Thread: Predictions for 5.3?

"It is said that the hero's path is fraught with danger, and these words will never ring truer as the whole of Norvrandt becomes a battlefield across which the Warriors of Darkness must fight their way."

Emet once said that anyone could be raised to the office of one of the thirteen. We know that the Ascians can control people via crystals of darkness as we see with Thancred and other characters in various quests. Perhaps Elidibus's goal is to trigger the echo in people across Norvrandt only to infuse them with crystals of darkness, creating an army of echo empowered Warriors of Light controlled by him. Would certainly call back to his promise of Warriors of Light killing us.


I am having a hard time identifying the Woman. Part of me wants to say she is Scathach from a time before the thirteenth was swallowed by darkness. Time being manipulated as we all know could have rendered our perception of it just a tiny bit altered. Imagine Sin Eaters and Voidsent creating chaos as the backdrop of the trial. A mad dash back to the Crystal Tower as we fight for every step as we travel from what looks to be Il Mheg to Lakeland. Explaining why the Crystal Tower Raid is required for story completion.

Rosenstrauch, I believe you have the right of it. We are not going to be rejoined forever. There will come a time when we are enervated by Hydaelyn. We have served her interests for so long, slowly being rejoined over the course of the story. Yet, we know that is not what she wants. Her power is based on halving the strength of whomever she strikes. Why would she suffer us to remain whole?

This new threat is most likely the one that has been in contact with Zenos. It does not seem to ally itself with Zodiark or Hydaelyn. As I once said.

Originally Posted by Riastrad

I don't trust Hydaelyn or the narrative that the Ascians are pushing. I think a parasite has literally wrapped its claws around the very weapons used to stop it. It's just a matter of time till we need to address that issue.

I think they belong to this third group.

I am a strong advocate of using musical themes provided by the development team to interpret lore.

One brings shadow, one brings light
To this riddle all souls are tied
Brief our moments, brazen and bright <-- ARR
Forged in fury, tempered in ice <-- Heavensward
Hindmost devils, early to rise
Sing come twilight, sleep when they die <-- Stormblood
Heaven's banquet leavened with lies
Sating honor, envy, and pride <-- Shadowbringers
One brings shadow, one brings light
Run from the light

All of this was the main scenarios for the various expansions leading up to this moment.

Authors of our fates
Orchestrate our fall from grace <-- Elidibus preparing to have us killed.
Poorest players on the stage
Our defiance drives us straight to the edge
A reflection in the glass
Recollections of our past
Swift as darkness, cold as ash
Far beyond this dream of paradise lost <-- Fighting our fate, embracing our role as Warriors of Darkness.


I maintain the CG movie for Shadowbringers has events in it that have yet to happen. Specifically the exchange between Y'shtola and Urianger atop the ruined tower as meteors rain down in Rak'tika. "Until our friend returns..." makes no sense if it had already happened in the years before we even get to the First. Seeing the meteors in the background of the dungeon screenshots really (in my opinion) give it away.

Become what you must. Become the Warrior of Darkness.

Originally Posted by Riastrad

Emet once said that anyone could be raised to the office of one of the thirteen. We know that the Ascians can control people via crystals of darkness as we see with Thancred and other characters in various quests. Perhaps Elidibus's goal is to trigger the echo in people across Norvrandt only to infuse them with crystals of darkness, creating an army of echo empowered Warriors of Light controlled by him. Would certainly call back to his promise of Warriors of Light killing us.

Elidibus can't control them all with Crystals of Darkness. Thancred could only be controlled because he was possessed by Lahabrea, and that was the reason why he was carrying a Dark Crystal.
He could manipulate them or just raise them to be Ascended Ascians, yes, but no mind control thing. Also, if their Echo awakened they couldn't really be possessed anymore.

Originally Posted by Riastrad

I maintain the CG movie for Shadowbringers has events in it that have yet to happen. Specifically the exchange between Y'shtola and Urianger atop the ruined tower as meteors rain down in Rak'tika. "Until our friend returns..." makes no sense if it had already happened in the years before we even get to the First. Seeing the meteors in the background of the dungeon screenshots really (in my opinion) give it away.

Originally Posted by Veloran

I figured the "Until our friend returns" line was in reference to Thancred.

Unfortunately, the CG movies are well known for not being 100% accurate to the actual game story, and this is simply due to the difference in the time in takes to produce them and how they are created by a completely different team to the FFXIV team (the CG movies are produced by Square Enix Visual Works, not the FFXIV team). Accordingly, they often use as their basis early story drafts that may end up being changed at the eleventh hour, and thus may use out-of-date information that they don't always fully clarify with the lore and writing teams, thus resulting in minor errors in continuity (1.0's opening featuring an early design for the Drowning Wench in Limsa Lominsa with the aetheryte inside the Adventurer's Guild and the Drowning Wench's decor looking totally different to how it ended up, ARR's opening changing the sex of Derplander's BLM friend from female to male, HW's opening featuring Hraesvelgar instead of Nidhogg attacking Ishgard), and so Y'shtola's "until our friend returns" line is the same.

Presumedly it was written in the context of an early draft for ShB's story planning on having the WoL arrive in the First far earlier than they actually did in the final game before the destruction of Fort Gohn, but because the change in the story was made too late for the opening to be remade, it was left in. There is no deeper story revelations here - just a minor continuity error caused by changes made to the story that were too late to be corrected in the opening movie.

So really, don't read too much into it.

Also a deviation from the last few posts but:

The central Ancient doesn't have a mask in the 1st picture. Depending on the order of how these scenes play out, they are either showing the 14th leaving the Convocation, or someone (maybe 14th, maybe current Elidibus) joining the Convocation, because those masks are red damn it.

I thought that picture on the Website was just an updated version from the one shown in the live letter...

I'm scared what this could mean for G'raha Tia... it looked like his entire arm is glowing and turning to crystal! Why? Are we going to loose him in this patch? I want him to have a happy ending damnit!