Shadowbringers Lore: True Stewards of the Star

The Ancients are a mysterious race of tall but powerful people. In this video I talk about their history and how a certain Ascian feels it's his duty to save them. SPOILERS for those who have not reached the last Area!!!
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[@Prich319]

The devs have really been playing lately with the truth of how fickle a thing memory is, especially how it is unreliable, and they've been doing it as far back as Heavensward. Consider that Hraesvelgr flat out tells Ysayle that her Primal Shiva is just a twisted facsimile of the woman he once loved, how Tiamat summoned a Bahamut that was not at all like her lost beloved, how The archbishop and the heavensward summoned King Thordan and his knights as giant god-warriors/The Knights of the Round. Now in Shadowbringers, we have our own character summoning the original six primals in the Eden questline from their memory and what do we get? A two headed Leviathan, Mecha Titan, Ramuh the wise man-horse, Ifrit the flame atronach who does a fusion dance with Garuda who's now got eight wings for some reason, and Shiva is literally Ryne. It's safe to say that even if the ascian's goals succeeded beyond their wildest dreams, and Zodiark revived the sacrificed Amaurotines, the unreliability of memory would ensure that the people would come back wrong. They would literally be whatever Elidibus might imagine them to be like, they would never be what they once were. It really does prove that the dead can never truly return.

[@SubduedRadical]

Another big part of this - that I've been thinking lately - is...what if Zodiark is LYING? Presumably, he promised the Ascians that if they cultivated and fed him enough life energy, he could restore the 75% of their population that was lost. They believe, because (a) lying wasn't a common thing to them when that pact was made and (b) were Tempered by him anyway, and prone to believe him. Perhaps Zodiark CAN do it, or at least THINKS he can do it...but what if he can't? What if all their efforts were doomed from the start, and all the deaths were a fool's errand?

[@lauraorganasolo8875]

Thank you for what is surely one of the most cogent and thoughtful KZbin comments in existence. That's a brilliant point.

[@TheTriforceDragon]

@@SubduedRadical I have been thinking the exact same thing and here is another angle. We have one example of a primal trying to bring back the dead, Lakshimi, but what she brought back was just a hollow shell, alive in the technical sense, but bereft of soul and reason. If Zodiark felt like beeing duplicitous it could bring back the lost people in such a form, technically fulfilling its part of the deal. On an additional note, now that we know that Hyadelyn is a primal as well, can we be certain that her "blessing" is really not just her form of tempering?

[@NikkoTanGoogle]

@@TheTriforceDragon goddamn....this might be a foreshadowing! if ever, how sneaky, and also, that would be a fucking brillaint twist!! my jaw would be on the floor if they went that direction, even if i have been spoiled by your theory. thanks for making my day!!

[@Deathstrikie229]

@@TheTriforceDragon WARNING! THIS IS ME WITH A TINFOIL HAT I think that the ancients were not temperable, since what we know as summoning was simply creation magic for the ancients. If they were temperable, wouldn't it follow that they would always have been at risk of being tempered by any and all their creations? We also know that what we know as the "blessing" behaves more like a satellite transmission, and the gift can be triggered within all beings by forcing the memories of Aumarot and the Final Days into the forefront of their minds. Then there's also the fact that Zodiark needs a heart, which would imply that it's will is not it's own, but that of the host (Elidibus, who we then learn withdrew from Zodiark, and Venat... who we still not know much of), which would also maybe imply that Zodiark operates under the influence of the collective will of the Convovation 13. Wether or not we have been tempered... I don't think so. Maybe Hyadelyn is trying to temper us... but I think we might just be too strong to be tempered, since we are Azem, who we know was not directly involved in either summonings of Zodiark and Hyadelyn, and very much one of the most revered Aumarotines. Ah! And the game has also foreshadowed that we are most likely a much more powerful being that simply a WoL (kind of redundant of my part, since the Azem reveal would simply add to that foreshadowing).

[@wanderingpaladin4927]

I was surprised at how sensitive Emet-Selch actually is, the scene where he teared up warmed my heart

[@HawkinaBox]

I liked how when you go there, everyone is so polite. That really threw me off.

[@-ed-ge-]

It's so strange that they never go beyond a passing comment when they point out you're "a child", as well, and that they encourage you to cultivate your curiosity instead of questioning what you're doing unsupervised in official buildings. The whole of Amaurot is so pleasant in a really alien way, personally I think they nailed it.

[@chanoname4940]

i really wish we can do what they do. To speak what they think without being judge and to discuss things in a manner that respect one anothers point of view to understand why they think like that. But unfortunately the world cant seem to do this and it saddens me.

[@TDSFounder]

His people suffered a calamity and were wiped out, and he did the same to many previous civilizations. Rather that attempting to preserve his people's memories and glory, he attempted to sacrifice the present for the past. I get why he did it, but the price of his goal was unacceptable.

[@kyero8724]

Thank you for repeating what was said lol

[@DigiCube4]

unacceptable by *our* terms mind you. Not theirs. Fragmented fragile terms of beings that can't even fathom an existence beyond the one world they know.

[@DoctorSciencetime]

I think it's worth noting that Emet-Selch is a HIGHLY unreliable narrator when it comes to how "perfect" the ancient world was. He was a man of very high privilege, and likely would have been very removed from any kind of hardship or strife others may have suffered. And because of how Azem is described--someone who rushed headlong into danger to help others--it stands to reason that the perfection Emet-Selch tells the Scions about existed only in his distorted memories.

[@lauraorganasolo8875]

Thank you so much for this thorough overview with a very useful montage and choice examples!

[@Ethonra]

Glad you are getting back into making lore vids, Sync.

[@mageovetsomeone8494]

Dude that was a amazing lore vid wish I could get you more subscribers but keep going with this with the love and dedication you had for this vid. Also I loved that city too

[@papasfritas3853]

Amazing video man, deserves so many more views.

[@Cynik45]

This was such an awesome video. I wish there was more.

[@KeithCidano]

Great lore video!! 🥺

[@kyero8724]

So uh. Not gonna talk about "Us" being the 14th Ascian?

[@Queen_Elyana]

Only those who summoned Zodiark are Ascians. Rest are Amaurots or Ancients, because all Ascians were Ancients before Convocation 14 or well 13, because one left and those 13 summoned Zodiark and that way turned as Ascians.

[@ThamriyellVR]

These Ashy-Ants are quite an interesting key to Eorzea! ;D jk. Great video though! Nicely recapped to help digest the ShB storybits a bit easier with a nice focus!

[@willm3856]

Amazing video. That sneaky thing at the end of the video though.

[@ceasarmike1]

Doing lores again I'll come back to watch.

[@turntapeover5749]

Point number 1: -All 14 shards represent the Final Fantasy games, the 14th being The Source. Case in point: "We erred and made a useless void of the 13th". Jokes aside though, Emet mentions that they are "tainted" by Zodiark, and most of their mission is to sew the seeds of chaos the throw of the balance. What exactly do we know happened in Amaurot? The energies of creation went unchecked and it kinda broke reality, yeah, but who or what caused this in a world of peace and order? Was Zodiark really summoned or he crept upon Amaurot. Whatever the nature of it, there was a something that threw off the balance, but when you talk to people of Amaurot and even the Ascians, they dont even seem to know exactly what caused this apocalypse to happen other than "The laws of creations went unchecked". That's what is having me believe that Zodiark was not created in order to save the world, but he was created before, "unchecked", by an Ill-intended Amaurotine, and that's what caused the ensuing chaos. I think Zodiark's only purpose ever was to create chaos, not fix it. Now the question is, By who? I couldnt say, but my guess would be that whoever did this, willed him or herself to transform into Zodiark, and that the 14th member of the council did exactly the same to become Hydalyn. It wouldn't be the first time we see someone transform into a primal in this game (Hell even we can summon an atv Titan), and Zenos somewhat seems to want to become Zodiark and have us turn into Hydalyn for his epic super sayan duel with us he threw a tantrum to get for his birthday. Also... Is it really the last of Emet-Selch? I mean, it wouldn't be the first time a character would have a hard time to stay dead in this game. And from how much the fans loved him as a vilain, I wouldnt be surprise to see him reappear at some point even if briefly.

[@SubduedRadical]

Fantastic video, except... 11:08 - This isn't quite true. If we're to accept Hythlodeus statement at face value: 1) 50% of the population were sacrificed to provide the energy to summon Zodiark (like the one giving his life energy to summon Quetzecotl) 2) 50% of the remainder (25% of the original total) were then sacrificed to restore the world. Zodiark initially saved the world from whatever the catastrophe/calamity was, but the left over hulk was essentially dead. Emet says something to the effect of the Aether of the world was totally out of balance - the air and water toxic, the land unable to support or bring forth life - and so the 25% were used by Zodiark (presumably with their consent...) to restore the Planet's ability to SUPPORT and SUSTAIN life. With the idea the 25% LEFT OVER could cultivate life and, once they had enough and restored everything (freeing Zodiark - since you have to have that before he CAN do anything), Zodiark could use all of that life energy to restore the 75%. ...assuming Zodiark wasn't lying the whole time and actually HAS the power to do so. Something I've been thinking just lately is "What if Zodiark was lying about having the ability to do that from the start and simply wanted...more power...?" Anyway, it was (I'll grant, your video was made before the latest patches) Venat and his/her group that summoned Hydaelyn. This is also why Hydaelyn is likely much weaker than Zodiark, but has the trump card to defeat him with her Sundering ability.

[@holmesholmes.8784]

If Zodiark was made by the ancient like every form of primals did, then by extension at that time, the ancient would need not know lies nor would they make him the ability to lie.

[@huslainemaxwell9866]

I hope they dont do a "omg Zodiark was lying all along!!" twist at the end and think the story is better and more emotional without a cheap gatcha moment like that. The story of the Ascians is tragic because their society truly WAS a utopia, their goal WAS possible and the world they tried to restore objectively WAS better than ours, but we still have to fight them simply because its our loved ones and our world against theirs and nothing else.

[@BlackStar9189]

Deadass bro you deserve 200k subs at least. Your vast knowledge of Final Fantasy as a whole is amazing. Another great video sync keep up the good work my boi.

[@besaidknight]

14:40 - Impressive Kill List, but the Warrior of Light can be defeated with a Sleep Spell, Paralyze Spell, Stun Spell, Confusion Spell... really, I can't recall all the one-on-one battles the Warrior of Light Loses... and Thancred was nothing to Lahabrea, and Thancred is the BEST Humanity has to offer.

[@ravenhellkite8124]

The part about being unworthy is mostly that these things that we had to fight existed in the first place. The constant conflict between people and beast tribes that never end. People going to war over the dumbest shit and summoning primals to kill so very easily. I don't think our achievements mean anything in that context.

[@lacdirk]

There are two possible explanations for the original calamity that I've toyed with. The first is that the Ascians themselves unbalanced the star beyond rescue, presumably through their reckless creation magic. The second is that the arrival of Midgardsormr - under heavy pursuit by Omega - from the Dragon Star unbalanced the Source.

[@RyuNoZero]

The Ascians are the Original Beast Tribe because they summoned the First ever Primal and Hydaelyn, being a Light Primal in order to spread out Zodiarks strength she fractured the Planet throughout 14 dimensions to weaken and chain Zodiark into the Moon.. Hydaelyn's Final Strike can be compared with refraction in someway, which I think is freaking genius as Diety of Light using refraction to win!

[@primarchguysmith5321]

Ryu Kusanagi I see your point but I’d argue who is and isn’t a “beast” tribe is more about racism then it is about what they do. Keep in mind the “enlightened” races summon primal as A LOT. If anything the “beast tribes” seem to be more advanced since they make their own technology instead of leaching off/reverse engineering of ancient civilizations from respective stars. The only reason they are technology behind is due to the pure social and technological evolution. It seems like said evolution is forced out of a social gate as seen in the 1st.

[@RyuNoZero]

@@primarchguysmith5321 I'd consider beast tribe to be the ones, who are hellbend on summoning a Primal, the tempered, so to say. The Counterpart is, in my opinion, what we do in the Eden Raid Series.

[@RyuNoZero]

@Rill well there is a door der misunderstanding because of the 2.0 Best Tribe Quests.. at least for me, to all of a race beast tribe would be kinda racist, so that's why I call those who want to summon primals beast tribe, those of a certain race who don't want to summon primals aren't beast tribes. Look at the Brotherhood of Ash for example^^

[@primarchguysmith5321]

Rill not true when looking at the first. Lots of races have switched places

[@ProfessM]

Well this is how HE remembers his city. Trust not just ones recount of history. And not one who sits on top of the city. This could be how Emet thought his city ran. Part of why they see of as children is the most kind way Emet can view the Scions. Ascians seems to only be the name for those tempered by Zodiark. That all said my god it was an amazing zone and the history behind it if true I really see why they long for it. But we don't know what cause their world to be doomed in the first case. If anything it was likely their own fault with that much raw power we don't know if they got drunk off their power and made a big mistake. It has become the more we know the more we have to question with them. How much of our will is free is indeed a good question but we are also marked by Midgardsormr did that undo Hydaelyn's power on us? Who is to say.

[@roetheboat1]

Well, we know from Midgardsormr and Omega that it could be possible that the cause of the reason why the initial problem started was due to some sort of alien presence. Like Jenova from FF7, something that was able to feed off of the Aether/Lifestream of the planet and disrupt its flow. Also, Midgardsormr removed the Blessing of Light from us at the end of the Post-ARR quests. However, he seemed surprised that we were able to actually regain it over the course of Heavensward.

[@GadgetSock]

When I hear about creation magic and the calamity I am reminded of that scene from Ghost Busters 1 and the creation of the stay puff monster. I wonder if thats what set it all off in the end. No doubt the writing team will do the story and lore justice more so than my quick no really deep thought.

[@narxx00]

Keep it up

[@alexp.4902]

It begs to question who are we the “Warrior or light” have in connection with the ascians. Are we an ascian ourselves? making reference to the cutscene before the confrontation against Hades. Could we ( the protag ) be the lost ascian?

[@Queen_Elyana]

No, we are Ancient and Amaurot. Only those 13 convocation 14 members are also Ascians because they summoned Zodiark and "WoL" Azem was not part that summoning nor Hydaelyns summoning what we have seen in msq.

[@SophiaAstatine]

Perhaps the reason we are unworthy is because all we do is destroy, not create like they once did.

[@Joeyfield0]

14:14 so basically the first two seasons of invincible

[@Lichtverbunden]

I think the word Ascians once meant Ancients, as these words are very similar.

[@AyantanoAzem]

i think you can update allot on this vid with 5.4 soon

[@milemile4813]

Im calling it now, WoL is Venat

[@Arlacent]

It was already confirmed that is not the case.

[@acgearsandarms1343]

This might not be the correct terminology, but would Zodiark and Hydaelyn be considered “siblings” in a manner? They’re near equals and made under near the same circumstances.

[@SyncWeaver]

You could see it that way if you want. No reason not to.

[@WoWRefugee]

Can I make a few comments to your video... 1. 1/2 the population was sacrificed to summon Zodiak... (so 50% Ascians dead, and this is not counting the total amount already dead just from the actual calamity happening!!!) the world was a barren husk almost devoid of life. SO 2. They then sacrificed another 1/2 of the remaining population for Zodiak to bring New Life! (so, basically, another 50% of the remaining 50%, quite allot of dead Ascians at this point, I would imagine). 3. When the Council of 14 suggested that they then sacrifice the 'lesser life' to have Zodiark 'bring back' their sacrificed populace, a splinter faction arose (Most likely led by the one they called the 'Wanderer' on the council, which I believe is the 'Warrior of Light', hinted at because with each Calamity, we are basically 'Rejoined' and the Amarout dungeon Emet Selch see us clearly as an Ascian in one small scene.) 4. This splinter faction summoned Hydalen by sacrificing 1/2 of themselves (Which is now another 50% of an even smaller fraction of what is actually left alive) because they believed that enough had been sacrificed and that this new life should have the chance to survive and thrive. 5. I believe that there were almost NO Ascians even left at this point, and the ones that were, most likely when Hydalen defeated Zodiark, were 'split' into the 13 worlds, there 'aether' taking on 'lesser' being forms, however now having to 'live' mortal lives. There Aether returning to the Life Stream like all other lives normally do. *** Side Note. The 'End of Days' that the Ascians speak of was most likely there own doing. They had, nay, were the power of Creation. And during the end of Shadowbringers, they clearly showed what happened when an Ascian used creation and because of their fears, doubts and/or just inability to control what they were creating, it could go bad. What prob happened, is like a snowball effect... Once creation started having bad side effects, fear in other Ascians set in and then their fears made manifest, which made more people realize fears and through their very own fears, their creations became snowball effects and they brought about their own destruction. It was through there belief that they were all powerful in creation that bit them in the ass, because like we say "Mother Nature is a Bitch"... I understood the Amarout dungeon to show that the more the world went to shit, the more the Ascians were afraid, the more terrible creatures were manifest. Sorry for the rant... I just wanted to say all this for some time. Those are just my thoughts. Sorry again for the wall of text.

[@lococrash]

not gonna lie i heard smoked instead of smote XD

[@ViewTube_Emperor_of_Mankind]

as sien ashien askien aeshens aeshians

[@perrydunetz882]

The ancients were called amurotines

[@DigiCube4]

wait..if hydaleon is a primal. Are we..sired?!

[@Croyles]

I'm guessing you mean "Hydaelyn" and being "tempered"? Who knows, but it doesn't make sense for us to be fully tempered.

[@blushingralseiuwu2222]

@@Croyles think about it, you can't exactly refuse a request from Npc. What if our tempered side effect is we can't refuse to do good deeds?

[@ryamshin9608]

grammar my dude. it is distracting.

[@DarthAlphaTheGreat]

Wait we live in a society where we worked together, living in peace without fighting and war? Tell that to Trump. Utopias will all become dystopias or become one like ours...full of conflict.