Throughout the expansions of Final Fantasy 14, it is slowly revealed that there are many worlds. The world players know the most is the one they live on, the Source. In Shadowbringers, they also got a close look into the First. Fans also know of the Void, which used to be the 13th world. In total, there are 14 worlds which are all fragments of what used to be Etheirys.
The Ascians worked to destroy these reflections, and every destruction of one of these worlds manifested as a Calamity on the Source (though Ascians had to help cause this Calamity on the Source as well for the Rejoining to work). This was done for them to rejoin with Zodiark and remake Etheirys. Some of these worlds are fallen, some are safe, and others are lost. With Endwalker finished, it is likely that these other worlds will be further explored.
The First, Second, And Third Shards
The First was a world that was saved through the Shadowbringers expansion. The Ascians attempted to destroy the world by flooding it with light-aspected aether. Minfilia's intervention, with the help of Hydaelyn, stopped the flood and the Warrior of Light and their companions intervened by defeating Emet-Selch and the light-aspected monstrosities called sin eaters that plagued the land. This is the only reflection that was actually saved from doom.
The Second shard had a successful Rejoining. The Ascians destroyed it with fire-aspected aether, which ended the world while also creating the third Calamity on the Source. Since the shard was destroyed with fire aether, the Source's Calamity had the sun enlarge and spread wildfires throughout Eorzea. This is what made Thanalan a desert. The Third shard was also Rejoined with Zodiark. It was destroyed by the Ascians with an overflow of earth aether. On the Source, it created the fourth Calamity which destroyed the Allagan Empire through a major earthquake.
Shards Four Through Nine
The Fourth shard is one of the few that are still safe, however, the Fifth and Sixth reflections were not as lucky. Both were Rejoined to Zodiark. The Fifth world was destroyed through wind-aspected aether, which caused the very first Calamity on the Source. This means that the Fifth world was actually the first to fall to the Ascians. Reflection six was Rejoined through ice-aspected aether, which created the fifth Calamity where the Source endured an ice age.
The Seventh shard created one of the most well-known Calamities on the Source through its Rejoining. The shard died to an overflow of dark-aspected aether. This manifested on the Source as the seventh Calamity, the one where Dalamund fell and Bahamut emerged and destroyed much of Eorzea. Interestingly, this shard was the second attempt to use dark-aspected aether for a Rejoining. The first attempt was with the 13th shard, which failed. Shards eight and nine are like the fourth and are safe.
The Rest Of The Shards
The 10th shard fell to an overflow of water-aspected aether and Rejoined Zodiark. On the Source, the fall of this reflection manifested as a flood which ended the War of the Magi. The Calamity destroyed societies such as Nym and Mhach. The 11th reflection is the last of the safe shards. The 12th was Rejoined to Zodiark through lightning-aspected aether, and was the second to fall to the Ascians as it made the second Calamity happen on Eorzea.
The last shard of Final Fantasy 14, the 13th, is the only one that is lost. It is neither safe nor Rejoined, as the Ascians made a mistake in how they operated with its destruction. They flooded the world with darkness, but instead of Rejoining, the shard became the Void. It was then that Ascians discovered they had to manifest Calamities on the Source at the same time they destroyed these shards in order for Rejoinings to work. Only two characters are known to have survived the loss of the 13th reflection, Cylva from Shadowbringers and Unukalhai.
Final Fantasy 14 is out now for PC, PS4, and PS5.
