Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker wrapped up the story of Hydaelyn, and did so by both showing her backstory and letting the players finally meet her face to face. Throughout most of the MMO, interactions with Hydaelyn were quite limited. For the first couple of expansions, Hydaelyn is treated as a distant goddess. As the game continued, though, Hydaelyn turns out to be more complex and was even once very human.

There is a lot to understanding Hydaelyn, from her creation to her creations. While she is technically a primal, she is very different from Zodiark, Garuda, Bahamut, and others. It has also been revealed by Square Enix developers that many of Final Fantasy 14's musical themes such as "Answers" and "Dragonsong" are inspired by Hydaelyn's perspective on the matters of war, identity, life, and ideology.

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Hydaelyn's Creation

Split image of Venat.

Hydaelyn was a creation by an ancient named Venat back when Etheirys existed. While the Convocation of 14 decided to solve the issues of the Final Days with a primal named Zodiark, Venat did not approve. Zodiark demanded constant sacrifices, and the Convocation decided they would not only sacrifice their own people but also "lesser" lives from other planets. Venat used to be in the Convocation of 14 as Azem, so she traveled through many worlds and did not think of them to have any lesser value.

With like-minded ancients, Venat sacrificed herself to create Hydaelyn. Unlike Zodiark, who lost its core, Elidibus, Hydaelyn got Venat to be its core personality. When Hydaelyn was created, she sundered Etheirys into 14 fragments and sealed Zodiark into the moon on the Source. The primal then hid into the core of the Source, where she would observe her work and wait for a hero to solve the tragedy of the Final Days and get strong enough to stop Metion and her sisters.

Hydaelyn's Life

Hydaelyn.

Around 12,000 years passed until Endwalker when Hydaelyn's plan came to fruition. In those thousands of years, she weakened with every Calamity the Ascians caused in attempts to reawakened Zodiark. Despite all her suffering, the primal kept Venat's compassion for others.

She allowed Midgardsormr and his first brood to settle on the Source, and she gifted chosen people with her Echo, a power ancient ones wielded in life, that gave people the ability to speak every language, protect themselves from being tempered, and resonate with the souls of others by seeing their past. Those that she gifted with the Echo included the Warrior of Light, Ryne, Ysayle, Minfilia, Krile, Unukalhai, Tenzen, Gunnhildr, and the Warriors of Darkness.

Eventually, the nation of Sharlayan managed to find a way to contact her directly. In their connection, she gave them the plans for a mass evacuation if the Source were to ever fall to the Final Days or Ascians. Due to her weakened state, Hydaelyn could not do much on her own and would instead choose champions to fight on her behalf.

Minfilia was one such champion, and she eventually sacrifices herself to help the weakened Hydaelyn. The primal meets her fate near the end of Endwalker, at the hands of the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. However, she is happy to be defeated, as it proves that the Scions can defeat Metion. During the fight, Hydaelyn wielded a sword and shield similar to Venat.

Post-Endwalker

Split image of Venat and Hydaelyn.

Many fans are still going through Endwalker's story, so theories as to what lies ahead have not been quite explored yet. In terms of Hydaelyn, it appears as though her story is over. However, she did act as a goddess for about 12,000 years.

Without her, there is no doubt there will be different kinds of dangers ahead. It is possible more Eorzeans will find out about Etheirys, Hydaelyn, and Zodiark, and that may give rise to new villains with similar ideas as the Ascians, except this time there would be a Hydaelyn to lead and protect the people. Some fans doubt Hydaelyn's death, though it appears she has faded into the aether, which is what happens to a soul once the body dies in the world of Final Fantasy 14.

Final Fantasy 14 is available now on PC, PS4, and PS5.

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