FFXIV Lore- The Convocation of Fourteen

The Ascians were dangerous and caused no end of trouble for the Source and its reflections. But they weren't always driven by despair and malice. Today we'll address every single seat in the Convocation and understand who they were before the fall of Ancient civilization!
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Primary Sources:
Video Games-
FinalFantasy XIV Online
Publications-
Encyclopedia Eorzea Volume I
Encyclopedia Eorzea Volume II
Encyclopedia Eorzea Volume III
Alternative Sources:
FinalFantasyXIV, The Lodestone/Sidestory
FFXIV, Letter from the Producer
Published FFXIV Brand Art Books
#ffxiv #lore #endwalker

[@MrSpiderspider12]

Now that you mentioned what every seat does, i found a poetic irony how each major acian and Venat gone against their own respective role in some ways Venat (Azem) sacrificed her whole being and basically her freedom to roam the realm in order to save it Emet Selch wanted his brethren back Lahabrea pushed tempering and advancement in order to sow chaos Elidibus's mind was clouded, and he was very biased for their goal The current Fandaniel wanted to oberve all life perish

[@askbjornmusic]

It's a sweet bitter irony, or tragedy, thay they all 180 flipped on their purpose. Makes the story of the ancients so much deeper, dark, well written and most importantly, human; when you realise what it all meant; there were so many layers and it makes it that much more well written.

[@rexex345]

On a funnier example, nebriales was anything but a master of combat, he was arguably the least threatening of the Asians to the point i bet his original was roling in their figurative grave.

[@DarthSanguine]

Igeyorhm was responsible for enLIGHTenment, yet she caused a Flood of Darkness.

[@benjaminbierley2074]

Fandaniel ended up the way he did cause they promoted a guy who was on the edge of psychotic nihilism not once but twice into positions of oversight based on his mentor's endorsement both times...positions he should have NEVER had with his mentality, whether you condemn him or sympathize with him...he should not have been overseer.

[@rexex345]

@@benjaminbierley2074 oh no, you're definitely right, unfortunately as Venat said, he was the only one with a working knowledge of Dynamis which was needed. Unfortunately it seems quite clear that the ancients for all their great tech and advancements, had 0 understanding of mental health, also showcased by how none of the paragons in all their 10,000 years after the sundering never realised that 2 of them were starting to suffer from some pretty crippling conditions.

[@SneakyMuffin]

There's something incredibly ironic about Nabriales being essentially the Convocation's master of the martial arts also being the first Ascian we defeat in the MSQ. Sure he wasn't the first Ascian to die chronologically, but it's still amusing.

[@SynodicScribe]

Crazy though that he was a sundered and still almost killed us as effortlessly as Lahabrea did.

[@lolcat5303]

@@SynodicScribe Not so much after they reworked the Laha fight as I think it's pretty clear how far ahead Laha was now. It takes Hydaelyn's interference to even fend him off. But Nabs did punch quite a bit above his weight, and I think the reason that they went with his seat being the refiner of technique and the contender is because he does make a point of that when you confront him. Unsundered Nabs was probably a force to be reckoned with. I always thought Nabriales would've been a potential alternative in fulfilling Zenos's schtick, so seeing his seat reveal amused me.

[@gruntmasterbroadcast]

I hear a fun drinking game for those that had to log the Convoations meetings was to take a drink every time Azem did something unintentionally or otherwise to interrupt the meeting for fun or other reasons... This practice was unfortunately banned due to Emet finding out about the practice and banning it...

[@SynodicScribe]

Such a stick in the mud that Emet. hahaha

[@acgearsandarms1343]

Was it wine? No sour grapes, Emet-Selch.

[@poisonerknight]

Emet's preferred game was "Drink when Azem opens his mouth"

[@solarwatch_5712]

Emet banned it because he tried it once and ended up blackout drunk with a hangover that lasted into the next month

[@kaleajadesilver8918]

"other reasons" lol. For My Azem: well, he likely left to go sleep with their male lover or such when they should have been truly busy lols. If not that then drinking alcohol real quick from his built-up collection at his apartment before going back lolz. Asterkoll as Azem was a terrifyingly vast genius and everyone knew it. They just never knew his lover was half Incubus who also lived amongst them and served as his healer, since as Azem Asterkoll couldn't heal himself, nah Oralus had to instead. =3 *Some hours later* Despite my Azem being chaotic, he did well in his time on the seat. He just came to hate the world and how everyone lived their lives from his perspective since he remembered his life from before being on Etheirys, from his original home world: Vaterra. It drove him into madness as the Final Days struck the star. The fact he survived Unsundered he considers a very great luck, because although a demigod he was expecting to go down with everything else in the flames. That's how he'd put it even if written out. Now together with my WoL he hopes that Emet-Selch is watching the next adventure, because they're gonna take gold from the new world in Dawntrail, he can rest after seeing that, hahaha!

[@TelepathicVoyeur]

Pashtarot needs to hurry up and join the MSQ so we can get a canon answer on how to pronounce their name.

[@kitsunehanyou09]

I'm definitely interested in the seat of Azem, not because of its story importance but as a member of the fourteen that is meant to be approachable, seeking those in need and seeing what answers you can find, as opposed to just dealing with the larger picture and institutions. And most importantly, to let those forgotten by society to know they can be heard and that their voice still matters. The other is Nabriales, because the impression i had was that Ancient society was so far advanced that they only needed to discuss problems, not fight it out; knowing there's a seat in charge of keeping things above the belt sounds fun with the ancients' creation magic

[@lolcat5303]

Yeah I'd say Nabriales's seat is likely to do with creations getting out of hand. Eric's off the cuff remarks in Panda also suggests that some amongst them sought out fights with powerful creations, presumably to test their mettle - thrillseekers, if you will. I think it's why they had such advanced combat arts in spite of not having war amongst one another.

[@dumbsterdives]

​@@lolcat5303i imagine some ancients saw combat arts as a method of personal expression much the same as creation magic

[@althelor]

​@@dumbsterdives I mean, to be fair, outside of the military, that's how we treat them in real life too. In times of peace, we still teach each other to fight with no expectation to ever have to *use* that knowledge. And we even turn fighting and martial arts into their own sports. Though now I can't get the idea of the ancients having arenas full of spectators watching boxing matches out of my head, and I love it.

[@ChaosDX1]

There's some side dialogue where Emet-Selch briefly described each seat on the Convocation of Fourteen. I copied the text immediately, adding my own notes, and have since used it as a cheat sheet whenever a member of the Convocation is mentioned. "Should I be revealing such details to you? Don't be silly. Even children know this much, and you would do well to remember it all." -Emet-Selch

[@hb-mek]

I wonder who would win if Azem and Nabriales unsundered form had a fight, obviously Azems unsundered form is strong af because Hydaelyn is said to be really strong and we kicked her ass even while sundered but if Nabriales is literally the council member for fighting then Nabriales is probably the strongest 14 member in combat

[@frogvie3624]

I like to think nabriales would win in a fair fight, but in any kind of scenario outside of that azem would pull out some crazy improvisation and get the W

[@Edge2177]

I'm still convinced Azem is us, moreso, future us, going back to the past with our rejoined selves. Imagine an entity capable of drawing on Aether and Dynamis, and look at our special summoning ability to summon heroes. It summoning our past selves, Ardbert, WoL, probably Zero and a few others. I can't wait till we fully rejoin and go back to ancient Amaurot for an entire expansion doing fun stuff with Hythlodaeus and Emet.

[@hb-mek]

@@Edge2177 damn cant wait for that in 33.0 gonna be goated

[@limpychick4724]

​@@frogvie3624 I feel like it'd make sense for Nabriales to win that as a one-on-one fight, but that Azem would win either by bringing allies (debatably fair since that *is* their strength), or at first losing to Nabriales and then being saved at the climax by allies that refused to let them fight alone, lol

[@lolcat5303]

@@frogvie3624 Emet is and was also a force to be reckoned with, it takes quite a few plot devices to be able to defeat him.

[@user-ec1fo6lb5w]

Interestingly, given mentions of the Final Days from the shades in Amarout, it's implied that there are civilizations or people beyond it - I always took Elidibus therefore to not only be the unbiased judge of the Convocation, but its literal face - the Fourteen's emissary, if you will - to other areas of Ancient society or people outside of it. I find this also works in tandem with Azem, the other strange seat - while Azem's job is not unlike an adventurer or even an anthropologist surveying the world at the ground level, understanding and bringing attention to problems from a point of view the Convocation would otherwise have great difficulty even noticing, Elidibus is the official diplomat - while not the 'leader' in a way we might commonly understand it, he is the face of Amarout's society. It is their job to take all the information presented from Azem and every other Convocation member and come to a judgement or advisement for the betterment of the star if the Fourteen are divided.

[@lolcat5303]

Given that EE3 confirms that the ancients were the singular mankind of the ancient world, I suspect what it amounts to is having semi autonomous city states over which the Convocation still had some measure of jurisdiction within their spheres of authority. Even with regards to their dress code EE3 mentions it was common but not universal. But yeah I agree with your interpretation of how the Convocation worked, I think that fits the lore quite well. Very much an advisory body with Elidibus there to ensure all perspectives are accounted for and factor into their ultimate decision.

[@TheInterplanetary]

Azem definitely feels like the one that I relate to the best. Having roamed so many worlds in books, movies, and of course games, it feels the most comprehensive and the freedom associated with it also leads me back to how we as the WoL ended up out of alignment with both Zodiark and Hydaelyn in the end. It makes sense to me that Azem would have seen the benefits of both but ultimately fled the scene to figure out some other path. This feels like how Ive lived my life, starting off as an avid and unquestioning follower of Hydaelyns Light and then realizing the flawed and yet nurturing way that she intended to lead. We stand with her because of our belief in Light and then when we visit the First we come to understand that Light doesnt always mean "Good". As Azem it makes sense to be a Lawful Good that is converted into a sort of Neutral Good who might swing either toward Lawful or Chaotic given the unique circumstances. While we wouldnt choose Darkness, we have a healthy respect for it and have probably spent time among its denizens as well, being one to want to understand and empathize with all perspectives. So, it's the seat of Azem that calls to me the most deeply.

[@tracyglasper5177]

As much as I love coming up with stories of my WOL's Azem, I feel that Altima's seat would be the one I would be most drawn to. I've loved the arts since I was a child and I adore writng, drawing and music. Yet another excellent lecture sir! Thank you again!

[@M0ssP1glet]

Halmarut - you had me at fungus XD Both that and the Loghrif seat do my little amateur naturalist heart good.

[@Chiropterran]

Very well-presented! Thank you for completing and sharing this. Our travels and studies have left me with a strong bias towards Azem and Elidibus, but I feel that might be too obvious. The Seat of Pashtarot speaks to me, as someone who seeks to embody my chosen code of ethics as well as I can. Being a mediator among friends who might find themselves disagreeing is also very appealing to me, and so I could see myself apprenticed to Pashtarot or Igeyorhm in the right circumstances.

[@Fgtr4Life]

I hope that if we ever see Altima that they're running a fashion boutique somewhere and that we dont have to fight them.

[@kfchero2]

As Chief of The Bureau of the Architect, Hythalodaus would make a great Deudalaphon

[@AnchorJG]

We've kind of accepted that WoL-Azem was some kind of chaos nexus picking fights with natural disasters for grapes. And we know what kind of a free-spirited wildcard Venat was given that we picked that habit up from her. But what of her predecessor? Were they more or less ... chaotic? Does the line of Azem's draw a steady decline in stoicism or is it a fluctuating sine wave between civilized and feral adventurous demigod? Or is it a flat line that seems more wild as Ancient Society became more stable and predictable in comparison?

[@madklingon6529]

It would be interesting to compare which seats Venat replaced with the gods she created. Hydealyn replacing Elidibus or Oschon replacing Azem for example

[@chaospudding]

Shoutout to Deudalaphon, who almost certainly was responsible for approving the concept of Kairos and thereby responsible for allowing the Final Days to occur by extension. Good job!

[@SynodicScribe]

It's not the tool in ones hand that's ever at fault. It's always the responsibility of how someone uses it.

[@lolcat5303]

@@SynodicScribe That, plus Hermes seems to have had a penchant for hiding information.

[@ducksoup10]

To answer your question, Scribe, I personally choose the Seat of Deudalaphon as my choice. The crossroad of magic and technology fascinates me, along with what can be created, and what innovations can be achieved when the two are used together.

[@ColumineMiette]

This helped a lot! But I'm having trouble seeing where the job of Elidibus ends and the job of Pashtarot begins. And if our character wasn't already given one, I think I'd resonate most with Altima's role.

[@SynodicScribe]

Pashtarot was meant to preside as the general Arbiter. But Elidibus spoke for not only Pashtarot, but all Convocation members. This isn't 1 to 1, but think of it like. Pashtarot is a Supereme Court Justice, while Elidibus is the President.

[@timothystamm3200]

​@SynodicScribe it might be better to make a Roman comparison considering the things you said. Pastarot is a Praetor equivalent who will hear some cases, makes rules for decisions for judges working under the seat, and maybe decide things on appeal. Elidibus is the equivalent of the Consul he leads the state, leads government meeting, arbitrates between its members, and can potentially serve as a final appeal on legal judgements though if you appealed such a judgement I suspect he was allowed to and frequently did refer it to the entire convocation with Elidibus presiding.

[@ColumineMiette]

@@SynodicScribe thank you, that helps a lot!

[@dumbsterdives]

​@ColumineMiette theres also the point that Pashtarot operates off of what they believe is right, while Elidibus is meant to have no personal bias and be entirely impartial. Part of Elidibus's role as advisor would likely be making sure Pashtarot keeps an even perspective

[@FFsave]

Any plans for a video on Hydaelyn’s allies like the Watcher? Are you ever going to get to Gridania? Gelmorra, Elementals and Amdapor are perfect forgotten lore.

[@Edge2177]

Holy crap a deep dive on lore, keep up the good work!

[@studioqrow491]

Mitron, the Mariner... That one persona who probably played too much Subnautica, Bioshock, Narcosis, and Soma.

[@forestgirlasha]

Thanx for making this

[@brianlockett4369]

Fandaniel, Altima, and definitely Azem are the ones I’m very interested in! I think Altima and/or Azem are the most likely to resonate with me the most as I love art & literature and the different aesthetics which both can have but the thought of traveling around collecting knowledge and being a problem solver as well as lending an ear to those who need it sounds very wonderful to me.

[@kingsilvergrass8751]

Altima and Nabriales for me, seeing the Artistry and Martial prowess I what I've like and admire in FF14.

[@lolcat5303]

I've always liked Nabriales. I went with my character being his Source shard for RP purposes (I don't RP the canon WoL.)

[@NemesisTWarlock]

The Seat of Azem sounds like the most fun out of the bunch. I should be more like them.

[@Wanderingsage7]

I imagine Azems just pick up a stray and teach them. So, do you think there was ever a way to vote someone off of the convocation? Like, it'd rarely be brought up but still in place.

[@Wanderingsage7]

Oh so that's why Venat wears that color. Neat!

[@brianbell8382]

I think it's ironic that Igeyorhm, the seat said to be the champion of rhetoric and enlightenment, isn't called The Speaker or at least The Orator simply because Lahabrea is referred to as the speaker of the Convocation in-game.

[@acgearsandarms1343]

Forgive me, but are the seats not ordered by their placement in the Zodiac? And the game itself does list certain seat orders for specific ones in the MSQ?

[@SynodicScribe]

When I say theirs no particular order, I mean there's no one seat that's higher or lower than another. They're all equal with one another, and I've no records of any one seat being created by another.

[@acgearsandarms1343]

@@SynodicScribeThanks for clarifying.

[@ndisfoshiz]

I'd love to hear a new video on The Twelve Gods of Eorzea!

[@aleciaregister162]

Is there enough information out there for a lesson about Elidibus? After Pandemonium questline, I find myself fascinated and wishing there had been more time to ask questions.

[@user-qo5nt6ph9k]

Speaking in terms of personal interests, the seats of azem, lahabrea, and deudalaphon resonate with me. I love to learn, i have found that i like to travel, i try to help others as best as i am able, and i like to craft and create.

[@ruthnovena40]

Elidibus sparked my interest.( Themis) . .A great deal was asked of him esp. bec, he was the youngest. I think it was harder on him, this is the seat would never want.

[@jaypro6269]

One thing to note is that there is an order to the seats. It follows the order of the western Zodiac. So that means Loghrif/Aries is first and Azem is last. That is why Emet-Selch is known as, "the third seat", because Gemini is the third constellation in the order.

[@spectreshadow]

I seriously love these lore series so very much.

[@dakotadoyle7573]

Im curious Scribe, what seat do you think you would hold?

[@sleepydruid100]

Oh boy Fandaniel really fumbled it didn´t they?

[@recondinent2]

I was hoping the video on this topic would discuss what we know about each specific Ascian in-game, like the oracle or darkness.

[@SynodicScribe]

That's more difficult unfortunately. Because aside from the Three Unsundered we know extremely little about the lives and habits of all other Convocation/Ascian members.

[@katnerd6712]

So, what you're saying is that the entire disaster of the Final Day happened due to Azem's failure to counsel Hermes. Makes sense :P

[@thegneech]

Well I mean, it's gotta be Azem. Although I do love me some critters...

[@Wastingsometimehere]

Thanks for this. Certainly makes a lot of sense at to why Azems (cough) are what they are.

[@dustinhatfield8373]

I was going to point out how ironic it was that nabriales was meant to be the warrior and he was seemingly the weakest ascian we fought against and the first to be actually killed. But I just saw someone else I'm the comments pointing out they all kind of had an ironic opposition to their seats

[@molovesmusic567]

im curious if siblings could have their own seat if powerful enough? i wouldnt think it’d be a problem lol

[@frogvie3624]

halmarut! I am a big tree and plant lover irl :)

[@ienzo69demy]

Question. Is it true Azem also wore a different colored mask than the other convocation members?

[@SynodicScribe]

I don't recall seeing that anywhere. From what I understand all 14 convocation members had red masks. The only unique seat was Elidibus who wore white robes instead of the traditional black.

[@ienzo69demy]

@@SynodicScribe Ok, it was just some fan theory talk I heard then.

[@acgearsandarms1343]

Are you referring to the Echo vision of Elidibus’ past with his induction? The one Ancient in a what potentially looked like a black-ish mask? That’s not conclusive evidence, but could be up to the fuzzy graphical quality made it look different in color? Who knows?

[@ienzo69demy]

@@acgearsandarms1343 That makes sense.

[@Ranziel1]

Clearly Ascians were supposed to be something else back in ARR days, but Nabriales being supposedly the toughest Ancient sure is funny.

[@SynodicScribe]

Yeah they went on record saying they didn't even decide on all of this with the Ancients back then. Which is why the Ascians felt like such stereotypical villains in ARR and Heavensward. haha

[@NeroLucifarious]

I could have sworn it was stated somewhere that while the convocation members each bore a red mask only the one seated as azem had a black one instead

[@SynodicScribe]

Someone else brought that up. However, I've no notes saying that at all. Not records or dialogue stating "Azem's mask was black."

[@NeroLucifarious]

@@SynodicScribe i think it mightve beena cutscene showing the standard stand in for ancients (hooded mask ghost dudes) only azem had a black mask on....i think

[@SynodicScribe]

@@NeroLucifarious That's all? Well that doesn't mean anything. All the masks of the Ancients in places like Amaurot had blackish masks against whitish hoods. Unless there's a citable source in the game or any other for of FFXIV media. Azem's mask was red like all the others. Sounds like fan theories run wild again. lmao

[@lolcat5303]

@@SynodicScribe It's inferred through the cutscene, yep. It's never been confirmed. People did a lot of reaching with that.

[@RedPanda819]

Loghrif for me

[@rennierzamora3582]

So are the 12 off shoots of the Convocation?

[@SynodicScribe]

It's possible Hydaelyn modeled the 12 after the Convocation for sure!

[@sephirothcrescent5768]

My Azem being Elidibus's partner is very fun to me. X3 :D

[@madambutterfly1997]

you completely left out the part about Azem being the only member with a different color mask

[@SynodicScribe]

I've learned that's a fan theory that I was not able to find any citable proof of.

[@1Mrstephen]

I’m confused a little… they are male and female.. Why are you saying they and their?

[@SynodicScribe]

Because the seats in the convocation were never held by just one person. There have been male Azem and Female Azem, therefore I need to use the plural if I wish to refer to all of them.

[@1Mrstephen]

@@SynodicScribe well, that makes sense. Something I apparently didn’t realize. I was like “what is going on here? I see 1 person, and clearly the gender they reveal themselves as.” Thanks for the clarification.