(10-20-2014, 01:52 PM)Seriphyn Wrote: Waaait, I thought the astral and umbral eras were independent of the year...that means there was 1500 years in the sixth astral era?!
Wouldn't mind seeing lore source about that.
Much of what we know about Time keeping in Eorzea is from The Five Ages - An Eorzean Chronology which was penned by Lewphon of Sharlayan in the Year 233 of the Sixth Astral Era. (Or 1,344 years ago.)
So yes, there were 1,572 years of Sixth-Astral-Era-goodness in between the Sixth and Seventh Umbral Eras.
Because 1,572 years ago... well 1,577 years ago now, Twelve Archons bid the remnant survivors of the Fifth Astral Era nations of Amdapor, Nym, and a yet to be named third nation to create (for the first time in Eorzean history) the Grand Companies of Eorzea to battle an Ascian plot for ascension of their primal god. Though the Archons were betrayed by one of their own, the union of the Grand Companies defeated the Ascians and ushered in the 1st Year of the Sixth Astral Era.
More evidence of this is we have rough dates for the previous few Astral and Umbral Eras. The Sixth Umbral Era took place 1,600 years ago. While the Fifth Umbral Era (The Age of Endless Frost) ended roughly 3,000 years ago. Meaning the Fifth Astral Era (5AE) lasted roughly 1,400 or 1,500 years as well.
And then we have the ancient Allagan Empire, which was destroyed by an earthquake 5,000 years ago during the Third Astral Era. So depending on how long the Fourth and Fifth Umbral Eras lasted, the Fourth Astral Era lasted anywhere between 1,500 to 2,000 years also.
