“During their thousand-year war with the dragons, Ishgardians stumbled upon a dark secret – it seemed that some men, upon partaking in a Dragon’s Blood, would be granted the ability to transform into a hideous chimerical hybrid. “
This is what we can see that the Encyclopedia Eorzea has written about the Aevis enemies one can fight during their time in the open world, and to me it hides one of the darkest aspects of the history of Ishgard and its history with the dragons in Final Fantasy XIV.
As we know by now, the Ishgardians, or at least most of them, trace their ancestry back to the six surviving knights of Thordan. These were the same knights who betrayed the dragons and slayed Ratatoskr to obtain her eyes in search of a great power.
In doing so, it was said that these knights and their entire bloodline were actually cursed at that moment. Because of this, consumption of magicked dragon blood can actually alter the descendants’ bodies into dragon-like forms and corrupt their minds.
Dragon Blood can cause transformation in Final Fantasy XIV
Now there’s contrary information on whether or not this power is permanent and controllable. Some say that certain dragon hybrid forms can be controlled and willingly changed into, while others are completely out of control.
Now there is a catch for this transformation, though, as most believe that whether or not you actually transform, and how long you stay transformed for, really depends on the quality of dragon blood consumed, and how much concentration of Ratatoskr’s blood there is in your body.
But even then, some wish to use these powers for their own personal gains, such as the group called “Bloodbearers,” whom you go up against in the Dragoon quest “Sanguine Dragoon”
In the quest, Alberic says, “They call themselves the Bloodbearers, and their leader is a man named Matheonien. He and his minions are all capable of assuming the form of dragons. Such a transformation is possible by partaking of dragon blood—I daresay you have borne witness to it- and it grants the individual unholy strength. Though the sanguine substance is precious, the Bloodbearers have access to an abundant supply owing to their pact with Graoully.”
Ishgard and its history capture one of the most interesting world lore in FFXIV, in my opinion, and everything regarding the Dragon’s Blood is a testament to that.
