DAWNTRAIL THEORY #1: An Unpromised Tomorrow became an Unlost World

Aug 02, 2024

SPOILERS

This post has spoilers through Dawntrail Patch 7.01.

Read at your own risk!

This includes spoilers from the MSQ, side quests, and the Arcadian Raid story!

SUMMARY

The Unending Codex tells us of a history that was Unwritten; that history of an Unpromised Tomorrow became an Unlost World.

What if the “Unlost World” - The Golden City, Living Memory, the Everkeep, Alexandria - is not a reflection?

Instead, what if it is what remained of the Source in an alternate timeline, specifically, the one in which the Eighth Umbral Calamity wasn’t unwritten by the events of Shadowbringers?

I think it’s both a possible and thrilling prospect for the future of FFXIV’s story.

NOTE: I based this on a single playthrough, so I am eager to hear feedback, especially anything that I may have misremembered or mischaracterized.

This is just a theory; I acknowledge there are other possibilities and explanations.

TLDR:

The calamity triggered by Lindblum’s use of weapons of mass destruction in the Storm Surge War occurred in the alternate timeline of the Source after the 8th Umbral Calamity.

Introducing the “**Gatekey-Chalice-Doodad,**” AKA the “**GCD**.” “Dawntrail,” DT MSQ, lv.100

WHAT WE KNOW (or Can Infer?):

Through You, We Live:

The Tales from the Shadows side story “An Unpromised World” tells the story of the generations of Ironworks staff who toiled to send G’raha Tia and the Crystal Tower to the First. They dreamed of creating an alternate reality for the Source, or, as G’raha put it, to “unwrite” the past. The future they dedicated their lives toward was “unpromised” to themselves, but the hope of it sustained them anyway. They believed life would find a better path, even if those walking upon it would never know to whom they were indebted.

How bittersweet, ironic, and tragic, then, that those very beneficiaries discover the original Source and christen it “An Unlost World.” Because, make no mistake, the original Source is very much lost, so much so that its digital inhabitants welcome the “Oblivion” Wuk Lamat and her crew bring. This isn’t the Endsinger’s nihilism; this is a welcomed rest and peace for a “fraudulent existence” (to borrow a certain Ascian’s phrase).

For the survivors of the original Source who now call Tural home, there is a possibility for a more authentic life and afterlife. Both more fragile, and thus more precious.

All that to say: Wow, does this FFXIV writing team excel in writing thematic inversions across expansions.

But, enough with the poetics…

Here’s my evidence that Alexandria is of an alternate timeline on the Source:

Um…what? “You Are Not Alone,” EW MSQ, lv.90 and “Ever Greater, Ever Brighter,” DT MSQ, lv.95.

“Ever Greater, Ever Brighter” (MSQ, lv.95):

Recall these lines from Endwalker:

Endsinger after you defeat Zodiark: “Ah, at last!”
Meteion when she first speaks within your mind via Dynamis: “Can you hear me?”
Meteion when she returns to herself in Ultima Thule, “Can you…hear me?”
Meteion in The Dead Ends: “Its people sought ever greater freedoms no matter the cost.”1
Fandaniel’s command as Zodiark, “All of existence, bend to my will.”

When Zoraal Ja opens the gate to the Golden City with the Gatekey-Chalice-Doodad (GCD):

???? says, “At last!”
???? asks, “Is some…there? Can…hear me?”
Zoraal Ja confesses, “Deliver me to a new world. One that bends to my will.”

Zoraal Ja asks the stranger to name their price for the power he covets. But we never hear the response. Instead, Sareel Ja speaks and then Zoraal Ja kills him.

Did this being order Zoraal Ja - speaking via Dynamis within Zoraal Ja’s mind - to kill Sareel Ja as proof of his “worthiness” to obtain this power? (And possibly to dispatch with Sareel Ja?)2

And if, and I say if here, this being is either one of Meteion’s sisters or Meteion herself…what has happened to the original Source?

He who says it first gets the credit. Galuf Baldeson, “Pick Up the Pieces,” DT MSQ, lv.96.

“Pick Up the Pieces” (MSQ, lv.96) / “Leafing Through the Past” (MSQ, lv.100):

We learn that the Lalafells of the Southern Sea Isles were rescued from the 5th Umbral Calamity and transported to the First by their revered “Speaker” via the Gatekey-Chalice-Doodad (GCD). They are thus the descendants of the delightful Giott and Dwarves of Kholusia.

They are also the descendants of the Milallas of Alexandria, and it is their skill with calculations that leads to the discovery of electrope, the creation of the barrier that saves Alexandria from a calamity, and, for hundreds of years thereafter, the creation of an artificial Aetherial Sea, the Endless, regulators, and, finally, interdimensional fusion.

And, yes, I said finally for a reason…

“Something Stray in the Neighborhood” (Side Quest, lv.100):

The first attempt at interdimensional fusion was the one that brought Everkeep to Yyasulani. The second was the attempt Wuk Lamat thwarts at story’s end. This is revealed by Oblivion’s Nostalgia:

“So, as I understand it… when Queen Sphene and Zoraal Ja first attempted interdimensional fusion, a few areas within Living Memory suddenly vanished into the rift, including Dreamborough” [emphasis added].

The player also learns that, despite their obvious brilliance, the Dwarves on the First were never able to use the Gatekey-Chalice-Doodad (GCD).

So, there were only two confirmed dimensional “jumps” in Dawntrail’s story - the departure of the South Sea Islanders during the 5th Umbral Calamity and the arrival of Alexandria in Tural in Dawntrail’s present. That’s it.

That means either that Alexandria was always of the First - or - that some contingent of life on the First merged within Alexandria’s barrier when the First rejoined with the Source during the 8th Umbral Calamity.

Here’s why the latter is more likely:

Aw, he couldn’t have said this on the gondola? Well, maybe he did and I was just too busy staring during that close-up on his lips. G’raha Tia, “The Land of Levin,” DT MSQ, lv.97.

“The Land of Levin” (MSQ, lv.97):

When Sphene first makes herself known to Wuk Lamat and crew in Yyasulani, she reveals that the lived experience of interdimensional fusion was unclear in a very significant way - she couldn’t discern at the time whether Alexandria had joined Tuliyollal or whether Tuliyollal had joined Alexandria.

G’raha Tia connects the dots for us:

G'raha Tia: Does this not remind you of the Crystal Tower? How after the Eighth Umbral Calamity, we devised a means to transport the spire across time and space from the Source unto the First? Granted, this is on a much larger scale, if that is indeed what has happened. Not only the people and structures, but also the surrounding environment… Regardless, the people of Lakeland perceived the arrival of the Crystal Tower much as the queen describes her own experience ─ sudden and inexplicable.

Unlike rejoinings, which are apocalyptic events, Alexandria’s interdimensional fusion is much like the technology powering the Crystal Tower’s travel. Both allowed for instantaneous merging with minimal death or destruction. This again suggests that whatever fraction of the First suddenly appeared within Alexandria’s barrier was spared the destruction visited upon the rest of the First during the rejoining.

This quest ends with a message across the player’s screen indicating that the 8th Umbral Calamity was added to the Unending Codex. This is the only time the player’s immersion is interrupted with a request for a little side reading.

“Her People, Her Family” (98):

Sphene’s description of the end of the Storm Surge War implies that Alexandria and Lindblum were of the Source. Much like Black Rose was the precipitating incident that triggered the rejoining of the First in the 8th Umbral Calamity, Lindblum’s use of a weapon of mass destruction wrought devastation far beyond Lindblum’s intention.3 Shards do not survive rejoinings.

Thou shalt not pen a Substack post without his visage! Emet-Selch, “You Are Not Alone,” EW MSQ, lv.90.

“In Search of Discovery” (MSQ, lv.100):

Emet-Selch: All of which is to say: expand your horizons. Go forth and seek discovery. Some of the civilizations in the reflections will surprise you.

Yep, Emet-Selch sent you to Living Memory!

They literally named Dawntrail’s MOST IMPORTANT LORE QUEST “In Search of Discovery.” I think Emet-Selch wants “the bearer of Azem’s crystal” to rescue those still living on the original Source and to dismantle Alexandria’s artificial Aetherial Sea.

More importantly - Wait, did I just suggest that Emet-Selch isn’t of utmost importance!? - Let’s start anew…

The most important evidence for the alternate timeline theory is found in an area of Living Memory called “Blooms of Discovery.”

Our Source’s Tural seems to have a uniquely porous boundary with the First. As Dawntrail unfolds, there are accumulating parallels with and echoes of Novrandt. The Trolley-obsessed crew of Ahm Araeng is baaaaack (Yay, “Agna” LIVES!). Tural has its own Ronkan-like ruins, everything about the duo of Rak’Tika Forest/Ja Tiika Heartland is fabulous, and all hail The Great Serpent of Ronka/Tural (!).

But in Living Memory’s “Blooms of Discovery,” the Warrior of Light, Krile, and Erenville discover that there was no boundary between Alexandria and the First. The Warrior of Light chats with a Millala who relays that when he was alive he didn’t live in Alexandria. Instead, he was from a place where his kind said “Lali-Ho” (Dwarf) and where there was a tree so large one couldn’t see the horizon when beneath it (Rak’Tika). This man lived on the First and died in Alexandria.4

Meanwhile, Cahciua and Erenville debate the proper characterization of a creature based on its physical attributes - beastkin or seedkin? - but the Warrior of Light recognizes the creature immediately as an Echevore from the First.

Despite the gardens bearing a striking resemblance to Il Mheg, Krile remarks that the ecosystem management is full-on Sharlayan. G’raha Tia, while noticeably absent from this conversation (see below), also noted that Alexandria’s arcanist magics were reminiscent of those developed by the south sea islanders on the Source (“The Sanctuary of the Strong” and “Leafing through the Past,” lv.100).5

In sum, these gardens are a hybrid of the First and the Source, with Endless, flora, and fauna known only of the First. This all implies that Alexandria exists in the alternate timeline of the Source after the 8th Umbral Calamity, and that it’s Alexandria’s barrier that allowed for elements of the First to survive and flourish within it.

My Warrior of Light is outraged on Emet-Selch’s behalf over Alexandria’s artificial Aetherial Sea. But whose mess is she actually cleaning up this time?!?! “The Neoteric Witch,” DT MSQ, lv.100.

“The Neoteric Witch” (Arcadian Raids, 100):

Eutrope wants the Warrior of Light’s soul to save her own from the corruption of one too many merges with feral souls. Through this we learn that the people of Alexandria know that soul density varies.

Well, only souls from the Source can become denser, again suggesting that Alexandria is of the Source.

WHAT WE DO NOT KNOW:

What we don’t know - or cannot yet infer - also serves as evidence that Alexandria is from the Source’s original timeline.

“Through the Gate of Gold” (MSQ, lv.99):

We are asked by Y’shtola to confirm what reflection contains Living Memory, but we don’t succeed in this. We only know that the top floor of the Everkeep is encircled by a modern day city that also goes dark when the server is shut down. We have no idea what lies beyond it, if life exists beyond it. It appears as though all remaining life on this star is contained within the barrier and Sphene’s mission suggests that this world’s “natural” Aetherial Sea has been depleted of souls or possibly destroyed.6

“Ever Greater, Ever Brighter” (MSQ, lv.95):

Why can’t Sareel Ja use the Gatekey-Chalice-Doodad (GCD)?7 Why couldn’t the Lalas/Dwarven use it either? Why can Krile and boy king Gulaal Ja use it? Why does Sareel Ja8 tell Zoraal Ja that it can only be him who can wield it?

Can only natives of the original Source use it? If so, this would mean that Zoraal Ja and his mother (about whom we know nothing) are from the original Source.9 Our Azem Speaker too, for that matter.

“In Search of Discovery” (MSQ, lv.100):

As discussed above, the gardens in Blooms of Discovery are a hybrid of the First and the Source. Why, wHy, WHY is G’raha not present for any of these discoveries?

Just as we don’t get confirmation for Y’shtola of what lies beyond the barrier, we never get an opportunity to have the uber-smort duo of Y’shtola and G’raha Tia put all of these things together.

“Ever Greater, Ever Brighter” (MSQ, lv.95):

We don’t know who spoke to Zoraal Ja at the door, and we don’t know what role that being has to play beyond striking up a deal with Zoraal Ja that left Sareel Ja dead.10

Solution 9 for Problem What?

We don’t know what problem “Solution 9” was meant to solve, nor do we know what is on the other floors of the Everkeep.

We are all Team Emet-Selch Now:

Dawntrail flips Shadowbringers on its head by having the Scions defend Emet-Selch’s perspective, i.e., I love that both Alphinaud and G’raha voice that Emet-Selch would deem Everkeep’s artificial Aetherial Sea a moral outrage.

This is conveyed even more beautifully in the characterization of the soul refinery process itself:

Souls are stripped of their “colors.” (This conjures, for me, Emet-Selch peering into the Lifestream for Y’shtola - “What color was her soul again?” Ouch.)
The living are unable to “Remember” that their loved ones “once lived” alongside them.
Living humans bring lasting harm upon the star itself by using up emptied souls as a twisted insurance policy against death - a commercialized and thus more grotesque version of Ascians not allowing their own souls to return to the Aetherial Sea.
The Endless and Living Memory cause even deeper harm, draining the star’s very lifeforce. This too is a bastardization of the Ascians’ rai·son d'ê·tre - seeking to recover and remember the dead has warped into the purest possible threat against the star itself.

The final shot of *Dawntrail* is not of the Gatekey-Chalice-Doodad; it’s Sphene’s crown. Who created and controlled Sphene? “Dawntrail,” DT MSQ, lv.100

The Crown:

We don’t know who is controlling Sphene through her crown, so we don’t know what she was able to tell us, what memories are real or not, or what she wanted to confess to us but never did.

When we meet her, she reveals that she doesn’t know much of anything about what lies beyond Alexandria’s barrier and that it wasn’t clear to her whether Alexandria merged with Tuliyollal or the other way around. I see no reason to not believe her, in no small part because an Endless in the Windspath Gardens in Living Memory reveals that they too do not know what is beyond Alexandria’s barrier (“In Search of Discovery,” MSQ, lv.100).

Whether for good or ill, whomever ultimately created and controls Alexandria has concealed what has happened beyond Alexandria’s borders. It is also quite possible that there are no living successors of those who created Living Memory and Sphene, and, thus, no means of shutting it down on the Source itself.11 That would explain the curious lack of resistance as we shut it down each sector.

Gatekey-Chalice-Doodad (GCD):

The story ends with a point of caution voiced more than once, both in the MSQ and the Role Quests. Arcane relics and sacred relics - including Azem’s Gatekey-Chalice-Doodad (GCD), are neither inherently good nor evil. While I’m certain we will find out how and by whom the GCD was made, I am hoping to be surprised about more of Alexandria and the Unlost World’s story, not to mention the thrill of considering who our long term adversary might be.

And… on that note?

About Sareel Ja:

We still don’t know Sareel Ja’s motivation or endgame.12

Dare I Say It? Was Y’shtola…*wrong*? “Pick Up the Pieces,” DT MSQ, lv.96.

POSSIBILITIES AND PROSPECTS:

My biggest point of frustration with Dawntrail - and I will be writing a future post about this - is how the story of European conquest in the Americas was elided, displaced within Tural as internal threats, or simply leap-frogged over entirely.

But, what if, instead, that history did occur in the Source’s original timeline, if the Garlean Empire (our Roman) morphed into the European colonialism that is being, I would argue, quite carefully avoided?

If so, the lessons that Alphinaud and Alisaie seek for their Garlean friends are grim indeed.

What if the creation of Everkeep’s artificial Aetherial Sea happened because the original Source’s Aetherial Sea was depleted or destroyed entirely?

What if the Final Days overtook the original Source?

What if Azem’s soul, hundreds of years after the Warrior of Light’s time and even more dense, continued to fight on and inadvertantly triggered the Final Days because they never learned about Elpis?

What if Alexandria was an Ascian attempt to preserve the life that remained on a decimated Source? After all, isn’t Sphene all but a digital version of Elidibus? If Elidibus was the will of the star made manifest as the heart of Zodiark, Sphene is much the same for the people of Alexandria.

If this is an alternate timeline, where are Hydaelyn, Emet-Selch, and Elidibus?

Last but not least, I want to also mention that I love another implication here. If this theory proves correct, Y’shtola’s rush to judgment - born of her longing to return to the First - has afforded a us a rare glimpse of Y’shtola being wrong. For me, that humanizes her a bit, and I love it.

A BEAUTIFUL GONDOLA RIDE - The Unpromised Tomorrow Promised

If my theory is correct, G’raha Tia will be the only living person from the Original timeline of the Source who was able to return to witness what became of it. I cannot imagine the pain of the realization, as well as the gratitude for the Ironworks and the Scions for saving the new timeline in the “Unpromised World” he helped to create. That will bring G’raha’s journey full circle, and I find that breathtaking in its sadness and triumph, its grace and its grit.

Breathtaking. And that’s just thinking about a single crazy theory.

If, in the end, I’m proven wrong?

I hope this essay illustrates one more thing.

Maybe the people hasty to dismiss this story are even crazier than I am.

Next essay: Sareel Ja. Cuz…ya know.

“Ever brighter” is just as apt, given that Solution Nine promises “freedom” even from death itself. Not to mention the permanent and false brightness of both Living Memory and Solution Nine.

Speaking of Sareel Ja, he is an Ascian who has a decades-long-and-most desperate-but-as-yet-unspecified-need for the Gatekey-Chalice-Doodad but he cannot use it himself and Zoraal Ja killed him and after Zoraal Ja killed him he reanimated Ketenramm’s body and I think this is abundantly obvious but my friends don’t agree but I will write about this in another theory post… phew…

I will not make the joke… I will not!

And he lived there before the flood because he remembers being able to stand beneath the tree.

Another hint earlier in the story: Sphene offers that Alexandria’s common tongue was surprisingly similar to Turali’s (“A Royal Welcome,” MSQ lv.97).

I wonder if Y’shtola was left behind here because she could probably see whether or not, in particular, the Aetherial Sea is flowing beyond Alexandria’s barrier.

I’ve even wondered if he’s not a miracle birth at all, but another of Gulaal Ja’s adoptees - maybe blue Hoobigos exist on the original Source? (I also still wonder if he pushed Wuk Lamat into that cenote, but I digress.)

I think about this kind of horror, specifically, when I think about the nuclear reactors that span the globe. If there’s a cataclysmic disruption to organized human life, how will those reactors be shut down? How will the spent fuel continue to be cooled? Shuddddderrr…

Glori Squared

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