Sundering and specific character questions. [Spoilers]

[Theozilla]

Koji said in an interview 3 years ago that the Sundering was isolated to just our planet and the Dragonstar was not affected.

Oh that’s interesting to hear, does anyone have a think to said interview out of curiosity/ for posterity’s sake?

Considering the fact there are actual Amaurotine ruins up there, this is the most likely scenario. Now, why there was no moon present during The Final Days however...that's the big question. Unless of course it was created after them.

I mean the current moon we know was formed after the Sundering, as Hydaelyn stated that Zodiark got “banished to the heavens”, i.e. got turned into the moon (and moons of the Shards?).


If the Sundering being localized to just the original planet (and local orbit) of the Source is indeed explicity stated canon, I guess Vyrerus’ theorizing of how hypothetical space travel would work makes the most sense (even with the Gordian of trying to figure out the time differential would affect stuff too, like different night skies).

If the Source and Shards are basically a local space-time singularity/aberration, would that mean only the Source can receive meteorites and asteroids falling onto to it, or would any meteorites falling into the local space the Source and Shards are located in, essentially be duplicated and the “same” meteorite falls into both the Source and the Shards? But then I suppose any “duplication” would only apply to non-living beings or else Midgardsormr and other “alien” beings would have been “duplicated” as well?

(to be clear I am fully aware that part of these inconsistencies/reconciliation issues, are just an inherent aspect of the suspension of disbelief for fantasy stories, but it is still fun/interesting to theorize how the metaphysics of the FFXIV universe works with its “alien” characters)

[Vyrerus]

Resurrecting this thread

Not necessarily. Whenever we're shown the Source and the Shards in the Aetherial Sea, they seem to be floating in a ring orbiting nothing in outer space. My theory is that this ring of shards and Source has actual spatial coordinates, as that is something that the 200 years in the future Ironworks had to divine in order to make their time traveling tower work. This weak point in plot is hidden behind the bulwark of the setting, that being that the races on Hydaelyn aren't capable of long range space flight as far as we know.

Of course, because of the Aetherial Sea there is also an Aetherial Plane, basically a 5th dimension, and it's entirely possible that denizens of each shard perceive space the same way from the same spatial coordinates as the original planet, but they are unwittingly stuck in that 5th dimension due to their aetherial coordinates. Basically what I propose is that if any of the shard peoples did discover spaceflight they would leave their shard into the same space that's all around the Source/original planet, but they wouldn't be tangible unless they also crossed onto the same aetherial plane.

It could be that spaceflight is impossible for people on the shards, that once they start to break orbit, they hit aetherial interference, and are unable to break atmosphere. I feel though, that if they did fly into outer space, and then turned back, they would land back on their same shard planet, because that is their aetherial coordinate.

And we can apply that to every planet and star in the setting too. They all have aetherial seas, coordinates, lifestreams etc. It's just, most planets have just one. "Hydaelyn" has, as of now, seven total aetherial planes.

Of course, if we take it as explained in game by the Exarch, he says they are physically separate but aetherially connected. I think that was a layman's explanation though, as thinking about this too hard makes everything messy.

Of course, it's already messy by the nature of the fact that it is fantasy. Keep in mind that sufficiently strong foes have been shown to be entirely capable of opening pocket rifts, interdimensional or otherwise, allowing them to exist on an entirely separate dimensional plane from the whole mess.

[Tsiron]

I wouldn't be able to tell you where it's stated exactly, but I'm pretty sure the Sundering affected only the area around their Star, yeah. Midgardsormr and his brood are that strong because they're unsundered beings. As for your other questions we... don't really know, though there's a chance it might pop up in Endwalker (what with us going to the Moon and all)

[MikkoAkure]

Koji said in an interview 3 years ago that the Sundering was isolated to just our planet and the Dragonstar was not affected.

[KageTokage]

The thing that makes me question when the moon came into being are the buildings we see at Mare Lamentorum.

Perhaps Hydaelyn's summoners created it originally as a safe haven in case the Final Days returned and ended up completely destroying the world, but had it used as Zodiark's prison further down the line?

[Vyrerus]

The thing that makes me question when the moon came into being are the buildings we see at Mare Lamentorum.

Perhaps Hydaelyn's summoners created it originally as a safe haven in case the Final Days returned and ended up completely destroying the world, but had it used as Zodiark's prison further down the line?

I think it's pretty much a research outpost turned memorial. If the Ancients were as invested in studying and stewarding the planet as Emet-selch says, then it makes sense that they'd want a full view of their planet. I actually kind of wonder if there was more than one moon before.

Of course, I can't help but think of our own moon's incidental function... it soaks up many many meteors, asteroids, and other celestial bodies that would otherwise touch down on Earth. Both small and large. Hence why it's covered in craters.

Perhaps the moon with Mare Lamentorum was made after the Final Days, but before Hydaelyn's creation. Perhaps as both a planetary observatory, and a meteor aegis.

[Iscah]

Of course, I can't help but think of our own moon's incidental function... it soaks up many many meteors, asteroids, and other celestial bodies that would otherwise touch down on Earth. Both small and large. Hence why it's covered in craters.

Yes and no. While it certainly has taken hits from meteors that otherwise might have hit Earth, the reason for the buildup of craters is that there is no weather or tectonic processes renewing the surface to erase them. The Moon's lack of atmosphere would also presumably mean no slowing effect or "burning up" of the descending meteor, so it gets hit harder and by bigger rocks.

It's only going to shield a very small fraction of the Earth at any one time – think about its size relative to the whole sky! – and I'm not sure exactly how much influence its gravity has but it's most likely just going to bend trajectories a bit, not "suck things in" and pull them off course.

[Vyrerus]

Yes and no. While it certainly has taken hits from meteors that otherwise might have hit Earth, the reason for the buildup of craters is that there is no weather or tectonic processes renewing the surface to erase them. The Moon's lack of atmosphere would also presumably mean no slowing effect or "burning up" of the descending meteor, so it gets hit harder and by bigger rocks.

It's only going to shield a very small fraction of the Earth at any one time – think about its size relative to the whole sky! – and I'm not sure exactly how much influence its gravity has but it's most likely just going to bend trajectories a bit, not "suck things in" and pull them off course.

I mean, there are also lunar meteorites from collisions with the right side of the moon. The low gravity and no atmosphere cause them to fall to earth, where they are only preserved in deserts, mostly the Sahara and Antarctica.

It does shield the Earth though, at least partially, and that is the direct reason for why it has craters. No meteorites hitting it = no craters. It's not just because its surface doesn't wear down, much. That's why we can still observe them, though.

In a magical world with a magical moon with a magical atmosphere created by magical people with magical creations being magical all the time, I'm sure they could magically have it perform better shielding than our mundane moon.

Anyway, it's something that's very fun to think about, especially when theories like this exist. Lunar Cataclysm

[Iscah]

It does shield the Earth though, at least partially, and that is the direct reason for why it has craters. No meteorites hitting it = no craters

That's not because it's "shielding the Earth" though; it's because both Earth and Moon are both objects in space that can potentially get hit by space rocks coming in from any direction. One wears all its scars forever on a rocky surface, the other hides them and wears them down or swallows them in the ocean without a mark to be seen.

Things might be aimed at the Earth but hit the Moon first. But just as possible they might come from the opposite direction and hit the larger Earth first.

Additionally, despite the "lunar cataclysm" description of the Late Heavy Bombardment theory you linked, as far as I can tell the only reason it's called "lunar" is because that's where the (debated) evidence for it is found. The article talks about it bombarding all four terrestrial planets and has a whole section on how Earth would have been impacted by it, with no mention of the idea of the Moon shielding it from anything.

Again, look at the size of the Moon in the night sky. That is how much of the Earth's surface it can shield at any given point, and the other half of the globe is completely unprotected.

[Theozilla]

If there was a pre-existing moon/celestial satellite prior to the Sundering/Zodiark’s banishment to the heavens, and it was more akin to Zodiark was sealed inside/fused with the moon, maybe that’s what gave the Ascians the idea to give the Allagans the idea to put Primal Bahamut into Dalamud?

I believe I found the interview MikkoAkure may have been referring to?
https://gamerescape.com/2018/12/01/f...with-koji-fox/

And Koji only says that the Sundering/“splitting” was focused on the planet Hydaelyn. He actually says how far the split extends is something that he still needs to confirm with Oda-san. So it seems like it wasn’t fully confirmed then.

So perhaps maybe the Sundering only sundered the souls the Planet/Source, but the other planets instead essentially got “copied” into the dimensions of the 13 shards, but they aren’t “diminished” soul-wise like the Hydaelyn shard planet inhabitants. So there could be a Migardsormr in the universe of the First, who is also unsundered, but just never came to the First?