Regulators principles

[Cleretic]

Considering she wants to steal our soul to make hers whole, it makes me wonder if they're doing some form of physical ailment not dissimilar to self-tempering to the beast soul's primary aether signature. While I truthfully believe this raid series will end with us taking down the Chairman of the Arcadion because this is a wrestling story, a compelling side-story or twist would be finding a way to fix the problem without tearing down the entire Arcadion from the top down.

I'm guessing we will to some degree, because... well, we aren't the type of people, and in a type of game, that would let such a toxic status quo continue, but at the same time it's also established that the Arcadion is a big part of Alexandria's culture. I suspect the entire thing is a metaphor for substance abuse and the treatment of athletes in professional sport, and from that lens it makes sense that we won't shut it down; all the problems with the NFL are horrible, but you can't just solve them by shutting down football.

My guess is that our own participation will lead to the solution: we're winning by raw personal skill (and seven other people('s souls) doing the same), and we don't just prove the superiority of that over the feral soul transformations, we also prove that people will still be interested in watching.

Well when you could upload yourself into a new body the physical would mean less then the mental but thats more of a transhumanism thing.

That's also not what the Endless are, and even if it was, you might remember that we shut that system down.

[Astralia]

What about Estinien's case ?
He was possessed by Nidhogg, and during the final fight in 3.3, Nidhogg could take a hybrid form with mostly Estinien body in appearance, and his wings.
Since then, Estinien can call forth Nidhogg's power (I think it is the case ?).
Besides, did Nidhogg's remaining Aether fuse with Estinien's when he bathed in his blood and been possessed such a long time (maybe it enhanced his strength above what he could have achieved alone without that power/possession or bathing in Nidhogg's blood) ?
Could he take a hybrid form similar to the Arcadion's fighters if he wanted to ?

[innis31]

What about Estinien's case ?
He was possessed by Nidhogg, and during the final fight in 3.3, Nidhogg could take a hybrid form with mostly Estinien body in appearance, and his wings.
Since then, Estinien can call forth Nidhogg's power (I think it is the case ?).
Besides, did Nidhogg's remaining Aether fuse with Estinien's when he bathed in his blood and been possessed such a long time (maybe it enhanced his strength above what he could have achieved alone without that power/possession or bathing in Nidhogg's blood) ?
Could he take a hybrid form similar to the Arcadion's fighters if he wanted to ?

I think that sounds believable there are myths about bathing in dragons blood and gaining power and while he should be able to transform transformation like that is reserved for the enemy.

[Remarus]

I think that sounds believable there are myths about bathing in dragons blood and gaining power and while he should be able to transform transformation like that is reserved for the enemy.

It's more drinking dragon's blood. We've seen several times in the MSQ and side stories about Ishgardians who drank the blood and transformed into various types of scalekin/dragons. There's a quest series in the Firmament about a guy who turned into one and couldn't turn back.

[innis31]

It's more drinking dragon's blood. We've seen several times in the MSQ and side stories about Ishgardians who drank the blood and transformed into various types of scalekin/dragons. There's a quest series in the Firmament about a guy who turned into one and couldn't turn back.

I was more referring to the irl myths of dragon slayers besides between those that drank dragon blood and the one guy who bathed in it who came out ahead.

[SannaR]

What about Estinien's case ?
He was possessed by Nidhogg, and during the final fight in 3.3, Nidhogg could take a hybrid form with mostly Estinien body in appearance, and his wings.
Since then, Estinien can call forth Nidhogg's power (I think it is the case ?).
Besides, did Nidhogg's remaining Aether fuse with Estinien's when he bathed in his blood and been possessed such a long time (maybe it enhanced his strength above what he could have achieved alone without that power/possession or bathing in Nidhogg's blood) ?
Could he take a hybrid form similar to the Arcadion's fighters if he wanted to ?

I feel that he could transform, but that without full on access to an unsundered soul like Nidhogg's it would take a toll on him. As physical transformations seem to use a lot of aether. For even not every Ancient was able to physically transform if Hythlodaeus was being truthful and not extremely modest. Though Estinien seems to have kept the ability to use temporary physical clones of himself after said possession and do a huge stardiver/drg lb3. It's been a while since I saw what he exactly does to finish the fight with that experimental ultima weapon in that echo flashback.

[Cleretic]

I feel that he could transform, but that without full on access to an unsundered soul like Nidhogg's it would take a toll on him. As physical transformations seem to use a lot of aether. For even not every Ancient was able to physically transform if Hythlodaeus was being truthful and not extremely modest. Though Estinien seems to have kept the ability to use temporary physical clones of himself after said possession and do a huge stardiver/drg lb3. It's been a while since I saw what he exactly does to finish the fight with that experimental ultima weapon in that echo flashback.

Also, the guy can destroy a cannon the size of a building with just a spear, and that's on the LOWER end of his stunts. I don't think he needs the extra juice of a potentially dangerous transformation, guy seems plenty powerful as-is.

[Astralia]

Indeed, Estinien seem powerful enough as is, I just thought of him at the last moment as it seemed believable to me as close enough to Arcadion's fighter to some extent.

But to answer SannaR, isn't it the contrary if we consider Nidhogg's unsundered soul ? Even if with each rejoining, every soul should have taken back a bit of their soul on the shards destroyed (I'm not expert on this part of the lore, sorry for my potential misunderstanding), and Estinien somehow survived Nidhogg's possession and actually has full on access to his soul, or at least his remaining aether lingering in the form of souvenirs/emotions dwelling now in Estinien's aether (that's what I kinda understood actually), but if Nidhogg had been sundered, it should have been easier for Estinien to bear with it and he wouldn't have full on access to his powers but part of it ?

[SannaR]

Indeed, Estinien seem powerful enough as is, I just thought of him at the last moment as it seemed believable to me as close enough to Arcadion's fighter to some extent.

But to answer SannaR, isn't it the contrary if we consider Nidhogg's unsundered soul ? Even if with each rejoining, every soul should have taken back a bit of their soul on the shards destroyed (I'm not expert on this part of the lore, sorry for my potential misunderstanding), and Estinien somehow survived Nidhogg's possession and actually has full on access to his soul, or at least his remaining aether lingering in the form of souvenirs/emotions dwelling now in Estinien's aether (that's what I kinda understood actually), but if Nidhogg had been sundered, it should have been easier for Estinien to bear with it and he wouldn't have full on access to his powers but part of it ?

Well possession in the game seems to take two forms. One that voidsent and ascians do where they take over a person and pretend to be said person. The other is what went on with Estinien. Where it was more of a battle of wills. As both times he gets possessed by Nidhogg Estinien wasn't doing his due diligence of keeping a mental guard up against a few thousand years old unsundered being yapping in your ear every day about how they're going to posesse your ass just like every other person who has held your prestigious position and to then use you to defeat your allies. Dragons in general are different and work different than most other beings on the planet. Midgardsormr and the 1st brood however have and extra detail in that they aren't native to Etheirys as Nidhogg et al were being transported through space as eggs on their dad's back.

We also know that as long as they have an eye of another dragon that they can have a physical body. After we separate Nidhogg's eyes from Estinien it is hinted that a very small part of him was leftover. Now they haven't explained if that was the blood on his lance or if a little soul fusion happened or what exactly. Cause again dragons seem to do everything differently even when they die. So he not only has a smidge of Ratatoskr's blood in him but essence of Nidhogg if only hinted at.

I'm not sure if he does have full access to things he did while having been possessed as some of that is just dragoon crap. I also am not sure if it had been a sundered vs sundered situation if it would have been different as it was more of a battle of wills than the whole "Oh I can't posess you cause your soul is dense" thing that seems to be what determines if you can be "easily" possessed by a voidsent or ascian.