1. Whats the point of the unstable (Purple) aetheral nodes?
    They are, functionally, meant to serve as teleports from the main Aetherial Gates, but lorewise, I'm not sure. Probably aetheric energy bleeding out from their parent gates.
  2. What is the purpose of the large crystal in humblehearth?
    With Gridania's proximity to Coerthas and Ala Mhigo, it is probably related to the Woodsin/Forest, the Beast tribes/Primals or the Empire.
  3. Is there any important to the thaumaturg shrines in Ul'dah?
  4. Will we ever be able to enter the slyph city in the black shroud or just gaze upon it from a distance?
    We have been able to enter it in cutscenes associated with the Sylphs in the Main scenario quests. We probably will be able to visit them in the future.
  5. Will Sil'dah be a Raid or a open zone?
    City's buried, and most likely derelict with a lot of debris so I doubt it would be accessible.
  6. Will airships be safe travel with the garleans controling the skies?
    Maybe, maybe not. I wonder if Yoshi-P has a plan for random Imperial encounters on airship rides.
  7. Dispite reports of Coerthas NPC's there are 0 dragons in the area, is there a reason for this aside from the fighting with Ishguard?
    I think Scalekin are a type of mobs that Ishgard "hunts", lorewise. Drakes, for example.
  8. Why did Ishguard close it's gates, wouldn't they want help fighting the Dragons?
    This will probably be covered in a fanfic I'm writing that revolves around Feral Ren and Ishgard. To answer your question, the Archbishop issued the order to have the gates closed - probably not long after the Tragedy at Silvertear Falls.
  9. Do the guilds in the hamlets across Eorzea serve any purpose besides being wall-deco?
    Since the zones are due for a rebuild in the near future, we won't know if those will be there after the environments are updated.

Most of these questions seem to pertain to player-accessible content. This thread is meant to help clarify any questions about the world of Eorzea players may have - questions like, what is the cultural etiquette of the average person in Ul'dah?