The First Umbral Eras

[Kayokane]

To the OP: ARR begins shortly after the dawn of the 7th astral era. This is already confirmed by devs.

An umbral era only lasts as long as the disaster lasts- The Astral eras mark the time between said disasters.

Are Umbrals Eras short? Or does it depend on the destruction?

It depends on the destruction. The Umbral Eras are the periods of chaos and regrouping that follow the cataclysms that end each Astral Era. The regrouping can take several years, to several decades. More on this, and what happened during the 7th Umbral Era, will be laid out in detail in the 2.0 storyline.

I believe this is what you are referring to, it doesn't necessarily confirm that we are in an Astral Era at this point, merely that an Umbral Era lasts as long as it takes to recover from the damages of the disaster that caused it. We don't have enough information about Eorzea as a whole to accurately say "This is the 7th Astral Era" or "This is the 7th Umbral Era." We adventurers returning (from the Time Vortex of Wibbily-Wobbily) may be what help usher in the 7th Astral Era (through our nature to help everybody we run across because shiny trinkets and stuff) and overall quicken the remainder of the recovery :3


what I'm try to say if that is to poorly written is: The information we don't have is too important to assume the End of an Era