone to pushing himself too far. He's stubborn. This puzzle before him is something he'd be taxing himself to solve, either way.

Except in this case, his friends' lives are on the line - their ability to return home, to protect their world, and the urgency of successfully completing the task given that the connection between their body and soul may eventually fail. And he does feel responsible for their position to a degree, but success in this task will have a huge impact on how one assesses the final outcome and how well he's stewarded both the wishes of a fallen world and the legacy of the Warrior of Light through this crisis. He doesn't want to let anyone down - to have a bittersweet victory bought with more sacrifices than necessary because he couldn't figure something out. So now he's even more stubborn than usual.

It doesn't seem to be much deeper than that.

[TheMightyMollusk]

Taking only the English version into account, I assumed that his "stake in the outcome" referred to how his previous plans to get the Scions home involved his death. As in, he'll still go through with it if there's no other option, but he'd really rather not.

[LineageRazor]

As much as I'd like to see G'raha fulfill his dream of travelling with the WoL, living independently from the Crystal Tower and so on, I feel like the story beats are pulling us in a darker, more predictable direction. Lyna's deep concern for the Exarch is likely not unfounded, and we already know that his link with the Crystal Tower is the only thing keeping him alive at all. I strongly suspect that when his work is finished, when the WoL and his friends are back on the Source, and the Source is no longer in (immediate) danger of an Eighth Calamity, he will finally let go and peacefully pass on.

I'd be amazed and pleased if he persisted past his story arc, but I'm not going to hold my breath!

[Fenral]

I'm still evaluating all Exarch's actions on the assumption that he has learned to "reach out his hand" towards his own desires, as it were, rather than simply operate assuming that responsibilities will always run counter to his own wants anyway so he need not bother. There are little hints that he might simply stay on the First, but I think that runs a little too close to proving Gaius right that a single omnipotent ruler is the best thing for society. Yes, he's lived there more than on the Source, but sooner or later the people of the First will have to take responsibility for their own world.

My suspicion, that I've had since 5.0, is kind of a mix of both possible outcomes. It's pretty clear that the Exarch's body is starting to come apart. One way or another, that life is coming to an end.

Perfecting soul transference would mean he doesn't have to die to break the spell. Frankly, we have only his word that that will even undo it, and his track record on spatio-temporal physics is shaky, at best. What then? Like the Scions, he also has a sleeping body on the Source. He may be planning to abandon ship, as it were, and pick up where he left of as G'raha Tia. However, I have a feeling that his desire may not play out exactly as he intends. There's still the ethical concern of if it's okay to body-jack yourself from an alternate timeline, if your other self has yet to diverge from the point at which the timeline splits.

1) He could simply expire with dramatic timing after soul transference is perfected, making the entire arc a bit of a shaggy dog story. This is still entirely possible, and don't think the writers won't, because he's living proof that they've done it before.

2) He was (somehow) able to get a physical object sent to the Source for us to use as a beacon, so he may magically work out some way to reopen the tower from the First and give "himself" a clean start, though still expiring tragically.

3) He may make it to the Source just long enough to open the Tower, but not actually pull off the body hop. G'raha awakens to see another version bump, joins the party (or even doesn't, Estinien style), and becomes a constant, bittersweet reminder of who he was and could have been.

4) He'll body hop, but instead of taking the wheel, he'll hop into the back seat with a spray bottle at the ready in case his younger "self" tries anything stupid. Personally a fan of this one, and it's probably the biggest win we can hope for from this arc.

5) Option 2, without the dramatic exit. Two G'rahas in two different worlds. Potential for an interesting mentor/pupil dynamic (and plenty of fanart), but how would this even work in relation to soul rejoining?

6) Any of the above, but Zenos kills Source!G'raha in 5.5 to reassert his place as a primary antagonist by literally killing a kitten in front of us. Don't assume they can't go there...


This is not me throwing a bunch of ideas in the air just so I can say I'm right whatever happens, just that these are all the ways I can see it playing out.

[Cereza]

Given all the talk about memory transference that is being brought up, maybe it’s possible he is trying to be able to transfer his current memories to G’raha on the source. His body will die but G'raha will wake up in the tower and provide one hell of an emotional surprise at the rising stones after we assume he is dead.

That’s what I’m going with because my heart can’t take thinking about it.

[Iscah]

Whatever the possible outcomes are, it's important to keep in mind that - unless the ARR re-edit or future MSQ progress is going to make the Crystal Tower mandatory - it is very unlikely that we are going to see young G'raha Tia in future MSQ because there's no guarantee that he's currently in the tower. Thus far they have avoided building on any events from an optional story unless it is set as a prerequisite, and have already continued this approach with the Exarch, as he tells Urianger that the WoL hasn't met his past self yet if they haven't started the CT quests.

The time travel plot is, at least in part, a very elaborate way to bring him back into the story without breaking continuity, regardless of whether the player has completed the original storyline or not.

So any theorising for me, at least, is running on the premise that the resolution has to work equally well (with at most a varied line or two) whether G'raha Tia is currently asleep in the tower or he's never set foot in it.

All that said...

It's certainly not looking promising for the Exarch getting out of this story alive, although I would have said that during 5.0 as well.

The repeated mentions that they may somehow need to get his blood into the crystal is certainly setting up for some kind of sacrifice, although given that he first received royal blood from Unei and Doga as some kind of sparkly magic thing means that getting it into the crystal might be much the same process.

Another possibility is whether his own crystalised body counts as "a crystal infused with his blood"...

One thought I had is that if the Exarch somehow becomes the crystal that will transport the Scions home, then that might also carry his soul with it and it could be placed into the Crystal Tower itself, to reintegrate with G'raha (whether he's currently there or not) at some future time.

But of course that's back to the question of whether or not the Exarch should continue to exist at the cost of his other-timeline self's identity, and - particularly given the game's overarching themes - the answer is almost certainly no. Remember the past and mourn those we have lost, but don't try to preserve it at the cost of those in the present.

So, as much as I would like him to live and be happy, I am anxiously prepared for the likelihood that he is going to die and it is going to be bittersweet but for the best - that he should not be immortal and that at last now he can rest, safe in the knowledge he has succeeded in his mission. (But I will be very happy to be proved wrong.)


Though, a possible non-fatal alternative: sacrificing his arm to create the spirit vessel?

And/or letting him live but "brought down to normal" - no longer bound to the tower, no longer bearing the blood of the Allagans, just green-eyed G'raha Tia free to live a normal mortal life from this point.

[LineageRazor]

But of course that's back to the question of whether or not the Exarch should continue to exist at the cost of his other-timeline self's identity, and - particularly given the game's overarching themes - the answer is almost certainly no. Remember the past and mourn those we have lost, but don't try to preserve it at the cost of those in the present.

I think we can safely rule out G'raha erasing our G'raha and taking over his body. The kinds of moral gymnastics the writers would need to pull off to make THAT palatable would be quite impressive. It's possible, though, that the Exarch could integrate with G'raha, the two of them sharing the body.

Good catch on the Exarch HIMSELF being a crystal infused with his blood. I could definitely see this as a resolution to his arc - he modifies himself to be a vessel capable of carrying the Scions' souls and minds, makes the trip to the Source, safely deposits them in their bodies, and then expires due to being detached from the Crystal Tower. Bittersweetness all around!

[Fenral]

Whatever the possible outcomes are, it's important to keep in mind that - unless the ARR re-edit or future MSQ progress is going to make the Crystal Tower mandatory - it is very unlikely that we are going to see young G'raha Tia in future MSQ because there's no guarantee that he's currently in the tower. Thus far they have avoided building on any events from an optional story unless it is set as a prerequisite, and have already continued this approach with the Exarch, as he tells Urianger that the WoL hasn't met his past self yet if they haven't started the CT quests.

Alisaie also (re)introduces herself differently depending on your Binding Coil progress (or lack thereof), which works in the moment but causes huge problems if you finish it later. Likewise, Estinien in his quest-locked entirety, not to mention the eyes (plural) of Nidhogg which were rather prominent in successive expansions in spite of one of them being spoken for by the Dragoon 30-50 quests. Can we please just accept that Estinien's Law is a thing now and not use "continuity" to rule out speculation? (Also, the 80 relic is locked behind the 70 24-man, so let's just appreciate that content is finally being allowed to lock other content when it really just has to.)

Not saying you're wrong that the Exarch and his alternate self are currently back up on the chopping block, just that meta excuses have never actually held up as a reason for the writing team to do anything, no matter how many times this same problem comes up. Shadowbringers did what it did because it was cool, and G'raha Tia happened to be a side character in the right place to do what they wanted for it, not because they wanted a way to specifically bring him back into play. That is all.

On the same note, having someone with "memories" of ancient Allag running around modern Garlemald would also just be incredibly cool, like having an ancient Roman talking trash about Wilhelm's Germany, and that may already be in the heads of everyone involved with writing the MSQ. A crystal infused with Royal Allagan blood would be sufficient to reopen the Tower as well (unless it somehow shatters without respecting conservation of mass, which could happen, too). As long as the WoL isn't expected to be in an area they hadn't unlocked, basically anyone else could do the reopening.