FFXIV Lore Tours - Keeper of The Lake

Welcome to another FFXIV Lore Tour! Rather than offering you another mechanical dungeon guide, I'll be running through the various duties of the game whilst giving them the Ethys treatment verbatim.
This video extensively contains my own editing and commentary and is intended for educational purposes.

[@YoikoHibiki]

The dragon you didn't talk about at the beginning of the dungeon is named "Son of the Keeper" and that is his only appearance in this dungeon suggesting some importance (so it is not one of many "sons" but a singular, unique "son"). He seems awfully minor to be one of the seven sons of Midgardsormr. Any thoughts on him given his unique title? You spoke about the suceeding generations of dragon descendants being more and more simplistic and animal-like as they are further from Midgardsormr so perhaps he is more of a great-grandson rather than a literal son. Additionally the creature that flies in to drop the Field Generator during the final battle is Astraea, named for the woman from Greek mythology who eventually becomes the constellation Virgo. Astraea is also the name of a ship in Square's "Einhander" game which you mentioned.

[@EthysAsher]

Your Fat Cat was Midgardsormr all along...

[@birdgang2939]

You actually did the Midgarsormr fight without his theme playing during the fight... FOR SHAME.

[@EthysAsher]

I know! I didn't realise that I had BGM turned off so I had to put the music in post and Midgardsormr's theme isn't on the OST D:

[@meakimon]

Hi there, long time watcher, love these kind of videos!^^ Just wanted to add a comment about the Hull Nix mob. Seeing as it is depicted here as a aquatic creature, it makes me think of Nøkken, or the Nixe, you could also google Neck(water spirit). It has a lot of different depiction depending on what country you look into. Here in Norway it's called nøkken, and was a marshland(like small bogs inside thick forests) creature famously depicted by Theodor Kittelsen as a sort of being that took the shape of something rather spooky with glowing eyes. Always thought it was a root tangle like creature, but it has a lot of forms. I wouldn't be surprised if the Hull Nix is harking back to the big creature, as toads/frogs do live among these areas? Just an uneducated guess though.^^ Love the video, and I will unpause it now to continue watching it. I'll edit this if something else comes to mind.

[@JulianSkies]

A note, at least from somewhat older loremongering in the forums: The garlean troops appear to be formed like actual roman units, cohorts were the basic tactical unit of the romans, composed of six 'centuriae' or 'century' (which is composed of 80 people). It is the roman equivalent of the modern "Company" It's easy thus to imagine the 6th cohort is... Castrum Meridianum's sixth cohort, they are probably a more spec ops/black ops oriented team Also further correction! The DRG soulstone is not Niddhog's eye, the eye is something else, a gem that Estinien, from what I gather, still carries with himself. The soulstone is given to the Azure Dragoons are they come and they carry instruction and knowledge, yours, if i'm not wrong, is from your master

[@s6pd]

I've noticed a lot of cultural parallels between the Garlean Empire and the Roman Empire - Their expansive empire, tendency to assimilate cultures, their offers/attempts to recruit/assimilate before straight up conquering or waging war, their technology being comparatively advanced, etc. I believe Yoshida at one point suggested that we would likely relate or side with the Garleans more so than anyone else in reality. Based on this I've always thought of the player, or Eorzeans, as the kind of disjointed 'barbarian', often tribal, cultures of Europe and the Mediterranean at the height of the Roman Empire.

[@brk1988]

I really like the idea that the warrior of light could be beings like Midgardsormr. More powerful than average adventurers, but still recognized and gifted by Hydaelyn.

[@TheMelosol]

Great video man. How about some videos on the hunts as well???

[@acedianPianist]

Something I just noticed, one of the 'skills' of the Magitek Gunship is "Garlean Fire," which I take to be a reference to Greek Fire. Do with that what you will.

[@SirthOsiris]

Also thought the weapons Einhander was using also looked like a couple weapons from the original game. I think my brother would love the reference. If he play FF14.

[@DerGeistDesKriegers]

DAT Edda face is nightmare fuel!

[@TheTheromas]

It's been a week because of the dps queue lol

[@sleepydruid100]

Didn´t Loki transform Jormungandr into the cat? Or do i confuse Jormungandr and Midgarsormr?

[@kane9497]

I think the first boss is a prototype for that garlean dragon weaponization theory.

[@GrayveStone]

Bahamut very well could be a son of Midgarrdsomr. Just because a being was real at one point doesn't mean they couldn't become a primal, with Shiva being a prime example. That of course presumes the Mercidian dragons and the Dravinia dragons are all related.

[@HyMyNameIsMatt]

You called it fashion souls if I could subscribe twice.

[@marcin90t]

useing food in 4 man dungeons xD you dedicated :)

[@Araedi]

the sirens say "Feel me"

[@andersengman3896]

I always thought it was "fail me". :p

[@Frankthetank302]

Both midgarsomr and bahamut are elder primals bahamut is,the elder Dragon primal of,the dragons of,mercydia and midgarssomr to the dravanian

[@kamisan89]

Is it just me or does the Keeper of the Lake sound a little Arthurian? Like the Lady of the Lake who replaced the broken Caliburn with Excalibur? Like how Midgarsomr replaces our blessing with his?

[@EthysAsher]

that's an interesting thought... but has Midgardsormr replaced Caliburn with Excalibur - or Excalibur with Caliburn?

[@kamisan89]

Well we did get our "Blessing of the Light" from Hydaelyn which is represented by a giant crystal(rock) and Midgarsormr(Lady? of the Lake) did call it a feeble blessing replacing it.... Midgarsormr's minion form is already playing an advisory role to our "Arthur" after our Merlin(The voice of Hydaelyn) had been silenced similar to Malory's Nimue(Though we don't know if Midgardsormr had any direct action in that said silencing of Hydaelyn) I believe it's also implied that Hydaelyn's power is actually being drained as evident that she could not protect the adventurer's party from a second Ultima. I would theorize that the Ascians goal is to drain aether from the crystals as much as possible via primal summoning and other methods(giving out crafting levemetes for useless items), draining Hydaelyn and turning her into Zodiark, and at that point I think Midgardsormr's blessing will become very very handy....

[@EthysAsher]

kamisan89 Well it's clear enough that Zodiark and Hydaelyn are perfect binaries (light crystal / dark crystal, Hydaelyn is the world and Zodiark is the void) so you're suggesting that Zodiark is the crystal's state of being once it is drained of aether (and that Zodiark's power is some kind of dark/anti-aether that fills the gaps)? I think that's a fascinating theory; I've been pretty confident that once we defeat a primal or such that the majority of the displaced aether returns to the earth and any remnants drift into the Hydaelyn/Zodiark membrane rather than the void itself but I'm sure they could explain it some other way, and the Tupsimati could believably be used to drain vast quantities of aether (and seal it? trap it?) as much as it could be used to channel that aether into summoning Zodiark as an Elder Primal. My theory so far has been that no, Midgardsormr did not have a hand in silencing Hydaelyn but rather that Hydaelyn herself recognizes the inexorable cycle that her "Warrior of Light" propagates. I think it's safe to imagine that every Astral Era has had its Archons and Warriors of Light working to stifle the Ascian's attempt to summon Zodiark - and that the happy result is that rather than achieving some kind of ragnarok, the most damage that the Ascians can achieve is the state of turmoil that we refer to as an Umbral Era for a time before we manage to bounce back. Hydaelyn's actions, then, prolong the conflict and save the realm from complete nihilism, but they do not ever actually defeat Zodiark or the Ascians... I suspect that this is something she is entirely incapable of. Hydaelyn's hopes for us might be, then, is that we might TRANSCEND the Warriors of Light and become something that can do more than merely ensure that the Umbral Era is a wind-back - we might actually prevent them entirely and end the cycle by destroying the Ascians. This, however, is beyond her abilities and to see it to fruition she must essentially let us off the leash and allow us to become masters of our own destiny, that we might forge a destiny unlike that which she is doomed to propagate by her very nature... so I think the possibility that she has willingly stopped interfering is on the table. In any case I intend to make a video on this kind of idea once we've seen the 2.51 story, and I'll definitely explore the Arthurian aspects of our relationship with Midgardsormr at that point.

[@QuikThinx_AllThots]

can we all agree how weird a DRG looks without a weapon in hand/on its back.

[@lewis24685]

would Bahamut be one of the sons of Midgardsormr? I mean the original one of course

[@s6pd]

iirc, and someone may be able to provide a better answer, Bahamut is a Dragon Primal - a god more so than any other immortal or mortal being.

[@EthysAsher]

Spencer Brown-Pearn yes, Bahamut was summoned by the dragons of Meracydia when the Allagans invaded them, but I guess that doesn't exclude him from being a son of Midgardsormr... I was thinking that Twintania might be one too

[@s6pd]

True, I guess the idea that he is a physical, though potentially immortal, son of Midgardsormr doesnt necessarily exclude him from being a Primal in his own right. Much like Iceheart/Shiva or Louisoix/Pheonix. Though, I always assumed that the Primals were magical/aetherial deities would could, in some instances use an individual (such as Louisoix) as a conduit of sorts. Then again, there are instances like Good King Moggle Mog, who is elevated to a sort of primal, not as a conduit but an ascension, more so. I guess we don't really know if there is one absolute path to primalship, or what that process is. Bahamut could easily have been a son of Midgardsormr and the most powerful of the Dragons of Meracydia during the war with the Allagan. The Maracydian faith in / prayer to Bahamut could have then ascended him to a Primal. I guess we can only wait and find out? In regards to Twintania, I always assumed Twintania was a 'she' (solely on the assumed sex of the name -ia, and the use of 'hatch'). But again, that's a large assumption. Do Dragons/Wyrms have a sex? Either way, I'm excited to hear more as we move toward Heavensward. Are all 7 sons alive? have we bested any of them before? There's definitely a few Wyrms from the series that haven't been introduced at all (Tiamat, Fafnir, Nidhogg, Vrtra, etc)

[@steak0402]

I thought mages/wizards/elves' power was based on age and lineage. I.E. u are from such &such lineage which gives 100 power and u are 30 years old which gives u 20(so 100+20=120 total power) power where as if u were 50 years old from the same lineage that would give you 40 power (100+40=140 total power).

[@katoneron9045]

24:18 Ethys plays Dark Souls huh :D

[@EthysAsher]

shhhhhh... If I had a DSII series it would consist entirely of me running around smooshing basilisks with my twin anvil-popsicles "Reginn" and "Tartarus" and cackling; nobody wants to see that.

[@katoneron9045]

Ethys Asher Heh, perhaps look into Bloodborne when it comes out? The Souls series as you undoubtedly know has some very rich and imaginative lore. You weave tales with such allure and charm, and have unique methods and perspectives that aren't currently found in any Souls lore channels. These talents applied to the Souls universe would be a sight to behold! (not that they aren't already)