Lake Silvertear (with some 5.2 spoilers)

[JeanneOrnitier]

When talking about 1.0 lore that was left hanging, a topic that comes up a lot is Lake Silvertear. Midgardsormr was guarding something in it, it's regarded as a font of aether, and there was previously a seal in it that made Primal summoning much harder. Its counterpart in Norvrandt is called the Source because it too is seen as a font of aether; that two worlds divided by 12000 years both say the same thing about the lake must mean there's some sort of truth or other inspiration.

In 5.2, we got an answer to another lingering 1.0 question: the meteor showers (although no doubt behind the scenes the explanation we got now was not what it was when 1.0 was written).

With the meteors coming back as precedent, do you think Silvertear and its importance will be properly explained in the near future? And now that we know more about the world with Shadowbringers, what do you think the lake's deal is?

[Anonymoose]

I'm anxiously excited to see where this part of the game goes.

Mor Dhona is a special place, regarded by legend as the center of the world's aetherial network - the great confluence of all the great subterranean rivers.

If 1.0 hadn't collapsed, we know the MSQ was going in a different direction. The story was focused on an entity—the original final boss of the primary story arc—that is no longer part of the scenario. The "Presence of Silvertear Like" may not even be part of the world of FINAL FANTASY XIV anymore. The Presence was presumably locked behind the "seal" Midgardsormr was protecting on the confluence of aether there. When the Echo sounded just after the breaking of the seal, much of Eorzea saw the starshower over Mor Dhona.

As the lore exists right now, there is no explanation for the "seal" part of it, it's just that for some reason that confluence "bottlenecked" aether in a certain way and then after Silvertear Skies it didn't, making the summoning of primals easier. As the lore exists right now, we saw the starshower right after because Hydaelyn was like, "OH DIP" and started trying to rally some kind of defense team.

There are lots of ways Mor Dhona could—and should—return to a focus. Perhaps its the wound in the planet from where Zodiark was expelled to become the moon. Or perhaps the Presence is still there, afterall, and it was merely a systemic influence in how the war between Light and Dark played out. Perhaps they could resurrect the Presence storyline and claim it was the source of the Cacophony which heralded the Final Days. Who knows!

[JeanneOrnitier]

The story was focused on an entity—the original final boss of the primary story arc—that is no longer part of the scenario.

Curious! Is this just speculation or has some interview or something actually said the original plan was for Sivertear's "something" to be the main villain?

As for what it is now as of the shift in direction post-1.0, I think maybe the site of where Hydaelyn split Zodiark and the world makes as much sense as anything.

[Anonymoose]

Curious! Is this just speculation or has some interview or something actually said the original plan was for Sivertear's "something" to be the main villain?

It's very loosely spoken of on rare occasions because it's an old, out-of-world (real life) thing that never came to fruition and the whole point of developer engagement is to hype people up about stuff that's actually going to happen, stuff they're actually working on, stuff that's actually going to be in the game. "Behind the Scenes" stuff has its time and place, and sometimes the Presence just comes up in the context of explaining how a team of extraordinarily skilled and dedicated writers has been able to keep this game's story and world setting more stable than it has any business being.

Speaking of stuff we talked about before that may have fallen through the cracks… Do you have any updates on the so-called "Mysterious Primal"? There was the idea that right after Gaius took Ala Mhigo, he was going to keep going, but a primal halted his advance. It could have happened in ’57; could have happened in ’62.

That was related to the whole, “What lies deep beneath Silvertear!?” Yes, something stopped his advance. And then there was the trailer beam, tons of primals shooting out. And then there was the seal. What is it sealing? What was going on in there? A lot of this is where the 1.0 story was supposed to go, and there’s a lore reason for that.

When the Calamity happened, it caused a lot of changes to Hydaelyn. Whether that was enough to seal off something that was already sealed, but the seal was getting weak, or… That I don’t know. There could be something like that. The hint was that Gaius was stopped for a reason, and that it was a powerful force. There’s a presence. It wasn’t just Midgardsormr there, it was more of a force, and I can’t say anything more, for now.

Fans made a big deal out of this old line, Minfilia suggested that those who’d beheld the end of the Walker’s path seemed to her as though they’d seen something either too terrible or too shameful and they were traumatized. Should we be worried?

I don’t think you should be worried. This also kind of ties to the presence that stopped Gaius’s advance. It would have played out in that direction, and now I don’t think it’s going to. I don’t even know if that presence is still there. I’d have to ask Oda-san. It all kind of led to the endgame content that was supposed to wrap up the original.

Much like how we joked #GaiusLives for years, now whenever there's a mystery we're like, "Well, obviously it's the Presence of Silvertear Lake." Maybe the devs will find another place for it someday. Maybe not.

[Iscah]

Much like how we joked #GaiusLives for years, now whenever there's a mystery we're like, "Well, obviously it's the Presence of Silvertear Lake." Maybe the devs will find another place for it someday. Maybe not.

They've been working to tie in as much as they can, and the lake itself remains important, as discussed above.

Most recently in Shadowbringers, the counterpart lake is named "the Source", a name that echoes the earlier concept of Silvertear Lake being the source of all magic.

Interestingly enough, there's a big spike of crystals in the deepest part of the Source lake that we can access, more or less in front of Bismarck's nose - as if they were tasked with keeping watch on it.

(Of course, on the other hand there's a levequest mundanely labelling the formation as "salt crystals"... in what is apparently a freshwater lake. Not that giant salt crystals form in normal seawater either.)

[RyuDragnier]

If I were to guess how they'd add Silvertear Lake back into things, we have the aforementioned Underworld, and a possible entrance to it. Midgardsormr is the guardian of Silvertear Falls/Lake, and did say he was tasked by Hydaelyn to do so if I recall correctly. The only thing I can think of that is relevant right now that Hydaelyn would want guarded at all costs would be the entrance to the Underworld. Plus Mor Dhona is still at the bottom of the teleport list, where most areas tend to go in order of story importance. The fact that Mor Dhona is still at the bottom and we have a loose end means it's going to come into play at some point...and would make for the perfect location for the final battle of the final expansion, the Underworld itself.

[Enkidoh]

If I were to guess how they'd add Silvertear Lake back into things, we have the aforementioned Underworld, and a possible entrance to it. Midgardsormr is the guardian of Silvertear Falls/Lake, and did say he was tasked by Hydaelyn to do so if I recall correctly. The only thing I can think of that is relevant right now that Hydaelyn would want guarded at all costs would be the entrance to the Underworld. Plus Mor Dhona is still at the bottom of the teleport list, where most areas tend to go in order of story importance. The fact that Mor Dhona is still at the bottom and we have a loose end means it's going to come into play at some point...and would make for the perfect location for the final battle of the final expansion, the Underworld itself.

The 'Underworld' is simply what the Ancients called the Lifestream though and well, we already have a least one place for accessing that in Dravanian Highlands (the Antitower).

Mor Dhona being at the bottom of the teleport list is because it's a region independent of any nation (in ARR's original launch it was the only location without a citystate icon beside it, just an aetheryte) so it's 'unique', and when HW was added, the Coerthas region was naturally expanded upon and gained more aetherytes, also requiring aetherytes in non-Ishgard affiliated areas, hence forcing Mor Dhona below them. And with SB and ShB these new locations were added below the HW areas accordingly, thus forcing poor old Mor Dhona to the very bottom. It doesn't mean anything deeper than simply SE being pragmatic with adding new locations to the teleport list following on from HW.

Also according to Yoshi the original plan for 1.0 was for the player to travel to Dalamud FFIV style, and that with his decision to scrap the original game and replace it with ARR, he asked whether he could "bring it (Dalamud) down" (sic). Either way, we didn't go to Dalamud in more Dalamud came to us. For FFXIV's theoretical 'prime storyline final battle' that is still in the future, the Moon is thus the more likely location as that is where Zodiark is imprisoned (Elidibus especially seems to favour the place), and it would be fitting for those aforementioned reasons.

[QT_Melon]

From the side stories it makes it seem its actually two realms. So I can understand the confusion.

What he beheld was the aether that comprised all things, radiating life. From the depths of the land to the heights of the firmament, its light shone bright. Here and there, lives that had served their purpose drifted upon the current before suddenly plunging down unto the Underworld.

[LineageRazor]

If Hydaelyn is LITERALLY A GIANT CRYSTAL INSIDE THE PLANET, maybe Silvertear is the closest place to the pointy bit on top!

I'm half-joking, half-serious on this. It would provide an answer for the "presence" (it's Hydaelyn), and also for the confluence of Aether (Hydaelyn is a powerful entity basically made of the stuff). It could even explain why Midgardsormr hangs out there. (They're buddies!)

It doesn't really address why there would be a seal on her (maybe the Ascians did it? But then why would it be bad if it was broken?), or why Primals would fly out when it was broken - but I'm pretty sure the Primal stuff has more or less been retconned, or assumed to be extremely metaphorical.

[Jandor]

It doesn't really address why there would be a seal on her (maybe the Ascians did it? But then why would it be bad if it was broken?), or why Primals would fly out when it was broken - but I'm pretty sure the Primal stuff has more or less been retconned, or assumed to be extremely metaphorical.

Maybe the seal was to keep her aether in? She has been getting weaker since it broke, she's probably leaking.