A (Highly Theoretical) Look at the Cycle of the Eras

PATCH 3.2 SPOILER WARNING

I've been sitting on part of this for a while because it seemed too intangible to do anything with, but (digging around for that timeline project) I found another oddity connected to it and now I'm too curious to hold back. This one isn't an inconsistency or an error, as far as I can tell JK, but it's extremely interesting (to me). It's pretty hard to wrap ones head around, though, so let's go over some history.

The A Realm Reborn PR site specifies that the First Umbral Calamity brought an end to the Age of the Gods. Likewise, the Dusty Tomes claim that man was created to wage the Gods' wars after they left at the beginning of the cycle of the Eras.

We know that the Fourth Umbral Era was earth, the Fifth was ice, and the Sixth was water. Following the elemental wheel's clockwise rotation (Ice, Water, Wind, Lightning, Fire, Earth) we can infer that the First Umbral Calamity was wind. This is strange, as almost all elemental cycles begin with ice ... but we'll get back to that later.

Take a look at this line from the Moghome arc.

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Originally Posted by Moglin

Long, long ago, a great continent floated above the clouds, and we moogles all lived together in happy harmony. But one day, the skies were split in twain by fire that fell from the heavens, and the once-great continent was smashed into countless smaller ones.

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Let's take a look at that in Japanese (and please dear Twelve let's not just have a JP Master Transcript debate):

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Originally Posted by Moglin

むかーしむかし。雲海には「大陸」があって、モーグリ族はそこに住んでいたくぽ。モーグリ族が平和に過ごしていたある日、天を揺るがす、ものすんごーい「風の災い」が起きたくぽ。雲海の大陸は、やがて無数の小さな島々に割れたくぽ。
Once upon a time, long, long ago... The Sea of Clouds was one continent, and the moogles lived there, kupo. The moogles lived in peace until, one day, a great "wind disaster" shook the heavens. The continent was shattered, and the Sea of Clouds became many small islands, kupo.

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Hmmmmm! It looks like Chieftain Moggle could have been separated from the Moogles of the Mists as long ago as the legends say... and it also implies that the Sea of Clouds is very... very... old; Age of the Gods old.

But why would fire rain during a wind calamity? The first appearance of the Echo, perhaps? Or was it caused by the gods' squabbles themselves?

Imagine for a moment that that elemental wheel did start off, like all other cycles, resting a bit towards Ice. Ice is melted by Fire, Fire is extinguished by Wind, Wind is blocked by Ice (aka the Submission cycle). What if an overwhelming presence of Fire during an Ice era created an imbalance that invited a massive influx of Wind to fill the vacuum and restore balance? Could we have started on Ice after all?

This is where I run into some trouble, because the second cycle was a Water era with a Lightning calamity. Since Water erodes Earth, Earth grounds Lightning, and Lightning boils water (aka the Conquest cycle), following the same pattern, you'd be imbalancing a Water era with the influence of Earth. That doesn't seem likely; earth doesn't fare well against water - it loses. But what if you (or the Ascians) helped the boat rock back the other way during the opposite cycle (Conquest rather than Submission)? Too much of the era's elemental influence, rather than too little - Water erodes Earth, inviting Lightning into the vacuum. Balance is restored, but the boiled water converts into wind and helps move us into the next cycle.

This even works during the Allagan calamity, which is another Conquest cycle. If we started on Ice, the Allagan era would start with Lightning and need too much lightning to "boil away" too much of water's influence and invite an Earth calamity. Look what we know about Allag: Too much lightning influence? EH!? EH!?!? It feels like I'm on to more than nothing but I don't quite know if I'm on to something.

To take this another floor up the house of cards, chaos (likely rooted somehow in the Ascian plan) resulted in the destruction of a world, and then balance was restored. We know that, but could this also explain why balance is so necessary, at times? The restoration of balance allowed the wheel to naturally turn to the next element, over and over, so the 13 reflected worlds could be destroyed and Zodiark could actually be restored. If our original world collapses too soon, any chance of resurrecting Zodiark might be lost.

My brain is going to need to chew on that for a week or two, but I'll get back to you. You're on to something. I think.

I don't know what the devil you're talking about but it sure sounds interesting. 10/10

Jokes aside, I have some questions: I assume "wind disaster" is the same kanji-what-have-you that the JP script uses for Umbral Eras? Where do French and German fall on this? I tend to agree that the purest, most concentrate lore is distilled from using all four languages.

I think the hardest part to parse is using the Eorzean elemental wheel, since, well, it's rarely ever used.

So, basically, an ice-based astral era was introduced to a bunch of fire which caused a wind calamity? For a submission cycle, anyways.

This sort of makes sense, since Umbral Eras are supposed to be a period of 'rest/recovery' for Hydaelyn, her aetherial balance might not be as malleable as it is in an Astral Era. It seems so intricate and complex that I feel you might've just stolen a page from the fabled Lore bible though...

Ugh this is twisting my brain. When was the last time the Dusty Tomes got used...

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Originally Posted by Anonymoose

Hmmmmm! It looks like Chieftain Moggle could have been separated from the Moogles of the Mists as long ago as the legends say... and it also implies that the Sea of Clouds is very... very... old; Age of the Gods old.

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I refuse to accept this! The myth that they served the Twelve, and King Thordan having Twelve Knights, while the Mists Moogles served Sky and Land Lords is too nice a connection!

I am incline to believe this;
http://img.finalfantasyxiv.com/t/937...a9153533_1.png
Could be described as a "wind disaster", and it is seemingly caused by Nidhogg... Though part of me also wants to believe Ascian (specifically Lahabrea) involvement... Will be interesting to see how exactly his revenge manifests in 3.3, since that should be close to what he did way back when... Worse even, since he has both eyes now... Though then again he is an Estinien-enabled shade as well, so who knows what that does for his power level...

If only there was an ancient being who has been around since the first era who could politely recount history for us... /em kicks Midgardsormr

Oh well, Moglin is showing up in the new dungeon, so hopefully we can gleam some more information out of him this patch...

So the eras are based around the elements then? That does seem interesting. Though I woner how did the War of the Magi fit into this...

The Flood means that it was a Water calamity, with Amdapor using Stone and Aero Attacks (mainly from the lion). Between the fact that they used stone constructs, th euse of stone spells and the Conquest cycle. That would mean that Andapor was earth, and that they were victors of the war in a matter of speaking.

With Thunder as a BLM spell and Mhach's use of energy (derived from voidsent yes, but still). That means that they are focused on lightning. So if I get this right, the Magi's era is Lightning Aespected with a Water calamity and Earth being brought in as a result. Is that right?

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Originally Posted by Morningstar1337

Is that right?

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To extend it out to the War of the Magi, it'd be... <grabs table he made because he was really bad at this part>

Assuming the first Calamity (wind) took place when the "hidden era element" was Ice, re-balancing of the Age of Endless Frost would move the "hidden era element" wheel from Fire into Earth, and thus from a Submission cycle into a Conquest cycle. Therefore, we'd have the War of the Magi taking place in a "hidden era" of earth that was pushed to have too much earth, which eroded away Lightning's influence and beckoned Water.

From the Gravel Golem:

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Mage-controlled golems were in such wide use by the end of the Fifth Astral Era,
that entire battles were waged by armies comprised of nothing but the lifeless soulkin.

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From the Divine Chronicles:

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Ne'er till astral hopes dim can umbral dreads fear,
Waters spout silver swords, skies rain blue spears.
By ancient truths shall Archons carve men of stone,
Foe blades chip and shatter, great victories be known.

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And it all ends with a massive flood.

Great googly moogly, kupo. I feel like I'm scratching all around an itch but not quite fully getting it.

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Originally Posted by Rocl

Where do French and German fall on this?

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Originally Posted by Moglin

On raconte qu'il y avait autrefois un vaste continent flottant dans cette mer de nuages, et que les Mogs y vivaient heureux, kuppo. Mais un jour, la Grande Tempête survint. Cette terrible catastrophe dévasta le continent et le fragmenta en d'innombrables petites îles, kuppo.
It is said that there was once a vast continent floating in the sea of clouds, and the moogles were living happily, kupo. But one day, the Great Tempest came. This terrible catastrophe devastated the continent and caused it to fragment into many small islands, kupo.

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Originally Posted by Moglin

Vor langer, langer Zeit, da bestanden die Wallenden Nebel nicht aus vielen kleinen Inseln, sondern waren ein großer Kontinent, auf dem die Mogrys in Frieden zusammenlebten, kupo. Doch alles änderte sich, als uns ein riesiger Orkan heimsuchte. Er fegte über den Kontinent hinweg und zerstörte nicht nur alles auf ihm, sondern zerbrach den Kontinent selbst in viele kleine Inseln, kupo.
A long, long time ago, the Churning Mists were not many small islands, but a great big continent where the moogles lived together in peace, kupo. But everything changed when we were struck by a great hurricane. It swept across the continent and not only destroyed everything on it, but broke the continent itself into many small islands, kupo.

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So... uh... I guess either English gave us a huge hint we wouldn't have otherwise had - and one that enabled me to (start to) piece together an otherwise wholly obscured truth... or it was an error after all and this thread contains the ravings of a madman.

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Originally Posted by Rocl

Ugh this is twisting my brain. When was the last time the Dusty Tomes got used...

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1.0's guild counters, lol.

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Originally Posted by Nalien

I refuse to accept this! The myth that they served the Twelve, and King Thordan having Twelve Knights, while the Mists Moogles served Sky and Land Lords is too nice a connection! <...> Could be described as a "wind disaster"

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This is one the things that concerns me most (re: raving madman). Nidhogg is clearly not without wind and fire, from the "ultimate" in the dungeon battle to the barrier of wind he put around his aery. It's entirely conceivable that the floating continent was shattered by his rage a thousand years past. Though, perhaps the first calamity of wind is what raised the floating continent in the first place. Hells if I know. Something seems amiss since it all fits so well ... but it might just be a bi-product of those cycles existing in the first place...

The idea that Nidhogg has enough power to destroy the entire floating continent gives me pause; he doesn't ever seem to be that powerful. However, it also gives me pause that I don't recall any interaction between Amdapor and Moogles off the top of my head; as if they weren't here yet.

I'm gonna dig and see if I can find anything that explicitly says both "smaller islands" and "more than a thousand years old", or anything about the Twelveswood Moogles pre-Great Flood.

Here goes:

Eras follow the Elemental Cycle.

Order is weak Submission followed by strong Conquest.

Timeline goes:
Unknown - Ice - Sub Cycle - Ice < Fire
Calamity - Wind beats Fire
1st Umbral Era - Recovering/switching Cycle type - Ice and Fire makes Water dominant
1st Astral Era - Water - Con Cycle - Water > Earth
Calamity - Lightning boils Water
2nd Umbral Era - Recover - Water and Lightning makes Wind dominant
2nd Astral Era - Wind - Sub - Wind < Ice
Calamity - Fire beats Ice
3rd Umbral Era - Recover - Wind and Ice makes Lightning dominant
3rd Astral Era - Lightning - Con - Lightning > Water
Calamity - Earth beats Lightning
4th Umbral Era - Recover - Lightning and Earth makes Fire dominant
4th Astral Era - Fire - Sub - Fire < Wind
Calamity - Ice beats Wind
5th Umbral Era - Recover - Wind and Fire makes Earth dominant
5th Astral Era - Earth - Con - Earth > Lightning
Calamity - Water beats Earth
6th Umbral Era - Recover ?
6th Astral Era - ?
Calamity- ?

Wow, the character limit really hurts that.

Basically, most seems to flow right. Pre-1st Calamity and the Sixth Era and onwards are odd.

I do wonder if Astral/Umbral Aspects factor into the equation. The element that gains dominance from the previous Astral Era and Calamity either being Astral going into an Astral time (or Umbral going into Umbral time) and thus making it a Conquest Cycle. Or Astral going into Umbral (or Umbral going into Astral), making lots of the element but leaving it weaker than it should be resulting in a Submission Cycle.

I also wonder if Hydaelyn and Zodiark or the Twelve might be throwing their weight around at various points to try to balance or unbalance things. Or if the Calamity of Dalamud marked a reversal of the normal flow.

You can edit your post after posting to circumvent the character limit.

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Originally Posted by Jojozan

6th Astral Era - ?
Calamity- ?

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The most recent Calamity was actually effectively non-elemental (this is hinted at on the main FFXIV website), and in actual fact, it was because the previous six Umbral Calamities all reflected an element based on the elemental wheel that it meant the Sixth Astral Era would 'last forever' (Eorzeans having not apparently believed that the cycle could simply start over again, or even have a non-elemental alignment - remember also that Bahamut as a summon spell traditionally in past FF games usually was referred to as being 'typeless' or 'non-elemental', so it fits):

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Originally Posted by Final Fantasy XIV Lodestone

In this harsh though vibrant region, the people of Eorzea have carved out their histories—a cycle of prosperous Astral and disastrous Umbral eras.
The First Umbral Era brought an end to the age of the gods, and there have been six such eras of calamity since the First Astral Era ushered in the age of man.
Each of the Umbral catastrophes has, in turn, borne the characteristics of one of the six elements. With all the elements now represented, it was believed the current Astral era would last into eternity.

But in the seventh verse of the Divine Chronicles, Mezaya Thousand Eyes prophesized a less fortunate fate. The "senary sun," or Sixth Astral Era, would indeed end, and the "septenary moon," or Seventh Umbral Era, would cast its shadow upon the land.

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So basically the Seventh Umbral Era is 'typeless'/non-elemental.