Are the Shards in separate dimension or are they physical locations?

Say Midgardsormr was flying away from his planet and was approaching The Source. Would he physically be able to see and land on The First? Or would it be that only The Source exists to Midgardsormr while the shards exist in other dimensions?

I don't know if its ever been confirmed, but since we can't visually observe the other shards from the Source, I'm gonna guess they are in a different dimension and out of phase with each other. But its localized to the planet's space, b/c we do still observe the same night sky from both the Source and the First, including moon phase. So, either Hydaelyn sundered everything we can observe from the planet's surface in addition to the planet itself, or the sundering is only in a localized multiverse pocket ... thing. I think its the latter.

And the Source is the shard that's in phase with (ie. in the same dimension as) the rest of reality, since all the aliens seem to end up there.

Leads to another question for me, which is "can the people on the shards travel to the source if they invent rockets?" And I'd say no. Since the people on the First are in phase with (ie their atoms move at the same vibration frequency) their home dimension (hence why they are able to physically interact with it), they would stay in phase with it regardless of location. So if they went to the moon's location and looked back, they'd see the First, not the Source. I think this also ties in with why its so hard to successfully bring whole people across the rift btwn worlds. Spirits are more malleable, but bodies are physical matter and thus would be more difficult to alter the physical status of, at least if you want to keep the person in question alive at the end of it.

Sorry, I've got a lot of thoughts on this topic. lol

One of the parts I'm still confused about is whether Omega travelled through space or the rift between worlds/dimensions.

From what we see in the Omega raids, Omega was chasing Midgardsormr through deep space. But according to Cid in the Ivalice raids and the stuff we find in the Twinning, apparently Omega's power to travel was through the rift, and it came from another "dimension"?

Maybe Omega could travel through the rift because it was looking for the specific shard that Midgardsormr hid himself in, but I would have thought that would be significant enough to warrant explicit mention, rather than retroactively reasoning it out from what seemed like contradictory comments.

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Originally Posted by YianKutku

From what we see in the Omega raids, Omega was chasing Midgardsormr through deep space. But according to Cid in the Ivalice raids and the stuff we find in the Twinning, apparently Omega's power to travel was through the rift, and it came from another "dimension"?

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Omega created an "interdimensional rift" in which it was carrying out its experimental battles, but I don't remember it being suggested that it came from another dimension itself. Do you have a direct source for that quote or are you just going from memory?

I can only guess it maybe the Flash explanation of how Multiverse works but limited to Source and the Shards that still remain....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaOAe-NNGa4

As far as the question as it's phrsaed in the OP goes, that is unlikely. The writers have yet to have a reason to have to clarify how far the broken part of the cosmos radiates out from the Source...so they haven't. Maybe it's just our planet, maybe it's the whole cosmos. We don't know. They might not know.

However, in either scenario, Midgardsormr and Omega probably only saw the Source as they approached from elsewhere in our dimension.

The real question is ... if you launched a rocket from the First, when, if ever, would it "cross back over" into unsundered space?

These are questions the developers will address at an uncertain point in the future, lol.

The way the shards have been spoken about before, they're all overlapping, just on different "planes", as if they're on different "frequencies" in the same "space"...but this may no longer be the working assumption.

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Originally Posted by Anonymoose

The way the shards have been spoken about before, they're all overlapping, just on different "planes", as if they're on different "frequencies" in the same "space"...but this may no longer be the working assumption.

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You say that like there's a specific reason to reconsider that assumption - is there?

I don't remember there being any suggestion of other possibilities. Is there a reason to question it beyond "we don't know the technicalities of how it works in circumstances the story hasn't explored yet"?

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Originally Posted by YianKutku

One of the parts I'm still confused about is whether Omega travelled through space or the rift between worlds/dimensions.

From what we see in the Omega raids, Omega was chasing Midgardsormr through deep space. But according to Cid in the Ivalice raids and the stuff we find in the Twinning, apparently Omega's power to travel was through the rift, and it came from another "dimension"?

Maybe Omega could travel through the rift because it was looking for the specific shard that Midgardsormr hid himself in, but I would have thought that would be significant enough to warrant explicit mention, rather than retroactively reasoning it out from what seemed like contradictory comments.

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Omega does have the power to open rifts, and yes, is likely not even from this dimension to begin with. You kinda answered your own question, because while Omega can open rifts and travel dimensions, Midgardsomr can't, and as Omega was pursuing him, there was no need to cross dimensions between dragonstar and the source

I've been operating on the assumption that it works like the planet Aether (ha) from Metroid Prime 2, in which you see the "true" version as you approach and land while the "echo" planet is only able to be breached through rifts in the dimensional walls. And that as you pull away from one, you enter back into "true" space as it's a localized shattering of spacetime but as the night sky on the First is different than it is on the Source this theory is out the window right now, unless one of our own skywatchers has put the work into examining the stars.

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Originally Posted by SilverObi

...but as the night sky on the First is different than it is on the Source this theory is out the window right now, unless one of our own skywatchers has put the work into examining the stars.

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I've just checked - the stars are the same. I could see the Spire constellation in Lakeland, and the same bright stars around the moon both there and in Southern Thanalan.

Given a bit more time I could probably find the six astrological constellations to double-confirm it.

it's basically a time-space phenomena that creates a mutiverse for that exists within a singular universe in order to split ascian souls so that can return and replenish the lifestream (return, divide into new souls, rebirth, grow, die, repeat) in theory

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Originally Posted by SilverObi

I've been operating on the assumption that it works like the planet Aether (ha) from Metroid Prime 2, in which you see the "true" version as you approach and land while the "echo" planet is only able to be breached through rifts in the dimensional walls. And that as you pull away from one, you enter back into "true" space as it's a localized shattering of spacetime but as the night sky on the First is different than it is on the Source this theory is out the window right now, unless one of our own skywatchers has put the work into examining the stars.

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What makes you say the night sky is different? It seems to be the same to me, right down to what moonphase you are seeing.

Which actually is a bit weird, considering there was supposed to be time dilation in the past, according to the MSQ. But I suppose that's another can of worms. Right now, though, the night sky appears the same on both source and shard.

I do wonder whether the First ever saw Dalamud? Since it was of the Source shard then maybe they wouldn't have, even if its geographic location was outside the multiverse bubble around the planet, cus they'd still be out of phase with it? Or maybe they did see Dalamud, but then it just disappeared for them? Or maybe, if they didn't see Dalamud, then its an indication that the multiverse split extends to at least the moon's orbit?

Looks like I have a new question for the next lore panel. lol

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Originally Posted by Iscah

You say that like there's a specific reason to reconsider that assumption - is there?

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Not unless you take the Exarch's diorama too literally. Though there was no reason to reconsider the assumption that there was one red-masked overlord per shard, either, and here we are. Now Elidibus was one of the Fourteen, the Source had two unsundered Overlords, there were still 15 Ascians in the 2.3 cutscene (so I guess they replaced Emmerololth pretty quickly, too, huh?) and the math is all wonky. I don't take anything for granted when Square Enix's goal is to tie up loose ends.

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Originally Posted by Iscah

I've just checked - the stars are the same. I could see the Spire constellation in Lakeland, and the same bright stars around the moon both there and in Southern Thanalan.

Given a bit more time I could probably find the six astrological constellations to double-confirm it.

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Awesome, thanks for checking that out! My info is more than likely outdated since I remember there being some doubt to the skies being the same initially. Good to know :D

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Originally Posted by Iscah

Omega created an "interdimensional rift" in which it was carrying out its experimental battles, but I don't remember it being suggested that it came from another dimension itself. Do you have a direct source for that quote or are you just going from memory?

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Blame Cid.

https://i.imgur.com/REGILc0.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/52dh7SD.jpg

I concede that "dimension" is not the term used, but "plane" is, and unless it's a repeated typo of "planet", the idea Cid raises is that Omega and High Seraph Ultima are both from "another plane".

There was some discussion when Orbonne came out, where people were just as puzzled by our assumption that Omega came from outer space suddenly being mentioned by Cid as "another plane".

To flip things around, is it possible to explain everything without considering other worlds to be in a different dimension?
We could for example theorize that there is only one other dimension: the aetherial realm. Where space and time is warped to allow traveling vast distances in a short amount of time, distances that aren't possible to cross in the physical realm in human timescales.

Of course, in-game the night's sky is the same on the first as on the source, however, does it change depending on location at all? We don't have timezones either, where they should exist lore-wise.. the skybox being the same everywhere could just be because the devs didn't think it'd be worth the effort making a separate skybox.

I honestly figured all the shards were just like parallel worlds *shrugs*

Also a little off topic but am I the only one who saw similarities between chai, his wife and those two miners in Ahm Areng to Cid, Jessie, Biggs and Wedge?

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Originally Posted by Rannie

I honestly figured all the shards were just like parallel worlds *shrugs*

Also a little off topic but am I the only one who saw similarities between chai, his wife and those two miners in Ahm Areng to Cid, Jessie, Biggs and Wedge?

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Parallel narrative roles, yeah. The Stoneworks (I think?) that he runs is definitely the equivalent of the Ironworks on the Source. Or it will be, once he gets it back up and running, anyway.

The Source is "Amber." The Shards are "Shadows." I'm sure we'll find some sort of Negative Source at some point, that would be "Chaos."

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Originally Posted by TheRogueX

The Source is "Amber." The Shards are "Shadows." I'm sure we'll find some sort of Negative Source at some point, that would be "Chaos."

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Woo, another person that read the Chronicles of Amber :D

They could totes say it's just a space-time phenomena, and that the planet looks like a kaleidoscope reflecting several different points in time thus giving weight to Lahabrea's monologue about "both aetheric and physical"

Imo the 'different phasing' theory is the most plausible theory.
If they are physically in a different spot in space, Y'shtola would observe aether coming in from other shards from outer space, like the light aether pouring into the source. But that just came 'out of the ground' you could say, right?
(Or it's like in quantum mechanics and while they are in really far apart physical places the shards are somehow 'entangled')

If you have the sundering only on the source is a neat explanation for the vast power difference between inhabitants of dragon star and the one where Omega was build and the inhabitants of the planet we are on.
Like, every alien we encounter is basically on a level with the Ancients... which isn't that strange if you assume that 'our' planet isn't in any way special, except that we're sundered.

Explanation is probably the wrong word. What I mean is, if we assume that planets work all the same, that it shouldn't be that suprising that aliens coming from unsundered places are quite godlike to us.

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Originally Posted by Neophyte

Imo the 'different phasing' theory is the most plausible theory.
If they are physically in a different spot in space, Y'shtola would observe aether coming in from other shards from outer space, like the light aether pouring into the source. But that just came 'out of the ground' you could say, right?
(Or it's like in quantum mechanics and while they are in really far apart physical places the shards are somehow 'entangled')

If you have the sundering only on the source is a neat explanation for the vast power difference between inhabitants of dragon star and the one where Omega was build and the inhabitants of the planet we are on.
Like, every alien we encounter is basically on a level with the Ancients... which isn't that strange if you assume that 'our' planet isn't in any way special, except that we're sundered.

Explanation is probably the wrong word. What I mean is, if we assume that planets work all the same, that it shouldn't be that suprising that aliens coming from unsundered places are quite godlike to us.

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That is an excellent point.