mirkemenagerie:

Q: Is there anything more you can tell us about the Garlean Third Eye? Does the size and shape differ by individual? Is it hard like keratin?

MCKF: Oda-san says it definitely varies. Some are small, some are large. There’s variations in color and roundness and size, just like any regular eye (that looks kinda like a pus-filled blister but it’s an actual eye), and just like regular eyes some of them are more effective than others. And yes they are supposedly very hard like keratin.

Q: 

Would the team ever consider creating more side story series like Tales from the Storm outside of the game’s anniversary, or sidequests similar in nature to the Postmoogle series to reveal some of those stories?

MCKF: Yes, actually we do have plans to reveal more of this supplemental information. We also had a question that was asking about Garlemald’s Empress, Varis’s wife, and where is she in all of this, and will she be revealed at a later date, and why does Varis dislike Zenos, and that kind of stuff? Actually these kinda are actually combined. We have plans to reveal a lot more of this supplemental information. How we’re going to do that exactly I’m not really allowed to say right now, but I’d like you all to know that something pretty exciting is in the works and we’ll be able to announce it pretty soon.

Q: Will there be more Raen-centric lore opportunities? Is Sui-no-Sato the only underwater Raen village or are there other villages that fall under the rule of the Ruby Princess?

What of the tribes of Raen said to live in the mountains?

MCKF: According to Oda-san, the Au Ra Raen are actually very central when it comes to Doman and Hingan culture. A lot of the Au Ra that live in Doma and Hingashi are of the Raen clan. They make up a great deal of those two cultures. We see a lot of it in the Ninja quests, common clan names that we hear about in HIngashi and Doma in the side quests, a lot of those are mainly Raen families. When we see anything in the game that’s talking about just kinda in general – in general Hingans are like this, in general Domans are like this – most of the time that’s actually talking about the Au Ra Raen. So that can actually be used as that lore backstory for Au Ra Raen. 

Q: 

In the final cutscene for 4.4, a pair of guards stood by the throne and witnessed the conversation between Varis and his two companions, during which some rather astounding secrets were spoken of freely. Who are these guards, and why are they trusted with such crucial information?

MCKF: I know this! They chose illiterate children, and they cut out their tongues, and forbid them from studying their letters, and they probably kidnapped their parents to make sure they wouldn’t talk and put them in a dungeon somewhere! But Oda-san just said, oh they just vetted them so they’re good. 

Q: Koji, two years ago now you spoke to someone from my FC about channeling aether through ink in one’s body and the potential for arcanima formula via tattoos.

MCKF: Alright, you’re using the highly aetherially conductive ink that you use for creating books and things like that. That’s what it is. Those types of tattoos actually exist. We actually see some in the game already. The Monks’ Pacifist gear, you get like a body paint on your arms, and that’s using that type of aetherially conductive ink. That’s used to guide and channel aether from around you to do those super-powerful actions and assists in those monk attacks. So this actually exists already. We actually talk about this in the second lore book, so this is definitely confirmed.

Q: Who was the last Ala Mhigan queen, the one Zenos mentions in his monologue at the Royal Menagerie? Erik tells us in the monk quests that she helped lead a resistance against Theodoric before she was caught and put to death – but what was her name, where did she come from, what was she like?

MCKF: There are little bits and pieces that hint to what kind of person she actually was in both the game and the two lore books. It’s indirectly established that she was a pretty kickass queen. I guess one would have to be when you’re putting up with this paranoid, power hungry husband that’s killing off all of his subjects towards the end. If you look in the game, it’s said that the queen came from a foreign nation. Actually there’s a user that discovered that all of the plants in the Royal Menagerie are all plants that are taken from the Black Shroud, and because the Royal Menagerie was supposed to be a place created especially for the queen who came from a distant land that would mean that possibly the queen was from [Gridania]? We will be getting more information soon. It’s a cool story.

Q: Has Aulus been confirmed dead? It seemed odd for him to have a huge part in the experiments done on Krile, Fordola and Zenos but was killed off by the Warrior of Light rather quickly, and was never mentioned again.

MCKF: He’s dead. Then again, a certain Legatus also died and we saw how that turned out. Sooooooo. He’s dead today. 

Q: Will there be any sort of canon confirmation regarding the existence of the player races’ other clans? Could there feasibly be Lowlander Hyurs, coastland-dwelling Elezen or gold-scaled Au Ra, for instance?

MCKF: Yes, of course. When the game launched the focus was on Eorzea and we told you all about the different clans that were in Eorzea. As we’re now expanding out over into the East, we have Ilsabard and Othard, we have all these different places where we’re encountering new clans of the same Hyur or Elezen race. So the Hyur that you see in Hingashi, these are neither Midlanders nor Highlanders, they’re an Eastern clan of Hyur. So of course there’ll be a lot more and we have plans in the future of introducing these clans that don’t fit in that two-clan system you have in Eorzea. 

Q:

About how many Padjal are there currently aside from who we’ve met in canon and white mage job quests? Are there more ‘hidden’ Padjal like Gatty, or was she a special case? Also, are there more female Padjal out there than who we’ve already met, or were there perhaps any notable female Padjal in the past?

MCKF: As you know it’s very rare for a young Hyur to change into a Padjal. It’s something that maybe only happens once in a generation. And even though the Padjal live a long time and it happens once in a generation, there’s really not that many at all. According to Oda-san, there may be about ten that are known of and again there could be one or two that are not known, hiding in the forest, parents don’t wanna let them out, you know. Not a lot at all. But definitely in the past there have been a lot of powerful Padjal. 

Q: Limsa Lominsa was said to be founded by Sea Wolves fleeing tyranny in Aerslaent, however, most of the Galadion’s named crew were Elezen / had Elezen sounding names (Guy La Thagran, Jean De Nevelle, La Noscea…). Why is this? Who were they?

MCKF: To give a little bit of background of what happened here: There were these adventurers who were sailing the Northern Empty. They were gonna explore it. Elezen explorers on a boat. There was a storm that wrecked their ship. They all had to abandoned ship and were clinging in the stormy night to some of the broken oars and along comes this giant ship called the Galadion, which is in the process of escaping from the tyranny in Aerslaent. They see these Elezen floundering in the water, and because they’re good people they pick them up, but they tell them we can’t take you back because we’re fleeing right now. We can’t take you where you wanna go, but the Elezen were so grateful that they were willing to pick them up and save them from this tragedy that they said, we’re navigators ourselves and we actually know a place in the south where nobody goes and you can hide there and you can be safe from those that are chasing you. So they became the navigators that actually end up leading them down to the islands which became La Noscea. When they arrived there safe and sound they were so happy. If they hadn’t found those Elezen there they may never have found that spot and might’ve gotten caught. To show their gratitude they named a bunch of the places in La Noscea after those Elezen. 

Q:

When an Ascian possesses a mortal body, living or dead, can they leave it voluntarily, or are they stuck until the body dies (or they are forced out by other means, such as the Blade of Light)?

MCKF: According to Oda-san, while a host dying will definitely kick an Ascian out, death is not exactly necessary for an Ascian to leave. There are many ways. These are usually triggered by some special dramatic circumstances. But as you saw in the [Shadowbringers] trailer and in the keynote, we talked about how Ascians are gonna be a big part of the story in Shadowbringers, and so there’s definitely going to be more info about them there. This will come to light as well as a lot of other things. Where they come from and what their designs are. All of this will come to light in Shadowbringers.

Q:

Where are vampires in Hydaelyn? We have vampire bats, vampiric plants, very vampire like villains in the red mage storyline, and even vampire costumes for halloween. But we have yet to see a genuine bloodsucker.

MCKF: It’s a lot like how we view vampires here on earth. You have these tales long ago of maybe people sucking blood, and that kind of grew into fairytales and legends and myths. Then they started using those names for bats and plants. You can see in the RDM storyline these vampiric-like beings. You can think of it as the same. There are vampiric beings, but are they actually vampires or not? I think that’s up to interpretation. I mean, we’re running out of names for stuff anyways, so it’s only a matter of time before vampire comes out. 

mirkemenagerie:

LINKPEARLS

What are Linkpearls?

“Linkpearls” are the many individual baubles that belong to a collective system of pearls called a “linkshell.” For example, a mercenary company may own a linkshell that hands out individual linkpearls to its members. Other than the specifics of terminology, very little is known about what exactly a linkpearl is, beyond being an item which manipulates aether in a way similar to aetherytes to transmit voices across great distance via the currents of aether running throughout Hydaelyn. It is unclear if the bauble is an actual pearl, a crystal, or some magicked gemstone attuned to the whole linkshell. It’s unclear if naturally occurring linkpearls ever existed at one time, but we do know that, like aetherytes, all of the linkpearls in use today were manufactured.

Lorecast 9 – Fernehalwes: “As you know, I played and worked on Final Fantasy XI. Even back then, I did think that linkpearls just seemed so convenient, but no one ever explained them. So, back when I joined XIV—this was before 1.0 launch, when Iwao-san did the lore—I told him we should have an explanation.

Conveniently, we already had aether. Everything is aether and there’s this sea of aether out in the world and there’s the Lifestream and that’s how people can use aetherytes and so on. Why not have linkpearls follow this reasoning?

We’ve explained before that aetherytes act as beacons. Your body gets drawn towards these beacons so you don’t get pulled into the Lifestream and drift off forever. Linkpearls are very tiny beacons—not ones you could use to teleport—but you can speak into them and then that gets converted into a…packet…of aetherial disturbance which shoots out into the world and is drawn to another beacon that’s been assigned to the same thing, whereby it flows into the beacon and is transformed out. So these packets of disturbed aether fly throughout the world, and they can be disrupted by any other energy, or intercepted. The Garleans are intercepting them—remember Minfilia knew she was probably being listened to—and then you have Garlean technology which can jam linkpearls.

So Iwao-san and I were like, ‘That works. That’s a good idea.’ And then we never got around to explaining it. But we actually decided on it like seven years ago!”

Nonoru: “Little is known about linkpearls, other than that they somehow manipulate the planet’s aether, allowing us to project our voices over long distances, in a similar way to how aetheryte enables bodily transport. Yet the system has many quirks, and missent or missing messages are an everyday occurrence on most linkshell channels. There is a good chance that the message which arrived earlier wasn’t even intended for the Path.”

Baderon: “And before ye go, take this ‘ere linkpearl. No strings attached. If ye find yerself in trouble, just call on me on the aether… Can’t guarantee I’ll answer, though. Now off with ye. I got casks to tap.”

A’shakkal: “I represent the interests of the nations in educating adventurers on the technologies available for strengthening the bonds between them. To that end, I would like to introduce to you the ‘linkshell’. Would you care to hear more? A linkshell enables you to communicate with others over any distance, as if they were before your very eyes!

The only time your physical presence is required is when you wish to give or receive a linkshell.

Would you care to give it a try? I can create a personal linkshell for you now, if you like.”

Ursulie: “In each city-state, you’ll find summoning bells located in convenient spots here and there. Perhaps you have already noticed them. Retainers each possess special linkpearls that can only be contacted via these bells. If you wish to speak with your retainer, all you have to do is ring one.”

Limitations & Flaws of Linkpearls?

1) The first and most glaring limitation of linkpearls is their reliance on stable ambient aether to accurately transmit messages “across the aether.” When in highly unstable aetheric environments, such as Azys Lla (evidenced by Anima questline) or in deep dungeons or when jammed by high aetheric counter-frequencies, the linkpearl will cease to function.

The Raven – Toto-Rak Investigation Team Feared Lost: “No sooner had the party set foot within the dungeon’s dank, foreboding passageways than a problem arose. Lightning aetheric interference, the source of which is presumed to be Imperial, severely degraded the transmission from our correspondent, the Order issue linkpearl loaned to us unable to pierce the haze. After what felt like an interminable length of time in oppressive silence, a fragmented signal finally broke through to us. Our relief would prove to be short-lived, however, as a scene of horror we dared not imagine played out on the aether.”

R’ashaht Rhiki: “Attempts are being made to contact the Ironworks engineers via linkpearl, but aetheric interference is hampering our efforts. On the handful of occasions when we have gotten through, the link has lasted a matter of seconds.”

Fulke: “I ask that you hurry forth from the city, and head to the north and west. The linkpearl message was cut off before we could discern their precise location, but the voices were…desperate. You must help us.”

Cracked Fist: “When the next phase of the operation commences, linkshell communications may be disrupted for a time. Should this happen, messages must be conveyed the old-fashioned way─on foot, or with fire.”

Deputy Post Moogle: “But no, the moon had to go and drop from the sky, causing all of that terrible commotion! Aetherytes were shattered and linkpearls rendered useless. For moons, the poor, wingless people of Eorzea had no way of communicating with each other. …Beyond screaming at the top of their lungs, that is─which no one really approved of, kupo.”

2) Linkpearl waveforms are easily spied upon. Alternatively, after many years of distributing pearls to countless individuals, it’s impossible to keep track of who may have a pearl and who may be listening in on transmissions.

Tataru: “It’s easy to forget how useful linkpearls are, isn’t it? When they work, I mean. And you don’t mind being spied on.”

Sahja Zhwan: “Linkpearls are given by Lady Minfilia to all who walk the Path. There must be thousands of them in circulation. When a walker abandons the Path, they are asked to return the pearl. However, there are many who have left on assignments only to vanish in the field. Their pearls could be anywhere.”

Gegeissa: “We haven’t seen so much as a carrier chocobo for days. And we’re expecting word from our outlying camp, which should have arrived by now. Information far too sensitive to be spoken into a linkpearl, of course.”

Path Companion (Highlander): “Right, well, now that you’re on board, I’ll tell you the best bit. See, these past few turns of the sun, I’ve made a point of listening in to the sylph chatter on the Ashcrown pearl. Most of the time, it ain’t naught but those oversized gourds yattering on about how they tricked some poor sod of an adventurer into doing something menial, but last night, I finally caught something useful…”

Path Companion (Lalafell): “Oh, speaking of Mother, I have her to thank for a rather intriguing piece of information. You see, when I’m at home, she rarely lets me out past the eighteenth bell, so I have lots and lots of time to sit in my room listening to my linkpearl collection. Oh dear…I’m boring you, aren’t I? I-I’m sorry! The point is, I’ve been listening to the Ashcrown pearl nonstop, and that is how I came to overhear the sylphs talking about a Paragon sighting in Paglth’an!”

Wedge: “I’m certain it’s a code─the Illuminati always use coded messages. From what I hear, they’ve developed a special kind of crystal specifically for transmuting linkpearl waveforms.”

3) Apparently, activating a linkpearl isn’t the most intuitive process? Beyond that, longer transmissions may be garbled or the receiver might just completely ignore the transmission, leaving a frustrated caller listening to static.

Nenekko: “I was starting to wonder if you’d ever find me. I borrowed a linkpearl from the Miners’ Guild, intending to contact you – but I wasn’t entirely sure how to use it.”

Momodi: “Already worked out how to use that linkpearl, have you? Maybe you ain’t as dense as you look.”

Roarich: “I have need of rubies. Rubies, you lackwit! Red as blood! Peridots!? No, I’ll not settle for peridots! Green is as dead as your head is dense! <sigh> Gods… My apologies, sir, placing order by linkpearl can be…stressful. I am Roarich. Roarich of Ashgana’s Exporters, if it please you. If your business is not pressing, might it not wait until later?”

Cahernaut: “An assessor by the name of Haldberk at Mealvaan’s Gate keeps a detailed ledger of all the city’s imports and exports. If our goods arrived in Limsa, he will know about it. I’ve tried to contact him via linkpearl on countless occasions, but the assessors are always so terribly busy. They rarely have time to exchange more than a few words – if they answer at all! And that is why I must send someone in person.”

Garleans and Linkpearls

Garleans utilize linkpearls apparently, but they’ve also developed a magitek receiver device that operates similarly to a linkpearl. Very little is known about these devices, but based upon an earlier quote from The Raven, it’s likely that these Receivers operate using lightning aspected aether to transmit and receive coded transmissions.

Guincum: “Hm? You say you found something of interest on one of the imperials you slew? Let me see that. Why…this is a magitek receiver…and it is intact! The Empire uses these metal boxes to communicate with each other, much like we do with linkpearls. Little else is known of them, however, the reason being that they are designed to explode when taken too far form their owners. This one must be defective… At any rate, I must inform the Garlond Ironworks immediately! The Ironworks contact I spoke with expressed a profound interest in the receiver. He believes that they may be able to use it in deciphering the code the Empire employs in all of their communications.”

Minfilia: “Imperial airships and juggernauts have begun dropping linkpearls in all the major city-states on Aldenard and Vylbrand. These linkpearls state that the beast tribes of Eorzea are secretly plotting to call forth unholy eikons and lay waste to the Realm. The message goes on to say that if the city-states were to accept imperial rule, they would be granted the protection of the Empire—on the condition that the citizenry take up arms against the beast tribes.”

Hope this helps, @finnugold!