The Calamity

[Redrick]

This is probably going to seem rather stupid but I'm generally very confused about the situation with the Calamity. I remember being in a guild that was very lore strict and claimed their characters were aware of the calamity and what happened with Bahamut and were aware that the crystal formations were a direct consequence. (mind you this was when I was even newer to the game then I am currently (which is still VERY new)) But now I'm hearing from several other people that you would hear stories of the situation but not necessarily live through it? I'm very confused on weather or not it is something that can be placed into a characters backstory or not; as in which is more wildly accepted by Roleplayers? 

 

I guess I know what happened but not how that works for all of us? Did we experience it, or was that a W.O.L thing and didn't happen; or did it happen and some characters consider it part of their story that something happened to them during the events; or is the calamity an alternate universe in and of itself? :dazed:

[Unnamed Mercenary]

I'll only touch on a couple things here in there because I'm not good at keeping sourcable lore snippets around. (*lights the Sounsyy signal for that*)

 

The Calamity happened 5 years prior to the beginning of FFXIV A Realm Reborn, which is the 5th year of the 7th Umbral Era. It took place at the end of FFXIV 1.0 (the failed MMO), which would have been.....1572 of the Sixth astral Era.

 

At the time, we get the 2.0 Opening video. The less moon Dalamud was split open and out came Bahamut. Severe damage to the land occurred both physically and aetherically. Part of that damage that we can see in game now are all those crystals, which is effectively dead, crystallized aether. (Yet it still has energy. I don't really know how that works.)

 

But this is where it gets tricky. 1.0 players could have fought i nthe Battle of Carteneau, which led up to the Calamity. But nobody remembers them. Instead, the commonfolk remember a band of adventurers, shrouded in light. (The Warriors of Light, 1.0 edition). If you happened to be a legacy player, you pick up FFXIV 2.0 as that. (Which is why we kept our equipment, levels, items, etc).

 

 

So yes. The events did happen. But people don't really clearly remember -exactly- what happened as it happened. But they can certainly see the aftermath of whatever -did- happen.

[Valence]

ICly, everyone knows about Carteneau since it happened only 5-6 years ago. Not everyone might be able to tell it was the Elder Primal Bahamut that came out of Meteor but I don't see it as a rather hard feat considering many have probably directly witnessed it all the same anyway.

 

So, any character that is basically... older than 5 has basically lived through the rampage caused by Bahamut, directly or indirectly. It means that they might have seen him raining death all around in the skies above Carteneau if they were at the battle (and the regions around, considering its size), or they might just have seen death raining from the various chunks of Dalamud falling all around when the moon opened. The biggest of those crashed at various places, as can be seen in Thanalan (the Burning Wall), Limsa Castrum Marineris, or in the North Shroud, or various other places.

 

You basically would have to have lived in a very far away land at the other side of the planet not to have lived through that hell.

 

Now then, as Louisoix casted his final spell that propelled the warriors of light into the future, it also seems to have affected the minds of everyone and they have a hard time remembering anything about those heroes (but the Scions for example eventually do when they meet them in the flesh 5 years later, for those who played through 1.0).

 

So, in a nutshell, everyone can remember the Calamity and the (short lived) Umbral era that followed. Everyone however pretty much forgot about the Warriors of Light of the Sixth Astral Era (1.0). They however, know about the WoL of the Seventh Umbral and Astral Eras (2.0 and 3.0).

[Lowen]

1.0 player checking in! Might not have everything 100% accurate here, but I'm going off memory alone right now.

 

Bahamut ravaged most of Eorzea, if not all of it. People from all over the country definitely would have had a chance to see him, as the opening cinematic made abundantly clear. The chances of them knowing right then and there who he was is likely very slim, given that knowledge of what Dalamud contained was really only in the hands of a select few. That being said, people certainly knew of Bahamut, as there were NPCs that referenced him in 1.0. ("By Bahamut's Fang!" was a thing)

 

Word likely could have spread after the fact, though, and that would be that. What people aren't supposed to know is what happened to Bahamut after the fact. All the public knows is that he destroyed everything, and then simply vanished, never to be seen again. That is literally the end of the story, canonically, unless you play your character as the Warrior of Light and were the one who stopped his resurrection in ARR.

 

As far as the original Warriors of Light go, there's a pretty big discrepancy between them and the Warrior of Light. The Warriors of Light were present on the Carteneau Flats, and were a whole mess of adventurers who agreed to protect Archon Louisoix. Not all of these people were the Warrior of Light (The main character of 1.0, and subsequently of 2.0 and beyond), however all of them have been forgotten by most as of the calamity. As has been mentioned, anyone who tries to remember them only can recall a figure shrouded in light. They've been dubbed the "Twelvesblades" by the community, as far as I know. (I don't ever recall seeing them referenced this way in an official manner, unless it was offhand by Ferne in some post that I missed.)

 

Being a Twelvesblade does not mean having been an integral part of the 1.0 storyline. It simply means that they, as an adventurer, answered Louisoix's call to arms and were present on Carteneau, as a great many people were. The Archon saved these people in particular, however, as they did not receive the orders to retreat from the battlefield, and instead remained by his side.

 

From the perspective of the 1.0 main character, the "other" 1.0 players were these random adventurers that fought alongside them at Carteneau, but only they were the Warrior of Light in the 2.0 sense of the word.

 

Now, as far as memory goes, I can answer this question based off the ending of the legacy player storyline in ARR. I'll tag it with spoilers just because.

 

 

Minfillia is the first person to remember who you are, though she had never forgotten. It would seem characters with the echo retained their memory. Cid Garlond is the second character to remember who you are, and this is due to his third eye. He keeps it a secret, however, as if word got out that one of the Warriors of Light had returned, it'd draw way too much attention to you - enemies included. At the end of the storyline, after you defeat Ultima, Hydaelyn cures those present (the Archons and the GC leaders) of their "amnesia" and they all suddenly remember who you are, queue touching reunion moment.

 

It's never really explained if Hydaelyn was the one who originally obscured everyone's memory, and she lifted the veil after you served your purpose -- or if she simply took the initiative to remove the block that had been placed on their memory for whatever reason.

 

All that being said, chances are if you play one of these Twelvesblade characters, no one would remember who you are - even your family. They'd just have an empty hole in their history, one that they struggle to fill, even if it doesn't make any sense for it to be there. However, as has been proven, it does seem canonically possible for this veil to be lifted by some means. They could have a passing familiarity with you, though. (Lots of "You seem really familiar." and "You remind me of some one I used to know, but I can't for the life of me remember what they looked like." in the story.)

 

 

 

TL;DR

Yes, you can remember the calamity. Yes, you could have seen Bahamut destroy everything. You would not have known what happened to Bahamut after he suddenly vanished, nor would you remember of any adventurer friends you may have had that were saved by Louisoix (unless you have the echo).

[Sounsyy]

I'll only touch on a couple things here in there because I'm not good at keeping sourcable lore snippets around. (*lights the Sounsyy signal for that*)

 

I guess I know what happened but not how that works for all of us? Did we experience it, or was that a W.O.L thing and didn't happen; or did it happen and some characters consider it part of their story that something happened to them during the events; or is the calamity an alternate universe in and of itself?

 

The Battle of Carteneau and the subsequent Calamity caused by the fall of Dalamud were very real events that happened only 5-6 years ago from the present time and were seen and experienced by peoples as far away as the Sharlayan archipelago in the far north seas. People can remember and even have experienced the Battle of Carteneau, even seeing the dreadwyrm Bahamut, but what no two Eorzeans can agree on is what happened after the fields were lit with flame and Bahamut was enveloped in the Twelve's light. No one can remember Bahamut's fate and no one can remember the fate of the adventurers, commonly referred by loremongers as Twelvesblades (after the Divine Chronicles) or more commonly known to Eorzeans as the Warriors of Light. Note: There is a difference between them and the Warrior of Light, which is why the term Twelvesblade has risen to prominence to avoid confusion.

 

Accounts taken by prominent NPCs in game, as well as this collection of Tales from the Calamity, shed more light on how the Calamity is perceived and remembered by the majority of the Eorzean populace.

 

 

An easier way to remember things is this:

Eorzeans can remember everything that happens in this cutscene...

[video=youtube]

 

...but no one remembers what happens in this cutscene...

[video=youtube]

(Skip to @5:10 / 8:06)

 

...unless you roleplay ICly as the Warrior of Light who delved with Alisaie into the Final Coil of Bahamut. Even if you were, the coils were sealed by Urianger and the four individuals who were privy to the truth behind Louisoix and Bahamut's fate were sworn to secrecy. This particular aspect of the Calamity is what you may have run into when others said you couldn't have lived this aspect of it.

 

There is absolutely nothing wrong with having witnessed the Calamity, been a part of the Battle of Carteneau, or having witnessed Bahamut rampage across Eorzea in your backstory. At all. The details are just going to be fuzzy and confusing is all once Bahamut gets wrapped in light.

 

As the Circle of Knowing completed preparations for the summoning' date=' they beseeched adventurers to serve as its guiding light. These adventurers embarked on a pilgrimage to kneel before the marks of the Twelve and summong the power of the gods. The Grand Companies did their part by leading the residents of the city-states in fervent prayer to their patron gods as well. In this time of impending darkness, it was said that the entire realm gathered to entreat the heavens with one voice, an Eorzea united by the litanies of its people. As adventurers and smallfolk alike proceeded according to Archon Louisoix's plan, the Garlean Empire stirred.[/quote']

 

The armies of the Eorzean Alliance assembled in northern Thanalan, proceeding as one north to Mor Dhona before pushing into the plains from the west. The remnants of the VIIth legion placed themselves in formations on the eastern edge of the plains, while a detachment from Castrum Centri would assault the Grand Companies from the rear. The commanders of the Eorzean Alliance countered the offensive by dispatching adventurers to keep the Castrum Centri cohorts at bay while their frontlines advanced toward the Imperial host.

 

Both sides had made their first move, and the Battle of Carteneau had begun. As the main infantry of the Eorzean Alliance spread out to meet the imperial forces head-on, Archon Louisoix soon arrived and commenced his summoning of the Twelve from a promontory overlooking the battlefield. Here, he would endeavor to focus their divine powers on Dalamud.

 

The vanguards of both armies clashed as the tide of battle ebbed and flowed in favor of the Aliance, then the Imperials, and back again. The Garlean, however, would soon completely overturn the odds when they deployed the next phase of their strategy: ten score magitek knights, each aboard their own reaper-class magitek battle armor. The offensive prowess of these newly developed war machines was overwhelming, and the Alliance's tentative hold on the front line began to falter.

 

For the Eorzean Alliance, this was the first large-scale operation to combine the efforts of so many different forces. Commanders struggled to properly coordinate the movements of each unit, ad hoc members of the Grand Companies such as the pirate factions of Limsa Lominsa and the Ala Mhigans serving among the Immortal Flames employed tactics that differed from, and often conflicted with, one another. In that sense, it could be said that the vast army which faced off the VIIth legion in Carteneau was little more than a haphazard assemblage of units charging aimlessly forward with but a common purpose to bind them. The confusion increased tenfold when the magitek knights and their reapers descended upon the Eorzean factions - whatever orders had been handed down meaningless now, as every man fought for himself. The Alliance's numbers far exceeded that of the dwindled imperial legion, yet the lack of a cohesive strategy meant the full power of their forces was never brought to bear. The Garleans, while fewer in number, had at their disposal an array of advanced technology and years of conditioning under a strict military regimen. Once the reapers had been deployed, the VIIth legion swiftly gained the upper hand.

 

As this chaotic juncture, the adventurers proved the Alliance's salvation. Those who were sent to dispatch the legion's diversionary force at Castrum Centri made their belated debut and quickly joined the fray. They were no strangers to the maneuverings of magitek weaponry, and reinvigorated the Eorzean side by forcefully advancing upon the legion's reapers. Through the adventurers' efforts, the imperials were pushed back, allowing the Eorzean Alliance to claw its way forward once more.

 

None on the battlefield were prepared for that which brought the hostilities to an end. Upon quitting the firmament and entering the skies above Carteneau, the red moon cracked, and from within the iron sphere emerged an ancient primal the likes of which Eorzea had never seen.

 

According to post-Calamity research by the Archons of the Circle of Knowing, the primal that the Allagans enslaved within Dalamud was none other than the dreadwyrm Bahamut, last summoned some five millennia prior by a horde of dragons on the southern continent of Meracydia when their motherland was invaded by the Allagan Empire. The vessel broken and Bahamut released from his shackles, the colossal wyrm took wing to inflict his millennia of rage upon the realm. The elder primal tore away from Carteneau and rained a fiery hell upon the land. In the end, there was truth in Nael van Darnus's incoherent ramblings addressed to the moon. The legatus was aware of the monstrosity housed within Dalamud, and was heeding Bahamut's plea to be freed from his prison.

 

Both the molten shards that rained down from Dalamud and the searing flames which spewed forth from the dreadwyrm's maw were indiscriminate in their paths, and war became an afterthought as friend and foe alike fled the battlefield in terror. As the men of both armies ran for their lives, Louisoix Leveilleur kept silent vigil over Carteneau, unwavering in his effort to summon forth the power of the Twelve.

 

Though Louisoix may have failed in his attempt to repel Dalamud back into the heavens, he would not allow Eorzea to bear the brunt of Bahamut's rampage, toiling on borrowed time to seal the elder primal away where he could raze the realm no more. Wielding the legendary staff Tupsimati, he drew from the great reservoirs of aether flowing forth from the land, channeling its strength together with the overwhelming prayers of the people. The power of the Twelve manifested itself in complex runes in the sky in the most powerful sealing enchantment attempted in Eorzean history. The stone marks of the deities that were being nourished by the prayers of the Circle of Knowing were engulfed in pillars of light, becoming glowing spears that pierced the dreadwyrm, binding him in place as the runes confined him in a new prison. The plains of Carteneau were bathed in the light of the Twelve, and it appeared that the ritual was complete.

 

Despite the fact that all eyes were fixated upon the summoning of the Twelve, there appear to be no witnesses who can recall with certainty what happened after the elder primal was enveloped in the gods' light. It is said that Archon Louisoix's powerful spell combined with the vast emanations of aether had warped the memories of all who survived, an effect which lingered long after the Calamity. What is known for certain is that by the time the light of the Twelve had dissipated, Bahamut was no more. At the same token, the faces of Eorzea's heroes - the adventurers by whose deeds Archon Louisoix's incantation came to pass - were lost to history. So it was that Eorzea plunged into the Seventh Umbral Era.

 

It was long after Louisoix had taken ship and vanished over the horizon that the fateful day came. Alphinaud and Alisaie were crowded into the Studium’s observatory, along with their professors and a throng of fellow students. The assembled sages and would-be scholars huddled around the base of the giant telescope, each taking their turn to gaze upon the looming spectacle of the red moon, Dalamud.

 

“Dalamud has shattered!” Alisaie cried out, pressing her face closer to the telescope’s eyepiece so that it dug into her cheek. The view provided by the device’s array of magnifying lenses was distorted and indistinct, but the fate of the satellite was unmistakable—she could see its crimson-fringed silhouette breaking apart in the skies over Carteneau.

 

“Shattered!? What...before it struck the ground!?”

“How is that possible!?”

Excited murmurs and hastily formed theories erupted from teacher and pupil alike.

 

“He’s done it! Grandfather has saved Eorzea!” Alisaie turned to find her brother’s face, her eyes glistening with tears of joy and relief. For some time now, Archon Urianger had been kind enough to relay to them brief reports of Louisoix’s efforts in those chaos-stricken faraway lands. It was he who had informed them of their grandfather’s presence at the Carteneau Flats, and of the battle that still raged like as not beneath that blood-red sky.

 

Shouldering aside his madly grinning sibling, Alphinaud squinted through the ocular lens. Though the air was thick with billowing clouds of smoke and ash, he was forced to agree with Alisaie’s assessment—Dalamud was no more.

 

But something is awry... Alphinaud continued to scrutinize the distant scene. The red moon’s bloody glow had been replaced by an equally unsettling incandescent rain, as if the heavens themselves were weeping tears of light. Terribly, terribly awry...

 

Dalamud’s spectacular demise gave rise to a tidal wave of aetheric energy which rendered linkshells all but useless for a period of many days. During this time, the Leveilleur siblings were left to stew upon the wonders they had viewed from afar. Then, after weeks without word, a letter from Urianger arrived.

 

The Archon’s elegant script described horrors the twins could scarce bare to picture. From the cracked husk of the red moon had emerged a dragon primal immense beyond imagining—an incarnation of wrath and raging flame that had laid waste to the land for malms in every direction. Undeterred, Louisoix had persisted with his plan to call forth the power of the Twelve, and thus, it seemed, was the abomination banished. Eorzea had been saved.

 

From inside the shell of Dalamud came a winged nightmare─a dragon the size of a bloody city. 'Twas the elder primal Bahamut' date=' bent on making an eighth hell of Eorzea. In the space of a breath, the legions of the Empire were set aflame, while our own armies fared little better. 'Twas as if the whole world was burning... Words cannot well describe the scene. Even as I steeled myself for death, a blinding white light enveloped me, robbing me of my senses. When I regained them, the dragon was gone, and the still-smoldering land was warped beyond all knowing. Were Archon Louisoix still with us, he would doubtless shed some light on these unfathomable happenings. Alas, he is not, and I fear we will want for his wisdom in the days to come.[/quote']

 

When at last I awoke' date=' Bahamut was gone, and the land, which had but moments before been aflame, now seemed to me a place unknown─not simply ruined...but changed. Archon Louisoix may well have been able to shed light upon these mysteries, but he, like so many, never returned from Carteneau. And so we were left with countless questions, and no prospect of an answer. Yet such matters did not long occupy our thoughts, for we had far graver concerns. The Calamity, as the devastation wrought by Bahamut has come to be known, laid our nations nigh to waste, and to this day we struggle to rebuild our lives and homes.[/quote']

 

It's scarce been five years since the lesser moon cracked open like a giant egg' date=' releasin' an abomination intent on turnin' the realm into an eighth hell... So much was lost in the blink of an eye. 'Twas like the end of the world had come at last. But then things begin to get foggy. Everyone's got their own version of what happened next─some of 'em, two or three... You'd think people would remember somethin' like that─but the fact is, they don't. Nobody does. There is one thing the survivors agree on, though: the part played by a band of adventurers who laid down their lives for a realm that wasn't their own. They fought valiantly, and like so many others, they never returned. Deeds worth rememberin', I'm sure you'll agree. It's just a shame our recollections of those brave heroes are as jumbled as those of the Calamity itself. Whenever we try to call their faces to mind, it's like they're standin' between us and the midday sun, permanently silhouetted... I'll bet that sounds poetic to you, doesn't it? Well it's not. It's bloody infuriatin'. But even if we can't remember them, we'll not let 'em be forgotten, and so we call 'em the Warriors of Light. And they'll forever stand as a shinin' example of what adventurers can achieve. [/quote']

 

When Dalamud's outer shell came crashing down' date=' a section fused with a boulder. Scholars have attributed this curious phenomenon to the dark matter of which they believe Dalamud was constructed. Local smallfolk have their own theories, claiming the formation is actually an egg laid by Bahamut, and will one day hatch, unleashing yet another unholy monstrosity on the realm.[/quote']

 

 

_________________________

They've been dubbed the "Twelvesblades" by the community, as far as I know. (I don't ever recall seeing them referenced this way in an official manner, unless it was offhand by Ferne in some post that I missed.)

 

I do believe its a community-given epithet. I first saw it used by Anonymoose, inspired by Urianger's translation of Mezaya Thousand-eye's Divine Chronicles at the end of Living on a Prayer.

 

Valiant blades forged under the Twelve's good grace.

The valiant blades of which the seventh verse spoke betoken none other than thee and thy fellow adventurers.

 

Valiant blades forged by the Twelve. Twelve's blades. Twelvesblades!

 

 

Anywho, hope this helps clear up some of the confusion! ^^

[Redrick]

Oh wow this was really helpful all of it, I was so confused on the whole situation but you all really narrowed it down for me  THANK YOU

[Reylin]

Ethys Asher has a great 1.0 story background video here.  It explains a great deal of background leading up and including the Calamity and a lot of stuff before, like the Aegis in Mor Dona ect ect.   This helped clear up a lot of lore history for me as well as what the above said.

 

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