Eikon (Final Fantasy XVI)

The ancient mural depicting the Eikons.

Magical beings of godlike strength who dwell within human hosts known as Dominants, only emerging when the Dominant primes. History records eight Eikons in total, each with a unique elemental affinity—one warden each of fire, water, thunder, ice, wind, earth, light, and darkness. The common belief that two Eikons of the same element cannot coexist was shaken by the appearance of a second Eikon of Fire during the imperial attack on Phoenix Gate.

In-game description

Eikons (召喚獣, Shōkanjū?, lit. Summoned Beasts) are powerful, god-like beings that are native to the world of Valisthea in Final Fantasy XVI. They are both worshipped and feared by the people of the realm as protective deities and used as weapons of war. Each Eikon has a respective Dominant, a human host who can call upon their Eikon's power to do battle.

All Eikons are recurring summons from the Final Fantasy series, with each associated with the recurring eight elements from the series.

Characteristics

Artwork of the Eikons by Yoshitaka Amano.

While they are unique in terms of physical appearance, Eikons share some similarities in that they are massive in size, towering over humans. Eikons' bodies are composed of aether, and they can heal their bodies when damaged by absorbing more aether from the environment, even being able to regenerate lost limbs in a matter of seconds. They have been known to transform into even more powerful forms by absorbing massive amounts of concentrated aether, such as from the heart of a Mothercrystal. An Eikon embodies one of the eight elements of the realm: fire, ice, lightning, earth, light, darkness, water, or wind. Eikons' sight, or at least that of Phoenix and Ifrit Risen, is shown to be monochrome with a yellow tint. Some Eikons with humanoid appearance are capable of human speech, though others with more animal characteristics appear to communicate telepathically with each other.

Mythos is able to absorb the aether of other Eikons into their being, disrupting the respective Dominant's ability to channel their Warden. This can be done either willingly or by force. These Dominants can still retain their ability to call upon their Eikon, but it takes greater effort to do so. If the Dominant experiences extreme psychological stress, they might also prime uncontrollably and cause their Eikon to go on a rampage, the Dominant losing a sense of self in the process. The Eikon's Dominant bestowing a part of their elemental capacity onto another is called a "Blessing", which appears to be a similar process to a Mythos acquiring the powers of multiple Eikons without being their original Dominant.

Egis (魔法生物, Mahō seibutsu?, lit. Magical creatures) are aetherial entities conjured both by Eikons and their Dominants. They are beings of any shape that the Eikon has created that can act as extensions of the will of the Dominants who conjured them. Egis are said to be unable to continue to exist should their Eikon master die, though one seeming exception appears in the form of Aruna.

List of Eikons

The Phoenix

Phoenix, the Eikon of Fire.

The Phoenix is the Eikon of Fire, appearing as a giant firebird resembling a hawk or eagle, with orange, green, and yellow feathers and long, peacock-like feathers running from its tail. The Phoenix has control of powerful fire-based magick, able to launch volleys of fireballs and fire a concentrated beam of flame from its mouth to attack its enemies. It has healing powers via its Flames of Rebirth spell. The Dominant of the Phoenix is born into the noble family of the Grand Duchy of Rosaria, with the most recent being Joshua Rosfield, son of Archduke Elwin Rosfield and younger brother of Clive Rosfield.

Ifrit

Ifrit, the second Eikon of Fire.

Ifrit is the second Eikon of Fire (also called the Warden of the Inferno), which takes the form of a dog like being with large horns, a wolf-like muzzle, and a mane of white hair running down the back of its neck. Much like the Phoenix, Ifrit possesses fire-based magick, which allows it to throw fireballs and create powerful explosive blasts that double as protection from attacks, as well as fire a blast of concentrated fire from its mouth. It first appeared during the Night of Flames, where the Holy Empire of Sanbreque launched an attack of Phoenix Gate. The first and only Dominant of Ifrit is Clive Rosfield, son of Archduke Elwin Rosfield and older brother of Joshua Rosfield.

Ifrit Risen, the fusion of the Eikons of Fire.

Ifrit Risen: Ifrit and the Phoenix can combine into a single entity called Ifrit Risen. In this form, Ifrit gains the Phoenix's wings and the ability to launch volleys of fireballs, as well as teleport in a similar manner to the Phoenix Shift.

Shiva

Shiva, the Eikon of Ice.

Shiva is the Eikon of Ice, appearing as a pale-skinned woman with long, platinum-blonde hair adorned with golden ornaments, pointed ears, a large crown on her head, and a white dress. She conjures and manipulates ice for both defensive and offensive purposes, such as launching massive icicles as spears or forming a wall of ice to shield herself, as well as blocking off lava flows. Shiva's Dominant is born among the people of the Northern Territories, the most recent one being Jill Warrick, the princess of the fallen Northern Territories and the ward of House Rosfield. Her powers awakened after she was captured by the Iron Crusade during their invasion of Rosalith following the Night of Flames.

Titan

Titan, the Eikon of Earth.

Titan is the Eikon of Earth, who appears as a massive stone giant, his mouth lacking flesh and leaving his teeth exposed. Titan controls the element of Earth, and is the largest of the Eikons. He is incredibly strong, able to shatter the ground beneath him and create massive fissures with a single stomp and throw large chunks of rock at opponents. He can generate a force field around himself to deflect attacks. Titan's Dominant is Hugo Kupka, the permanent economic advisor to the Dhalmekian Republic, who is blessed with Herculean strength even in his human form.

Titan Lost, the Aether-mutated form of Titan.

Titan Lost: During his battle with Ifrit, Titan undergoes a drastic transformation after consuming the heart of the Drake’s Fang Mothercrystal, becoming a mountain-sized creature known as Titan Lost, possessing several stone tentacles ending in spiked points. In this form, Titan's already immense strength is even further amplified, throwing gigantic boulders while using his tentacles to attack and creating sharp crystal formations across his body to either attack or impede his opponent. Titan Lost could also generate electricity, as a result of the sand and earth whipping around him, although he never uses this in combat. Titan Lost's body is formed around Titan himself, seen when he and Ifrit plummet through the creature's sundered body.

Garuda

Garuda, the Eikon of Wind.

Garuda is the Eikon of Wind, taking the form of a harpy-like creature with two pairs of wings on her upper and lower back, wing-like protrusions on her head, clawed hands and feet, and white and green feathers covering her body. Garuda's power over wind allows her to create powerful storms, such as tornadoes, send blasts of wind at her opponents, and summon her wind-elemental Egis Chirada and Suparna to act as her minions, an ability which is shared with her chosen Dominant. Garuda uses her claws to viciously slash and tear at her enemies' flesh, and her wings allow her to fly at incredible speeds. The most recent Dominant of Garuda is Benedikta Harman, leader of the Royal Intelligencers of Waloed.

Ramuh

Ramuh, the Eikon of Thunder.

Ramuh is the Eikon of Thunder, and takes the form of an elderly man with a long, white beard, wearing a long flowing purple robe and wielding a staff shaped like a lightning bolt. Ramuh can teleport, seen during his brief encounter with Ifrit where he avoided the dark Eikon's attack, and can conjure powerful blasts of purple electricity called Levinbolts. Ramuh’s Dominant is said to have a deeper understanding of the world, though the specifics of this knowledge are unknown. He can use his staff as a ranged weapon, such as when he threw it like a spear to repel Typhon in the Inner Sanctum of Drake's Head. Ramuh's latest Dominant is Cidolfus Telamon, former Lord Commander of the Waloeder Royal Knights and the leader of the Hideaway.

Bahamut

Bahamut, the Eikon of Light.

Bahamut is the Eikon of Light, appearing as a large wyvern with silver scales and massive wings, and a third eye in the center of its head. Its power over light allows it to fire beams of energy from its mouth and hundreds of missile-like energy blasts from its wings. The current Dominant of Bahamut is Dion Lesage, firstborn prince of the Holy Empire of Sanbreque, son of Holy Emperor Sylvestre, and leader of the Holy Order of the Knights Dragoon. As the Empire's state religion, the Greagorian church, reveres dragons as holy creatures, Dion is largely seen as a hero and symbol of hope and justice among his people.

Odin

Odin, the Eikon of Darkness.

Odin is the Eikon of Darkness, taking the appearance of an armored humanoid with a horned helmet who rides the six-legged horse, Sleipnir. Odin possesses control over dark magick, and wields a black blade that can cut through anything and generate deadly energy blasts. This blade can be used by both Odin and his chosen Dominant to deadly effect, having been used by the latter to sever “nigh every sinew” in Clive Rosfield's body, and even part the Naldia Narrow, creating a chasm reaching to the sea floor. Odin's current and only known Dominant is Barnabas Tharmr, king of Waloed.

Leviathan

Leviathan, the Eikon of Water.

Leviathan is the Eikon of Water, appearing as a massive blue serpent with multiple wing-like fins and long tendrils on its body. It possesses control over powerful water magicks, being able to unleash destructive blasts of water and even create tsunamis. Like other Eikons, such as Odin and Garuda, Leviathan can summon Egis, such as Perykos. Leviathan mysteriously vanished around a century ago after the Motes of Water and their Dominant were nearly wiped out by the Holy Empire of Sanbreque and has not been seen since, earning it the nickname "Leviathan the Lost". The Dominant of Leviathan is always born among the people of the Motes of Water tribe, who live in isolation in the Northern Territories region of Mysidia. Leviathan's current dominant is Waljas, a baby from the Motes of Water and the ancestor of Mysidia's tributary, Shula, who has been frozen in time for 80 years.

Leviathan plays a crucial role in "The Rising Tide", the second DLC for Final Fantasy XVI.

Story

The Eikons were created by the being Ultima to serve as vessels of power for his chosen vessel, "Mythos", to absorb and gain enough power to cast his "Raise" spell and reshape the world for his revived species. Whereas "Ifrit Risen" (Ifrit and the Phoenix combined) appears to be an original corporeal form for Ultima's species before they cast aside their flesh to exist as aetherial beings, the other elemental Eikons are shattered aspects of Ultima's power that he "germinated" through humanity by planting the seeds of magic in the tribes that he sent to inhabit the land of Valisthea in time immemorial. Whereas Ifrit was to only awaken in Mythos, the other Eikons were to, in due time, awaken in the descendants of the Motes of Fire (Phoenix), Motes of Ice (Shiva), Motes of Wind (Garuda), Motes of Water (Leviathan), Motes of Lightning (Ramuh), Motes of Earth (Titan), Motes of Light (Bahamut), and Motes of Darkness (Odin). To gather the required aether for his ultimate spell, Raise, Ultima erected eight Mothercrystals across Valisthea by transforming members of his kin, who co-exist as a hivemind, into the crystals' hearts—one for each elemental aspect of his power.

As Eikons are but pieces of Ultima's power given physical form through human flesh, they appear to have no will of their own. Where the forms they assume originate is unknown, though even if Ultima once used bodies that resemble Ifrit Risen, the other Eikon forms appear unique. If the Dominant is not in control of their Eikon when they prime, the Eikon will go on a rampage, lost to primal aggression, similar to how Akashic behave. The purpose of the Eikons is to hold and express this part of Ultima's power until Mythos will come along and absorb it for the purposes of Ultima's master plan.

The Motes of Darkness tribe used to commune with Ultima via the Dzemekys Mothercrystal and formed the Circle of Malius faith that worshiped Ultima as a savior god, whose return the Eikons' appearance would one day herald. As part of their faith, they created a tapestry with visages of these divine beings long before the first Eikon ever awoke. With his plan supposedly in motion, Ultima went to rest, leaving mankind unable to hear the word of god any longer. Mankind forgot about Ultima and developed their own way forward, and began to use the Mothercrystals' shards for power and even develop a skybound civilization using Magitek (magic technology). Use of magic brought forth the Blight, the very same erosion of the land that had once destroyed Ultima's people's civilization and set them to flee to Valisthea in their final bid to restore their culture and way of life with Mythos and Raise.

When Ultima returned, he was displeased to find humanity had developed their own will. When Ultima went to war against the skybound civilization, the Dzemekys crystal was obliterated and the descendants of the Motes of Darkness people eventually migrated from Valisthea to the southern continent.

After countless generations of the original tribes spreading across Valisthea, Eikons began to awaken in certain individuals. By this time all natural magick-users, Bearers, had been enslaved, but Dominants were to not suffer the same fate anywhere but in the Iron Kingdom: they rose to prominence and political power. In Rosaria, the lineage where the Phoenix awakens began to hoard this power for themselves and control the bloodline via cousin marriage to prevent the power from being spread to unknown parts of society. The Dominant of Fire will inherit the ducal throne and the Phoenix is always born in the ducal royal line. In other territories, however, the person who awoke as an Eikon was often a surprise. Odin went unseen in Valisthea as the Motes of Darkness descendants had emigrated long ago, and Leviathan also does not awaken in the modern populace, though the reason for this is unclear. Three of the Mothercrystals have been lost: the Motes of Darkness's crystal that Ultima destroyed in his war against the Fallen, as well as Drake's Eye in the Northern Territories, and Drake's Horn in southern Ash, presumed to have fallen due to the Blight that erodes the land ever faster the more magicks people use.

One day, Barnabas Tharmr journeyed back to Valisthea from the southern continent and revealed himself as the Dominant of Odin, a never-before seen Eikon on the Twins. Using his powers over the element of darkness, Barnabas conquered the continent of Ash and became the king of Waloed. An avid follower of Ultima and able to commune with him, Barnabas began to orchestrate his god's mission to bring all Dominants together, for the time for Mythos and Ifrit to awaken was nigh.

During the Night of Flames in 860, Clive Rosfield, the firstborn son to the ducal line, suddenly primed into Ifrit and went out of control, attacking and seemingly killing Phoenix, his younger brother, Joshua. Joshua survived in secret, whereas no one knew Clive was the second Dominant of Fire, being enslaved to work for the Holy Empire of Sanbreque, unaware he was a Dominant at all. Thirteen years later, Barnabas and Ultima's plans begin to bear fruit when Clive escapes forced servitude and joins Cidolfus Telamon's Bearer-emancipation movement. Barnabas uses his influence and his spy network in the Royal Intelligencers to pit Clive against various trials and ensure he comes into contact with other Dominants, for Clive's body is wont to absorb the other Eikons when a suitable opportunity arises. Ultima manipulates Cid and Clive into destroying the Mothercrystals, thus freeing his kin from serving as their hearts.

Joshua initially comes to believe that Ultima needs both brothers for his scheme, for Ultima's "Ultima Prime" form resembles the combined form of Ifrit and Phoenix. However, in his final moments, Joshua realizes he was wrong: Ultima only needs Clive with the power of the Phoenix. Believing that Clive will persevere, Joshua bestows Phoenix to Clive and passes away. When Clive contains all Eikons, bar Leviathan the Lost, he battles Ultima's rejoined form to reject their plan to remake the world with Raise and abandon humanity a second time. Ultima, as Ultimalius, uses the powers of all the Eikons bar Leviathan, but Clive has grown powerful enough to be able to match him, wielding equal power with the Eikons whose powers now bend to his will. After Clive foils Ultima's plans, he destroys the wellspring of magic in the world, the nexus inside Origin, and magic and Eikons disappear from the world.

As the years pass, Eikons fade out of memory and become but a fable, being carried as stories to future generations in a book called Final Fantasy by Joshua Rosfield.

Etymology and symbolism

"Eikon" is an alternative spelling of "icon", ultimately from Ancient Greek εἰκών (eikōn) meaning "image" or "likeness". Primarily seen in Eastern Orthodox Christianity, an icon is any work of art that depicts a sacred person, object, or event, that is in itself venerated and/or used as an instructional device. In-universe, the ancient mural of the Circle of Malius would be one such "icon". The term also shares a similar pronunciation to Archon, which in Gnosticism are malevolent entities that serve to enforce the demiurge's rule, resembling Eikons' overall role for Ultima, the central figure in the Circle of Malius's dogma.

Much as with real-world religious icons, the summoned creatures of Valisthea are revered by some as well as loathed and feared by others, as are their Dominant hosts. In Japanese, the summons are simply called "summoned beasts". The English term appears to allude to ancient Greek, a recurring motif in the game's themes and namings, as well as to Ultima, the icon worshipped by the Circle of Malius, whose discarded form also appears in the game dubbed as "Infernal Eikon". In the German edition, Eikons are referred to as "Espers". [view · edit · purge]In fiction, an esper (stylized as ESPer) is an individual capable of telepathy and other similar paranormal abilities. The term was apparently coined in this sense by Alfred Bester in his 1950 short story "Oddy and Id" and is derived from the abbreviation ESP for extrasensory perception.

Clive can forge weapons named after the Eikons. Their flavor text denotes that the weapons' names derive from Eikonomachy, allusion to the Titanomachy and the now lost poem depicting it, a war of most of the Titans (the older generation of gods) fighting the Olympians (the younger generation) and their allies.