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Ludivine Goultard · **04-15-2015, 03:01 PM**

Something that seems to be a theme intentionally repeated in FF games is the idea of the Lifestream, and characters turning into Aether/magic sparklies. At the same time, though, we see lots of characters who have been dead for a while, either as a casual corpse, undead, or sinking into a surprisingly deep pool of water in the City of the Ancients.

So, facts, opinions, I'd like to hear all. Anyone know why some people turn into Aether and some just...are dead? Ever roleplayed a dying character and had them turn into magic sparklies?

Warren Castille · **04-15-2015, 03:06 PM**

Has anyone in FFXIV exploded into dust besides T12 Spoilersish?

Edit: Because T12 spoilers has a pretty effing GREAT reason for what happens to them.

Sounsyy · **04-15-2015, 03:21 PM**

So, for some background stuff, there was this pretty comprehensive thread on death and necromancy and such a while back. You may find this interesting?

On the topic of people exploding into aether, that doesn't really happen in the XIV universe too often. The few cases it does happen:
1.

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2.

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and
3.

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-all occur under the very specific circumstance that their aether is being absorbed by a greater being at the time of death. In the case of #1, Nidhogg. In the case of #2 and #3, Bahamut. (Ironically, all the times folks have exploded into aether it's because of one of Midgardsormr's sons....hmm....)

Anyways, the old 1.0 Ul'dah MSQ basically says that if a body is not properly buried and the soul not granted passage to Thal's Realm, the body will return to haunt the living. Ie. the soul becomes a Revenant or a Voidsent inhabits the body. So all dead must be buried or cremated properly to prevent this.

There's another strange case I just thought of in the lv50 ALC storyline. Severain returns his deceased lover from the dead. (He dug up her grave and returned the soul into her body.) However, as the soul no longer belonged to this world, it could not persist in our physical plane without a source of aether, so it-and the woman's body returned in a plume of shiny to the aether.

But anyways, hope that helps! ^^ The teleportation lore actually has the most lore on this death and dying subject. Basically when death happens aether is torn violently from the body. It burns brightly for a moment, then returns to the Lifestream, which flows to Silvertear Lake in Mor Dhona to be returned to the Aetherial Realm.

Ludivine Goultard · **04-15-2015, 03:28 PM**

Thanks for the replies! This is some pretty good food for thought.Â

I'm still interested to hear what other people have done when they've had a character death, but if admins feel the topic has run its course, I don't mind if it needs locking.

Khadan · **04-15-2015, 03:34 PM**

(04-15-2015, 03:21 PM)Sounsyy Wrote: So, for some background stuff, there was this pretty comprehensive thread on death and necromancy and such a while back. You may find this interesting?

On the topic of people exploding into aether, that doesn't really happen in the XIV universe too often. The few cases it does happen:
1.

Show Content

SpoilerEstinien

2.

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SpoilerNael deus Darnus

and
3.

Show Content

SpoilerLouisoix

-all occur under the very specific circumstance that their aether is being absorbed by a greater being at the time of death. In the case of #1, Nidhogg. In the case of #2 and #3, Bahamut. (Ironically, all the times folks have exploded into aether it's because of one of Midgardsormr's sons....hmm....)

Anyways, the old 1.0 Ul'dah MSQ basically says that if a body is not properly buried and the soul not granted passage to Thal's Realm, the body will return to haunt the living. Ie. the soul becomes a Revenant or a Voidsent inhabits the body. So all dead must be buried or cremated properly to prevent this.

There's another strange case I just thought of in the lv50 ALC storyline. Severain returns his deceased lover from the dead. (He dug up her grave and returned the soul into her body.) However, as the soul no longer belonged to this world, it could not persist in our physical plane without a source of aether, so it-and the woman's body returned in a plume of shiny to the aether.

But anyways, hope that helps! ^^ The teleportation lore actually has the most lore on this death and dying subject. Basically when death happens aether is torn violently from the body. It burns brightly for a moment, then returns to the Lifestream, which flows to Silvertear Lake in Mor Dhona to be returned to the Aetherial Realm.

Quick clarification on #1, he doesn't poof into Aether sparklies nor does he actually even really 'die' by all accounts. Rather he just 'disappears'. Whether that's meant to take the place of dissipation into aether or just reflective of him being blown off the side of a mountain and recovering later? Who knows. I would hesitate to use it as an example in this case until it is revealed/confirmed what actually did happen to #1.

As I've said many times before in regards to FF and death: Habeas Corpus. No body? No death. (or in this case no actual scene of them fading off into aether, etc.)

Kalooeh · **04-15-2015, 04:18 PM**

I'll admit that even though I've been in game about a year now I've been a lazy shit and only hit 50 on Kal recently (Just before computer died, yay), so I havn't actually seen a whole lot of the story and what's out there (Don't worry I don't have any issues with spoilers).

But personally unless a scene made it clear that they were definitely dead and for some reason or another their soul took the body with it to wherever or it couldn't stay solid for whatever reason for magics, I'd take it as the person may not actually be dead, just from what I understand about aether.
Which is pretty much the stuff on these pages
http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Aether
http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Aetheryte
And it says that for teleporting the aether that makes up the person can breakdown the body's mass to drag it with in to the streams and guides it to another location with an aetheryte that puts it all back together, but for deaths it's released and disappears in to the streams on it's own (Though only so much at a time can go with so excess can be like a glowy mist, crystals, or ghostly apparitions, or can even enter in to new hosts and expand the host's aether, which can add a boost of power or drive a person insane... especially when it involves a huge concentration of it.)

So I don't really know what happened with the exceptions, but overall I just go with alive somewhere else until proven dead.

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Spoiler
"Though the exact mechanism behind teleportation via Aetheryte is still largely a mystery, one theory states that when a sentient being approaches one of the portals, the aether that makes up its body resonates with the aether of the crystals, which in turn results in a complete breakdown of the being's mass, allowing it to temporarily return to the invisible aetheric streams that course throughout the planet. The being's soul, which cannot be broken down, then guides the particles to a predetermined destination, and upon arrival, the corresponding Aetheryte receptacle reconfigures the mist back into its original form. This whole process takes only a matter of moments, allowing for nearly instant transportation to faraway destinations.
However, being broken down to the aetheric level can take its toll on one's body, and rest is often required after several consecutive jumps, especially as the distance becomes greater. As a precaution, most city-states strongly discourage over-teleporting, as it can lead to irreversible damage"

"Aether is released from the body upon death and then disappears from the physical realm. However, only so much of it can cross over at a time, and any excess remains to form a glowing mist, crystals, or even ghostly apparitions. As aether is akin to soul energy, more violent and dramatic deaths tend to yield more excess aether.
When a living entity arrives on the scene of a battle, no matter how ancient, the excess aether will enter this new host and expand its native aether. This generally augments the creature (human or otherwise) physically, and those unaccustomed to channeling the new energy may go mad.
Aether flows nigh imperceptibly throughout the planet, and places where it collects most are typically vivid, particularly in the Black Shroud. The Black Shroud is so rich in aether that the sentient, elementally aspected aether-beings known as Elementals reign over all in the wood, including the cooperative Gridanians."

"Aether is considered very dangerous in high concentrations, and often causes the afflicted to become more aggressive, if not completely maddened"

So I always kind of assumed that if a person was dead there's really no reason for the aether to take the body's mass with it to the streams

Hyakki · **04-15-2015, 05:06 PM**

(04-15-2015, 03:21 PM)Sounsyy Wrote: So, for some background stuff, there was this pretty comprehensive thread on death and necromancy and such a while back. You may find this interesting?

On the topic of people exploding into aether, that doesn't really happen in the XIV universe too often. The few cases it does happen:
1.

Show Content

SpoilerEstinien

2.

Show Content

SpoilerNael deus Darnus

and
3.

Show Content

SpoilerLouisoix

Show Content

Meena · **04-15-2015, 05:20 PM**

Unrelated to turning into sparkly pretty things.

based on how often we (the hero) and other people fight in this nation. Death is relatively common. Like, so common dev's have confirmed that most people don't live past thirty.

Erik Mynhier · **04-15-2015, 08:41 PM**

Also if anyone is interested the msq (2.2 or 2.3 I think) has a pretty goo tutorial on death and how a soul does what it does after death. Right before battling Lev.

FreelanceWizard · **04-15-2015, 08:53 PM**

There's also a FATE out in the North Shroud where it's indicated that a revenant is a soul that missed its opportunity to return to the Lifestream. That implies that things can go awry in the normal process of a soul returning to the Lifestream.

Merri · **04-15-2015, 09:00 PM**

The phenomenon of lingering aether is also something that the Monks of the Fist of Rhalgr take great advantage of in their training. As mentioned, when some one dies violently, their aether disperses into the land around them and doesn't return to the lifestream. As such, the lands of great bloody battlefields are actually coursing with Aether.

Monks seek these battlefields out to train and meditate on, as they can in turn absorb the remnants of aether in order to help open their Chakra.

Also as mentioned, the flashier deaths of people poofing into aether are generally special circumstances that already deal heavily in aetheric influence. I imagine in a normal death, one's aether slowly seeps away in a silent fashion. Much like how aether itself is more or less invisible unless being acted upon, the aether leaving one's body likely dissipates at a level that cannot be seen by the naked eye.

Final Fantasy and death

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