ABOUT G’RAHAS ‘AWAKENING’ AT THE END OF PATCH 5.3
__________________________________
The mentioned scenario down below is how I’ll personally headcanon everything related to G’raha’s awakening.
While I do not specify the Warrior of Light for this (and that part can still be slightly altered), the core of it will remain the same for everyone.
I am not active on Twitter, check Tumblr-tags regularly or read many Fanfiction; but from what I have seen so far this interpretation down below differs to the general concept of what had happened during the timeskip. Which is exactly why I want to specify and mention this as meta/canon for this blog unless Square Enix will specify the events at a later point.
I will add some side information of why I believe this scenario to be the most realistic one overall – and why I think it fits better than the general concept. This of course, by no means, means that I think everyone’s else perspective is bad in any way, I’ll just not follow it for my G’raha. That’s all.
Feel free to use this information – particularly if you are roleplaying a Warrior of Light – for roleplays! It’s always nice to see that people actually read my headcanons.
The Core of my Meta:
- G’raha of the Source woke up the moment the Warrior of Light opened the Dossal Gate, he was NOT sleeping when the Warrior of Light first found him again inside the Umbilicus
- G’raha was given the choice to merge with his other self while he was awake and NOT in a unconsciousness/sleeping state which means he has willingly accepted it
Now to my explanations.
The fandom’s general perspective is that he was slumbering inside the Syrcus Tower and then awakened by the Warrior of Light – which is definitely, let’s say, a very romantic kind of perspective which I adore as someone who heavily ships them with him. However, as sweet as this seems to be, it would contradict some scenarios we have already experienced in the game’s canon.
Secondly, it always kind of rubbed me wrong to think that – like Beq Lugg had stated – merely the source’s G’raha’s soul recognized the Crystal Exarch’s memories and parts of his soul as his own.
To me it always felt wrong to burden the Source G’raha without giving him this choice – though his soul might recognize the other, I always felt his consciousness might take damage from it nonetheless; perchance knowing deep inside – hence the quick merge – of them being one, but not accepting it quickly enough. Consider that with the merge he suddenly had to bear the memories of an entire being – even if that one was himself – who had lived over one hundred years. Who has seen many unspeakable things. And although I headcanon my G’raha to be no stranger to the concept of sudden death due to his tribe’s origin, it will be a lot to swallow at once.
The G’raha we see in the final scene of the ‘party’, how I like to call it, seems to get along just fine – in fact he even states as much. And yet he mentioned something about the memories of the First – which work just fine for him, to say as much – which kind of made me ponder of how the merging truly happened. To me it simply feels very weird to see G’raha awakening as half the Crystal Exarch at him without having had the chance to accept this new circumstance; without being able to state his own opinion. Even the last short story published by Square Enix he was still given a choice – they asked him if he truly wants to be send to the First.
G’raha always had a choice.
From the moment of sealing himself away to being send to the First. He could always have went another way.
Now, at the peak of his character arc – his redemption arc how I like to call it – he needs to be given such a choice as well. A choice he makes while he’s awake, not while he is sleeping. Saying as much, I consider it somewhat odd to think that he was not given such a choice this time. Which means he should be awake when he decides to accept the Crystal Exarch as himself, just by logic.
Some might say now – well, in that case he could still be asleep when the Warrior of Light arrives and be woken up by them personally and then asked whether he wants to merge or not. This is of course true, but now let’s get to my second point. The point of why I believe that G’raha was already awake when the Warrior of Light found him.
The most prominent examples would be Amon, Xande and even Unei and Doga – all of those awoke again once the entire Crystal Tower complex was awakened. No one had entered the Crystal Tower yet as well; it was the activity and the Tower’s appearance after the Calamity which made them to wake up. We can easily assume that G’raha used similar means to slumber inside the Tower; and I believe that anyone entering the Tower would result in his almost instantaneous awakening. Yes, we see the Dossal Gate closing behind the Warrior of Light again, but this might just be a defensive mechanism and not even related to its caretaker’s current condition. If any kind of activation worked for Xande, it might as well work for him as well. In the very end, it would also make very little sense if – let’s say – an intruder entered who could just straight murder his own caretaker silently.
Now some might even say again that the Warrior of Light carried the Crystal Exarch’s blood, hence the Gate recognized the Warrior of Light as him and opened for them. However, even in this case, I believe it’s unlikely that the activation of the Crystal Tower didn’t take place when it clearly did by opening up. Thus, in my humble opinion, it does not even matter. Which the Warrior of Light opening the Gate, the currently slumbering G’raha would awake by the sudden activation of the Tower.
Another important thing I want to add now is to give an idea how much time passed until the Warrior of Light finds him. I personally headcanon G’raha to be slumbering inside the Umbilicus, which is the heart of the Tower as we know from the main scenario quest. We also know, thanks to the many cutscenes in the Tower and brief mentioning, that the way to the Ocular involves many stairs and might take some time – and for those who are not used to find their way, they might even get lost. Suffice to say, the Warrior of Light can not magically reach him within just a minute.
It is truly had to estimate how long it takes, but I believe about three to five minutes might be realistic here. Ultimately I also think that the Warrior of Light has a very good idea where to find him, after so many visits to the Ocular in the First and knowing of its importance – let alone the fact that the Warrior of Light themselves had conquered the place thus knowing its inside quite well already.
Which means that G’raha has a few minutes to himself – slowly coming to senses, not knowing how long he has even slept. Due to this not knowing much – and I personally headcanon the slumbering process to also affect his own body at least for a few minutes even with this advanced technology – he merely remained where he was. He had no way of knowing who he would met; and once he sees the Warrior of Light entering, he will be confused. Confused, because he knew that it was impossible – though he truly believed in his friend’s genius – to awaken him as quickly. In fact, and I’ve mentioned as much in my headcanons and drabbles already, he had always expected to awaken decades, centuries later if ever. He was prepared to die by never awakening in the first place.
Suffice to say, this moment alone will be awkward – and the atmosphere be even quite dramatic by seeing the facial expressions of the Warrior of Light after seeing him. This part can of course be altered to other people’s personal interpretations, but to me it makes the most sense (and I consider this canon for my own characters), that they all looked at him in full disbelief. That they were relieved and at the same time hurt – seeing him alive and well again, just like he had promised, but at the same time knowing this is not truly ‘him’ just yet. G’raha is – despite being an eccentric who had, according to my personal headcanon very few friendships over the course of his life – not dense. Of course not, he’s an Archon and one of the most brilliant minds. He’ll notice, and he’ll ask.
He will ask why the Warrior of Light is looking at him in such a way – because to him it still feels like less than a day when he had last seen them. And, of course, he would like to know how they managed to wake him up so quickly, already catching that just very little time could have passed since he had sealed himself away.
And I feel at this point the Warrior of Light will need to briefly explain it to him – despite G’raha still being somewhat fatigued, although it is not as bad as it is for the Scions who were separated from their bodies completely. It won’t be an easy task, this is true – but one which G’raha deserves to know and I believe it is part of the Warrior of Light’s promise to the Exarch himself. At the end of the explanation he will be given the choice to merge with his other self.
A choice given not by the Warrior of Light who is merely the messenger of such – but as final plea of the dead Crystal Exarch, the G’raha Tia of another timeline.
Of course such revelation is hard to swallow at first – and also most certainly not what G’raha would have expected to find in the moments of his awakening. But it is a given choice, this as much he understands. And truthfully, he had already accepted the moment he fell into the slumber he would accept any given fate from this point on. Whether it was to die or to live.
In my personal headcanon I imagine that G’raha also noticed that the Warrior of Light indeed wants to see his other self again – for whatever reason this might be – which makes the choice ultimately just much easier. It is not only for the one oath he had sworn to himself, but also for his friend and for everyone else who seemed to believe in his other self that he is more than willing to accept his soul as his own.
And this is how he merged with the Soul Vessel of the Exarch – inside the Umbilicius while the Warrior of Light is present.
It will not be visible – similar to the moment when Unei and Doga lend him his blood – but once the process is done and the empty soul vessel’s light silently grows dim, he’ll open his eyes again and be more than just the G’raha of the Source.
And his words will be: I am finally home.
jbbartram-illu
kaledo-art
gummygunk
blakekathryn
ellievsbear
stormborns
