Revelations from Patch 6.2: Buried Memories

[Cleretic]

My guess is that the Tataru stuff is going to lead to 'big but optional' things, even if right now it's fluff. I have a suspicion, but I'm not certain yet.

I think the story's going to end with them finally resolving a longstanding but rarely acknowledged loose thread: that Teledji Adeledji's Syndicate seat is still vacant. There was an interview around 2016 or so that confirmed this was basically because Nanamo and the Syndicate are in political deadlock on it; with no clear consensus over who should get it, and Nanamo still wanting to dissolve the Syndicate anyway, there's been no actual movement.

I think Tataru's story is going to end in her getting the seat. She's a rare gem among Ul'Dah money-havers; someone that Nanamo could appoint that would broadly be on her side when it counts, but is still exactly the sort of person that would support Monetarist interests on the day-to-day.

Plus, it'd piss off Rowena, who's wanted on the Syndicate since 1.0. And any plot development that makes Rowena mad is hardly a bad thing.

[Iscah]

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Your quote and spoiler tags are broken.

Pandaemonium

While we're never shown Lahabrea actually doing the deed, the fact Athena was said to have met with an untimely death in the Asphodelos story and what we're shown here heavily implies that he did kill his wife. He intended to do so, as during / after their soul fusion he was so horrified by her sociopathy and lack of concern for the Star™ he split the part of himself that had been "infected" by her during the soul merge into Hephaistos.

My thinking – though I do need to go over the quest again to see what we were shown or not – is that

perhaps the sequence was that Lahabrea and Athena merge, he rejects her and tears away the infected part of his soul, and that along with Athena's soul is what coalesces into Hephaistos. (Lahabrea does describe him as the "dregs" of both him and Athena, not just his own soul.)

So if all of Athena (minus any hypothetical part stashed away elsewhere) ended up in Hephaistos, then she is simply "gone" and Lahabrea did not actively kill her, but has to explain why she is gone. His following actions would be on the level of covering up an accidental death that he caused, but not actual murder. And we still don't fully understand the details but taking the false blame for murder might be his preference over having to explain the truth.

[SentioftheHoukai]

Was it this one?

Honestly, it might be dependent upon how you've responded in dialogue choices regarding the Ancients before. Though, I have no proof of this it's the only theory/possibility I can think of off the top of my head.

To be specific, in nearly any dialogue option involving the Ancients or Ascians there is at least one option that can be read as positive whether the Ancient in question be Emet-Selch, Fandaniel and beyond. I do rather suspect that this is what those who erroneously claim that Shadowbringers "forced them to be kind" to Emet-Selch are objecting to. That they were given the OPTION to be tolerant of him, and they'd prefer it wasn't a possibility.

[Eisi]

People seem to believe that

Hephaistos is part Athena for some reason - he isn't. Probably an English translation quirk.

Just because he agrees with and pursues her goals as if he were her doesn't mean there's literally a part of her soul which entered him at some point or anything like that.

[Iscah]

People seem to believe that

Hephaistos is part Athena for some reason - he isn't. Probably an English translation quirk.

Just because he agrees with and pursues her goals as if he were her doesn't mean there's literally a part of her soul which entered him at some point or anything like that.

People "seem to believe it" because Lahabrea outright says it, without elaborating, to the one other person who knows the full story.

LAHABREA
Athena cared naught for Erichthonios, beyond how he could serve her ends.
You claim to be acting in his interest, but 'tis plain you are no different.
As I ushered Athena to her end, I vowed that my sole mission in life would be to guide this star true.
In service to that vow, I silenced the whispers of my heart. I could not nurture a son whilst an entire world looked to me for guidance. For that choice, I bear the responsibility...
Yet he is still my son, and I'll not suffer you to seduce him with false hope. You, who are naught but the bitter dregs of Athena and I─the very worst of us!

Having tracked down that quote, I also see he alludes to having killed Athena, but that's still light on detail.

[Eisi]

People "seem to believe it" because Lahabrea outright says it, without elaborating, to the one other person who knows the full story.

Having tracked down that quote, I also see he alludes to having killed Athena, but that's still light on detail.

No he doesn't at all! You even posted the quote! Read it!

That's not proof for your point, that's a metaphor. Hephaistos held Athena's beliefs which grew in the part of Lahabrea's soul that was in agreement with her. Hephaistos was NOT (fully or in part) Athena's soul, he was Athena's emotions, memories, beliefs and experiences.

Now let me take your position for a second, I think I would interpret it like this:

After the merger, part of Athena's literal soul was still attached to Lahabrea and possibly vice versa as well. That's the part of Athena that he then rid himself of to create Hephaistos.

That's however mere conjecture based on what I consider to be a misinterpretation of metaphorical language.

[WellGramarye]

No he doesn't at all! You even posted the quote! Read it!

That's not proof for your point, that's a metaphor. Hephaistos held Athena's beliefs which grew in the part of Lahabrea's soul that was in agreement with her. Hephaistos was NOT (fully or in part) Athena's soul, he was Athena's emotions, memories, beliefs and experiences.

Now let me take your position for a second, I think I would interpret it like this:

After the merger, part of Athena's literal soul was still attached to Lahabrea and possibly vice versa as well. That's the part of Athena that he then rid himself of to create Hephaistos.

That's however mere conjecture based on what I consider to be a misinterpretation of metaphorical language.

You, who are naught but the bitter dregs of Athena and I─the very worst of us!

Dregs (n) - the most worthless part or parts of something.

[Eisi]

You, who are naught but the bitter dregs of Athena and I─the very worst of us!

Dregs (n) - the most worthless part or parts of something.

I think we are in agreement then. This has nothing to do with her literal soul. But in case we're not, let's make a bet about 6.4, you can set the rules.

[Veloran]

They merge, then separate, then Lahabrea discards his memories and emotions. We never actually see Lahabrea kill Athena, and have no real reason to believe they stayed merged when he did this somehow, as they were already separate. It's possible he sealed her away in Pandamonium.

But if I had to guess, he removed his memories because Athena's motivation for her research was so dangerous that he had to discard it, or else he'd be driven to follow in her footsteps. Which it seems like he did in the future, given the Ascians had mastered the whole soul-merger, bodyswapping, endless life thing. But even after this in the modern day he still seemed to be up to something very different from the other Ascians, ignoring the Rejoining plan to instead prolong the Umbral Era. So right now the plot is still hanging.

Still though, I'd be pretty disappointing if we were just done in the past at this point. WoL kind of just left abruptly with no big closure with Themis, Eric, or Lahabrea.

[sidurgu-12]

They merge, then separate, then Lahabrea discards his memories and emotions. We never actually see Lahabrea kill Athena, and have no real reason to believe they stayed merged when he did this somehow, as they were already separate. It's possible he sealed her away in Pandamonium.

But if I had to guess, he removed his memories because Athena's motivation for her research was so dangerous that he had to discard it, or else he'd be driven to follow in her footsteps. Which it seems like he did in the future, given the Ascians had mastered the whole soul-merger, bodyswapping, endless life thing. But even after this in the modern day he still seemed to be up to something very different from the other Ascians, ignoring the Rejoining plan to instead prolong the Umbral Era. So right now the plot is still hanging.

Still though, I'd be pretty disappointing if we were just done in the past at this point. WoL kind of just left abruptly with no big closure with Themis, Eric, or Lahabrea.

im guessing present pandaemonium somehow has their past selves on it.