The Reflections
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Spoiler Warning : This article contains spoilers! |
A Reflection in Final Fantasy XIV refers to one of the thirteen "mirror worlds" that exist separately from Hydaelyn, the planet that much of the game is set on. Collectively, they are referred to as the Reflections.
In addition to the main planet, each reflection contains its own Moon.
Overview
“Though few are aware of their true nature, these worlds exist in parallel to the one in which we live, the Source.
In order to weaken and imprison Zodiark, Hydaelyn mustered her strength and sundered the very fabric of reality, causing the world to be split into fourteen shards, akin to identical, diluted images. Being reflections, the geographical features of these worlds are naturally similar, akin to observing the original though a looking glass. But over the course of millenia, the peoples of each have lived disparate lives and histories, and some variance has manifested in the environment itself as well. Since the reflections were birthed forth, seven have been lost, sacrificed in the Ascians' quest to restore the ancient world.
Curiously, while the reflections are displaced from each other, the boundaries between them are not uniform; certain worlds, such as the First and the Thirteenth, are more readily accessible from the Source, while others are not. One theory posits that the worlds exist within pockets of reality that are arranged in a pattern not unlike the numbers on a clockface, and that it is easier to travel to an adjacent reflection.
— The Unending Codex (Endwalker) "The Reflections"
The Reflections
The First
- Main article: The First
The setting of the Shadowbringers expansion as well as the majority of its post-expansion content. Norvrandt is the only habitable region, with the bulk of the planet covered by an aether-barren region called the Empty. The events of the Eden raid series questline also depict efforts to potentially restore life to it.
The Ninth
- Main article: Unlost World
A reflection[1] (given the name "Unlost World" by Wuk Lamat) originally containing the technologically advanced nation of Alexandria and its citadel of Everkeep. After the discovery of electrope, the reflection was enveloped in worldwide conflict and an overabundance of lightning-aspected aether. In response, the people of Alexandria created the Endless, a form of "immortality" wherein after a person dies, their memories are extracted from their soul and persist in a living state. In the Dawntrail Main Scenario Quests, Alexandria's ruler, Queen Sphene, transported most of Everkeep to the Yyasulani region in the Source, with the goal of harvesting aether to sustain the Endless. The top floor of Everkeep, the golden city of Living Memory, remained in the home reflection where it served as a haven for the Endless.
This reflection appears to be very similar to the world of Gaia from Final Fantasy IX.
The Thirteenth
- Main article: The Void
The Void is a reflection engulfed by darkness as a consequence of the Ascians' first, unsuccessful attempt at a rejoining. The inhabitants of the void, termed Voidsent, are trapped in an eternal cycle that prevents death.
The Void is first visited in the level 50 alliance raid 
The World of Darkness and is the focus of the Post-Endwalker Main Scenario Quests. It is revealed that the Void heavily references the world of Final Fantasy IV, sharing many location names.
The Seven Rejoined Worlds
As many sources confirm throughout Final Fantasy XIV, there have now been seven umbral calamities, meaning there have been seven rejoinings. We have no in-game instances of characters explicitly confirming which worlds have been destroyed.
Information can be gleaned from the Crystal Exarch's explanation of the Rejoining, combined with available information on all the past Umbral Calamities to befall Hydaelyn.
The image below is a summary of what the Exarch's diagram implies.
