With patch 6.1 came the new raid Myths of Eorzea in Final Fantasy XIV. It revolves around the 12 gods of Eorzea and their true identities. The solution to the puzzle is quite simple and was revealed in the Shadowbringers expansion.
One of the very first things that new players in FFXIV encounter are the 12 gods of Eorzea. After all, you must choose one of these deities during character creation.
The gods of the Pantheon are associated with one of the 6 elements and have various areas of responsibility, some related to nature such as time, sun, or harvest, but also to cultural aspects like science, navigation, or trade. They include:
- Halone, goddess of war
- Menphina, goddess of love
- Thaliak, god of rivers and knowledge
- Nymeia, goddess of the stars and fate
- Llymlaen, goddess of the sea and navigation
- Oschon, god of the mountains and travelers
- Byregot, god of the arts
- Ralgr, god of destruction
- Azeyma, goddess of the sun
- Nald’Thal, twin gods of life, death, and trade
- Nophica, goddess of abundance and harvest
- Althyk, god of space and time
And while players in-game are confronted with the Twelve at almost every step, through prayers, items, or even insults, they have long been treated merely as mythological figures.
At least until 4 of the 12 gods gave us a good beating in the latest raid.
A raid full of lore bombs
When it was announced about a year ago, the theme of the raid, the 12 gods of Eorzea, was received with great interest. After two expansions where the 24-man raids were collaborations with other Square-Enix games, namely Ivalice and Nier, “Myths of Eorzea” finally brought a “homegrown” raid.
Everything in it was original FFXIV, and it was immediately clear that some serious lore bombs would be dropped. After all, the 12 gods have existed since the release of 1.0, the failed version of FFXIV.
You can now enter the realm of the Twelve, which exists in a reality parallel to the real world, and talk to the gods there and fight them as raid bosses.
At the center of the raid’s story lies the question “Who are the Twelve really?”. Right at the start of the quests, it is made clear that they are neither Primals nor at least not “normal” ones. They were summoned by no one and have no desire to corrupt humans to gain more followers.
So in this aspect, they resemble Hydaelyn, who is considered a Primal but does not act like a classic Primal.
Of course, countless speculations broke out in the community about who the gods could be. Based on some parallels and remarks from NPC characters in the past, there was a tendency to push the Twelve in the direction of the Convocation.
For example, there is the obvious similarity in names between the goddess Azeyma and Azem, the original form of the player character. There are also similarities with the god Nald’Thal.
As the god of death and the underworld, his responsibilities undoubtedly overlap with Emet-Selch, and even his form has certain visual similarities to Hades, such as the robe and “wings”.
But while the 12 gods show individual influences and elements of the Convocation, I don’t think they are based on it. Emet-Selch is not Nald’Thal, just as Fandaniel is not Oschon.
To determine the true identities of the Twelve, however, we do not have to look much further. They were already revealed to us in the Shadowbringers expansion, albeit in an extremely subtle way.
They are not the Convocation, but their opponents, the followers of Venat. This suspicion crept into me when Emet-Selch spoke at the end of Endwalker about the “true identity of the Twelve”.
The way he did this suggested that they were individuals or personalities who had existed before and whom Emet-Selch had known.
When Director Yoshida told in an interview with Famitsu that the “Myths of Eorzea” raid would conclude the loose ends of Amaurot, I watched some old cutscenes from Shadowbringers that further supported my suspicion.
The cutscene in Anamnesis Anyder, where you first learn about Venat, shows not only her but exactly 12 other people. We still know nothing about this extremely important group, even though they have played a key role in the history of the world.
It may not be watertight evidence, but it is still a bit too much to be just coincidence.
That the Twelve have a connection to Amaurot is beyond question. Even if Yoshida had not mentioned it, the buildings in the gods’ domain clearly share the same elements as the buildings in Amaurot.
But I wonder: If the members of the Convocation, i.e., the Ascians, and the Twelve are to be the same people, how could they then exist simultaneously as two different entities?
Since the splitting of the world, the Ascians have tirelessly worked towards reunification, and until recently, there was no reliable way to finally destroy them. This means that even if the Warriors of Light from past ages succeeded in killing the Ascians, they simply switched bodies and carried on.
However, the Twelve have always claimed to watch over humans and support them in times of catastrophe. There are credible eyewitness reports that they were physically present. This strongly contradicts the theory that the members of the Convocation are to be the true identity of the gods.
There’s no reason for the Ascians to be “nice”
The most important point against this is their motives. After the world of Hydaelyn was shattered, the Ascians have devoted themselves to bringing about reunification at any cost.
They have not only instigated wars but also wiped out entire worlds, accepting the deaths of billions in the process.
The Twelve, however, are consistently depicted as positive and protective deities. It is repeatedly stated that during disasters, one of the gods showed humans the way to safety, such as Ralgr for the later inhabitants of Ala Mhigo.
The positive portrayal did not only stem from the legends of humans but also directly from the first “live appearance” of the gods in the raid. In the cutscenes of the raid, Azeyma, Nald’Thal, Ralgr, and Byregot speak of humans as their “children”, just like Hydaelyn.
They regret having to fight us and hurt us, while simultaneously showing pride and joy that we are strong enough to defeat them.
This does not altogether align with the Convocation’s goal of cleansing the planet and restoring it to its original state.
It stands to reason that the Twelve belonged to a faction that is not hostile to the new life on the planet. And that would be the followers of Venat, who no longer wanted to make sacrifices.
I do not rule out the possibility that the Twelve are connected to the Convocation in one way or another. However, a direct connection like “Igeyorhm is Halone” seems too forced. There are too many inconsistencies for that.
What do you think the true identity of the Twelve is? Do you tend to count them among the Convocation or do you think they are someone completely different? Tell us your theories in the comments.
More lore backgrounds from Endwalker can be found here:
