FFXIV story/lore thread

[Rocl]

Confirmation of shit we probably already knew:

Okay, let me do a quick pass over your questions while I take a breather from all this Beta madness...

Are Umbrals Eras short? Or does it depend on the destruction?

It depends on the destruction. The Umbral Eras are the periods of chaos and regrouping that follow the cataclysms that end each Astral Era. The regrouping can take several years, to several decades. More on this, and what happened during the 7th Umbral Era, will be laid out in detail in the 2.0 storyline.

1500 years ago the Grand Companies got together in preparation for the Sixth Umbral, then it happened and the world was flooded, when did the Sixth Astral Era officially begin?

'1500 years ago' is merely a rough estimate here (in retrospect, "somewhere between 15 and 16 centuries ago," would have been a better way to put it). I can assure you that the Grand Companies got together right at the end of the 5th Astral Era to prepare for the coming of the 6th Umbral Era, not in the (1572 minus 1500 equals) year 72 of the 6th Astral Era. Sorry about the confusion on that one!

Does time reset for each Era, ie when Umbral Eras happen, does it become Year 0?

Yes. Timers for each era (both Astral and Umbral) reset (but at year 1, not 0 ).

Will we learn about what happened to Corguevais? Was he an Imperial spy or just the scapegoat of the Syndicate?
Will we learn about Warburton's mission and what information he carried to his death?
Will we learn about what Niellefresne saw in the coffin?
Will we learn who the left-handed hooded Hyur was that stabbed Nielle? Did Lord Lolorito hire him because Nielle stole the dagger? If we was hired by Lolorito because Nielle stole the dagger, why didn't he take the dagger back? So if it wasn't Lolorito will we learn who they are associated with?
Will Nielle finally be able to "rest in peace?" Possibly with the help of Greinfarr?
Will we learn about what happened to the Horn Corguevais stole? Is it the same or a brother to the Horn from the Limsa storyline? Why didn't the Ascians or their helpers go after the Ul'dah Horn?

The quest team has promised me that sometime in the near future (maybe not exactly at release) they will look into introducing a quest line that will help clear some of the haze and tie up at least a few of the loose ends regarding Corguvais, Warburton, Niellfresne, and the whole gang. The story is already there, so it's really only a matter of getting the resources together to tell it.

Ascilia is Minfilia? Rightrightrightrightrightrightrightrightright?

Maybemaybemaybemaybemaybemaybemaybemaybemaybemaybe...alright, you got me.
Yes, Minfilia is Ascilia. There, I shall allow you some time to properly gather those pieces of your mind that were splattered across your monitor.


Now it's back to work!

[Destinova]

There is a lot of good information for those that are going to be new to 2.0

Hopefully this will help them out! Ill be sure to reference every now and again!!

[Gokulo]

Soo, my memory is super hazy but I remember reading the Minfilia and Ascilia thing before and just ignoring it, but now I gotta confirm: so every instance we see Ascilia is with Echo or what is going on here? ^^;

[solracht]

Echo, yes

[Vuitton]

I still don't understand how Minfilia is Ascilia. They're different ages and both exist in the present.

[Gokulo]

No, that's why I asked. It seems all encounters with her are actually during Echo.

[Vuitton]

Wait wait wait wait wait. Every time we encounter Ascilia we're in Echo? But she is in the intro CS for Uldah when you first start the game. The mithra gives her the flowers during the goobbue scene. What?

[Raldo]

Wait wait wait wait wait. Every time we encounter Ascilia we're in Echo? But she is in the intro CS for Uldah when you first start the game. The mithra gives her the flowers during the goobbue scene. What?

Pretty sure all city's intro scenes are in an echo. I'm not following this terribly closely though, so I could be way off base.

[jwang]

Yeah, I think the same thing. If you do the Goldsmith quests, the guy talks about how his brother (the glasses dhalmel guy in the beginning story line) died 20 years ago. I was like wtf when I read that.

[miokomioko]

Keep in mind that when your character witnesses the meteor shower in the very beginning, that's when you're bestowed with the Echo... so a majority of what happens immediately after is most likely your first Echo experience.

[Vuitton]

Wow, I never picked up on that. :-/

[Gokulo]

Wow, I never picked up on that. :-/

Yeah, if you read more of the thread it shows how much the game trolls us with Echo. Ton of stuff actually happens in it and not in the present.

[Manako]

Yeah, I think the same thing. If you do the Goldsmith quests, the guy talks about how his brother (the glasses dhalmel guy in the beginning story line) died 20 years ago. I was like wtf when I read that.

This bothered me too, now I finally understand. So confused about how this is a smart approach to storytelling >.<

[Rocl]

the majority of the opening quests are in the Echo

if you see the Archons before A Futures Perfect or the arrival of Urianger you're in the Echo or if you hear this song:


you're in the Echo

[solracht]

Am I in the echo right now Rocl?

[Rocl]

Considering how much you're playing of a ten year old game, yes, you're in the Echo!!!

[miokomioko]

Rocl said this 20 years ago.

[Raldo]

FYI - They put a 'lore' subforum up on the official forums. http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/forums/491

Right now it's mostly race naming conventions, but this still seemed to be an appropriate place to let people know about it.

[Enygma55]

Interesting read with the naming conventions.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Lalafell Naming Conventions

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Lalafell - Plainsfolk
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Both Plainsfolk and Dunsefolk Lalafell names are ruled by rhythm, repetition, and rhyming (as well as a little alliteration). Syllable count also plays a large part. There are four unique sets of rules, and these rules are rarely deviated from. Once the rules are learned, one will be able to discern a Lalafell’s clan and gender by simply looking at a name.

The Lalafellin language (used by the clans before they arrived in Eorzea) originally only possessed five distinct vowels: a e i o u. The pronunciations are as follows:

a (“ah” as in arm)
e (“eh” as in bet)
i (“ee” as in beet)
o (“oh” as in home)
u (“ooh” as in dude).

Surnames are only surnames in placement, as they are not taken from the mother or father and are unique to the individual.

Male

1. The phoneme pattern used is AB - CB
2. The A and C phonemes do not have to rhyme.
3. The A, B, and C phonemes are usually limited to one or two syllables.

- Zorido Manarido
- Kopel Yorpel
- Alka Zolka
- Waguda Mabaguda

Fun Fact: In everyday speech, Plainsfolk males will usually always use their full names, rarely ever breaking them down into solely first or last.

Female

1. The phoneme pattern used is ABB - AB.
2. The A and B phonemes are always one syllable, and most often a single consonant paired with a single vowel, or simply a single vowel.

- Mimomo Mimo
- Tokiki Toki
- Ulala Ula
- Honmeme Honme

---------------------------
Lalafell - Dunesfolk
---------------------------

Male

1. The phoneme pattern used is AAB - CCB
2. The A and C phonemes are 1 syllable, the B phoneme 2.
3. The A and C phonemes may rhyme, but do not have to.
4. Syllables are most often a single consonant paired with a single vowel, or simply a single vowel.

- Jajariku Nanariku (rhyming)
- Momomena Lolomena (rhyming)
- Nunulupa Tatalupa (non-rhyming)
- Fafajoni Kukujoni (non-rhyming)

There are rare cases when the B phoneme will ‘seemingly’ have one syllable such as Zozonan or Nanalai. The ‘n’ and ‘i’ here are, in fact, the remnants of sounds that were once paired with a Lalafellin vowel that, over time, has disappeared from speech, and therefore become silent in names.

Female

1. The phoneme pattern used is AAB - AB
2. The A and B phonemes are 1 syllable (with the A phoneme always repeated in the forename).
3. Syllables are most often a single consonant paired with a single vowel, or simply a single vowel.

- Jajano Jano
- Kokobi Kobi
- Yayamo Yamo
- Chuchumu Chumu

Fun Fact: Members of the Ul'dah and Sil'dih royal families also bear the names of their respective sultanates.

- Nanamo Ul Namo
- Lalawefu Sil Tatawefu

[miokomioko]

I really enjoy knowing this type of thought went into things as ultimately insignificant as naming an obscure NPC that does nothing other than tell you he doesn't like the local food.