Eos (Final Fantasy XV)

Eos is the world in which the Final Fantasy XV Universe takes place. It is sometimes referred to as "the star", and the Japanese lore tutorial to the Six and the Oracle confirms this refers to Eos.

Story
According to legend Eos was created by a race of beings that descended from a higher plane. The six Astrals formed a key part in this creation process: Titan the god of earth, Ramuh the storm god, Leviathan the sea goddess, Shiva the goddess of ice, Ifrit the god of fire, and Bahamut the god of light. The mysterious beings retreated from the world, while the Astrals would remain—they would become recognized as a race of their own, with their own language and agendas, and a wish to protect the natural world.

At one time, a meteorite fell on Eos that became known as the Meteor of the Six, upheld by the god Titan. According to some accounts, the Meteor brought with it a parasite that would become known as the Starscourge.

Solheim was a nation that prospered during the time Eos was stable under the watchful eyes of the Six. A technologically advanced nation, it was known for its magitek armor and airship technology. Ifrit betrayed Solheim and the rest of his brethren leading to the Great War of Old and Solheim fell after a mysterious parasite massacred its populace. Ifrit was killed fighting the other Astrals, and was laid down upon the Rock of Ravatogh. This was also the time Astrals forged covenants with a man who would become the king of Lucis, and their revelations are said to have left devastation in their wake. The king is said to have fought darkness alongside the Astrals and "the plague" subsided by his hand. The Astrals chose two mortal bloodlines to gift special powers to fight the darkness.

The first king of Lucis was gifted by the Astrals with the Crystal, a source of great magical power. In addition to this, the Ring of the Lucii was gifted to the Caelum family, the Lucian royal line, to wield the Crystal's divine power. Their divine mission was to guard the Crystal until the Crystal's Chosen King would be born to this bloodline, as though the plague had subsided, a prophecy of its return spread: In a time unknown, only a prophecy keeps hope alive in people's hearts. 'When darkness veils the world, the King of Light shall come.'

After the Great War of Old there was a long period of stability and peace, during which four new nations sprung up: Lucis, Accordo, Niflheim and Tenebrae. Accordo, the smallest nation surrounded by water, grew commercially prosperous. The Empire of Niflheim, led by the Aldercapt dynasty, sought to revive the prosperity of the civilization of Solheim. Lucis and Tenebrae were kingdoms led by the divine bloodlines tasked by the Astrals to herald the coming of the King of Light. Tenebrae was led by the Nox Fleuret family where one of them would serve as the Oracle, able to heal those afflicted with the plague of darkness. The gods had gifted the Oracle the ability to commune with them, and sent divine Messengers to her to make the deities' will known to mankind. The Oracle's ultimate mission is to help the king of Lucis become the Chosen King.

The Astrals had become dormant and fell into legend, although it was said they were only sleeping waiting the prophesied time when the King of Light would arrive. The plague from the time of the Great War of Old was re-introduced to the world when the Niflheim Empire began experimenting with daemons, and bolstered by its magitek infantry, Niflheim began to conquer the world. Lucis, protected by the light of the Crystal, fought back and the reigning monarch erected a magic barrier to protect the nation from invasion. While the Crown City remained protected, daemons spawned all around the rest of Eos, and a mysterious "vanishing disease" ravaged imperial lands.

The nights grow longer and the daemons become more ferocious, but Lunafreya Nox Fleuret, the current Oracle, works tirelessly to stop the world from plunging into an eternal night. She believes the time of the Chosen King has arrived, it being Noctis Lucis Caelum, the last of the line of Lucian kings, the 113th heir to the throne.

Niflheim Empire invades Lucis and steals the Crystal. King Regis is killed and Prince Noctis embarks on a journey to reclaim his throne and save Eos from daemons and Starscourge. He is guided on his journey by two opposing figures: Lunafreya who wants to see Noctis fulfill his destiny, and Ardyn Izunia, the chancellor of Niflheim whose true existence is that of the embodiment of Starscourge as the Immortal Accursed. Two thousand years ago Ardyn was on a path to become the Chosen King, but absorbing Starscourge to himself tainted his soul and he was rejected in favor of another, cast aside and his name scrubbed from history books. Ardyn guides Noctis to become the True King for he longs to see the Lucis Caelum dynasty extinguished, and because the True King is the only one who can release him from his shadowy immortal existence.

When Noctis finds the Crystal to his surprise he is absorbed inside it. In a realm bathed in light inside the Crystal he meets Bahamut who explains to him that the Crystal holds the soul of Eos, and that Noctis can purge it of Starscourge by killing Ardyn with the light of Provenance at the cost of his own life.

Noctis sleeps inside the Crystal for ten years during which time the sun never rises and Eos is overwhelmed by daemons. Ten years later Noctis returns to Insomnia to fell Ardyn. The two duel both wielding the power of kings, but Noctis emerges victorious. He uses the Ring of the Lucii to summon the spirits of his ancestors who attack him one by one until Noctis is killed and his soul enters the afterlife. Noctis combines the powers of the Lucian kings to destroy Starscourge from the world. Daemons disappear and the sun again rises upon Eos.

Lucian continent

 * Cavaugh
 * Insomnia
 * Citadel
 * Leide
 * Hammerhead
 * Galdin Quay
 * Angelgard
 * Balouve Mines
 * Crestholm Channels
 * Formouth Garrison
 * Keycatrich Trench
 * Duscae
 * Coernix Station
 * Fociaugh Cavern
 * Nebulawood
 * Wiz Chocobo Post
 * Disc of Cauthess
 * Archeole Stronghold
 * Costlemark Tower
 * Daurell Caverns
 * Cleigne
 * Lestallum
 * Old Lestallum
 * Cape Caem
 * Meldacio Hunter HQ
 * Greyshire Glacial Grotto
 * Rock of Ravatogh
 * Malmalam Thicket
 * Vesperpool
 * Myrlwood
 * Steyliff Grove
 * Pitioss Ruins


 * Galahd

Accordian continent

 * Accordo
 * Altissia

Imperial continent

 * Niflheim
 * Succarpe
 * Magna Fortia
 * Calcano
 * Cartanica
 * Fodina Caestino
 * Haulhex Armory
 * Eusciello
 * Vogliupe
 * Ghorovas Rift
 * Ueltham
 * The Imperial Capital, Gralea
 * Zegnautus Keep
 * Tenebrae
 * Piztala
 * Pagla
 * Ulwaat
 * Zoldara Henge
 * The Sathersea

Ancient locations

 * Solheim

Creation and development
The development team created a clay model of the in-game map early-on, prior to constructing the overarching game. This initial mock-up determined the overarching scheme and became the basis for constructing the actual map. The initial map helped evaluate where it would make sense to have a journey by car, where it would make sense for players to explore, and where it would make sense to have the train ride sequence planned for the game. It also helped evaluate what kind of technology was needed to achieve all the elements within the map.

The decision on whether to make Final Fantasy XV open world or not was the hardest. Some staff were aggressively against the idea with the fear that introducing open world would lead the game feeling empty. Tabata himself felt that non-open world RPG released at 2016 would have players raising their eyebrows, especially when traveling around the world is a big theme in the game. The story remains linear, but it is expressed in an open world.

The staff at first was not confident on their ability to deliver an open world game world. Tabata told everyone it would be okay for the field to be empty, and offered Shadow of the Colossus as an example of an expansive game whose world is not littered with content. Comparing their team to games like Grand Theft Auto or Red Dead Redemption, some were overwhelmed thinking they cannot develop something like that, but the team gained confidence as they earned the know-how on technology. Towards the end of the development Tabata talked how looking at some of the global developers of open world games, they now see that they bring in a lot of people during the final phase, but this was something Tabata couldn't foresee, because it was the team's first foray into developing an open world game. This was one of the reasons that contributed toward the decision to delay the release for two months.

The developers aimed having the exploration of the world be a big part of the joy of playing. They wanted to give the player a feeling similar to visiting a foreign country and be excited about what lies around the next corner.

Etymology and symbolism
The coming of dawn is a theme in Final Fantasy XV.

Eos is sometimes referred to as a star, even if not one in celestial terms. It being referred to as a star may allude to its connection to the Crystal and its light. The Crystal is said to hold "the soul of the star". This hearkens to past Final Fantasy games where the Crystal represents the life force of the world or life force of the universe in general. Souls returning to the planet's crystal upon death has also appeared as a form of afterlife.

Trivia

 * Traffic in Eos is right-handed. Despite this, arrows appear on the roads outside the Citadel that go clockwise.
 * When Noctis and his allies return to the Citadel at the end of Final Fantasy XV, the arrows are removed.