I'm here for the exact same reason! This video predates a hell of a lot of lore reveals, but some of it, like parts of the sphere model, still fit today.
Your understanding and insight into the Final Fantasy XIV universe leaves me in awe. I am obsessed with Hydaelyn's lore and your videos are great tutelage. Thank you for the time and effort you dedicate to each video.
The sea also gets referred to in creation myths we've seen before. Silvertear falls is said to be the source of the sea, guarded by Midgardsormr. How the sire of dragonkind's commitment to Hydaelyn and his bringing of seven eggs to this star all fits into this is something else I can see being explored over this coming year.
I really like your explaination of how the sea is sundered. It brings to mind the confrontation at the end of the Aetherochemical Rune Factory, and how those who "blended" together were "separated" again. I think you're really onto something there.
I watch all of your 14 content now, having only found you the past few days, and I love your work, I wish I could meet you in game, and speak with you directly on the the world as a whole and its history.
Really interesting video. The explanation of the aspects of the Crystals reminded me a lot the Great Wheel Cosmology that D&D used for years. I wonder then if it might be possible to get a dual-aspected Crystal, in the same way that Bismark and Ravana are dual-aspected Primals. In the D&D cosmology, the Prime Elemental Planes (here analogous to the elements of aether, though in that system there were only Fire, Air, Earth and Water) and the Prime Energy Planes (Positive and Negative, which would be Astral and Umbral here) created smaller planes of mixed elements where they touched. Planes that were comprised of two prime elements were called Para-Elemental Planes (Ice was here, being comprised of Water and Air) while planes made up of an elements and and energy type were called Quasi-Elemental Planes (Lightning was here, comprised of Air and Positive Energy). I wonder if such an elemental distinction exists in Eorzea as well and, if it does, how deep does it go?
That wheel threw me off until I realized u were referring to "Essences and Permutations" from the THM questline. In metaphysics, opposing elements are usually placed opposite each other in an array ('magic' circle) for the purpose of balance. I was expecting to see water opposite lightning and fire opposite ice since this is the way things work in FF lore and my brain had to stare a few seconds before I realized what I was looking at.
I'm new to this video, as of now. So. Dear FFXIV lore version of VaatiVidya, ser Ethys Asher. In response to the "Sea sundered in fourteen," I only think about the recent (spoilers?) Warriors of Darkness' appearance, their origins being of the "First World." In conclusion, I can only think that, this could be some other form of the sundering of the Aethereal sea into fourteen individual worlds.
Ethys? With everything that we know know with the coming of Endwalker, that way back when you made this video, you actually foresaw the sundering and the rejoining? I remember the first time I saw this it made a lot of sense, however after going through shadowbringers, could the Gerun have known about The Final Day?, did Louisoix have an idea about perhaps Amarout? etc. I hope I'm making sense, however would you be willing to revisit this video and expounding on it.
I second this. In anticipation of Endwalker, I've binged all manners of lore threads, articles and videos. And this is one of the most fascinating ones!
Gerun being Elidibus would be interesting. So far, Elidibus seems to be the type of character that guides events down a given path without directly interfering (the very end of Stormblood not included), which does match Gerun in FF12. The Occuria saw themselves as the dictators of order, gently nudging people down certain paths through 'deified' gifts, and only interceding when the situation grew, from their perspective, desperate. However, while the Occuria were bent on preserving the world according to their own views, the Ascians are bent on destroying Hydaelyn utterly, or at least on returning everything to zero. Considering that the main story of FF12 was started by one of the Occuria going rogue to wrest control of the world from his own kind and place it in the hands of man, I can't help but wonder if perhaps we'll see something similar in Shadowbringers or further down the line...
My theory, changed repeatedly by other theories, goes like this. The Light and Dark symboliize both hydaelyn and zodiark and the eorzean cycle, meaning when the journal states "the sea sundered in fourteen" means the something (symbolizes or metaphor of sea) was sundered in the 14th astral era. looking back,, we recently participated in the void ark raid. (spoiler alert) when the dty was finished, diablos used the ships ray in the "Sea" of Clouds, creating the rift into the void. The sea of clouds was sundered in the 7th astral era which leads the the void. "She" to me would be the Shadow Queen Scathach in the coffin. Orignally i assumed it was Ceto, ruler of sea monsters (which made some sense seeing as Echidna is indeed one of her children, but voidsent would also be the Shadow Queens children right? The Moon (and taking a shot in the dark here) must be the housing place for Zodiark, as well as the Ascians. Assuming this, the ascians have been collecting information on the defeated extreme primals for quite some time now, corrupting the essence of them to make them stronger (we may be getting dark primals, just a thought), most likely trying to seek a way into the void sea to return Zodiark as ruler of Darkness, likely by gathering darker form of energy to give to their warriors, The Warrior's of Darkness. The star, being the moon. "He" in the line "He cast His doom" I'm not so sure. Maybe Zodiark is seeking vengeance for the Shadow Queens refusal for his right o be placed as ruler of darkness maybe? Thats all i got :/ Knda new at this stuff so idk
Thats right. eras are divided into two phases, umbral and astral. so it would go like this. 1 umbral-astral (1-2) 2 umbral astral (3-4) 3 umbral astral (5-6) 4 umbral astral (7-8) 5 umbral astral (9-10) 6 umbral astral (11-12) 7 umbral astral (13-14) leading up to the 7th astral era in foureen cycles. Umbral 1st, astral second.
Here is something interesting in regards to the THM or BLM, tapping into both astral and umbral energies. Astral being fire, symbolizing life which hydaelyn is prevalent with. And umbral being ice, symbolizing death which we see that the moon "Zodiark" is a desolate wasteland with no life. Now could the way we have to switch between astral fire and umbral ice represent the power struggle between the two forces? I have no clue, but its still interesting to think about it like this.
If you're going to get this deep into such matters, I'd like to propose a question. From a lore perspective, do you think there's evidence for or against Hydaelyn existing in the same universe as ours or not? There are obvious similarities in natural laws, but then you get all of this elemental business, which doesn't adhere to any sort of scientific principles we know. That's a fun rabbit hole, don't you think?
Ethys, was wondering what you think of this. You talk about how the 12 are akin to the primals in the sense where you think they are not literal gods, and just being venerated as gods. I was wondering on your thoughts about the possibility the 12 were the first warriors of Light?
If Zodiark is the mirror of Hydaelyn and the crystals of light are astral whilst crystals of darkness are umbral - would it be possible that the Ascians are a mirror of the Twelve? Or at least related to them?
Really intriguing video. I however do think that Eorzea is not primarily made of Astral and the Void Umbral, but rather that Astral and Umbral coexist in the world as a matter of light versus dark yes, but not as Eorzea versus Void. I was pretty sure that the Void - by its very name - is devoid of any aether by essence, be it Astral or Umbral. Void creatures might then grow out of mortal aether seeping through the Void, and explaining the creatures hunger for it. Be it Astral, or Umbral. The Void as hinted to be a bridge between worlds, in some theories and speculations.
Ethys do you think there is any connection with what you said and the Crystal of Darkness we saw at the end of 2.0 ARR Main Story? the one that looked like a Dark Mother Crystal.
+VejjieGirl My understanding is that it is the umbral image of the crystal and/or an image of the crystal once it has been completely decimated; in either case it's essentially Zodiark.
I'm a bit confused here, the sea split into a creator (Hydaelyn?) and everything else. And then the sea split into fourteen parts two of which being Hydaelyn and Zodiark. But you also seem to be implying that at the moment of first creation all things are Zodiark that are not Hydaelyn.
Hey Ethys, somewhat of speculation here, but the whole entry of "she cast... to the seas, he cast... his doom," what are the odds that what she cast were the dragons? That SE would recycle FFXI and make it so that we're actually the children of the "bad guy?" It just seems so convenient that we, the WoL, would be the forced hero. Plenty of games have already done the whole "you were really the villain all along" trope, and I wouldn't expect to see much different here. That and pulling from your other video about the metaphysics or Astral and Umbra spectrums, it also wouldn't surprise me if the Void and the realm we inhabit are two halves of the same coin, i.e. Tales of Symphonia, where if one side prospers, the other side suffers; the whole process being cyclical to one another. Your thoughts?
I get the feeling that monks figure into this somehow, what with there being 7 chakras of light and 7 of dark. Also considering that the story is heavily hinting at the next expansion taking us to Ala Mhigo.
vfaulkon 9 bulan lalu Gerun being Elidibus would be interesting. So far, Elidibus seems to be the type of character that guides events down a given path without directly interfering (the very end of Stormblood not included), which does match Gerun in FF12. The Occuria saw themselves as the dictators of order, gently nudging people down certain paths through 'deified' gifts, and only interceding when the situation grew, from their perspective, desperate. However, while the Occuria were bent on preserving the world according to their own views, the Ascians are bent on destroying Hydaelyn utterly, or at least on returning everything to zero. Considering that the main story of FF12 was started by one of the Occuria going rogue to wrest control of the world from his own kind and place it in the hands of man, I can't help but wonder if perhaps we'll see something similar in Shadowbringers or further down the line...
Ethys.... the whole time i was watching this all i could think is astrologian,astrologian,astrologian..... you really need to level that job and at least see its 1-50 story im kinda wondering if maybe Whm=astral Ast=umbral
AST is decidedly astral. Interestingly, the quest refers to the mortal hazard of attempting to attune with the seventh heaven via the polar star. This fits rather nicely with the polar theory here, as does a past lore-drop by Koji-Fox that the seventh hell is the home of the (I think?) black warden.
+Zoeila AST attunes to Astral and Umbral via their Sects, Diurnal and Nocturnal. I feel it would be more accurate to say that AST embodies the poles of Astral and Umbral, while WHM embodies the equator - striving for balance in all things.
Given recent revelations, this passage certainly has different context/implications now. Its neat to see how our understanding has grown
It's interesting to go back and look at old speculation with all the lore-bombs that have dropped since then.
I'm here for the exact same reason! This video predates a hell of a lot of lore reveals, but some of it, like parts of the sphere model, still fit today.
Would be really interested to see a return or update to this with what we've learned since.
Your understanding and insight into the Final Fantasy XIV universe leaves me in awe. I am obsessed with Hydaelyn's lore and your videos are great tutelage. Thank you for the time and effort you dedicate to each video.
Another video/topic worthy of revisiting post-Shadowbringers or in the advent of Endwalker. Really cool stuff =)
Even with the new information we have, I still enjoyed this.
The sea also gets referred to in creation myths we've seen before. Silvertear falls is said to be the source of the sea, guarded by Midgardsormr. How the sire of dragonkind's commitment to Hydaelyn and his bringing of seven eggs to this star all fits into this is something else I can see being explored over this coming year.
I really like your explaination of how the sea is sundered. It brings to mind the confrontation at the end of the Aetherochemical Rune Factory, and how those who "blended" together were "separated" again. I think you're really onto something there.
This video might not have ages *too* well, but it is decent speculation nonetheless.
banayak
I watch all of your 14 content now, having only found you the past few days, and I love your work, I wish I could meet you in game, and speak with you directly on the the world as a whole and its history.
Always great videos Ethys keep up the good work ^^
Interesting! Love your videos by the way!
Really interesting video. The explanation of the aspects of the Crystals reminded me a lot the Great Wheel Cosmology that D&D used for years. I wonder then if it might be possible to get a dual-aspected Crystal, in the same way that Bismark and Ravana are dual-aspected Primals. In the D&D cosmology, the Prime Elemental Planes (here analogous to the elements of aether, though in that system there were only Fire, Air, Earth and Water) and the Prime Energy Planes (Positive and Negative, which would be Astral and Umbral here) created smaller planes of mixed elements where they touched. Planes that were comprised of two prime elements were called Para-Elemental Planes (Ice was here, being comprised of Water and Air) while planes made up of an elements and and energy type were called Quasi-Elemental Planes (Lightning was here, comprised of Air and Positive Energy).
I wonder if such an elemental distinction exists in Eorzea as well and, if it does, how deep does it go?
Haha rewatching this again after all the Shadowbringers reveals is really interesting
That wheel threw me off until I realized u were referring to "Essences and Permutations" from the THM questline. In metaphysics, opposing elements are usually placed opposite each other in an array ('magic' circle) for the purpose of balance.
I was expecting to see water opposite lightning and fire opposite ice since this is the way things work in FF lore and my brain had to stare a few seconds before I realized what I was looking at.
I'm new to this video, as of now.
So. Dear FFXIV lore version of VaatiVidya, ser Ethys Asher.
In response to the "Sea sundered in fourteen," I only think about the recent (spoilers?) Warriors of Darkness' appearance, their origins being of the "First World."
In conclusion, I can only think that, this could be some other form of the sundering of the Aethereal sea into fourteen individual worlds.
very good. sharing with my fc. if this is not the deeper meaning they are toying with at se they better have something even better.
Ethys? With everything that we know know with the coming of Endwalker, that way back when you made this video, you actually foresaw the sundering and the rejoining? I remember the first time I saw this it made a lot of sense, however after going through shadowbringers, could the Gerun have known about The Final Day?, did Louisoix have an idea about perhaps Amarout? etc. I hope I'm making sense, however would you be willing to revisit this video and expounding on it.
I second this. In anticipation of Endwalker, I've binged all manners of lore threads, articles and videos. And this is one of the most fascinating ones!
Gerun being Elidibus would be interesting. So far, Elidibus seems to be the type of character that guides events down a given path without directly interfering (the very end of Stormblood not included), which does match Gerun in FF12. The Occuria saw themselves as the dictators of order, gently nudging people down certain paths through 'deified' gifts, and only interceding when the situation grew, from their perspective, desperate. However, while the Occuria were bent on preserving the world according to their own views, the Ascians are bent on destroying Hydaelyn utterly, or at least on returning everything to zero.
Considering that the main story of FF12 was started by one of the Occuria going rogue to wrest control of the world from his own kind and place it in the hands of man, I can't help but wonder if perhaps we'll see something similar in Shadowbringers or further down the line...
My theory, changed repeatedly by other theories, goes like this. The Light and Dark symboliize both hydaelyn and zodiark and the eorzean cycle, meaning when the journal states "the sea sundered in fourteen" means the something (symbolizes or metaphor of sea) was sundered in the 14th astral era. looking back,, we recently participated in the void ark raid. (spoiler alert) when the dty was finished, diablos used the ships ray in the "Sea" of Clouds, creating the rift into the void. The sea of clouds was sundered in the 7th astral era which leads the the void.
"She" to me would be the Shadow Queen Scathach in the coffin. Orignally i assumed it was Ceto, ruler of sea monsters (which made some sense seeing as Echidna is indeed one of her children, but voidsent would also be the Shadow Queens children right? The Moon (and taking a shot in the dark here) must be the housing place for Zodiark, as well as the Ascians. Assuming this, the ascians have been collecting information on the defeated extreme primals for quite some time now, corrupting the essence of them to make them stronger (we may be getting dark primals, just a thought), most likely trying to seek a way into the void sea to return Zodiark as ruler of Darkness, likely by gathering darker form of energy to give to their warriors, The Warrior's of Darkness. The star, being the moon. "He" in the line "He cast His doom" I'm not so sure. Maybe Zodiark is seeking vengeance for the Shadow Queens refusal for his right o be placed as ruler of darkness maybe? Thats all i got :/
Knda new at this stuff so idk
+Kurogaea Monari Interesting theory, aside form the fact that we're still only in the 7th Astral Era.
Thats right. eras are divided into two phases, umbral and astral. so it would go like this.
1 umbral-astral (1-2)
2 umbral astral (3-4)
3 umbral astral (5-6)
4 umbral astral (7-8)
5 umbral astral (9-10)
6 umbral astral (11-12)
7 umbral astral (13-14)
leading up to the 7th astral era in foureen cycles. Umbral 1st, astral second.
+Drop Pod Pizza Delivery Guy Oh srry. meant to say 7th astral era but in the 14th phase of the cycle :p
Here is something interesting in regards to the THM or BLM, tapping into both astral and umbral energies. Astral being fire, symbolizing life which hydaelyn is prevalent with. And umbral being ice, symbolizing death which we see that the moon "Zodiark" is a desolate wasteland with no life. Now could the way we have to switch between astral fire and umbral ice represent the power struggle between the two forces? I have no clue, but its still interesting to think about it like this.
If you're going to get this deep into such matters, I'd like to propose a question. From a lore perspective, do you think there's evidence for or against Hydaelyn existing in the same universe as ours or not? There are obvious similarities in natural laws, but then you get all of this elemental business, which doesn't adhere to any sort of scientific principles we know. That's a fun rabbit hole, don't you think?
Ethys, was wondering what you think of this. You talk about how the 12 are akin to the primals in the sense where you think they are not literal gods, and just being venerated as gods.
I was wondering on your thoughts about the possibility the 12 were the first warriors of Light?
So with all we know now, is there an update to this video?
If Zodiark is the mirror of Hydaelyn and the crystals of light are astral whilst crystals of darkness are umbral - would it be possible that the Ascians are a mirror of the Twelve? Or at least related to them?
Really intriguing video.
I however do think that Eorzea is not primarily made of Astral and the Void Umbral, but rather that Astral and Umbral coexist in the world as a matter of light versus dark yes, but not as Eorzea versus Void. I was pretty sure that the Void - by its very name - is devoid of any aether by essence, be it Astral or Umbral. Void creatures might then grow out of mortal aether seeping through the Void, and explaining the creatures hunger for it. Be it Astral, or Umbral. The Void as hinted to be a bridge between worlds, in some theories and speculations.
Ethys do you think there is any connection with what you said and the Crystal of Darkness we saw at the end of 2.0 ARR Main Story? the one that looked like a Dark Mother Crystal.
+VejjieGirl My understanding is that it is the umbral image of the crystal and/or an image of the crystal once it has been completely decimated; in either case it's essentially Zodiark.
Definitely a video to make you think
So much to wrap my head around jeeze D:
also what song do you use at the end of the video where you're sitting on the books?
ZODIARK IS THE FUCKING MOON
I FUCKING KNEW IT
Come to think of it, we all know Hydaelyn's lesser moon was named Dalamund, but has anyone ever mentioned the greater moon's name?
This is FF8 all over again, isn't it? We're gonna have a cataclysm level moon drop, aren't we?
Oh hi there! Ethys was...surprisingly close!
I'm a bit confused here, the sea split into a creator (Hydaelyn?) and everything else. And then the sea split into fourteen parts two of which being Hydaelyn and Zodiark. But you also seem to be implying that at the moment of first creation all things are Zodiark that are not Hydaelyn.
thanks for another fanfuckingtastic video, keep up your stellar work!
Hey Ethys, somewhat of speculation here, but the whole entry of "she cast... to the seas, he cast... his doom," what are the odds that what she cast were the dragons? That SE would recycle FFXI and make it so that we're actually the children of the "bad guy?" It just seems so convenient that we, the WoL, would be the forced hero. Plenty of games have already done the whole "you were really the villain all along" trope, and I wouldn't expect to see much different here.
That and pulling from your other video about the metaphysics or Astral and Umbra spectrums, it also wouldn't surprise me if the Void and the realm we inhabit are two halves of the same coin, i.e. Tales of Symphonia, where if one side prospers, the other side suffers; the whole process being cyclical to one another. Your thoughts?
Also, Duskwight pride! :D
;~; There's not too many of us around.
I get the feeling that monks figure into this somehow, what with there being 7 chakras of light and 7 of dark. Also considering that the story is heavily hinting at the next expansion taking us to Ala Mhigo.
+Sean France I very much agree, I believe I explored this briefly in my verethragna vid ;)
Maybe ethys's dreams will come true and the warrior of light will destroy the moon
+Yshtola Kayano MOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!!!!!! - "by Piccolo"
+Ádám Pálosi ^
cungbeillss tan
Gerun is the 14th councilmember. Heard it here first.
Ethys your the best!
Dat beard doh
vfaulkon
9 bulan lalu
Gerun being Elidibus would be interesting. So far, Elidibus seems to be the type of character that guides events down a given path without directly interfering (the very end of Stormblood not included), which does match Gerun in FF12. The Occuria saw themselves as the dictators of order, gently nudging people down certain paths through 'deified' gifts, and only interceding when the situation grew, from their perspective, desperate. However, while the Occuria were bent on preserving the world according to their own views, the Ascians are bent on destroying Hydaelyn utterly, or at least on returning everything to zero.
Considering that the main story of FF12 was started by one of the Occuria going rogue to wrest control of the world from his own kind and place it in the hands of man, I can't help but wonder if perhaps we'll see something similar in Shadowbringers or further down the line...
Ethys.... the whole time i was watching this all i could think is astrologian,astrologian,astrologian..... you really need to level that job and at least see its 1-50 story im kinda wondering if maybe Whm=astral Ast=umbral
AST is decidedly astral. Interestingly, the quest refers to the mortal hazard of attempting to attune with the seventh heaven via the polar star. This fits rather nicely with the polar theory here, as does a past lore-drop by Koji-Fox that the seventh hell is the home of the (I think?) black warden.
+Zoeila AST attunes to Astral and Umbral via their Sects, Diurnal and Nocturnal. I feel it would be more accurate to say that AST embodies the poles of Astral and Umbral, while WHM embodies the equator - striving for balance in all things.
I love these, but it kills me inside when the game refers to the planet as a star!
My ears have such trouble listening to him mispronounce so much...Gerun for instance, is pronounced with ZH sound, closer to J.