Il Mheg 1/2 of two mirrored zones?

[Nalien]

So why are Uriangier and Y'shtoya there?

Given they're currently spirited away to the First, and we're going there specifically to go find them, why would they be in the woods if it on the Source? They're stuck in the First until either late into 5.0, or some point in the 5.x series... Y'shtola referring to a "friend" could be referencing any number of things; Waiting for Thancred to return, or the twins. Us, as we're busy doing the Greatwoods scripted dungeon, or even a return to the Source for whatever reason. Heck, they may have made a new friends in the First... I can see how the line could be interpreted as "until our friend returns [from the First]", but that's definitely not the only way to interpret it...

I feel like Rak'Tika is on the source too, it doesn't really display any signs of being over taken by light, it just seems to be a normal zone. Plus, I think people are too busy trying to survive instead of bombing a town in Novrandt.

The Greatwood is basically 1.x Black Shroud; Trees so grand they're blocking out the sky (main argument for it being the Firsts version of the Shroud I'd say). I'd say that's the main reason it doesn't seem to be being taken over by Light. And who's to say the people of Novrandt are the ones bombing it? I'd say they're probably taking refuge from the endless day there, and Sin Eaters probably don't take kindly to that and start bombing the place... No forest canopy, no protection from the Light, makes sense to me.

Honestly, given the other reason we're going to the First (to stop the Flood of Light), it makes much more sense to me for Y'shtolas Captain Kirrahe line to refer to holding back the Flood while we're away, than anything else...

Lastly, if this screenshot is from the Greatwood (could be a different tree'd zone though), then the sky we can see is very First-y;

EDIT: Oh, I'd completely forgotten about the new dungeon we were shown;

That's probably almost certainly related to the burning of the Greatwood we see in the trailer, likely the dungeon that leads up to us accessing the area even, given it seems to be on the edge of the woods and the zone itself already shows the scars of what we see in the trailer. I'd say that's more than certainly related to "Until our friend returns, I will hold the line".

Regardless, I'm almost immediately reminded of Final Fantasy V with all this Greatwood burning... I'm calling this dungeon "Village of Moore" until proven wrong...

[Seraphor]

But that's not Y'shtola, it's Matoya in Y'shtola's body...

[Nalien]

But that's not Y'shtola, it's Matoya in Y'shtola's body...

That's an assumption. We simply don't know enough about what happens to the Scions to tell what's going on there, for all we know Y'shtola simply took up an alias... Everything else points to it being a zone on the First though; There are seemingly no Source zones. The expansion is First focused. Screenshots suggest the First. The simple fact that all these zones seem to be mirrors of Eorzean zones...

[MrThinker]

Wait I just remembered, wasn't Thanalan Pre-Third calamity a verdant plain? That shouldn't have happened on the 1st, so technically, the Thanalan analogue should still be a verdant plain. Making Ahm Araeng seem more like it should be Gyr Abania if anything.

[Seraphor]

That's an assumption. We simply don't know enough about what happens to the Scions to tell what's going on there, for all we know Y'shtola simply took up an alias... Everything else points to it being a zone on the First though; There are seemingly no Source zones. The expansion is First focused. Screenshots suggest the First. The simple fact that all these zones seem to be mirrors of Eorzean zones...

With Rak'tika being an outlier.
It doesn't clearly mirror any specific Eorzean location. I wouldn't even say it's the Twelveswood, if anything thats TOO similar.
It's specifically the hone of the Viera, not the Viis.
And the NPC shown there implies theyre holding off an enemy while we're absent, the most logical option is therefore they're holding off the Garleans while we're in the First.

[Mansion]

It's specifically the hone of the Viera, not the Viis.

You're going too far here. I checked the stream, when presenting the Rak'Tika Greatwood in Paris, Yoshi P said "Rak'Tika is home to some unique residents..." although your interpretation is likely, it could definitely be the Viis on the First. On the Source, Golmore is home to the Vieras, we already know that. Rak'Tika does not have to look like the Black Shroud, it just merely needs to be a forest that evolved for 12 000 years in a way, just like the Shroud has evolved in another way.

Same thing with Matoya possessing Y'shtola. That's just assumptions and not tangible facts.

I really think everything is on the First.

[Nalien]

With Rak'tika being an outlier.
It doesn't clearly mirror any specific Eorzean location. I wouldn't even say it's the Twelveswood, if anything thats TOO similar.

So it's too similar to the Twelveswood but doesn't clearly mirror any of Eorzea? What...

Honestly, just look at the Aetherytes... I think it makes more sense for Lakeland, Rak'tika, Il Mheg, and Amh Araeng to share a common Aetheryte design because they're all in Norvrandt... Heck, the teaser site says "A new adventure awaits in Norvrandt", while also saying "Journey through expansive new areas, such as the Rak’tika Greatwood, Amh Araeng, Il Mheg, and Lakeland", if any of those weren't in Norvrandt, I imagine it would instead say "A new adventure awaits in Norvrandt and whatever tiny part of Garlemald we're offering".

You're going too far here. I checked the stream, when presenting the Rak'Tika Greatwood in Paris, Yoshi P said "Rak'Tika is home to some unique residents..." although your interpretation is likely, it could definitely be the Viis on the First.

I thought they were referring to the Nu Mou with that line in Paris, though I can see how people took it to mean the Viera, given the trailer for the Viera uses Rak'tika... Either way, it's worth noting that this was at Paris... Back before confirmation of the First was a thing and these all could still have just been Garlemald zones... Back before the idea of Viera also being called Viis was a thing... They weren't about to say "Actually, these aren't Viera, they're Viis" at that time...

[UniKoRn]

On the topic of rejoined shards "reduced to ruin" could mean so many different things. It could mean its obliterated from existence or it could mean its a lifeless husk and anything in between. We do know that lives are lost when calamities happen but what if it's only some of them? Where do they go, stuck on their ruined homeworld or thrown into the source? I just want to cling to the hope that we can save people from those 7 worlds too! =)

[fay2]

On the up side 4.56 finally renamed/started calling "the Void" between dimensions, "the Rift".

We can expand on

"The Orbonne Monastery"
on the 1st shard theory

The Lakeland area in Norvrandt on the 1st shard has the vast majority of its plant life have a violet colour.

The plants after the magic circle gateway have a violet tinge to them, but are far more bleached by the light. However every thing there is heavily effected by light aether.



An aetherynet crystal on the source at the start of "The Orbonne Monastery" raid.


An aetherynet crystal past the magic circle gateway. On the 1st shard?


Aetheryrite influence from the 1st shards style?

If that image is correct it's... not quite hard confirmation but soft confirmation the Au Ra have some draconic ancestry. "Drahn" is draconic for, well, dragon.

well H in dracnic is lifeless and N is life.

So it might be a naming slight/insult by a dragon that they kept.
or maybe something to do with their origin if they where artificial organic life made by the allagans?

Dra "lifeless" "life"

As for dragons not being able to tear a hole between dimensions through the rift.

exhibit A


exhibit B what happened to 1st brood that where on the source during the Allagan empire.

Why are the other members of 1st brood not imprisoned or neural-linked how did they escape the Allagan empire?

[Mansion]

(For the crystal in Orbonne, I think it's just the FFXII model of Save crystals, really)