Spoiler* The Garlean Empire retreated from their advance on Eorzea fifteen years ago after a primal appeared and stopped them in their tracks. It is unknown who or what this primal was. (It is possible this is the event seen in the opening cinematic, though not probable for various reasons.)

* Ala Mhigo is currently under the control of Legatus Gaius Van Baelsar of the XIVth legion - otherwise known as "The Black Wolf", who rules the conquered city-state as an Imperial Viceroy. Children within the city are indoctrinated with Imperial propaganda in their youth, and sent off into Garlemald to be trained as soldiers in the Imperial Military when they come of age.

* Ala Mhigo is surrounded by a great wall which serves to separate it from the rest of Eorzea. (Whether they meant a wall around the city, or a wall closing the city off to all but Garlemal is unknown) Ala Mhigan resistance fighters make their stand outside this wall, hoping to one day reclaim their city. The resistance was dealt a massive blow recently after a failed excursion into Mor Dhona to capture and pilot an Imperial Dreadnought Airship.

* The Ascians, otherwise known as the "Shadow Eaters" have been attempting to hunt down the key to Seal Rock for a yet unknown reason. Ascians seem to be able to take on the form of the mortal races - though they are unable to cast a shadow.

* The city of Sharlayan lies in ruins - presumably at the hands of the Garlean Empire.

* It is hinted by Ifrit that the being that has granted the gift of the Echo to adventurers in Eorzea is neither a primal, nor one of the twelve - but a different entity all together. It's motives are yet unknown.

* The Echo is a strange ability that more and more adventurers are being granted. Though by no means an extremely rare occurrence, the Echo seems to be a gift from a yet unknown entity. It seems to have a myriad of uses, two of which we currently know about. Those blessed with the Echo seem to be able to resonate with all beings on a spiritual level subconsciously. This allows them to understand any and all languages in the world, by understanding what the person is saying on a subconscious level, as opposed to actually understanding the language itself. The Echo also allows one, with proper exercise, to resonate with another person's memories and relive their past experiences. Because this is not seen as time travel, any interference in this "memory" cannot affect the outcome of said events (as far as we know). What happened, has already happened and cannot be changed.

* Though the Thaumaturges' Guild puts on the front of being a humble organization focused upon both giving citizens of Ul'dah the chance to secure passage through the gates of death and attending to the burial rites of the dead, it is rumored that the sect has many dark secrets. Everything from the origin of the Necrologos, to Homunculi, to Chimeras and other ferocious man-made beasts are rumored to have been the work of the Thaumaturges. (Whether these were rogue Thaumaturges, or members of the Ossuary doing secretive studies is unknown.)

* Ifrit has been summoned by the Amalj'aa. Titan will be summoned by the Kobolds at some point in the storyline. (Cutscenes showing Titan already exist and can be seen online, though not in-game.) It is assumed Leviathan is the giant serpent in the Limsa-lominsa intro, and thus has been summoned by the Sahagin, or set free from it's prison in Seal Rock. The Ixali are confirmed to worship Garuda, and some one will summon her as she will be a boss in a coming patch. It is unknown who the Sylph worship, though a safe bet would be Ramuh or some iteration of him, due to the lightning bolt on their standards.

* Ceruleum, the power source for the Garlean Magitek technology, is harvested from crystals. Currently, the Garleans are harvesting vast amounts of Ceruleum in order to attempt to summon a Primal of their own.

* Dalamund is actually a giant mechanical weapon created by the ancient Allagan Empire. It is powered up by transmitting the drained energy of crystals to the "moon". When fully activated, it can be used to literally rip stars from the sky and send them crashing down to the planet in the form of a massive meteor. Though normally uncontrollable, Dalamund's meteor can supposedly be precisely aimed with the use of Allagan Tomestones - ancient relics of the Allagan Empire.

* The Allagan Empire was a civilization far more advanced than even the Garlean Empire, showcasing technology the likes of which Garlemald could not even imagine. They mysteriously vanished many ages ago, and few relics and ruins of their civilization have been located.

* Cid Garlond was son of the Emperor's right hand engineer, who designed most of Garlemald's modern day weaponry. Even Cid himself supposedly had a hand in the creation of some weaponry. He eventually fled Garlemald after seeing the bloodshed his creations had caused, and formed the Garlond Ironworks as a means to outfit Eorzea with Magitek in an effort to bolster the nation against the overwhelming might of the Garlean Empire.

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SpoilerQuestion 1: In general, how open-minded is the average Eorzean? (ex. Accept same-sex couples? Those who do not believe in the Twelve?)

Answer 1: Though many of the races experienced rocky pasts, currently, tolerance is, for the most part, the norm in Eorzea. The main reason behind this being that the region is a veritable melting pot of races who have worked together throughout recent history to survive the hardships thrust upon them. This does not mean that there are do not exist groups which are significantly more closed-minded. For example, while Gridania and Limsa Lominsa are fairly open about having dealings with the some of the more amicable beast tribes (such as the sylphs, goblins, and Qiqirn), the sultanate of Ul'dah are wary of the tribes, in part due to their prolonged conflict with the Amalj'aa.

The same can be said regarding religion. Each city-state has a patron (matron) deity, and most people in that city-state will follow the teachings of that god or goddess. There are, for the most part, however, no strict religious codes that must be followed. Some Eorzeans will choose to worship a deity connected to their profession (for example, weavers often follow Nymeia the Spinner). Some follow the deity associated with their nameday. There are even some Eorzeans who choose not to follow the teachings of the Twelve, but they are few and far between...and often will not admit it. The exception to this rule can be seen in Ishgard, where they take the teachings of Halone very seriously...to the point that the church and state have become inseparable. They go as far as calling those who do not follow the Fury 'unbelievers,' and those who are found to have communicated with the dragons of Dravania (the mortal enemies of Ishgard), are branded as heretics and in some cases executed.


Question 2: Can different races crossbreed?

Answer 2: Yes, but it is rare...and often difficult due to cultural differences, etc. which is why you don't see it often. The lore team has informed me that there will be future quests/events that touch on this and other issues, such as love and marriage.


Question 3: How widespread is the worship of the Twelve?

Answer 3: See the answer to question 1. As for geographical distribution, worship of the Twelve is, for the most part, limited to Eorzea.


Question 4: Is there a mythology about the Twelve that isn’t mentioned in-game? (ex. Holy books, manuscripts, rituals, etc.)

Answer 4: Yes, a great deal of mythology exists. Unfortunately, a lot remains unreleased. The storyline in 2.0 should reveal much more about the Twelve, but until then, I leave you with this Fun Fact: perhaps you have noticed, but in several of the dungeons in La Noscea you will find locations on your maps with names like "Llymlaen's Folly" or "Llymlaen's Trial." These are, in fact, sacred sites for the followers of the Navigator--each representing one of the 12 chapters in the tale of Llymlaen's Ascent. As part of their worship, followers risk their lives to perform yearly pilgrimages, visiting all twelve sites in the order they appear in the tale.

The chapters (in order) are as follows:

Llymlaen's Folly
Llymlaen's Flight
Llymlaen's Tempest
Llymlaen's Clarity
Llymlaen's Resolve
Llymlaen's Bearing
Llymlaen's Trial
Llymlaen's Encounter
Llymlaen's Stand
Llymlaen's Triumph
Llymlaen's Oath
Llymlaen's Ascent



Question 5: Can you expand on the history and origins of races?

Answer 5: The lore is there, but it contains far too much information to reveal here on a forum post. However, I 100% understand your desire to learn more about the backgrounds and cultures of the Five Races, and have personally pushed the lore team into looking into some way we cannot get more of that info into the game and up on the Lodestone.


Question 6: Does Garlean technology have civic/public use outside of the military in Garlemald?

Answer 6: Absolutely. Magitek is the foundation of their civilization and the main reason behind their quick rise to power. Though most of the technology is developed by and for the military, many of the inventions are reworked for civic/public use. Further information on the Garlean Empire will be released from version 2.0, as their presence in Eorzea will become ever more prevalent in the coming months.


There are two types of details regarding Guildleves; that which is displayed on the plate and that which is not.

Issuing city-state (Lower right of the plate)
This is the name of the city state of the adventurer’s guild that issues the leve.
Theme (Top of the plate)
This theme is shown through words of highly virtuous deeds performed by people known as sages in the past. The stained crystal picture also has an image of the sage.

The above two types of details that are displayed. Besides this, specific information such as leve content and rewards are not physically written onto the plates. This information is shared with the adventurer directly from the person at the adventurers' guild counter. Similar to how you can check your journal for general quest content, the idea is that you’re recalling the content that you remembered (from your notes perhaps?).
A player also asked about starting a leve at an aetheryte, how the plate image is displayed above your head and asked for more info about that.

Momodi and other NPCs tell adventurers that within aetherytes exists the key to unlocking the power of guildleves. In order to carry out duties outside of the city-state, or that are very far away, a magic seal is applied to leve plates.

The aetherytes and aetherial gates function as a key, and by having them resonate when you complete your duties it is possible to open an aetherial node to return with. This is what the animations above your head signifies.

This is standard amongst adventurers, so even for duties within city-states that don’t utilize aetherial nodes, the same thing takes place when the leve begins. This is a kind of “wish” that you will complete your duties safely and return.

As a matter of fact, aetherytes are referred to as the manifestation of the planet’s lifeblood, which is made up of aether. Due to this, leve plates are also made of crystal which makes it easy for the two to resonate. NPCs at the counter of the adventurers' guilds will explain other things about aetherytes, too. We plan on posting an article on Lodestone in the not too distant future discussing methods for intercity-state travel with aetherytes