CG Midlander

[Leonesaurus]

Greetings all! Grab a cup of Windurstian tea and pull up your chairs, because the lore train has arrived and is mixing metaphors faster than I can put a notch on the torch in my belt.

(Moments after reading Fernehalwes' entire post)

OMG, Fernehalwes, that was such a GREAT read man!!!

You've got to write more man!!! This is such awesome lore!!! I love this game's lore and you just knocked one outta the park dude!

Please do more of these more often, I think sharing this with people interested in the game or even throwing these into in-game books or something for people to read would be FANTASTIC!

Keep doing an awesome job man and I swear... If there's EVER another Ahriman NM in ARR they damn well better name one of them Fernehalwes! Haha

Thanks again for the lore post!! Just had to say it myself~ :P

[Davorok]

Greetings all! Grab a cup of Windurstian tea and pull up your chairs...

Stop trying to make this into FFXI-2 !

/sarcasm off

That was a great read. Thank you.

Now, is anyone else on Excalibur gonna keep playing so that I can complete all these quests so that I can know what the heck you are talking about?

[Anonymoose]

Now, is anyone else on Excalibur gonna keep playing...

o/

(I'm also starting a lore guide)

[Catapult]

3. You guys hit the proverbial nail on its proverbial head in your speculation regarding what happens with the Midlander. As was stated above, all three have the power of the Echo, allowing them to experience the past, interact with it, but ultimately not change the outcome of anything important (the wind created by a battleaxe swing will not start a hurricane in Garlemald). While sifting through guildleves, our well-groomed Midlander is flung back into another person’s memory about a simple job to kill a morbol. The job ultimately takes an unexpected twist that ends in the party witnessing one of the most spectacular battles of the Sixth Astral Era.

Ok, got a question for you Ferne, because I'm not believing the part I've bolded up there holds completely true. I'm going to be quoting the Gridanian plotlines for Sundered Skies through to Beckon of the Elementals. (For those who want to follow along, I've dropped the entire text log here, including highlighting a few localisation mistakes in red - I haven't brought them up here since I suspect they are now moot pending ARR.)

In all of this, I'm presuming there aren't any localisation or plot errors, although Ferne is welcome to correct me if there are. After all, this is why the LOC forum exists. (My favourite error was when the Vans once referred to eikons and Primals. )

In Sundered Skies, when you arrive in Gridania, this is said to us outside of the echo by Farrimond:

Farrimond: Did you see the darkened skies? The streaking lights and the falling comets? I know not what to make of it all...

This tells us that our arrival in Gridania comes shortly after the sky-darkening starshower that is witnessed inside an echo at the very end of Beckon of the Elementals, recently enough for people like Farrimond to still be talking about it. So what this means is that the cleansing ritual to try and rescue Krimm, while also supposedly cleansing Yda and Papalymo, has already taken place.

Next up, we have these quotes outside of the echo. These are the ones that refer to Fye.

Hermit of the Wood: A message for Fye? Well, I'll be damned.

Sansa: Taveth saw a moogle in the forest. It asked him to give a message to Fye.
Ryd: Really!?
Sansa: I see her in the forest sometimes, too. And I hear the grownups talking about her. They say Fye is sad because the elementals are real.
Fufucha: Shush now, children. Brother E-Sumi has come to visit, so be on your best behavior.
E-Sumi-Yan: I believe you were just talking about Fye, were you not?
Powle: That's right. Taveth talked to her in the wood.
Fufucha: Fye!? She spoke to you!?
E-Sumi-Yan: The Twelveswood is ill at ease now. The elementals are frightened. There are many outsiders, and wildlings besides. Yet I fear these are merely pieces to a far greater puzzle.
E-Sumi-Yan: Pray tell me, Taveth, did Fye ask anything of you?
E-Sumi-Yan: I see. So she wishes to ask the moogles if a wildling can be returned from the forest's grasp...

Fye is understood to be wandering the forest, searching for Dunstan, wanting for him to be reclaimed from being a wildling. It seems most of the people in Gridania haven't even seen her recently. They think I've been talking to her in the forest, rather than in echos around town.

Pudgy Moogle: But there's more. The elementals have something to ask of you, as well.
Pudgy Moogle: Tell the Hyur girl, the one named Fye, to stop wandering the wood, kupo.

Again, same situation. Although it's also plausible the elementals know you have the echo.

Fufucha: You are one of the few who have befriended Fye, after all. And that is no small task.
Fufucha: What? What did you just say!?
Fufucha: The elementals asked you to talk to Fye? They asked you!?

The entire affair is a big deal.

Lewin: I hear it told the elementals have asked you to deliver a message─a message to Fye. It seems they've entrusted you with the task of saving her.

So it seem Fye's welfare is at stake as she wanders the wood.

O-App-Pesi: To this day, his woodsin continues to grow and fester, and with it the elementals' desire to bring about his end. Truly, I have rarely seen them so wroth─and yet he will not relent.
Lewin: Dunstan, he is named, and it is his sister Fye he seeks. No doubt he means only to help her.
O-App-Pesi: My men tell me that you have already made the acquaintance of Fye. This is why I have summoned you.
O-App-Pesi: We need your strength, Taveth. For Fye's sake, and for Dunstan's. If you should see anything queer in the Twelveswood, make it known at once.

I'm assuming when they say Dunstan brought down the hedge, they mean when Yda&Papalymo arrived, but that's not the point. The point is that to this day, Dunstan and Fye are still searching for each other. And Dunstan is still rogue.

Lewin: How have we not found the bastard? We've combed every bloody ilm of the Twelveswood, yet the unrest of the elementals continues.
O-App-Pesi: The fault lies with me, I fear. It was I who was unable to deter Dunstan from entering the forest. Still, I beg of you, Lewin, leave Fye to me.
Lewin: Hm, you? Ah, yes, I suppose Miounne did mention you might come stumbling along. So, you have a mind to take part in a ranging, do you?
Lewin: Well, I'm in no position to refuse help, however meager. Dunstan will stop short of nothing to get what he wants. He must be found!

ie: Dunstan was at the grand rite, but then ran away again.

O-App-Pesi: And now it is I who asks a favor of you. Even if found, Dunstan and Fye will not be out of harm's way. Nor will we. The wrath of the elementals will continue. It is best that they leave Gridania and the Twelveswood altogether. Please, Taveth, convince them of this.

O-App describes the situation as if the purification rite on them was a complete and utter failure and Dunstan is still seeping in woodsin .

A'naidjaa: I'm sorry, you're searching for whom? Fye?
A'naidjaa: Please, do not speak that name to me. Such a tragedy, what that lass has been put through. I do not wish to be reminded.

Same thing. Utter tragedy.

Miounne: Taveth, there is word of a commotion over at Stillglade Fane. Haven't been to see for myself, but I've heard talk of wildlings.

ie: Dunstan has just arrived in town. While he may be cooperating with the Conjurers, it is clear the populous do not recognise him as cleansed - Fye certainly doesn't since she is reportedly searching the wood for him.

Ok, now things start getting complicated. This one is inside the echo, but not observable in a cutscene, just after Dunstan has been brought in by Yda and Papalymo:

Fye: Let me in! I have to see him! I have to see Khrimm!
Fye: You'll help me, won't you, Taveth? Find Brother E-Sumi, or Brother O-App. Tell them I'm here!
Fye: I have to see Khrimm. I have to talk to him. To tell him I...I'm sorry.
Silky-haired Conjurer: Calm down, child! You can't see him now. It's too dangerous.
Disconcerted Conjurer: You cannot pass, Fye. Trust us, it is for your own good.

It is clear to me that the Conjurers have, up until the present day, thought it best to keep Fye away from her brother, Dunstan, very much oblivious of what she could do for him.

Back to present day:

O-App-Pesi: We are thinking to have Dunstan here take part in the purification rites―secretly, of course.
O-App-Pesi: By all rights, he should not even be in Gridania. Should the townsfolk discover he is planning to attend the ceremony, it would cause an outcry. His mere presence would seem to them to invite disaster.
O-App-Pesi: But if he is present, then there is a chance of he and Fye meeting. And that, Taveth, depends entirely upon you.
O-App-Pesi: The rites are about to commence.
O-App-Pesi: Taveth, should you see Fye again, please tell her. Tell her that her brother is waiting for her.

Policy change. And more importantly, Fye has not yet met Dunstan.

Now this is where I believe we start changing history's significant events.

Echo time - These quotes are from the Grand Rite sequence.

Fye: What's that? Dunstan? My brother? He's here!?

She genuinely did not know. Without your intervention, they would not meet.
And then there is this, after you're back from the echo-in-an-echo where you witness Krimm having the chat with his parents and setting light to the Oath Tree, all the while Papalymo wonders "How in the bloody hells did we get here!?".

Fye: Dunstan! Dunstan!
E-Sumi-Yan: He is safe, child, thanks to you. That mask you made had a great deal of love in it.
E-Sumi-Yan: And miracles do occur, it would seem.
Khrimm: What...? What happened?
Fye: Khrimm!
Yda: Please tell me you just saw all that, too.
Yda: It wasn't a dream, because I don't dream. Or at least I never remember them if I do.
Yda: Maybe it was a vision. Like the kind the cultists say you see if you eat moogle flesh during a full moon.
Yda: Pinch me, Papalymo. I do believe I may be dead again.
Papalymo: No, this is no great beyond, Yda. It was the past we saw. Twelve be good, it was the past! By some strange power...or someone's.

Which means that, before you have even arrived in Gridania, the following has now happened:
- Fye has met Dunstan
- Krimm's AND Dunstan's woodsin has been cleansed
- You have demonstrated the echo to Papalymo and Yda who previously weren't aware of it.

It goes on to make you wonder why Fye and Dunstan would still be out searching for each other for the whole first four quests of the Main Scenario.

But you, Ferne, have told us that the echo doesn't allow us to change the outcome of anything important.

[kimoi]

(Gridania story breakdown)

Thanks for that. I was just trying this yesterday looking at the cutscenes. To add to what you said about the hints of tragedy, there was a quote by O-App-Essi that was "In the end they forgave us the fire, but none shall forget the loss of life that was suffered." In combination with them all talking about how Fye had such a tragic life, I assumed it meant Khrimm or Dunstan died. But if it were the former, he couldn't turn into the Hermit. If it were the latter, he couldn't have opened the hedge.

- You have demonstrated the echo to Papalymo and Yda who previously weren't aware of it.

I don't think they were unaware of it, they in fact call it by name. As Papalymo says, "Do you need even ask? We should have stopped it and we didn't. It has begun. The winds of change have already swept over Eorzea. We are only just now realizing it. The Echo has sounded... And nothing can stop it now." So they're just surprised because they didn't expect to experience someone using it. Now, why they were trying to stop something, that is what I don't understand.

[Warlock]

Thanks for that. I was just trying this yesterday looking at the cutscenes. To add to what you said about the hints of tragedy, there was a quote by O-App-Essi that was "In the end they forgave us the fire, but none shall forget the loss of life that was suffered." In combination with them all talking about how Fye had such a tragic life, I assumed it meant Khrimm or Dunstan died. But if it were the former, he couldn't turn into the Hermit. If it were the latter, he couldn't have opened the hedge.


I don't think they were unaware of it, they in fact call it by name. As Papalymo says, "Do you need even ask? We should have stopped it and we didn't. It has begun. The winds of change have already swept over Eorzea. We are only just now realizing it. The Echo has sounded... And nothing can stop it now." So they're just surprised because they didn't expect to experience someone using it. Now, why they were trying to stop something, that is what I don't understand.

Papalymo and Yda were aware of it...well mostly Papalymo as Yda is a silly girl but good with her fists. He recognizes it but maybe he doesn't have the Echo..at first i thought all Archons had it but now i'm inclining more towards to that only Y'shtola has it in the gang and she moves them all around..

What Papalymo says that needed to be stopped was the breaking of the seal..they all had different approaches to it ..Tanchred was more like trying to figure out what catastrophe was going to fall on Ul'dah specifically when in fact the tragedy was going to affect the entire world which leads me to think that the information Warburton was supposed to deliver was that the Empira was going to launch a massive attack to Silvertear Lake and take over all the crystal resources ...the breaking of the seal was an accident...and the star shower maybe marks the death of Midgarsormr

[Catapult]

Papalymo and Yda were aware of it...well mostly Papalymo as Yda is a silly girl but good with her fists. He recognizes it but maybe he doesn't have the Echo..at first i thought all Archons had it but now i'm inclining more towards to that only Y'shtola has it in the gang and she moves them all around..

What Papalymo says that needed to be stopped was the breaking of the seal..they all had different approaches to it ..Tanchred was more like trying to figure out what catastrophe was going to fall on Ul'dah specifically when in fact the tragedy was going to affect the entire world which leads me to think that the information Warburton was supposed to deliver was that the Empira was going to launch a massive attack to Silvertear Lake and take over all the crystal resources ...the breaking of the seal was an accident...and the star shower maybe marks the death of Midgarsormr

To pour a little bit of cold water, Futures Perfect has the archon you meet in these openings quests tell us that they will continue to search for the one that gave them this power. They certainly all have it, and broadly know what it's significance is, but I'm simply arguing they were not aware they had till you shoved it in their faces, much how like Minfilia does to you later. Understanding mooglespeak is not a dead giveaway.

It would indeed fit if Warbuton's information pertained to the battle Silvertear Skies.

I just don't want to assume the starshower we see happens in concurrence with Midgardsomr's death. The clouds open in a different location for each instance: just East of Ul'dah, North of Gridania and (iirc) South of Limsa.
The pieces would fit better if the echo sounded when the seal was broken, but quest#4's starshower happens after the fact.

[Soukyuu]

Some have theorized that the Midlander takes over the body of a fourth party member, and witnesses what that person saw. While an interesting theory, this, unfortunately, is not how the Echo works. There may have been a fourth member around earlier, but he was gone by the time the Midlander arrived (probably returned to his home point after getting KO’d and accidentally dropping his bow).

Just something I noticed after rewatching the opening: The bow belongs to the Midlander, when he drops into the lake on arrival, you see him holding a bow. So in the Echo, he was an archer.

[Fernehalwes]

Okay, so for the most part, you guys had pretty much figured out what was going on through discussion. However, like a salmon laying all her eggs in one basket, the thread spawned a roe-bust cornucopia of new queries (okay, I’ll stop now...really).

I’ll try to field some of the major ones:

1. The beast tribes have their primals, so what about the 5 races? Do they have their own? Is it Siren? It’s Siren, right? It doesn’t matter if you tell me it’s not Siren, I know it’s Siren. (Please tell me it’s Siren...)

This is a touchy subject. I can tell you that you’ve done a remarkable job of picking up a lot of the subtle hints that were dropped in the 1.0 story (the Ifrit diatribe being an excellent example), but the story was served to you incomplete (in addition to being served over a period of two years), and so you’ve been left to fill in the blanks yourselves. This has lead to a lot of unnecessary confusion, and fixing this for ARR has been one of the main things that Yoshi-P has been preaching to the new quest team. In other words, release more info, with fewer gaps in-between, so that players can better follow the story. So what we’ll see happen in ARR is an influx of quests that try to paint a better picture of what was going on in 1.0. That means, for info regarding this ‘another’ of which Ifrit speaks and the ‘paragons’ who supposedly taught the beast tribes how to summon the primals, you’ll have to wait until ARR begins.

What I have been allowed to say is, the Sanguine Sirens are different from the sirens which are mentioned in the blacksmith/armorer class quests, and both are different from Siren of Final Fantasies past (who has not been mentioned in-game). And then there's the provisional artwork that was recently released...

So wait, does this mean there is no Siren primal? Well, that remains to be seen.

2. Is that Leviathan in Limsa Lominsa’s opening?

No, that is not Leviathan. It’s a sea serpent. This is explained (somewhat convolutedly) in the Limsa Lominsa storyline. The sahagins do still worship Leviathan, and he being their primal, it is only a matter of time before the fishbacks summon him to wreak some havoc on the thalassocracy.

But! But! In It Kills with Fire it is mentioned that the Company of Heroes slew Leviathan! Yes, the CoH did slay him, and have been doing primal raids ever since they started appearing. But as you all found out fighting Ifrit and Garuda, defeating a primal doesn’t mean the primal is dead. You’ve only caused the beast tribes to waste some of their precious crystal supplies in summoning the primal again.

3. What are the Ascians and what do they represent?

ARR will feature more on these guys, so for now you’ll have to be content with knowing there’s more to know... Anonymoose made a good point in bringing up that Ascian means ‘shadowless’. Perhaps you might find something interesting if you go back through the 1.0 cutscenes and look for people without shadows...

4. Do the Twelve exist? Are the Archons from the Circle of Knowing actually the Twelve? Are the primals and the Twelve one in the same (er, twelve in the same)?

More info on the gods of Eorzea and how both the Twelve and the primal fit into the whole celestial scheme of things will be revealed in ARR, but even then things will remain hazy. I mean, it’s religion. It’s hazy by design. In one age, a guy who single-handedly kills a microchu to save a girl is a good Samaritan. The story gets told by a thousand different people, each time changing just a little, but each time becoming more epic (the microchu becomes an ochu, the ochu becomes ten ochus, the girl becomes a princess, and so-on). In the next age, he’s a hero. In the next, he’s a saint. In the next, he’s a god, smiting ochus with levinbolts from high atop a snowy peak. And what of those people who possess magic or technology that is beyond the comprehension of the commonfolk? Would they not appear as gods? And what about those powerful entities who fancy themselves as gods, and use people gullible enough to follow them to obtain what they desire (power, gold, etc.)? And what of the actual gods, who normally don’t give a hoot about the ants crawling about their realms, but will intervene when it amuses them? Hopefully the story in ARR will help categorize who falls into what slot.

I can mention why primals are referred to as primals, though. It is not because they are underdeveloped, younger deities, but because the beast tribes tend to believe that they were the ones who created them, the world, and everything. They are the primal forms of existence.

5. What happened to Atmos?

Thanks to the havoc wreaked on the planet’s aetherial flow by good old Dalamud (Bahamut) the rift between Hydaelyn and the void (which up until now had been small, and reserved to places like Dzemael Darkhold) grew extremely large in that turbulent period of time leading up to the Battle of Carteneau. This allowed far more, far larger, and far more powerful enemies a free pass into Eorzea—a hotbed of aetherial energy, also known as a voidsent’s favorite snack. Atomos was one of these creatures. So, what happened to him? That remains to be seen in ARR.

6. Do the dragons of Dravania worship a primal? And if so, who? Is it Nidhogg? Midgardsormr? Someone else?

Yoshi-p dropped a few bombs last week revealing that both Midgardsormr and Nidhogg were not primals, but dragon ‘kings.’ However, he also revealed that the dragons are a beast tribe...and that beast tribes have their own gods (primals)... So...

7. When did Eorzeans start using the Garlean term of "beastmen" that allowed it to become a perfectly acceptable term attracting absolutely no backlash by the time we start playing the game? And if this term could be so well engrained, why aren't we calling the primals "eikons" with equal willingness? It seems a bit of a contradiction.

It depends on who you ask. The people of Ul’dah, who have branded the beast tribes as an ultimate threat (as their presence infringes on profits) are more likely to side with the Empire’s take on the issue, and resort to racial epithets conveniently provided by the empire via propaganda (fliers from the sky, hired rabble rousers, etc). On the other hand, there are those (like Minfilia and others on the Path, or the Ashcrown Consortium) who seek peaceful relations with the tribes. These are more likely to use terms such as primal over eikon. And then there are those who float about in the middle, and simply haven’t given it much thought—kind of like my grandfather who probably wasn’t what I’d call a ‘racist,’ but ended up using terms (that we now deem racist) throughout his life just because that’s what the people around him used.


In conclusion (man, was this post a doozy!), remember that Eorzea is filled with misinformation. This can be expected in a semi-medieval world that lacks proper channels of communication. Most news is passed through a filter of individuals who mangle the original story, remembering only what pertains to them, and making up the rest. This is what makes searching for the truth fun. You have to sit back and sift through the dirt and rocks to find those nuggets of gold. Do you believe Urianger or the people who call him a liar? Do you believe that the Archons are avatars of the Twelve because a crazy girl with spriggan friends dreamt it was true? Battling the red herrings can be quite the challenge, but the reward for defeating them is always worth it.

Until next time!


PS: After looking at the ‘interesting’ lyrics posted by Anonymoose, I just realized that we have yet to release the official transcript of the song Answers. I've spoken with Yoshi-p, and given him the EN lyrics. Supposedly he'll be posting both the EN and JP later today. Huzzah!

[Anonymoose]

Grab a cup of Windurstian tea and pull up your chairs

As luck would have it, I was indeed able to have some Windurstian goods imported via my Excellent Adventure through the Atomos. How'd you know about that? /panic

I’d like to start off by apologizing.

PSHHHAW. Those apologies will be stored safely in a box for a day when they are appropriate. If waiting a few days is the difference between a simple ambiguity fix and bonus lore crumblies sprinkled on top, I can wait.

It simply means, the answers are coming in 2.0, and Yoshi-P, the Lorelord, and his faithful minions don’t want to spill the beans before they can be properly planted in the oven.

We're certainly willing to wait for any info that they don't want known yet. The main reason I bring issues like this one to the LOC forum at all is because they appear to be things that are meant to be clear but are not. This line, of course, wasn't very clear in this thread because we got a little anxious with the wait and decided to debate the meaning of everything but life itself.

This is why that for the duration of 1.0, Eorzea was in a perpetual 1572. Think of it as the same thing that’s happening in the Simpsons. 23 seasons gone and Lisa’s still 8, Maggie’s still a baby, and the gummy Venus still tastes oh, so sacrelicious.

This is one thing I'd always just taken for granted; that 1572-6A was the end of the line until the End of an Era cutscene, where we transition to 0-7U (and eventually into what I assume is 5-AU for ARR). With a game year passing every 18 Earth days, there'd be only so much leeway to give before we'd be right to assume that Chronos has a hand in our biological immortality. (ALSO, LOL).

Pictured: The Eorzean Timeline

the CGI was too far along to change without setting the completion date back, and so they left it as-is.

And the congestion sought to be avoided by moving it out of the AG would, of course, damn to the same fate any city we could give it to in order to explain this away. Bah; render unto the incongruity gods what is the incongruity gods' ... Limsa Lominsa it is!

and the seal which he protected (guarding the concentration of aether beneath Silvertear Lake) is broken, allowing the beast tribes access to this energy, which they use to freely summon their primals (as taught to them by the mysterious paragons).

Ahhhhhhh - methinks that this is the key that was missing to our being able to piece it all together. From what I'd gathered from NPC chatter and quest information, Mor Dhona was clearly the center of it all; but I figured it was just a hub or origin point. I never caught onto the idea that the energy was supposed to remain there, or was constrained in any way. This piece of information about the seal allows a lot of the freedom we were given in creating explanations to be swept cleanly into the dustbin. Midgardsormr didn't possess, or monopolize the energy - he kept the cork on the bottle. Gotcha!

(because you cannot die in an Echo-induced memory).

I will keep this information from the in-game Anony Moose... the things he'd do...

(okay, two aether-hungry primals and one super-cuddly primal)

SUPER-cuddly. I know Moggle-Mog was sort of a one-off good-times event, but it gives me hope that maybe one day we'll see some other fun ones off on the sidelines somewhere. I see a future where there's a Goblin King who rings his frypan and tosses bombs and has some sort of terrifying firework cannon... and the music would be an homage to David Bowie, because, come on. Goblin King.

they lose the services of one Elezen male

Didn't see that one coming! I thought for sure the grumpy scowls coming from under that hat were from the same snarky grumpus we saw in the AG. I guess it would make more sense that he'd take his grumpsterness elsewhere before she would... but, still! Bested by a frowny elezen female!

They’re just somewhere else. Though, maybe you’ll stumble across their party in the future. Or maybe you won’t. How’s that for committing to an answer?

It's good enough for me! I do like running into promotional, tie-in, and cinematic characters in game, as it really anchors everything, but I can deal with just assuming we never cross paths. Wouldn't want to pull a Pyramid Head and shoe horn them in where there's no reason to.

It doesn’t matter if you tell me it’s not Siren, I know it’s Siren.

For some reason, I read this entire thing in the voice of that Beggin' Strips dog... As for the story pacing, I'm glad to hear Yoshi-P's put some spotlight on the issues. Pacing in Final Fantasy is always so much better with the action than the story, and if I may be so bold, there's a pretty strong correlation between those installments that are remembered most fondly and those who conscientiously dole out the info.

As for Siren, it would make a lot things in 1.X seem like brilliant hidden gems... but, we'll see where it goes. Myself, I've grown rather fond of Catapult's crystal theory.

No, that is not Leviathan. It’s a sea serpent.

HNNNG - right in the credibility. I'd taken the Company of Heroes slaying into the information about the reappearance into the surprise at seeing him in the Limsa storyline was an example of the reappearance process... not in spite of it. Y'shtola mentions that this serpent is frequently mentioned... and Lominsan civilians seem to know of him, as well. Wonder what his story'll be!

Perhaps you might find something interesting if you go back through the 1.0 cutscenes and look for people without shadows...

Spoken like a man who knows I play with Character Shadows off because for some builds they end up looking like one of those acid-trip GIFs... but the only color is flesh....

Why do shadows look like I'm melti-
ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOGIGANTOAD.

I mean, it’s religion. It’s hazy by design.

YAY, REALISM!

Atomos was one of these creatures. So, what happened to him? That remains to be seen in ARR.

So, if Atomos is from the void, and required aether to manifest... Hm! That puts a new spin on several of the other voidsent! I suppose we never would have noticed if gargoyles and gryphs are required to absorb some aether to get in on reality; the rifts in the void are often in aether-rich places as is... and being small, they'd only have to knock off a few living things...

How dark! That's going to push a few of the voidsent up my list of favorites...

kind of like my grandfather who probably wasn’t what I’d call a ‘racist,’ but ended up using terms...

I love that Eorzea even has its own "product of the times" conversation patterns... ugh, what a shame it would have been for this game to go unrealized. We've gotta help the dev-team get this game where it should be, forum-goers.

I'M TAKIN' EIKON BACK; YOU WATCH.

Do you believe that the Archons are avatars of the Twelve because a crazy girl with spriggan friends dreamt it was true?

See, there's an interesting way to put it. I think a lot of us questioned what of those tales might be real, but I think that event also caused us to equate the term "Archon" with the definition "avatar of The Twelve." We've put a lot more time into questioning whether or not they're archons and not so much into whether or not archon means what we think it means...

Thanks so much for your time, Ferne! I think these two posts really help consolidate what mysteries of 1.X were meant to be wrapped up tidy and which Yoshi-P still has designs on. It's also humbling to see such a diverse continuum of places we (and I especially) were right on, way off, and degrees of in-between. The stage is set!

Time to rally the troops...