CG Midlander

[Mjollnir]

It may have been whoever or whatever gave us the echo had decided (sentient?) that "you need to see this". While the Derplander's party was already woken by the echo, perhaps Fate saw fit to intervene in a similar way?

Or maybe the CG animation was locked down before the rules of the echo were finalized...

Preposterous! Conspiracy, I tell thee!
Though to be fair, this is the only place in CG that you get to see a leve-plate. Is it such a leap of logic to consider that the leve-plate caused the Echo and not Deus Ex Machina?

Unless we get something better, I'm just going to assume that the party from the Echo was actually at The Drowning Wench the entire time The Midlander was having his tweak-out. Maybe they were getting drunk to celebrate the ten year anniversary of the last time they dared pick up a damn guildleve - sitting just a few tables away from The Midlander yelling into their flagons, <Ian Malcom voice> "Oh, yeah - Morbols, light parties - that's how it always starts, but then there's juggernauts... and dragons."

A bold assumption! Ian Malcolm is nowhere in sight. I think it more likely that you CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH. I'm sticking to the theory that levequests are Echoes for XP and leve-plates take the place of a person to Echo through, due to their unique distillation through Aetheryte (which definitely has to do with people and not dinosaurs). I suggest the Echo in a levequest starts when the leve-plate whooshes up around the character and crackles with lightning. Zap! Back through time!

If this is a possibility, it's linking Aetheryte to the power of the Echo. Like the Aetheryte is a global memory network that pervades history enabling travel not only through space (ie our teleports), but through time as well.

Also, I'm getting trapped in this delusion.

[Warlock]

Here:
http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...e-new-prophecy

I meant here as in this thread

[NoloeTazier]

I meant here as in this thread

Nope but I'll copy and paste what I posted in that thread cause I'm lazy.

I'll take a stab at it.

Dawn may banish even the darkest night.

Simple and to the point, the transition of the Seventh Umbral to the Seventh Astral.

Yet ever shall primal desires burn.

Even a catastrophe, such as the Seventh Umbral, could not stop the true nature of man. Greed, war and power still drive the animalistic natures of man whether they be Garlean or Eorzean. Selfish desires will persist even through the hard times.

Two swords shall vie to lay them low--
A blade born of light, and a blade forged of might.

The Eorzean Alliance and the Garlean Empire are the 2 'swords.' The blade born of light doesn't refer to light vs dark or good vs evil, both of those are subjective as everyone views their own ideals as good and opposite views as being evil. Instead the blade born of light means the Eorzean Alliance and the Eorzean people have opened their eyes and realized the threats that have surrounded them, whether it's the Garleans, Primals, Ascians, traitors in their own ranks, or hidden dangers not yet seen.
The blade forged of might is clearly the Empire under Solus zos Galvus, he rose to power and made the Empire what it is today with his intellect and machina. In contrast with the sword of light, he created the blade, while the Eorzean Alliance was (re)born.

Alas, man may entrust his fate unto but one.

This line doesn't mean much to us as we don't really have much of a choice in that we're adventurers fighting for our Grand Companies and not given the choice to aid the Empire. But story wise, the people of Eorzea could choose to help the Alliance or rollover and allow the Empire, who without van Darnus would probably be more than happy to accept the people into the ranks with a little brainwashing here and there, to do their thing and takeover and destroy the Primals or whatever the true goal is. But the line dictates there is no middle ground, it's one choice or the other. The Seventh Astral depends on this line and the choice that is made.

[Anonymoose]

Though to be fair, this is the only place in CG that you get to see a leve-plate. Is it such a leap of logic to consider that the leve-plate caused the Echo and not Deus Ex Machina?

I find it equally likely that the leve-plate itself was the catalyst or that we just aren't shown that a member of the party was actually at the pub at the time. It's clear that Adventurers' Guilds recycle leve-plates - they're pretty much like those lanyards you wear to get backstage at concerts. A lot of them look the same, multiple different crews might use the same lanyards at different shows... etc.

However, the Echo is clearly stated to resonate with a "soul" - so did one of the old party members RECENTLY handle the plate while having a vivid flashback? Had the soul essence, and the crystalized glass plate for that matter, survive 10 years of adventurers taking it into the field?

These are the main reasons I figure we have to either (A) pretend someone from the party was at the AG at the time, reminiscing about the decade anniversary or something, or (B) accept it as a lore-shattering inconsistency.

]I'm sticking to the theory that levequests are Echoes for XP and leve-plates take the place of a person to Echo ... I suggest the Echo in a levequest starts when the leve-plate whooshes up around the character and crackles with lightning. Zap! Back through time!

This one I don't think is likely; the guild is giving you permission to do normally off-limits things (giving you LEAVE, middle English "leve") to meet the CURRENT needs of someone who has used the guild to broker a contract between patron and adventurer. For instance, in Treasures of the Main (which is taking AGES to write a Loremonger for), Baderon basically gives you charity by giving you your first guildleve; he tells the guild to pay a sum of coin to whomever completes his contract, but then doesn't have them offer it to anyone and slips it in your bag when you're not looking. You go out, you solve his problem (tracking and eliminating a nest of rats that are raiding the Wench's stores) and he pays you. All in current time.

Also, there's this quote from the original FFXIV promotional material:

"When issuing tasks or quests, guilds will often provide adventurers with these plates, allowing their bearers "leave" to take whatever steps necessary to complete the jobs, including entry into normally restricted areas, hunting or harvesting on private lands, the confiscation of goods, even negotiations with those considered enemies of the city-states."

<snip>

Sounds legit to me!

[Warlock]

~snip~

What you think about the CGI intro having two outcomes i talked about on last page? :O

[HiirNoivl]

Nope but I'll copy and paste what I posted in that thread cause I'm lazy.

I'll take a stab at it.


Simple and to the point, the transition of the Seventh Umbral to the Seventh Astral.

Even a catastrophe, such as the Seventh Umbral, could not stop the true nature of man. Greed, war and power still drive the animalistic natures of man whether they be Garlean or Eorzean. Selfish desires will persist even through the hard times.

The Eorzean Alliance and the Garlean Empire are the 2 'swords.' The blade born of light doesn't refer to light vs dark or good vs evil, both of those are subjective as everyone views their own ideals as good and opposite views as being evil. Instead the blade born of light means the Eorzean Alliance and the Eorzean people have opened their eyes and realized the threats that have surrounded them, whether it's the Garleans, Primals, Ascians, traitors in their own ranks, or hidden dangers not yet seen.
The blade forged of might is clearly the Empire under Solus zos Galvus, he rose to power and made the Empire what it is today with his intellect and machina. In contrast with the sword of light, he created the blade, while the Eorzean Alliance was (re)born.

This line doesn't mean much to us as we don't really have much of a choice in that we're adventurers fighting for our Grand Companies and not given the choice to aid the Empire. But story wise, the people of Eorzea could choose to help the Alliance or rollover and allow the Empire, who without van Darnus would probably be more than happy to accept the people into the ranks with a little brainwashing here and there, to do their thing and takeover and destroy the Primals or whatever the true goal is. But the line dictates there is no middle ground, it's one choice or the other. The Seventh Astral depends on this line and the choice that is made.

I don't think it's possible to even speculate on the poem at this time. On the last poem, when it was released, Dalamud was just a sparkle in the skies, we had no idea that black dooms referred to Atomos.

[NoloeTazier]

I don't think it's possible to even speculate on the poem at this time. On the last poem, when it was released, Dalamud was just a sparkle in the skies, we had no idea that black dooms referred to Atomos.

The reason why I even responded in that thread was because people were taking 'primal' and thinking it literally meant the primals, I wanted to put that to rest. As for now we sort of have a vision of where the story is going, as for the past when Yoshi took over we didn't know the real direction. Until we get into Beta (if there's even a bit of Lore) all we can do is speculate. Sadly with NDA we'll have to take our discussions to the Beta forums and this thread will gain a bit of dust.

[HiirNoivl]

We can always just move our discussion to the Beta forums and refer to posts here.

But Nolo, what I mean is that there could be something else entirely that makes up the swords of light and might. I don't want to speculate on it yet.

[Warlock]

What is this? RL mysterious horn and a bottle with the garlean flag?

[HiirNoivl]

O.O omg... *looks out for Goobues*