(01-18-2014, 10:48 AM)FreelanceWizard Wrote: Great catches on those dialogue snippets, ansemaru.I had vague recollections of some of those that informed my "elementals are far less powerful in 2.x than they were in 1.x;" seeing the actual NPC dialogue is very telling. There's also Alphinaud's reiteration of that in the main scenario quest, so people outside of Gridania are aware of it, too.
It remains my supposition that the Gridanians continue in their traditions because of strong inculturation and a belief that the elementals will return to their prior strength as the forest is healed -- which makes aiding and protecting the forest an even higher priority than it was before. 5 years can't undo millennia of tradition and religious beliefs.
I think it's safe to say that some Gridanians have used that as an excuse for as long as Gridania has existed. Â I mean, it's human nature, tbh. Â
Greenwrath is apparently still enough of a threat, however, that Raya-O-Senna and A-Runh-Senna were trying to complete a very important ritual to avert it during the WHM questline. Â So it's still a threat, if a less common/present threat than it was prior to the Calamity.
Quote:(01-18-2014, 10:27 AM)Flickering Ember Wrote: 2. How does one become a Hearer? They're described as Conjurers but not all Conjurers are Hearers. So is it that they somehow become one while learning to be a Conjurer? Or is it that people are born Hearers and are drawn to becoming Conjurers because of their ability?
I seem to recall some quest text indicating that one is born a Hearer. Per their quest line, all Conjurers have the ability to sense and feel disturbances in the Aether around them, but that's not the same thing as being a Hearer. At any rate, if you can heal the whispers of elementals and feel their pain, that might lead you to become a Conjurer to help them; it's also possible you had no idea what that was and discovered your talent while training to be a Conjurer for other reasons.
This is correct. Â Hearers are born, not trained. Â They also appear to be born with a natural affinity to Conjury, whereas most Conjurers must be trained. That is not to say that Hearers don't need training - they likely need more training than your average Conjurer because they may not understand what they are hearing, or what exactly their powers do. In the case of Sylphie (one of the NPCs in the Conjurer questline), her natural affinity for Conjury did not translate to an ability to use Conjury safely. She cannibalized her own aether because she didn't realize that she could/should be using the flow of aether in nature. As a result, she nearly killed herself. There's also a side reference during the quest that Sylphie's mother (who was also an untrained Hearer) may have gone slightly mad from hearing voices she didn't really understand all of her life.
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