Steppe Gods = Warring Triad? (Stormblood Spoilers within)

[ArcaneFocus]

Recently on a lore hunt for a wiki project regarding Azim.

The architecture of the dawn throne's foundation, the male face on it, and the structure of nhamaa half-buried in the sand, it's all 100% allagan - The very distinctive lines on its checkerboard pattern match up almost completely to some pillars near St. Coinach's Find, which is excavating other allagan-era architecture.

My thinking is:
Dusk Mother Nhamaa = Sophia
Dawn Father Azim = Zurvan
Sephirot = The Mol's Elder gods

At least in terms of originating entities that gave rise to the primals captured in Azys Lla. Which, need I remind, was raised from the Burn, which is next door to the Steppe.

[Absimiliard]

Sophia, Zurvan, and Sephirot were all Meracydian primals. It's possible the ancestors of modern Au Ra came into contact with them (or at least their imagery) at some point during the reign of the Allagans, but this is not going to be something to have occurred in the Steppe. We're well aware of their likenesses already, at any rate. Nothing in the Steppe even vaguely resembles them.

Azys Lla was raised in large part to serve as something of a gigantic research, development, and containment facility for all manner of Allagan horrors. Its point of origin, insofar as we are aware, did not inform the goings on there at all. It was simply more land claimed by the Allagans for their own purposes.

Most, if not all, of the Allagan technology spread throughout parts of the Azim Steppe is responsible for channeling the monumental amount of aether required to keep Azys Lla in the sky. It does this by redirecting the flow of aether away from what is now the Burn, which is precisely why that region remains a wasteland into the current age. Incidentally, this is also why those Dotharl wishing to escape reincarnation can do so by committing suicide in a specific cave. Upon death, the machinery in that cave will suck up their aether soul and all.

[KageTokage]

We don't know when the Dawn/Dusk Throne were constructed, only that it happened during an era where the Au Ra were united as a people and they had to have already been divided by the time the Allagans showed up as we know Vrtra had established Radz-at-han with the aid of Raen Au Ra during the reign of the Allagan empire.

I was under the impression their origin story likely came about much, much longer ago, perhaps during the dawn of post-Sundering history where distinct races began emerge from the sundered Ancients.

[Absimiliard]

Huh. It just occurred to me that Azys Lla is basically just Elpis if it was run by a bunch of tyrants.

[Cleretic]

Huh. It just occurred to me that Azys Lla is basically just Elpis if it was run by a bunch of tyrants.

So, Elpis. *badump-tish*

But yeah, being serious, there's been a theory circling for a while on Twitter in particular that Azys Lla might've been essentially Amon's attempt to recreate his dreams of Elpis. That essentially, Azys Lla is how he saw Elpis for better and worse, before getting the full context by being elevated to Fandaniel.

[ArcaneFocus]

Sophia, Zurvan, and Sephirot were all Meracydian primals.

Meaning that we know they originated from the continent that Bahamut and Tiamat settled in, which by the time of the Allagan's slaying of Bahamut, the three primals were summoned for the first time in very quick succession. Meaning, their likenesses had to have existed in the minds of the people for enough time to inspire the form of the primals.

...but this is not going to be something to have occurred in the Steppe. We're well aware of their likenesses already, at any rate. Nothing in the Steppe even vaguely resembles them.

Right, it wouldn't have. We don't have a concrete idea of what kind of migrations occurred as a result of Meracydia's domination, or who the Allagans took as captive, etc.
The lack of likeness is where I disagree. If we just focus on facial structures, I admit it seems like a stretch. What stands out to me the most is the theming of the "Dawn Father" and "Dusk Mother" as it pertains to Zurvan and Sophia respectively. Zurvan is very draconic in design, but more importantly he has a strong bright orange fire motif, which could possibly be interpreted as dawn-like. Sophia meanwhile has the distinctively charcoal-colored skin, and an associated entity that she calls "Daughter", which could lead to her maternal associations in spite of not...exactly having the figure of someone who has had children (not that FF series designs really care about that, ofc).

We don't know when the Dawn/Dusk Throne were constructed, only that it happened during an era where the Au Ra were united as a people and they had to have already been divided by the time the Allagans showed up as we know Vrtra had established Radz-at-han with the aid of Raen Au Ra during the reign of the Allagan empire.

I was under the impression their origin story likely came about much, much longer ago, perhaps during the dawn of post-Sundering history where distinct races began emerge from the sundered Ancients.

Once again, the figures of the Dusk Mother and Dawn Father need not have been originally developed within the steppe, the peoples who worshipped them just needed to end up there long enough to carve their likenesses.

--

EDIT#1 -- One other point of evidence I consider for this comparison is the fact that "The Warring Triad" literally would fight against each other, and this is a notable characteristic as well of the relationship between the Dusk Father and Dawn Mother.

[Enkidoh]

I didn't really read much into Azim and Nhamma being anything more than a reference to Altana and Promathia from FFXI with genders reversed... but, anything is possible I guess.