Y’shtola is blind in a physical sense, but she can “see” with her magic.
In A Realm Reborn, things happen that cause her to lose her sight.
The Heavens ward expansion to the game tells us more about it, and we can learn more about it here.
One of the most well-known characters in Final Fantasy XIV is Y’shtola Rhul.
Her look has changed a lot over the course of the game’s story, but the most noticeable change is that her eyes are now a pale color.
If you, like me, spent most of your time in XIV pressing the “skip cutscene” button, you might be wondering why this is.
Even though she is blind, she doesn’t seem to have any trouble because of it.
She is still a fierce fighter and a loyal ally, and she plays a very important role in the game’s story.
From here on out, we’re going to talk about more spoilers, so if you haven’t read this part of the story yet, beware!
How Did Y’shtola Lose Her Sight?
Y’shtola is one of the player’s best allies, and she is also one of the few characters from the old version of Final Fantasy XIV that has been kept.
She is well-educated, proud, and very skilled, which makes her a leader among the Scion of the Seventh Dawn.
Y’shtola is also very skilled at casting spells. But her pride and belief in herself can hurt her.
In fact, she lost her sight because of magic.
In the Heavensward expansion, the events that lead to players adventuring through Ishgard put Y’shtola and Thancred Waters, another popular character, in a dangerous situation.
The Scions of the Seventh Dawn are betrayed from within and put on trial for trying to kill Nanamo Ul Namo, the Sultana of Ul’dah.
Y’shtola and Thancred make sure the player character can get to safety, but they get stuck themselves.
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
And to get herself and Thancred to safety, Y’shtola uses a spell called “Flow” that was made long ago but was never meant to be used.
Flow works by turning bodies into aether and moving them along the Lifestream to a different place.
This is a very hard and unpredictable process.
Thancred comes out of the Lifestream in the Dravanian Forelands.
He is completely naked, as we find out in a funny cut scene.
But from all appearances, Y’shtola goes away completely.
She basically gets stuck in the Lifestream and can’t get out without help from outside.
Because of Urianger’s work, the Scions find out what will happen to her.
If Y’shtola isn’t saved from the Lifestream, her aetherial energy will disappear and she’ll be lost for good.
Y’shtola is taken out of the Lifestream after a series of quests that include getting help from the elements, finding her sister, and watching a lot of cutscenes.
She is mostly whole.
But because she has spent so much time not really being alive, she has lost her sight.
When you think about what could happen instead, that’s not a big price to pay, and it doesn’t seem to stop her very much.
Y’shtola gets right back to work, helping the Warrior of Light and her Scion friends move forward with the Main Scenario Questline.
How Does Y’shtola See If She’s Physically Blind?
As was already said, Y’shtola is a very good spellcaster.
Even though her time in the Lifestream took away her physical sight, she can now “see” with magic.
No one knows what she will see because of this.
But in the long run, it’s likely to hurt her.
Her time in the Lifestream makes her magic skills stronger, but it also makes her blind.
Master Matoya is Y’shtola’s old teacher, and we meet him soon after we get her out of the Lifestream.
Matoya is the one who privately notices that Y’shtola’s new way of seeing the world is burning up her aether, which is shortening her life.
So, is Y’shtola going to die because of what she saw?
To be honest, I don’t think so.
She’s almost the face of the game now, and both fans and people who live in Eorzea love her.
I don’t think it’s likely that Y’shtola will ever be hurt by her magical vision.
It might just be waved away, or another magical McGuffin might come to the rescue. N
ow, Y’shtola is just too damn important to the game’s story.
She’s involved in most of the big things that happen in the game, and she says some of the most famous lines (“Try again when you’re a man. Damn.)
Y’shtola might have paid for being too proud when she cast Flow.
But it has never stopped her.
In fact, it has only made her stronger and better able to handle things.
If the trailers are any indication, Endwalker will help Y’shtola reach even greater heights.
