Final Fantasy XIV - The World Unsundered / Characters

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Characters/FinalFantasyXIVTheWorldUnsundered

Due to the nature of the World Unsundered, all Shadowbringers spoilers will be unmarked, as well some Endwalker spoilers. You Have Been Warned!

Thousands of years ago, the world known today as Hydaelyn was once known as Etheirys. True to its name, the star was abundant with aether. The ancient form of man that once inhabited this world possessed vast control over "creation magicks", the ability to weave anything into existence from one's own aether. With it they populated the world with fantastical creatures to better its environment as part of man's self-appointed role as caretakers of the star itself.

Despite man's ability to live for an age, this society would not last forever. The threat of an unforeseen cataclysm rocked the star and its people to the core, forcing them to take drastic measures to survive and restore what they lost. In the end, the realm was sundered into fourteen realms, the Source and its thirteen reflections, by the goddess known as Hydaelyn, leading the story to the present...

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In General

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/amaurot.PNG

"And then there was Amaurot... never was a city more magnificent. From the humblest streets to the highest spires, she fairly gleamed... Not that you would remember any of this."

The race referred to in the present as the "ancients" was once known simply as "mankind". Gifted with vast reserves of aether and mastery of creation magicks, they possessed the ability to weave anything they could imagine into existence.

A large number of the ancients inhabited Amaurot, the greatest city in the unsundered world and home to the Convocation of Fourteen, the major ruling body of the "Amaurotine" people. It was sundered by Hydaelyn eons ago and its remains on the Source destroyed by the devastation of the Umbral Calamities.

Emet-Selch creates a glamour of his fallen home within the depths of the Tempest, serving as the final city and dungeon of the Shadowbringers' main storyline.

Apocalypse Wow: The dungeon for Amaurot has you reliving the last days of Amaurot before it was destroyed by the Terminus beasts created from the Ancients' fear. The very last part of it has an epic view from the stars, as the world is consumed by flames and meteors.
Benevolent Precursors: The Ancients you meet are nothing but kind to you and the party, happily answering any questions you and your party have, with one sidequest involving a toymaker who wants you to test some toys they made. When they turn deadly, they immediately apologize for that before going back to the drawing board.
Both Sides Have a Point: With a hint of Foreshadowing, two Ancients are discussing life, and whether they should save everyone, or accept some lives can't be saved. This foreshadows the division that would lead to create Hydaelyn AKA "accept some lives can't be saved", who would defy those who sought to "save everyone" AKA Zodiark.
Call-Back: The concept of the replica Amaurot is similar to the Dream Zanarkand from Final Fantasy X.
Crystal Spires and Togas: The togas are there (well, hooded robes), but the crystal spires are inverted interestingly: instead of sleek and idealized ancient architecture, or fanciful futuristic towers, Amaurot distinguishes itself as a highly advanced precursor city by resembling a modern cityscape.
Foreshadowing: Is first mentioned during Emet-Selch's heart-to-heart with the Warrior of Light before the latter scales Mt Gulg.
Gentle Giant: True to Emet-Selch's word, the people of the sundered worlds are a fraction of the original Amaurotines in every way. This is most noticeable when height is involved, as even Elezen as tall as Urianger barely come up to the Amaurotines' knees. The Amaurotines themselves mistake the Scions for children in Halloween costumes, cooing over them and telling them to hurry back to their parents before the Final Days reach Amaurot. In the unsundered past, the ancients you encounter are still by and large kind, but they can show a startling lack of empathy for their own creations. A few researchers in Elpis look down upon the Warrior as a mere "familiar" and consider them more expendable than a personal project.
Individuality Is Illegal:
- Downplayed. All Amaurotines wear "communal robes" and masks because of their belief that hoarding one's ideas for one's own use alone breeds disparity and want, just as a homeless person might envy someone strutting around in a nice suit. They fear this disparity will cause moral deficiency as people want what they don't have. One sidequest has an Amaurotine gently chide you for donning garments of such "singular flamboyance" that could dissolve their bonds of fellowship with the community. They then ask you to don your communal robes as soon as you can. So it's not so much individuality that the Amaurotines fear, as the same Amaurotines adore creativity and the frequent use of their magicks, but the unintended side effects of it.
- Endwalker explores the potential ramifications of this mindset through Hermes, the head researcher of Elpis. Due to the suppression of individuality, Hermes felt isolated when he couldn't fit in with his fellows due to his profound empathy for the creations the other researchers carelessly make and unmake. These feelings of isolation intensified until he created the Meteia to explore the stars in search of other societal structures in hopes of finding what it means to be happy.
Leitmotif: Full Fathom Five for the Tempest, and Neath Dark Waters for Amaurot.
Living Memory: The glamour is based off of Amaurot before the Terminus beasts reached and leveled it, with people talking about a mysterious noise that was destroying nearby cities, and that a "solution" was being implemented. It also becomes clear that despite their communications, they are surprisingly limited when you start telling them certain things, such as what happens in their Akadaemia, despite all the chaos, the guide does not seem to notice or just loops back to greeting them after saying that "they'll fix it."
O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Discussed by one of the memory Amaurotines, who mentions rumours a seat in the Convocation of Fourteen being left vacant - that is, the previous holder of the title abandoend their office, and no one has been assigned to succeed them. The Amaurotine mentions that such a thing is unprecedented, but admits that it speaks to the gravity of the Convocation's "current" situation (trying to avert the Final Days).
Mundane Made Awesome: When you take out the giants and the magic, you're left with a surprisingly mundane world by fantasy standards. One example has you waiting in what can be best described as "utopian DMV".
The Power of Creation: The ancients possessed the ability to spontaneously create anything they can imagine by using their aether. Y'shtola compares it to the summoning rituals used to birth primals from myth and legend, but the Amaurotines possess so much aether that they have no need for external sources of aether to power their creations. That said, they are limited by their own imaginations, and the Amaurotines relinquish concepts they are unable to fully realize on their own to the community in hopes that the combined vision of multiple Amaurotines will be able to accomplish what one could not. This ability is so ingrained in the Amaurotines' society that a clerk is very concerned when they hear that the Warrior cannot and does not know how to use creation magicks.
Shout-Out: The city is inspired and named after two fictional places;
- Rapture, from the video game Bioshock, an underwater "paradise" where people are free to choose what they want to do.
- The capital city Amaurot in Thomas More's "Utopia," with several references to the novel located within the city. More's Amaurot is described as a place where individual wealth does not exist, and everyone contributes to society as a whole. Additionally, various locations within Amaurot are locations within More's Utopia, including Achora (Achora Heights), Polyleritae (The Polyleritae District), and Macarenses (The Macarenses Angle).
Starfish Language: The Amaurotine language consists of a bunch of droning tones that echo in one's mind. Although the words themselves may startle those unused to hearing it, they are able to convey meaning even to people from other worlds born millenia after Amaurot fell. Similarly, the Amaurotines have no issues understanding the Common Tongue spoken on the sundered worlds. When the Warrior visits the unsundered past, the Ancients instead speak normally but this is just Translation Convention at work.
Unreliable Narrator: The shades produced by Emet-Selch in his phantom Amaurot are by-and-large portrayed as infinitely wise, gentle, and altruistic, settling their disputes solely through debate and living lives free of want, disease, and war. While the ancients in the unsundered past are still largely kind and decent people, they were not always responsible with their creation magicks and could show a startling lack of empathy for non-humans. They could show self-doubt, anger, and carelessness. At least one researcher takes vicious glee in creating more and more destructive creations. So while Emet-Selch wasn't lying, the shades in his false Amaurot paint an idealized image of the much more human and flawed ancients.
When All You Have Is a Hammer…: The ancients' biggest flaw. Because so much of their lives were based around their magic, when the noise created the Terminus, everything they could use went crazy, only adding to the fire. The same could be said about Zodiark, because half the population sacrificed themselves to create a sentient will for their dying star, and then half of the survivors sacrificed themselves to create new life to fix the broken world. Those who remained were torn about whether or not to sacrifice the new life for all who died. Those who opposed the plan proceeded to do the same thing themselves, making another primal to combat Zodiark.

Hythlodaeus

Voiced by: Soichiro Hoshi (JP), Toby Regbo (EN), Aurélien Raynal (FR), Sebastian Fuchs (DE)

^{Click here to see him as an Ancient, pre-Final Days}

Race: Ancient
Discipline: Soulseer (Bard)

"Nay, there is no cause for alarm. I am simply a shade. Here and not here."

An Ancient appearing in the city of Amaurot. He is the illusion of one of the old inhabitants of the city, recreated by Emet-Selch out of loneliness. Unlike his fellow citizens, he is aware of his nature as a shadow, and is the one to reveal the first glimpses of the Warrior of Light's true nature to them. He used to be a close mutual friend of both Emet-Selch and Azem.

Always Someone Better: Beneath his grumpy attitude, Emet-Selch always thought of him this way, to the point where he thought Hythlodaeus would be a better fit for the "Emet-Selch" title than even himself. In fact Hythlodaeus was nominated for the position, but reportedly turned it down in favor of Emet. He would eventually reveal that he ceded his nomination to Emet-Selch because while he possessed unparalleled skills in seeing aether, his abilities as a mage paled to his friend's, and what good would his sight be if he could not act on it?
Ambiguous Situation: Is he actually just another shade that developed self-awareness, as he states? Or is his self-awareness a deliberate creation on the part of Emet-Selch? At first it seems like the former, but in 5.3 he provides the Player Character with Azem's crystal, which proves instrumental in thwarting Elidibus; by his own (trollish) admission, he's not even sure if he's doing this of his own free will, or if his handing over of Emet's secret gift to the reincarnation of his old friend was something Emet "programmed" him to do.
Aura Vision: He can see Ardbert’s soul accompanying the Warrior of Light. He can also tell that the two of them used to be the same person before the Sundering, just by looking at their souls. The 4th "Tales from the Shadows" states that, as far as we know, he had the most powerful version of this among all Amaurotines, proven by even the magicked shade of Hythlodaeus seeing Ardbert's soul accompanying the Warrior of Light. Not even Emet-Selch could do that, and he made the shade.
Backup from Otherworld: He, along with Emet-Selch, is temporarily called to the Warrior of Light's aid with Azem's crystal at the end of Endwalker.
Batman Gambit: In order to help the Warrior of Light escape from Ktisis Hyperboreia before everyone within gets their memories wiped, he uses his aetheric sight to locate a "confluence" and walks in the exact opposite direction of it, and pretends to take aim at it, counting on Hermes trying to stop him, the Warrior of Light jumping the way of the attack, Venat to arrive in time with Argos to prevent them from falling to their death, and Emet-Selch realizing what his friend is planning and taking advantage of the distraction to open the actual confluence. The plan works like a charm, resulting Venat and the Warrior of Light being able to escape with their knowledge of the Final Days intact.
Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Hythlodaeus is a whimsical and blithe spirit prone to acts flightful fancy simply because it amuses him. His own secretary frequently had to pick up the slack when Hythlodaeus was in one of his carefree moods. But his unparalleled aethersight and the precision of his creation magicks had him recommended for the esteemed seat of Emet-Selch, which Hythlodaeus turned down in favor of Hades.
Cheery Pink: His past form has muted pink hair and eyes, and is the gleeful half of his Gleeful and Grumpy Pairing with Emet-Selch.
Excellent Judge of Character: The Tales from the Dawn story "Days Gone By, Days Yet to Come", has Hythlodaeus wandering about Amaurot in search of Azem, meeting numerous members of the Convocation along the way. He effortlessly looks past appearances and the words of others to deduce their thoughts and feelings, whether it's something Elidibus is pleased with or is troubling the new Fandaniel.
Forgotten First Meeting: Is slightly confused when the Warrior of Light recognizing him on the moon as he states he has never met them before. This turns out to be untrue. It is true that what the Warrior of Light had met was a recreation of Hythlodaeus by Emet-Selch rather than the real deal, they did in fact meet in the past before the Final Days occurred. However this chronologically occurred for the Warrior of Light after their meeting on the moon, and Hythlodaeus's memories of the time the Warrior of Light was in the past are erased by Hermes. At "present" time, after a trip to the aetherial sea, Hythlodaeus remembers everything upon being briefly summoned by the Warrior of Light before the final dungeon.
The Gadfly:
- He loved messing up with Emet-Selch, in a friendly way. The 4th "Tales from the Shadows" has him teasing the latter about his new position, and the fact that he hasn't announced it to the Warrior of Light's original self, Azem, yet, much to Emet-Selch's annoyance.
- We get to see this in Endwalker, and teasing and making Emet-Selch's life just that little bit more difficult seems to be second nature to him. Most of the time, the reaction he aims to tease out of Emet seems to be self-improvement, to be better than Emet's cynicism would let him be if he was left to his own devices.
Guest-Star Party Member: He joins the Trust party for Ktisis Hyperboreia alongside Venat and Emet-Selch as a Soulseer (IE: a Bard).
Have We Met?: While trying to stop Zenos and Fandaniel from freeing Zodiark, the Warrior encounters the actual soul of Hythlodaeus on the moon. The Warrior can either recognize him by name or call him the receptionist at the Bureau of the Architect. Either way, Hythlodaeus is confused, as the Warrior had spoken to an imitation of him rather than the real thing.
Heroic Sacrifice: Endwalker makes it clear that, when Zodiark was being summoned to stop the Final Days, he was among those who gave their lives to do so. This allows him to briefly appear to the Warrior of Light when Fandaniel takes over Zodiark and help encourage them.
Humble Hero: Hythlodaeus considers himself less talented than his friends and a lesser fighter than them. Doesn't stop him from supporting them in their time of need and kicking asses when wielding a bow. Even as a disembodied soul, he's able to dispel the other souls harassing the Warrior on the moon simply by asking them to step aside as he strides up to the Warrior. The third volume of Encyclopedia Eorzea specifies that he was incredibly precise with his use of creation magicks and could effortlessly express difficult concepts, meaning that he just feels Overshadowed by Awesome despite being just as talented as his peers, who are two of the most respected individuals in their society.
It Amused Me: Tales from the Shadows shows that he's prone to doing things on a whim if it seems interesting, be it teasing Emet-Selch or making impromptu visits to sate his curiosity. In Endwalker, Emet-Selch points out that he could easily seek out Hermes by following his aether with his Aura Vision. Hythlodaeus' response amounts to, "Now where's the fun in that?", especially since Elpis is one of the few locations where Amaurotines are allowed to take off their hoods and masks in public, meaning that it's actually possible to recognize someone by their face.
Meaningful Name: He's named after the primary speaker in Utopia, alluding both to Amaurot (which takes its name from the same work) and his role in relating information about it to the player character. Additionally, it means "speaker of nonsense," befitting his mysterious and good-natured trollish nature.
Mr. Exposition:
- He exposits a great deal about Emet-Selch's past and history, revealing the Ascian's true motivations and the immeasurable pain he's suffered over countless lifetimes. He also reveals that the Warrior and Ardbert have identically-colored souls, revealing them to be reincarnations of Hythlodaeus' own friend, Azem.
- While exploring Elpis with the Warrior and Emet-Selch, Hythlodaeus gets too caught up in explaining the popularity of the "shark" concept at the Bureau of the Architect to notice the legged shark charging at him until it's about to pounce on him. Luckily, Venat comes to his rescue and knocks the shark out cold.
Odd Friendship: With Emet-Selch. "Tales from the Shadows" and later ''Endwalker' show him as unflappably polite and happy, in contrast to Emet's grumpiness and snark.
Posthumous Character: He is long dead by the time of Shadowbringers, only appearing as an illusion created by Emet-Selch. Appears for real in Endwalker, when the Warrior of Light visits the past.
Refusal of the Call:
- The fourth "Tales of the Shadows" reveals that he was considered first for the position of "Emet-Selch", but turned it down in favor of Hades. He still retained a prestigious position as the Chief of the Bureau of the Architect though.
- He expands on this in Endwalker. He is actually more talented at seeing aether flows than Emet-Selch is, but as he himself notes, he doesn’t have the talent in other areas to do anything to fix the problems he finds, whereas Emet-Selch does.
Reincarnation Friendship: A strange variant of this appears in Endwalker, as he and Emet-Selch bond with the Warrior of Light, who traveled to the past and is the future reincarnation of their other very close friend Azem. Despite the Warrior's troubling news about their future and Emet-Selch's reaction, the three of them are shown to naturally build up a friendship with similar dynamics to the ones they had when the Warrior was still Azem. Their bond stays so strong that it culminates with Hythlodaeus and Emet-Selch making a Reunion Vow with the Warrior, as they leave to be reincarnated, hoping to invoke this trope between the three of them once more. It's arguably played up even more in the japanese version, where Hythlodaeus insists that their trio should reunite happily, no matter how many times they reincarnate.
Reunion Vow: In Endwalker, when his and Emet-Selch's real farewell time finally come, he tells the Warrior of Light that he will pray so that they, himself and Emet-Selch reunite in their future lives, to be together again, just at they wished in the past.
Spanner in the Works:
- Indirectly helps the Warrior of Light defeat Emet by revealing Ardbert's another shard of the Warrior of Light's unsundered incarnation, Azem. It's worth noting that Emet-Selch created Hythlodaeus's shade, subconsciously sabotaging his own plans. The Tales from the Shadows series reveals that the Warrior of Light's past self, Azem, would go behind Emet-Selch's back with Hythlodaeus aiding and abetting, so this is pretty much par for the course!
- He also has another moment in 5.3 where he gives the Warrior of Light Azem's constellation crystal, thereby allowing them to stand against and defeat Elidibus.
- In Endwalker, he pretty much instantly ruins the Warrior of Light's original plan of passively observing the past by asking Emet-Selch to use his aether reserves and give them a corporeal form. For his part, Emet-Selch had seen the Warrior of Light too, but was incredibly suspicious of them and planning to give them a wide berth.
The Trickster: In an hilarious way, he was apparently often helping and assisting Azem in their unusual decisions and antics, to both Emet-Selch's amusement and consternation.
True Companions:
- He used to be this with Azem and Emet-Selch. As Endwalker reveals, he and Emet-selch even were on their way to become this with the Warrior of Light, Azem's current incarnation, until he and Emet-Selch's memories got erased. The way the three interact when they finally reunite in present time indicates this bond still survived, despite its complexity and Azem being reincarnated. This culminates in a Reunion Vow between the three, as Emet-Selch and Hythlodaeus leave to be reincarnated.
- Reflected in Elpis, when he tells the Warrior of Light about why he passed over the title of Emet-Selch. He acknowledges that Azem and Emet-Selch are much more talented than he is, but bears no grudge or jealousy. His purpose in life as he sees it is to see his friends achieve their goals, and then when they do his purpose will be complete too, and they can all return to the star together.
Tulpa: He figures out he is a shadow based on Emet's thoughts, but keeps it to himself rather than inform the others likewise given form by his old friend. He suspects that, when remaking Amaurot, Emet-Selch had a stray thought that Hythlodaeus would see through the illusion, and thus he could.
Villain Respect: Although Emet wasn't a villain when he was friends with Hythlodaeus, Emet's respect for him is so great he subconsciously lets Hythlodaeus realize he's an illusion and derail Emet's plans by talking to the Warrior of Light, simply because that's what Hythlodaeus would do.

Venat

Voiced by: Kikuko Inoue (JP), Joanna Roth (EN), Véronique Augereau (FR), Antje von der Ahe (DE)

Heart of Hydaelyn

Race: Ancient
Discipline: All-Rounder (Paladin, White Mage, Dancer)

"Lands that stretched on forever. Skies one could drown in. The heartbeat of nature, silent yet strong. And amidst it all a people. Beacons of light and life. Laughter that warmed my heart like naught else before. They are my meaning and my purpose. My love. In spite of... Or perhaps because of this, I choose to believe. In mankind's potential. In his ability to find a way forward. So let there be no way back. From that temptation I sunder us. No more shall man have wings to bear him to paradise. Henceforth, he shall walk."

An Ancient whose hologram appears in Anamnesis Anyder. She was originally an adventurer who held the seat of Azem before giving it up to the final Azem, as well as the leader of the faction that eventually created Hydaelyn, with Venat offering herself to be Hydaelyn's core.

See Hydaelyn's page here for her post-Sundering identity.

The Ace: Venat was considered one of the greatest of the Ancients to ever live. In addition to being a scholar whose contributions led to many of the ancients' understandings of their star, she was also a nearly unparalleled master of the arts of war, creation magicks, and combat magicks alike. In her one-on-one spar with the Warrior, she switches fighting styles between Paladin, Dancer, and White Mage, in all of them she can cover the entire arena in massive area-of-effect attacks that can overlap and chain together, and she has a Limit Break akin to the Armiger from Final Fantasy XV that bombards the Warrior with swords of light from multiple directions. Emet-Selch and Hythlodaeus consider it a marvel that the Warrior is still standing after the end of their battle, given how much less aether the Warrior has at their disposal.
Adaptational Heroism: Played with. Venat in Final Fantasy XII was an Anti-Villain who wanted to free mankind from the shackles of the Occuria and give them the means to write their own histories, and they did so by causing wars and mass destruction. This Venat is eventually revealed as engaging in similar actions, by sundering Zodiark and condemning mankind to lives of suffering and despair in the name of a greater good. The major difference is that the XIV Venat is firmly established as being Necessarily Evil in this, because forcing humans to bear such burdens was the only way for them to resist Meteion, who effectively weaponized such emotions to destroy the Ancients because they couldn't handle those emotions.
All-Loving Hero: Generally speaking, Venat is kind, playful, and gentle to everyone. She only resorts to lethal force if there's no other option - such as with the corrupted Meteion.
Ambiguous Gender: The English localization obfuscated Venat's gender with neutral pronouns until the end of Shadowbringers.
The Anti-Nihilist: Her travels across Etheirys, the sights Venat saw, the memories she made and above all the people she met convince her of the beauty of life and existence. This combines with her Heroic Willpower, culminating in her becoming Hydaelyn to oppose the regressive nostalgia of Zodiark's worshippers and the nihilistic fatalism of Meteion.
Awesomeness by Analysis: She instantly deduces that the Warrior of Light is a traveler from the future (rather than an aetheric construct as everyone else had believed), due to perceiving the imprint of her own protective magic on them.
Batman Gambit: Her entire plan was based on the belief that humanity could grow and change enough to end the Final Days, with no guarantee it was actually possible and multiple examples on other worlds suggesting it might not be. Ironically the key to salvation laid in the hands of someone who didn't much change at all.
Venat: I choose to believe. In mankind's potential. In his ability to find a way forward.
Big Good: As the woman who is Hydaelyn, she's the one who empowers the WoL and a few select others (Arenvald, Krile, Ryne, Minfilia, etc) into being her champions on the Source and its Shards, and is ultimately responsible for giving the heroes a chance against primals, Garlemald, sin eaters, and the rogue Ascians.
Blood Knight: One of the friendliest sorts you'll ever meet. Her idea of getting to know you is to challenge you to a fight that nearly kills you. And she was holding back too!
Blow You Away: When fighting as a healer Trust, she can cast True Aero and True Aero IV.
Blue-and-Orange Morality: Venat, like all Ancients, shows some forms of morality that differs from the 'present' day the Warrior of Light coming from, yet it is a largely benevolent skew of it which helps underline her angelic and radiant status as an Ancient and loving Mother-Goddess of the Sundered World.
Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Less so than her successor, but while Venat is known for her wisdom and worldliness, her response to hearing about Azem charging headlong into an erupting volcano is excitement and eagerness to learn more rather than admonishing her pupil for recklessness.
Canine Companion: Her familiar, Argos, looks like an oversized, bright gold Afghan Hound.
Character Tics: Venat has a tendency to hold her hand in front of her chest, a quirk also held by Hydaelyn when using Minfilia and Ryne as incarnations.
Cuteness Proximity: Venat seems to have a thing for cute critters. Her personal familiar is the adorably fluffy Argos. This trait survives her transformation into Hydaelyn; as she created the Loporrits to shepherd mankind to the stars.
Dare to Be Badass: During her friendly sparring match in the past with the Warrior of Light, before she unleashes Thelema as her final strike to end the match, she bids the Warrior to "break your chains, shed your burdens─and show me your strength of will!"
Determinator: Spends thousands of years seeing her plans to fruition, almost completely alone with those few who even remembered Venat as herself having turned away from her.
Dishing Out Dirt: She can attack with True Stone IV as a healer Trust.
Dub Name Change: For the English localization. In the original Japanese, the rendering of her name is much more similar to Venus.
Everyone Has Standards: Though she has the advantage of knowing the future, Venat's entire reason she sundered the world and what was left of her people boils down to realizing that they'll all but kill themselves until nothing is left; even if the Zodiark plans worked, they were so desperate for the restoration of the Amaurotine paradise that it would've had diminishing returns and nothing solved. She pleads, she bargains, she begs them to not go through with it, but their staunch refusal to see any solution besides a blind faith in Zodiark's salvation forces her into becoming Hydaelyn after previously doubting the Warrior of Light's proclamations of it.
Genius Bruiser: She was famed as a scholar of singular brilliance who helped to uncover many of the laws of existence by journeying far across the star as Azem. Even after her retirement, all of the ancients hold her in the highest esteem for her wisdom, including the normally acerbic Emet-Selch. On top of this, she is an incredibly strong and skilled fighter who has mastered both the arts of war and magic, as was necessary in her former seat on the Convocation.
Guest-Star Party Member: She joins in a Trust party in Elpis, and like G'raha Tia, functions as an All-Rounder; in her case she can fight as a Paladin, Dancer, or White Mage.
Healing Hands: As a Trust, she can use True Cure II, True Medica, and True Medica II when fighting as a healer.
Heroic Resolve: Ultimately it is her belief that mandkind has this that gives her the resolve to sunder the world and trust the sundered beings left behind will grow beyond their despair and continue to fight and live.
Venat: I birth a world of suffering to mire and plague. In one fleeting moment, lives come and go. Ever moving towards the unknown. And in the fleeting moment, they cry for the answer to the question: Why, given life, are they meant to suffer? To die? As fragmented imperfect beings yours is a never-ending quest. A quest to find your purpose, knowing your end is assured. To find the strength to continue when all strength have left you. To find joy, even as darkness decends...and admist deepest despair, light everlasting.
I Did What I Had to Do: Justified turning on her fellow Ancients and becoming Hydaelyn to "birth a world of suffering to mire and plague" at the tail end of the Final Days. Goes further in the same confrontation when it becomes her reasoning to sunder Etheirys in the first place.
Venat: To try and reclaim those lives we lost by sacrificing yet more isn't wisdom. It is weakness. No paradise is without its shadows. If we cannot accept this truth and learn from our pain, then our plight shall be repeated. […] Lands that stretched on forever. Skies one could drown in. The heartbeat of nature, silent yet strong. And amidst it all a people. Beacons of light and life. Laughter that warmed my heart like naught else before. They are my meaning and my purpose. My love. In spite of… or perhaps because of this, I choose to believe. In mankind's potential. In his ability to find a way forward. So let there be no way back. From that temptation, I sunder us. No more shall man have wings to bear him to paradise. Henceforth, he shall walk.
Ironic Echo: The reason she chose to continue living instead of returning to the star as is customary is because she loves the world so much that she wants to spend the rest of her days protecting it. But she repeats her The World Is Just Awesome speech during the Final Days, using it to justify her decision to sunder the world as Hydaelyn, dooming her own people so a new one may have a chance.
Lady of War: A graceful and skilled warrior and mage.
Legacy of the Chosen: She held the seat of Azem and its charge of protecting the star before the current / final Azem.
Leitmotif: "Flow", a soothing song with lyrics similiar to a mother singing a lullaby to her children; indicating her motherly affection towards the Warrior of Light. She retains this theme, alongside 'Answer', when she finally appears in the flesh as Hydaelyn.
"Welcome and well met
My brave little spark
How long you've wandered
Burned bright as a star
Oh I have long waited you patiently
All this time."
Limit Break: "Thelema", in which she asails her foes with a barrage of magical weapons before charging her sword with energy and descending on her foe with a diving slash that ends with an eruption of energy.
Making a Splash: Uses True Water when she is a healer trust.
Magic Knight: She employed a wide variety of job classes, including swift sword techniques, throwing weapons and a variety of magics.
Messianic Archetype: She was a beloved Ancient who sacrificed herself to give humanity a chance against darkness.
Miles to Go Before I Sleep: The cutscene following the end of the Warrior's time in the unsundered past depicts Venat witnessing the Final Days and making the decision to sunder the worlds as Hydaelyn to prevent the ancients from simply hiding behind Zodiark. All the while, she witnesses the untold suffering she created, becoming increasingly weary and bloodied as she observes the tragedies wrought by her own hand. Despite this, she continues to soldier on, utterly convinced in her plan and knowing that she would be able to guide her successor in their many incarnations.
Multi-Melee Master: She's able to wield a sword and shield, chakrams, and a healer's cane in combat. As a Trust party party member, she is able to act as a Paladin, Dancer, or White Mage. In her final battle as Hydaelyn, she is able to swap between these weapons to dish out devastating AOE attacks.
Mythology Gag: Named after a character in Final Fantasy XII. Unlike the other Ascians who are named after Espers from the mythology of XII, Venat in that game was one of the Occuria - the setting's gods who created the Espers. More specifically, Venat was a rogue Occuria who sided with Humanity, much like how this Venat chose the new life of the star over recreating / resurrecting the lost.
Nice Girl: While most Ancients are varying levels of nice or accommodating, Venat goes out of her way to help the Warrior of Light in their quest to save the star from destruction.
The Paragon Always Rebels: A non-villainous example. Venat, as the former Azem among other things, was considered one of the finest of the Ancients albeit being a bit of a maverick to contrast the conformity of her compatriots. For instance, Venat did not see the value of laying down her life upon relinquishing her seat of Azem (which was considered to be the highest honor), as she still believed there was still good she could do in the world. Upon the coming of the Final Days, she was also one of the few to realize just how naive her people were to rely on an artificial savior such as Zodiark and sunders the world so that her people could one day grow stronger so that they can eventually weather despair and suffering on their own. Strangely, despite this the succeeding Azem did not join her or the Zodiark faction, leaving the second paragon's intentions mysterious.
Passing the Torch: She stepped down from her position as Azem and passed it on to her apprentice, the final Azem before the Final Days. But she defied custom by refusing to return to the star of her own accord afterward, believing that there's still much for her to do.
Retired Badass: She is retired from her position as Azem and is content to simply aid anyone who asks for her wisdom and perspective. This doesn't seem to have dulled her skills at all and she's still as formidable as ever.
Satanic Archetype: Similiarly to her namesake, Venat can be seen as a Luciferian archetype from the point of view of the Convocation of Fourteen and the Zodiark-aligned ancients, being a member of their 'perfect' race that rebelled against their decision to restore the world, bringing the world suffering, strife and war through her Sundering. Her form as Hydaelyn is fittingly angelic.
Spanner in the Works: Twice in Endwalker. First, she blows the Warrior of Light's cover story of being a mere familiar by detecting her protection magick on them and deducing that they must have come from the future, forcing them to come clean about their motivations and tell everyone about what actually happened in the future. Later, when Hermes attempts to wipe everyone's memories of Meteion's corruption and her decision to wipe out all of existence, Venat and the Warrior of Light are the only ones to survive with their memories intact, setting into motion a millenia-long gambit that directly informs the relationship the Warrior of Light had with Hydealyn throughout the game.
Übermensch: She is possibly the most powerful Ascian living in her time, having mastered martial and magical combat as well as the healing arts. She raised herself above the traditions and philosophies of her people due to centuries of Walking the Earth which granted her a unique perspective on the value of life. Because of this, she is perhaps the only Ascian alive who understands that the only way to remain determined in the face of overwhelming despair is by weathering hardship and suffering, so when the will of the people seemed doomed to fail, she stepped in with only a small contingent of True Believers wrangled the entire world onto the one course that might stand a fighting chance against the Final Days, ascending to godhood in the process.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: She chose to become Hydaelyn and sunder the world into shards, creating massive amounts of conflict, suffering, and death because she felt that it was the only possible path to prevent the total extinction of the star from the Final Days. This, all with nothing but the hope that it would eventually lead to those able to combat the Sound.
Wham Line: One of the other Ancients with Venat drops a line that reveals Venat is the Heart of Hydaelyn, meaning she's the one you've been dealing with whenever Hydaelyn directly communicated with you.
Diplomatic Ancient One: I wonder… is this how the Convocation felt about Elidibus?
World's Best Warrior: As the former Azem, she explored the world and dealt with numerous problems in her quest to learn all she could about the nature of the star and existence. To this end, she became a master of multiple weapons as well as both creation and combat magic. She's introduced downing a walking shark creature that served as a boss in Akademia Anyder with a single blow. The fact that the Warrior is still standing after taking her Limit Break is nothing short of astounding to Emet-Selch and Hythlodaeus.
The World Is Just Awesome: She explains that she became Azem and left Amaurot to learn of the world beyond the borders she was so accustomed to. Free of prejudice and doubts, she grew to love everything she encountered, good and bad, devoting her life to protecting the star and everything on it. This is also why she refused to simply return to the star as is customary for retired Convocation members, as she vowed to be its steward and protector for as long as it needed her. Her faith in humanity and the world itself is also why she became Hydaelyn and sundered the Ancients' paradise. Although she too was pained by the hardships she put the people of the sundered world through, she believed that they could rise up and succeed where the Ancients' failed. If they had not, she had planned to help the people of the Source escape to start anew.
You Cannot Fight Fate: Played with. Venat was horrified to be told what her future self would end up doing. But as the Final Days bore down upon the world she ended up following what the Warrior of Light told her, having already given up on her own people who were lost in the spell of Zodiark and with no hope of returning.

Hermes (Unmarked Spoilers for Endwalker)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hermes_ffxiv.png

Winged Defiance

^{Click here for his combat transformation}

Voiced by: Yoshitsugu Matsuoka (JP), Jeremy Ang Jones (EN), Bastien Bourlé (FR), Peter Becker (DE)

"How can you all accept this...aberration? Then I wonder...am I the aberration for thinking thus? And I am filled with dread..."

The ancient whose soul was inherited by the Ascian Fandaniel. Before he joined the Convocation of Fourteen and took on his more well-known title, he was Hermes, overseer of the research facility Elpis.

Abusive Parent: While he's a Fatherly Scientist to Meteion, the side story, "A Question of Life" makes it clear that he continued to create Meteia and send them into the stars even as several of them are killed by the hazards of space. Meteion is ultimately the one to support Hermes emotionally while he continuously neglects her own pain. Him realizing this is part of the reason he's so determined to hear her report up until the end, so that her suffering won't have occurred for nothing. Unfortunately, the damage had already been done long before.
Aimlessly Seeking Happiness: Hermes is a brilliant researcher and is widely respected as the chief overseer of Elpis. But he's in constant anguish due to his empathy for the creations constantly being woven into existence and destroyed. He's so desperate to find what it means to be happy that he creates the Meteia to consult other civilizations and discover what brings them joy. He's crushed when seemingly all other life in creation desires nothing more than death.
Alternate Self: To the present-day Fandaniel. While they're the same person at different time periods, characters note that Fandaniel is a very different person from who Hermes was, and Fandaniel himself says he identifies more with his past mortal life as Amon than he does his Ancient life as Hermes. Interestingly despite this, it's shown he never really could free himself from his past as Hermes, as his question about life and experiences with Meteion still resonate with him to this day. It indicates that his deep-down wish, even as Amon, was still for her to bring him a different and happier answer.
Ambiguously Brown: He has a slightly darker skin tone than most other Ancients, the only plot-important Ancients darker-skinned than him being Lahabrea and Erichtonios.
Black-and-White Insanity: He wrestles deeply with the question of whether he's wrong or his society is wrong, never once considering that both might be flawed but also have valid points. This lack of nuance rears its head again once Meteion reports that she and her sisters found all other life in the universe dead or dying—he comes to the conclusion that if everyone is flawed, everyone is worthless and sets out to subject mankind to a "test" where, again, either they will be proven wrong or he will. Venat notes just before you enter Ktisis Hyperborea that most people would have been understandably miserable and despondent from the Meteia's discoveries about the desolate state of the rest of the universe, but would have ultimately been able to still be fine even with such sorrowful knowledge. Not Hermes, though; he pinned way too much on getting the correct answers to life, and "no correct answer" is the same to him as "inherent failure".
Blow You Away: His boss fight involves several wind-themed attacks.
Broken Smile: Upon Emet-Selch calling out the reasoning behind his decision to put humanity's right to exist to the test in a trial by fire as sophistry, he can only concede with an admission that "Perhaps it is. Perhaps I am wrong. But who is to say that you are right?" punctuated with a smile so devoid of any at all kind of joy that it primarily serves to emphasize just how badly Meteion's report has broken his mind and heart.
Call-Forward: The Runic Magic he uses for his attacks in his boss fight are extremely similar to the same runes his reincarnation, the Ascian Fandaniel, uses after possessing Zodiark.
Contrived Coincidence: He looks startlingly similar to Asahi sas Brutus, who is pointedly not Fandaniel's original form, but the body he is possessing at the time of his physical death.
Despair Event Horizon: Through Meteion, he learns that all the other peoples in the universe she encountered were either already dead, or in the process of slowly and painfully dying out. This leads him to conclude that the only point of life is suffering and death, a conclusion that pains him to admit.
Didn't Think This Through: Hermes was so caught up in his search for a greater meaning and purpose in life that he never prepared Meteion for what would happen if she got an answer he didn't like. She simply isn't ready for the constant despair and agony she experiences; and as a being designed to be receptive to and strongly influenced by emotions, it twists her and sends her over the edge.
Dull Eyes of Unhappiness: While he has glowing eyes like all his ancient kin, his are a much less vibrant seafoam green color, and as the events of Endwalker show, the man was very much an unhappy person.
The Empath: To a tragic degree; he loves all the creations he oversees in Elpis, and cannot stand to see them treated as disposable experiments. Sadly this love drives him over the edge, and his disdain for his fellow Ancients has him doom their civilization, deciding they should be judged by a greater power in the same way they judge their creations.
Fair-Play Villain: Subverted. He claims that he wants his 'test' of humanity to be evenhanded and that he's setting the parameters fairly so they have a chance at overcoming Meteion's powers. However, his actions to make things "fair" blatantly favors Meteion, helping her escape and wiping everyone's memories, including his own, to cripple any attempt to stop her. Hythlodaeus' sarcasm on how Hermes couldn't possibly be more fair appears to fly right over his head. Unfortunately for Hermes, Venat and the Warrior of Light end up escaping the memory wipe and become a Spanner in the Works, with Venat in particular laying the groundwork over the next 12,000 years to retaliate against Meteion and save mankind from Hermes' plans.
Fatal Flaw:
- Hermes' sanity is undone by his desire to find reasons to be happy and content and inability to open up to others about his troubles. Although Hermes is a brilliant mage and creator hand-picked by his mentor to join the Convocation, he's constantly troubled by how his people create and destroy life on a whim, wondering if he's insane for being concerned about mankind's treatment of their creations. Unwilling to confide in his colleagues, he creates the Meteia and sends them out into the stars with a hopelessly naive question under the belief that other civilizations would help him formulate an answer to what it means to find happiness. He's so desperate to find this answer that he forces Meteion to report on her sisters' discoveries despite her obvious discomfort and pain. And when that report is nothing but soul-crushing nihilism, Hermes' mind shatters and he descends into Black-and-White Insanity.
- Moral cowardice drives a lot of Hermes' actions, especially the villainous ones. He lacks the conviction and fortitude to either stand up to what he believes are the wrongs of Ancient society, or acknowledge his own beliefs are mistaken. Instead, he creates the Meteia to send them into space searching for third parties to answer the question for him. When the Meteia begin to die in their journeys, he is wracked with guilt but allows himself to be comforted by the main Meteion rather than halt the experiment and admit he was wrong for beginning it. His status as a boss comes about because he insists on having "the time and tranquility" to hear Meteion's message properly, i.e. without anyone to challenge the conclusions he draws, and he's willing to compromise his principles by sending his creations to die simply to stall his pursuers. In the end, it's easy to interpret his lopsided idea of 'fairness' for his test as him doing his best to help Meteion succeed while pretending he's not party to her actions and wiping his memories so he doesn't have to live with what he's done.
Friend to All Living Things: He loves all his creations in Elpis, to the point of loving them more than his fellow Ancients; he decides he cannot abide them being the arbiters of which beings get to live and which have to perish.
Go Mad from the Revelation: When he finds out that the countless Meteia he sent off into space reported either dying or dead worlds, he completely and utterly snaps, deciding that he wants to see if Etheirys can survive the same fate.
Greater-Scope Villain: He created the Meteia and gave them the task that would ultimately prove to be the downfall of the Ancients. When Meteion announces their decision to end all life, Hermes ensured that she would be allowed to do so. As such, every conflict involving the Ascians can be traced back to him. The Fandaniel that causes the Final Days to resume in Endwalker is even a sundered reincarnation of him.
Honor Before Reason: He decides to have his memories wiped and become a part of his own experiment to prove mankind's worthiness, claiming he too should be judged alongside his fellow Ancients.
Hypocrite: He states that all life, created or otherwise, deserves to exist, even if they're "failures" to their creators... but the instant he feels the chance for him to get his answers from the Meteia is going to be taken away, he unleashes the various creatures in Ktisis Hyperboreia to use them as fodder to slow down Emet-Selch, Hythlodaeus, Venat, and the Warrior of Light. Ultimately, even the concepts he claimed had value by just existing, successful or otherwise, were as expendable to him as the "unfit" ones were to his fellows. His Sanity Slippage meant that the only pain he actually cares about—or better still, could care about—is his own (even if in the Japanese dialogue, he does apologize to the creatures for compelling them to keep Venat and her compatriots away with their lives); the pain of the failures was bad because it hurt him to have to unmake them, and even Meteion's sorrow and suffering was just "proof" of his anguish being legitimate and actionable, not something to help alleviate.
It's All About Me:
- It’s subtle, but Hermes shows many signs that he cares more about his feelings than those of others. He bemoans that people celebrating his mentor’s death and that accepting the Seat of Fandaniel will constantly remind him that he no longer has his mentor by his side, never mind that said mentor had lived a fruitful life and chose to die to begin a new life on his own accord, not that Hermes is holding their life in his hands. A series of side quests also shows that another researcher is fearing the day she has to part with her mentor, who is going to return to the Star after her training is done. This means Hermes’s trouble toward people choosing death is not an exceptional event, but most others are simply emotionally mature enough to accept it and carry on the deceased's legacy, unlike him.
- In the short story A Question of Life, Hermes saw Meteion experiencing great trauma from connecting to one of her sisters while the latter was dying and being ripped apart in the dark of space. Even though she was the one who was actually feeling said death herself, Meteion had to comfort Hermes as he lamented that this would traumatize him greatly, all while simultaneously dismissing Meteion’s own trauma as something that wouldn’t cause lasting harm. That was not the first time Meteion had to go through that.
- Hermes thinks that he’s the only one who loves the creations in Elpis and that the others make and destroy them on a whim. It’s true that some researchers were rather callous, but while doing the side quests, the player can see that many others love the creations and want the best life for them, even to the point of putting themselves in danger or grieving and performing funerals when the creations die. Even in the main storyline, Hermes is largely successful in advocating for saving the concepts that his peers have slated for unmaking, and successfully convinces Hythlodaeus, Emet-Selch and the Warrior of Light to assist him. The one time he fails, it's because the creation was an unambiguous ecological threat (the wolves that Hermes's group had to put down were killing other animals indiscriminately in every possible situation) instead of just from whimsical discontent of their creators as Hermes thinks, and yet it is this one failure that haunts him and solidifies his disdain for his own people.
Insane Troll Logic:
- He turns Meteion's Suicidal Cosmic Temper Tantrum into a "test" for mankind to prove their worthiness to exist just as they judge other living beings' worthiness to exist, which Emet-Selch calls out as sophistry. Hermes also erases everyone's memory of her existence, including his own, to make things "fair", and stays behind because it is in his own interests to oppose her. It's pretty clear by this point that he's snapped.
- He takes for granted that he's the only one on the star who feels any sorrow, simply because he's the only one the Elpis Flowers change color for (to the violet of grief). What he fails to consider is that the more typical grey-white isn't some default state (it doesn't seem to have a default color), let alone a signifier of unalloyed contentment. As the Roegadyn who pointed them out to the Warrior back in Labyrinthos noted, that grey-white actually comes from the local dominant emotion being one of anxiety and urgency. While this isn't particularly good news for Ancient society at large (they're sublimating everything they feel in favor of their perceived duty as the star's caretakers and lifeblood, but aren't really able to bury their constant or recurring feelings of inadequacy), there just isn't any real cause to think of the white flowers as proof of full Ancient apathy...except from Hermes's pre-existing frustrations.
Instant Runes: Many of his attacks in his boss fight involve creating magical runes on the outskirts of the arena that then shoot wind-based projectiles in an attempt to shove his opponents into the highly damaging outer ring of the arena.
Mad Scientist: Somewhat downplayed, but he did secretly create a lifeform to harness an energy he knew hardly anything about, proceeded to mass-produce them without anyone else's knowledge or approval, and sent them out into the universe at large when they were still in metaphorical infancy. He has no idea how misguided his actions were until Meteion is already suffering a full-blown meltdown, and he responds to that by setting her free and allowing her to pass judgment on mankind as she saw fit.
Magic Staff: When he transforms into a combat-focused form, he wields a Caduceus, the staff of Hermes in Greek mythology.
Meteor-Summoning Attack: In his boss fight, Hermes casts Meteor, bringing down four proximity AOEs that all detonate for heavy damage. The party must use these meteorites as cover from Hermes' Double Hermetica attack.
"Stars on high, fall as rain!"
The McCoy: Subverted by way of being a deconstruction. When players meet him, Hermes seems to be the only Ancient with any empathy towards their creations, lamenting how others see them as disposable and that none of his kin seem capable of sadness about anything, let alone the treatment of their charges. This leads Hermes to look externally for answers, creating the Meteia and sending them to contact other races to essentially discover the meaning of life. When they discover naught but countless dead civilizations that led themselves to ruin no matter how their society evolved, Hermes becomes overwhelmed by existentialism. He decides that if all beings are flawed, even the Ancients, then it holds fair that they should be disposed of the same as the flawed creations they destroy on a regular basis. To this end he sets up a "test" to see if humanity can overcome despair and prove themselves worthy of existing, and if they cannot, then the Meteia will destroy them. Ultimately, Hermes proves himself more The Spock than The McCoy — he's trying to find a logical, rational reason to give meaning to life and justify his empathy, and when he can't find such a reason he embraces nihilism and condemns all creation to suffer and die, including himself.
Meaningful Name: In Greek mythology, Hermes was the herald of the gods and a psychopomp who escorted the souls of the dead to the afterlife; in XIV, Hermes indirectly stands as Meteion's herald by allowing her to unleash the Final Days, and he oversaw a research facility that disposed of living creatures deemed unfit to release into the wider world.
Mentor Occupational Hazard: Though he wasn't the mentor in question, he was well aware of what being chosen as the new Fandaniel meant for the then-current one, and was deeply disturbed by it. While it was tradition for the Ancients who felt they had done their duty to the star to "return to it", and the then-Fandaniel was willing to do so gracefully, Hermes simply didn't want his mentor to die, and while Emet-Selch's attempt to console Hermes by having him ascend to the Convocation and taking him away from Elpis was well-meaning, it also ground salt into the wound. He might no longer have to unmake "failed" creations, but from then on he would have taken the place of someone he cherished who had died and every day have to hear and use their "name" as a constant reminder of his loss.
Minored In Ass Kicking: Prior to joining the Convocation, Hermes' primary role was to oversee new forms of created life and judge whether they would be fit to release into the wild. This also means that he's a mage powerful enough to subdue any beast that runs rampant. He even gives the combined strength of the Warrior of Light, Emet-Selch, Venat, and Hythlodaeus a hard time, albeit while the latter four were weakened with the security enchantments of Ktisis Hyperboreia and trying to subdue him non-lethally.
Only Sane Man: Deconstructed. He disliked the Ancients' policy of destroying creatures they saw as failures, as he saw them as living beings and not just experiments to be disposed of. Further, he also recognized that these beings were capable of anger, despair, and fear, and they certainly felt those emotions whenever they were killed. Because he seemed to be the only one who saw things this way and the other Ancients were apathetic about it, he grew enraged at them for their seeming indifference. Then he started to fear that perhaps he isn't the Only Sane Man, the others are all sane and he's the lone madman among them. He sent the Meteia to other worlds to seek answers to his questions about the meaning of life to try and resolve these inner conflicts, and the answers they sent back drove him over the Despair Event Horizon. He concluded that by their own methodology, the Ancients were a failure as a species and thus deserved to be destroyed the same as the lifeforms they created, a revelation that was so deeply ingrained in his soul that his sundered self devolved into the Omnicidal Maniac the Warrior of Light encounters as Fandaniel.
Power Limiter: The facility of Ktisis Hyperboreia has a power dampening field as a security measure against escaped creatures, reducing them to a fraction of their capabilities. When Hermes shuts himself inside the facility to give himself time to listen to Meteion's report, he uses this field to hamper the heroes as they fight their way toward his refuge. This prevents Emet-Selch and Venat from simply smashing through everything in their path and allows Hermes to take them, the Warrior of Light, and Hythlodaeus on all at once.
Rage Breaking Point: When Emet-Selch makes a retort to Meteion, asking her who she is to decide whether they live or die, Hermes thinks back to all the times he's had to Shoot the Dog and unmake experimental creations that were deemed unfit to exist, shackles the party with his magic, and declares that just like they dispose of their creations that are flawed, mankind should also be disposed of if found wanting. He then activates Kairos, a mindwiping device intended for scientific experiments, and orders it to wipe everyone's memories, including his own, so that they're all powerless to stop Meteion from kickstarting the Final Days of Amaurot.
Religious and Mythological Theme Naming: His true name is based on Greek Mythology, just like Emet-Selch.
Sanity Slippage: When the Warrior first meets Hermes, he's a troubled, but ultimately well-meaning man whose compassion for the creatures he and the other researchers create causes him no small amount of anguish. But his desperation to learn a singular meaning to existence slowly drives him over the edge. His sanity is strained to the breaking point when he orders Meteion to give her report despite the obvious anguish it was causing her. By the time he hears it in full, he's jumped straight over the Despair Event Horizon and declares mankind unfit to exist by its own standards of judging other creatures.
Shifting Voice of Madness: Different voice actors aside, Hermes noticeably has a much softer voice than Fandaniel, who sounds deeper and more guttural. When his Sanity Slippage begins to take hold in Ktisis Hyperboreia, his voice and inflections start to shift and become more like Fandaniel's.
Shrinking Violet: Hermes is noted to be anti-social and reclusive, preferring to spend more time with his creations than with other people. He gets so anxious during Emet-Selch's interview of him that Meteion has to be sent outside lest she suffer the same nervous breakdown he does. This personality trait only enhanced his eventual Sanity Slippage, as he felt he had no one to turn to or confide in.
Small Role, Big Impact: He is largely responsible for every conflict in the story due to creating Meteion, a being that goes mad from her exploration of the stars, causing her to attempt to destroy all life on her home planet (and in the process drives Hermes mad with despair as well). However, he is largely not involved with the plot, as soon after going insane, he erases all of his memories of the things that caused him to go insane and lives the rest of his (somewhat brief) Ancient life as the kind man he previously was. And his future sundered reincarnation that does serve as a major antagonist identifies more with his Amon self than his Hermes/Fandaniel self.
The Unfettered: He knew that the Meteia would destroy the universe after their failure to find a purpose to the meaning of life, yet he still decided it was more important to let it happen and unveil the true meaninglessness of existence rather than go on living a lie.
Trademark Favorite Food: Candied apples. The Ancients don't need much food, but Hermes loves to have a candied apple when the need for food comes, so much so that a colleague worries for his unbalanced diet.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom:
- He created a lifeform capable of travelling to distant stars and communicating through a Hive Mind to make contact with alien civilizations and find out their reasons for living. He also created them with exceedingly thin aether to harness dynamis, a little-understood energy that reacts to emotions. As Emet-Selch points out, he didn't account for what would happen if she didn't get an answer to his question. This causes Meteion to come to the conclusion that life exists only to die, and the intense despair and anguish she has felt from countless fallen civilizations corrupts her and turns her into an Omnicidal Maniac. The subsequent destruction of Etheirys can be traced back to Hermes not thinking through his well-intentioned experiment.
- Related to the above, it turns out that a lot of the worlds with sentient life reacted to Meteion in the worst ways possible - when she appeared from the heavens and asked her question about living, some either decided that they didn't have an answer beyond "we don't have one, let's die then" or "this chosen being came to us, so we should nuke our enemies." Not only that, the insanity that Hermes caused both in himself and Meteion ended up being of his own doing, as he caused a cyclical reaction (planets die, Meteion reported it, he snapped - all of which could have been avoided if he'd never done the experiment to begin with).
Used to Be a Sweet Kid: He was a kind, gentle man who hated having to "unmake" various created lifeforms for failing to live up to the Ancients' standards and would do his best to soothe their suffering even as he did his duty... Meteion's revelation about how life is a constant struggle for purpose and happiness that often fails and his subsequent lives after the Sundering turned him into the Straw Nihilist Amon / present-day Fandaniel.
Vigilante Man: Considering that his frustration over the Ancients' seeming apathy toward other creatures was what incited sending the Meteia out, he can be interpreted as this in an Aimlessly Seeking Happiness fashion. He knows perfectly well that alien civilizations probably don't think anything like the Ancients—in fact, he's counting on it. He fully expects to get out of them the answer to how and why life ought to be lived, and from there get the Ancients and himself to follow suit.
Walking Spoiler: It's hard to discuss him without discussing everything that lead up to The Final Days. Namely that he's the indirect cause of them, by creating Meteion and allowing her to unleash her song of oblivion across the star.

Azem

The Sun

Race: Ancient
Epithet: The Traveler

"Herein I commit the chronicle of the traveler. Shepherd to the stars in the dark. Though the world be sundered and our souls set adrift, where you walk, my dearest friend, fate shall surely follow. For yours is the Fourteenth seat—the seat of Azem."

— Emet-Selch dedicating Azem's memory crystal.

The mysterious fourteenth member of the Convocation who refused to participate in the summonings of both Zodiark and Hydaelyn. Much about them is shrouded in mystery, but it turns out this is deliberate from a meta-perspective; it is revealed that the Player Character is the reincarnation of Azem native to the Source. Azem's reputation and power among the ancient are a major factor in why the player's character plays such a major role in the story, as both Hydaelyn and the Ascians come to learn their true identity and see them as a valuable potential ally.

Actually Pretty Funny: According to Themis in 6.2, when Azem discovered the Warrior of Light was going around Elpis claiming to be their familiar and helping people, their reaction was to break out into a raucous laughter.
All for Nothing: The story states that they split off from the summonings of Zodiark and Hydaelyn in an attempt to find a non-sacrificial solution, and disappeared into the aftermath of the Final Days of Amaurot. Extra material spelling out that Emet-Selch had personally witnessed Azem's amorphous and horrifying sundering, and the mere fact that the Warrior of Light even exists as Azem's reincarnation in the first place, all but say that this was a failure. Though, whether through sheer chance, Hydaelyn knowing who Azem's reincarnations were via Venat, and/or Azem's seeming capability for predictions, the Warrior of Light does end up taking down Zodiark (indirectly), Hydaelyn and the Endsinger, meaning that two fragments of Azem did fulfill their goals in the vast long-term.
Ambiguous Gender: While Azem's gender is not ambiguous (it matches the player character's), the myths they inspired, if Urianger's theory is correct, have this in play, with Azeyma being depicted as female and Azim as male.
Ambiguous Situation:
- The Xaela myths of Azim note that Nhaama, the moon deity that Azim warred with via their personal tribes of the Au Ra, became lovers with Azim once the Raen and Xaela established peace. Whether Azem actually had a significant other that would be accounted for as Nhaama, or if this was just part of the myths and embellishments that would justify the Xaela legacy and the Oronir's fated one, is completely unknown.
- What happened to Azem between their leaving the Convocation and the sundering of the star is also unknown. They were referred to as "the traitor" for not taking part in Zodiark or Hydaelyn's summonings, but besides the Warrior of Light being their current reincarnation on the Source their actions during and after this time frame are unaccounted for. The NieR Re[in]carnation crossover does state that even Azem wasn't able to escape the sundering, at the very least.
- When the player enters the Pandemonium raid series in 6.2, several statements and implications lean towards the idea that Azem knew the Warrior of Light would somehow arrive in the nick of time to participate and help a younger Elidibus-as-Themis. How this is possible is completely unknown, given not even Venat, Emet-Selch or Hythlodaeus suspected a thing about the Warrior besides Venat's magic on them, until the future was spelled out; Themis just shrugs it off as Azem being their usual Bunny-Ears Lawyer self.
Big Brother Mentor: According to Echo flashbacks and the Tales from the Shadows sidestories, Elidibus looked up to Azem for their "refreshing" perspective when most of the Convocation was trying to censor them. One of Elidibus' memories has him longingly reaching out to an armored figure implied to be Azem, who leaves for parts unknown. When Elidibus takes on the form of a primal in the shape of Norvandt's first Warrior of Light, his armor is modeled after this armored figure. The way that Azem's sigil briefly flashes before the completion of Elidibus' transformation furthers this comparison. As Themis, Elidibus also investigates the trouble in Pandæmonium on Azem's behalf.
Big Good: In the Pandaemonium raid storyline they're implied to have somehow predicted their reincarnation's arrival in Elpis, and coordinated for Themis to meet them during his investigation of Pandaemonium.
Bunny-Ears Lawyer:
- In "Ere Our Curtain Falls", Azem plans to save an island about to be destroyed by a volcanic eruption, in contradiction of the Convocation planning to simply observe. One might expect this to be some heroic act to save the island's people the loss of their homes, but according to Elidibus, Azem risked censure by the Convocation in intervening due to finding the island's grapes delicious. Emet-Selch's response to this news is not surprise so much as, "Not again." Much like their prior incarnation, the Warrior can later tell Cookingway that they'd brave an erupting volcano for a good bunch of grapes.
  - However, this may also be a case of Obfuscating Stupidity - Emet-Selch's internal voice shows that the truth would "shatter [Elidibus'] faith" in how good the grapes really were, meaning that the real reason was that Azem just found it right to take action and save people, rather than follow protocol, and used the grapes as a justification for their actions to others - not a lie, but not the whole truth either.
- In Endwalker, it's revealed that Azem had the general reputation of being extremely quirky and weird to the other ancients. While trying to come up with a cover story for the Warrior to freely walk around Elpis in the unsundered past, Emet-Selch settles for just calling the Warrior "Azem's familiar", reasoning that any weird behavior the Warrior displays will get nothing more than a shrug given Azem's reputation. Despite this reputation, they still ended up on a ruling council consisting of the best and brightest of their race. Lahabrea, the preeminient authority on creation magicks, realizes that the Warrior is not a familiar at all based on their aetheric composition. But he pays it little mind because Azem has a tendency to surprise others with what they find.
Canon Character All Along: The mysterious defector and fourteenth seat of the ruling council of the Ascians introduced in 2019's Shadowbringers expansion is in fact a prior incarnation of the player character themselves from all the way back in XIV's original 2013 release.
Chronic Hero Syndrome: In Endwalker, the researchers at Elpis note that Azem always had a habit of sticking their nose into other people's affairs. Nevermind getting repeatedly censured by the Convocation for butting in to change a situation for the better against the Convocation's own rulings. This is a trait that would be inherited by all of their reincarnations; including the Warrior of Light.
Cosmic Motifs: While the rest of the Convocation were associated with constellations, Azem was associated with the sun, using the alchemic symbol of Sol. Fittingly, the sun appears to move across constellations throughout the year, and Azem's role was that of a wanderer. This is another point in favor of Urianger's theory that Azem was the inspiration for Azim and Azeyma, since they're both sun deities. Furthermore, the Ancient's Glyph which appears around you when you invoke Azem's magic, is a golden, stylized sun.
Cowboy Cop: Azem regularly defied the Convocation's rulings on events in favor of pursuing a better outcome with the friends they made in their travels, getting censured numerous times in the process. This proved so irksome to the Convocation that Emet-Selch just groans when Elidibus informs him of Azem's latest antics in "Ere Our Curtain Falls". Despite the risks of associating with such a renegade, Elidibus looked up to Azem and helped them behind the rest of the Convocation's back. This "independent streak" as it were is also the reason why people are able to buy the Warrior's excuse of being Azem's familiar so easily.
Defector from Decadence: They quit the Convocation after Zodiark was summoned and turned down Venat's invitation to join them in summoning Hydaelyn.
Eternal Hero: It's implied — and confirmed in two cases, Ardbert on the First and you the Player Character on the Source — that the pieces of their sundered soul and their every reincarnation have continued to be heroes on all of the Shards.
Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": As is the case with all members of the Convocation of Fourteen, Azem is a title rather than a name but said titles are what all Convocation members go by until they retire. As such, we are not given what Azem's "true" name is.
Everyone Has Standards: An interesting case, as they are effectively this to almost the entirety of their race. Whereas the rest of the Convocation advised against interfering with the incidents and ongoings of the star without good reason, Azem would do it liberally because they were just that kind-natured for everything and everyone around them. When the rest of their society had willingly sacrificed themselves for Zodiark to prevent the Final Days, Azem opted to try to find a non-sacrificial solution. And if anything that follows is what we can go by, the Warrior of Light and their other sundered selves may take some risky solutions, like Ardbert's stint as a Warrior of Darkness, but are the most well-meaning and heroic remnant of the ancients, even moreso than Venat-turned-Hydaelyn herself.
The Ghost: The Defector is the only notable Ancient who wasn't seen all the way into the 5.0 expansion, only mentioned off-hand by other characters. Subverted following The Reveal. Azem's current incarnation is the Player Character, meaning they've been front and center ever since you selected the "new character" option on the main menu. Even when travelling back to the past in the unsundered Elpis in Endwalker, despite being mentioned multiple times, they never show up. This is very likely to avoid a singular, canonical appearance and to let everyone have their own Azem headcanon intact.
Gold and White Are Divine: Unlike the Ascians red glyphs, in keeping with their association with the sun itself, Azem's glyph manifests in shining gold and white when using their Gondor Calls for Aid summon magic.
Gondor Calls for Aid: They had a natural ability to call forth allies to their side when needed. Their crystal allows their reincarnation to do the same from Shadowbringers onward justifying the parties being summoned for raids and trials.
Legacy Character: Like the other members of the Convocation, Azem wasn't the first to hold the position, taking up the role after their mentor Venat decided to step down. They were also the last to hold the seat as no one became the new Azem before the aftermath of the Final Days reached its conclusion.
Light/Darkness Juxtaposition: Despite being associated with the Sun, Azem is usually depicted as being hidden or otherwise out of the spotlight. Tellingly when we see Azem in the Endwalker trailer, Azem is backed by the vast Sun but is otherwise veiled in Darkness and Shadow. This serves as a visual cue that for all of Azem’s association with the Light, Azem was never fully loyal to it. Azem for whatever reason didn’t associate with Hydaelyn nor Zodiark and didn’t participate in either’s creation.
Magnetic Hero: According to Hythlodaeus, though Azem could have called upon the Convocation to deal with the threats they found, they instead preferred to call upon the friends they made in their travels for aid. This not only hints towards their connection to the Warrior of Light, but manifests as a magic hidden within the soul crystal Emet-Selch made in their honor: the ability to summon like-minded allies, even across planes of existence. This even allows them to summon a shade of Emet-Selch himself to pull them back from the Rift.
Odd Friendship: In Endwalker, Azem is considered a complete and utter weirdo by most of the other ancients, to the point that the Warrior is able to excuse almost all of their strange behavior in the unsundered past simply by calling themselves Azem's familar. Their reckless zest for adventure and apparent oddness drives their friend Emet-Selch up the wall. And yet, Emet-Selch always answered Azem's requests for help regardless of the circumstances.
Odd Name Out: Along with Altima and Elidibus, Azem is not named after one of the Scions of Light from Final Fantasy XII. Urianger posits that modern sun deities are named after them, like the Xaela's Azim or Eorzea's Azeyma.
The Paragon Always Rebels: Much like their mentor and predecessor, Azem chose not to join the faction supporting the creation nad maintence of Zodiark. However, they also did not join Venat in creating Hydaelyn. Their intentions are unknown and never hinted at as to why. Though presumably Venat didn't attempt too hard to recruit them, knowing that they would need to be able to reincarnate to become the Warrior of Light in the future.
Positive Friend Influence: In the Pandæmonium raids, Lahabrea grouses that one of the dangerous things about Azem is how their Chronic Hero Syndrome and Bunny-Ears Lawyer habits tended to rub off on others. He cites Elidibus and the Warrior as examples of Azem's influence.
Rank Scales with Asskicking: They're a member of Amaurot's ruling body and worthy successor to Venat, who is a master of multiple forms of combat. In "Ere Our Curtain Falls", their plan to save a village about to be destroyed by a volcanic eruption is to convert the disaster into a tangible being via their creation magicks and then destroy it in order to harmlessly disperse it.
Reincarnated as the Opposite Sex: Azem's gender will always match your player character's, so if you're playing a woman then Azem is too, but even in such a situation Ardbert will always be a man.
Shrouded in Myth: Their adventures in the ancient times inspired many myths, including Xaela's Azim, Eorzea's Azeyma, and the legends of the ancient first Warrior of Light.
Take a Third Option: Rather than stand for either Zodiark or Hydaelyn, for whatever reason, they stood neutral to the summonings.
Teen Genius: Or rough equivalent given the ancients incredibly long lifespans. Venat notes that Azem's strength was astounding even though they're half her age, taking a Limit Break that would fell most opponents and continuing to stand. Azem's reincarnation, the Warrior, would repeat this feat when they travel to the unsundered past, convincing Argos that they are worthy of his back.
True Companions:
- This was Azem's true power and reflected in Azem's signature ability. No matter where they were or how far away, Azem's power was able to call forth true friends in times of need. Neither the span of entire dimensions nor the veil of death is enough to stop it. No matter what,Azem's allies will be able to heed the call. You are able to call upon seven other heroes to stop Elidibus, and eventually call upon Emet-Selch who was in the Lifestream to your side to help you. Tellingly you are able to do all of this with only the incantation alone, there was no need for the vast aether of the Crystal Tower or some complex spell. Azem's innate desires alone were enough to do what the Ascians deemed impossible.
- According to Hythlodaeus, Emet-Selch would answer Azem's call no matter what, regardless of Emet-Selch's constant grousings about their recklessly adventurous actions. Hythlodaeus was also all too eager to help Azem whenever he could. Which is something that they both prove when they answer the Warrior of Light’s summoning in Ultima Thule in Endwalker.
- During the final act of Endwalker, as each of the Scions is moved to sacrifice their existence so their friends can continue onwards, Y'shtola is quick to point out to the Warrior of Light that Azem's summoning magic is powerful enough to, indeed, restore all of them from even a mere fragment of their souls. But she quickly adds to the Warrior that they should not do this, as undoing their sacrifice would also undo what the sacrifice was for.
Uniformity Exception: Azem wears a black mask in contrast to the rest of the Convocation's red. Presumably this is the mark of the Traveler, much like how Elidibus's white robes are the mark of the Emissary, or an ancient who decides to continue living after they've felt they've accomplished all their goals.
Unperson: Should a member of the Convocation defect, as Azem did, they don't get to construct a memory crystal. To the Ancients, that seems to be the equivalent of being stricken from history. Azem's best friend Emet-Selch, however, defied the rest of the Convocation and secretly made a crystal for them.
Vibrant Orange: Their memory crystal is orange, befitting a Magnetic Hero who helps whoever needs a hand.
Walking the Earth: While Amaurot was always their home, their duties to learn about other cultures and bring back their findings required them to venture into the outside world to meet other peoples, learn about them, and help in any way they could. As such, one of their epithets is "The Traveler".
Wild Card: Refused to have any part in the summoning of both Zodiark and later Hydaelyn, instead trying to find their own solution to the problems the Ancients faced rather than siding with either of the main camps they broke into.

The Watcher

An entity created by Hydaelyn to watch over Zodiark's prison on the moon.

Artificial Human: Is actually a construct based on one of Venat's friends and fellow researchers. The Omega questline all but confirms he's also outright the reincarnation of the friend in question.
Dead Alternate Counterpart: Aside from his rejoined counterparts, his counterpart on the Thirteenth was killed by Golbez, an act which triggered the flood of darkness that transformed that world into the Void.
Early-Bird Cameo: Tales from the Dawn: A Friendship of Record would reveal he was the Ancient seen conversing with Venat in Anamnesis Anyder in patch 5.2, nearly two years before players met him in Endwalker.
Last of His Kind: By the end of Endwalker and its Raid storylines after the Twelve's departure, the Watcher is the only one remaining of the gods created by Hydaelyn.
Light Is Good: Unlike the other spectral Ancients the player has met, which wore black robes, the Watcher wears a white robe with bright blue and purple gradients and is a benevolent servant of Hydaelyn.
Mr. Exposition: They give a lot of lore and plot information in their conversations with them.
Mythology Gag: He's an Ascian counterpart to Fusoya in role if not name — a member of an ancient civilization that lives on the moon watching over a Sealed Evil in a Can and the remnants of their civilization, who in a sense are "sleeping" and waiting for the day they can be reborn. He also wears a unique variant of the usual Ascian robe with a blue gradient at the bottom and a purple gradient around the top, mirroring Fusoya's robes.
No Name Given: He's only referred to as "The Watcher" and has no proper name. Even after his history with Venat was fleshed out, he remained nameless.
One Extra Member: In 6.3, it's revealed one exists for the Twelve who is nameless and assigned a charge to watch over alone. The Watcher fits both criteria, causing G'raha to immediately suggest him as the most likely candidate, which is later confirmed.
Platonic Life-Partners: This is what his past self seems to have been with Venat, and the feeling has survived even after his reincarnation.
Physical God: While not as powerful as his Eorzea-dwelling counterparts due to not having a faith associated with him, the Watcher is still one of the gods Hydaelyn created to watch over the post-Sundering world.
Reincarnation: The Omega sidquests heavily imply, if not confirm, that instead of just being an Artificial Human made in the image of a friend of Venat, he's actually outright his reincarnation. The man in question, who sacrificed his life to help Venat create Hydaelyn, prayed that he would still be able to help her after this. Venat, now Hydaelyn, granted his wish and manipulated his soul so that it would be placed into an artificial existence she created, effectively reincarnating him. She mimicked the process to the point of limiting his memories to a very few specific informations. Like it sometimes happens in proper reincarnation however, some of these memories and feelings still managed to survive despite her best efforts, due to how strong they were.

Characters / Final Fantasy XIV - The World Unsundered

Due to the nature of the World Unsundered, all Shadowbringers spoilers will be unmarked, as well some Endwalker spoilers. You Have Been Warned!

Hythlodaeus

Voiced by: Soichiro Hoshi (JP), Toby Regbo (EN), Aurélien Raynal (FR), Sebastian Fuchs (DE)

Voiced by: Kikuko Inoue (JP), Joanna Roth (EN), Véronique Augereau (FR), Antje von der Ahe (DE)

Voiced by: Yoshitsugu Matsuoka (JP), Jeremy Ang Jones (EN), Bastien Bourlé (FR), Peter Becker (DE)

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Characters / Final Fantasy XIV - The World Unsundered

Edit Locked

Due to the nature of the World Unsundered, all Shadowbringers spoilers will be unmarked, as well some Endwalker spoilers. You Have Been Warned!

Hythlodaeus

Voiced by: Soichiro Hoshi (JP), Toby Regbo (EN), Aurélien Raynal (FR), Sebastian Fuchs (DE)

Voiced by: Kikuko Inoue (JP), Joanna Roth (EN), Véronique Augereau (FR), Antje von der Ahe (DE)

Voiced by: Yoshitsugu Matsuoka (JP), Jeremy Ang Jones (EN), Bastien Bourlé (FR), Peter Becker (DE)

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