Need lore info on the Void/Dark Realm and Sharlayan

[Pouncival]

Hopefully, there actually is some and I just didn't dig around the right way. I need as much information as possible about the Void and the state of Sharlayan, both general and specific. Also, I'd heard that with the inclusion of the full Crystal Tower the Void/Dark Realm has been retconned to be the World of Darkness and am wondering if this is true. I need this information because of character reasons I don't really want to go into just yet, but please stop by and unload whatever you happen to know on me.

[Dat Oni]

Hopefully, there actually is some and I just didn't dig around the right way. I need as much information as possible about the Void and the state of Sharlayan, both general and specific. Also, I'd heard that with the inclusion of the full Crystal Tower the Void/Dark Realm has been retconned to be the World of Darkness and am wondering if this is true. I need this information because of character reasons I don't really want to go into just yet, but please stop by and unload whatever you happen to know on me.

 

There was no retcon; the Void has always gone by many names: The Void, the Unseen Realm, The Dark Realm, the World of Darkness, etc. I believe you may be getting it confused with another title, Cloud of Darkness, which is an entity within the Void and not a reference to the Void itself.

[Sounsyy]

The Void (and as Edgar pointed out, it goes by many names in the game) is the realm between realms. Think of it like this:

 

[align=center]______________________THE AETHERIAL PLANE__________________________

The Void

_______________________THE PHYSICAL PLANE__________________________[/align]

 

It's the empty space between this world and the next. So when Aether leaves the Physical Plane (our world) it is carried through the Lifestream to Silvertear Lake, the fount of all aether in the world, where it passes to the Aetherial Plane (the afterlife) before it is recycled back into our world to create new life.

 

But only so much Aether can travel between worlds at a time, and this is called the Aetherial Threshold. When that threshold is breached, some aether remains trapped in this world or slips into the Void and feeds the aether-starved creatures living there.

 

Fernehalwes also mentions that these two planes of existance, the Aetherial Plane and the Physical Plane are in a constant state of flux, moving back and forth and occasionally meeting, which tears holes in our plane of existence, allowing creatures of the Void, or "Voidsent" to enter this world.

 

Holes can also be opened from our end by way of Black Magic. While the exact process is never described in game, we do know that Black Mages are able to rip holes in our plane and summon Voidsent through them. It may be because Black Magic kills the world immediately around the caster, causing a massive aether shift between Planes, but that's just speculation on my part.

 

 

The Void itself is believed to be comprised of Twelve distinct tiers or hierarchies. Think Dante's Inferno or the Hierarchy of Angels and Demons in Judeo-Christian demonology. The closer the number is to 1, the more powerful and dangerous the Voidsent in that Tier become. Also, the more Aether-starved or Aether-hungry they become. Meaning they really really want into this world to feed on our aether, because there is none in the Void.

 

 

 

Sharlayan is a nation of scholars and theologians hailing from the North Seas (The Bloodbrine). They value knowledge above all else and their patron deity is Thaliak, the Scholar. They observe and chronicle the world around them and are greatly responsible for most of our knowledge of Eras past.

 

Some time ago, in order to better study Eorzea, the Sharlayans built a new city-state (also called Sharlayan just to confuse everyone) just north of Dravania. This is the "Sharlayan" you can see on the Eorzean Map. However, twenty years ago, after the fall of Ala Mhigo and Sharlayan's failed negotiation attempts with the Garlean Empire, the Sharlayans of Eorzea abandoned the city-state and returned north to their Island Sharlayan home in the Bloodbrine Sea.

 

There are several organizations and people of import hailing from Sharlayan, including the Circle of Knowing, the Sons of Saint Coinach, the Ironheart family, and the Students of Baldesion.

 

In regards to the Students of Baldesion, we know that they attend a great school called the Studium, located on the Isle of Val. However, during part of the MSQ, the entire Isle of Val mysteriously vanishes without cause or trace. We do not yet know the Students' fates. We also do not know if the Isle of Val was the island on which the nation of Sharlayan was also located or if the Studium was on a separate island from the main city-state. However, considering a Sharlayan colleague of the Scions named Moenbryda arrives from Sharlayan in 2.4 (two whole patches after the disappearance of the Isle of Val), it is safe to assume the city-state of Sharlayan and the Studium are located on separate islands. Possibly a Limsa Lominsa type setup or perhaps Cieldalaes. Don't know. No map. Maybe 3.0, who knows.

 

 

Anyways! I hope this helps! ^^ Lemme know if you have more questions. Below I've left some more lore snippets about the Void and Voidsent.

 

 

 

Ahriman

Though little is known of the void and the creatures which call the extra-dimensional realm home, scholars have discovered that there is a strict hierarchy amongst voidsent consisting of twelve distinct tiers. Ahrimans are believed to fall into the fifth, making them formidable foes... when not enthralled by curses.

 

Infant Imp

Scholars believe there are three ways in which voidsent can make the journey from their realm to ours - tearing a hole in the aether on their side, having a hole torn for them on our side, or stumbling into a randomly occurring hole, the latter being the most common for imps.

 

Wind-up Dullahan

Voidsent dullahan are, in fact, shapeless entities who must first inhabit an inanimate host (such as a suit of armor) before gaining the ability to exert force upon the physical plane in which we reside. Luckily, the only thing inhabiting this wind-up contraption are manifold gears and rods.

 

Minute Mindflayer

Similar to voidsent dullahan, mindflayers also lack a corporeal form and must possess a host to be able to exert force on our realm. Whereas the dullahan, however, are limited to the possession of inorganic objects such as steel, mindflayers tend to prefer the dead as their vessels.

 

Mindflayer

Mindflayer, a major voidsent also notable for its dealings with the remnants of the Lambs of Dalamud in the Black Shroud. Of the twelve tiers of the voidsent hierarchy put forth by scholars, the Mindflayer falls into the fifth. It has a grisly penchant for sucking out the brains of men, its favored prey. Most rumors are to be dismissed out of hand, yet this is not one of them. Moonless nights are when their rites grow the foulest. Only death and decay can chisel for them a foothold in this world. Walk with Menphina, adventurer, lest the hunter become the hunted.

 

 

[Pouncival]

Hopefully, there actually is some and I just didn't dig around the right way. I need as much information as possible about the Void and the state of Sharlayan, both general and specific. Also, I'd heard that with the inclusion of the full Crystal Tower the Void/Dark Realm has been retconned to be the World of Darkness and am wondering if this is true. I need this information because of character reasons I don't really want to go into just yet, but please stop by and unload whatever you happen to know on me.

 

There was no retcon; the Void has always gone by many names: The Void, the Unseen Realm, The Dark Realm, the World of Darkness, etc. I believe you may be getting it confused with another title, Cloud of Darkness, which is an entity within the Void and not a reference to the Void itself.

*I* am most definitely not confused, but thank you very much anyway. Obviously the Void has gone by many names in OTHER Final Fantasies, but I had not seen the Void referred to as anything but the Dark Realm and the Void in 'A Realm Reborn'. When I inquired of an in-game acquaintance whether this was also canonically the World of Darkness in this setting I was told that it had not been before, but had started being referred to in this way with the latest Crystal Tower. Hence my asking if this was correct information, haha. Thanks for your response.

 

The Void

 

Thank you, this was incredibly helpful. Judging by what you say, if a person from the physical plane were to enter this other world they would be hunted pretty heavily for their Aether. On that subject, I need to know if there has been any description of actual layouts. Clearly there are creatures both corporeal and spiritual, so I'm wondering what sort of geography such a world would have. Or if, like the Void and other such realms are in other FFs, it is constructed as a twisted reflection or shaped by perceptions. If I have to I'll bend or break the lore a little for my concept, but whatever I can keep in line I intend to.

 

As far as Sharlayan goes, I feel I guessed correctly that any form of Spellblade, Time Mage, Blue Mage, etc. would be most likely to originate from the Sharlayans. In 1.0 I roleplayed my character as a Spellblade, and am now trying to write out his life. I had to decide where he learned those abilities (which he has since lost access to), and had settled on Sharlayan as the most likely suspect.

[Sounsyy]

On that subject, I need to know if there has been any description of actual layouts. Clearly there are creatures both corporeal and spiritual, so I'm wondering what sort of geography such a world would have. Or if, like the Void and other such realms are in other FFs, it is constructed as a twisted reflection or shaped by perceptions.

 

Other than there are 12 distinct "layers" we don't know if there's any sort of georgraphy, so to speak. It's possible. But we don't know. However, at the end of the Syrcus Tower storyline from 2.3, it is hinted that we might be making a journey into the Void to fight Cloud of Darkness. So we might get more lore info about the Void in the final Syrcus Tower installment in Patch 2.5. Please look forward to it!

[Pouncival]

On that subject, I need to know if there has been any description of actual layouts. Clearly there are creatures both corporeal and spiritual, so I'm wondering what sort of geography such a world would have. Or if, like the Void and other such realms are in other FFs, it is constructed as a twisted reflection or shaped by perceptions.

 

Other than there are 12 distinct "layers" we don't know if there's any sort of georgraphy, so to speak. It's possible. But we don't know. However, at the end of the Syrcus Tower storyline from 2.3, it is hinted that we might be making a journey into the Void to fight Cloud of Darkness. So we might get more lore info about the Void in the final Syrcus Tower installment in Patch 2.5. Please look forward to it!

Hmmm. Well, if I have to make it some kind of pocket dimension then I suppose I will. For the time being, I'm going to still write it as being the Void in my backstory. My character's proper debut is not going to be until Heavensward anyway, so I'll write what I hope can be the outcome now, and I'll alter what I need to keep the story I want compatible with the lore as much as I can. Do we have any information on the other two major continents of Hydaelyn? I am wanting to decide how far out in the world this character traveled before he came back to Eorzea to help out at Carteneau.

[Pouncival]

Oh, I also needed to know if there's any lore available on whether different races can have children with one another. My character is meant to be a quarter Roegadyn (mostly Hyur), with his mother being half Roegadyn. I remember the possibility of half breeds being discussed, but don't recall an axe coming down against it at any point.

[Sounsyy]

Do we have any information on the other two major continents of Hydaelyn? I am wanting to decide how far out in the world this character traveled before he came back to Eorzea to help out at Carteneau.

 

The northern Great Continent, Ilsabard, is the homeland of the Garlean Empire. Other than the assumption that it is a mountainous region with accompanying taiga/tundra biomes, we don't know much about it geographically. Other than it's cold there.

 

The eastern Great Continent, Othard, also referred to in game as the "Far East," is a continent almost entirely under Garlean occupation. There are a few scant remnants of resistance, but nothing major anymore. We recently got a flood of lore about Doma, a province and city-state in Othard that was recently razed to the ground to set an example for other rebelling Othardian provinces. Doma, and possibly other areas of Othard as well, seem to be heavily Japanese based. Again, limited lore, considering it's far away and we don't really get to go there since it's under Imperial control. But we do still actively engage in trade with Othardian provinces.

 

There's also the southern continent, Meracydia; the western continent, The New World; and the floating continent, Ayatlan (Ixali word for it, tho it has a more familiar name hinted at in the common tongue). But we only have a few spotted references to lore about these places. Not a great deal to go on. More will be revealed about Ayatlan in 3.0, supposedly, as we'll get to go there.

 

There's also several islands and island chains, like Bianaq, Mazlaya, Thavnair (or the "Near East"), the Cieldalaes, and the North Isles like Val.

 

So if you're wanting a well-traveled character, there's plenty of places to go to, with even more coming on the horizon.

 

 

EDIT:

Oh, I also needed to know if there's any lore available on whether different races can have children with one another. My character is meant to be a quarter Roegadyn (mostly Hyur), with his mother being half Roegadyn. I remember the possibility of half breeds being discussed, but don't recall an axe coming down against it at any point.

 

Yisss, interracial relationships are canon and lore approved. Don't let anyone tell you different cuz it's a lie.

 

Race Mixing | Clan Mixing