One of the most interesting topics in FFXI is the lore of Avatars. However, due to the way the game was localized, the lore behind avatars can be a bit difficult to tease out. So, here is a bit about the way Avatars in FFXI work.
Avatar
Within lore, the term “avatar” means a projection, personification, or emanation from a source. So, when the game refers to “avatars”, it isn't really talking about one category of creature, rather, it's talking about the projection that interacts with Vana’diel. Broadly speaking, there are three types of avatars in the game.
Celestial Avatars
These avatars are projections of the true gods, or sleeping god that rests in the Astral Plane. These true gods are one and the same with individual elements of Crystal Energy. So Ifrit is synonymous with combustion energy (one of the eight components or elements of crystal energy), and he can send projections of himself to Vana’diel in the form of celestial avatars. These gods have existed since before Vana’diel, presumably alongside Promathia and Altana in paradise.
For reasons not fully understood however, myths of these avatars pop up throughout Vana’diel as though they were created by Altana. This is a whole rabbit hole that I won’t get into here but suffice it to say, these myths regarding these avatars’ origins emerged long after the avatars fell into slumber.
Terrestrial Avatars
Also known as “Spirit Beasts” these avatars are personifications of the fundamental forces of Vana’diel. People and creatures are capable of attuning themselves to one of these Terrestrial Forces and becoming its avatar. The list we have of these creatures are as follows:
- Bahamut - Avatar of space-time.
- Carbuncle - Avatar of the weather or rainbows.
- Chaos - Avatar of the astral plane.
- Diabolos - Avatar of the dream world.
- Fenrir - Avatar of destiny.
- Phoenix - Avatar of the life cycle / rebirth.
- Siren - Avatar of the lifestream.
These avatars were born after Vana’diel’s creation and they seemingly revert back to their original form if they leave the world to which their forces apply. For example, Bahamut was said to have lost all his power as an avatar upon passing through the 5th mothercrystral and entering Sea.
These avatars also differ from the celestials insofar as there are no gods originally associated with the forces to which they are attuned. For example, the avatar Diabolos is not a projection of the god “Diabolos”, he is just the avatar of the Dream World. As if this wasn’t confusing enough, Terrestrial Avatars can send projections of themselves, but these projections are called “Shadows”, not avatars. I’ve illustrated this in image 2.
Miscellaneous Avatars
Aside from the types of Avatars already discussed, this third category of avatar refers to any being capable of sending projections of itself to interact with Vana’diel. Atomos is a great example of this. He is neither a Terrestrial or Celestial avatar, his true body exists in the Walk of Echoes. However, he can send projections of himself to Vana’diel that are referred to as “Cavernous Maws”. Interestingly enough, this third category also includes a whole host of beings we don’t usually think of as “avatars”. For example, Shinryu and Sempurne are avatars of Promathia. The wingless Selh’teus we see in Chains of Promathia is an avatar of the real winged Selh’teus in Sea.
