Okay, here is what Ferne confirmed from the CG Midlander thread:

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...626#post898626

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...627#post898627

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...498#post936498

I know they don't answer your question directly, but it should give you a good basis on what was going on, and how the nation storylines were all hopping in and out of the Echo andwhatnot.