Witnessing Dalamud & The Empty Ones

[Duuude007]

...Or is it The Hollow Ones?

I didn't know of a better place to post this-

So, we know that those who bore witness to the events of Dalamud, Bahamut, and the summoning of the Twelve, are considered different from the average population of the Five Races.

• They possess the Echo.
• They can understand the languages of Moogles and all Beastkin.
• They have a stronger link to the planet's aether, and are thus crucial to the pilgrimages.

But then there are the warriors of light: The adventurers who personally journeyed to stave off the Imperial forces, faced Bahamut's escape from the prison Dalamud, and were flung into the future with the last ounce of magical power Louisiox had remaining.

Flash forward to ARR launch, and 5 years later these adventurers suddenly reappear, having not experienced any passage of time.

Based on some notes we have seen on ARR descriptions, Those who witnessed Bahamut's initial attack in the Cartenau Flats were... all killed, and thus when they are proven alive 5 years later, they have been nicknamed "The Hollow Ones", referencing their sudden reappearance, and no knowledge of recent events.

We see Papalymo, Yda, Yshtola and Thancred, and they seem aware that something has recently changed. Is it thanks to the echo? The new devices they wield?

Also: They have a distinct new marking on their clothing.

And this brings me to my primary point in this topic:

As you all have been mentioning and speculating (and it was also mentioned during a previous Producer Letter Live!), everyone that is currently playing will have something visible on their characters to show they experienced and fought through the events taking place. We are planning to make this proof something on your body and in case you are not too keen on having this engraved/tattooed on your character, we will be adding an ON/OFF display feature.

I wonder what it’s going to be!

I'm still convinced its the eye symbol found on the main storyline NPCs.

EDIT: Guess I was wrong-

Hey everyone,

While we can't offer too many specifics, these accessories and the markings on their clothing seem to be specific to our Sharlayan friends here. You'll have to wait a bit to find out more!

I put this image together as evidence:


Edit: It does remind me of Dalamud in the sky during 1.23... it is very reminiscent of The Invincible in FFIX, too...



I would love to hear others' thoughts on this information.

[Catapult]

My thoughts?

It is FAR too early to make any conclusions or even attempt to speculate. The beta text so far has been explicitly suppressed with the intent of avoiding spoilers. We do not know if the term "hollow ones" is what will be used in game, or just a preliminary description.

As for why the eye symbol exists, it could simply be an aesthetic upgrade, or it could have more significance. It could be a mark of the circle of knowing, or it could be something else entirely.

I'm hanging tight on this one.

[Setsuya]

I think this is a very interesting idea. It'll be nice to see if its accurate or not. (:

[Duuude007]

It could be a mark of the circle of knowing, or it could be something else entirely.

We already know that the neck tattoo that these folks share with Louisiox is the symbol which represents the Circle of Knowing, so it is relatively easy to rule that out.

...And apart from the new steampunk eye/neck contraption they are now wielding, and that symbol, their outfits are effectively identical to the 1.x version.

[Zenaku]

We already know that the neck tattoo that these folks share with Louisiox is the symbol which represents the Circle of Knowing, so it is relatively easy to rule that out.

...And apart from the new steampunk eye/neck contraption they are now wielding, and that symbol, their outfits are effectively identical to the 1.x version.

I don't think it can be the mark they did not went with us they stay behind and live in the town for 5years. So i think we getting a different looking tattoo all together why would they get it on there cloths if they did not went with us? We get it in our skin maybe it's a mark of the magic that save us or something else all together.

[Duuude007]

They all bore witness to the twelve's attempt to reconstruct Dalamud, just as we did. Hence the blue glow seen in the images I posted.
Also, the quote says it could be a marked engraving OR a tattoo.

[Anonymoose]

We've never been to Sharlayan, nor are we "Archons," not students of the prophecy, so the neck tattoo is probably out. The steampunk-like devices look like a combination of a viewfinder and coin-operated binoculars, so I'm betting they're for observing things that can't be seen with the naked eye - remember when Louisoix made that aether node show up in Gridania? He'd said it was always there but we couldn't see it.

The eye symbol seems like a likely candidate all things considered, but perhaps it's something never-before-seen.

[Zenaku]

They all bore witness to the twelve's attempt to reconstruct Dalamud, just as we did. Hence the blue glow seen in the images I posted.
Also, the quote says it could be a marked engraving OR a tattoo.

I think it make more sense for the mark to be base on the people that was send 5 years. If it just being there at the event then every single NPC who was at that war/was there would have it. I guess it to early to even talk about it like the other person said.

[Catapult]

We already know that the neck tattoo that these folks share with Louisiox is the symbol which represents the Circle of Knowing, so it is relatively easy to rule that out.

I disagree about it being easy to rule out, especially since we've seen it on all circle members and only circle members so far. It is simply too soon to call.

[Cendres]

I'm pretty excited about this feature, and I'm curious to see what 'hollow ones' really mean. The eye symbol is a good possibility and more likely I think as well, because it's only showing on clothing on Thancred and friends, while for us who actually went away it could be on the skin and actually branding us.

The circle of knowing could be sporting the symbol as a way to show support. Or something like that.