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Sounsyy · **03-12-2015, 12:43 PM**

(03-12-2015, 10:35 AM)Warren Castille Wrote: Edit: Second theory: A soulless corpse might not be a pinhole, but it might be easier to control a dead body than it is to actually break through the barrier. We've seen through the THM questlines what voidsent possession looks like. Imagine that without a soul or a consciousness in the way to stop something malevolent from trying to control your body! Voidsent want to come through to Eorzea, but in lieu of that, why not do the next-best thing and just control something already here?

Also Warren, you are correct on this as well. Not just a theory. Lore!

Quote:Wind-up Dullahan
Voidsent dullahan are, in fact, shapeless entities who must first inhabit an inanimate host (such as a suit of armor) before gaining the ability to exert force upon the physical plane in which we reside. Luckily, the only thing inhabiting this wind-up contraption are manifold gears and rods.

Quote:Minute Mindflayer
Similar to voidsent dullahan, mindflayers also lack a corporeal form and must possess a host to be able to exert force on our realm. Whereas the dullahan, however, are limited to the possession of inorganic objects such as steel, mindflayers tend to prefer the dead as their vessels.

EDITED:

(03-12-2015, 12:42 PM)Val Wrote: Is there anything on the Lifestream/souls themselves? I imagine since it's called lifestream, it's much like FFVII's. Would that be a wrong assumption to make? What differentiates one's aether from their soul?

The Lifestream is exactly the same as the one in FFVII! So feel free to think of it as such.

There's a creation myth! In the beginning there was darkness, then came Light, and Hydaelyn was born. From the Light was birthed the Fae and Elementals and the Twelve Gods. But no other life could flourish on Light alone. So Llymlaen gave birth to serpent twins, Perykos and Thalaos, who from their mouths spewed forth the water of life, which filled the world. And from this fountain of water, Brother Time (Althyk) and Sister Fate (Nymeia) gave birth a great Wyrm as the fountain's keeper, and named Him, Midgardsormr. For this fountain of water was also the fountain of all life on Hydaelyn. So Midgardsormr was tasked with protecting the fountain of Silvertear from all Life which may one day wish to harness its power for themselves.

So yes, Silvertear Lake in Mor Dhona is the fountain of all life, aether, and water on the planet. The lake bears an ancient seal laid down by the Gods which cycles spent aether from this realm to the Aetherial Realm and back. (If you're familiar with the lore behind FFIX, think the Iifa Tree, same concept.) So when a person dies, their aether is violently torn from their body, returning to the land and eventually returning to the Lifestream, where it travels towards Silvertear Lake. Once it reaches the Lake, it drifts from this realm to the Aetherial Realm, where it will eventually return to this planet as new Life. That is the cycle of death and rebirth.

However, the soul, if improperly buried (as in no funeral rites) will seek to remain in this realm. So it may attach itself to the nearest object it can find. This is how we get Aetherially Enhanced weapons, soulbinding, Soul Stones, etc. If it does not do this, it may wind up into a soulkin or revenant, Will-o'-the-Wisp, fireflies, etc. In proper funeral rites, the soul passes on into Thal's Realm (Heaven) where it will remain forever.*

EDIT: *Forever, unless, called upon in one of two instances! The 50 ALC quest wherein Severain discovers an alchemical potion to resummon the soul of a dead person. This requires very high quality potions of the essences of being as well as possessing an item the soul in question is bound to. The bound item, in the case of the 50 ALC quest is a wand, acts as a lodestone (much like an aetheryte) for the soul to return to.

The second method... is being summoned like a primal. Boom. Said it. With enough aether (crystals) to fully construct a new corporeal form, a soul might be recalled from Thal's Realm through fervent prayer and resummoned in a new body of aether. However, as the soul is not truly part of this realm, it cannot persist and maintain form unless it feeds on a constant supply of aether. Such was likely the same problem with why Severain was only able to recall his lost love for a few brief moments. His concoction worked, but the soul lacked the aether necessary to sustain itself in the physical plane.

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Lore Text on Aether
Aether, Lifestream, Teleportation Lore

Erik Wrote:I shall tell you yet again of the study of aether. As I laboriously explained, aether is not only the source of all magicks, but also the fount of all life. Yet despite its ubiquity, it remains imperceptible to the senses of man. When a living thing dies, the aether comprising its life is released. It has been learned that when this discharge takes place, a portion of that aether remains, lingering in the physical world. No doubt you have come across aetherial crystallizations in the course of your travels. All scholars now agree that these are the physical manifestations of great concentrations of aether.

I have a theory, however, that they are not the only such manifestations. Allow me to give you an example even you can understand - that of ghosts, spirits, disembodied souls. Apparitions of the deceased come back to haunt and generally unnerve us? False! These are nothing more than the luminescent glow of aether in the atmosphere. It is possible, though highly unlikely, that you are asking yourself why a portion of the aether remains.

Right, well, the amount of aether that can shift between the physical and aetherial realms in any given instant is limited. I call this the aetherial threshold. Any aether present in excess of that threshold is left behind. The more violent or dramatic the loss of life, the greater the amount of inner aether released to take the form of crystals or remain imperceptibly in the atmosphere. And you surely recollect the scene I identified as the most apt to produce such violent deaths? On the field of battle! It stands to reason, therefore, that through the aetherial measurement of such sites, I will be able to reconstruct details of the wars waged upon them. And that, Sounsyy, is why this military historian has a deeply vested interest in the subject of aether.

Erik Wrote:My dear, poor Sounsyy. What you do not know about Silvertear Falls could fill a book. And has - multiple times over, I'm sure.

TRY ME, ERIK!!

Erik cont. Wrote:Since ancient times, the Falls and the region of Mor Dhona in which they are located have been believed to be the seat of a great spiritual energy, as less advanced peoples are wont to call it. So old are these beliefs that the tomb of Xande himself, the first emperor of Allag, was built deep beneath the surface of Mor Dhona, in the hope that the mystical power which resided under the lake would raise him from the dead. Oh, there are any number of legends and myths surrounding the place. I think the oldest and most widely known would have to be that of the dragon of the Falls. I do not claim to be a folklorist, but I can certainly provide the general tale.

There was the birth of Althyk, god of time among the Twelve, and in turn, His younger sister Nymeia, goddess of fate. And then there was water, and through it Silvertear FAlls came to be at the center of all that was. Here was the source not only of water, but the fount of all magic as well. Now, when water came into being, so too did the great dragon Midgardsormr. Brother Time and Sister Fate, fearing the Falls might fall into the hands of evil, ordered Midgardsormr their protector and warden. Much later, with the arrival of man, would Midgardsormr be worshiped as the guardian deity of Silvertear Falls.

Have you been to Silvertear Falls, Sounsyy? Or are you as untraveled as you are unread? Have you gazed upon the enormous dragon corpse, frozen as a statue with wings outspread? If you have, you have gazed upon Midgardsormr. That tragedy is but ten years old. After invading my home of Ala Mhigo, the Garleans launched a fleet of airships led by the monstrosity Agrius. They flew for Silvertear Falls, knowing them to harbor the greatest concentration of aether. And then, as those horrific instruments of evil loomed overhead, casting the dark shadow of death, the surface of the lake suddenly parted and burst skyward as Midgardsormr emerged to defend his waters.

The battle between Midgardsormr and the Agrius has since come to be known as the Battle of Silvertear Skies. The dragon fought with divine strength and purpose, and after a fierce and grueling struggle, succeeded in bringing down the airship. As it fell into the lake, the impact caused the ceruleum onboard to detonate, and Midgardsormr was killed, his corpse charred black in the conflagration. The structure formed by the wreckage of the Agrius and the entangled remains of Midgardsormr is now called the Keeper of the Lake. For many religious and mythological enthusiasts, it stands as proof of the existence of the gods. For most people, however, it servers as a grim reminder of the horrific, dare I say deicidal, power of Garlemald.

Necromancy, death, and the undead.

RPC has moved! These pages have been kept for historical purposes