The Twelve: Who were they...?

[Catapult]

This might be relevant, so I'll drop it in here - it's the source for my assertion that the first astral era was that of the gods, a post in the German forums that I've translated.

Die sprechen ja dir ganze zeit von der 7. Katastrophe was ist denn mit den ersten 6 konnte da jemand in der story, quests was rauslesen wurde mal was davon erwähnt ?
They're always talking about the 7th Catastrophe (read: Umbral Era - I'll use this term henceforth since it's commonly used for the same description in English as "Catastrophe" is in German.), but what is with the first six? Could anyone read anything out of the story/quests? Was anything about them mentioned?

Ich habe mich wissensdurstig an das "World Environment Design"-Team gewandt und eine recht ausführliche Antwort auf deine Frage erhalten:
Thirsty for knowledge, I turned to the "World Environment Design" team and obtained a rather comprehensive answer:

Vielen Dank für eure Fragen.
Thank you for your questions.

Was ist in den vorherigen Katastrophen passiert ?
Je länger diese Katastrophen zurückliegen, desto weniger Hinweise haben wir, die uns verraten könnten, was genau passiert ist. Diejenigen, die jetzt in Eorzea leben, können nur darüber spekulieren und sich ein Bild von der Vergangenheit basierend auf Mythen und Lore machen.
Aber da die noch recht junge 6. Katastrophe (die allerdings auch schon rund 1.500 Jahre her ist) ein äußerst bedeutendes historisches Ereignis war, gibt es darüber noch immer viele Aufzeichnungen, die uns nachvollziehen lassen, was damals passiert ist.
What happened in the earlier Umbral Eras?
The further back in history the era is, the less clues we have that can tell us as to what exactly happened. Those who live in Eorzea now can only speculate and construct a picture of the past based on myths and lore.
But because the still rather recent 6th Umbral Era (although it was already about 1,500 years ago) was such a highly significant event in history, there are still many records on the topic that allow us to reconstruct what happened.

Theologen und Historiker haben viele Quellen studiert und daraus abgeleitet, was in der ersten bis sechsten Katastrophe vorgefallen ist.
1. Die Windkatastrophe. Dies war das Ende der göttlichen und gleichzeitig der Beginn der menschlichen Ära.
2. Die Blitz-Katastrophe
3. Die Feuer-Katastrophe
4. Die Erd-Katastrophe
5. Die Eis-Katastrophe
6. Die Wasser-Katastrophe. Aufgrund einer starken Überflutung wurden viele Teile Eorzeas überschwämmt und beschädigt.
Theologists and Historians have studied many sources and from them concluded what struck in the first through sixth Umbral eras.
1. The Umbral Era of Wind. This was the end of the divine's era and simultaneously the beginning of men's era. (NB: German uses the term "Menschen" to describe humankind without any connotations of gender or race - so this does not mean specifically an era of Hyur. The closest comparable term in English for the mythological context in "men" although "humanity" would be more accurate. I suspect the English localisation team would choose to phrase it differently.)
2. The Umbral Era of Lightning.
3. The Umbral Era of Fire.
4. The Umbral Era of Earth.
5. The Umbral Era of Ice.
6. The Umbral Era of Water. Severe flooding caused the submersion and damage of many parts of Eorzea.

Da alle sechs Katastrophen auf den sechs Elementen basieren, haben die Menschen geglaubt, dass es keine weitere geben wird. Aufgrund der Entdeckung der 7. Prophezeiung Mezayas fangen sie nun jedoch an, an eine bevorstehende 7. Katastrophe zu glauben.
Because all six Umbral eras are based on the six elements, the people have believed that there will be no more. But since the discovery of the 7th Verse of Mezaya's prophesy, they are instead beginning to believe in an impending 7th Umbral Era.

And then we have a tidbit that Ferne dropped on one occasion:

FUN FACT: It is believed by some that the first six hells are each aspected to one of the six elements, and that the seventh hell, where the lord of the underworld resides, represents eternal oblivion.

The eras, elements and deities all seem intertwined somehow. I wouldn't even be surprised if the Primals were a strong part of it. - They may even be manifestations of the Twelve themselves, although that is pure speculation on my part. To round things off, something else from Ferne a while back:

Hello, all!

This is Fernehalwes from the Localization team. Some of you may know me from such posts as "Thanks! That bug will we fixed in the coming patch!" and "Great catch! The erroneous comma will be removed and reflected in patch 1.XXa!"

I've also been known (once in a blue moon) to post juicy tidbits of Eorzean lore, which was why I was called upon to address the issue of the Gridanian Grand Company poster released earlier this month.

There has been much speculation that the...er...well-endowed woman depicted could be the Elder Seedseer, Kan-E-Senna. However, as has been pointed out by many an astute fan, the woman in the poster lacks the telltale horns seen on Padjals. So, who then, could this goddess-like figure be?

Well it turns out that it actually is a goddess--the guardian deity of Gridania, in fact.

(From the Character Creation screen)

"Nophica, tender of soils and harvests and goddess of abundance, is the guardian deity of Gridania. She commands the element of earth and is associated with the eleventh moon of the Eorzean calendar. Nophica is the daughter of Azeyma, and the younger sister of Llymlaen. She is most often depicted as a jubilant farmer holding a scythe of steel. Her symbol is the spring leaf."

(From residents of Eorzea)

"The Twelveswood is a vast forest set aside just for the elementals by the Matron, Nophica. It was here long before we came, and will remain long after we are gone."

"Just as Nophica's bounty helps Her children to grow, so too does the blessing of experience help young men and women grow into noble servants of the land."

"Do you not know that hymn of Nophica? It's an old favorite among farmers and harvesters.
Sun's sweet smile and wind's cool breath♪
Both of these I send thee♪
To ripe thy fruit and spread thy seed♪
And nourish those that tend thee.♪"

In short, Nophica is a mother-figure associated with bountiful harvests, fertility, and nature...hence the tendency for artists to incorporate these themes into her appearance and...er, physique.

I hope that clears everything up!
See you all again in the Localization forums!

[Bowen]

No they are a bunch of bigger Moogle.

I misread that so wrong at first. . .

[jesseleewelch]

To understand who the Twelve are we first need to understand their parentage. We know Althyk was the father of Azeyma but who was her mother? Who was Llymlaen's mother? The family trees are woefully incomplete and in dire need of more information.

[Pwnagraphic]

A bunch of brothers and sisters who were banging each other or something like that. I Dunno..

[OrionInerghem]

Hello, all!

This is Fernehalwes from the Localization team. Some of you may know me from such posts as "Thanks! That bug will we fixed in the coming patch!" and "Great catch! The erroneous comma will be removed and reflected in patch 1.XXa!"

I've also been known (once in a blue moon) to post juicy tidbits of Eorzean lore, which was why I was called upon to address the issue of the Gridanian Grand Company poster released earlier this month.

There has been much speculation that the...er...well-endowed woman depicted could be the Elder Seedseer, Kan-E-Senna. However, as has been pointed out by many an astute fan, the woman in the poster lacks the telltale horns seen on Padjals. So, who then, could this goddess-like figure be?

Well it turns out that it actually is a goddess--the guardian deity of Gridania, in fact.

(From the Character Creation screen)

"Nophica, tender of soils and harvests and goddess of abundance, is the guardian deity of Gridania. She commands the element of earth and is associated with the eleventh moon of the Eorzean calendar. Nophica is the daughter of Azeyma, and the younger sister of Llymlaen. She is most often depicted as a jubilant farmer holding a scythe of steel. Her symbol is the spring leaf."

(From residents of Eorzea)

"The Twelveswood is a vast forest set aside just for the elementals by the Matron, Nophica. It was here long before we came, and will remain long after we are gone."

"Just as Nophica's bounty helps Her children to grow, so too does the blessing of experience help young men and women grow into noble servants of the land."

"Do you not know that hymn of Nophica? It's an old favorite among farmers and harvesters.
Sun's sweet smile and wind's cool breath♪
Both of these I send thee♪
To ripe thy fruit and spread thy seed♪
And nourish those that tend thee.♪"

In short, Nophica is a mother-figure associated with bountiful harvests, fertility, and nature...hence the tendency for artists to incorporate these themes into her appearance and...er, physique.

I hope that clears everything up!
See you all again in the Localization forums!

Hmmmmmm never seen this before, what picture was this in reference to?

[kimoi]

Think of it like the Ancient Greek Olympian gods. A lot of them were related with sprawling family trees, but it didn't matter what race they were. They were gods.

[OrionInerghem]

Think of it like the Ancient Greek Olympian gods. A lot of them were related with sprawling family trees, but it didn't matter what race they were. They were gods.

It's interesting to look at.
I made another just to look it over in family tree format.

[finiteHP]

Hmmmmmm never seen this before, what picture was this in reference to?

The picture he's talking about was this:

[jesseleewelch]

I kinda wish one of the devs would take notice and maybe clear up the incomplete parentage issue in the lore. Kind of a glaring problem when trying to understand the relationships of the twelve.

[Darlan_Ashwood]

The picture he's talking about was this:

Dats pretty Hawt.