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Hydaelyn

Primal

The will of the star, ’tis She who has long kept Etheirys turning.

Tales of Hydaelyn’s call and the singular power it was said to bestow ─ the Echo ─ have been recorded throughout history. The nature of this power was not wholly understood, and it was often conflated with another of Her gifts, the “blessing of Light,” which ensured one’s aether would remain uncorrupted by primal tempering. The chosen few also spoke of being summoned to the heart of the star where, according to their testaments, awaited a pure and towering crystal. It is likely that said testaments gave rise to the appellation “Mothercrystal,” as well as the usage of “Hydaelyn” to refer to the star itself, though the precise point at which these terms became commonplace remains unknown. While many sought further knowledge of Her nature ─ the Sharlayan Forum foremost among them ─ few ascertained Hydaelyn’s true identity: a primal with an ancient, Venat, at Her core.

In a time before time, society was governed by the Convocation of Fourteen, upon which Venat held the seat of Azem. An indefatigable and insatiably curious individual, she tired of the academic approach to natural studies, and resolved instead to travel the star and seek its truths through firsthand experience─a journey that she continued even after she abdicated her position. One day, during a visit to Elpis, she chanced to meet with the Warrior of Light, who had come from the future with a warning of calamities to come. Thus did she learn of the Final Days that would befall Etheirys, and of this tragedy’s ultimate cause: Meteion, bearer of myriad fallen worlds’ despair.

To prevent the obliteration of all life, Venat embarked upon a quest that would span millennia. Offering up her own flesh and soul, she summoned and became Hydaelyn. She sundered Her people, who yearned for a past that could never be restored; the god Zodiark, manifestation of that ill-fated wish; and the star itself, which She loved so dearly, into fourteen pieces. The god of Darkness was gaoled within the sundered worlds’ moons, and their people condemned to a fragile and imperfect existence forevermore. However, She knew that from their imperfection─their suffering─would arise the strength to face deepest despair.

So passionate was Her love for mankind, so unwavering Her faith in its potential, that Hydaelyn would never, in the eons that followed, waver in Her belief. Even as shard after shard fell to calamity and were rejoined with the Source, empowering Zodiark as it enervated Her in turn, She stayed the course, awaiting the day when man would prove himself worthy. When at last the time came, and the Scions of the Seventh Dawn triumphed over Her in a battle that burned through Her very soul, She faded away with a smile on her lips and peace in her heart.

Though the Warrior of Light and their comrades would go on to follow the path She had shown them, Hydaelyn was no more. Her love for Her children, however, is eternal.