FFXIV story/lore thread

[Insanecyclone]

What about those winged Ascians from 1.0? Did they retcon them or maybe that is their true form?

[miokomioko]

I think they haven't mentioned/shown them whatsoever as of yet, so that's probably still in the air. I hope the corse-style Ascians are their SSJ mode or something. I don't want those models scrapped.

[Prothescar]

So following that unspoilered SS in the bahamut coil turn 5 thread (don't click it if you haven't beaten it yet, so 99.99% of us, srsly...)

Spoiler: show

it reinforces my suspicions. Ultima may have once been a living, breathing primal just like Bahamut, captured and put into the coil, then his corporeal being was torn apart into each separate limb and then somehow reconstructed/reformatted by the Allagan technology into a weapon. It seems too elaborate of a setup just to bind him in place for eternity or whatever.

[Lucavi]

We need to confirm whether the Allaghans were ancient heroes or ancient assholes. With all of this murderous tech, I'm gravitating towards the latter.

[kemigumi]

Not sure if this belongs here, but I finished GSM a while ago and got a huge kick out of the quest line for it.
It definitely crit my heart-bone when they revealed that...

Spoiler: show

Gigi is Mnejing.

Edit: sorry to derail the thrilling allagan/ascian investigation.

[Karbuncle]

Not sure if this belongs here, but I finished GSM a while ago and got a huge kick out of the quest line for it.
It definitely crit my heart-bone when they revealed that...

Spoiler: show

Gigi is Mnejing.

Edit: sorry to derail the thrilling allagan/ascian investigation.

I missed this memo. Care to explain? I probably didn't pick up on it.

[Fereydoon]

I missed this memo. Care to explain? I probably didn't pick up on it.

Spoiler: show

Mnejing is one of Nasmeria's automatons in XI.

[Karbuncle]

Spoiler: show

Mnejing is one of Nasmeria's automatons in XI.

forgot about this and still wanted to know lol.

Spoiler: show

I know that much, I mean what made them come to that conclusion? I must have missed it ;;

[Raldo]

Something about the GSM guildmaster flipping through historical records because nobody knows fuck-all about mammets anymore.

It's not important; it's a mere name-drop. It has the same significance as if someone had told us the original name was Barret.

[Evane]

So following that unspoilered SS in the bahamut coil turn 5 thread (don't click it if you haven't beaten it yet, so 99.99% of us, srsly...)

Spoiler: show

it reinforces my suspicions. Ultima may have once been a living, breathing primal just like Bahamut, captured and put into the coil, then his corporeal being was torn apart into each separate limb and then somehow reconstructed/reformatted by the Allagan technology into a weapon. It seems too elaborate of a setup just to bind him in place for eternity or whatever.

Was thinking about what you said. Don't they just turn back into aether and dissipate or something? I think Bahamut is not a primal after all. He's just a one badass mothefucker dragon that the Allagan folks tried to study/recreate. That's why the dragons and midgarsormor (sp?) fought against the empire at the lake to stop them from breaking him free.

[ronin sparthos]

So I was thinking.

Primals require worship and crystals in order to manifest themselves in physical form yet an Elder Primal like Odin does not seem to have a tribe following him or any desire to bend the will of Eorzeans through tempering.

Are Elder Primals somehow different from the 'elemental' primals like Ifrit, Garuda and Titan? It seems SE is going for tiers again where the lower tier primals revolve around beastmen and the higher tier have their own individual goals.

Spoiler: show

Like Final Fantasy XI

Also, anyone scratching their head about Garlemald yet? I get the feeling that given the level of technology that Garleans possess, the conquest of Eorzea should be far easier than what we've been shown so far even with the rapid expansionist doctrine that has been the forefront of Garlean conquests.

Garleans have air superiority, steel ships, tanks (magitek armor), guns and enchanted weapons while Eorzea is running a classic Medieval/Renaissance military force hobbled by beastmen armies. Limsa seems to have some basic cannons mounted to ships but the emphasis put on protecting the Victory at the drydock suggests a rather rudimentary navy following the Calamity. Is Garlemald so inept not to run a simple naval blockade or utilize airstrikes? Does the Eorzean alliance even have an air force other than hot-air balloons?

I get the whole 'we're the WMD' thing SE is running with the us/Scions but it really breaks immersion when Gaius is gunning down Ixal effortlessly with a gun while Gridanians are still using recurve bows and leather armor.

Cmon. I think Gaius alone could have wiped out an entire division of Eorzean units. Those magicopters in the castrums could probably devastate any of the main towns which lack even the most basic anti-aircraft measures.

[Gokulo]

I think it's mainly because they're trying to play it safe. They have been fucked twice in the past now trying to take Eorzea: first by Midgarmsorm, then by Bahamut. No luck with dragon for them, eh.

[Kachiko]

Almost everyone loves Star Wars, but George Lucas ain't no military genius, and it's the same here, with FF14.

[Draginhikari]

A lot of the standard soldiers of the Empire still use the same mundane and primitive weapons throughout. So prehaps their magitek technology has limits or their resources outside of their terriorities are limited in some manner.

[ronin sparthos]

Almost everyone loves Star Wars, but George Lucas ain't no military genius, and it's the same here, with FF14.

I mean at least the Rebel alliance used similar technology even if their cause amounted to a guerilla force vastly outmatched in every way by the Empire. Some of the defenses in Eorzea are wooden barricades. You'd think Eorzea would you know... seize some Magitek Reapers or at least incorporate magitek into their defenses. Maybe a story for an expansion pack or something.

It's just breathtaking how the Empire built all the castrums throughout Eorzea yet are crying 'resources' with regards to attacking cities that are completely defenseless against the most rudimentary attacks.

I guess it's the old rule of stupid again.

[Arelian]

A few random theories.

Spoiler: show

I can't help but think that the Elder Primals are not true primals in the sense that they're not Gods/Demigods and don't require Crystals and active worship to exist. The screenshot of Bahamut's severed head made it look like it wasn't wholly organic and combined with the way Ultima Weapon seemed to be an Allagan construct made to combat Primals, I wouldn't be surprised if the Elder Primals were all Allagan Constructs made to do the same, but went out of control and had to be sealed away. They all seem to passively absorb Aether, which would prevent Primals from being summoned in the first place, and if I'm remembering correctly Garuda in 1.0 wasn't terribly pleased with her Aether being absorbed into Dalamud. Now, that could simply bec because she was aware that Bahamut returning meant that everything was fucked, but yeah.

As for why the Garleans are being careful with Eorzea, I think it's due to a fear of the Primals. Gaius, at least, seemed aware that if we got pushed hard enough we could always summon the Twelve (which the story points to as being summonable like any other Primal). Up until the Ultima Weapon project, I don't think the Garleans had a safe way of combating the Primals either, and they're back to square one since we got all up in their business. It's probably why they took Ala Mihgo by subterfuge instead of superior force. If they started a fight, the Ala Mihgan's could've possibly summoned Rhalgr and ruined the Garlean invasion.

[Shaano]

With turn 5 beaten, what's the quest in horizon give. I really wanna know since it's the only quest I can't complete :c

[solracht]

what's up motherfuckers, who's ready for some lore bombs?

The Binding Coil of Bahamut spoilers (Turn 5+), click at your own risk

Spoiler: show

http://xivdb.com/?quest/66695/Primal-Awakening
http://xivdb.com/?quest/66696/Alisaie's-Pledge

-The Binding Coil's cavern goes east. The deepest parts (where Turn 5/the post Turn 5 areas are) are below Carteneau.

Somehow, the cavern took us all the way from Vylbrand to the heart of Aldenard.

-Sounds like the Labyrinth is not something created to contain him (against his will, at least)

It is all but certain, then... After Bahamut disappeared five years ago, he hid himself deep beneath Carteneau, and has since lain dormant, regenerating.

If left unchecked, the primal shall drink of Eorzea's life force till he doth waken to rain ruin upon the land.

-Something's definitely up with Bahamut's "primal" status, since they keep on commenting on this:

As with the wings, it seems to be frozen, and for that I count my blessings. But again I find myself wondering, how is it able to retain physical form?

-The mechanisms in the Coil might be used to channel the aether into Bahamut in order to regenerate him

This contraption... Is it used to control the saturation of aether?

-Fucking allagans man

The dragon you vanquished earlier─doubtless you noticed the peculiar contraption about its neck.

It was likely a receptor of some description, used to enslave the creature.

Ancient Allag possessed the means to control dragons, it would seem. The Isghardians would kill for this knowledge, though to be sure, it could as easily be brought to bear against them.

An army of dragons could turn the tide of any battle, as the Garleans once learned to their sorrow. I would not be the least bit surprised if they now sought to exploit this power.

Whatever their plans, this serves as another reminder of the might of the Allagans. One cannot help but wonder how so advanced a civilization came to fall.

-Comment about Bahamut's head

And that enormous crystal─it pulsates as if...as if it were a heart! Then the primal that had awakened...was Bahamut all this time!?

This isn't as lore-related and it's extremely speculative based on the story, but whatever:

Spoiler: show

-The story mentions three Bahamut dungeons.

Two more like fragments of Dalamud pierced the earth when the lesser moon fell. One we have seen. If we can but find the other two, I am certain that we will find Grandfather as well.

This fits the timeline that SE has hinted at in the past:
2.0: The Binding Coil (fragment of Dalamud #1)
2.1: Crystal Tower's Ancient Labyrinth and lower floors
2.2: Fragment of Dalamud #2 (rewards the recently announced red allagan armor/weapons)
2.3: Crystal Tower's top floors
2.4: Fragment of Dalamud #3 (rewards the golden Bahamut armor/weapons we saw forever ago?)

Credit again goes to http://xivdb.com/ - the quest dialog has been in there for two days and I can't believe I didn't realize until today. Ironic since BG just beat Turn 5 but I guess I don't have to beg people to tell me about the post-Twintania stuff now.

[Rocl]

What this probably means:

Spoiler: show

Ascians = Allagans is incredibly likely. How disheartening.

Midgardsormr was controlled by the Ascians (now synonymous with Allagan) to break free the Primals in some manner. To steal aether, to instill Chaos, to ready the world for the coming of Zodiark.

It is more likely that Nael van Darnus had received direct control from an Ascian or was tempered by Zodiark instead of Bahamut. The former makes more sense since it cements the dialogue between Ascian and Empire for 2.0's story.

Louisoix is alive (anyone who did Turn 1 should know this) and Nael is most likely still dead. (After all we see Nael's aether be absorbed by Bahamut)

What has become of Louisoix? Why did he forsake us when Raubahn would not forsake him? He stalks the Labyrinth of Bahamut for what purpose? Is he still sound of mind or is he now Allagan'd?

The white robed Ascian shown in the Live Letter is likely going to be a "Warrior of Light" and the Ascians named "Warriors of Darkness" to hearken back to FF3 for the Crystal Tower. I can't remember now if Cloud of Darkness' antithesis was ever given in FF3 (I can't remember a whole lot of the story anyway) but it might stand to reason Hydaelyn is Zodiark's antithesis in XIV and the Cloud again comes to swallow the world when the scales have tipped too far in favour of one. This would make sense given the overabundance of 'aether' as opposed to 'void' and Lahabrea's constant whining about Hydaelyn.

We knew Xande was an Allagan Emperor, but using solracht's timeline of patches, it makes sense that he'll reveal all to us before instigating the penultimate boss fight of the Tower. I think it was mentioned somewhere he was even looking for immortality in XIV as well? Perhaps Doga and Unei will appear again.

Going back to a point above: Midgardsormr was mostly Allagan controlled. Midgardsormr was known to guard Silvertear at the behest of the Twelve. It is likely that the Twelve are, in fact, Allagan. This is another disheartening twist.

But Rocl-san! We saw Louisoix summon the Twelve! How can a mortal summon another mortal! We have a few options here: Allagans aren't mortal; see Allagan/Ascians being alive long enough to witness the Dalmudding of Bahamut and his freeing. The Twelve are aether-beings who merely take the form of the Gods people pray to. After all, a Primal's form is based on the thoughts/hopes/desires of those who pray to it-- the Twelve Louisoix summon could be 12 other fuckers just accepting donations in their name? Could the name of Thaliak simply be a title in honour of the God and not an actual moniker for men?

I got distracted looking up stuff about FF5 and Twintania.

About dungeon progression post Turn5:

Spoiler: show

There are enough Dalamud fragments to support way more than 3 dungeons though. One in Vyldbrand, which we explore in the Coil / Castrum Occidens. There's the huge fucked up Dalamud fragment in Thanalan known as the Burning Wall, which now seems likely to be our next Bahamut dungeon. There's the huge fragment by Fallgourd Float in the Northern Shroud where Lunar Golem FATEs occur, the Nail in Coerthas, and a red crystalline enclosure by Boulder Downs, finally there's the huge 'husk' north of the Singing Shards in Mor Dhona.

2.1 pls come sooner

[solracht]

What this probably means:

Spoiler: show

Ascians = Allagans is incredibly likely. How disheartening.

solracht 1
rocl 0