Hythlodaeus and Why Everyone is Important
It’s no surprise that Hythlodaeus is one of the most beloved characters to come out of FFXIV. He’s charming, loyal, funny, and just downright adorable.
But if we compare him and his talents to other Ancients of his time, he’s pretty…average, despite his keen sight. He can’t transform. He’s pretty terrible at manipulating aether. When he was nominated for the Convocation seat and refused it, people didn’t disagree. They essentially said, “Yep - you’re right. Hades is a better choice.” And went with him instead.
Hythlodaeus himself downplays his own importance, using words like “abysmal” to describe some of his skills. And when other Ancients are soaring to great heights and using their talents to make the Star better, he says that his purpose is to support Azem and Emet-Selch - their dreams, their talents, their purpose.
But if we look at Hythlodaeus’ role in Shadowbringers and Endwalker, we see that his importance is pretty essential. Despite implying he was the weakest link of the Azem/Emet/Hyth trio, he was actually the one holding them together. Once he sacrificed himself to Zodiark, the pair split - Azem going one way and Emet another, with the latter descending into grief and madness because of the loss.
But despite being in Zodiark’s clutches for millennia, Hythlodaeus’ influence remained, and his actions (or the actions of his shade) became critically important to saving the star.
In shade Amaurot, he helped the Warrior stay calm and not succumb to the light, giving them vital information on what happened during the Final Days.
He provided the crystal of Azem, allowing the Warrior to summon allies in important battles that would’ve been lost had they not been there.
On the moon, he stopped the other shades from hindering the Warrior’s progress.
In Elpis, he recognized the Warrior’s essence and convinced Emet-Selch to help, allowing the Warrior to learn of Meteion and Hermes, as well as provide information to Venat for the future.
In Ultima Thule, he helped Emet-Selch bring the Elpis flowers forth, making Meteion realize that all hope hadn’t been extinguished.
If we could ask Hythlodaeus what kind of role he played, he’d probably downplay it and say it was small. After all, he sort of says that in Ultima Thule, saying “he won’t say no to a bit part.” But as we can see, even the the ones who may think they aren’t important, are. Without Hythlodaeus, key events may not have played out, and both Azem and Emet-Selch would’ve had drastically different destinies.
It just goes to show that no matter how “abysmal” we may feel, we are still important. Small things can have big impacts, and even if we aren’t considered the hero who saves the day, our actions still matter. In fact, they may be the very thing that helps save the universe.