SPOILERS - I have questions about calamities and the order of events from DT

[Ilenya]

That...Would end up with a hilariously silly miscalculation on the Ascian's part I don't see happening. After the 13th fell to the Flood of Darkness, I imagine they were very careful to not make mistakes, and leaving behind parts of the aether that was supposed to go to the source is a pretty big problem on their end.

Could be wrong. Just seems unlikely. To me it all sounds closer to a shard being prepped for Calamity 9, but with no Ascians babysitting it, it went a little out of hand until the shard basically ended up with Electric Eulmore.

[Raiya]

That...Would end up with a hilariously silly miscalculation on the Ascian's part I don't see happening. After the 13th fell to the Flood of Darkness, I imagine they were very careful to not make mistakes, and leaving behind parts of the aether that was supposed to go to the source is a pretty big problem on their end.

Could be wrong. Just seems unlikely. To me it all sounds closer to a shard being prepped for Calamity 9, but with no Ascians babysitting it, it went a little out of hand until the shard basically ended up with Electric Eulmore.

Unless that wasnt the plan and the Ascians overseeing it bailed the scene when Emet and Elidibus were killed. We don't know what happened to some of the remaining ascians as well after the Unsundered were slain too.

[Alenore]

Unless that wasnt the plan and the Ascians overseeing it bailed the scene when Emet and Elidibus were killed. We don't know what happened to some of the remaining ascians as well after the Unsundered were slain too.

Emet and Elidibus were killed very recently. Krile is in the Source for at least 20 years, so the shard was already in a bad state way before they were killed.

[Garolymar]

I can't remember if Emet ever mention this or if it's accurate at all but in the cutscene where Emet is explaining calamities and the reflections are their "locations" I guess you'd call them, accurate? Are the 11th and 12th closer in a sense that maybe travel between them would be easier? if so I do wonder

Since the 12ths calamity was lighting aspected maybe Sphenes world is the 11th reflection and there was some spillover to the 11th and it's what caused the world to be more heavily aspected towards lightning?

[Denishia]

Also I think we may be on the right track here:

What if electrope ISN'T native to Sphene's Shard but introduced via Ascian shenanigans as a surviving relict of the Rejoined Shard destroyed in the Calamity of Lightning? Like using the auracite and Thirteenth survivors in plots to destabilize the Source and the First, the elemental affinity is a red herring, and the lightning aether influence went wildly out of hand because of time progression and Ascian distraction.

[Lyth]

When an aetheric flood/Calamity occurs, it shifts the polarity of the other shards. The known example that we have of this is the Flood of Darkness on the Thirteenth, which altered the polarity of the First.

'In an age past, the world you know as the Thirteenth was flooded by Darkness. Like ripples of water, the repercussions were felt in the other shards, none more so than here on the First. It became perilously imbalanced and susceptible to the influence of the light.' (Mitron, Shadows of the Past, Lv.80).

We know that the Second Umbral Calamity (of Lightning) rejoined the Twelfth. I'd be interested if anyone has actually confirmed which shard Living Memory is from, but I think that it makes more sense if it's a world that isn't yet rejoined (i.e. Fourth, Eighth, Ninth, or Eleventh). It's interesting to note that the Sixth Umbral Calamity (of Water), which is tied to the War of the Magi and Nym, is associated with the Tenth, because they have similar spacing to the Light/Darkness pair. If that's the case, then it could be that there was a second lightning-aspected world in the Eighth resulting from the water calamity. That's my guess for the location of Sphene's world.

[EinherjarLucian]

When an aetheric flood/Calamity occurs, it shifts the polarity of the other shards. The known example that we have of this is the Flood of Darkness on the Thirteenth, which altered the polarity of the First.

'In an age past, the world you know as the Thirteenth was flooded by Darkness. Like ripples of water, the repercussions were felt in the other shards, none more so than here on the First. It became perilously imbalanced and susceptible to the influence of the light.' (Mitron, Shadows of the Past, Lv.80).

We know that the Second Umbral Calamity (of Lightning) rejoined the Twelfth. I'd be interested if anyone has actually confirmed which shard Living Memory is from, but I think that it makes more sense if it's a world that isn't yet rejoined (i.e. Fourth, Eighth, Ninth, or Eleventh). It's interesting to note that the Sixth Umbral Calamity (of Water), which is tied to the War of the Magi and Nym, is associated with the Tenth, because they have similar spacing to the Light/Darkness pair. If that's the case, then it could be that there was a second lightning-aspected world in the Eighth resulting from the water calamity. That's my guess for the location of Sphene's world.

This makes the most sense, honestly, and absolutely fits with the timing involved. Great catch!

[Cleretic]

I'd be interested if anyone has actually confirmed which shard Living Memory is from,

I would argue that more important and compelling than any argument for what shard Living Memory is or isn't in is Y'shtola's point that we can't tell. The only people that could tell (and the only people that probably care) are the Ascians, and it's not exactly worthwhile to ask. Like, what value does this number truly have, to anybody? It's not important what some abstract third party of planet-smashing shadow wizards call it, what's important is that it's where Alexandria was, and where Living Memory is; all the number would do is confirm if the shard's there or not, and I think it's very obvious that it is, given the sun rises on Living Memory in the credits.

It's also a clever way to circumvent this being the core of the story. It refuses to be a 'visit another shard' story in any of the ways people anyone would want it to be, and that's right to do, because it isn't one.

It's a South Sea Isles story with extra steps.

[Sylvain]

I would argue that more important and compelling than any argument for what shard Living Memory is or isn't in is Y'shtola's point that we can't tell. The only people that could tell (and the only people that probably care) are the Ascians, and it's not exactly worthwhile to ask. Like, what value does this number truly have, to anybody? It's not important what some abstract third party of planet-smashing shadow wizards call it, what's important is that it's where Alexandria was, and where Living Memory is; all the number would do is confirm if the shard's there or not, and I think it's very obvious that it is, given the sun rises on Living Memory in the credits.

It's also a clever way to circumvent this being the core of the story. It refuses to be a 'visit another shard' story in any of the ways people anyone would want it to be, and that's right to do, because it isn't one.

It's a South Sea Isles story with extra steps.

Well no, it can matter as apparently the relative proximity can have an influence, like the 13th flood impacting the 1st greatly.