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(See also: History of Eorzea)

Introduction[ | ]

The people of the Sixth Astral Era believed that the worst was behind them, and that the succeeding era would herald everlasting prosperity after overcoming the calamities of the six elements. We now see that this was really wishful thinking on their part, and that a seventh phase of annihilation awaited them in roughly sixteen centuries. This still raises the question of why a seventh catastrophe occurred if the six elements were taken into account. One must go back to the start of the Sixth Astral Era, when man's journey was restarted, to discover the answer.

The Age of Restoration: Years 1-400[ | ]

The Sixth Umbral Era left behind severe wounds that caused the few surviving in the realm to feel great despair. The art of magic was generally outlawed for fear that its continued usage may make their problems worse. Libraries with antiquated books were set on fire, and anyone who were thought to practice spellcraft were sought out and placed on trial as criminals. Many a scholarly man met the same end because the populace was so enraged that they were unable to tell the difference between science and sorcery. The few Fifth Astral Era nations that survived disintegrated and vanished, their peoples dispersing across the realm to grab what little resources were left after the majority of their best minds were lost. Driven by the primal urge to survive, tribes and clans banded together into small communities and began a centuries-long journey to rebuild their broken lives.

The Age of Communion: Years 400-1000[ | ]

After the catastrophic flood, the population of Eorzea eventually started to increase 400 years later. Numerous immigrants came to Aldenard from the eastern continents of Othard and Ilsabard, as well as the islands beyond the Bloodbrine Sea. The Hyurs' three major migratory waves also permanently altered how people were distributed across Eorzea.

At this period, racial animosity was at its highest. Different races were spotted moving to particular city-states to avoid persecution: the Elezen to Ishgard in the Coerthas highlands; the Lalafell to Belah'dia in the Thanalan deserts; and the Roegadyn to Limsa Lominsa on the island of Vylbrand. Even this, though, wasn't without issues. It took only a few years for Belah'dia to fall and split into the two new city-states of Ul'dah and Sil'dih as a result of feuding among the Lalafellin royalty.

However, this does not imply that there was no racial peace throughout that time. The Black Shroud's Hyur and Elezen inhabitants became closer as a result of the spirits of the forest expelling them, which eventually resulted in the founding of the underground city of Gelmorra by both groups.[1]

The Age of Strife: Years 1000-1300[ | ]

The city-states proceeded to expand and consolidate their dominance throughout the course of the following several hundred years, making steady progress. But more issues arose when they tried to extend their claim to neighboring lands. Territorial disputes between neighbors exacerbated tensions in the outlying areas. Native beast tribes like the kobolds and Ixal became enraged with the intruders and rose up in resistance, destroying the land in protest. Ul'dah and Sil'dih, unable to put their disagreements aside, fought a pointless battle until neither side could remember why they had even fought in the first place.

In the midst of the bloody fights that erupted all over the realm, the balance of power shifted once more. While money flowed from the hands of the ambitious into the wallets of mercenaries and sellswords, rivers ran red with blood. Ul'dah finally overcame their sister city-state and destroyed it, emerging as the rulers of Thanalan. The Highland Hyur clan finally succeeded in uniting the feuding tribes of Gyr Abania, and they did so to build the city-state of Ala Mhigo. Increased trade with the lands outside of Eorzea enhanced Limsa Lominsa's control over the waters, while improvements in shipbuilding skills made the coastal city-state a prosperous mingling pot of cultures.

The inhabitants of Gelmorra finally achieved the use of conjury to achieve contact with the spirits of the Black Shroud and persuaded the elementals to allow them residence in the forest after many long years of refining the art. The Ixal's aggressive behavior at this time also caused the spirits to send the tribe into exile outside of the Black Shroud's protective wall—the Hedge. The people of Gelmorra founded Gridania after being free to leave their underground haven and freed of the pesky Ixal.

Some inhabitants in Gelmorra expressed reluctance to leave the caverns where their ancestors had lived for millennia, expressing mistrust for the elementals who had originally forced them underground. The Duskwights were the small group of Elezen that resisted leaving the city.

The Age of Stability: Years 1300-1500[ | ]

The citizens of Eorzea wanted to restore relationships that had become strained and frayed over the years from infighting. Diplomacy was chosen over combative measures, and trade between city-states resumed. The nations experienced a wealth unseen since the Fifth Astral Era as technology and culture were exchanged among them. As they developed, the city-states of Limsa Lominsa, Gridania, Ul'dah, Ishgard, Ala Mhigo, and Sharlayan came to dominate Eorzean culture. Finally, for once, there was peace throughout the nation.

Independent craftsmen and warriors alike started joining together to protect their trades out of fear that it would be lost or altered by the flood of new people and ideas. In addition to securing their expertise, they established guilds to provide themselves the resources to create economic alliances that would ensure their financial security.

Peace unfortunately never lasts for very long. Ala Mhigo took advantage of the sense of security in the realm to conduct a number of massive campaigns into Tinolqa in an effort to increase their dominance in the Black Shroud, which finally resulted in the start of the Autumn War.

The Rise of Garlemald: Years 1500-1560[ | ]

It seemed the sylvan city-state would succumb to her invaders quickly since what little magicks the Gridanians had mastered in the decades since their departure from Gelmorra were no match for the Ala Mhigan armies' sheer military power. But in a surprising turn of events, the city-states of Ishgard, Ul'dah, and Limsa Lominsa sent their forces to Gridania's help. As a result, the Autumn War was over as swiftly as it had begun. Treaties were ratified and borders were established. City-states would continue to be independent, but it would be forbidden for one to become powerful. And so the realm had a return to calm.

The flames of conquering arose outside Aldenard. The Republic of Garlemald was engulfing neighboring countries with its iron war machine, capturing their territory, and destroying their cultures to the north on the continent of llsabard. Solus Galvus, the president of the republic, proclaimed Garlemald an empire in 1552 and crowned himself emperor. The eastern continent of Othard and the residual regions of Ilsabard were conquered methodically by the new imperial army, which was bolstered by the strength of innumerable assimilated nations. It welcomed the nations that were eager to submit to imperial control while eradicating those that rejected the Garlean standard.

After gaining control of two of the three major continents, the Garlean Empire turned its attention to Aldenard. In 1557, it dispatched the XIVth legion to conquer Ala Mhigo as the first step toward bringing the people of Eorzea under its imperial rule.[2]

The Root of Consequence[ | ]

It would be negligent to form an opinion without first considering the events that took place in the autumn of the Sixth Astral Era, culminating in the crucial battle on the plains of Carteneau. Future historians will always debate which underlying event was the true catalyst that caused the Seventh Umbral Calamity.

The Battle of Silvertear Skies[ | ]

The last free populations of Eorzea were quickly inspired to action by the collapse of Ala Mhigo. In order to stop the Garlean Empire's expansion into the area, the four city-states of Limsa Lominsa, Ul'dah, Gridania, and Ishgard formed an alliance. But the Sharlayans chose not to sign on to this agreement. Shortly after Ala Mihgo's capitulation, the scholars were prompted by their abhorrence of war to send a special envoy to Garlemald for the sole purpose of diplomatic negotiations. These efforts were ineffective as the Garleans refused to sit down and negotiate with the envoy. After the Forum was unable to come to a political agreement, it was decided that the academics would completely leave the colony in the Dravanian Hinterlands and travel back to their home country over the Northern Wastes.

The XIVth Imperial Legion concentrated on hastening the advancement of the Eorzean campaign after Ala Mhigo had been completely integrated into the empire on a political and economic level. The imperial fleet entered Mor Dhona and reached Silvertear Falls in 1562, led by the massive flagship Agrius. The fleet of the legion found unexpected resistance there, although it came from the forgotten lake guardian god, the wyrm Midgardsormr, rather than from humans. The giant dragon summoned his kin, who engaged in an aerial conflict of epic dimensions with the Garleans' fleet. Midgardsormr and the Agrius collided and crashed to the ground, ending the combat and forcing the entire legion to flee from Mor Dhona in haste.

Not long after Midgardsormr's death, the beast tribes of Eorzea started calling their own deities—the "primals"—into the physical world. These formidable beings, dubbed "eikons" by the Garleans who doubted their heavenly origins, were seen as a danger to imperial control and quickly turned into a target of its troops.

Gaius van Baelsar, legatus of the XIVth Legion, saw right away that fighting the eikons was pointless as the defeated "gods" kept appearing through the use of crystals and prayer. In addition, there were growing rumors that these primitive beings' "blessings" were turning men into fanatics who would wage war against their own people in the name of their new masters. Emperor Solus zos Galvus eventually gave Baelsar the command to halt the Eorzean campaign as there was no effective military plan in place to counter the eikon menace.

At this time, the Sharlayans would also start their journey back to Old Sharlayan from the Dravanian hinterlands after five years of planning. An entire population disappeared from the realm in the course of a single night, leaving the remaining Eorzeans to deal with the numerous issues that still faced Eorzea.

The Age of Calm[ | ]

The Holy See of Ishgard withdrew from the Eorzean Alliance in 1563, citing the Emperor's halt of their Eorzean campaign following the Battle of Silvertrar Skies as justification. They were unwilling to redirect military power employed fighting the thousand-year Dragonsong War to operations against the now dormant Garlean Empire. Imperial forces stationed in Ala Mhigo stopped the attack and instead started building Baelsar's Wall between the recently acquired Gyr Abanian regions and Gridania. The Holy See came to the conclusion that the Garlean armies would not be mobilizing their forces any time soon, and that the city-state's manpower would be better suited defending lshgard against the recent rise of Nidhogg despite not knowing whether the wall was to serve as a means for the Empire to covertly prepare for a second invasion or rather to simply quarantine a realm considered plagued by false yet deadly beastmen gods.

Eorzea experienced a brief respite from the wars that had ravaged the region for so long when Garlemald's expansion came to an end. The Eorzean Alliance only existed in name as its forces were disbanded and its resources were redistributed as there was no adversary to fight. The thousands of troops who had only lately lived, breathed, and experienced war were left without a job and without a reason even if the threat of incursion had gone. In the middle of this ambiguity, the Adventurers' Guild was established. The guilds gave displaced troops stable work, which not only aided in their reintegration but also gave the common people a way to finish duties that had grown too risky in the wake of the imperial invasion and the advent of the beast tribes.

Adventurers Guild

Adventurer's Guild

All of Eorzea's city-states experienced a rapid growth of Adventurers' Guild branches, which were typically found in or close to establishments that attracted men and women looking for jobs, including pubs or inns. These spots evolved into more than just places to sleep or drink. With the creation of the guilds, they were changed into active hubs of communication where adventurers could exchange knowledge while completing a variety of tasks, such as safeguarding delivery routes over dangerous terrain or eliminating monsters that were attacking a farmer's livestock pens.[3]

The Circle of Knowing[ | ]

In the year 1562, the venerable Louisoix Leveilleur stealthily assembled twelve of his students in the Sharlayan motherland for an ambitious project. They established the Circle of Knowing, a team of eminent academics and researchers known as Archons who shared a common goal: saving Eorzea. The Circle resolved to use more covert methods to resolve the situation since they were sick of war and angry at the Forum for not getting involved.

Louisoix understood that the Eorzean Alliance would eventually have to show its teeth in order to deter the possibility of a Garlean invasion. The sage sent his fellow Archons to the three city-states in the hopes that they could persuade the leaders of each to revive the Grand Companies, which were centralized commands that combined military, financial, and technological resources to prepare for impending disaster.

Although it was a novel idea to many people at the time, these kinds of beings had already been introduced to Eorzea before. These city-states requested the assistance of these same organizations to oversee the evacuation of a realm plagued by the rising waters of a catastrophe fifteen hundred years before, as the Fifth Astral Era was about to come to an end. Although first hesitant, the Sixth Astral Era's leaders were astute enough to recognize the advantages an alliance based on the Grand Companies would bring to their city-states, and so they decided to put their differences aside for the good of their realm. The Circle of Knowing's efforts had not been in vain, and over the course of the next several years, they would ultimately play a significant role in the shaping of Eorzea's history.

The Primal Threat[ | ]

The city-states, however, took some time to warm to the Circle of Knowing's calls for cooperation. When the imperial legion withdrew back behind Baelsar's Wall, the realm had lost a common foe, lessening the need for an all-encompassing alliance. Instead, city-states turned their attention inward to territorial conflicts with the nearby beast tribes—conflicts that had become more frequent and serious since the Battle of Silvertear Skies. The tribes had started calling forth aetherial beings they believed to be the deities from whose their ancestors claimed ancestry, which only served to highlight the urgency of taking swift and effective action against the beastmen. These creatures were frequently referred to as "primals" or "the first beings."

In 1564, Amalj'aa from the plains of Pagith'an called their god Ifrit in an eflort to recover Zan'rak-ancestral territories holy to the tribe. This was a particularly unsettling episode involving a primal. The tribe's army marched on outposts guarded by Ul'dah, defeating the unprepared warriors and reclaiming the territory as their own as their deity caused devastation in Southern Thanalan, destroying a mythril excavation site run by the Amajina & Sons Mineral Concern. But this wasn't a one-off occurrence. The Sahagin and Kobold tribes of Vylbrand were also given the knowledge to call primals, which they started doing so more frequently.

There were some in the realm who refused to be scared by the beastmen's sudden power and welcomed the chance to gain notoriety instead of cowering in fear. A death-or-glory company of haughty braggarts known as the Company of Heroes rose to prominence during this turbulent period by tracking down the self-styled gods who haunted Limsa Lominsa. However, the balance of power within the realm was not much affected by these courageous deeds, if at all. The adventurers of Eorzea were, if anything, caught in a vicious loop where they would kill one primal just to have another one reappear, equally as strong as the first.

The frequent summoning of primals was causing the ecology to deteriorate, and the Circle of Knowing was the first to notice this. Massive amounts of aether-based crystals, which are necessary for the soil to preserve elemental balance, were needed for the ceremony. The Circle, who had been working to protect the realm against Garlean invaders, quickly understood that if the beast tribes first drained the area of its aether, there would be no realm to defend. The Students of Baldesion, a Sharlayan group committed to the pursuit of knowledge, were enlisted by the Archons to help combat this new threat by looking for hints as to how the beast tribes acquired such knowledge.

The academics unearthed evidence linking primal summoning to an enigmatic group of allegedly shadowless beings known as the Ascians after moons of studying over dusty tomes and abandoned archives. The purpose and the extent of the Ascians' involvement would need to be investigated further, but there was not enough time for them to do so. Despite the absence of proof, the Circle went to the respected leaders of Eorzea's city-states and presented them with the (imperfect) findings of their investigation. To the Circle's amazement, the reports weren't treated lightly at all. The city-states agreed to act right away on the basis of the information given to them as they all understood how serious the situation was. The Circle of Knowing had proved itself an indispensable source of knowledge, cementing itself as a centerpiece in the now realm-wide effort to neutralize the primal threat.[4]

Revival of the Grand Companies[ | ]

GrandCompanies

Grand Companies

When the airship battalions of the XIVth Legion proceeded to take the sky above Baelsar's Wall in the year 1570, the brief pause in Garlean warfare seemed to be coming to an end. Commercial flights in the vicinity were suspended indefinitely after Highwind Skyways' civilian airships came under indiscriminate fire. Merchants were compelled to forgo the ease of air routes in favor of longer and riskier land routes, greatly disrupting travel and trade in the area.

Although alarming, airspace occupation did not seem to be a full-scale continuation of Garlemald's expedition into the area. That action wasn't taken until Nael van Darnus, Legatus of the VIIth Imperial Legion, led his troops into Ala Mhigo two years later, joining Gaius van Baelsar's XIVth battalions and essentially tripling the imperial presence in the region. The Eorzean leaders' worries were reinforced by Darnus's presence in the area, giving them more than enough justification to support the Circle of Knowing's proposal to revive the Grand Companies. With their goals established, the city-states proceeded quickly to enact legislation, giving the newly established Maelstrom of Limsa Lominsa, the Immortal Flames of Ul'dah, and the Order of the Twin Adder in Gridania authority.

The city-states conducted grand celebrations to mark the emergence of the Grand Companies in the hopes that the joyous atmosphere would inspire the populace to enlist. The gatherings that the ruling class sponsored were grand occasions where fiery-eyed war marshals and generals would deliver passionate speeches to riveted audiences in streets ablaze with state colors. Officials from the Company, who were fully aware of their prowess in defending the realm, openly appealed to adventurers, urging them to offer their arms to a cause that was both noble and lucrative. Divisions specially tailored to these skilled combatants were established by all three Grand Companies—the Maelstrom, the Immortal Flames, and the Order of the Twin Adder each vying to lure the most formidable to join their ranks.

Rise of the White Raven[ | ]

Nael van Darnus

Nael van Darnus

When the White Raven* and his Vllth Imperial Legion landed in the western, Nael van Darnus felt a sense of dread. The legatus was promoted to his prestigious status not long after the older van Darnus passed away from an untimely illness; his father had been training him for the military since he was a little boy. These battles saw Garlemald become an empire. The youthful legatus made it obvious, though, that he would not remain in the shadow of his forebears for very long. His first command as legatus was to publicly execute his father's closest advisers.

Due to this brazen deed, the legatus received a lot of unwarranted notoriety in the Garlean capital, which spread accusations that the younger van Darnus had been involved in his father's all-too-timely demise. Nael's social standing and military rank, however, effectively guaranteed that he would never be convicted in any court. The VIIth Legion developed into an unmatched force on the battlefield, and under the White Raven's direction, the eastern Othard countries fell one after another. In the empire's eastern campaign, the legatus had secured a number of significant lands, which caught Solus zos Galvus' attention and led him to publicly recognize van Darnus as a man of outstanding potential.

By the year 1572, the Emperor had already reached past his eightieth nameday, yet he was still determined to bring the Three Great Continents under Garlean control. He merged the political issues of the captured areas in Othard before turning his attention back to Aldenard and her troublesome eikons. Van Darnus jumped at the chance when the Emperor made the eradication of the eikons one of his administration's major priority. In order to accomplish where others had failed, he proposed to his liege using House Darnus' highly guarded knowledge of Allagan artifacts to eliminate Eorzea of its false gods once and for all.[5]

*Legatus Nael van Darnus is sometimes referred to as the "White Raven" due to the gloss of his polished plate armor, but many who served under the commander contend it stemmed from the menacing eye with which he observed them. Van Darnus preferred to join the advance ranks and engage in front-line combat with his gunhalberd, Bradamante, despite the fact that his rank allowed him to take a place in the relatively safe rearguard.

The Meteor Project Revisited[ | ]

Under the direction of the Empire's chief engineer and grand minister of industry, Midas nan Garlond, the Garleans sought communication with the smaller moon Dalamud in the 41st year of the first Emperor's rule, a decade before Nael van Darnus's arrival on the western front. The operation's lone test, dubbed "Project Meteor," was carried out in the imperial stronghold of Bozja Citadel using Allagan artifacts given by House Darnus.

Solus zos Galvus2

Solus zos Galvus

After being tasked by Emperor Solus zos Galvus* with finding a solution to the eikon menace, nan Garlond presented the idea. The grand minister was able to deduce from records found in the artifacts that the armies of Allag had likewise engaged in combat with the eikons, eventually coming up with a strategy to defeat the creatures. But the records conveniently lacked any detailed explanation of said strategy. When Garlond's investigation revealed that the lesser moon Dalamud was not a naturally occurring celestial entity but rather an ancient satellite of Allagan manufacture, a piece of the picture came into focus. The moon's metallic nacelle, according to Nan Garlond, is home to a vast reservoir of untapped energy that, if brought down from the sky and released onto Eorzea, could turn the moon into a weapon of utter destruction. The Empire would use the moon as its own "meteor."

The tempting idea of an all-powerful weapon quickly led to the Meteor Project, which received widespread support within the Imperial Court. The first attempt to contact Dalamud would be conducted by nan Garland in the Garlean city of Bozja just days after getting the Emperor's approval. That day, the satellite's immense power was confirmed, but at a terrible price. The moon directed energy accumulated over five millennia to an improvised transmission tower in the castle. The intensity of Dalamud's beam caused not only the tower but the entire city to vanish in a split second. The Imperial Censors made an effort to keep the incident hidden from the general public, but the disappearance of a significant commercial hub was too important to keep a secret. The Bozja Incident was the name given to the calamity, which immediately became known across Hydaelyn.

All of the Allagan archives kept at Bozja Citadel, the loss of Midas nan Garland, and the destruction of the lunar transmitter all seemed to have put an end to the Meteor Project. The idea was to be promptly abandoned once the Emperor announced that he had no desire for such erratic authority. However, Nael van Darnus was not yet prepared to give up his fixation with the Meteor Project, as he was unwilling to let the work of House Darnus go in vain. When van Darnus learned of his deployment to Eorzea, he realized his wait had ended and he grabbed the chance to convince the Emperor that the project should be revived since he had found a way to successfully govern Dalamud. The old Emperor, eager to establish his legacy before his death, had once more started to explore the idea of a realm-wide "cleansing" of the beastmen and their eikons after suffering through a decade-long deadlock on the Eorzean front. As a result, the Meteor Project's second phase was started.

*In the Garlean Republic, Solus Galvus rose to prominence as a decorated legatus by advocating the incorporation of magitek—previously employed primarily in industry—into Garlemald's army and the use of it to conquer Ilsabard's northern regions. When he ousted the republic's ruling party and crowned himself emperor in an effort to establish an imperial state, he had only lived through thirty summers. After more than 50 years of rule, he passed away in the first year of the Seventh Umbral Era.

A Three-Sided Struggle[ | ]

Nael Bahamut

Nael van Darnus and Bahamut

As the Meteor Project's second phase went underway, Nael van Darnus began to gather the energy that would eventually be needed to hasten Dalamud's fall. The legatus claimed that in order for Meteor to be successful, the empire would have to obtain both vast quantities of crystals and locations with high aether concentrations. The VIIth Imperial Legion sent squadrons equipped with magitek throughout Eorzea to gather crystal nodes as the lesser moon became a deep crimson. Other squadrons were tasked with capturing the Black Shroud's Toto-Rak and Dzemael Darkhold in Coerthas. Additionally, the imperial garrison diligently searched for any documents that may be helpful to Nael's engineers as they excavated the Allagan technology relics left behind in Eorzea.

The Grand Companies raised the alert despite being completely unaware of the reasons behind the VIIth Imperial Legion's most recent incursion. Adventurers from Company ranks were sent to the Black Shroud and Coerthas, where they were successful in stopping imperial efforts and taking back captured outposts. This small number of successes increased faith in the Grand Companies' capacity to repel imperial forces and brought light to a land that had been cast in shadow.

However, Eorzea had other enemies to deal with in addition to the Empire. The Archon Louisoix made the protracted journey to Eorzea with the goal of persuading the Grand Companies that if they sought success, the beast tribes were not to be disregarded. He did this after noticing an uptick in primal activity that looked to correspond exactly with the Empire's invasion. The Circle of Knowing proposed a solution: launch a two-tiered offensive with the help of the adventurers.

But there were a few issues with this strategy. To induce Ifrit to make a hasty departure and slice open a vein of aether in the primal's cloister, Nael van Darnus himself appeared before the adventurers sent to kill him. Soon after, the Ixali summoned Garuda, and the moogles of the Black Shroud conjured a manifestation of a rumored bloodthirsty regent, Good King Moggle Mog XII. When it was discovered that the flood of aether that flowed from the primals upon their demise did not return to the land but was instead being absorbed into Dalamud, it became clear that the adventurers' efforts, while successful under the Archons' guidance, were hollow victories. It seemed impossible to stop the realm from devolving into chaos.[6]

Infiltration of Castrum Novum[ | ]

The Vllth and XIVth legions were nearly through with Castrum Novum while the Grand Companies were busy with the primal peril. The castrum, a powerful fortress in Mor Dhona's corner, would be essential to Nael van Darnus's Eorzean campaign as it included a duplicate lunar transmitter.

It took very little time for the master engineer Cid Garlond, the creator of Garlond Ironworks and a refugee from Garlemald, to become interested in Castrum Novum. His extensive expertise of magitek weapons had proven beneficial to Eorzean commanders. Garlond was the son of none other than Midas nan Garlond, the leader of the first phase of the Meteor Project who perished in the fateful experiment at Bozja Citadel, and was aware from intercepted documents that some sort of transmission apparatus was being built in the fortress. He also knew all too well what the Garleans were planning. Garlond conducted further research and was shocked to find that the lunar transmitter was already active and pushing Dalamud inexorably towards the atmosphere on a crash course with the planet. The three city-state leaders wasted little time in reviving the Eorzean Alliance, which had existed for so long only in name, and combined their military forces for a single mission after he appealed to the Grand Companies for urgent aid.

It was a challenging mission to take out the lunar transmitter. While a group of formidable adventurers infiltrated the castrum from behind, dispatching imperial patrols before entering the inner chamber to destroy the ceruleum generators powering the transmitter and render it useless, a few platoons from the Grand Companies would lay siege to the castrum's front gates as a diversion. At what was regarded as a turning point in the Eorzean Alliance's struggle against the Empire, morale was high and the operation was a resounding success. Within Castrum Novum's gates, the band of adventurers faced both men and magitek, and as a result, the lunar transmitter caught fire.

To Kill a Raven[ | ]

The explorers had successfully completed their mission by turning off the lunar transmitter, but they had little opportunity to rejoice as Nael van Darnus received the squadron in the inner chamber. The Eorzean Alliance's blatant attempt to thwart his objectives prompted him to launch what the chronicles would later characterize as a convoluted tirade. Darnus gave the explorers one last message before leaving the castrum, and it was startlingly obvious: they no longer required the lunar transmitter to bring about Dalamud's downfall. Astronomical observations made afterwards would support the legatus' assertions; the lesser moon kept descending despite the equipment being disassembled.

Van Darnus was quickly located through reconnaissance, determining that he had escaped in the general direction of Coerthas. As some speculated that the legatus had predicted the storming of Castrum Novum and was already in possession of knowledge that would assure the red moon's tumble to the surface, a council meeting of the Eorzean Alliance was called. The Circle of Knowing member Urianger Augurelt submitted his own study, which connected the lower moon to prehistoric Allag. Numerous Allagan ruins were mentioned in the Archon's report, and the alliance's top officials had little doubt that the legatus had headed for the eastern lowlands.

Three reconnaissance units, one from each of the Grand Companies, were entrusted with searching the lowlands for any signs of van Darnus. However, none of the units made it through the hail of massive meteoric debris that fell from the smaller moon. Soon, local observers realized that the pebbles' course toward their comrades' positions was not a natural occurrence, but rather a planned attack. They described seeing a chain of crags hovering above the ground, the center one of which was sending a single beam of light into the sky in the direction of Dalamud, just like the lunar transmitter had done at Castrum Novum. According to the Archon's report, these were Allagan ruins.

Thus, the Eorzean Alliance council came to the decision that Nael van Damus had to be stopped using all available methods in order to ensure the life of the realm. A small band of adventurers accepted the challenge, and Cid Garlond offered them passage on his airship, the Enterprise, to Rivenroad, the focal point of the floating islets. In a fight to the death, the crazed legatus and the intrepid party would meet there. The adventurers delivered the decisive blow, and despite the White Raven's strength and might, it would be his last stand*. As the islets collapsed, scattering rubble over the landscape, the squadron fled from Coerthas after he died. Garlond's airship set course for Gridania, and the adventurers were greeted as heroes when the council heard the news: van Darnus was no more and the realm was saved. This jubilation, however, would prove to be short-lived.[7]

*Nael van Darnus' fascination with Dalamud devoured him entirely in the days before his death. He spoke quixotically about giving his body and soul to the red moon as his demeanor grew more unstable. Some post-Calamity discourses contend that it is very possible that a primal's influence was impairing his sanity.

Desperation[ | ]

Bad news was brought about by the Circle of Knowing. The crimson moon continued on its collision course with the planet while Allagan ruins were destroyed in the fight with Nael van Darnus. After hearing the information, the Grand Companies' offices were in complete chaos until Archon Louisoix made an unconventional—if not desperate—proposal to rescue the realm: through somber prayer.

The sage suggested that by calling upon the twelve gods of the Eorzean pantheon, the realm could implore the higher beings to fend off Dalamud and seal the power of the Allagan relic. It goes without saying that this idea drew considerable criticism. Some argued that by using The Twelve in this way, they would become no different from the ferocious beastmen who released the primals upon the land. Others questioned whether calling the Twelve would not turn everyone in Eorzea into mindless slaves to their will, as was the case with the gods of the beastmen. Archon Louisoix persuaded his fellow clergymen that the invocation he was proposing was not analogous to a primal summoning. On the contrary, he would search for a way to entreat the Twelve to merely lend their divine power to save the realm.

The Eorzean Alliance's leaders agreed to take the risk Archon Louisoix presented to them, but none could hide the underlying sense of hopelessness, as history had repeatedly shown that all periods of prosperity would inevitably give way to tragedy and anarchy.

Living on a Prayer[ | ]

Gaius van Baelsar

Gaius van Baelsar

Adventurers were pleaded with to act as the summoning's guiding light as the Circle of Knowing finished its preparations. These explorers set out on a journey to bow down before the marks of the Twelve and call upon the might of the gods. By leading the citizens of the city-states in ardent devotion to their patron gods, the Grand Companies also played their part. It was reported that during this time of impending darkness, the entire realm assembled to pray to the heavens in unison, an Eorzea united by the litanies of its people.

The Garlean Empire shook as adventurers and commoners alike carried out Archon Louisoix's plan. The VIIth Imperial Legion's remnants, now without a leader, were assembling on the plains of Carteneau where Dalamud was supposed to touch down. The most unexpected of sources—Gaius van Baelsar, legatus of the XIVth Imperial Legion, who physically materialized before an adventurer on his pilgrimage—had provided this information. The troops of the VIIth had turned into fanatics; they refused to acknowledge Nael van Darnus's death and marched into the plains at what they claimed to be the order of a dead man. As van Baelsar told it, the VIIth intended to secure the area around Carteneau to ensure that none could forestall Dalamud's impact, and that they were ready to defend the plains with their lives.

The Eorzean Alliance encountered a new dilemma as a result of van Baelsar's confession. The last invocation would have to be done directly beneath the lesser moon in order to complete the summoning process that Louisoix had in mind. It was now obvious that the elite of the Empire would have to be overcome before the Grand Companies' meager resources could take on the VIIth legion.[8]

The Battle of Carteneau[ | ]

The Eorzean Alliance city-states prepared for their decisive conflict. The Immortal Flames left towards Carteneau from the Gate of Thal, east of the city, leaving the defense of Ul'dah in the care of the Brass Blades and the Sultansworn. It was customary for Ul'dah's forces to pass via this gate since it was said that the keeper of the dead would grant those who left through it a single death, preventing them from dying twice on the battlefield. The Galadion Accord had just been signed in Limsa Lominsa, when the Maelstrom solicited the aid of strong pirate factions to secure the plains under the scarlet standard. Infamous pirate groups like the Bloody Executioners, the Kraken's Arms, and the Sanguine Sirens were transformed into free companies with full military authority. Elder Seedseer Kan-E-Senna led the Twin Adders of Gridania out of the Black Shroud, guarded by the Wood Wailers and the Gods' Quiver's marksmen, with a small group staying behind to guard the city. A large number of adventurers marched in the ranks of the Grand Companies.

The Eorzean Alliance's soldiers gathered in Northern Thanalan and marched as a unit to Mor Dhona before advancing from the west into the plains. While a Castrum Centri detachment would attack the Grand Companies from behind, the remaining members of the VIIth legion formed up on the eastern border of the plains. As their frontlines moved closer to the Imperial host, the Eorzean Alliance commanders opposed the onslaught by sending out adventurers to keep the Castrum Centri cohorts at bay.

The Battle of Carteneau began when both sides made their initial move. Archon Louisoix quickly arrived and began his summoning of the Twelve from a promontory overlooking the battlefield, while the main troops of the Eorzean Alliance stretched out to face the imperial cavalry head-on. He would try to direct their holy energies there toward Dalamud.

As the tide of battle ebbed and flowed in favor of the Alliance, then the Imperials, and back again, the vanguards of both armies engaged in combat. However, when the Garleans deployed the second step of their plan—ten magitek knights, each riding their own reaper-class magitek combat armor—they quickly outran the odds. The Alliance's shaky grip on the front line started to erode as a result of the newly created war machines' overwhelming offensive prowess.

This was the first major operation by the Eorzean Alliance to bring together such a diverse array of soldiers. Ad hoc members of the Grand Companies, such as the pirate factions of Limsa Lominsa and the Ala Mhigans serving among the Immortal Flames, used tactics that were different from one another and frequently at odds with each other. Commanders struggled to effectively coordinate the operations of each unit. In this regard, it could be stated that the enormous army that engaged the VIIth legion in Carteneau was little more than a hastily put together collection of soldiers surging forward aimlessly with only one goal to tie them.

Whatever directives had been given before were useless as everyone battled for themselves as magitek knights and their reapers surrounded the Eorzean factions. The Alliance had a much larger force than the imperial legion, but their full potential was never realized due to a lack of a well-coordinated strategy. Even though they were few in number, the Garleans had access to a wide range of cutting-edge technology and had spent years getting ready for battle. Once the reapers were in place, the Vllth quickly took control.

The adventurers were the Alliance's only hope during this turbulent time. Those who were despatched to Castrum Centri to deal with the legion's diversionary force made their belated appearance and entered the combat right away. They had experience using magitek weapons, and by pushing firmly on the legion's reapers, they reenergized the Eorzean side. The adventurers' efforts caused the imperials to retreat, allowing the Eorzean Alliance to advance once more.[9]

The Elder Primal Bahamut[ | ]

Bahamut

Bahamut

Nobody on the battlefield was ready for the event that would end all hostilities. The red moon shattered as it left the firmament and entered the heavens above Carteneau, releasing an old primal from an iron sphere that Eorzea had never seen before.

The dreadwyrm Bahamut, last called by a horde of dragons on the southern continent of Meracydia some five millennia prior to the Allagan Empire's invasion, was the primal that the Allagans enslaved within Dalamud. The huge wyrm took flight to unleash its millennia of anger onto the realm once the vessel was broken and Bahamut was freed from his chains. Carteneau was torn away by the older primal, who then unleashed a burning inferno down upon the earth. In the end, Nael van Darnus's rambling, incomprehensible letters to the moon included some truth. The legatus was aware of the monstrosity housed within Dalamud, and was heeding Bahamut's plea to be freed from his prison.

War was forgotten as both allies and enemies left the battlefield in panic due to the molten shards that Dalamud rained down and the scorching flames that the dreadwyrm spat forth from its mouth. Louisoix Leveilleur stood silently guard over Carteneau while the soldiers of both armies fled for their lives, resolute in his quest to call upon the might of the Twelve.

Although Louisoix may have been unsuccessful in his attempt to drive Dalamud back into the sky, he would not let Eorzea bear the weight of Bahamut's rage and worked on the brink of death to imprison the elderly primal where he could no longer destroy the world. He channeled the might of the powerful reservoirs of aether gushing forth from the ground while wielding the fabled staff Tupsimati and the fervent prayers of the populace. The most potent sealing enchantment ever attempted in Eorzean history saw the might of the Twelve reveal itself in intricate runes in the sky. The dreadwyrm was bound in place as the runes imprisoned him in a new prison by blazing spears that were formed from the stone marks of the deities that were being fed by the prayers of the Circle of Knowing. The light of the Twelve filled the fields of Carteneau.

There don't seem to be any witnesses who can recall with confidence what happened after the older primal was engulfed in the gods' light, despite the fact that everyone's attention was focused on the summoning of the Twelve. According to legend, Archon Louisoix's potent spell and the enormous aether emanations corrupted everyone's memories, a problem that persisted long after the Calamity. It is certain that Bahamut had vanished by the time the light of the Twelve had faded. However, the faces of Eorzea's heroes—the adventurers whose acts brought about Archon Louisoix's incantation—were lost to time, and as a result, Eorzea entered the Seventh Umbral Era. [10]

Aftermath[ | ]

The fields of Carteneau plunged into turmoil once Bahamut freed himself from his shackles. To protect as many people as they could from the indiscriminate wrath of the primal, the commanders of the Eorzean Alliance ordered a complete withdrawal. According to historical accounts, General Raubahn of the Immortal Flames hesitated to command a retreat after the adventurers had reclaimed the line, but he eventually did so at the urging of his comrade, Kan-E-Senna of the Twin Adders. Due to the significant aetherial disturbances attributed to Bahamut, their linkpearls had gone silent, forcing the commanders to issue commands to officers on foot. Maelstrom Command often claims that Admiral Merlwyb Bloefuiswyn rode down to the battlefield herself on her beloved chocobo steed Victory to halt the pirate bands who bravely fought on even after the primal emerged.

But at the Battle of Carteneau, there was no triumph to be had. The remaining members of the VIIth Imperial Legion dispersed and fled in all directions as the Eorzean Alliance formally withdrew their troops from the plains.

Following the withdrawal, the Eorzean Alliance's forces retreated to northern Thanalan. The Immortal Flames quickly set up camp there, caring to the wounded and counting the surviving among their numbers. Admiral Merlwyb's critical injury during the withdrawal caused her to be taken off the battlefield, which dealt a blow to the Maelstrom. Grand Storm Marshal Eynzahr Slafyrsyn, acting in her place, delivered the order for the Maelstrom to retreat to Limsa Lominsa. The Twin Adders would not, however, return to the Shroud for some time since Kan-E-Senna offered to organize search parties with her warriors and send them back to Carteneau to save anyone who was injured but still alive. The compassion of the Elder Seedseer, herself an accomplished healer, would save no small number of men from their fates.

A Most Remarkable Rebirth[ | ]

Numerous lives were lost in the Calamity throughout many different locations, not just on the Carteneau battlefield. Many fatalities are attributed to the fiery fragments of the broken Dalamud that fell upon the area from the mountains of Coerthas to the deserts of Thanalan. A large piece of the moon's outer shell fell into the neighboring sea, causing a tidal surge that swamped Limsa Lominsa and killed a large number of local residents. Still more people perished in the raging firestorms that erupted from Bahamut's blazing ball of aetheric energy.

In the midst of the chaos and devastation, just when it looked like there was no hope left, the land returned to life and revealed signs of an unexplainable rebirth. The Calamity's survivors think that Archon Louisoix's call upon the power of the Twelve was what ultimately drove Bahamut to defeat and was nothing less than a divine miracle. As rumors and conjecture about the invocation spread, several mentioned a strange occurrence in the sky above Carteneau: a dazzling light in the form of a Phoenix. Although the remains of Archon Louisoix were never found, a Twin Adder search team managed to find pieces of his famed staff Tupsimati among the wreckage at Carteneau. The devastation at the center of Bahamut's rage was absolute, making the details of what truly occurred on that fateful night subject to vigorous debate among scholars for generations to come.[11]

  1. Encyclopædia Eorzea, p.36
  2. Encyclopædia Eorzea, p.37
  3. Encyclopædia Eorzea, p.38
  4. Encyclopædia Eorzea, p.39
  5. Encyclopædia Eorzea, p.40
  6. Encyclopædia Eorzea, p.41
  7. Encyclopædia Eorzea, p.32
  8. Encyclopædia Eorzea, p.43
  9. Encyclopædia Eorzea, p.44
  10. Encyclopædia Eorzea, p.45
  11. Encyclopædia Eorzea, p.46
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