FFXIV Lore- Hydaelyn's History, the Second Era

this video is rated b for you'd better back on out of here if you don't want spoilers buddy when we last left our telling on the first astral era the aseans had successfully performed a second rejoining by stoking the conflict inside the hearts of the early races and encouraging enough chaos to tilt the world off balance the first astral era which was an age of medieval stonework and rudimentary farmlands was about to face a new calamity the calamity of lightning the calamity had begun during the early races reckless expansion and destruction of nature the ethereal plane reflects our physical one and since too much was changing too quickly the harmony between the material and ethereal was thrown off balance but balance is the natural state of things and given time this loss of stability would be corrected on its own however the aseans have been waiting for the window to open and made sure the 12th shard was also off balance the element this shard had been destabilized towards was lightning and since both the source and the 12th were both in a similar state of disarray it ushered in another rejoining like the first rejoining the people living on the 12th shard went screaming into oblivion as their home came to a sudden end case in point i do not consider you to be truly alive ergo i will not be guilty of murder if i kill you all those souls and all that energy rushed to rejoin the source making our world and everyone in it that much stronger as we regained another piece of ourselves meanwhile as all that power was becoming one with the source the calamity had begun volcanoes all around the world began to erupt spewing lava and debris across their surrounding areas but that wasn't the worst part the volcanoes were releasing ashen clouds as dark as coal and thicker than the sky these clouds began to blot out the sun pushing our world into a starless night arcs of electricity began to grow between these dark clouds and then begun to ring claps of thunder and then came the storm and it didn't stop enormous bolts of white lightning began to strike the earth indiscriminately castles were obliterated farms were set ablaze and even lakes began to boil from old elegant accounts researching this time it's assumed this state of constant electrical rain lasted for an entire year for an entire year the world's surface and all that lived upon it wasn't safe in an attempt to survive this relentless onslaught the people that weren't struck dead by these leaven bolts retreated to caves and mountains that gave enough earthly cover people that didn't live near any mountains or caves tried to hide in whatever underground storage units their kingdom had built but as stated this barrage of lightning lasted for an entire year meaning things like food and water began to go quickly for those unprepared and so many weren't ready for this when people started dying the safe haven they had found inside the mountains and caves started to slowly become their tomb as the deceased started to decay a pestilence began to spread to those still living with lightning threatening to kill them outside and disease threatening to choke them inside all hope had been lost the early races didn't know what else to do so they turned to powers greater than themselves and begged the gods for salvation many had preached that the calamity of lightning was made by the gods that it was divine judgment for early man ignoring the divine and only celebrating themselves so with no other means to save themselves many people turned to prayer amongst the people praying for salvation were those who could clearly visualize the sick becoming healthy and the violent getting struck down relying purely on their thoughts and feelings the first recorded magical incantations began to be uttered the first mages could suddenly feel the boundless aether inside them and all around them their eyes had been opened and what they saw was the limitless potential of magic they discovered that when they tapped into their own aether and the aether around them they could focus and guide it through faith and prayer with this realization the first spells were cast offensive magic was used to defend themselves from desperate and hostile people while curative and support spells were used to heal the sick and diseased many saw this new power as a sign that the gods had forgiven them and were blessing them with the gifts needed to save themselves should they be wise enough to use it it's believed that only through the use of magic did the young races survive the second umbral calamity and eventually the skies cleared and the endless storm of lightning finally began to end this gave way to the second astral era those that were immensely proficient with magic and spellcraft were seen as the chosen of the gods and were hoisted to the highest positions in their communities overnight most mages accepted their new roles and with no evidence to the contrary they truly believed themselves to be touched by the divine magical kings and queens that managed to survive the calamity were overthrown in the first few years of the second astral era being replaced by mages that had become priests and community leaders early monarchies were quickly turned into theocracies in hopes to please the gods the mages turned religious leaders preached that it was the avarice and greed of early man that brought about the second umbral calamity technically they weren't wrong since it was the early wars and devastation of the land that took the world off balance however they were convinced it was the judgment of the gods and to ensure the calamity of lightning never happened again they needed to give thanks and pray to the divine it was this fervent desire to please a higher power that many innovations were made many religious leaders ordered that massive temples be built to try and appease the divine it was because of these demands that more robust and impressive forms of architecture began to emerge this was also the period that forage masters learned how to make steel and other powerful metals to reinforce their buildings not only that but goldsmithing finally rose as a respected craft as they tinkered to make simple stone temples shine with precious metals and gemstones art made a huge advancement during this time with sculptures paintings and music being made to depict the gods and their chosen disciples the world had entered its renaissance age and countless cultural advancements were made in an attempt to please the gods it became common for people to say the phrase to the heavens as a means of showing their devotion to their craft or discipline this was also a time where the mages that were seen as holy men and divine priestesses were experimenting with their spells spellcraft became more methodical and the first forms of early arcane weapons began to take shape scepters and stabs made from refined metals precious stones and even bones of magical beasts were found to easily conduct offensive spells however they found that they were most easily attuned to the elements of fire lightning and ice likewise canes and wands made from the branches of holy trees were found to enhance curative spells and release magic that was strongly connected to the elements of earth water and wind finally arcane symbols that had been carved inside the cave walls they hid in during the calamity began to be painted or tattooed over their bodies to aid in the channeling of aether those that didn't mark their bodies typically wore robes and garments that were decorated with these symbols in one way shape or form this would eventually evolve into the arcane grimoires we see today after the innovation of items that would make book binding and publishing easier than both tattooing and so investments of holy couture but despite the myriad advancements of the second astral era we know that there were many calamities afterwards i found no records that state exactly how long the second astral era lasted what i did find is that as these theocracies began to grow more powerful in pious the differences between religious beliefs began to grow more and more apparent this passive tension was all the aseans needed to start stoking the flames of chaos once again they encouraged infighting and incited battles between rival religions this tension grew quickly and eventually began a dark age of violent holy wars each religion saw themselves as the chosen of the gods which meant all others were simply pretenders and made mockery of the divine it's safe to say that some priests and clergy were also using the churches as a front to push their own agendas they used their influence to try and gain as much power as the early kingdoms of the first astral era the tail end of the second astral era was a time of madness witch hunts became common lands were burned and countless innocent lives were lost in the name of their deities the biggest problem that stemmed from these holy crusades was that all their resources and people were being sent to war there was no one to tend the fields and make food no one to make the clothes or build houses the young and feeble that didn't march out onto the fields of battle starved to death and no matter how much wealth was taken from other countries there was nothing to spend the coin on anymore without farmers or craftsmen as the holy wars came to a slow and bitter and they started to realize that the road to renewal was going to be difficult however many were convinced that the gods that had protected them in battle and guided their spells would see them through this transition and back into the arms of prosperity what they didn't know was that the damage had already been done the misery and horrific bloodletting that occurred during these crusades had once again destabilized the world causing the balance between the material and immaterial to waiver the window that the aseans were hoping for had been opened and with another rejoining the world was met with the third umbral calamity the calamity of fire good day thank you for staying to the end of my lesson it's my hope that you found something new and interesting in between my ramblings if you did consider subscribing and liking this video doing that is the easiest way to tell me i'm doing a good job at feeding your thirst for knowledge if there is a topic you'd love to learn more about that i've yet to cover let me know in the comments and i'll see where my research takes me i'd also encourage you to share what you learned here with your friends and adventuring companions and if they're interested bring them to the next assembly i hope to see you and any other curious travelers in the next lecture till then stay safe my friends

Channel: Synodic Scribe

Views: 18,730

Keywords: ffxiv, FFXIV, Final Fantasy 14, mmorpg, mmo, lore, gaming, educational

Id: -cOVA1hPlao

Length: 12min 58sec (778 seconds)

Published: Mon Aug 16 2021