Quote Originally Posted by Mchappy View Post
Patch 7.1 MSQ

Before Dawntrail released, I recall seeing the mask on Sphene's character design on her waist. Therefore, I am still holding out for hope that there is some Ascian connection here that will turn the story on its head, or make it feel more personable to the Warrior of Light. Right now, I am just a casual observer to be used as Wuk Lamat's fighting tool. I want to feel more connected moving forward.
I hate to rain on your parade, but the thing you're talking about isn't the thing you think it is.

The ornament on Sphene's hip isn't a mask, and would be a pretty uncomfortable one if it was. It's the symbol of the Endless; it's Alexandria's emblem as seen across both the Solution Nine administrative building and Otis' shield, with an infinity symbol tacked on. From a design perspective it's got some interesting extra shades to it; that infinity symbol actually clashes with the Alexandrian emblem in a way that makes it look like an after-the-fact addition, and not one that's actually caring about integration with the original symbol, which sounds about right for a personification of the Endless system.

And frankly, it never looked like an Ascian sigil in the first place.

And is an Ascian actually a meaningful threat enough to get you invested on their own merits anyway? Their central decision-makers and means of prolonging themselves died in Shadowbringers, and the central object of their planning died in Endwalker. Sure there's somewhere between two to five Ascians plausibly still alive, depending on how good you think Gaius and the Students of Baldesion are at killing them, but are they actually a threat when they can't enact their goals? Do they even care anymore without Emet, Elidibus and Lahabrea leading them? Fandaniel sure didn't.

Personally, I'd far more engaged with the threat we're probably actually looking at: Preservation. A big question mark to be sure, but all evidence suggests that they're probably still around, and probably have as much access to their core tools as they ever had; whatever they want to do, they're eminently capable of doing it. All it requires is that you care about the people they're threatening--and you already should, they're as much people as anyone else we've met.