We have all heard the whispers. The Grand Companies are secretly led by Ixal people genetically engineered by the Empire. Aether Crystal travel is a way for those in power to mind control you. Ishgard is a mirage created by the voidsent to lure travelers to their demise. Are these claims true? Who can say? It’s not something anyone can prove and yet certain signs lend some credence to them.

Perhaps these conspiracies are pleasant tales crafted to ease the harsh truth that there are those who do really want to control us. Or perhaps they are the insane ramblings of a frequenter of the Bismarck who ingested just a hair too much spiced rum. The real question is, if one of the pieces of this tower of myth falls, will everything collapse with it?

This report started as a fun question and quickly spiraled into a dangerous world of shadows and lies. As such, we will not be revealing any of our sources for fear of death or dismemberment. We spoke with several scholars and high-ranked officials to find the truth, and through the muck it shone brighter than any shard. We know we are taking risks publishing this piece, but we also feel that you, the people, have a right to know and a duty to spread the facts. Do not let the powers that be keep us in darkness!

The star, Hydaelyn, a world we all fondly care for, is not what it seems to be. For many ages, scholars have held it up as a shining sphere among the cosmos, but is this really the case? While chatting about current events via linkpearl, I stumbled upon a curious oddity. Despite her being in Kugane while I was on a Plaza in Limsa Lominsa, we both noted that the sun was directly above us. How could this be, though?

The map below shows our known world. It is vast, to say the least. I should know, I traveled it to check my findings.

Using a universally timed clock - that is to say, one that is not subject to change across distance - I marked daylight and night hours among three regions: Kugane, Thavnair, and La Noscea. Scholars of the past have led us to believe that the star is spherical, providing supposed mathematical insight to back their claims. And yet, one such proof is that the sun would appear to travel across the sky.

Logically, this would mean that as it moves, it would appear to be in different spots across each region at different times. But is that really true? Take a look at some of these time-stamped shots. They paint an entirely different picture.

Over the course of my inquiring, I was forced out of several libraries and placed on a boat leaving town more than once. In Old Sharlayan, I was nearly arrested, and I was given a citation in Radz-at-Han for “disturbing the peace.” Getting any insight beyond my own observations was difficult, to say the least, but I was able to talk in some back alleys and similarly non-descript areas with those who despite fear of reprimand were brave enough to come forth.

A junior scholar from Sharlayan told me that asking such questions was punishable by exile or even death. That is a bit extreme for something a layman might consider silly, is it not? Why suppress something like that if it were not harmless?

In New Gridania, I spoke to a researcher and explorer of the ancient cities that are buried beneath the Black Shroud. The old societies there, though relatively cut off from the rest of the world, kept records, and none of these had ever pointed to what should have been common knowledge of a round Hydaelyn. Could they have all been wrong?

In the port of Kugane I spoke with several sailors who had spent their entire lives among the waves. Despite their nautical prowess none of them had ever gone beyond certain fixed points on the map, nor had they met anyone who had claimed to. If the world is round, why not open trade routes that take advantage of the other end? Are they too rough? Considering the present dangers in our more local waters, this is unlikely. And yet, captains refuse to leave the bounds of the map shown above.

So what is the actual truth? For years we have been led to believe in something that looks like this:

And yet, all evidence would suggest that the world is something more akin to one of these:

What should we believe? The authorities seem keen to keep the facts hidden, and against one lone reporter they may have had some success. But against all of us? The power of those in charge only exists if we let it. Do not take this lying down, demand answers and the truth! Remember to critically evaluate anyone who tells you your own sense cannot be trusted!

Do not let Flat Hydaelyn be snuffed out by the Genetically Enhanced Ixal overlords in the shadows!