How/Why are the islands floating in Heavensward + The Aery?

[Vydos]

I'm surprised I haven't seen a thread about this. Or I might have just missed it. This was honestly the first question that came to my mind when entering the new heavensward zones like Churning Mists and Sea of Clouds. I have kept my eyes open for any possible hints to it ingame but I either missed it or there hasn't been any information about it.

And before going with "It's magic/fantasy world." I'd like to point out that the floating islands seem to hint that they either were one large entity.

Churning Mists

Structures and Islands are showing roads that lead to another higher/lower/distant island. Add to that, that floating parts of the building structures are sometimes seen spread around. And then there's the occasional vision of the past that show things very much intact. (examples: The cutscene with the knights of Ishgard after Nidhogg's defeat. Or Nidhogg + Hraesvelgr their conversation.)

Sea of Clouds

Less of the above, but there's a moogle head-shaped island to the north. Which the sightseeing log, hints that moogle might have been the cause for raising this thing in the sky.

Things that both have in common

Crystal like structures below the islands and in the case of Churning Mists, it visibly sticks out in some places above ground.

The Aery

I don't know if anyone noticed the pieces of Allagan debris near the last part of the instance. It really makes one wonder about the entire conflict between Dragons and Allagans. Perhaps they are also linked to the cause of all the floating islands and Azys Lla.

This is mostly me asking the lore community if there are other pieces of information or hints that I might have missed.

[ShoeVsYou]

I had assumed that it was due to wind aspected aether. Just as the pools in Voor Sian Siran are generated by water aspected crystals. If you look at the bottom of a lot of the "islands", there are green crystals.

[MercuryD]

I had assumed that it was due to wind aspected aether. Just as the pools in Voor Sian Siran are generated by water aspected crystals. If you look at the bottom of a lot of the "islands", there are green crystals.

Mostly this. Sea of Clouds is wind aspected and Churning Mists is lightning aspected. Thats also why they have unique umbral weather, overaspected aether.

[Vydos]

I had assumed that it was due to wind aspected aether. Just as the pools in Voor Sian Siran are generated by water aspected crystals. If you look at the bottom of a lot of the "islands", there are green crystals.

Mostly this. Sea of Clouds is wind aspected and Churning Mists is lightning aspected. Thats also why they have unique umbral weather, overaspected aether.

Hmm, still those explanations give little actual information and feels like it's just the "It's magic/fantasy world". While I have the firm impression that those lands either belonged on the ground once. Or were one giant floating continent. But that still leaves the question as to why and how such a continent ends up flying in the sky. And why the allagans felt like artificially recreating them in Azys Lla. Which seems to hint that the Allagans lifted (random?) pieces of land.

I know that we can all agree that those aether/crystals are what are keeping the islands afloat. But those islands must have come from the ground at some time. One does not simply create land out of thin air, stick some crystals below them and have the aether suspend them in air.

[treuhavik]

I know that we can all agree that those aether/crystals are what are keeping the islands afloat. But those islands must have come from the ground at some time. One does not simply create land out of thin air, stick some crystals below them and have the aether suspend them in air.

Well, that's all we really have at present. It's still unknown as to when it happened, but at some point the crystals beneath those pieces of land went "wild", raising the masses to where they float now. The Allagans replicated this themselves with their somethingsomethingpropulsionsystems in order to create a safe environment in which to conduct their research, I imagine.

[ShoeVsYou]

While I have the firm impression that those lands either belonged on the ground once. Or were one giant floating continent.

Of course they were part of the ground once. That's how geology works. Before we understood how mountains were formed on Earth, I'm sure we looked at them as magic or hand-made by God. We aren't told exactly how they started floating, but I am certain it has to do with the elemental crystals literally lifting the land out of the ground. In regards to them being one landmass, I remember a side quest or one of the sightseeing entries in the Churning Mists said that the land was devastated during the beginning of the Dragonsong War. This may imply that the islands were connected, and split during the conflict.

Also, I don't think anyone could argue that Azys Lla is natural. I assume the Allagans learned how to emulate the aether currents from places like the Sea of Clouds, and likely powered them by the flagship and the warring triad.

[Dalvy]

Churning mists: combination of non-elemental and lightning aspected aether I think. The blue hue you see from forelands I'll say is probably unaspected aether crystal.


Sea of clouds: see the greenish crystal? That's wind aether.

[Zohar_Lahar]

The moogles' legend implied that many of the landmasses were a singular continent until they were sundered by fire from the heavens at some vague point in history.

[Sylentmana]

I've come to understand that everything in Eorzea can be ultimately blamed on either the Allag or the Asians (or both). In this case I'm leaning toward the Allagans used wind crystals to make them float.

[treuhavik]

Since no one buys this stuff without a quote...

Michael-Christopher Koji Fox: Most of it is not Allagan technology; it’s all just wind crystals gone wild. Over-aspected crystals wreak havoc on the land, even on that mountain in Dravania. We’ll talk about it a bit in the story, but that’s not to say some places haven’t been raised with Allag technology… you might see that, too…