Primals
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Spoiler Warning : This article contains spoilers! |
- See also: Primal Quests
Primals are powerful creatures that roam Eorzea. Players face primals in difficult Trials or dangerous FATEs. Defeating the primals yield the player powerful weapons, unique armor, special mounts and story or quest progression. The primals are worshiped by various Beastmen scattered across Eorzea, and were known to the Allagan Empire as Eikons, a name still used by the Garleans; on the Thirteenth they are called Eidolons. The energy and prayers of the beastmen awaken the powerful creatures, allowing them to wreck havoc on the mortal realm.
Origin
Arcanists have devised methods of tapping into their own aetherial energy to create semi-sentient, yet fully loyal familiars. This, however, is not the sole method available for drawing forth an animate being from the aether. A second method involving the combining of corporeal aetherial energy (usually amassed in crystalized form) with spiritual aetherial energy (usually represented in the form of faith, prayer, or willpower) in an elaborate summoning ceremony has, in recent years, grown increasingly common amongst the beast tribes of Eorzea. Using this method, powerful god-like beings known as primals can be brought to manifest, allowing them the opportunity to enforce their will on the land. The name primal is derived from the beast tribes' belief that these creatures are deities from which their peoples originate. In addition to primal, the beings have historically also been known as "eikons," by both the Allagan and Garlean Empires who were adamant in their dismissal of the creatures' deific status.
Once a primal has gained a corporeal form, the creature will oft, as a boon, offer protection to, or empower those who summoned it. With corporeal manifestation complete, a primal can also project its own internal aether upon other weak-minded beings, corrupting their hearts and minds and effectively creating obedient followers. This "tempering" can prove a primal's greatest weapon, meaning even a victory against one of the creatures will not be had without great sacrifice. And even these victories are short-lived, as once enough crystals are gathered and another ceremony performed, the demigod can be resummoned as if it never were defeated.
Finally, in addition to the chaos wrought by the beings themselves, the very act of summoning can have adverse effects on the land. The aether required in the summoning and maintaining of the creature's corporeal form will, without fail, draw overmuch from the surrounding environment's life energy, turning once-lush areas into wastelands and disrupting the very balance of the world itself.
Tempering
Those tempered by a primal eventually lose nearly the entirety of their wills, leaving only shells that bend to the whims of the beast who hollowed them. Men in this state will give their own lives as easily as they would their names if it is but the wish of their new master. Not only do these mindless followers provide a formidable army, but also provide the faith needed to resummon the primal, should the being ever lose its corporeal form. Countless attempts, both magical and scientific, have been made to restore a tempered mind to its original state; however, all have ended in failure—the only known cure for this manner of aetherial brainwashing being death.
While even a single exposure to a primal's aether can tear apart a victim's mind, multiple exposures can lead to an eventual degradation and transformation of his body. Leviathan's "drowned" followers have been reported to exhibit physical features more commonly associated with wavekin, while Ramuh's "touched" sylphs will grow extended beards.[1]
In the Main Scenario Quests added in Patch 5.4: Futures Rewritten, it is established that tempering causes a massive imbalance of the target's aether towards a specific aspect determined by the primal they are exposed to. The Scions of the Seventh Dawn discover a cure for tempering that relies on porxies (a type of familiar) to remove aetheric imbalances from the target. This cure was mass-produced and was important for mending relationships between the Eorzean city-states and beastmen, along with counteracting the mass tempering of Garlean soldiers caused by the Telophoroi.
In the Endwalker Main Scenario Quest 
Unto the Heavens, it is further established that the corrupting influence of primals is not inherent to summoning in particular, but was a trait added by the Ascians to further their goals. The original creation magicks reintroduced by the Loporrits allowed the Allied Societies met in the previous expansions to produce benevolent incarnations of their primals to power the Ragnarok's engines for the journey to Ultima Thule.
List of Primals
- Ifrit, the Lord of the Inferno
- Titan, the Lord of Crags
- Garuda, the Lady of the Vortex
- Bahamut, the Dreadwyrm
- Good King Moggle Mog XII, the King of Moogles
- Leviathan, the Lord of the Whorl
- Ramuh, the Lord of Levin
- Shiva, the Lady of Frost
- Odin, the Dark Divinity
- Phoenix, the Firebird
- Enkidu
- Ravana, the Lord of the Hive
- Bismarck, the Lord of the Mists
- King Thordan and the Knights of the Round
- Alexander, the Creator
- Sephirot, the Fiend
- Sophia, the Goddess
- Zurvan, the Demon
- Susano, the Lord of the Revel
- Lakshmi, the Lady of Bliss
- Shinryu, the Worm
- Tsukuyomi, the Lady of the Moon
- Ultima, The High Seraph
- Eureka
- Warrior of Light, Elidibus
- Queen Gunnhildr, the Lady of Blades
- The Magus Sisters, the Harbingers Elect
- Anima, Eikon of Eikons
- Daivadipa
- Asura, the False Manusya
- Zodiark, the Eternal Darkness
- Hydaelyn, the Divine Light
Eden Primals
In the Eden raid series, the player character and Ryne summoned special primals, termed "Eden Primals", to restore elemental balance to the Empty. These differ from traditional primals in the fact that instead of being shaped by the beliefs and prayers of a large group, these were formed exclusively from the player character's recollection of their original incarnations and Ryne's imagination, using Eden to catalyze their summoning.
- Leviathan, Heritor of the Whorl
- Titan, Heritor of Crags
- Ramuh, Heritor of Levin
- Garuda & Ifrit, Heritors of Fury
- Raktapaksa, Heritor of Fury
- Shiva, Heritor of Frost
- Cloud of Darkness, Abyssal Abhorrence (Does not include the Cloud of Darkness's original incarnation, which is a voidsent)
- Fatebreaker, the Dread Hope
- ↑ Encyclopædia Eorzea, p.11