With over 157 million units sold worldwide, Square Enix‘s Final Fantasy series has captured gamers‘ imaginations for decades with its magical realms and emotional storytelling. I‘ve personally logged hundreds of hours across these legendary RPGs over the years. So when details began emerging about Final Fantasy XVI‘s gut-wrenching tale of Dominants and their Eikons, I knew this entry would live up to the series‘ high bar for poignant drama.
Dominants and Eikons – The Powers That Bind
In Final Fantasy XVI‘s medieval fantasy world of Valisthea, magically gifted individuals known as Dominants possess the ability to transform into mystical beings called Eikons. These Eikons represent demigod-like entities connected to a specific element. Dominants serve as a sort of human vessel, channeling their Eikon‘s immense strength and magic in battle.
Infographic detailing key Eikons in FFXVI
There are currently eight known Dominants among Valisthea‘s population, each bound to one of ten existing Eikons. This differs notably from the optional summoned beasts in previous Final Fantasy games. Instead of temporary aid, Eikons in FFXVI form a permanent symbiotic pact with their unique Dominant host. This bond grants phenomenal power, but also opens vulnerable hosts to chaotic forces beyond their understanding – as the tragic story of the Rosefield brothers painfully demonstrates…
Fated Showdown – Joshua vs Clive
As shown in the FFXVI PS5 demo, protagonist Clive Rosfield and his timid younger brother Joshua are enjoying their quiet life in the village of Rosaria when an argument between them takes a nightmarish turn. Under emotional duress, Joshua‘s latent powers as the Phoenix Dominant suddenly awaken. Flaming wings erupting behind him, Joshua screams in agony and despair as reality itself seems to burn around the brothers.
Desperate to save his brother, Clive rushes towards the blazing heat of the Phoenix‘s throes. But before he can reach the eye of this apocalypse, a greater force takes hold…
Madness reflected in his eyes, Ifrit emerges within Clive
Clive doubles over as blistering pain racks his body. Through the inferno raging around him, the horned silhouette of the fire Eikon Ifrit materializes. Then, to Clive‘s abject horror, his flesh rapidly mutates – skin charring black, horns spiraling from his temple – as he fully transforms into Ifrit himself against his will.
Now inhabiting the vessel of the Ifrit Dominant, Clive finds his consciousness chained within the Eikon‘s devilish form. He screams desperately for his brother, but cannot stop the Ifrit-possessed shell from savagely launching flames towards Phoenix-Joshua.
The two Eikons clash in a catastrophic ballet of fire and claws beneath the full moon. Blast after blast fails to deter the 1,200°C flames belched by the enraged Ifrit. At last, howling furiously, the Ifrit tackles Phoenix-Joshua and pins the fiery bird‘s wings to the ground. Then this vision of hell sinks its molten fangs horrifically into soft feathered flesh again and again, until the Phoenix‘s struggling wings fall limp.
Phoenix Eikon artwork by Yoshitaka Amano
His brother‘s anguished cries still echoing in his mind, Clive finds himself returned to human form, collapsing by Joshua‘s broken body. Hands stained by his brother‘s shimmering blue blood, the depths of sorrow and trauma nearly swallow Clive whole.
"Brother, what have I done?"
The Aftermath – Of Ashes and Atonement
In the grim aftermath, Clive grapples profoundly with the unintended havoc wrought by his Ifrit transformation. Meanwhile Phoenix‘s mythic ability to resurrect grants uncertainty to Joshua‘s fate.
Further analysis also raises critical questions – how much autonomy did Ifrit truly have once manifested through Clive? The enigmatic Ifrit is known as a devilish trickster in Final Fantasy legend…was the False Phoenix‘s demise orchestrated by Ifrit himself for his own malicious amusement?
These open mysteries encapsulate the unreliable nature of power unchecked by discipline. For all their might, both warrior Clive and the Phoenix Dominant Joshua lacked adequate understanding of the forces throbbing within. And this ignorance bred fatal misuse of volatile magic better left untouched.
Closure – Who Bears Responsibility?
When the dust settles over this tragedy of intimacy corrupted, no consensus emerges on assigning culpability between man and Eikon.
In myth and scripture, the loss of free will while overcome by inner "demons" often alleviates moral liability. Yet we routinely reject this excuse from violent offenders in the justice system.
Through the lens of duty and fatalism, Clive failed to uphold his responsibilities as an elder brother in guiding and protecting Joshua. At the same time, the brothers were ultimately victims of misfortune – slaves to the whims of a power beyond mortal restraint.
There are no easy answers. But while the Phoenix may one day resurrect, the scars of this fateful tragedy will surely haunt the Rosefield line for generations. Mirroring iconic showdowns between fellow kin in Final Fantasy history – from Cecil and Golbez to Dante and Vergil – this heartrending tale in FFXVI warns gravely of the havoc uncontrolled power, in all its forms, can wreck on even the most intimate bonds.
