Thread: 6.0 Story Speculations

Originally Posted by Rosenstrauch

Y'know, it would be pretty funny if all this "Zenos is the big bad of the expansion!" stuff was a smokescreen for Varis coming out of nowhere, Emperor of Hell and Heaven style. Whether it be kicking his own son out of finale or being the/one of the driving forces behind the plot of Pandaemonium, I think it could work.

That said, I really hope they don't "speedrun" Zodiark and Hydaelyn out of the story. There's still a lot of questions that need to be asked, let alone answered, about them.

Considering 6.0 will be the finale of Season 1 storyline and 6.1 the beginning of the new Season 2 storyline, I suspect any unresolved story about Zodiark and Hydaelyn maybe moved to a side storyline. Pandaemonium raid seem to be one of those side storylines that will continue to resolve any remaining lore between Zodiark and Hydaelyn conflict left unfinished in Season 2 era.


Though for me, the big question is how will the story transfer WoL from Season 1 finale in 6.0 to Season 2 beginning in 6.1 since Season 2 is meant to be a new story separated from the Zodiark and Hydaelyn storyline. This will mean they willl have to cover a lot of things in 6.0 MSQ near the end such as what became of each Scions now their long mission is over and even how WoL will start his/her new beginning before 6.1.

However, a part of me fears to achieve this they may have the "reset the world so Ascian never existed" scenario like certain fantasy stories goes with that cause everyone to forget the WoL because the Ascians never existed and the History of the planet is alted to a point characters ended up living different lives. Yet, this route may provide a full circle ending by having the WoL seen walking down the road before being picked up by a carriage leading to Gridania or Ul'dah or getting on a ship to Limsa (based on which starting city the player had in 2.0 MSQ) and meet the Merchant from their intro once again. Thus WoL begins his/her journey in Season 2 the same way in Season 1 beginning, on a carriage or ship to their starting city to begin a new adventure.

Originally Posted by EdwinLi

Considering 6.0 will be the finale of Season 1 storyline and 6.1 the beginning of the new Season 2 storyline, I suspect any unresolved story about Zodiark and Hydaelyn maybe moved to a side storyline. Pandaemonium raid seem to be one of those side storylines that will continue to resolve any remaining lore between Zodiark and Hydaelyn conflict left unfinished in Season 2 era.


Though for me, the big question is how will the story transfer WoL from Season 1 finale in 6.0 to Season 2 beginning in 6.1 since Season 2 is meant to be a new story separated from the Zodiark and Hydaelyn storyline. This will mean they willl have to cover a lot of things in 6.0 MSQ near the end such as what became of each Scions now their long mission is over and even how WoL will start his/her new beginning before 6.1.

However, a part of me fears to achieve this they may have the "reset the world so Ascian never existed" scenario like certain fantasy stories goes with that cause everyone to forget the WoL because the Ascians never existed and the History of the planet is alted to a point characters ended up living different lives. Yet, this route may provide a full circle ending by having the WoL seen walking down the road before being picked up by a carriage leading to Gridania or Ul'dah or getting on a ship to Limsa (based on which starting city the player had in 2.0 MSQ) and meet the Merchant from their intro once again. Thus WoL begins his/her journey in Season 2 the same way in Season 1 beginning, on a carriage or ship to their starting city to begin a new adventure.

There's always the other option, the Time Skip option. If it's to be used, I suspect it'll be done either through us being pulled out of the Lifestream ala Y'shtola's many fun times (meaning we've been out of commission a while), or another "sent into the near future" type deals.

Originally Posted by Kesey

I would assume there will be another adventure to be had at the beginning of 6.1. They have 5 patches to build up to another expansion worthy story. I'd assume some characters may be pushed into retirement to open the stage for new main players. But a new villain will manifest by 6.4 and I'm sure there will be a simple mystery or loose end that turns out to be more complicated then we can imagine.

As I said in the comment, it is already confirmed 6.1 will be a the beginning of a completely new adventure, being the Season 2 storyline, that will be separated from Zodiark and Hydaelyn storyline so that is not in question. The part I am questioning is how will that tansition be achieved with such a short amount of time in the storyline since the story is meant to end Season 1 in 6.0 MSQ right there (normally we end a major story in the X.3 MSQ) and then transition right into Season 2 storyline 6.1 MSQ which will be a completely new storyline with no relation to the Zodiark and Hydaelyn conflict.

We normally have atleast 2.5 patches of MSQ to transition from one expansion storyline, after the X.3 MSQ, to the next but this time Yoshi-P and the developers are packing it all into 6.0 and having 6.1 be the very beginning of a new adventure in Season 2.

Either way, 6.0 maybe the largest MSQ expansion if they are going to pack all that stuff into 6.0 MSQ to give it a proper finale for Season 1 and a proper transition from Season 1 into Season 2 as well.

I went back and forth on whether to make this a post or a thread but I'm just going to shove it here. I was thinking today about an old conspiracy theory of mine and I think perhaps it's time to revisit it (in the vein of being wrong for fun and profit). Back in Heavensward, the Word of the Mother's speech and the Moogles possibly remembering the First Umbral Era led to me thinking about that particular event a little too much. One of the things I was stuck on was that the legends seem to be overlapping a little bit.

It is said that the Twelve left Eorzea at the coming of the First Umbral Era, ending the "Age of the Gods" and ushering in the Age of Man.

The way the first lore book phrased the coverage encouraged conflating this event with the end of a "prehistory" but something about it always sat wrong with me once people started connecting it to the pre-sundering world alone. As I pointed out then, tl;dr, the great sundering and first rejoining can't be the same event.

But let's check out that phrasing again...

The First Umbral Era: The Calamity of Wind

Eorzea is characterized by elemental calamities which plunge the realm into short, yet harrowing periods of chaos known as Umbral Eras, followed by extended periods of prosperity known as Astral Eras. What then, you may ask, of the land before the first calamity struck? Drawing from the songs and writings of countless civilizations, theologians believe prehistory to be a tempestuous time of uncontrolled creation overseen by a mercurial god or gods - creation which abruptly ends with the destruction of all that exists, ultimately allowing for the rise of mankind from the wreckage. Historians and scholars of biological fields, on the other hand, claim that mankind could not have simply "appeared" and suggest an evolution of the species in the thousand thousand years preceding the first calamity. What the two groups do, however, agree upon is that modem history begins with the First Umbral Era.

It's easy to see how one might miss the forest for the trees there. However, after Shadowbringers we can (probably) safely say that the "tempestuous time of uncontrolled creation overseen by a mercurial god or gods" is actually the Ancient Era, where Amaurot thrived before the great sundering. I think the "competing theory" is actually also true, to a degree, but reflects an unnaturally created world findings its own natural equilibrium for about 2,000 years after the sundering.

My theory at the time was that there was a hitherto unrecognized era that was post-sundering and pre-calamity, and that's where the Twelve thrived. That perhaps Hydaelyn made guardians for Her children, and somehow the Ascians were able to exploit these beings in such a way that it led to the First Umbral Era, so She sent them away somehow.

I think I'd like to return to that with a new speculation about where 6.0 might be headed by combining this old theory with one of my more recent ones: Venat's coalition of Hydaelyn summoners are the Twelve. (How this fits with Azeyma/Azim is an immedate "wtf" here, I admit, but let's set it aside.)

After Hydaelyn's victory over Zodiark and the great sundering, the planet entered a new age with the victorious - and now tempered - "Counter Convocation" remanifested in some form at the helm of Hydaelyn's new world. As with the Convocation and Zodiark, this coalition perhaps even now existed only to spread Her Light. As Elidibus, Emet-Selch, and Lahabrea restored their sundered brethren to their offices and became the Ascians, they struggled against Hydaelyn's champions, and this led to the First Umbral Era.

Hydaelyn, realizing the vulnerability, sundered her own champions to save them and let them be reborn into countless lives detached from the tempered identities they would have if their immortal memories were restored. And so the Twelve were no longer with us.

But the Ascians would come again, and again, and again. We know that Hydaelyn would essentially mass-market the Echo and take any who answered the call, but I believe - just as there are rare occasions where she chooses to entrust a single champion with extraordinary power - there were also occasions where she re-unites her ancient allies as whoever they are today, and this is why history remembers them in such eras as the Third Astral or the Zodiac Braves as a group of twelve, the Twelve reborn.

It's a pretty tall house of cards, but hey, it's fun to think about.

Originally Posted by Anonymoose

It's a pretty tall house of cards, but hey, it's fun to think about.

This is generally how I think "prehistory" unfolded as well, though I'd like two throw in my own two cents on the subject.

One possible reason for the discrepancy between The Twelve being Hydaelyn's twelve summoners and the "Azem = Azeyma" thing is that there are, potentially, thirteen Gods amongst The Twelve. Two of them are typically treated as one: Nald and Thal, or "Nald'thal". Another possibility is that Azem did not, in fact, become Azeyma. Rather, the title and responsibilities of Azem were used as inspiration for one of Hydaelyn's summoners, and that summoner became Azeyma instead.

I could see the story going either way. And I wouldn't be surprised if, were the second possibility I suggested true, the other members of The Twelve similarly pulled from the identities and roles of the other Convocation members for inspiration. There's still a number discrepancy to be had (does Venat/Hydaelyn supplant Elibidus/Zodiark? Which two Ascian Overlords get rolled together to become Nald'thal?), but I think that would make sense.

Originally Posted by Kesey

The panel we see the two of them together is the most significant because it implies there was an event that comes after the summoning but before Hydaelyn has to sunder Zodiark.

I think what we've been told so far glosses over how long it took for Hydaelyn to actually reach and shackle Zodiark. I don't think we know the full extent of Amaurot's civil war.

Originally Posted by Kesey

the foremost position seems to be holding a staff (can't help but draw the comparison between that drawn staff and Louisiox's staff Tupsimati) and white cloud billowing forth. We can say that those in the picture are maybe "The Twelve" doing whatever thing we're missing from the timeline they accomplished

This part slaps my tinfoil hat right on. In the 1.0 Lominsa story, we saw a horn-and-tablet combo called "The Key". In combination they were used to summon a great deal of aether, causing the Ascians to try to get them into the hands of the beast tribes for the 1562 primal summoning push. We saw Travanchet give one such horn to the Sahagin (and later re-gift it for Alexander). We saw Corguevais make off with the one that was later used to summon Ifrit. And we were told Tupsimati was actually one, as well.

Here's my question: Was Louisoix's staff an accurate representation of what all the Keys looked like, or did he install the horn/tablet on a conventional weapon? If his staff is the accurate version, we may have twelve Keys, each representing one of the Twelve.

...EXCEPT... Notice that the Ixal have staffs just like Tupsimati with the wind gods on them (stolen from the Eorzean Alliance, allegedly). So maybe the version we saw in the Lominsa story was more accurate. Maybe it's the decorative horn instrument and tablet.

...EXCEPT... That tablet was found on Seal Rock (Allagan testing ground for anti-primal weapons) written in Rhotano Bloodcant, a dialect of the Sahagin language.

...How many Keys are there really? What are the tablets supposed to look like? In all likelihood the ORIGINAL answer was probably bound up with the Presence of Silvertear Lake sealed beneath Mor Dhona. So that's lost to time. (For now?)

But this could be one opportunity to clear up what they Keys are since they were linked so closely with the primals. Imagine if they were used in the ritual to summon Hydaelyn. Why horns? Who knows. Though a musical instrument would be neat since our mysterious benefactor, later Hydaelyn, was originally an unseen songstress.