Something I wanted to touch on that Merak talked about in the original post is once again, this idea of Soul Gems containing actual souls. Â In some cases they seem to do just this, but with that being said, not all soul gems house actual souls, and their creation is replicated with technology, therefor I wouldn't feel safe to assume that simply because in a certain case there is a soul attached to one, that all of them or even most of them house souls.
We discussed this somewhat extensively in last Soul Gems thread, but it seems that soul gems, whatever they are made of, can contain traces of a soul, memories, summoning contracts, and even in the one case you mentioned, an actual soul. Â Above all, it seems that they especially contain downloadable knowledge, which opens the gate to lost arts, or unattainable arts for those who do not have the talent or time to do so on their own. Â Whether that means we just have all these memories of arts unknown suddenly, or simply new instincts that allow us a greater level of inherent learning, cannot yet be ascertained.
Next, we have the difference between Aether and the Soul, as well as the physical form. Â We have discussed this at length as well, particularly in the case of the body which can remain until decomposition, or in some cases can seem to break up into Aether upon death. Â As in the case of beings who are possessed (purposely or otherwise) by Primals, this seems most true, and in the case of Dragons, that perhaps due to higher aether content in the body, that the body does not remain when great damage is dealt to the outer form, but instead immediately decomposes into the lifestream. Â I don't have examples, but I wouldn't be surprised that whose with high "anima" content in the body, can choose to "dissolve" rather than naturally decompose. Â Perhaps as usual, Sounsyy can back any of that up with links and the like, or I suppose, dispute it haha.
Whatever the case, time seems to make clear, an idea pertaining to the level of each form of existence the body has within it. Â The equivalence of a soul, the equivalence of aether, the equivalence of anima, the equivalence of the physical form versus the aetherial content of the body. Â And all these in my mind, tell me that perhaps we are thinking of each thing too single dimensional, and that each layer of the being in Eorzea is actually the body inhabiting more than one realm at once, and greater levels of certain qualities drive us to exist in certain ways rather than others. Â As I question each of these planes and forms of existence, I begin to be led to questioning each realm that we know of, the Void, the realm of Hydaelyn versus the world we know. Â But that may be a whole other thread for another time.
We discussed this somewhat extensively in last Soul Gems thread, but it seems that soul gems, whatever they are made of, can contain traces of a soul, memories, summoning contracts, and even in the one case you mentioned, an actual soul. Â Above all, it seems that they especially contain downloadable knowledge, which opens the gate to lost arts, or unattainable arts for those who do not have the talent or time to do so on their own. Â Whether that means we just have all these memories of arts unknown suddenly, or simply new instincts that allow us a greater level of inherent learning, cannot yet be ascertained.
Next, we have the difference between Aether and the Soul, as well as the physical form. Â We have discussed this at length as well, particularly in the case of the body which can remain until decomposition, or in some cases can seem to break up into Aether upon death. Â As in the case of beings who are possessed (purposely or otherwise) by Primals, this seems most true, and in the case of Dragons, that perhaps due to higher aether content in the body, that the body does not remain when great damage is dealt to the outer form, but instead immediately decomposes into the lifestream. Â I don't have examples, but I wouldn't be surprised that whose with high "anima" content in the body, can choose to "dissolve" rather than naturally decompose. Â Perhaps as usual, Sounsyy can back any of that up with links and the like, or I suppose, dispute it haha.
Whatever the case, time seems to make clear, an idea pertaining to the level of each form of existence the body has within it. Â The equivalence of a soul, the equivalence of aether, the equivalence of anima, the equivalence of the physical form versus the aetherial content of the body. Â And all these in my mind, tell me that perhaps we are thinking of each thing too single dimensional, and that each layer of the being in Eorzea is actually the body inhabiting more than one realm at once, and greater levels of certain qualities drive us to exist in certain ways rather than others. Â As I question each of these planes and forms of existence, I begin to be led to questioning each realm that we know of, the Void, the realm of Hydaelyn versus the world we know. Â But that may be a whole other thread for another time.
