In the world of Final Fantasy XIV, the history of Hydaelyn is split into two alternating eras: Astral Eras (times of enlightenment, growth, and civilization) and Umbral Eras (dark ages triggered by cataclysmic events known as Umbral Calamities).
To history books in Eorzea, these Calamities are natural disasters on an apocalyptic scale. But the true lore behind them is a cosmic conspiracy of tragic proportions.
Before the Calamities, there was a single, perfect world inhabited by an immortal race called the Ancients. When a world-ending phenomenon known as the Final Days threatened them, they sacrificed half their population to summon a god of salvation, Zodiark.
Fearing Zodiark’s absolute power, a faction of Ancients summoned a second god, Hydaelyn. In their clash, Hydaelyn struck Zodiark, shattering him—and reality itself—into the Source (the main world where FFXIV takes place) and 13 Reflections (parallel dimensions).
The surviving immortal Ancients became the Ascians. Their ultimate goal is the Rejoining (or the Ardor): smashing the split dimensions back into the Source to resurrect Zodiark and their old world.
An Ascian cannot simply blow up a Reflection. A Rejoining requires a highly calculated, two-pronged approach:
1. The Reflection: Ascians manipulate a Reflection, tilting its aetheric balance entirely toward one single element (e.g., Fire, Earth, Light) until the world is overflowing with it.
2. The Source: Concurrently, Ascians trigger a massive disaster or war on the Source that corresponds to that exact same element.
When the barrier between worlds weakens, the over-aspected aether from the dying Reflection bleeds into the Source like water bursting through a dam. The result on the Source is an Umbral Calamity, and the corresponding Reflection is completely erased, its shards absorbed back into the main world.
History has recorded seven successful Calamities. Each wiped out civilizations and reset human progress.
The Backstory: Millennia after the Sundering, humanity on the Source had grown chaotic. The Ascians manipulated the Twelfth Reflection, choking it with Wind aether. On the Source, they fanned the flames of tribal warfare.
The Cataclysm: Destructive, unrelenting gales and tornadoes tore across the Source. Crops failed, cities flew apart, and humanity was driven into caves.
The Result: The Twelfth Reflection was successfully rejoined.
The Backstory: As humanity rebuilt, the Ascians targeted the Eleventh Reflection, over-saturating it with Fire aether.
The Cataclysm: Volcanic eruptions tore the crust of the Source open. Ash blocked out the sun, rivers boiled away, and a brutal, world-wide drought caused mass starvation.
The Backstory: Humanity entered a golden age of architecture, building towering cities. The Ascians infused the Tenth Reflection with Lightning aether.
The Cataclysm: The skies of the Source turned pitch black, plagued by ceaseless thunderstorms. Bolts of lightning rained down continuously, destroying the highly-conductive cities and sparking unquenchable wildfires.
The Backstory: This Calamity brought down the legendary Allagan Empire. At the height of their technologically advanced, tyrannical reign, the Allagans attempted to channel power from the artificial moon, Dalamud, into a massive crystalline tower. The Ascians primed the Ninth Reflection with Earth aether.
The Cataclysm: The massive influx of energy overloaded the earth. A titanic earthquake shattered the continent of Aldenard, swallowing the Allagan civilization whole and plunging the world into a massive dark age.
The Backstory: After the fall of Allag, a tribal era arose where magic was feared and outlaws were king. The Ascians targeted the Third Reflection with Ice aether.
The Cataclysm: The "Age of Endless Frost." The Source experienced a sudden, catastrophic ice age. The oceans froze over, allowing starving tribes to cross the seas on foot in search of food (which is notably how the Miqo'te race migrated to Eorzea).
The Backstory: The War of the Magi. Two massive, magic-wielding civilizations—**Mhach** (Void magi) and Amdapor (White magi)—waged an ideological war, draining the land's natural aether. The Ascians primed the Fifth Reflection with Water aether.
The Cataclysm: A Great Flood. Ceaseless torrential rain fell for days, and a massive tidal wave washed over Eorzea, completely drowning both civilizations. The survivors fled to the mountains, eventually giving birth to the city-states we know today (Gridania, Ul'dah, Limsa Lominsa).
The Backstory: This is the iconic opening cinematic of A Realm Reborn. The Garlean Empire, manipulated by the Ascian Emet-Selch, sought to bring down the artificial moon Dalamud onto Eorzea. Dalamud was actually a prison holding the Elder Primal Bahamut. The Ascians primed the Seventh Reflection with pure active (**Astral**) energy.
The Cataclysm: Dalamud shattered in the sky, releasing a corrupted, vengeful Bahamut. He rained terraforming fire across Eorzea. To save the realm, the Archon Louisoix used a spell to send the player characters five years into the future and sacrificed himself to temporarily subdue the dragon. The Seventh Reflection was absorbed, and modern FFXIV begins in the aftermath.
The Ascians' plan didn't always go perfectly, leading to major plot points in the game's expansions:
The Thirteenth Reflection (The Void): Early in their conspiracy, the Ascians flooded the 13th Reflection with Darkness too quickly without a corresponding disaster on the Source. The world collapsed into a useless, corrupted state called The Void, populated by ravenous demons (Voidsent). Because it didn't collapse into the Source, it was a failure—there was no Rejoining.
The First Reflection (*Shadowbringers*): The Ascians tried to flood the First Reflection with Light. However, the player character (The Warrior of Light) traveled to the First and halted the "Flood of Light," stopping what would have become the devastating Eighth Umbral Calamity on the Source.