Some interesting gaps about Golbez's history

[Cleretic]

First of all: this is hardly 'these are plot holes' in a bad way, I just... noticed in thinking about Golbez that there's some curious gaps in his story; things that must have happened given what we already have.

First of all, a general list of things we know about Golbez's post-Flood of Darkness history; this is roughly chronological as far as I can tell, but not really trying to piece together an actual timeline.

1. Like everybody else in the Thirteenth, he's been in some way active since the Flood.
2. He captured Azdaja sometime soon after she crossed over, which is roughly shortly before the Fourth Umbral Calamity; Azdaja said it was him, and if she'd been around for any prolonged period before, someone would've seen her.
3. He recruited the Four Fiends sometime after catching Azdaja.
4. He killed the Thirteenth's version of the Watcher, who was confirmably on the moon, when some form of the Zodiark wards were up (they're visible in that flashback).
5. He's been working out of a base in the Zodiark Hole since, at the earliest, 6.1.
6. The grave of Actual Golbez suggests the moon's basically been an empty location, barren enough to leave an undisturbed grave.

There are enormous gaps in this timeline as far as actual chronology goes, as expected from someone who's basically been on his feet for ten thousand years. That isn't a problem, but it is an admission that he very easily could've been doing a whole lot of stuff we haven't seen. But those last three points are the things that grab me.

First of all: How, when and why did he get to the moon? We actually have no temporal indication of when he fought his Watcher, save that it was before we met ours; we can also tell that while Golbez does control some amount of transit to the moon (given that bunch of voidsent he sicced on us), but again going by Real Golbez's grave he seems to be effectively alone up there. So... when did Golbez make his presumably solo trip? And how, since the moon isn't exactly an easy place to get to? This could've been after Azdaja, which would've given him some level of draconic power, but that's not necessarily a given, nor is it a complete solution, since the actual process of transit is still a big ask even if you've got the energy. And then after all that... why did he bother? Did he know there was something cool on the moon? If so, how? Because he's not exactly an explorer; he wouldn't have gone 'I'm going there because it's there'.

Second, and probably the more important one... If we're the ones that caused the Zodiark Hole to be empty, then Golbez can't have been there for very long at all. Which means, as far as I can tell: either Golbez has an only-recently-vacated domain somewhere, or he killed part of Zodiark before we did. (Realistically, both could be true simultaneously, but I doubt it.) Both of those feel really juicy to dig into; Golbez has very clearly been up to stuff, and we've only seen just enough peeks at it to know there's a story there, and not exactly one I can be confident I'd get right by just guessing.

I'm sure the pre-Flood stuff that we're definitely gonna get about him is interesting, but I really hope we get more information on some of the post-Flood stuff, because I have way more questions about it.

[SilversLyu]

There is also another thing to consider. The 13th is flooded with darkness, which could result in a stronger version of Zodiarks essence even though it's just a part of Zodiark. Maybe irrelevant but food for thought.
Golbez is a walking wild card, the devs could pull all sorts of stuff with him in the last patch(es). I wonder if they resolve some questions you have with the Ascians?

The suspicion about his past is there. They went back to the King and probably got ambushed or betrayed by the King.

[Cleretic]

The suspicion about his past is there. They went back to the King and probably got ambushed or betrayed by the King.

I think the fact that I can say with 100% certainty that this definitely happened is why I'm not nearly as interested in his pre-Flood story. This is definitely the tragic parallel to the Castle Baron sequence, and I've kinda got all the data points that allow me to figure out what happened there.

I know way less about what the hell led to his current situation with the moon--and you're probably right, a Zodiark shard on the Thirteenth was probably beefier than average, if he did indeed beat that then it was no small feat. Not to mention him definitely beating the Watcher, who doesn't seem like someone I'd be comfortable picking a fight with anyway.

[Kesey]

Second, and probably the more important one... If we're the ones that caused the Zodiark Hole to be empty, then Golbez can't have been there for very long at all. Which means, as far as I can tell: either Golbez has an only-recently-vacated domain somewhere, or he killed part of Zodiark before we did. (Realistically, both could be true simultaneously, but I doubt it.) Both of those feel really juicy to dig into; Golbez has very clearly been up to stuff, and we've only seen just enough peeks at it to know there's a story there, and not exactly one I can be confident I'd get right by just guessing.

I'm sure the pre-Flood stuff that we're definitely gonna get about him is interesting, but I really hope we get more information on some of the post-Flood stuff, because I have way more questions about it.

Each shard had a piece of Zodiark on the each of their moons. This is represented in the game when we fight Zodiark and he is missing some body parts. When we defeated Zodiark we dispersed him into aether on all the shards. Golbez, must have gone to the moon long before this realizing he is sitting on the biggest deposit of potential aether on the 13th, built his domain over it and waited for the right opportunity. This is his moment to act. What he's been sitting on for a longer period of time must have been his plan, realizing that the WOL defeating the Cloud of Darkness presents the opportunity to defeat Zodiark (any knowledge gap he would possess here would have been filled in when he killed and absorbed the aether of the Watcher). So he's had since ARR to plan for Zeromus. The lore already has presented the why now.

For logistics on how he got to the moon? An ascian made the ruler of Baron build a tower of babel equivalent? Maybe they'll have the whale spaceship for an FFIV call back? I'm not sure this detail matters enough then just a passing mention.

The real questions really have to do with the Contra Memoria. What did the King of Baron want Durante and Man in Black to do? Is the King of Baron corrupted like all men are easily corrupted in the world of the 13th pre-flood of darkness? I assume there is a reason to seek revenge for the Man in Black's death and why was the event so scarring that when Durante became a voidsent he still retained the memory? These will more likely come into play pouring light onto the 13th from the 1st and things from the past start to turn back (much like Zero did when exposed to the crystal of light).

[Enkidoh]

Re: how Golbez got to the Red Moon - a theory but it's been made clear in the past Voidsent can quickly teleport anywhere they wish in the Thirteenth (not surprising given Darkness is activity and movement, and the Thirteenth is so awash with it it's basically in constant flux), so being able to teleport directly to the Red Moon is probably a very easy task for them, as easy as the Ascians could do it on the Source, and without the pesky 'possibly injure yourself or not arrive at all' issue teleportation without using an aetheryte normally has.

Just my musings though.

[Iscah]

If he can't naturally teleport himself to the moon, it's possible that he forced Azdaja to carry him there.

[Bad_Luck]

Maybe he can get to the moon because he's just that strong? Aether for days?

[Cleretic]

If he can't naturally teleport himself to the moon, it's possible that he forced Azdaja to carry him there.

That seems a little unlikely, since that orb he'd stuck her in was also protecting her; she's not exactly safely flight-capable. Being able to take one of her eyes is definitely an asset, but I feel like it can't be the entire answer.

Maybe he can get to the moon because he's just that strong? Aether for days?

Frankly, while that sounds theoretically possible, it feels like it'd be an even worse answer than just not getting an answer. Getting to the moon feels like it shouldn't be a problem that can be solved by just flexing a power level at it, especially given this is a game that's never really done that sort of storytelling before.

Maybe he has enough aether by himself to power a solution in a way that we don't, but that should only give him the equivalent of the Tower of Babil's aether reserves, not the Tower of Babil itself.

[Alleluia]

Given the animal-like voidsent offering transport for aether in the MSQ, I think that method is a valid option for travel to the moon on the 13th. Assuming one can provide enough aether. The voidsent don't need to breathe, far as I know. And if they do, I'm sure there's a shield/bubble spell for that.

And yeah, gonna guess the lunar whale is gonna be involved in this somehow if its ever explained. Might even be another Bismarck to add to our collection. (And I thought VII went overboard with its 50 Bahamuts... lol)

The "Azdaja was forced to provide transport" idea is also valid, imo.

[Carin-Eri]

Re: how Golbez got to the Red Moon - a theory but it's been made clear in the past Voidsent can quickly teleport anywhere they wish in the Thirteenth (not surprising given Darkness is activity and movement, and the Thirteenth is so awash with it it's basically in constant flux), so being able to teleport directly to the Red Moon is probably a very easy task for them, as easy as the Ascians could do it on the Source, and without the pesky 'possibly injure yourself or not arrive at all' issue teleportation without using an aetheryte normally has.

Just my musings though.

I was thinking similar - that they could well use a much-improved version of Hell's Ingress/Hell's Egress/ Regress that Reapers are able to use.