#tempering

[autumnslance]

The Unsundered and Tempering

There's apparently some kinda post going around ruffling jimmies about the Ascians versus the Ancients, with extreme assumptions about a society we see precious little of ourselves in game and mostly get informed of by people still grieving it millennia later.

Most of them antagonists, that like many other antagonists and allies, folks seem to want to take at face value for a lot of what they say, while often ignoring what they do and how, while speaking.

This is something I have noticed among fandom and roleplayers for decades, so it's nothing new, but there's a lot of times the text of any situation is making it clear that even if a character isn't outright lying--even thinks they are being "honest"--that is not necessarily the case.

It also comes back to making sure one is using all the available information--goodness knows I've made a fool of myself before by missing scenes or text that did explain someone's position on lore and characters!

Regardless of how one feels about certain plot points, storylines, or characters, they all inform each other in canon. Different characters say different things at different times in different company. A scene from two expansions ago may inform a new patch cutscene. Actions may contradict words. It all works together.

For an example, since it's come up elsewhere, I've had doubts about how Tempered the Unsundered were from the moment Emet-Selch claimed it, due to one of the last scenes in ARR, cutscene #5 in "Before the Dawn" where we see Lahabrea and Elidibus speak just before Urianger arrives in response to the Emissary's request for a meeting:

Lahabrea: The earth is fertile, and the seeds well sown. By my will, they shall reap salvation unlike any the world has known. Elidibus: By His will. Lahabrea: …By His will.

The Ascians in ARR and HW spend a lot of time telling the WoL about their One True God. Here though, in a moment of privacy before the Archon's arrival, Elidibus has to remind Lahabrea to check his ego as his actions are for Zodiark, not himself.

This is an early indication, alongside Nabriales's actions in the previous patch quests, that not everyone's on the same page in regards to the Ascian agenda. Nor is Zodiark's hold on each red mask absolute--even the ones initially at His summoning.

EDIT: Not to mention Fandaniel's actions in their entirety in Shadowbringers and Endwalker; killing one's god to usher in the end of the world is not the act of a tempered man!

Further doubt is placed on Emet-Selch's claim by Tiamat. We get more of her situation in the Shadowbringers patches, in the "Righteous Indignation" cutscene:

Tiamat: Recall, mortals, that it was I who did first summon my beloved, praying with all my being to bring him forth. You who contend with eikons cannot well be ignorant of the consequence. Alphinaud: …You too were exposed to his influence. That you are yet in possession of your own will is testament to the indomitable strength of your soul. Alphinaud: But were you to meet with Bahamut again, you fear you might succumb. Tiamat: Indeed. Ask the dragonslayer, and he will tell thee the power we of the first brood wield. Were I to lose myself to the eikon's influence, all would pay the price. Tiamat: But it is of little matter. For even had I the strength to resist, I yet lack the strength to break my shackles. This prison shall be my tomb. Alisaie: On the matter of Bahamut's influence, at least, I believe we can be of some assistance. Alisaie: If you're afraid of being enthralled, don't be─we have a cure. And while we've never tried it on one such as you, its basic principles are universal. Tiamat: Speakest thou in earnest? Alphinaud: There is no future for those bound to the past. Alphinaud: That you committed a terrible sin, I do not dispute. But if you feel remorse, you may yet make amends. We offer you that chance. Take it, or you will forever remain a prisoner, not of these cruel shackles, but of your own guilt. Tiamat: A chance to make amends… To lay Bahamut's memory to rest… Tiamat: When our own star faced annihilation, Hydaelyn granted us sanctuary. And now your foes would bring about Her destruction. This I cannot allow. For the debt I owe to Hydaelyn, and to all who have suffered for my sins…I shall fight with you, children of man.

Tiamat is a victim of the purposefully corrupted summoning magic the Ascians distributed. Yet she is not entirely enthralled by the Bahamut she summoned; she fears she would be if she were exposed further to a primal. Tiamat, as a Great Wyrm of the First Brood, is more akin in her aetheric composition to the Unsundered than most others on Hydaelyn. She knows she is influenced by the primal she summoned, and part of her remaining bound is to protect herself and the world from that consequence.

And then she chooses the cure and to move forward with her life, when given the option. As do other enthralled figures among the tribes when granted the option.

While there wasn't yet a cure when still fighting the Unsundered, entreaties to end their crusade and move forward fell on deaf ears--but I doubt very much it was due to Zodiark's influence entirely, and more their own stubborness after having clung to this course for ages.

The first cutscene of "Unto the Heavens" in Endwalker presents finally the intersection of original creation magic and modern summoning, as preparations are made to board the Ragnarok:

Livingway: You've done a fine job of readying the Ragnarok, but for it to take flight, we'll of course need the power of the Mothercrystal. Livingway: Given its immense size, however, transporting it would be an absolute logistical nightmare. Not to mention we'd need to shatter it into tiny shards for feeding to the engines. Livingway: But a brilliant idea came to me: we convert the crystal's energy into forms that can transport themselves! Urianger: Thou wouldst employ summoning…or should I say its precursor─creation magicks. Thancred: Care to explain for our benefit? Urianger: As you may have witnessed at Bestways Burrow, the Loporrits are capable of creation magicks, which they use to shape the moon's environment. Urianger: Yet simple though they make it seem, 'tis a highly advanced and exacting art. To perform it correctly requireth that the wielder holdeth the object in his mind's eye in clearest detail. Alphinaud: Hence the ancients' meticulous management of concepts. Urianger: Drawing upon this art, the Ascians conceived of summoning as we know it. Urianger: A derivative that replaceth the complexity of concepts with the simplicity of zealotry to make manifest a creation. Y'shtola: I see… By combining the Loporrits' magicks and the tribes' faith, we convert the Mothercrystal into primals of purer form and greater obedience. Y'shtola: Summoning as it was intended, one might say. Livingway: Indeed, indeed! Livingway: While Hydaelyn gave us the ability to use creation magicks, She forbade us from using it to make anything possessed of a soul─or similar. Livingway: She didn't say anything about fulfilling the desires of others, though. So! Borrowing our friends' faith, we'll create deities using the Mothercrystal's power, and send them to the Ragnarok! Alisaie: Am I the only one here concerned about the risk of being turned into a tempered minion? Livingway: Oh, right, I was getting to that… From what I've read in Sharlayan tomes, it appears the Ascians incorporated an additional nasty element into their summoning method: the fervent desire to assimilate others into one's belief. Livingway: Beings thus created are instilled with the selfsame desire, and use their powers to enthrall people─starting with the summoner. Livingway: In contrast, our creation magicks─the original and the best, accept no substitutes─don't incorporate any of that rubbish, so there's no risk of tempering. I mean, if the being was on the scale of Zodiark, you might feel a little “tug”…but I think we'll be safe enough.

From what we get here, summoning is quite obviously an offshoot of the original creation energies of the Ancients, but twisted by the thinness of the sundered mortals' aether and using faith and collected aether as a substitute. The tempering part was a later, intentional addition, possibly after the Unsundered had opportunity to examine the effect of Zodiark's summoning on themselves and extrapolating that.

Now, is some of this likely retconning to explain discrepancies in how characters acted and how tempering has been used? Probably! There was supposedly a rewrite of the main Ascian/Hydaelyn/Zodiark storyline, inherited from 1.0, which Stormblood allowed the time and consideration going forward on how they wanted to resolve this long arc. There's a lot in ARR and HW that has been recontextualized to fit, though some things still stand out a bit oddly; they did as good a job as they could, especially given the many years and writers involved.

But from the more recent writings, the intention is not to excuse the Unsundereds' actions with "they were tempered." And the final proof comes from Emet-Selch in Ultima Thule in cutscene #4 of "You Are Not Alone", having been through the preliminary wash cycle of the Lifestream long enough to have had various enchantments removed from him, while yet retaining his self before that too is washed out before reincarnation:

Alisaie: You're leaving!? Emet-Selch: Of course. The encore is finished, and I will not suffer myself to live again by Hydaelyn's magick. Emet-Selch: But more than that, the future you seek is not the past we loved. That is why we fought. And why I lost. Emet-Selch: But though you defeated me, my ideals are inviolate. Invincible. Emet-Selch: Spare me your pity. I have no use for it. If you would do something for me─save our star. Emet-Selch: See this tale to a triumphant conclusion, and with elation in your hearts, bid the final curtain fall. Emet-Selch: Only then may it rise again and a new tale begin─with new parts for all to play.

Through Shadowbringers, Emet-Selch claimed to want to cooperate with the Scions, while only giving bits and pieces of carefully considered information, and moving the goal posts whenever they did prove to him they were able to pass his tests and meet his expectations. It is not until this moment where, his duty to fight finished and the fate of his beloved world in any form at stake, that he is truly honest about what he did and why.

(I may also have an analysis WIP about comparing him and The Sandman's Morpheus and that stubborn refusal to change his mind and ideals, but it's slow going)

So while we mostly do have to go by what characters say, directly to WoL or to other characters in other scenes, each conversation cannot be taken in a vacuum; it is taken into account with their other conversations, with their actions, with other characters' input. And sometimes, the writers change direction, and new information will overwrite the old, even as it builds off of it.

The game is not consistent about Tempering and Summoning, though the double acts of Shadowbringers and Endwalker's story tries to clean that up. I just seriously doubt, from all the evidence, that the Unsundered were as entirely under Zodiark's thumb as say, one of Ifrit's over-hammered thralls and therefore not responsible for their choice and actions, the plans they made and came up with and clung to in stubborn guilt and grief and rage for so long they couldn't do anything else, even when presented proof of other options and chances to change or move forward.

Because another thing ShB and EW have shown us in both MSQ and in the Pandaemonium storyline, is who these men were, to become the Ascians we know, and how their own beliefs shaped them individually when faced with such loss--and how in each case, those past, pre-Zodiark selves would look at the eldritch beings they became by the Seventh era, and be horrified. Not because of any god's influence, but what they were capable of on their own.

...Well OK, Lahabrea already had a pretty good idea of what kind of monster he was capable of becoming. He also chose the worst way to handle it, and never seemed to learn from that. Elidibus and Emet-Selch though, while adamant in their beliefs, were also warped by what they chose to do and be, to where Elidibus even refused to remember his past to avoid the pain, tunneling into his duty with no wavering. Only Emet-Selch chose to remember, wallowing in it, acknowledging the monstrosity of his actions...and choosing to commit them anyway.

EDIT ADDITION: Relevant lore info directly from Banri Oda on Tempering and many other things.

[oliversrarebooks]

Alphinaud Leveilleur should be whumped

I'm almost done with the Heavensward cycle in FFXIV and it's stirred up my ideas for fanfic that I'll never get around to.

Alphinaud Leveilleur being tempered by a Primal, after his character development but before the Scions have any idea of how to reverse tempering.

He's always tagging along the Warrior of Light as she goes to slay Primals, sometimes getting dangerously close to the scene of the action. What if he were captured? Chained up, dragged along by his captors to be thrown at the feet of a Primal. 

His terror as he feels the pull on his mind and realizes what's about to happen, knowing that he'll be turned against his allies and that there is no cure. Knowing that his friends will have no choice but to kill him. Helpless as his precious intellect is drained away, leaving him a mindless slave to a monster. Despairing that the Warrior of Light, who he admires so much, will see him as a mindless drone, his ultimate failure.

When the Warrior of Light rescues him -- too late -- she's furious to see what's become of her adoptive little brother. She sends that Primal back to the Aether with terrifying speed and violence. But it doesn't solve the problem.

The Scions have to imprison Alphinaud for his own good. They debate what to do with him. Y'shtola brings up the uncomfortable elephant in the room: that he might prefer to die than live as a tempered drone. No one could bear to do it. The Warrior of Light certainly isn't volunteering.

The matter is settled when Alisaie arrives and sees the hollow shell that was her brother. No one is touching him. She'll cut down anyone who even gets near him with hostile intent. She will cure the tempering. She will fix this.

Alisaie nearly stabs the Warrior of Light as she approaches, fearing that she's the one who has been appointed to do the sordid execution. It takes some convincing that the Warrior is on her side. When the Warrior finally gets through to her, she holds Alisaie as she cries it out.

(They save him, of course. It's what the Scions do.)

[materialsscienceandengineering]

A type of plastic that can be shape-shifted using tempering

A team of molecular engineers have developed a type of plastic that can be shape-shifted using tempering. In their paper published in the journal Science the team, from the University of Chicago, with a colleagues from the US DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground, the National Institutes of Standards and Technology and the NASA Glenn Research Center, describe how they made their plastic and how well it was able to shape shift when they applied various types of tempering. Haley McAllister and Julia Kalow, with Northwestern University, have published a Perspective piece in the same issue of Science outlining the work. Over the past several years, it has become evident that the use of plastics in products is harmful to not only the environment but also human health—bits of plastic have been found in the soil, the atmosphere, the oceans, and the human body.

Read more.

[thecat-inthehat]

I have a decent number of problems with Emdwalker that amount to no more or less than my problems with other expansions, so I try not to harp too deeply on them. But the one that makes me absolutely livid with rage is the dumbass retcon that the Lopporits said that tempering is just something that Ascians introduced, rather than something inherent to the primal. It’s so fucking stupid and it undermines so many themes and character conflicts by making it an on/off switch that the villains put in for The Evilulz

AGH

[mladenpuljic]

(via Blacksmith Premium T-Shirt by djomla88)

[briiablackwood]

#03 Prompt “Temper” - Forging a New Path

There was a different sort of sense to being in a bustling city. It was more than just the sounds and smells. It was as if she could feel the energies more potently than she could out in the wilds. For one thing, the sea air was more palpable here than it had been back at the company house. She supposed that made sense, given that Limsa Lominsa was much closer to the sea than her new home was. In fact, if she went off the path here, she’d find the sea VERY quickly.

 She was in the big, bustling city for a purpose, as if were. She’d come to drop off her armor to be repaired at the best armory shop that she knew. And due to her knowing the owner and his knowing her background as a miner and smith, she’d gotten permission to do some work for the shop to earn some extra gil. Lioness hadn’t known how spoiled she’d gotten with the regular income from her former company until the money had stopped flowing in. She had a good bit saved away, but she was reluctant to dip into that unless she had to. Though she was rusty in her smelting skills, her friend had given her tasks that didn’t require much finesse, and that she was not as likely to waste good metal in doing until she got her skills back up to par. 

The rhythmic sound of hammers hitting anvils, the hitting of overheated metal being quenched, the roar of the furnaces, and the whoosh of the bellows filled the air like familiar music not long forgotten to the roegadyn. All of this mingled with the sounds of the bustling crowds outside and the calls of seabirds, and the ambient noises of being near the sea. Lioness took a long whiff through her nose, eyes sparkling as she set to work. She’d long since discarded her jacket and shirt in favor of her sleeveless shirt beneath, and sweat was already soaking through due to the heat of the forge. She worked with molten metal, shaping it into what was supposed to be another batch of rivets. But she soon found herself working on something different, a long, bladed weapon taking shape beneath the steady beating of her hammer. She let the metal cool, then heated it again. Tempering, the process was called. It was the process by which one made metal lose its brittleness, to make it so that it would not break when tested. It was an essential step in creating any sort of weapon that wouldn’t break in its first fight. The rhythmic, familiar work meant that her mind started to wander, to consider how she herself had been tempered by the forge of life. She’d endured yet another blow, but she felt that she was on the other side of another round of painful tempering. Like the blade that she was making, she would bend before she broke. She had to.

[goshashka-design]

Crafting Chocolates Unfolded

https://v.ftcdn.net/06/45/26/74/700_F_645267483_GcnR2tnFx7cJPhQjLt1F3AwRjWz7uKRR_ST.mp4   In the captivating video titled “Step into the World of Large-Scale Sweet Manufacturing,” viewers are transported into a realm where the artistry of crafting chocolates takes center stage. This mesmerizing process unfolds before our eyes, revealing the intricate dance between machinery, ingredients, and…

[prathamheattreatment]

Services - Pratham Heat Treatment.

Services we provide are Hardening, Annealing, Tempering, Normalization and Stress Reliving. Pratham Heat Treatments is located in Rabale, Navi Mumbai. Call - Chandan Choudhary - 9137869814

@youtube - https://youtu.be/VZqOwjSgcGI

[mumblesplash]

i say if you’re gonna have the mysterious entities speak in rhyme you might as well commit (EDIT: part 2!)

(posting an unprecedented Part 1 of At Least 3 bc i actually have the entire script and most of the storyboarding for this done already)

[metrials]

The Ultimate Guide to Manufacturing Bricks: A Step-by-Step Process

A brief description of the manufacturing of bricks and four stages i.e., preparation of soil, molding of bricks, drying of bricks and burning of bricks and know more about Importance of understanding the manufacturing process for quality bricks.

Manufacturing Bricks provides a comprehensive step-by-step process for producing high-quality bricks. From sourcing raw materials to molding, drying, firing, and quality control, this guide covers essential techniques and tips to ensure efficient and successful brick production for construction and various other applications."

FOR MORE INFORMACTION PLEASE VISIT OUR SITE

[vedicsystems]

Elevate your chocolate creations to perfection with SOLLICH's portable Tempermeter E6. The technology includes recording of the degree of tempering and documentation of the measured values. Visit us: https://vedicsystems.com/ Or write to us on info@vedicsystems.com

[littlenimart]

early days in the Garden… i love thinking about Aziraphale at peak cute and naïve cherub :^]

[thecat-inthehat]

3. Temper

{hmmm.} yeah fuck it this’ll do. Set during the Warring Triad quests.

(505 words) [masterpost]

__

The tempered cannot be suffered to live, lest they call forth their terrible eikons and lay waste to our glorious Empire.

Heartshattering as it may be, you must put them down. They are not your allies.

The remains of the VIth legion were in tatters, fighting for their lives against the Eikons’ wretched servants while the abominations themselves tried to wake up. Their legatus was making a desperate bid for help and was counting on them to hold the line. 

This mission, entrusted to them by His Radiance, had been nothing but trouble and misfortune since they had crossed the barrier into Azys Lla. The ice-witch had frozen their ship’s engines, the forbidden land was overrun with monsters none had seen for over five millennia, and yet more of their people were being lost to these wretched eikons and their thralls. 

“Get the wounded to the back, and you, guard their retreat!” Cassius snapped at the soldier next to him, who nodded and did as ordered. Their commander wasn’t there, instead choking on his own spittle with a meracydian’s spear through his gut while his mind was burned to ash by the light of the Eikon’s might. 

“Yes, sir!” The soldier’s voice shook, but he didn’t hesitate as he started to pull his comrades back behind the others. Cassius didn’t blame him -- between the meracydians, the Allagan’s accursed monsters, and the eikons themselves, he wouldn’t be sleeping for a long time. If he got out of this alive. 

The tempered cannot be suffered to live, lest they give their strength to their false gods.

A fellow soldier rushed at him, screaming something in a language neither of them knew, their eyes alight with religious frenzy. Cassius didn’t--couldn’t--hesitate, and plunged his gunblade into the soldier’s chest once he dodged the first swipe. He didn’t look at their face as he pulled the trigger, and crumpled to the ground. He didn’t stop to see the hole in the chest where the heart once lay, and couldn’t let himself mourn for one of his closest squadmates. They had died when the Eikon had gotten its claws into them. 

His hands didn’t shake as he reloaded his gunblade, but they so badly wanted to as he leapt to the fore and cut down another of the tempered. He didn’t flinch as another soldier was cut down next to him, and he took up their position to protect the wounded and ranged fighters. He was a good soldier, he would protect his people even if it cost him. 

“Valerianus, get out of there!” 

He didn’t stop to think as another one of the meracydians came rushing for him, their spear held low to drive into his gut if he was careless enough to get caught. He wasn’t, and knocked the weapon to the side so he could kill this one and move onto the next. Another tempered solder took their place, and he almost wept, the pain burning its way through his chest. 

The tempered cannot be suffered to live.

[kudzuoath]

this post Inspired me to draw this. Because Temperance (and all the Gale-mancing Tav's, I'm sure) just wants to let this man to know he's loved and valued and goddamn it hand kisses are high romance and the kind of kiss I'm capable of drawing

(if you saw a different version of this a second ago, i realized the last 'panel' was off and quickly reposted)

[canisalbus]

Giordano please! I want to see him and young Machete.

Giordano di Calabria, the future Archbishop of Naples, and his good-for-nothing apprentice.