Oriental References

[Anonymoose]

I imagine the world extends even farther out from the 'moon map'.

Aye - quite a bit farther, too, by my estimations. Going by the way the general outline mirrors Earth, I'd wager that map is meant to represent just about exactly half of the planet. Some of Ilsabard is missing, all of Othard, and then you're probably still missing a ton of "Pacific Ocean".

[DarthSanguine]

Both locations "Ilsabard being northeast of Aldenard" and Othard being the "easternmost continent" are taken from Gamerescape's pages http://ffxiv.gamerescape.com/wiki/Ilsabard and http://ffxiv.gamerescape.com/wiki/Othard. I see no reason not to believe that Ilsabard is being shown in the map as "The Garlean Empire" instead of Othard.

http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Hydaelyn

[ExKage]

http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Hydaelyn

So if Ilsabard is -northwest- as this wiki editor claims, does this mean it is part of the New World continent to Aldenard's west as shown in the space map or is it not more likely that someone made a typo on the wiki you want to use?

[Anonymoose]

At the very least, it's probably not west of Aldenard.

Amid azure seas, encompassing the westernmost of the Three Great Continents, there lies a realm embraced by gods and forged by heroes. Her name...Eorzea.

In various past threads, there has been little (if any) resistance to the idea that the continents can be though of in real-world parallels of Africa, Europe, and Asia. The real question is whether the landbridge attached to Aldenard is technically part of Ilsabard or Othard. Ilsabard's territory in the north might fade into "Asia" before the landbridge, or it might include it, separating "east" from "far east."

My assumption of an Aldenard > Ilsabard > Othard path was formed in 1.0, using basic 2010-11 press materials (which could easily have been simplified to claim that Othard was the Garlean Empire, since the Garlean Empire had already conquered it). These references led to a basic concept of the conquest, which I did my best to lay out in Rise & Fall. I claimed that Ilsabard was the "middle" of the three continents, that Aldenard lie to its "southwest", and that the Garleans conquered the "eastern continent" first. All of this passed (or, if you are correct, slipped through) SE's fact check, with the only request being that I refrain from saying the totality of Othard was conquered (sure enough, we now know that a few strategically worthless coastal cities remain free because the Empire doesn't think they're worth the resources to claim or the time to manage).

Since then, my assumption simply never changed. It even seemed supported by the constant references to Othard as the "far eastern continent". Why specify far if it's right over the landbridge, right? To separate it from the Near Eastern island of Thavnair, I suppose.

Anybody have official references that are specific enough to be sure? Again, save for that one claim of "west" in the FFWiki, all of our mental maps seem to agree save for to which continent the landbridge specifically belongs, lol.I mean, the Garlean path sure makes sense if the land bridge is Othard - they had a linear path from North to South. Yet I can't remember anything specifying that the Garlean assault on Eorzea was itself launched from Othard... Frustrating.

I'll see what I can find.

[ExKage]

At this point, if Othard -was- that landmass references as "The Garlean Empire" then Ilsabard is not represented at all in any of the maps and is not seen.

[Zohar_Lahar]

At this point, if Othard -was- that landmass references as "The Garlean Empire" then Ilsabard is not represented at all in any of the maps and is not seen.

I wonder just what is across the Bloodbrine Sea.

[Anonymoose]

I wonder just what is across the Bloodbrine Sea.

Well, you know me ... I love requests. Your question actually led me to two interesting things in my saved transcripts:

#1) I think we can finally put a nail in the coffin of the idea that the little island up northwest might actually be Sharlayan. It's indeed farther.

Why would Lord Jannequinard think I had information on the whereabouts of a handful of unbelievers from across the Bloodbrine Sea? I am an astrologian, not a fortune-teller. I cannot simply look to the stars and scry the location of the viscount's guests...unless his guests are dragons, that is.

#2) An interesting quote from a path companion in 1.0 (Quest: Together We Stand) - the Hyuran companion tell the sylphs that the Black Shroud is too close to Imperial territory (Ala Mhigo and the landbridge) and suggest getting to safer ground, such as south, east, or even north across the Bloodbrine. Sounds like awful advice if that's where Ilsabard is, right?