How do calamities work, again?

[Big-Isaac]

From what I understand, the Ascians travel to the various different shards and attempt to saturate each with a particular element - in the First's case, that element is light.
Once the elemental balance within a shard has been tilted far enough towards a particular side, that excess elemental aether starts trickling over into the Source, which causes appropriate, negative effects. Eventually, that trickle becomes a flood, causing the shard to crash into the source, resulting in a calamity and rejoining.

What I don't quite understand is how this relates to the Ascians' actions within the Source, or how the 7th calamity fit into this.
The 7th umbral calamity was caused solely by events taking place in the Source and didn't seem to have anything to do with any of the shards. So I'm a tad confused about how Bahamut breaking free and wrecking the place caused a rejoining, or how a rejoining caused Bahamut to break free (whichever is the case).

[Dezarc]

from how i understood the explanation in the MSQ, once the elemental balance tips towards a flood that starts affecting the aether in the Source, but a calamitous event needs to happen on the Source at the same time for the boundaries between it and the shard to crack enough for all that excess aether to rejoin with it - the war of the magi, the dropping of dalamud, the theoretical event of the black rose being unleashed, etc. - so i don't think that a shard merely being in a flooded state is enough to cause a rejoining

[Omury]

So, when a shard is over aspected that aether trickles back to the source. Then, something happens on the source and causes a calamity. This calamity is aspected a certain way by the Acians to create a crack in the aetherial barrier around the source and the aspected aether then rushes into the source.

[Ildefons]

Something else to keep in mind, according to the Exarch's explanation, is that the flood itself will magnify the effect of whatever disaster was about to befall the source. For example, maybe the earthquake that destroyed the Allaghans wouldn't have been so bad if it weren't for the shard that got flooded by Earth. So maybe Bahamut wouldn't have destroyed so much of Eorzea if there hadn't been a flood.

[JeanneOrnitier]

The seventh calamity was supposed to be all the elements aspected toward astral, right? And with Urianger revealing astral is darkness, I guess the shard that rejoined during the 7th was experiencing a Flood of Darkness (but not too far gone the way the Thirteenth was).

[Sylvain]

I just don't understand something.
If à flood occurred on all rejoined shard. Why didn't the 13th (now named the void) joined? The explanation used to be '' a flood of darkness happened making it un rejoins le '' (#useless).
But then we learn that other shard have been flooded and did rejoin.

Soo... I don't get it

[JeanneOrnitier]

I just don't understand something.
If à flood occurred on all rejoined shard. Why didn't the 13th (now named the void) joined? The explanation used to be '' a flood of darkness happened making it un rejoins le '' (#useless).
But then we learn that other shard have been flooded and did rejoin.

Soo... I don't get it

The Flood of Darkness on the Thirteenth was too much. The other shards rejoined before they were too flooded all the way.
The Flood of Light on the First would also have been too much if Minfilia hadn't interfered back during HW, so Elidibus was probably counting on Urianger getting involved and asking Minfilia for help.

I'm curious to see what the other shards were like in their floods. Was whatever shard had the Flood of Water seeing people transform into sea monsters like Leviathan's tempered followers do?

[Sylvain]

The Flood of Darkness on the Thirteenth was too much. The other shards rejoined before they were too flooded all the way.
The Flood of Light on the First would also have been too much if Minfilia hadn't interfered back during HW, so Elidibus was probably counting on Urianger getting involved and asking Minfilia for help.

I'm curious to see what the other shards were like in their floods. Was whatever shard had the Flood of Water seeing people transform into sea monsters like Leviathan's tempered followers do?

I wonder too, it'd be nice to know at some point.

So in order for a rejoining to occur, not only do you need to heavily tilt an element on a shard, but also cause a calamity at the exact same time before the shard gets entirely flooded.
Damn, that must require so insane precision.

So technically, bahamut calamity was suppose to rejoin the first right? Since both calamity happened nearly at the same time

[Ilenya]

The Flood of Light on the First would also have been too much if Minfilia hadn't interfered back during HW, so Elidibus was probably counting on Urianger getting involved and asking Minfilia for help.

Was this ever actually mentioned anywhere? After all, the Black Rose had been initially developed back when Gaius had control over some things, so it's not as if it couldn't have been planned at the same time as Dalamud. I'm not sure if double Calamities are possible, but I imagine if they were, a two for one deal would suit the Ascians just fine.

[Hezzlocks]

The Flood of Darkness on the Thirteenth was too much. The other shards rejoined before they were too flooded all the way.
The Flood of Light on the First would also have been too much if Minfilia hadn't interfered back during HW, so Elidibus was probably counting on Urianger getting involved and asking Minfilia for help.

Actually, I don't think he was. The Warriors of Darkness arrived in the Source *while the flood was happening*, but were quite content with toying around with the WoL and taking the long way around to causing a Calamity via aggravating all the Beast tribes into summoning stronger Primals. That is, at least, until the WoL stopped the Garuda summoning, foiling their plans, and Urianger convinced them that killing the WoL would speed up the process in causing a calamity.

Their initial casual approach, alongside our new understanding of time between the stars, suggests to me that at that moment, time was moving very slowly on the First in comparison to the Source. While the flow of time was in this state, the WoDs had plenty of time to cause a calamity before the flood could overtake the First completely. In fact this could very well have been going on ever since Lahabrea attempted to cause a calamity with Ultima weapon.

If you consider this possibility, then Minfilia's involvement would have been unexpected, but not entirely unwelcome, as until she halted the flood they would have been working on a strict time limit. Minfilia's actions therefore would have foiled Elidibus' plot, *but* also given him all the time he needs to create a calamity to usher the rejoining.

That is, of course, until we arrive on the First, kill Emet-Selch, and remove a great deal of corrupted Light from the shard. Now, I personally don't think the shard is out of the woods yet. The Eden raid will very likely, imo, go deeper into the Sin Eater lore and reveal the source of the Sin Eaters, which means the First wouldn't be truly safe until the Eden raid is dealt with. But things have gotten so messed up that Elidibus clearly has no idea what will happen next. He's winging it now.