When you die the aetherial energy that encompasses your lifeforce escapes and returns to Hydaelyn while your soul travels on to the afterlife.
It seems likely to me that soul crystals are filled with this aetherial energy (not literally souls) because of the precedence of crystals storing aetherial energy and the 'physical memory' of the final product. Who knows if their creation is a slow bleed off or some kind of ritual upon death. Either way, we know a fair amount about how they're utilized.
Soul crystals do not share their knowledge freely. They only reveal their secrets to a suitable host. It's safe to assume that you have to have characteristics in common with the stored energy, and in order to gain more power actions similar to the 'stored story' have to be undertaken. It's like jogging their memory to remember more (which is what you see in every job quest).
I feel this is vaguely relevant though. The words from the intro to FFT:
"A warrior takes sword in hand, clasping a gem to his heart.
Engraving vanishing memories into the sword.
He places finely honed skills into the stone.
Spoken from the sword, handed down from the stone.
Now the story can be told."
It seems likely to me that soul crystals are filled with this aetherial energy (not literally souls) because of the precedence of crystals storing aetherial energy and the 'physical memory' of the final product. Who knows if their creation is a slow bleed off or some kind of ritual upon death. Either way, we know a fair amount about how they're utilized.
Soul crystals do not share their knowledge freely. They only reveal their secrets to a suitable host. It's safe to assume that you have to have characteristics in common with the stored energy, and in order to gain more power actions similar to the 'stored story' have to be undertaken. It's like jogging their memory to remember more (which is what you see in every job quest).
I feel this is vaguely relevant though. The words from the intro to FFT:
"A warrior takes sword in hand, clasping a gem to his heart.
Engraving vanishing memories into the sword.
He places finely honed skills into the stone.
Spoken from the sword, handed down from the stone.
Now the story can be told."
