Fifth Umbral Era
The Fifth Umbral Era began when the Calamity of Ice plunged the world into an age of Frost.
Much like the Fourth Astral Era, the Fifth Umbral Era is shrouded in mystery. No written records exist of that time, thanks in part to the church's efforts to prevent the people of Eorzea from becoming learned. The only remaining records of that time are fables and legends passed through the oral tradition.
Summary of Events
This Era is described an onslaught of ice and snow, and never ending storms. The cold was said to have reached the very core of the land, preventing the growth of any crops. Wildlife and people alike perished en masse, and even the seas froze over, preventing fishing or retrieving goods from the ocean.
Miqo'te Migration
As with much of the era, what caused the Calamity is unclear. All that remains are the legends and folklore about never ending snowstorms and the Bloodbrine Sea freezing over, preventing crops from growing and fishing yielding nothing. While this caused a majority of the population of Eorzea to perish, the frozen sea allowed for migration to warmer climes and the continued survival of those who escaped.
It is believed that for most of the era much of the Bloodbrine Sea was frozen solid, on one hand preventing fishing and decimating the populations of sea life, but on the other, allowing for the migration of Miqo'te Tribes from Southern Ilsabard into Northern Eorzea. The frozen seas allowed them to circumvent the massive peaks of Gyr Abania that had kept them from returning to the lands they had been driven out of almost two millennia earlier by the Allagan Empire. The Miqo'te who had migrated to Ilsabard during the Third Astral Era were later able to make their way to Eorzea.
Eorzean Script
Returned to Eorzea, the migrating Miqo'te tribes discovered the Eorzean alphabet, and the seers of the Seeker of the Sun tribes noted how the twenty six letters directly corresponded to the number of tribes that came across the frozen sea. Each tribe then took one letter into their names to become part of the new land.
Eventually, as with every Calamity in the past, the storms and bitter cold subsided, leading to the Fifth Astral Era.
- See also: Fifth Astral Era