Unlike Final Fantasy 14’s Emet-Selch, Fandaniel is sundered and very unlike his past life as an ancient, when he was part of the Convocation of 14. While different in personality, there are some commonalities, such as his genius in magical sciences. Of course, there is also his life as Amon, a mortal of the Allagan Empire who believed in Emperor Xande’s mission of destroying all life.
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Before He Was Sundered
12,000 years ago, before the fall of Etheirys, Fandaniel was an ancient named Hermes. Before he took on the name as a member of the Convocation of 14, he was in charge of Elpis, a facility for creating new life that would be tested and later put out into the world. However, Hermes saw a lot of issue with how new life was treated in Elpis. He disliked destroying life just because it had flaws, and the idea of death and mortality weighed heavy on his mind.
In order to discover the meaning of life, Hermes created Meteia to explore the universe. His creations were corrupted with nihilism, and they decided to end all life. Hermes decided this, like what they did with their own creations on Elpis, was a test. If they could not find an answer to life, then they did not have a right to exist. He erased his own memories and the memories of most other ancients that became aware of the coming Final Days.
After he erased his own memories, he became Fandaniel of the Convocation of 14. Along with the other members, he helped create Zodiark as a means to save the planet. However, he was one of the Convocation that got fragmented with all else by Hydaelyn.
His Life As Amon
The fragment of Fandaniel that lived on the Source was born in the Third Astral Era during the rule of the Allagan Empire. Like his ancient soul, Amon was known for his skills, particularly in magic and technology. He wanted to restore the empire to its former glory, so he resurrected the first emperor, Xande. However, Xande has different plans. Instead of restoring the Empire to its former glory, he became nihilistic and formed a pact with voidsent to destroy the world. Amon was inspired by Xande and decided to share the same goal.
The Ascians were unaware that Amon, even with memories of his past life given back to him, did not share their goals. They let him in as an Ascian and Amon left a clone of himself in the Crystal Tower, so history would not know he ever left. As an Ascian, Fandaniel then had to watch his entire empire crumble to the Fourth Umbral Calamity. He decided to continue Xande’s goal, to destroy all life with no plan to restore Etheirys.
Behind The Scenes
Like the rest of the Convocation of 14, Fandaniel’s name/title is inspired by the Scions of Light in Final Fantasy 12. The Amon name may be inspired by an Egyptian god of the same name, who was known as the king of the gods. His Hermes name is a Greek deity, who was known as the protector for travelers and could move fast around the world on winged sandals. His Greek deity name may be part of what inspired Metion’s design and his attachment to flying creations on Elpis.
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