GamerEscape

Deep within the bowels of the localization forums lie the shiniest of gems. They are the elements that make up the the world of Hydaelyn. They are lore.

This time, Fernehalwes discusses the length of Umbral and Astral Eras as well as answers some questions regarding certain characters and their stories from version 1.0.

Oh, and Ascilia? That little girl from Ul’dah’s opening? She’s totally the leader of the Path of the Twelve. How do you like them Faerie Apples?

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, Niellefresne, 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!