Solution 9 - Unfounded Speculation!

[Kranel_San]

I understand things being incomplete and not ready to show, but it's a bit weird that they haven't even shown us 2D concept art of S9's inhabitants, no?

I don't think it's the inhabitants themselves, since the trailer can confirm Hyurs do live there (One of the billboards has a female Hyur fashion model)

If it's about the inhabitants, then it could be likely the clothes they're wearing.

[Iscah]

The "glyph" just looks like an over-large kanji sort of thing to me. It doesn't have the clean line style of Ascian glyphs at all.

[diamondedge83]

I feel like I should also put out a counter-argument to what I said before about the expansion sequential referential story beats thing. The fact is there is so little of FFI and FFII in Heavensward and Stormblood that it could easily be just a happy coincidence that Shadowbringers had heavy FFIII elements immediately followed by Endwalker having Heavy FFIV elements and that they just happened to fit so well with the story being told. That being the case, there may be nothing more of FFV in Dawntrail than what we've already seen; Krile officially being a party member, the Big Bridge connecting two land masses, Dawntrail being the slightes nods to the Dawn Warriors and of course the letter to Galuf that had the clover in it. I think I would actually prefer if they didn't try to force any order to the references, I think it's funner if they are sprinkled in from all the games if and when they fit into the story.

[Yuella]

Maybe they will reveal that all Miqo'tes are genomes

[Lady_Silvermoon]

Maybe they will reveal that all Miqo'tes are genomes

Take your angry upvote.

[Cilia]

Plot twist: It's a remnant of the destroyed 9th Reflection, which was Lightning-tipped and found some way to transpose a city of theirs onto the Source before the big kerblammo. They have better tech because the Ascians were pretty hands-off until it was time to cause chaos, and with an abundance of Lightning spurring technological development they were able to get to modern (or near-future) tech.

Since then they've been isolationist to prevent the people of the Source from getting their hands on their sweet sweet tech, like Esthar in VIII.

[diamondedge83]

Plot twist: It's a remnant of the destroyed 9th Reflection, which was Lightning-tipped and found some way to transpose a city of theirs onto the Source before the big kerblammo. They have better tech because the Ascians were pretty hands-off until it was time to cause chaos, and with an abundance of Lightning spurring technological development they were able to get to modern (or near-future) tech.

Can't be the ninth, it's still intact. The Second, Third, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Tenth and Twelfth are the shards that have been restored through the calamities. The Twelfth shard was the one rejoined through a lightning aspected aether calamity.

[Cassar]

Would be cool if "Solution 9" means it's the 9th solution they thought of. Maybe Solution 9 was the one that involved transporting your whole city into a different shard (which happened to land on the source), but it also meant leaving the rest of your world behind. Could've been their last resort, after all the other solutions failed. They could've come from any shard, not necessarily shard 9. Maybe even from the most ancient shard (the first that was rejoined, whichever that one was) which would explain why their alphabet is so close to the ancient's and also would explain the high tech: they've lived for longer than any other civilization in the Source.

Honestly as cool as this theory sounds, it almost sounds too... obvious? simple? I don't know, I'm not fully buying it but as of right now that's the most interesting thing that I can think of. I'm ready to be surprised though!

[Lady_Silvermoon]

Would be cool if "Solution 9" means it's the 9th solution they thought of. Maybe Solution 9 was the one that involved transporting your whole city into a different shard (which happened to land on the source), but it also meant leaving the rest of your world behind. Could've been their last resort, after all the other solutions failed. They could've come from any shard, not necessarily shard 9. Maybe even from the most ancient shard (the first that was rejoined, whichever that one was) which would explain why their alphabet is so close to the ancient's and also would explain the high tech: they've lived for longer than any other civilization in the Source.

Honestly as cool as this theory sounds, it almost sounds too... obvious? simple? I don't know, I'm not fully buying it but as of right now that's the most interesting thing that I can think of. I'm ready to be surprised though!

I have a similar theory that Solution 9 is a 9th solution, though I was thinking to the Final Days. A lot of people think they are from the 12th which was the Lightning Calamity, which would explain why their tech seems to run off it. That was the second calamity.

[Narnio]

Gonna throw this out there, but I think the seeds for Solution 9 were mentioned a long time ago, back when we learned about the lore for the Xaela tribes, specifically for the Haragin.

The legends of this coastal tribe tell of a group of their ancestors who crafted a giant ship and sailed out across the endless eastern ocean. The explorers are said to have returned with tales of a terrible island covered in massive grey monoliths and inhabited by fire-breathing steel demons.

East for them would have them land on the New World, unless they encountered another isle along the way. Leads me to believe that Solution 9 has been around for a while, though that doesn't necessarily mean they've been very active.