Battle of Silvertear Skies

The Battle of Silvertear Skies is a conflict in Final Fantasy XIV. It was fought between the Dravanian Horde and the Garlean Empire, in response to the latter's invasion of Mor Dhona. The guardian of Lake Silvertear, Midgardsormr, a king among dragons, had called forth the Horde in retaliation to a fleet of Garlean airships approaching the lake.

The battle was originally depicted in the opening movie for version 1.0, and later seen in A Realm Reborn in Gaius van Baelsar's flashback. The aftermath of the battle set the stage for the events of both Final Fantasy XIV' Legacy version and A Realm Reborn.

Prelude
With the fall of Ala Mhigo, the Garlean Empire was poised to invade the remaining city-states of Eorzea. Mor Dhona's central location - along with Lake Silvertear being the nexus of the realm's network of Aetheric energy - made it the prime target as a staging point for invading the rest of Eorzea.

A fleet of airships, helmed by the mighty Agrius, began its move into Mor Dhona.

Battle
What the scholars of Garlemald didn't realize was that Silvertear had a guardian: the dragon Midgardsormr. In response to the Garlean aggression, the Horde descended from Dravania to rally at the wyrmking's side. An aerial battle commenced over Lake Silvertear, dragon versus airship, filling the sky with fire and smoke.

The dragons would eventually prove to be no match for the magitek infused armada of the Garlean invasion. The colossal wyrmking began coiling around the Agrius in an attempt to cripple the imperial warmachine.

Fall of the Keeper
Midgardsormr had damaged the hull with energy blasts from its maw, sending the dreadnaught plummeting into the lake. As the guardian paused to celebrate atop the fallen warship, the internal ceruleum tanks ignited into an explosion, destroying much of the bulk and killing Midgardsormr. A column of light erupted where they stood, as images of the Primals were released into the realm.

Aftermath
The explosion of the ceruleum tanks, along with Midgardsormr's depleting lifeforce, caused significant environmental effects in the region. Much of the native flora along the shores of Lake Silvertear became crystallized. The flow of Aether caused the sudden growth of large crystal deposits through out Mor Dhona. The region became a surreal landscape over the next decade, and remained so even after the Calamity struck.

Despite having won against their draconic adversary, the loss of the Agrius forced the Garlean forces to retreat to Ala Mhigo and halted further invasion into Eorzea, starting a time period called the Age of Calm. This setback caused Gaius van Baelsar to lose some favor, allowing Nael van Darnus the go-ahead to use Project Meteor on Eorzea. Gaius himself remained bitter over the loss, and sought out the Ultima Weapon as a new trump card to intimidate the city-states and beast-tribes of Eorzea.

Shortly after the battle, the Echo was sounded and awakened in many individuals such as Minfilia. The Primals soon began to be summoned by the beast-tribes under guidance of mysterious benefactors. All of this would set the events leading to the Seventh Umbral Era and beyond.

The intwined carcass of Midgardsormr around the hull of the Agrius would become known as the "Keeper of the Lake." It remains a dominant fixture of Mor Dhona's landscape, both before and after Calamity.