-The 7th Umbral Era-

Hyanmen

-The constance and eternity of time derive from the pulse and breath of the Twelve. And by their divine will the brilliance of the Astral Eras which see man flourish and prosper, and the shadows of the Umbral Eras which see man falter and doubt, are visited upon him in equal, and neither the greatest god nor the greatest evil may escape their purview.



Since the peace among the Twelve was broken and life was created to wage their wars, six cycles of the Eras have come to pass in keeping with the elemental order. The Sixth Umbral Era belonged to the waters, as heavy rains fell and the seas rose high, submerging and cleansing all in a great deluge. With time the waters receded, ushering in the present Sixth Astral Era, during which man has again rebuilt his halls and tilled his lands.



Naught save the ken of the Twelve themselves knoweth when the Seventh Umbral Era shall come and end our days. The sole certainty what resides within man is the selfsame as it has ever been - ours is the power to make our Era what we might.-

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Strange phenomena have started occuring in the recent days. There have been reports of monsters dropping crystals completely drained from their elemental aspects. A hooded man, claiming himself as a prophet, has been sighted across the Worlds, appearing out of nowhere and disappearing only soon after. And with him come the words that foretell Dark Times:

-Hearken unto me, ye seekers of truth, and through my words be saved!

A shadow hangeth o'er the realm, growing blacker with each passing day!

Rise from thy waking slumber! See the nightmare for reality, and ready thyself for the come chaos!

Darkness descendeth, but surrender not to despair! For the future is forged in the flame of the present!

Ne'er till land consumes sun can sea bear moons. Heavens spew crimson flame, hells seep black dooms.

The senary sun yields the septenary moon - expelling the Astral, beckoning the Umbral. So saith the eternal wisdom of Mezaya Thousand Eyes.

Open thine eyes, ye seekers of truth! Stand and bear witness to the path that much be trod!-

Yet unfortunately this is not all. The weather has changed for the worst, and it is raining more and more frequently, even in the driest parts of the Thanalan desert. Meantime the music has stopped outside the city-states and only the sound of a downpour remains.

If all this wasn't enough, the townsfolk have begun talking about increased Garlean activity, and the Empire has gone so far as to sink ferries and shoot down airships while sending scouts to investigate and gather intel on the city-states. Yet they are nowhere to be seen, as of yet.

Could this be linked to the increasing hostility of the Beast Tribes towards the five races? For it is said that the Empire's intention is to not so much wage war against the city-states as much as it is to put an end to the Primals (or Eikons, "false gods", as the Empire calls them) that use the Tribes merely as puppets to gain more power.

 

But still, not all hope is lost. As to repeat the events from the 6th Umbral Era some fifteenhundred years ago, rumors have begun to arise that the Grand Companies, institutions that helped the city-states survive during the last Age of Chaos, are going to be re-established for the sake of preventing the Empire from decimating the weaker city-states like they did to Ala Mhigo 15 years ago. For this purpose the Garlond Ironworks, rumored to be led by the great engineer Cid himself, are working on cracking the secrets of the Empire's superior technology, for us to use these tools of destruction against their creators. Lastly, it is said that when the Egg-tide comes to an end and the Hatching Hour begins, the legendary Archons will descend upon Eorzea, much like they did during the last Umbral Era. But to whom will they pledge their allegiance to?

 

Primals, The Empire, Archons, Companies, hooded Prophets?

 

Only eight days remain until the Hatching Hour...