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The world ofFinal Fantasy 14is nearly always faced with some sort of danger. Throughout the years, the Warrior of Light has overcome all manner of disasters, from invading empires to the summoning of Primals, and much, much more.
While there hasn’t been one in a while, the Umbral Calamities are by far some of the most dangerous and world-changing events that have occurred throughout the world of Etheirys’s existence, threatening all life on the planet each time one occurs. Below, we’ll take a look at what happened during each Umbral Calamity, and what these events are in the first place.
Contains spoilers for the story through Endwalker, with minor spoilers for Dawntrail!
What Are Umbral Calamities?
Umbral Calamities are the result ofthe Asciansattempting to rejoin Etheriys’s Reflections back to the Source. In ancient times, whenthe Final Daysthreatened to destroy the world, certain members of the Convocation of Fourteen banded together to summon Zodiark to protect the planet.
However, Venat, another member of the Convocation, opposed this plan, as she knew the true cause of the Final Days was not stagnated aether as Zodiark’s disciples thought. Leading another group, Venat sacrificed herself to become the Primal Hydaelyn, then Sundered Zodiark and the entire world into fourteen parts; the Source and its thirteen Reflections.
Later, the former summoners of Zodiark, namely Elidibus, Lahabrea, and Emet-Selch, became the Ascians, and began their plan to rejoin the Reflections back into the Source, to make the world whole as it once was.
To do this, they used disastrous events known as Umbral Calamities. By creating massive influxes of elementally-aspected aether in one of the Reflections, the barrier between it and the Source would weaken, and aether would slowly begin to flow back to the Source.
Then, in the Source, the Ascians could create an equally destructive force of the same elemental aspect, causing the barrier between the worlds to break and resulting in an Umbral Calamity.
The First Umbral Calamity
Calamity of Wind
The first Umbral Calamity occurred during the planet’s infancy, so not much is known about it. By process of elimination, scholars determined that the First Umbral Calamity was a wind-aspected calamity, so it is likely that things like tornadoes and hurricanes afflicted the land. This calamity Rejoined the Fifth shard to the Source.
The Second Umbral Calamity
Calamity of Lightning
After mankind began to develop tools, towns, and kingdoms, expanding their domains across the realm, they gouged out mountains for materials, and eventually, the land rebelled. Volcanos erupted and the skies were covered in ash, causing Levinbolts to rain across the land. This disaster brought about the rejoining of the Twelfth shard to the Source.
The Third Umbral Calamity
Calamity of Fire
Similar to the age before the second Umbral Calamity, the third Umbral Calamity was preceded by overzealous progress. The discovery of magic brought about religion and holy orders, and war ravaged the land.
The gods, presumably the Twelve, decided to humble mankind’s dangerous ambitions, growing the sun in size until lush forests burned down into scorching deserts. This calamity likely resulted in the deserts that we now call Thanalan. The third Umbral Calamity rejoined the Second shard to the Source.
The Fourth Umbral Calamity
Calamity of Earth
Some time between the third and fourth Umbral Calamities saw the rise of the Allagan Empire. Near the end of the Third Astral Era, the Empire started to decline, so the scientist Amon decided to revive the empire’s first emperor, Xande, to revitalize the civilization.
Instead, Xande forged a pact with the Cloud of Darkness to destroy the world by opening a portal to the Void. By imprisoning the Primal Bahamut in the satellite moon Dalamud, Xande would siphon Bahamut’s energy into the Crystal Tower, using it as a conduit to create a massive Voidgate that would allow the Voidsent to enter the Source.
Channeling Bahamut’s massive amounts of aether into the Tower caused the earth to tremble, shaking the land and toppling mountains. This Umbral Calamity rejoined the Third shard to the Source.
The Fifth Umbral Calamity
Calamity of Ice
Not much is known about the fifth Umbral Calamity, which brought about an ice age that froze oceans and caused snowstorms to rage across the land. This calamity reached even the Lalafell of Aloalo Island, forcing them to flee to one of the Reflections, where they became known as the Milalla. This ice age was followed by the rejoining of the Sixth shard to the Source.
The Sixth Umbral Calamity
Calamity of Water
After the fifth Umbral Calamity and its following Astral Era, three powers arose in Eorzea: the Scholars of Nym, the White Mages of Amdapor, and the Mhachi. For reasons most likely related to Ascian intervention, these three Magi powers began a war against one another, known as the War of the Magi, with each side using terrible magic that eventually tipped the balance towards water.
This then caused a great flood to submerge the lands of Eorzea, drowning civilizations in its ceaseless deluge. This event culminated in the rejoining of the Tenth shard to the Source.
The Seventh Umbral Calamity
Calamity of Darkness
After the Umbral Calamities of all six elemental aspects had occured, it was thought that Etheirys would no longer need to fear future Umbral Calamities. However, this was not the case. As foretold by the Divine Chronicles, a seventh Umbral Calamity would occur.
Louisoix Leveilleurwas one of the only scholars who believed this prophecy and formed the Circle of Knowing along with several of his colleagues to try to prevent it.
Using a lunar transmitter, the Garlean Empire attempted to harness the power of Dalamud in their Meteor Project, and eventually, they were able to pull Dalamud from the sky, using the power of other Primals to fuel its descent. As Dalamud drew closer to the surface, it burst open, revealing the imprisoned elder Primal Bahamut.
Bahamut began its attack, blasting the surface of the world with its Teraflare. Meanwhile, Louisoix’s Circle of Knowing prepared, praying at altars to the Twelve around Eorzea in order to channel their power into himself, allowing him to summon himself as the Primal Phoenix.
With this power, Louisoix was able to defeat Bahamut before dispersing his power back to the realm to help speed its rebirth. However, Bahamut’s attack had already weakened the barrier between worlds, and this event brought about the rejoining of the Seventh shard to the Source.
The Eighth Umbral Calamity
Calamity of Light
The eighth Umbral Calamity occurred in an alternate timeline. On the Source, the Garlean Empire launched its Black Rose project, releasing a deadly gas that killed everything in its path by essentially halting its aether, an aspect that is closely related to the effects of Light aether.
At the same time, Light aether from the First shard slowly leaked to the Source, weakening the barrier between the two worlds. These two sources of Light aether amplified one another, creating the Eighth Umbral Calamity. This calamity brought about an endless war between the surviving civilizations, including the Garlond Ironworks and its leader Cid.
While their world was doomed, Cid devised a way to prevent the disaster from ever occurring, using knowledge gained from his observations of Alexander as well as the power of the Crystal Tower. By awakening G’raha Tia, he sent both the Allagan descendant and the Tower to the past, into our timeline, on the First.
Due to the alternate timeline Cid’s actions, the eighth Umbral Calamity was prevented in our world, and so the First remains separate from the Source.
