Lore question: Soul captured in weapon?

[Altitis Acquired]

Is there any mention in the FFXIV lore if a soul can be caught and kept in a weapon of sort?

For example, the soul/essence of a voidsent being held in a sword, or somehow having a weapon that is "alive".

 

Is this a thing that can happen/has happened in the lore of FFXIV?

[Unnamed Mercenary]

From what I've seen in the game so far, never. At least, not an actual, living soul.

 

You may find that the relic weapon quests are of interest though! The weapons are infused with a variety of things, some of which are the aether/souls of slain monsters.

 

Alternatively, we also have the Soul Crystals, which, while not the holder of a soul, are basically everything else. Memoriesand experiences of the past wearers are etched into soul crystals, which is basically how we as players get so good at jobs without any of the training.

[Dat Oni]

The most immediate thing that comes to my mind is King Thordan's sword. I'm not sure if that fits the definition or not.

[Sounsyy]

Is there any mention in the FFXIV lore if a soul can be caught and kept in a weapon of sort?

For example, the soul/essence of a voidsent being held in a sword, or somehow having a weapon that is "alive".

 

Is this a thing that can happen/has happened in the lore of FFXIV?

 

This is actually the lore behind the Ragnarok Zodiac weapon.

An ancient hero seized a weapon like this from a voidsent lord. At the time it was taken' date=' legend tells us it was a sword. Yet later, it transformed to match the bent of its wielder and became a mighty battleaxe.[/quote']

 

Granted, the Zodiac Braves existed in the distance past as figments of Thavnairian legend and whst parts of the tales are exaggerated and which are true is up in the air. That said, the lore behind aetherial weapons and soulstones might be of interest to you.

 

No, this sword is mine, and if you want it, you'll have to pry it from my cold, dead hands! Which, in truth, is how aetherial gear comes to be. You've heard of spiritbonds, I assume? That spiritually charged aetherial connection you form with any gear you have equipped? Well, in rare cases, when someone wielding an item with an especially strong spiritbond is slain in battle, the energy created by that bond remains trapped inside, rather than returning to the Lifestream.

 

The fact that for an item to become aetherial, the owner of that item must perish while having it equipped, usually means that they can only be found in dangerous locations where terrible, bloody battles have occurred.

 

So in a sense, some weapons do possess a sort of "soul" or "spirit." The Zodiac Braves questline actually revolves around this concept. Powerful, ancient weapons that were famed for performing great deeds were said to possess some semblance of sentience - of being a living thing, having been infused with so many souls and so much aether. So can this happen in FFXIV's lore? Absolutely! Is it entirely commonplace, not greatly, but well within the realm of possibility to explore!

 

 

Hope this helps! ^^

[111]

Also it seems Thancred was possessed by an ascian that was living in a necklace.

Odin is a primal that tempers anyone who wields it, and transforms them into a dark rider.

 

I don't think you'd have to stretch very far to have a cursed sword.

[LiadansWhisper]

Also it seems Thancred was possessed by an ascian that was living in a necklace.

Odin is a primal that tempers anyone who wields it, and transforms them into a dark rider.

 

I don't think you'd have to stretch very far to have a cursed sword.

 

I don't think that the Ascian was living in the necklace. I believe the necklace was his anchor, as it were, to our dimension/plane.

[Altitis Acquired]

So if I was to have a gun (like the one you can see in my signature) that had the soul of a voidsent, then that wouldn't be breaking the lore?

 

If it is, I will let go of the idea, of course. However, the idea came to me when I first got this, as it reminded me of a character called Remington Smisse from the French cartoon and MMO called Wakfu, who wield several weapons that contain demon souls (the Shushu, as they are called in that world).

 

So thought it could be a cool and neat idea, should it be possible in the world of FFXIV, that is.

[Maril]

It would perhaps not break the lore, but with something like this I'd encourage caution in terms of how widely known it'd be. At least for what I know, not a whole lot of people are buddy-buddy with the voidsent, and it also seems that voidsent don't do a whole lot of things without there being some sort of purpose to it that benefits them (usually at the expense of people, hence why they're disliked). It would very likely have some serious consequences for as to how your character is perceived (fear, spite, disliking, distance, etc.), at least for my own characters, they'd be staying a heck of a ways away from anything voidsent and voidsent-related.

 

I'd encourage being open to peoples reactions on it icly, it could become a good plot element for some people as well, if they say for example wanted to steal it or something like that.

[Warren Castille]

White Magicite exists to snare Ascian souls and keep them from returning to whence forth they came. It wouldn't be too far off to presume a similar thing exists for Voidsent in general, though given how rare and powerful and rare white magicite is made out to be, explaining it beyond that would be a bit of an endeavor.

 

Surely plausible, though.

[Paradox]

I think it'd also depend on how powerful the voidsent is. For example, a low class voidsent like revenants can possess dead bodies. There's a leve that covers this; they possess the corpses of birds, and it is a form of necromancy. So for a weapon to have a lesser voidsent chained to it, perhaps if it was summoned during the forging/building process and bound to it at the same process, perhaps to give it an elemental power boost that wouldn't run out, like crystals are wont to do, seems perfectly fine. Keep in mind the weapon would likely have to be kept in very good repair lest it crack and let the voidsent out.

 

A more powerful voidsent would require a weapon patterned or forged with special materials, perhaps runes and sealings, and the like, to give it a more powerful effect. It would take a lot of preparation, to be sure. Such a weapon would likely give off an aura that would make people uneasy if they were aether-sensitive. And the presence of the voidsent might 'leak' out of the weapon and even if it couldn't fully corrupt someone, it might make suggestions, push them towards negativity, or have a bloodlust that makes it so you can't put the weapon away unless it sheds blood. And so forth. For every major boon, there's usually a downfall, and for minor boons, just usually a cautionary method to keep.

 

A weapon with a strong voidsent in it might also have a story or legend attached to it, which might help with plot-based Rp as well.

[Larson]

Per lore reference by Sounssy, living souls are not captured. The soul or aether of SLAIN enemies is captured, but it is not sentient. Merely the power of their being remains.

 

Magicite can capture magical energy (ascians are entirely magical energy) for a short time. It cannot capture energy indefinitely.

 

Keep in mind that Voidsent are all kinds of beasties like the Ahriman and the death dragons, but are technically living beings. You still have to slay them for their soul energy.

[Paradox]

The thing is, Voidsent are not entirely solid entities. They can become energy and travel as such, as we've seen through the Thaumaturge quest with Mormo. Voidsent can be contained, and sealed in objects. Mormo's urn for example. There are others but I don't want to spoil higher level quests for anyone storywise. Voidsent , to my knowledge, are not creatures that use normal Aether. Their physical structure and composition is malleable, lending their ability to be trapped, sealed, or perform possessions. So I wouldn't see why one couldn't trap them via the proper seals or containers on a weapon or object.

 

 

They are technically living beings, but being alive doesn't prevent them from changing their state of mass, and they've demonstrated doing such on multiple occasions. It's not difficult to believe with the proper summoning and binding rituals that a voidsent couldn't be forced into such a state and contained in something else.

[Yssen]

Aether is one's living soul. When one gets right down to it people are just flesh sacks used to hold their aether. When one dies, their aether moves on/returns to the land/what have you. 

 

You do not necessarily have to go with the gun being forged from the demon's soul, the demon could just have been the gun's original owner and gotten stuck in the weapon after it was killed. Another option is that it is not the gun itself that is possessed, but a materia embedded into the gun that contains the demon's memories and experiences. Point is, you have a lot of routes to go with for what you are trying to achieve, some just more involved than others. Yar. ^ ^

[Oats McGoats]

I roleplay my character's staff (using the Madman's Whispering Rod appearance - this is relevant if you're aware of the staff's animation) as currently housing a corrupted nature spirit.

 

If people want to gripe about the lore basis, idrc. I don't see it being a far lore stretch.

 

I say go for it.