FFXIV Lore: Elements, Magic, and Crystals

Hey there, everybody! Darkmaelstrom again with the next installment of Final Fantasy 14 lore. In my last post, I discussed how aether and the Lifestream shapes the land of Hydaelyn and allows life and magic to flourish in the realm. Today, I'm going to dig deeper into the magic itself, how it works and interacts, and what effects it has on crystals. As you are no doubt aware if you have played any caster roles in the game, magic on Hydaelyn is split into 6 different elements that generally cycle in this order: Fire, Wind, Lightning, Water, Ice, and Earth. Areas of the realm, as well as those residing in it, can be aspected towards and away from certain elements. For example, if an area is aspected towards Fire, the land is generally going to be hot and arid, playing host to deserts and intense sunlight. Scalekin aspected towards Earth generally develop a thick outer skin protecting them from predators. You get the idea. Now, each element interplays with one another in certain ways and, while it can seem a little complicated, there is a passage that can help make it a bit clearer: "The spark of Lightning ignites when it strikes, and thus Fire is born. The heat of Fire renders to ash all that it touches, and thus Earth is born. The density of Earth shuns sun and harbors cold, and thus Ice is born. The armor of Ice melts away, and thus Water is born. The moistness of Water mists and rises, and thus Wind is born. The gusts and sighs of Wind gather the clouds, and thus Lightning is born. The Three Conquests, Boundless and Unwavering Earth grounds Lightning, Water erodes Earth, Lightning boils Water The Three Submissions, Timeless and Unending Fire is extinguished by Wind, Ice is melted by Fire, Wind is obstructed by Ice

The six elements are manifest in all things great and small, and thus polarity deriveth from the Astral heavens above and the Umbral depths below." (Encyclopaedia Eorzea, p9) It seems like a lot to keep in mind, but in general, the elements are arranged in a circle, with Wind, Lightning, and Fire making up the Astral poles, and Earth, Ice, and Water making up the Umbral poles. This outline plays a more key role in the use of magics, as it dictates how elements interact with one another; in other words, which elements are stronger or weaker against other elements. You may also be asking yourself what I mean by Astral and Umbral? Well, when anything in the game is referred to as "Astral," it generally means periods or states of great activity and growth. If "Umbral," it generally means states of stagnation or staunchness. These terms are also used to designate eras in Hydaelyn, with Astral eras being marked by periods of advancement and prosperity, and Umbral eras marking a great Calamity that halts (and sometimes reverses) advancement. We won't get into that quite yet, but just keep in mind that the great eras of civilization follow the same order of elements and polarity.

Now, the question we must ask is, outside of the use of magics, what does this mean for those living in the world? In the last article, I discussed how a being's life is affected by the levels of aether with which they are born, and that one of the components that can either positively or negatively affect a being's aether is exposure to different "aspects" of aether. Well, just like regions, a being's aether is generally aspected towards one element or another. If said being is exposed to elements that are aspected differently from their own, or corrupted aether, it generally detracts from their natural lifeforce, which can have negative consequences for their health. Climate rarely affects this, but one feature of the land that can cause it to happen is crystals. Crystals occur throughout the land of Hydaelyn and, while you can hardly go anywhere without running into these objects, they are not what you would consider a natural occurrence. Put simply, crystals are the result of extreme injury to either the land or its inhabitants. When a being is mortally wounded or killed, their aether is violently lost to them, manifesting as crystals aspected towards the natural aspect of their aether, or to the aspect of magic that marked a calamitous event. The reason why crystals are so abundant throughout the land is due to the many Calamities and wars that mark the history of Hydaelyn. As an example, you can hardly go through Thanalan without noticing the mass areas of crystals that look like mountains of fire. These crystals formed when the primal Bahamut destroyed the realm of Eorzea during the Seventh Umbral Era.

Depending on the circumstances of their birth, these crystals can also become corrupted, causing them to have a markedly negative effect on the natural aether of the land and its inhabitants. This problem is the focus of much study and research for obvious reasons. The inhabitants of Gridania, in particular, seek to balance and remove corrupted aether, in order to placate the elementals that reside in the Shroud. And there you have it! I know this was a bit of a read compared to the last article, but since magic and elements play a much larger role than the Lifestream in the story of Final Fantasy 14, it was necessary. In my next installment, I'll go over the geography of Hydaelyn, concluding the basic outline of how the world works, and moving on to what you're most likely interested in: the religion and history of Eorzea. Until then, happy gaming ^^

-Darkmaelstrom Stewart

Au Ra You Kidding: Looking at the Lack of Lore for FFXIV Most Interesting Race

We know very little about the Au Ra, what we do know is that they aren’t part dragon or voidsent and despite some different features are very similar to a Miqo’te or a Hyur.

The Au Ra has two major features that separate it from most other classes in the game. First, an Au Ra has scales along with its skin, a trait mostly of reptiles and other similarly cold-blooded animals. However, the Au Ra has other features that are not found in cold-blooded animals. Mainly hair, and well mammary glands, in this case, boobs, while we are talking sex appeal, wide hips which indicate the idea of giving birth to live young or at least not laying eggs.

On the other hand, Au Ra have other features that are very obviously different from the other races, mainly that horns, scales, and unlike the Miqo’te scaled tails. But what are the scales and horns for from what we can the game presents the horns are hollow and act much like human ear bones, picking up vibrations that resonate to make sounds. This is depicted through a small paragraph on the Heavensward page describing the race. The other think this mentions is the size difference between males and females. This is a trait noticeably common among insects, birds, and most cold-blooded animals.

Let’s look more in depth in the size difference, how does this compare to other races hyur has a difference of 4 inches is not that large. Elezen also has a difference of only 4 inches. Lalafell are the exact same high male or female, but we will get into those beasts in another article. Miqo’te are also 4 inches, and Roegaden is even less at 3 inches difference from male to female. The Au Ra however, the tallest male is 85 inches, the tallest female is only 62 inches. Making a whopping difference of 23 inches, just shy of under 2 feet.

Next, we come to the origin of the Au Ra, and it's two clans, the Raen and the Xaela. All that is known of their origin is that they are native to the far eastern continent of Othard, but it is not known whether they truly originated from this continent. The myth surrounding the creation of the Au Ra comes from the idea that they were all born from a Dawn Father and Dusk Mother being the race's origin. The Raen claiming to have descended from the Dawn Father, due to their white scales and the Xaela believe to have descended from the Dusk Mother, hence to their black scales. If this is the case do Au Ra produce asexually? Who did the Dusk mother and Dawn Father sleep with. If it was with each other then the two clans would have the same start. So why specify these two beings be separate?

This leads to even more discussion why are the two races of Au Ra so separate, each possessing very different characteristics of skin tone, and scale color. The Rean being light almost white, and the Xaela being almost black. Further distinct is the two races skin color tabs the Raen tab is mostly lighter almost human like colors with a few stand outs like brownish greens and a few darker blue greys. But the Xeala are very different with most skin colors being blues blacks and on the lighter end the skin is still a light shade of blue.

                Let’s dive a bit deeper and look at the entomology of names of the Au Ra thanks to an awesome post on the race naming conventions on the FFXIV forums by a player user named Gildrein (link to page at the bottom of the article). We find the names from the Raen come from Japanese mostly, different spellings for romanization are often seen. The names often have direct correlation to beauty in nature, along with surnames discussing tribes, or family’s history within them. The Japanese naming decision may have to do with the fact that the Raen stay in hidden in mountains, much like dragons and other similar Yo-kai in Japanese folklore and stories.

The Xaela however have names mostly derived from Mongolian ancestry. Interestingly this coincides with the ideas of the tribe, “Unlike their sister clan, the Raen, who lead solitary lives hidden behind the savage peaks of Othard's eastern reaches, the Xaela are free spirits who roam the vast western steppe in close-knit tribes hunting, gathering, and warring as their ancestors have for countless generations.” Much like the Mongol people who were nomadic and often barbaric the Xaela take their naming structure from the same languages.

So, in short, the Au Ra are far but a normal race, not even touched on are the Limbal rings available which surround their pupils, but honestly, I don’t have an explanation for them existing. Even into Stormblood, so little is known about this race. Perhaps in an upcoming expansion we can grow to learn more about these strange creatures.

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/threads/63112-Race-Naming-Conventions

FFXIV Lore: Aether and the Lifestream

  Hey there, everyone!  Dark here offering you the first of several entries regarding the lore and mythos of Final Fantasy 14. Whether you're a story buff like myself or you simply want to fill in some gaps that may not have made sense at first, this is the place for you! 

     Before we can delve into the story and history itself, we must first look at how the world of Hydaelyn maintains itself and those who walk its surface: The Lifestream. 

     Eorzea is one of several continents on the overall world of Hydaelyn, and it's known for its especially high concentration of aether, a physical representation of the Lifestream. Think of aether as energy or, for those who practice yoga or some eastern religions, your chakra or chi. Basically, when you are born, you are provided with a certain concentration of aether. Aetheric concentration determines most of what makes a being: life span, overall health and stamina, performance, and aptitude for the practice of magic. As you live, the amount of aether lessens, either through natural means, the corruption of the body when it comes in contact with crystals, or mortal wounds, which cause such a violent loss of aether that it manifests as crystals. If your aether is lost, you die, transferring your energy back to the Lifestream, where it is recycled and feeds the very planet itself.

     Now, since Eorzea is abundant with natural aether, its inhabitants have a firmer grasp on the practice of magics. Magic is simply the manipulation of aether by an individual to serve a specific purpose. To manipulate aether, one has to have an understanding of how aether works, its natural balance with the Lifestream, and how its different elemental aspects interact with each other. I'll cover that in another article, but for now, just know that if aether is manipulated in ways that go against the natural order of the Lifestream, it can have disastrous consequences. The biggest reference you'll come across in the game regarding misuse of magics occurred during the War of the Magi, when the Mhachi (practitioners of black arts) waged war against Amdapor (white magic), the culmination of which led to a world-wide flood that nearly wiped out all life on the planet. For centuries after, the practice of white and black magics was banned, for fear of repeating past mistakes. It eventually made a resurgence, however, when people began respecting magic and understanding its relationship to life and death itself, the most notable example being the relationship between Gridanians and the elementals of the Twelveswood. 

     It was also around this time that the Sharlayans, a group of nomadic scholars, discovered a means to travel through the Lifestream. Normally, any living being who encounters the Lifestream gets lost in the aetheric flow. Without their physical form, they eventually lose their sense of will and self, dissolving back into the fold. However, it was discovered that particularly large crystals formed where the Lifestream was close to the surface of the planet. Upon studying these mysterious crystals, the Sharlayans realized that they could manipulate them in order to allow a person to instantly pass from one waypoint to another through the Lifestream safely. By creating a sort of road between waypoints, a user could condense into their pure aether, crossing into the aetherial plane without losing their grip on the physical plane. This allowed them to retain their sense of will; thus, teleportation was born, and with it came further development and understanding of magic as we know it in the game today.  

And there you have it ^^ A quick rundown of the life force that makes up Hydaelyn. In a future article, I'll go more into detail regarding elements and crystals, but for now, happy gaming!

Written By

Darkmaelstrom Stewart