There wasn't much explanation in the arcanist quest as to what Carbuncle is. It's just like, "Go kill these dudes. And hey, don't forget your Carbuncle."
In the previous games, of course, Carbuncle is a summon/eidolon/GF/eikon as much as Ifrit and Shiva and the others. However here, the primals/eikons exist as aethereal energy until the beast tribes gather aether crystals and summon them as their gods. Unlike the primals, Carbuncle requires no crystals to sustain itself, coming into form and dispersing at the arcanist's will.
What I've noticed, and this is solely my own speculation, is that Summon and Summon II have two different animations. Summon seems to call upon the air element, looking not dissimilar from air sprites. Summon II has floating stones in the animation, suggesting the earth element.
Going with the arcanist theme of nigh mathematics, it's my guess that Carbuncle is a sort of construct, like an avatar of the elements crafted by the arcanist. Probably made of aetheric energy like the primals, but bound to the arcanist's will.
Question is whether it has its own consciousness. There's art in the lodestone of a carbuncle stealing its master's quill. Could be it has some sentience, as aetheric energy is arguably alive, or it's a pseudo-independent extension of the arcanist's own will.
Or the artist just drew it because it was cute.
In the previous games, of course, Carbuncle is a summon/eidolon/GF/eikon as much as Ifrit and Shiva and the others. However here, the primals/eikons exist as aethereal energy until the beast tribes gather aether crystals and summon them as their gods. Unlike the primals, Carbuncle requires no crystals to sustain itself, coming into form and dispersing at the arcanist's will.
What I've noticed, and this is solely my own speculation, is that Summon and Summon II have two different animations. Summon seems to call upon the air element, looking not dissimilar from air sprites. Summon II has floating stones in the animation, suggesting the earth element.
Going with the arcanist theme of nigh mathematics, it's my guess that Carbuncle is a sort of construct, like an avatar of the elements crafted by the arcanist. Probably made of aetheric energy like the primals, but bound to the arcanist's will.
Question is whether it has its own consciousness. There's art in the lodestone of a carbuncle stealing its master's quill. Could be it has some sentience, as aetheric energy is arguably alive, or it's a pseudo-independent extension of the arcanist's own will.
Or the artist just drew it because it was cute.
You can tell the size of a man by the size of the thing that makes him angry.
