The Meaning of To the Edge - FFXIV Lyrical Lore

I think one of my favorite things about the aftermath of Endwalker is that we are truly fulfilling our promise to Emet to remember that they once lived. That was his biggest fear out of everything, they everything they worked for and accomplished would fade into obscurity, to be completely forgotten to everyone. That's a big reason why they felt they needed to restore the Unsundered world. But after the events of Endwalker, not only do WE remember, not only do the Scions remember, but now that knowledge is started to branch out into the world. Sharlyans are beginning to study it and their memory crystals, diving into the aethereal sea for answers, and recording the past. Soon enough, the Unsundered world of the Acians will be commonplace in our ancient history. And I think that's so cool.

Even after Endwalker, this is still my favorite song and fight in the whole game.

I just love how every song in ffxiv tells a story, while also just being so catchy, just another reason to love this game

I don't hate Elidibus once 5.3 finally puts him in context. He feels survivors guilt and in his mind is fighting for others. This song including the ticking of time fits. Just like real life civilizations no matter how great the real enemy is time.

“To begin, we must first see the end” Hythlodaeus said the exact same line to Hades when they reunited at the atherial sea. We sundered could not continue walking forward until the story of the ancient came to an end, and the ancient could not move forward to new lives until their sin (the end singer) was gone. Now since both story and sun have been defeated. Just like in the cutscene both ancients and sundered can move forward freely and at peace.

The fact that Soken wrote this while he was fighting cancer in a hospital bed, during the height of the pandemic so he couldn't have visitors...really just punched the meaning higher for me, even beyond the game meaning.

I loved this one the most. Can’t wait for y’all to get to the endwalker ones.

Man this music is like the MGR:R Dynamic. The story is singed and well made tho. I love this kind of stuff

wow!!!! your content, your editing, the whole creative content for this video, impressed me so very much. I had to share this video and your channel to my static because, this was just ....."chef's kiss". Thank you.

11:33 omg the transition here for Elidibus is amazing, yet tragic

It's strange since I actually sort of took a more 'heroic' outlook on the meaning of the lyrics. Still sung from Elidibus' perspective but rather not Elidibus as the Avatar, but as the last of the unsundered and in some ways the pleas of Themis to us, the WoL/Azem. To break it down: "All our Splendor bathed black in silence Our Surrender a somber reverie" Of course referring to this as the ultimate end of the Ancients, he is the last and grand as this finale might seem to us as the player, in the greater scheme of things and compared to the end of days itself, it's just another struggle between a man and a primal on some fragment of a once whole world, and not unlike Emet-Selch before him, Elidibus accepts fighting the WoL is resigning himself to his end. "Slowly drifting, down into twilight left to sifting through fading memories" I imagined this was Elidibus talking about himself, throughout 5.3 he struggled so much to remember anything beyond his duty and could scarcely remember why he did them without another Unsundered to remind him. I think part of what reinforces my own hypothesis of this being about the Ancients accepting their end is that the Hades trial is called 'The Dying Gasp'. "Know our places, for worth is wordless Evanescent this writing on the wall" I don't disagree on this part actually. "Brother, stay this descent to madness Come and save us, catch us before we fall!" This is the big difference, I see this as whatever remains of Themis, the real Elidibus reaching out to us as Azem, recognizing the depths of depravity they've sunk to for a distant hope of reclaiming what they knew as lost, begging us to end this cycle and stop them to preserve what little honor the Ancients still had. "Like Broken Angels wingless Cast from Heaven's Gates (Our slumbering demons awake!) We only fly when falling, Falling far from grace (Hell take us Heaven can wait)" This whole verse I read as Elidibus comparing the Ascians to fallen angels, their efforts to reclaim their world revealing the ugly side of them and their acceptance of this callousness and cruelty in the name of seeing their duties fulfilled. Again, yet more about the idea of Elidibus deep down recognizing how wrong things have gotten and their blind and hungry desire to unsunder the world in many ways going against their own directive of shepherding the star. And this next part is interpreted differently mostly because I misheard part of the lyrics. "Our lives a message in a bottle cast to sea (Disgrace untold and unseen)" As you can see I mistook the simile as an outright metaphor, which weirdly does feel like it changes the connotations. But basically describing the lives of the Ancients and their world as now cast adrift in the sea of time with little hope of ever being known by anyone, and with it the shame and failures of the Ascians being lost with it. "Quick to their ends our candles burn until we're free." A musing or analysis of the workaholic nature of the Convocation members working tirelessly to fulfill their duties, even knowing it puts them in the path of destruction, but in that self-destructive path, namely at the hands of a sundered remnant of a former colleague, they might find a measure of peace in death at last. And that's really the main portion I'm in disagreement on and admittedly just wanted to share my perspective of the lyrical meaning.

I want to be very clear in saying this, I freaking LOVE this series! I would adore it if you could make more, but I know that you're likely quite busy. But yeah, love your videos!

the effort that goes into these videos is just unreal, bravo 👏👏👏

I've never experienced a story like FFXIV - I've been crying for days now, watching all the lore videos. It pains me so much and I don't know why. I just can't stop crying. I wonder why it affects me so much and I wonder when I will finally stop crying. It's like I'm weeping with everyone. The Ascians story has moved me so much, and I feel almost like I'm struggling to get over it. I don't know why I must feel others pain so much as I do, but I can just feel their hopelessness and sorrow. I do feel like I mourn their loss and the loss of them.

how much thought and care goes into this stuff is wild and appreciate the game even more. What an incredible display of creativity and passion shown for this game/franchise.

Thank you so much for the video! This is my favorite song in the game and I wake up on my birthday to find a Lyrical Lore video released on it. Such a wonderful way to start the big three zero 🥰 I know it wasn't anything you could've known I just wanted to thank you for this gift regardless 😊

I really loved this video and it made me quite emotional aaaahhh. Fantastic work and I'll be checking out more of your videos for sure.

LET'S GO, I CRIED TO THIS SONG AGAIN, YESSS

I do mostly agree with your interpretation except on 2 points, Point 1, The PC brings shadow, while Elidbus brings light: While the PC and Elidbus take on the title of Warrior of Darkness and the form of the Warrior of Light respectfully, I do not think that it is the indicator of who is which considering (dark specific job notwithstanding) the PC solves everything by using their connection to light, even in the First, and is supposed to seek light everlasting. While Elidbus is the heart of Zoidark and like his dark brethren wishes to undo what Hyldan's light brought about and restore the sundered world. Furthermore, the song Shadowbringers, which is sung from the Acians point of view, states that "you are the light" and to "run from the light", the later which will tie into the next point I disagree with. Point 2, Hyldan is death's amber embrace: While Hyldan was also a Azem (thus the color amber) and brought about the sundered world, she isn't the one directly killing Elidbus' brothers and sisters, that would be the PC. Elidbus specifically takes this personally and throughout this storyline's cutscenes Elidbus repeatably calls the PC Death.

Aaaaa you've just made my favourite FF14 song that much more special :_WowGraha: