The story of Final Fantasy FFXIV 1.0

As you played through the original game a story unfolded much like any other Final Fantasy. Important leaders were met, events unfolded, mysteries were solved, and bad guys were defeated. But, not everyone played 1.0. This is the thread where you learn what has previously happened in the game. Please don't expect spoilers to be marked because everything in here will likely be a spoiler.

In the beginning, I have absolutely no idea what happened. I didn't play FFXIV 1.0. I made this thread to find out. Does anybody know where I can find out? Something like a huge spoiler-story of all the events you were a part of in the game and the things you discovered?

I haven't actually played it either but I know there's a "story of XIV so far" series on YouTube somewhere I think and I was actually planning on reading up on it at some point and picking the brains of the 1.x veterans to make a "Story of Final Fantasy XIV" feature for the frontsite just before launch as an educational experience for both myself and other newbies.

So... now I've said that... I'm bookmarking this thread! :p

A large chunk of it is actually explained as part of the main storyline of the current game.

The Story So Far in reference to Aulayna's post. I was thinking about watching all the cutscenes from 1.x whilst at work (Beta Withdrawals already :| ) so a full synopsis would be great for all us newbies! I know some of it is explained but I did have to ask Kukki who some of the characters were in one cutscene because I hadn't encountered them yet.

Edit: Spent the night watching the first few clips from these and it's already introduced one of the characters I've met in ARR and shown me a character that was mysteriously referenced, but wasn't elaborated on, so I reckon it's well worth delving into for people who want to know the full story. Bear in mind that this video collection is based on those classes starting in Ul'dah, so the story takes place from that perspective.

It's great to be able to listen to Nobuo's score for the game! I wish they'd carried over his music to ARR