FFXIV’s Equilibrium Tells A Tragic Story You Might Have Forgotten
Final Fantasy XIV has a lot to offer lore hounds such as myself. Square Enix’s MMORPG is so packed with stories, tales, and chronicles that it almost suffocates at the seams; it’s a hugely popular game. It’s a good idea to be the little kid who fumbles about, trying to get everything they can while the FFXIV team regales everyone with FFXIV’s main story. It’s a good idea to poke at every NPC and touch items that aren’t yours. You’ll only find the best side stories in the game if you allow a Moogle to seduce you into taking his mail route.
FFXIV even offers snippets from its curious history through songs. It is easy to forget about those stories. The music and any accompanying lyrics for boss fights and dungeons can get lost in the noise of magic casting, monster roars, and the clank clank of a Ninja Catboy (not mine), mucking up their mudra hand gestures. If you look beneath the shouting and screaming, these songs are filled with HTMLXIV legends, which take you on small journeys to mysterious, remote lands far beyond the game’s boundaries. Song lyrics is the best source of FFXIV knowledge.
The Sigh of the Shifting Sea
Masayoshi Token, the long-time game composer, has composed “Equilibrium,” a Heavensward boss music. The optional boss fight with Sophia the Goddess ( Containment Bay) may be missed. You’ll need to search for the Warring Triad questline. You’ll be able to hear the song when you fight Sophia the Goddess in Azys Lla, an ironically godforsaken biomechanical wasteland.
Michael-Christopher Koji Fox, the localization director, wrote the song’s lyrics. Fox wrote most of the lyrics accompanying FFXIV boss fights. This includes the “Locus” backbeat. But, we’ll get to the janglenoise of our gobbiefriends.
Let’s just fall in Equilibrium for now. It’s difficult to resist the pull. The song opens with the repeated, soft chant of Cintamani which is the name for a powerful jewel that’s been referenced in Buddhist and Hindu traditions. Sophia uses a beautiful jewel to summon the scales that will reveal her purpose for being. She is a goddess of primal, pure balance. Equilibrium tells the story of how she is total neutrality and sends a desperate family to their terrible end.
Equilibrium’s “story” takes place on Meracydia. This mysterious continent is located in the southern region planet Hydaelyn. FFXIV still hasn’t set foot on Meracydia, but there are scattered references from raids and NPC chatter. The lyrics of Equilibrium, a great example, speak of a rich land that was destroyed hundreds of years ago by the Allagan Empire, a freakishly advanced, technologically advanced, superhuman being. The Allagan invasion was defeated by the Meracydians, who were eventually steamrolled. This included the father of Equilibrium.
It is devastating to lose a parent in combat. But the main character of this story through this song has another problem. Her mother becomes violent and agitated after the death of her husband. Our protagonist is unable to bear the beatings and the screaming, so she lets slip a desperate prayer. Sophia is the worst choice.
The white of her silken dress, stained in red
Meracydia also has the pantheon, which includes Sephirot, Zurvan, the Demon and Sophia, the Goddess. You may feel off about these deities because you saw them literally destroy Final Fantasy VI in 1994. Yes, Meracydia does pray to the Warring Triad. It’s probably the worst idea in the universe. Our protagonist quickly discovers that they are a literal, testy group.
Sophia, a goddess of justice, love, and mercy, answers the prayers of the heartbroken girl. Her existence revolves around maintaining balance and she is the cold, featureless, faceless face of neutrality. It is a thrill to be able to parlay with such an unpredictable goddess. All I know is that her plan for balance includes drowning me in wealth and willing catboys. Sophia’s prescription for our protagonist is “Kill Your Mother, then Kill You.”
Specifically:
Harmony without a heartbeat
Moonlight is possible without darkness
The heart longs for equilibrium
Balance will take away your worries.
This broken melody is still being played
You can then shoulder it
Only one more step to go
A seaside hearth with no soul
A seaside hearth with no soul.
The FFXIV official blog lists Equilibrium’s full lyrics , and goes a little deeper. It confirms that the death of our protagonist’s dad shattered her family’s equilibrium beyond repair. Then why suffer? Why not just burn the “tainted” chain of fortune at its root? Imagine our protagonist, poised poetically at the edge of a seacliff clutching a knife stained by her mother’s blood. She then takes a one-way journey into the Meracydian sea. Restored balance. All that is needed to live a happy life. Thanos thunderously applauds from someplace.
A Empty Hearth by the Sea
FFXIV is my favorite series, and it tells the best stories. It’s a series that’s often praised for its lore. Perhaps part of the appeal lies in finding those small, but often overlooked gems. Square Enix may not always be a master at subtle storytelling, making FFXIV’s tale-hunts even more compelling.
Don’t be discouraged if you don’t understand Equilibrium’s lyrics at first. Sophia is a difficult fight, even if you don’t try to understand what Ayumi murata is saying. Turn up the volume and retry the fight. You can also Google” that Ffxiv Sophia Song with the Chanting” to interact with community discussions and engage in some discussion about the lyrics. Is the Warrior of Light going to visit this war-blasted continent ever? We don’t yet know. We don’t know yet. However, tidbits such as Equilibrium remind us that there are still reams to explore in Final Fantasy XIV even after the upcoming Endwalker extension supposedly ends the storyline that began with the original launch.
We never know where we will end up in a year or two years. Enjoy Endwalker while you wait. Remember: A god that answers prayers regularly is not always a blessing.
