FFXIV story/lore thread

[Niiro]

And I'm fucking tired of it, ever since I first did Praetorium what feels like a decade ago and Gaius is all "join me, Luke" I was like "THE GAME WON'T LET ME".

Think about how much they like and care about you the next time you have to go deliver a package for them after saving the world for the ump-teenth time, I was glad when they all "died".

And you KNOW the rest of the 3.0 story is gonna be rescuing the Scions 1 by 1 each patch, complete with their own makeovers.

It was clever of them to limit the initial story to just Y'shtola, as she's the only cool one of the bunch (I was seriously dreading having to find them all before being able to move forward).

[Seravi Edalborez]

It was clever of them to limit the initial story to just Y'shtola, as she's the only cool one of the bunch (I was seriously dreading having to find them all before being able to move forward).

Why do you hate best girl Yda.

[Eurell]

Ehhh. They can be a pain in the ass, but they were all willing to die for us. Ilberd is just a bitter bitch.

[Raldo]

It was clever of them to limit the initial story to just Y'shtola, as she's the only cool one of the bunch (I was seriously dreading having to find them all before being able to move forward).

Wait what? Maybe this is just the fog of time eroding away my memory, but how was Y'shtola any more involved than any of the rest of the scions?

I mean, it would certainly explain why they choose to use Y'shtola in their cross-game franchises (she is the sole XIV ambassador for both Theatrhythm and Dissidia), but I don't really recall her playing a large role. I always wondered why it wasn't pretty boy.

[Niiro]

She's the only one of the Scions that isn't a copy paste stock character.

[Jem]

Why do you hate best girl Yda.

So much this. I switched from Uldah to Grindy in 1.0 because Thancred sucked and Yda did not!

[Kaslo]

Why do you hate best girl Yda.

^

[Rocl]

Someone wanted me to go down the rabbit hole earlier, so here I go, though note I haven't completed every job/class quest because I'm not a fucking loser who has everything 60 already (i'm the kind of loser who spends hours thinking about trite fantasy plots):

Spoiler: show

Lahabrea might not be dead. His aether was absorbed into Ascalon/the Eye but we're a little unsure of what happens there. Ascalon is technically "a blade of light" since it's made of pure aether but whereas we've killed high-ranking Ascians in a 2 step process (capture->kill) and Thordan tried to do it all in one step. Worth noting Ascalon persisted after Thordan's death, so it's likely to be the catalyst for his return a la Zantetsuken.

While we're on the subject of Ascians: Unukalhai is very obviously tied to the Ascians, though he denies it. A young child, friends with Urianger, who knows the mind of primals and they both continually mention Unukalhai will help us with "the fate of this very star" which is the exact wording Elidibus uses to Urianger at the end of 2.55. Robes and mask not withstanding, Unukalhai is the brightest star in the Serpens constellation (which is the snake-half of the Serpentarius constellation). It's worth noting that Unukalhai is a "double star" irl so it might be a nod that Unukalhai is an avatar for Elidibus. Another big clue is he has these gemstones which have been lost for thousands of years.

The new primals are dual aspected as jibini mentions (and Unukalhai as well), which leaves us with ice-thunder next though there aren't a whole lot of candidates in traditional FF summoning library (though if you told me Bismarck as going to be a wind primal I'd shrug it off, so there's hope). More interestingly and of import for all you Enkidu-birthers out there is that Unukalhai says they were summoned without Ascian involvement. Considering Unukalhai's dubious origins I'm not inclined to believe him 100%, especially considering Igeyorhm post Ravana and Lahabrea's dialogue in 2.3 about plating divine seeds in the North. Said Igeyorhm dialogue makes it seem like they want primals to be summoned to wake up the Warring Triad.

The Triad seem to be our main focus point for the patches to come, it looked like the Ascians, the Garleans, and the Heaven's Ward all wanted to get to the Triad Control and do something.

Someone asked how the knights were able to transform into their Primal forms so readily, and for that I don't have answer. It might be as simple as having the dragon blood within them (which would apply to almost all Ishgardians, assuming they have prayer to sustain them) but yeah, that's a pretty big plot hole right now. Maybe they're using the weapons of Thordan's knights as conduits, who knows we don't have enough info unfortunately.

Unrelated, I bet dragons are from the moon. Tiamat says that Midgardsormr came from amongst the stars with 7 eggs and Bahamut lived on the moon in FF4 so COME ON CONFIRMED. It doesn't make sense for dragons to have myth/legends given how they experience time. (Tiamat thought she was bringing Bahamut back from the dead) It would also make Midgardsormr's pact with Hydaelyn make more sense "yo let me live on you and i'll protect you ok"

Reptoids are a cross between a Southern Aldernard lizard beastmen and scalekin. I wonder if it's ancient Amalj'aa x Drake? The confirmation Ixali are chimeras made by the Allag was fucking ridiculous though. Not at all what I was expecting. inb4 all beastmen are chimeric creations

I don't remember what else I was going into, but I expect Warring Triad to begin to feature prominently in at least the "Elder Primal" quest line, and for Cid to appear in the "Alexander" quest line. Still have next to no idea on wtf the 24-man story will be though... and the main scenario seems to continue with Nidhogg.

[Jem]

Someone wanted me to go down the rabbit hole earlier, so here I go, though note I haven't completed every job/class quest because I'm not a fucking loser who has everything 60 already (i'm the kind of loser who spends hours thinking about trite fantasy plots):

Spoiler: show

While we're on the subject of Ascians: Unukalhai is very obviously tied to the Ascians, though he denies it. A young child, friends with Urianger, who knows the mind of primals and they both continually mention Unukalhai will help us with "the fate of this very star" which is the exact wording Elidibus uses to Urianger at the end of 2.55. Robes and mask not withstanding, Unukalhai is the brightest star in the Serpens constellation (which is the snake-half of the Serpentarius constellation). It's worth noting that Unukalhai is a "double star" irl so it might be a nod that Unukalhai is an avatar for Elidibus. Another big clue is he has these gemstones which have been lost for thousands of years.

Spoiler: show

I would think the bigger clue with Unukalhai is that Urianger literally says he's not your enemy/you can trust him...for now. Or something along those lines

[Seravi Edalborez]

Just to throw out some idle speculation: untaken recurring lightning summons from the series include Ixion and Quetzacoatl. Could also pull an original summon ala Ravana or repurpose an old summon.

[Kaslo]

Is there a dragon that historically had a lightning/ice base? I feel if any group is going to summon a new primal it will be dragonkin.

[Rocl]

nvm misread

[Eurell]

Nidhogg summoning Shinryu confirmed!?!?

[Kaslo]

Nidhogg summoning Shinryu confirmed!?!?

I could see that for 3.55

[Niiro]

Why do you hate best girl Yda.

So much this. I switched from Uldah to Grindy in 1.0 because Thancred sucked and Yda did not!

^

Confirmed awful people.

I bet you guys like Rikku too, ugh.

[gattsuru]

The elemental connections fit with when we first acquire most of them (fire/earth/wind from Ifrit/Titan/Garuda, lightning from the Slyphs, ice from Stone Vigil), but I wasn't clearly able to identify similar connections to when they're re-acquired. I suspect there is something to the order/timing of when we re-acquire them though, since it doesn't just go in order around the circle.

It seems at least somewhat related to who you're connecting to at the time: discussing matters with Ysale grants access to the blue crystal, for example. This might be foreshadowing for the less obvious elements.

Generally speaking, I think there's an implication that they shield us in some way from the Ascian's powers. Compare the scene after Bismarck, where Igeyorhm is able to easy immobilize us by herself, to the end of the Aetherochemical Research Facility, where we're able to overwhelm not just her and Lahabrea simultaneously, but also when they merge.

Naibrales also said that the Blessing of the Light had previously prevented the Ascians from even entering a room we protected : that seems to have been the only reason that they didn't just yoink Tupsimati.

[Lokus]

Just to throw out some idle speculation: untaken recurring lightning summons from the series include Ixion and Quetzacoatl. Could also pull an original summon ala Ravana or repurpose an old summon.

Quetzacoatl strikes me as something that will eventually surface whenever we head east through Xephatol (sp?) and deal with Ixali even more. The naming convention for a lot of Ixali things, especially things from the Ixali dailies, leads me to believe it'll be linked to them somehow.

[Rocl]

These appear in the skies (Sea of Clouds, Churning Mists for sure) and I originally thought they might be Garlean but this close up shot looks far too foreign for that

Spoiler: show

[Lucavi]

And I'm fucking tired of it, ever since I first did Praetorium what feels like a decade ago and Gaius is all "join me, Luke" I was like "THE GAME WON'T LET ME".

Think about how much they like and care about you the next time you have to go deliver a package for them after saving the world for the ump-teenth time, I was glad when they all "died".

And you KNOW the rest of the 3.0 story is gonna be rescuing the Scions 1 by 1 each patch, complete with their own makeovers.

It was clever of them to limit the initial story to just Y'shtola, as she's the only cool one of the bunch (I was seriously dreading having to find them all before being able to move forward).

Waiting for the official Garlean expansion where they wage full-on war on the nations. Give us the option to either choose the "light" side where we stand against them, become promoted to General of our grand company (thus finally ranking up and being able to buy new shit) and actually command forces against mobs of enemies (something like Dynasty Warriors-ish?), OR, choose the "dark" side and join up with the Empire, do some questionable things while under their employ and eventually sabotage shit from within as a (very, very deep) double agent.

I've been wanting more ways to "say no" during the MSQ while not having to go crazy blowing more money on expensive mocap and such, and doing an actual splitting storyline that branches back together at the end (albeit in different ways) would be pretty cool. Plus, lots of us are very interested in the Empire, even if they are just pretentious Allagan fanboys who steal tech.

[Adajer]

I think it will be awhile before all out Garlean expansion. That will probably be endgame because there will be no real threat besides primals once Garleans are dealt with.

Game will be oven then.........unless........we go to....Vanadiel