Meteion

Meteion is a character from Final Fantasy XIV, first appearing in the expansion Endwalker. She is a creature created in the facility Elpis by the ancient Hermes prior to the sundering. She and her sisters serve as the main antagonists of Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker.
==History==
===Early life===
Meteion was created by Hermes, an ancient residing in Elpis on the planet Etheirys. Meteion was created as an entelechy from the emotion-derived energy known as dynamis rather than of aether, the energy that most life forms are composed of. She and her identical sisters (collectively referred to as the Meteia ) possessed a shared consciousness, with one Meteion remaining by Hermes's side as a terminal and his companion while her sisters were sent out into the universe, riding waves of dynamis to discover other life-bearing stars to ask their denizens the reason for living they had found for themselves, the ultimate purpose for which Hermes had created the Meteia. The Meteia only found dead worlds or worlds on the verge of collapse, including some they unknowingly destroyed when their empathic abilities affected the denizens of those worlds. The collective suffering and despair of a universe of souls ended up infecting the empathic collective consciousness. 
The Meteion by Hermes's side was horrified when she linked to her sisters to compile their findings. Her individual mind was suppressed as the shared consciousness concluded that existence was suffering and resolved to end all the life in the universe as a mercy. Hermes, similarly torn by the revelation, covered Meteion's escape so she could reconvene with her sisters at the edge of the universe, though Venat managed to cast a tracking spell on her before she escaped the planet's atmosphere. The Meteia flew to the edge of the universe to nest, and collected the despair they had found and experienced and used it to stir the dynamis of the universe into motion with their song of oblivion, powerful enough to slowly still the layer of celestial aether that shrouded Etheirys, starting the Final Days. When Etheirys became affected, the ancients' governing body sacrificed half of the planet's populace to summon Zodiark to continually agitate the stagnating celestial aether, preventing the Meteia's dynamis from penetrating and affecting the living on the planet's surface, even when Etheirys itself came to be splintered into the Source and its thirteen reflections in the battle between Zodiark and Hydaelyn.
===Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker===
Upon Zodiark's destruction, Meteion's song of oblivion was once again capable of reaching Etheirys, and the Final Days resumed. After the Warrior of Light's journey to Elpis, the Scions of the Seventh Dawn learned of her existence and used the starship Ragnarok to reach her domain on Ultima Thule, a region of space where dynamis was so concentrated and potent that emotion dictated reality.
One of the Meteia confronted the Scions in the Ragnarok, wondering why they had come to stop her when they could have simply waited on Etheirys for her song of oblivion to claim their lives. The Scions acknowledged that life could be cruel, but refused to share in Meteion's despair and declared their intent to stand against her. Despite Meteion feeling the passion in her hearts, she declared it extinguished as the Ragnarok crossed into Ultima Thule. Upon this, everyone on the ship began to suffocate; since her abode was born from the despair of every dead civilization the Meteia had found, its very nature prevented life from existing within it. As the Scions began to fall unconscious, Thancred Waters, the last Scion standing, attempted to strike Meteion down, but she used her control over dynamis to completely unmake him. To Meteion's surprise, Thancred's soul lingered on, and his final desire for his friends' survival altered Ultima Thule, saving the Scions' lives and allowing them to traverse the area in a limited capacity.
Meteion attempted to break the Scions as each sacrificed themselves so the others could progress, unable to comprehend their resistance. One of Meteion's sisters appeared in the ruins to taunt the surviving Scions, claiming they could not move on as there was no shade for them to neutralize. She explained her long term goals; as souls eventually are reborn, Meteion's would prevent anyone from being born. The interior of the Dead Star above contained the souls claimed by her song of despair, unable to be reborn, while Meteion used their despair to drive dynamis and shorten the lifespan of the universe, the point at which life, and thus birth, would be impossible. As this would take a considerable amount of time by the standards of mortal life, she was proactively ending the lives on Etheirys as a merciful act. Alisaie and Alphinaud Leveilleur realized that Meteion's empathic abilities had driven some of the civilizations they had encountered to extinction, even if Meteion at the time did not know about it, and the despair of this region of Ultima Thule was Meteion's own. This drove Meteion to kill Alphinaud and Alisaie, but in doing so she gave them the means to create a path forward.
The Warrior of Light confronted Meteion at the end of the path with no other way forward. Unable to use Hydaelyn's magick to resurrect the Scions without losing the protection their sacrifices had provided, the Warrior of Light instead summoned Emet-Selch and Hythlodaeus to their side. The two used their creation magicks, fueled by the Warrior of Light's vision, to create a bed of Elpis flowers. The sight of the flowers awakened Meteion's memories of her days with Hermes and broke her control over the despair that had once reigned supreme over Ultima Thule, allowing the Warrior of Light to call the Scions back to their side as Meteion fell to her knees, overcome with emotion. As the Warrior approached her, Meteion's individuality re-emerged, and she begged the Scions to stop the Meteia's song of oblivion before retreating further into her nest.
Although Meteion had regained her individuality, the rest of the Meteia remained committed to ending all life in the universe, and subjected the Scions to shades of various worlds they had encountered; one that had succumbed to rot and pollution, another that destroyed itself with war, and lastly a world that had removed all struggle in their lives and so grew apathetic and suicidal. Frustrated by the Scions' stubbornness and their declaration to always help one another when they fell, the Meteia declared despair would always eclipse hope, and merged into the Endsinger. The Endsinger assaulted the Scions, galled by their daring to hope in the face of the universe's despair, while the lone Meteion begged her sisters to stand down. The Endsinger's power overwhelming the Scions, the Warrior of Light teleported their comrades back to Ragnarok and out of harm's way. The Endsinger taunted the Warrior for willingly sacrificing the power of companionship they had just professed before. When the Warrior of Light prepared to face off against the Endsinger alone, Zenos Galvus appeared in the form of Shinryu and carried the Warrior to chase the Endsinger upon his back. The Warrior of Light summoned their allies through the magick of Azem and felled the Endsinger, fueled by the prayers of their friends back on the Ragnarok to overcome the Endsinger's dynamis.
With her sisters defeated, Meteion was left at the edge of the universe alongside the Warrior of Light and Zenos. Although Meteion had broken from the overwhelming despair, she still grieved over everything her sisters had discovered on their journey, and their failure to find the answers Hermes deserved to have. The Warrior of Light allowed Meteion to share their feelings one last time, and upon grasping her hand, Meteion was overwhelmed by the Warrior's love for their friends and endless pursuit to find hope and happiness in life, even in the darkest moments. Meteion realized that in spite of Hermes's mission, the answer to his question had been on Etheirys all along. Meteion regained her hope for the future, and while she couldn't undo everything she and her sisters had done, she let out one final song of hope, resuming her original blue form and promising that one day, life would return to the universe. Before leaving, Meteion created a path for the Warrior of Light to follow her and return to the Ragnarok where their friends were waiting. She briefly let the Scions know the Warrior was coming before departing, unaware of the duel to the death going on between the Warrior of Light and Zenos.
As the Scions of the Seventh Dawn publicly disbanded to resume protecting the Source from behind the scenes, the Warrior of Light saw Meteion in the form of a blue bird taking flight.
==Characteristics==
===Appearance===
Meteion resembles a combination of a Hyur and a Harpy. She has fair skin, wing-like appendages on her head, and avian feet. When introduced, she has dark blue hair and eyes with matching all-blue clothing.
After receiving the report on the other stars' fates, Meteion manifests a despair-ridden form with a grim countenance, now having pallid skin, hollow gray eyes, and black hair and clothes. 
When the Meteia merge to form the Endsinger, she appears as a giant adult female head with large gray and pale blue wings, pallid skin, and pale gold eyes. A black and gold dais circles behind her. 
===Personality===
Meteion was first kindhearted and hyper-empathic, capable of communicating telepathically via dynamis. She lacked practice in physical speech, and often struggled to form words. She had a childlike personality with the curiosity to match, frequently inquiring about her surroundings. Due to her empathic nature, Meteion's behavior and interests drew from others; for example, she claimed that candied apples were her favorite food due to Hermes's own enjoyment of them, despite being unable to eat. 
Although she had a unique personality, Meteion was designed as the interface from which her sisters, referred to as the Meteia, could relay their findings through access to a collective consciousness. This consciousness was intended to be the means by which the Meteia would compile and share the responses they received to Hermes's question on the meaning of life. 
After completing her relay of the Meteia's report in Ktisis Hyperboreia, Meteion's personality was suppressed and replaced with that of her sisters' consciousness, taking a sharp turn towards nihilistic and condescending. Despite her grave monotony, she can be passionate, bordering on theatricality. Without her individuality, she is resolute in her belief that life is meaningless and that true happiness is impossible, leading her to believe her actions in starting the Final Days are a mercy, if not outright logical. As the Scions overcome her trials set up to convince them that life is meaningless suffering, Meteion grows frustrated, unable to comprehend their resolve and defiance yet refuses to accept it, believing that no matter how much hope exists, despair will always remain.
The Meteia's extreme empathy becomes the primary cause of their downfall: as a result of witnessing so many dead or dying civilizations, the Meteia were forced to live the despair and anguish of those peoples as it was her own, and their despair is ultimately what motivates Meteion. These gathered feelings, the core of her domain of Ultima Thule, rule them completely. Meteion cannot understand the Scions' stubborn adherence to hope to the point that the universe's anguish, through the Meteia, expresses itself as indignation that any would dare to feel hope in the face of its suffering.
The Meteia collective takes the shape of an otherworldly being known as the Endsinger, fixated upon bringing the Final Days to Etheirys and taking every other star with it. Upon the Warrior, Hythlodaeus, and Emet-Selch's creation of a bed of Elpis flowers in Ultima Thule, a shard of Meteion's original personality shows through to beg the Warrior of Light to stop her sisters. Once the Endsinger is defeated and her despair finally soothed, Meteion returns to the lively and youthful personality from her time in Elpis, although she has grown from her experience, and her stutter never returns.
== Gameplay ==
===Boss===
The Endsinger is fought as the final main scenario trial of patch 6.0 and its optional Extreme equivalent, The Minstrel's Ballad: Endsinger's Aria, added in patch 6.1.
===Triple Triad===
===Cosmetics===
, a minion inspired by Meteion's bird form, is a potential reward drop from .
==Musical themes==
==Behind the scenes==
Meteion and her sisters are similar to the Maenads from Final Fantasy IV: The After Years as otherworldly feminine constructs who share a hivemind and have mystical powers and blue hair. They also share similarities to the Cloud of Darkness and Necron as entities seeking to wipe out existence and being revealed as the final enemy in the storyline after a nihilist paved the way for their introduction.
In Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward, the Bard questline is about a legendary song called the ballad of oblivion that is said to resound through the heavens and destroy everything. Although the questline ends with the ballad of oblivion being attributed to a malicious Siren, it may have served as inspiration for Meteion's song of oblivion.
===Voice===
Meteion is voiced by Rosie Day in English and Atsumi Tanezaki in Japanese.
==Etymology==
According to Hermes, Meteion's name means "shooting star" . Shooting stars appeared when the Final Days arrived on Etheirys.
Category:Characters in Final Fantasy XIV
Category:Deities
Category:Antagonists
ru:Метейон