The history books of Final Fantasy XIV are
riddled with blank pages. From each Astral Era, and every Umbral Calamity,
the lore is as fragmented as the world itself. However, while the ancient stewards of this
brilliant star might be reluctant to share their knowledge, it is possible to collect
these pieces and form the picture on our own. But such knowledge comes at a price, and will
only be acquired by those willing to tred a world covered in magic, monsters, and living
gods. Welcome to the Wizards and Warriors series
on the history of Final Fantasy XIV, beginning with one of the greatest civilizations the
world ever knew, the Allagan Empire. As we’ll see, this high-tech society created
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description and coupon code, WW for ten percent off. We begin our journey on a world called Hydaelyn. This planet gained its name from a goddess
whose voice could be heard echoing from the heart of the world. Here there are countless varieties of monsters
and people, with the most common mortal races of man being known as the adaptable hyur,
honorable elezen, clever lalafell, rugged roegadyn, traditional miqo'te, proud au'ra,
mystical viera and respectable hrothgar. These races and their various cultures make
up the bulk of the world's population and spearhead most historic events. But our story brings us to Eorzea, a land
located on the continent of Aldenard. This place is sacred, as energy called aether,
which is responsible for creating life and magic, is denser here than anywhere else in
the world. It's within this land that the Allagans would
eventually emerge. The history of the empire begins in the scorching
heat of the 3rd Umbral Calamity, also known as the Calamity of Fire. The Calamities are cataclysmic events that
cover every inch of the planet for years, with every age afterwards being called an
Astral Era. The 1st calamity was that of Wind, scaring
the world with constant tornados and hurricanes. The 2nd was that of lightning, as massive
bolts of electricity would fall like rain. This, the 3rd Calamity, saw the entire world
plagued by stifling heat. Crops withered and died, lakes dried up, and
it felt as if the entire world had become akin to a desert. The various races and cultures that populated
the world at this point were very superstitious. Believing that the sun itself was punishing
them for trying to stand at the side of gods through the creation of magic and sorcery
in the 2nd Astral Era. While the 3rd Umbral Calamity would humble
the survivors of this tragedy, they became wary of the gods. So if the use of spellcraft to emulate the
divine was forbidden, then they'd attempt to uplift themselves through the hands of
man alone. Eventually, the heat of the 3rd Calamity subsided,
allowing the world to return to normal. This gave way to the 3rd Astral Era, and an
age of science had begun. The races of Eorzea that had abandoned the
excessive worship of gods, found that they had more time to spend on things like scientific
research. No longer were people simply concerned with
what magic could do for them. Instead, they developed various tools and
devices that could use the energy of aether. Most commonly this condensed energy is seen
as elemental crystals, and they found ways to use them to power a variety of devices. This only fueled their passion for discovery,
as practices like chemistry began to emerge as well. But amongst all the people trying to create
the next best thing, stood a man who would eventually control most of the world. The great and powerful Xande took to the field. Xande was a man of mystery. He appeared within Eorzea seemingly out of
nowhere. But when he arrived, everyone saw him as a
genius. His knowledge of both magic and the material
surpassed what many could imagine. This vast understanding of the world combined
with his charismatic personality made people flock to him in droths, eager to work alongside
or learn from him. As small groups of followers began to grow
into massive organizations, Xande's influence started to give birth to a new nation. The culture of this budding society was rich
with diversity as he welcomed scientists, mages, priests, and scholars from all over
Eorzea. In time, the magical and scientific development
of his people couldn't be matched. And shortly after, the nation of Allag was
officially created. Being the most advanced nation to rise in
the wake of the 3rd Umbral Calamity, Xande and his forces were unmatched. By making exclusive use of both technological
might and battle mages, their nation's military was already a force to be reckoned with. Xande would spread his nation's influence
throughout the entirety of Eorzea, hoping to bring all of its people under one unified
roof. The various tribes and small towns across
the land stood no chance of winning. It was with shows of strength that Xande encouraged
many people to peacefully surrender to his growing country. Upon realizing the benefits of becoming one
with the nation of Allag, most conceded. Those few groups that refused to back down
without a fight were overwhelmed and made part of his nation regardless. After annexing large sections of Eorzea, Xande
crowned himself emperor, and so began the years of the mighty Allagan Empire. Over time, Xande would start to promote the
wisest and most powerful mages in his country to stand as military leaders and overseers
of scientific development. This proved to be the best possible move,
as embracing magic instead of shunning it made sure the minds of his followers were
open and curious instead of short-sighted and paranoid. Eventually, a breakthrough was made as the
spellweavers and engineers began to discover ways to hybridize magic with technology. With the right enchantments, siege weapons
would not only shoot further, but they would strike harder as well. Similarly, cranes made to lift heavy objects
were pushed ten times past their normal weight limits with these advancements. This made the minds of creative individuals
run wild, wondering how far they could push the bounds of magic and physics. The fusion of spells and science was steadily
applied to everything, from construction and agriculture to military and medicine. This became its own unique field of development
and was officially dubbed, Aetherochemistry. It's on the foundations of aetherochemistry
that the Allagan Empire would grow into a paradise. With this new revolutionary field of research
their society was finally without equal, and thus began the Allagan's Golden Age. At the peak of his time as Emperor, Xande
had conquered all of Eorzea, and the glory of his country was there for all to see. But no man lives forever, not even the emperor. Xande knew that in order to maintain the empire's
strength after his death, a set of strict rules and expectations needed to be set in
place. So it was that his direct descendants would
follow his example even after his passing. These new emperors would do as their founder
demanded, and continue the expansion of their country across all three of the great continents. Once the rest of Aldenard was secured, it
would only be a matter of time as they conquered the rest of Ilsabard and Othard. Because of the power brought on by aetherochemistry,
no other nation on the three great continents could stand up to the Empire for long. Gradually, all of them would live under the
Allagan flag. With no enemy that could possibly stand up
to them, the Empire entered a time of peace that would ultimately benefit everyone. Even the conquered nations were able to partake
of the benefits that came with imperial rule. Advanced science and medicine saw their people
prosper like they never had before, and all living within the three continents would enjoy
this peace for generations. They even began crafting various machines
that would make their day-to-day lives even easier. One such creation was the Syrcus Tower, known
by its more common name, the Crystal Tower. This gigantic magical battery stood as a testament
to what mortal men are truly capable of when given the chance, and the clean energy this
tower provided the empire would benefit the lives of countless people. However, the Allagan Empire would soon realize
that paradise isn't truly everything you'd hope it is. After many generations, the Allagan people
no longer knew the true meaning of things like pain, suffering, and trauma. They could have almost anything they wanted,
and live long carefree lives thanks to their medicine and technology. But without any threats to overcome or strife
to measure against their joy, their happiness steadily became hollow. People became lazier and content to indulge
in selfish pleasures whilst their machines did most of the day-to-day work for them. The allagans quite literally became bored
with life. As such, their society began to spoil, and
fester like an infection. Things like reason, empathy, and even love
started to disappear as the allagan people became numb to their own existence. But the worst part arose when inflicting horrors
upon their fellow man, became a source of entertainment. The Allagan Empire was now fully corrupt,
spoiled by its own glory. Only a handful of intellectual groups remained. They could still think rationally about the
future of their country, and what they saw on the horizon was a complete societal collapse. As they debated on how to correct the direction
of their failing empire, one man would take it upon himself to do just that and more. The scientist, Amon. He had observed the Empires fall from grace
with disgust, and saw the selfish whims of its people as ugly blemishes in need of fixing. He came to the realization that what the Empire
needed wasn't a new invention, but a strong leader. Though instead of waiting for one such person
to arise, Amon would create one. In fact, he would recreate the greatest leader
in Allagan history. He would bring back Emperor Xande. After unethical experiments that resulted
in the altered minds and bodies of his colleagues, Amon began the process of cloning Xande. But this time he wouldn't live a mortal life,
Amon would give Xande an immortal body so that he might rule for all eternity. Eventually, he succeeded, and Emperor Xande
walked the earth once more. After a few days of educating Xande on everything
that had happened in his absence, the emperor rolled his eyes in annoyance and decided to
get to work immediately. He began assassinating the current Allagan
Emperor as well as executing anyone that dared to stand in his way. Most allagan people had become so powerless
that none could stand up to his might. After seizing power, Xande declared the three
great continents was not enough for his Empire, so they were going to liberate a massive continent
to the south, they were going to invade Meracydia. As Amon predicted, the fear of Xande's wrath
had injected pain back into the hearts of the allagan people, and their Empire began
to mobilize just like it had in ages past. With pride, Amon stood by Xande's side as
the Empire began moving their military might towards the shores of Meracydia. Societies that lived alongside dragons had
long since endured here, and the dragon's leader, Dawn Wyrm Bahamut, would meet the
Empire on the fields of battle. His might held them back for the longest time,
but after creating fiendish chimeras to outnumber and over power him, Bahamut would die and
leave Meracydia defenseless. However, the people would not take this lying
down, and summoned god-like entities called primals to push back the empire's forces. As living things born from raw aether and
the unflinching faith of those that summon them, the primals were a force that the Empire
had trouble overcoming. But this made Xande's blood race with excitement,
as his military would devise creative ways to outmaneuver and subdue these would-be gods. The primals would fall and be captured by
the empire, preventing more summoning. Yet the climax of this war would only happen
when an image of Dawn Wyrm Bahamut would be summoned into the form of a primal. This new primal Bahamut would become the greatest
threat to the empire's crusade. But instead of worrying about casualties,
Xande's madness began to show as he enjoyed the back and forth this war had created. Like a massive game of chess with people's
lives on the board, he kept playing. But even this new form of Bahamut couldn't
stand up to the darkness that Xande was about to unleash. Emperor Xande had made a pact with the Cloud
of Darkness, a demonic entity from a hellish realm called the Void, and with her power,
he unleashed legions of voidsent upon Bahamut and Meracydia both. This was the final play, as the combined power
of the void and a new weapon called Omega defeated and captured Bahamut. They sealed the dragon away in a red sphere
called Dalamud, which was made to orbit the world as a second moon. While the Empire's campaign against Meracydia
was a success, many allagans saw only cruelty and insanity on full display. They knew that once the war was over a new
reign of terror was bound to begin and that the allagan people, while foolish, would be
made to suffer. Many groups would put plans into place to
safeguard the empire's best interest should the worst come to pass, but eventually a massive
revolution to dethrone the mad emperor would occur. Xande would retreat to Crystal Tower and attempt
to use it to open a massive gate to the void and allow the Cloud of Darkness itself to
overrun the entire world. But Xande made a fatal error. Due to his actions, the world's aether was
unstable and his attempt to use the tower to such an end was the last straw. The very earth beneath the Crystal Tower shattered,
and the monument sank beneath the ground as earthquakes began to ravage everything the
empire had worked to build. These tremors spread across the world, and
so began the 4th Umbral Calamity, the Calamity of Earth. Bringing a tragic end to the prosperous Allagan
Empire. There were people within the Empire that wanted
to prevent this outcome, but Amon's madness had become Xande's mania, and together they
sowed the seeds of chaos and destruction. Not only for their empire, but for the entire
world. There are countless lessons that can be taken
from the events of the 3rd Astral Era, but this will end our first episode on the recorded
history of Hydaelyn. In our next episode, we will understand why
so much history was lost during the 4th Astral Era, and how the 5th Era was a time of peerless
magic and spellcraft. More videos on the history of the Final Fantasy
14 Universe are on the way and we are planning to cover the battles of many other fantasy,
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we’ll catch you on the next one!
