Behold—the gift of Ethos. Yours is a journey without end, conceived and guided by principle. Hold fast to what you must, and meet your fate without fear. Go forth. Discover. Unite the stars unto one. Let none bar your path.

Ancient voice

Ethos (エートス, Ētosu?), also known as the key (鍵, kagi?), is an artifact and important story element in Final Fantasy XIV, introduced in the Dawntrail expansion. It is a crystal capable of opening portals between the Source and its reflections. The key's origins are unknown, but it seems to have a connection to Azem, whose symbol appears on it when it is activated. While contained inside an electrope actuator device resembling a trophy or an hourglass, this was a modification done by Preservation; the key itself is only the crystal.

History

Before Final Fantasy XIV

The earliest knowledge about the key is that it was revered by the Lalafell inhabitants of South Sea Isles in the Source. Its true origins before that are currently unknown. However, as both Y'shtola Rhul and G'raha Tia point out, its aetheric density and its appearance both resemble the architecture of Amaurot.

During the Fifth Umbral Calamity, which began the Age of Endless Frost, the inhabitants of Aloalo Island attempted to save themselves by praying to the artifact, inadvertently opening a portal through the rift into the Ninth reflection of the Source. The surviving inhabitants traveled through this portal, finding themselves in a new world where they integrated.

Many years later, the Ninth turned heavily towards lightning in its aetherial aspect, with thunderstorms becoming commonplace. Within the Kingdom of Alexandria, a black ore dubbed as electrope was discovered, capable of absorbing lightning aether. When the former Aloalo refugees, now known as the Milalla, imbued electrope with arcanima circuits, its potential was increased substantially, as with certain arcane patterns, electrope was capable of transforming lightning aether into other elements.

The scarcity of electrope led to a war over resources known as the Storm Surge, which ended in near total annihilation of the world as a Flood of lightning began to raze the star. Alexandria survived through the efforts of the young scientist Calyx and his scientific collective, Preservation, who covered Alexandria with a dome projected from a massive tower of electrope, called the Everkeep, which they constructed atop the ruined Alexandria castle. They learned to utilize electrope to extract souls and separate memories from them. Souls could then be used as soul cells for the living, allowing them to come back to life should they die from an accident, while the memories were used to create the Endless, simulacrums of the deceased that lived a life of ease and their happiest moments within Living Memory, the highest floor of the Everkeep, forever. This method was also used to create Endless Sphene, an Endless version of Sphene Alexandros XIV, the last queen of Alexandria, who would rule Alexandria forever under Preservation's control.

As the Endless required a constant supply of living aether to be maintained, and Alexandria was running out, Preservation began to look for alternate sources. Preservation hired two Milalla scientists, Robor and Alayla, the latter being the current Speaker, and thus the keeper of the key, to research interdimensional fusion. Study of the key was instrumental in the research, leading into the creation of an electrope gate on Living Memory that connected the Ninth to the Source. The other side was constructed in the continent of Tural, within the Skydeep Cenote located within the forests of Yak T'el. When Robor and Alayla discovered that Preservation intended to steal aether from the Source, they rebelled and defected, stealing the interdimensional key. To keep it from Preservation's hands, the pair opened the gate and spirited away the key, as well as their infant daughter, to the Source, where they encountered the Dawnservant of the nation of Tuliyollal, Gulool Ja Ja, who had hired a Sharlayan researcher, Galuf Baldesion, to help investigate the Skydeep Cenote and the mysterious gate. When Robor and Alayla opened the gate and crossed the rift, Alayla gave their baby to Galuf, and Robor handed the key to Ketenramm the Blue, before heading back to the Ninth, closing the gate. Nobody could make out what the key was and what it did, but Gulool Ja Ja took it for safekeeping.

Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail

Twenty years later, Gulool Ja Ja held a rite of succession for his children, Zoraal Ja, Koana, and Wuk Lamat, as well as the chosen of Mamook, Bakool Ja Ja, to succeed him as the next Dawnservant. Wuk Lamat won the rite with the help of the Warrior of Light, Krile Baldesion, and Alphinaud and Alisaie Leveilleur. Zoraal Ja, who was disqualified during the rite, conspired with his assistant, palace seer Sareel Ja, to steal the key and use it to open the gate in Skydeep Cenote. Zoraal Ja struck Sareel Ja down after reaching the gate, and opened it and traveled to the Ninth. He made a covenant with Endless Sphene and became the King of Resolve of Alexandria. Now that the key had been returned, Sphene and Zoraal Ja used it to induce interdimensional fusion, fusing Everkeep and its surrounding area, barring Living Memory, with the Yyasulani region in Xak Tural, bringing with them the dome of lightning aether that surrounded the kingdom. After crossing the Dome, Zoraal Ja invaded his homeland, killed Gulool Ja Ja, and challenged Wuk Lamat to invade his new kingdom. This conflict ended in Zoraal Ja's death, with Endless Sphene seizing the key to use it to harvest aether from other reflections of the Source to keep maintaining the Endless in Living Memory.

The Warrior of Light, Krile, G'raha Tia, and Wuk Lamat followed Sphene to Living Memory to stop her. After shutting down the terminals maintaining the Endless, they proceeded to the central Meso Terminal and fought their way to Sphene, where she had integrated herself into chimeric machine known as Queen Eternal, linked to the key to enact her plan. As the Warrior of Light was battled Queen Eternal alone after she ejected the others, they used Azem's crystal to summon reinforcements. Azem's symbol appeared on the key, indicating a connection between the crystal and the key. The Warrior defeated Queen Eternal when Wuk Lamat was able to join the battle and reach out to Sphene. Sphene was unable to maintain herself now that Meso Terminal had been shut down. She apologized for her deeds and entrusted the key to the Warrior of Light against her programming, trusting them to keep it safe.

Queen Eternal's defeat did not go unnoticed by Calyx, who had become an Endless himself and intended to create even more Endless, believing they were the next stage of evolution, as he loathed the idea of mortal vessels. He created a simulant Sphene to masquerade as the queen to coax Alexandrians into registering new type of neo-regulators to become Endless. He developed interest in the Warrior of the Light who now carried the key, wanting it back to gain access to other remaining reflections and their aether.

Calyx would employ various methods to reclaim the key from the Warrior's possession, first attempting to assassinate them using a lightning strike, then luring the Warrior to the old Alexandria Castle where he would pit a machine duplicate of Zelenia Triantafylli against them. Both methods failed, leading Calyx to develop a new means to acquire the key and further his plans to create more Endless: stealing the corporeal aether of those who did not wear regulators while reinciting the fear of death in Alexandria's citizens. Calyx offered to end his "harvest" if he was given the key, but the Warrior of Light refused, knowing that Calyx would merely find new victims within other shards. Likewise, any of the original Sphene's attempts to convince Calyx to cease his mad vision for mankind's evolution fell on deaf ears.

Calyx invited the Warrior of Light to where his memory was stored deep within Meso Terminal and used the citizens' fear of death to fuel the summoning of a primal, Necron, that would grow stronger with each defeat thanks to representing the fear of death. Though Necron risked defeating the Warrior of Light and their party through sheer attrition, Sphene thwarted Necron's source of strength by speaking out to her people, getting them to remember the good in their lives, to honor a life long lived, feelings that proved stronger than their fears. With Necron's strength diminished and his memory core threatened, Calyx transferred his memories to another location, narrowly surviving, but his plans were ruined without the key.

Later, the Warrior, Sphene, Krile, G'raha Tia, and Y'shtola Rhul traveled below Living Memory to learn more about the key and the Milalla. Sphene directed them to the town of Treno that was under attack by lightning-infused beasts. After saving the town, the mayor of Treno, Miayli, revealed to the adventurers that she was the sister of Alayla, the previous Speaker, and thus Krile's maternal aunt. As the current herald of the Speaker, she deemed it necessary to determine if the current keeper of the key, the Warrior of Light, was worthy of carrying it by asking what would they do with it should it answer to them. Despite the Warrior's answer, Miayli was convinced of their worthiness through their deeds and their friendship with her niece. Y'shtola asked if there were any records about the key in Treno, but Miayli said Alayla had taken everything to Alexandria. Miayli gave the Warrior a word of caution: the key had traveled through many hands over the eons, each with a different reason of using it. She believed that fate, or something similar, caused the key to choose its next keeper. As such, the fates surrounding the key were now turning towards the Warrior.

The fates surrounding the key seemed to fall already, as the Warrior spotted a female Au Ra carrying a doll looking over them, who fled as their eyes met. This woman was Halmarut, one of the last remaining Ascians, and the doll contained the essence of Calyx. Halmarut believed the Ninth and other shards were doomed due to the "silence left behind by the will of the star", and that the key played an important role for events to come unless the Warrior changed their course.

Y'shtola and Shale recovered Preservation's research notes concerning the key. The key has been of great interest, yet caused a lot of frustration since the researchers had never been able to fully understand it. Preservation had created an actuation device, which allowed them to control the key in a limited capacity. It was nevertheless enough for the Preservation to construct the portal to the golden city and instruct Zoraal Ja to perform interdimensional fusion. Krile suggested removing the actuation device, and Shale complied. Y'shtola was then able to see the key in all its glory: its aetheric density was so massive it reminded her of the ruins beneath the Tempest in the First. G'raha saw that it resembled the architecture of Amaurot, which meant the key was of ancient origin. Krile asked if the Warrior had seen anything unusual about the key. For the Warrior, the key reminded them of Azem's crystal. Y'shtola agreed that it was plausible for the key to be connected to Azem, but at present they had no means to verify it. Krile got a call from Ojika Tsunjika, and she, G'raha, and the Warrior returned to Sharlayan while Y'shtola remained to study the key further.

Y'shtola's research was cut short when G'raha informed her that voidsent were invading the Source and Mare Lamentorum. She teleported to the moon with the key and Azem's crystal began reacting to it. The key floated away from Y'shtola and to the Warrior. The reaction between the two engulfed the Warrior in a white light, and they heard an ancient voice, calling the key "Ethos", and telling them to unite the stars. A portal opened to the Warrior, and through it, they heard Zero and Golbez in trouble. The Warrior ran to the portal, and found themselves on the red moon in the Thirteenth, with Zero and Golbez fighting voidsent to keep them from reaching a voidgate. The Warrior gave them a hand, and they defeated the voidsent leader, Enuo. Zero wondered how the Warrior had come to Thirteenth, and the Warrior explained that Ethos had brought them, and the gateway was still there, but neither Zero nor Golbez could see it. Golbez theorized that it would only show itself to the key-bearer.

After helping Zero recruit a voidsent Jullus Norbanus had convinced to join Zero, the Warrior returned to the Source and reunited with the former Scions of the Seventh Dawn members. They explained what had happened and Krile explained they were unable to see the portal. Halmarut approached them, revealing her identity as an Ascian and also that Calyx had been able to transfer his memories into a doll. She explained that with Hydaelyn gone, Etheirys was longing to become whole again, and its shards would eventually rejoin the Source in an event she called the Solstice. Should that happen, the star would begin anew from a clean slate, wiping out mankind. She and Calyx left, leaving the Scions with much to ponder.

The Scions regrouped at the Rising Stones to prepare for the Solstice. Y'shtola asked the Warrior to keep Ethos, having concluded it was a mystery she was not destined to unravel.

Etymology

The word ethos in English refers to the character or fundamental values of a group of people, such as "national ethos" or "working-class ethos". It can also refer to a form of rhetoric where one invokes their authority or expertise in an attempt to persuade others that their view is correct. The word comes from the Ancient Greek ἦθος, êthos, for "character", "custom", or "habit".