FFXIV Lore: Who is Unukalhai?

Despite the cryptic appearance and language of Unukalhai, there are a number of hints regarding his true identity which we will today explore!
Supplementary production music courtesy of Epidemic Sound: www.epidemicsound.com
This video extensively contains my own commentary and editing and is intended for educational purposes.

[@remitifromhell]

It's really fun watching these older lore videos with theories and conjecturing with wild and fun ideas, and see people that actually got the theory right.

[@PrinceArtemis]

FINALLY someone did a video of HIM! Getting annoyed with this character.

[@BroadwayRonMexico]

5.4 Spoilers Considering he would have likely begun wearing the robes and mask around the equivalent time as when the Ascians Loghrif and Mitron were defeated in the First, and how he ended up in the First around the same time that Gaia/Loghrif got her memories back and the Eden raid questline was wrapping up (where she told Mitron she'd find him again someday), my guess is that he is a shard of the Ascian Mitron. We know he's not the 13th's fragment of Azem (the player WoL's original self) since he seems to share a soul with Nyelbert (he could use his crystal), not Ardbert

[@Burningskull13]

My theory was that he's a Mhachi that's been cursed with eternal life but stuck in the body of a child for failing to control Diabolos. Kinda like Prishe from FF12. But that theory is just as likely as any other I suppose lol.

[@Twi3d15]

You should do some sort of re theory on your old Theorys. Like the belias/Gigas and some others. Would be nice to see updated information on older ideas with the new heavansward information

[@Rhomagus]

"I think this one here is the most compelling from what we know so far and, let's be real, it makes for a fascinating new character and a damn good story." Stole the words from my mouth. I remember Yoshida mentioning that a lot of fans actually sympathized with Van Baelsar as a character. I would count myself among those fans. I still have yet to see a better developed villain in the game since his passing. This twist, sort of "echoing" the story of Cid and his father, would be a welcome addition to the story. I'd go as far as to say if it's not his kid it'd be as big of a letdown as bringing a certain someone back to life for story convenience and would be a huge missed opportunity.

[@MYnameIStooLONG93]

I actually really enjoyed this theory and hope it or something along hear lines is exactly what happens!

[@Aoenias]

Well this video certainly is outdated now! Knowing that Unukalhai is not Gaius' son or Garlean at all and is the protege of Elidibus the Ascian "emissary" of Zodiark is pretty much nyx to this theory. You should make a new one about how Unukalhai is clearly the FFXIV version of FFIII's Onion Knight. In FFXIV's world, there are many worlds fragmented from our source world by the schism between Hydaelyn and Zodiark, which the Ascians seek to merge no matter the cost in lives. The one farthest from our source world and closest to Zodiark fell to a wave of darkness and became "the void". We now know Unukalhai hails from this world as the sole known survivor, plucked from the void by Elidibus to become his student and agent (and perhaps for a more nefarious purpose like being groomed to become a vessel of Zodiark, who knows?). But what significance is there to "the void" and the "wave of darkness"? Recall that after Xande's defeat in FFIII, the ultimate antagonist was the Cloud of Darkness, emissary of the void, who took advantage of the light/dark imbalance Xande caused to manifest and attempt to cause a wave of darkness that would turn the world to void. Boy would you look at what happened in our FFXIV world? The 13th fragment world fell to a wave of darkness and became the Void, and nobody ever defeated the Cloud of Darkness because we fight her later and she is basically an extremely powerful voidsent entity that rules over the now Void. Maybe in our world she wasn't actually the key thing to defeat to stop the wave of darkness as most characters seem to believe that Zodiark was to blame for that one but I have my doubts about that despite what Hydaelyn might think about Zodiark. Quite a lot of terminology in common here though. "Wave of darkness", "Void", even Elidibus' self proclaimed title as "emissary". Plus a lot of character names in common. Xande, our resident Allagan emperor and main antagonist (if not final antagonist) of FFIII. Doga and Unei, our native Allagan supporters and also supporters of the protagonists of FFIII, Cloud of Darkness, a top tier voidsent entity we fight due to Xande powering a voidgate with the crystal tower in order to destroy the world and the final antagonist of FFIII. But not Unukalhai. Like you said that name has most to do with Tactics where we first meet the Ivalician entity Zodiark and its servants. Ivalice's Zodiark seems far removed from ours though. We understand Unukalhai took the name due to his association with the Ascians that serve the serpentarius, Zodiark, but we don't know his actual name. But we DO know some white haired boys that try to act mature and were supposed to save a world from being consumed by the void and defeat a Cloud of Darkness. The protagonist of FFIII, the Onion Knight Luneth! Why he would serve Elidibus besides gratitude for being saved is uncertain, but we do see that he seems firmly interested in stopping another Void from happening and also in stopping the Primals despite his Ascian master secretly working to summon more Primals and hasten the spread of chaos and the drain of aether. Honestly, Unukalhai seems quite taken with the Scions of the Seventh Dawn so he can't be a bad kid, he might just have been convinced by Elidibus that the goals of the Ascians are the only way to prevent more Voids and maybe to return the souls of his world to the cycle like our Warrior of Darkness "Arbert" was attempting to do for his world flooding with Light. Or Elidibus might just be straight up deceiving him. Regardless as to whether Elidibus is correct, his methods of restoring balance will undoubtedly result in the deaths of everybody on the fragmented worlds during their rejoining. He seems to think this is okay because their souls will be saved. Clearly that's not okay, and I fully expect Unukalhai to join our cause concretely during Shadowbringers when this comes to light. Heh.

[@SarahExpereinceRequiem]

I never played FFXII so I don't know about any of this first hand but there's this bit from the FF wiki: "Zodiark, Keeper of Precepts (戒律王ゾディアーク, Kairitsu Ō Zodiāku?, lit. Zodiark, King of Precepts), also called Zodiac, is an Esper from the world of Ivalice. The Esper of Dark, he represents the Zodiac sign ofOphiuchus, the Serpent Holder. Zodiark is indeed a serpent, in the form that Ophiuchus is most commonly associated with, a snake. .Zodiark was formerly known as Serpentarius. In Final Fantasy XII the rare gem, which can be stolen from Zodiark refers to this. Zodiark is also referred to as the Ashlesha Ascendant, which is the Sanskrit name of its Zodiac sign as used in Jyotish (Hindu) astrology" And "Strongest of the scions created by the gods, they feared his growth, and so kept him a child. So indomitable is his strength that all things are by him twisted and pressed into oblivion." Although that doesn't really fit with FFXIV (there are no gods above Zodiark except perhaps Hydaelyn) I had it in my head that Unukalhai was *somehow* an avatar of Zodiark because he both took the form of a snake (and Unukalhai is Alpha Serpentis) and is linked to Ophiuchus who holds the constellation Serpens. Equally that could mean he's simply in thrall to Zodiark or the Ascians. But then there's the fact that Unukalhai is literally a child...

[@firesidestories289]

+KatayokoNoTenshi lol I should have read the comments here more carefully this is almost exactly the same as my theory. And I just posted a video response saying that I thought exactly this. Well my theory has 3 possibilities that he is either 1 an avatar of Zodiark as said here, or 2 has a portion of Zodiarks power sealed within him, or 3 he is a living manifestation of one of the 13 seals on Zodiark's power. Well it's nice to see I'm not the only person to think up this theory. I thought this up as soon as I saw Unukalhai in the story on my legacy character and my theory has been reinforced by Menphillia becoming the "avatar" of Hydalyn showing that such a relationship is possible.

[@nikitkau]

KatayokoNoTenshi I know I'm late to the party, but Regula van Hydrus' name translates as "rule of the serpent", kind of ironic, isn't it?

[@halofira7]

Knowing how right you've been with all of your predictions thus far, I would NOT be surprised if he was Van Baelsar's son.

[@berzerkerdav]

woulda been close to the time he "lost" cid too i think, having a hard time placing them agewise lol, but if its close woulda left him wanting another "successor"

[@berzerkerdav]

before ppl bring it up i know hes not cids father but he was his "mentor" of sots if not just flat out :P

[@USMC49er]

Spoiler Warning for those who have not finished Shadowbringers and Endwalker. Unukalhai was saved by Elidibus in the 13th world where he lived in the Source for years. If you complete the ShB job class quests, it is revealed that Cylva was also a survivor of the 13th. The epilogue quests has both Unukalhai and Cylva learning to restore the 13th to its original form in the 1st. After learning that and what is going on in Endwalker, they could have more significant roles in the next expansion.

[@kathrynsmith53]

'2022 - FFXIV - Update? Within the privacy of the room Unukalhai tells the group he is from another star, his home star was in the void, an Asian brought him to this star. He witnessed the destruction of his home star by the Asians & now he wants to save this star from absolute destruction. Question though will Unukalhai be featured in future FFXIV expansion storyline as he came from the void, he is able to travel back into the void without being corrupted? Unukalhai being from another can't be Gaius' child. Expansion of the storyline a female former Garlean soldier tells more about Gaius being "virtuous" with the children he saved, taught & trained. She said that Gaius kept Livia at arms length away from himself as he knew she had crush on him. So, it seems Livia was never Gaius's mistress. However, that doesn't mean he never had one, its never mentioned in the story. An illegitimate child is never mentioned either. Both would have made Gaius more vulnerable to his enemies & those wanting to take his place, we suppose. Will Unukalhai return in future FFXIV expansion?

[@sz5042]

I did the triad's after putting it off forever since I don't like trials much. After I stopped laughing at powerman 5,000 and rob zombies nephew's only hit, I wondered what people thought of the lore way back when. I also thought about how "Whoa, don't tell me that!!!" if you hadn't encountered much of the WoD plot, much less starting Shadowbringers now a days. Something that was a cryptic hint to plot far later is now almost a spoiler.

[@drew-baby]

With the revelations in patch 3.3 - I'm going you will make a follow up video to this- cheers

[@ilakya]

Watch this now after Shadowbringer and Endwalker finished. Damn, Beside the speculation that's a fun guess, The analysis part is too damn accurate. Especially about Elidibus. And even the analysis about other character like Gaius intention and motivation is accurate as well, To be reminded that this was here before the Stromblood even released.

[@Tackleberry61]

If you have finished the story for Stormblood, talk to him again for something extra. :)

[@skykid]

"He states that he originally came from a conflict ridden land, where he initially learned magic in order to survive, until his master found and recruited him. He then tells the story of another world, where people had believed they could harness the power of Primals using Auracite. However, this eventually led to the destruction of their world." Sounds to me like he's from Ivalice, which had its own Elidibus (and Zodiark)

[@zwei3179]

i can see holding alot of water, its very possible gaius had a kid, why wouldnt he. Someone to pass on his teachings, to fix his sin and become better then him.

[@OshiHidra]

I want this to be true so badly now, because yeah, it does make a compelling character and damn good story. By extension, I want Gaius to be alive in Ala Mhigo, the subject of Yda and Paplymo's mission there, and end up being our liason/Aymeric type figure when we take the city back

[@ArchieGamez]

About that :)

[@OshiHidra]

@@ArchieGamez lmfao, I was not even close but I'm still so happy he showed up and got a fantastic redemption arc

[@fullercraftmuseumshop5983]

my gods you are a man of great information!

[@tabris2746]

He needs to have a bigger part in the story

[@TheZombiDude]

Heads up! Talk to him after finishing Shadowbringers for a cutscene.

[@bettym4859]

Where is he ? I went back to the rising stone and waking sands but he's nowhere to be seen ?

[@TonberryQueen]

Haven't watched the video yet, but I'm calling it here: He's Elidibus.

[@kamisan89]

Watched the video but I think he could be Eldibus as well, maybe it's just me... but wouldn't the other scions be suspicious of a kid constantly hanging out in the now absent boss' office? The only thing I can think of to disprove this is that Regula noticed him, but then again Regula could have the Echo or aether sensing tech in his helm.

[@brynphillips9957]

While I wouldn't rule out such a theory I think its unlikely. Further I would also point out that the Ala Mhigan occupation has been very rough on the Ala Mhigan natives involving everything from conscription and brainwashing, to slave labor and force prostitution, to having brainwashed youths murder members of their own families. The Ala Mhigan occupation may have been bloodless in the sense there were no real battles but the Garlean treatment of Ala Mhigo in the aftermath was brutal. Hell the Scions even have a member who is strongly hinted at being the product of a Garlean soldier raping an Ala Mhigan woman at the time of occupation.

[@renlyjae]

+Bryn Phillips What character was hinted to be the product of rape because I can't find that information anywhere.

[@brynphillips9957]

+Candace Quebodeaux Cant remember the name off the top of my head. He is the Hyur male in the side room of the Waking Sands with the White hair and the Sword and Shield. If you visit the room during your questing between lvl 20 and 30 the NPCs there all have dialog that progresses. Its the discussions between him and his two friends that indicate his origins.

[@AZodiacCancer]

I think it's Alisae(sp?). You see her or someone wearing her clothes at the end of 3.1 and then it's not touched upon in 3.2. Un is in the Waking Sands along with Uriangher and they could very well be working together or she could be using that as a disguise to get close to him. I am by no means good at the lore in this game and I'm probably 100% wrong. But I'd love to hear your thoughts on where Alisae is as of now in the story.

[@ExireHG]

He mentioned he had a power similar to the Echo but different. Unukalhai also mentioned there was a difference between Eikon's and Primals but none of the NPC's in the story have been very specific. I think this could hint he's one of potentially several branching elements to Ala Mhigo and the expansion. In other words, post Warring Triad, perhaps we could see more from him in the future. Still this doesn't answer why he's wearing a mask, it's not like we'll recognize him.

[@acrab6527]

It's probably just Alisaie. A child with the echo that disappeared from the plot that wants to fight primals and save Eorzea. A child with the echo who's identity is unknown who wants to fight primals and save Eorzea. Both of which are relegated to side stories, while Alphinaud has the main plot.

[@Legofps123]

So wrong about the Unukalhai and yet so right about Gaius. Watching this with today's knowledge is awesome

[@Dynme]

I dunno, Ethys. As interesting as your theory is, there's a reference they made that I think is just a bit too strong to be dismissed. When Urianger was introducing Unukalhai, he mentioned "the fate of this star," directly referencing Elidibus at the end of 2.55, and I don't think this was a casual reference.

[@yagikataiser434]

Fascinating video. I gotta say, if you're right about all this, then that brief moment of Unukalhai spellcasting will really seem like a deliberate red herring. Like "oh, you think he might be hiding his face 'cause he's Garlean? Pshaw, no, look, he just started channeling a spell!"

[@bandofortywamgang6233]

Historical celestial facts with visuals on spiritual manuscripts all in a video game of War. Nice concept a good way to shed light on the War and the seriousness of unity due to galactic threats. welcome back Ophiuchus.

[@gamer100825]

I would like to deposit another theory. we know we ourselves have an opposite in the void. the warrior of darkness. yet as of right now we have no void equivalent of the twelve and no eorzean equivalent to the ascians. it is possible the shards of zoidark could function as the dark version of the twelve. 12 smaller shards surrounding the central dark crystal. this leaves a gap in the balance. which we know that even the ascians themselves must maintain balance with hydealyn. they know bring darkness into hydealyn directly would trigger an equally strong burst of light. and when our light grew to strong this gave them the oppurunity to send in their darkness without a backlash manifested in the warrior of darkness. this leaves a gap in the universal balance we have the citizens of the void the warrior of darkness the ascians and the shard of zoidark. and in hydealyn we have citizens of the light warrioir of and the twelve. but nothing to balance out the missing teir that the ascians fill. perhaps unukalhi is instead more akin to an angel a divine being that does not hold absolute power. we know the amdapori worship included angels and creatures of a holy nature that we see only in the statues used to represent them prior to their shift into darker magics and voidsent summoning. i would also like to note unukalhis mask is completely white and rather plain. where as ascian masks are elegenant and often red. ascians will attack to defend themselves yet unukalhi used his magics as a warning. showing his power but not causing any damage. also remember the one of ascians goals is to manipulate the peoples of hydealyn to use and express hydealyns aether destructively thus wounding hydealyn in a sort of backlash. if unukalhi is an angel he would certainly be aware of this and would be rather hesitant to use magic even if he was in danger even just calling enough aether for a warning spell corrupted it turing the aether black. which is why the angels also seek the aid of our warriors of light. even if it for the good of the real the angels themselves cannot bring harm to any part of hydealyn for their power expressed destrucivly is just as much a blow to hydealyn as the summoning of a primal and so until now they watch about probably helps hydealyn guide us in some way or went about restoring the real. and with recent dimishing of hydealyns power the angels now seek more direct ways to protect the realm of light

[@JulianSkies]

I... Don't think that Unukalhai actually has the Echo. Just from his particular wording on how he is not vulnerable to being tempered, he specifically goes out of his way to not say he has the Echo.

[@hemmizack3769]

that Warrior of light tho :)

[@Wariyaka]

Well guess this was good speculations for when it was done. The truth turned out way more interesting and less mundane though ;)

[@pallyxav7597]

My theory is that he is the manifestation of the demon. It explains the comments by the npc's, the reason he is immune from primal influence and his knowledge. Also wanting to fight the warrior of light

[@Diego-zc2jb]

didnt they say he did indeed have the echo when he undid the majicks the party put on the aetherochemical research facility (where you fight van hydrus again, the one man dngeon basically)?

[@kage8725]

If you talk to this guy after 5.3 he has an interesting set of lines related to your success and his feelings regarding the ascians.

[@SolidariusLive]

Didn't Unukalhai come from the voided realm?

[@barryearp4460]

i like your videos but i have a question, according to the final fantasy xiv game site under threats Livia sas Junius is said to be Gaius van Baelsar's adopted daughter (link) na.finalfantasyxiv.com/a_realm_reborn/world/#!/threats/content?threats_06 i was unsure if this is incorrect or perhaps Gaius had a thing for "daughters"? also Rhitahtyn sas Arvina the roegadyn with the gun shields, the reaction Gaius had when we beat Rhitahtyn always struck me as perhaps he was like an adopted sun to Gaius. sorry for my bad grammar was curious of your thoughts on this mostly about Rhitahtyn's relation to Gaius.

[@ricorori]

The interesting thing about this is that it's a bit conflicting - at least the translation is. In English, we see Gaius demand that Livia be in his quarters in one hour, which suggests a sexual relationship, but we also see Livia refer to Gaius, stating that he took her in, which suggests an adoptive relationship. We know they're not blood related, but beyond that isn't clear.

[@LeodiAstoriaXIII]

nice video!

[@Vonix.]

Intelligent video, and pretty accurate hypothesis.

[@elravager40k]

I love these videos. Even if it does not turn out to be true, the way you put together your case reveals so much about the story and lore of FFXIV to be a true joy to watch.

[@hoarderhell3589]

I loved coming back to watch this video after we know what he is now :)

[@KHRules]

doesnt sephirot's theme express something about where the serpent lies. I mean for the most part the lyrics for primal type songs have meaning.

[@Beredaman08]

+Khrulesbbs J Yeah - the line is "You are the night at the end of the tunnel, the empty void where the serpent lies."

[@tabian00]

Captions is Amazing everytime you say something related to specific FFXIV terminology.

[@jeffwithrow6770]

Its never a bad day when Ethys talks about Gaius van Baelsar.

[@omfglongbeach]

Amazing video! Subscribed.

[@TheRealLink]

Great analysis as always ;). These are so pleasant and calming to watch.

[@Gharon]

Been waiting for this video ever since you teased at it in State of the Realm. Great theory, i hope it turns out to be something like this.

[@brittanyhayes1043]

Since day one that kid has been giving me vibs.

[@damiansekora1958]

it's like Warhammer all over again..

[@VeracityTrigger]

wow, looks like you have all the pieces in place!

[@scout702]

Did you forget the padjal? Do they count?

[@Rhomagus]

+scout702 That was my first go to. Not only is he wearing a mask, but also a hood. E-Summi-Yan played a much bigger role in 1.0 than he has in 2.0. Not totally sure as to his motivations for hiding his identity though, but it certainly could be a different padjal, but as Ethys began to explain his theory I began to like it more.

[@chrisclark8910]

+Rhomagus Asclepiot Yeah plus the padjal introduced so far have all been heroic characters, so he wouldn't have a reason to hide his identity if that were the case.

[@Azmodan514]

I freaking love this game, and videos like this make me love it even more. Whether you're right or not, that was a very interesting theory.

[@Zarren364]

I kinda wonder if him or the Hydrus will play a "Kefka" role in the Warring Triad story.

[@BlueHokage]

It actually would make perfect sense for him to play the "Kefka roll" without SE actually bringing in Kefka. Then Hydrus could play the roll of ff6 Emperor Gestahl. So my question... what part of Eorzea will be turned to Ruin?! heh

[@litzoralcrerion8450]

I think it far more likely that Regula will be our "Kefka" and Varis will be our "Gestahl". Not only is the symbolism there (Azys Lla = Floating Continent, Garlemald = Magitek Empire), but they are pursuing literally the exact same thing as Gestahl and Kefka were in FFVI. Also, it wouldn't be the first time there was a connection between an imperial legatus and a previous Final Fantasy villain. There's symbolism in the numbers: Nael = 7th Legion, Sephiroth = Final Fantasy VII; Regula = VIth Legion, Kefka = Final Fantasy VI. My prediction is that Regula will continue to appear before us seeming less and less sane as time goes on. He will continue to feign support of Varis as Varis somehow comes under control of the Triad's power. At the last second, Regula will betray Varis, kill him, and seize that power for himself. We will have to fight an empowered Regula as the "primal" of 3.5, and the power vacuum left from the sudden death of their emperor, Garlemald will be in disarray as a battle for succession ensues. During the chaos, Ilberd will lead the resistance to reclaim Ala Mhigo, setting up the stage for 4.0.

[@ChouhouinNeko]

after the sophia fight i say its leaning more toward allagan

[@bainbonic]

I'm the opposite, I'm leaning more towards him being an apprentice of Elidibus, though not villainous. I reckon together they intend to maintain the balance between Light and Dark, helping out whichever side needs it. Elidibus helps the Ascians in order to counter the Warrior of Light, and sends Unukalhai to prevent the Warring Triad from breaking free and plunging the world into incredible Darkness with their untold power.

[@hyydyke]

very interesting theory indeed!

[@kuroregal7788]

I believe he is the son of both Gaias Van & Livia.

[@Kylesico912x]

Isn't Livia the sister of Lucia? Lucia said so herself. That would make Livia a pureblooded Garlean as such Unukalhai one as well. That means he wouldn't have been able to channel aether like he is able to.

[@jumpiestranger2]

Louisoix Leveilleur.

[@darkfury1733]

awesome!

[@jvines11]

has there been any new info as of 5.0

[@christopherg7483]

There is a continuattion of his story if you do all of the role quests in ShB

[@Archyoda7]

Then what's with that one guy at the end of 3.2 with the similar mask?

[@husky2365]

the mask isn't necessarily similar beyond being white. then mask at the end of 3.2 is more elaborate. but going with this, what if that masked person at the end of 3.2 is Gaius? what if by some fluke he didn't die? what if Gaius wants to take ala mhigo back from the Garleans?

[@craffaele]

+Jackie Duarte If I am not mistaken once Yoshi said stated, after the comeback of Nero in the Crystal Tower storyline, that he would never bring back to life officially dead characters like Gaius. True enough he did it with the Sultana so maybe he changed his mind about this statement.

[@HawsDaBaws]

+Raffaele Calvia I'm still pissed that all the epicness of that was for nothing.

[@husky2365]

+Raffaele Calvia well I guess to be fair, the sultana was never "dead" just asleep. where as Gaius was supposedly burned to a crisp in an exploding infrastructure. /shrug just not sure how much that exploding infrastructure went into the crater ultima weapon created.

[@HawsDaBaws]

great theory! however SE is lazy and I have a bad feeling we'll get something not nearly as interesting.