Ascian The Ascians , also referred to as Paragons and Bringers of Chaos , are a mysterious cult of supernatural beings in " Final Fantasy XIV " who taught the beast races of Eorzea how to summon primal s , which they consider as desire personified , from the aether . Legends say that Ascians arrive in times of need to lead those in darkness to the light of the primals , but in truth they have hidden agendas of their own revolving around their deity Zodiark . Ascians generally appear as masked men wearing black robes , or in some cases as a skeletal lich , but it is implied these forms are " crude approximations " by those who perceive them and their true forms are unknown . There are also Ascian Primes , fusion forms the Ascian Overlords use as a last resort in a fight . Profile . Each Ascian overlord , with the exception of Elidibus , is dressed in the same uniform : A black leather hooded coat with purple markings . They bear silvery adornments , such as pauldrons , done in a spiky , symmetrical style . When they ready for combat , a red glyph appears over their face . The overlords can use dark crystals to convert a person into a host body , using it to suit their ends . They wear masks to further hide their identities , the lesser Ascians wearing a gray mask while overlords bear a red stylized mask . One notable exception is Travanchet , who appears simply as an Elezen pirate , distinguished only by the lack of a shadow . The skeletal Ascians have a different appearance , similar to contemporary representations of grim reapers , with skeletal bodies and long habits with hoods that cover their heads and faces . Their legs are not visible , and they have skeletal bird - like wings sprouting from their back . The Ascian Primes are similar to the bestial Ascians , but are larger with their faces being composed of two Ascian Overlords ' masks combined . When an Ascian dies , its soul ends up at the Aetherial Rift between Hydaelyn and the Void where they reconstitute and later acquire a new host body . While Ascian overlords can possess other living beings and return to the rift , there are implications lesser Ascians are more restricted , as they use the bodies of the deceased and cannot return to the rift if slain . While white auracite can temporarily seal Ascians , pure aether could effectively destroy them . The method usually involves trapping an Ascian in white auracite and then shattering it with a blast of pure aether , or the Ascian ' s displaced essence can be absorbed by a primal . Story . Before " Final Fantasy XIV " . Having existed for eons , the Ascians have long influenced the history of Hydaelyn by sowing disorder and teaching people the means to summon primals , embodiments of a desire . While legends say that Ascians arrive in times of need to lead those in darkness to the light of the primals , they actually master - mind a series of events that would result in a Rejoining , a cataclysm to further revive their deity Zodiark , known to historians as the Umbral Eras . During the Third Astral Era , the Ascians had persuaded the grief - stricken Tiamat and the Meracydian dragons into reviving Bahamut as a primal . They then also provided the Allagan emperor Xande the means to capture and bind primals , including Bahamut . While Bahamut was sealed in Dalamud , the Warring Triad were imprisoned at Azys Lla to power their aetherochemical research . " Final Fantasy XIV " . The adventurer encounters two mysterious figures called Emerick and Travanchet linked to recent attacks on shipping by the Sahagin beast tribe . Travanchet , who wields mighty powers and , for some reason , does not cast a shadow , later steals a stone " key " from the Miqo ' te sage Y ' shtola before knocking the adventurer unconscious and vanishing . The adventurer is tasked by Minfilia with visiting a Amalj ' aa excavation site in Gridania to negotiate with two of the beast tribes : the Amalj ' aa and the Ixal i ; the two tribes are on the verge of summoning their respective primals , which would cause untold destruction . As the adventurer stops the tribes from going through with the ritual , a bestial Ascian appears and frightens the tribes away . The Sylphs , who are in the process of opening crystal trade with the two tribes again , later mention the Ascians by their alternative name " Paragon , " saying they were the ones who taught the tribes to summon their primals . The Ascian overlord Lahabrea is known to have been watching the unleashing of Bahamut during the Calamity . " A Realm Reborn " . In the aftermath of the Seventh Umbral Era , the Ascians start to emerge from hiding , influencing local criminal groups across Eorzea , the beast tribes , and even the Garlean invasion force lead by Gaius Van Baelsar . Their leader is a masked mage named Lahabrea , first encountered in a vision received by the adventurer from Hydaelyn ' s crystal : Lahabrea appears from a black void and attacks him / her just as the vision ends . As the adventurer goes on the first missions in either Limsa Lominsa , Gridania or Ul ' dah , a black - masked Ascian appears , manipulating events behind the scenes . When the adventurer resolves the threat , he or she is confronted by an unknown Ascian in a black mask who covers the village in darkness and summons a Gargoyle from the Void to fight the adventurer . The adventurer defeats both the Gargoyle and the masked Ascian who vanishes to be replaced by a dark crystal , which shatters as the adventurer approaches . The influence of Ascians is gradually uncovered with recurring sightings of " masked mages " throughout Eorzea . In addition to influencing beast tribes , it is revealed they had a hand in other events , such as spurring the youth of Little Ala Mhigo in a scheme to summon Rhalgr , reports of being behind the strange events at Haukke Manor , and the dark summoner Tristan Nightflicker is revealed to have made a deal with an Ascian to obtain knowledge of primals . Eventually revealed to have possessed the body of Thancred , the Ascian leader Lahabrea unveils his organization ' s true intentions : to revive the dark deity Zodiark by using Gaius and the Ultima Weapon under his control . Though the Ultima Weapon is destroyed and he is purged from Thancred ' s body by the adventurer , Lahabrea regains physical form as he meets up with more primary members of the Ascians — three of them identified as Pashtarot , Igeyorhm , and Nabriales — to make preparations for Zodiark ' s resurrection . Seventh Astral Era . The Ascians begin to be more active in their goal to revive their deity while their emissary Elidibus appears to meet with Minfilia , having a discussion with her before knocking her out in self defense when she refuses to let him leave . Elidibus later explains himself to the adventurer while formally introducing himself before leaving with the promise of meeting again . Two unnamed Ascians , who have noted that Hydaelyn has grown weaker despite the people of Eorzea having survived the " Rejoining " seven times by now , have been teaching the Beast Tribes to summon more powerful versions of their primals . The two observe the adventurer fighting the primals as his or her victory only serves to further the Ascians ' plans . Elsewhere , Lahabrea and Elidibus appear at the side of Thordan VII , implying that the Ascians have been influencing the Archbishop of Ishgard . To combat the Ascians , the Scions of the Seventh Dawn study a counter measure to use against them . Moenbryda , having traveled to Eorzea from Sharlayan to help with Lady Iceheart , hypothesizes that aether can be used destroy an Ascian ' s soul if enough is gathered into a " blade of light . " Nabriales , having questioned Elidibus ' actions and not wanting to wait for another " Rejoining " to naturally occur , decides to take advantage of the adventurer losing Hydaelyn ' s blessing in the aftermath of encountering Midgardsormr , attacking the Scions ' now defenseless headquarters to obtain Louisoix Leveilleur ' s staff for his agenda . It ends with his death when Moenbryda sacrifices her life to prove her theory and Nabriales is thus the first Ascian to be slain . The Ascians make an appearance in Ishgard , with Lahabrea and Igeyorhm offering aid to Thordan VII in his mad quest to end the Dragonsong War as part of their plan to start the Eighth Rejoining . The two Ascians confront the adventurer at the Aetherochemical Research Facility where they intend to kill him or her for interfering . During the battle , the two Ascians find themselves overwhelmed by the party and use the power of the Echo to combine into an Ascian Prime to gain the upper hand . The Ascian Prime is defeated , Lahabrea separating from Igeyorhm before she is destroyed by being sealed in white Auracite ; this is shattered by aether from the left eye of Nidhogg . Thordan appears , revealing he knew of the Ascians ' agenda , and ends their alliance when he becomes King Thordan and destroys Lahabrea ' s physical form , before absorbing the Ascian ' s aether - based essence . After King Thordan ' s defeat and Ishgard joining the Eorzean Alliance , Elidibus notes the imbalance caused by the adventurer will keep them from their goal and decides to sick the Warriors of Darkness on the Beastmen as a countermeasure . Though the plan did not go exactly to plan , Elidibus obtained the eyes of Nidhogg and bestows them to theAla Mhigan extremist known as Griffin . A minion of Lahabrea , the Ascian of the Twelth Chalice , reanimates by the body of Tristan ' s brother and attacks many travelers in Thanalan . Once the undead summoner is slain , the Ascian reveals himself , frustrated at losing another pawn . He later attacks the adventurer , Y ' mhitra , and Dancing Wolf , at the Carteneau Flats during an attempt to harness the Dreadwyrm ' s power to achieve a trance , but flees when the trance is achieved . Noting his sudden cowardice , Y ' mhitra suspects lesser Ascians are unable to possess living beings and would perish if no available host is nearby . To test this , she tricks him and his associates into an ambush outside the Great Gubal Library in the Dravanian Hinterlands , knowing the place is too remote for them to find another host . Musical themes . Nearly all appearances of an Ascian in all versions are accompanied by " Without Shadow . " Most boss fights against Ascian overlords use " Thunderer " as the battle theme , while " The Maker ' s Ruin " plays during the battle against Ascian Prime . Etymology . This reflects their distinguishing trait and their musical theme .