(07-04-2014, 12:54 PM)Joromarr Jomorra Wrote: - Is there a Hydaelyn world map? I just finished my first airship travels to the other city-states, and the Garlean cut scene threw me for a loop. I was stoned and briefly thought my PS4 switched to some sci-fi game I didn't know I had. So I did some research and learned of the Garlean Empire and magitek, and learned that Eorzea is actually a continent called Aldernard, one of "three great continents." I'm a lore junkie... I know everything about EverQuest's Norrath and even did a presentation on it once, haha. So when I went to check out where exactly the Garleans are, they're just this cloudy part of the Eorzean map and Google searches gave me no information about the other two continents.
There is no "World Map of Hydaelyn" unfortunately. The only map we have is of Eorzea, found here. A roughly translated map can be found here, but note that some of the place names have spelling typos. Some Eorzean lettering can be confusing at first.
Eorzea has a deep and dark history tracing back at least 7-10 thousand years since Man first walked it. But we have very little lore of the other continents, but we can assume they have just as lush a history. What we do know is that Ilsabard is the northern-most of the three Great Continents and is connected to Aldenard (the western-most) via a land bridge which can be viewed on the Eorzea Map. Ilsabard is the birth place of the Garlean Empire, which is the "evil empire" of this game.
Garlemald, its capitol, was once a tiny city-state that had no real military might and was at the mercy of its larger, more militaristic neighbors. Until they entered an industrial revolution after the discovery of Magitek (ancient Allagan warmachines and relics) and began conquering their neighbors. In the spam of a few years, the Garleans conquered all of Ilsabard before setting their sights on Othard (the Eastern-most Great Continent). From lore, we've learned that they conquered most of Othard, but not all. They then set their sights on Aldenard/Eorzea.
You'll find out more about all of that as you progress through the Main Storyline, so I won't give you any spoilers. Other than that, there is a distinction to be made between the Three Great Continents and the mention of other continents. It's referenced in passing that there are additional continents besides the Three Great ones. One to the west beyond Aldenard, which its believed Miqo'te once inhabited. There's also mention of a continent to the south, below the Cieldaeles and across the Rhotano Sea, but next to nothing is known about it. This is probably why there's no "World Map" because as they go along with expansions and patches and the like, we're likely to get new areas or continents to explore. Fingers crossed!
I hope this helps! ^^ Lemme know if you have any more lore questions!
