Ancestors

Ancestors are the "mentors" of Journey.

Appearance
Ancestors are Rythulians with pure-white robes, gold markings, white masks with a 'beak' on the lower half, no visible legs, and no signs that their cloaks open up like the Wayfarers' do. They are usually two and a quarter times the height of the Wayfarer, though Bob appears taller at the start of Confluence, measuring at roughly seven and a half times the height of a Wayfarer.

Utterance
The Utterance of the Ancestors is the sound of a cello being bowed. You can also hear this sound during key points of a History Lesson, suggesting that it was the standard utterance of Rythulians before the age of the Wayfarers.

Fan names
The languages chosen are based on the languages used in I Was Born For This, in order. The names themselves were chosen for the meaning, with a focus on concepts that are important parts of journey. The exception for both of these is Bob, which was chosen for the sake of humor.

In the case of θάρσος (Thársos), Ancient Greek was used due to the difficulty of finding a Homeric Greek dictionary. Homeric Greek was a dialect of Ancient Greek, so the hope was that the meaning would be similar. This said, the meaning appears to be the same, even in Modern Greek.

The symbols shown are symbols that the Ancestors appeared to have as mortals. See section In the beta.

Speculation
It's unknown if the six Ancestors you meet at the end of Snow are the same as the ones you meet during Confluence, or if they're another six. If they're different, then it could be that the twelve Rythulians shown in the the cave Mural in Snow are all the ones who ascended, and that you get to meet all of them. If they're the same six, then it could be that only so many made it to Jenova's Peak, or that only so many decided to remain in the spirit realm. The existence of the broken shrine could also indicate that there was a seventh ancestor at one point.