WoTG FFXI Lore / Story Questions

What exactly is the lore with the crystal war (WoTG), it's very confusing.

The original "real" timeline where the Shadow Lord (who was given his powers by Odin) Succeeded and destroyed all the homelands and most of the heros in the main storylines. The 5 races people were no match for the Shadow Lord and his beastman army. There were survivors but they were very few and there were constant attacks and death upon the resistance that remained. To the point they were near being wiped out.

As a last resort some of these people made a pact with Odin and became new powerful warriors equal to the Shadow Lord. Lillith and the Spite Wardens were the result. They defeated the Shadow Lord and the beastmen but they had just become what they fought against. One Odin tainted evil replaced another and the hearts of all the races turned from Altana and became dark.

Many characters in the Crystal War in the past are basically Time Travelers from this current reality as you are and don't belong there (Spite Wardens, Lillith (grown up lilisette), Karaha-Baruhass (Robel Akbel)

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Then we have the Altana created dreamworld (alt reality?) where the shadow lord was defeated (with no explanation, it just happened by her will) by the 5 races without Odins help.

However this dreamworld / alt reality made no sense and could not survive? because it had no history and was not real. It was soon to be devoured by Atomos unless something was done.

Cait Siths and the Cavernous Maws (the cait sith planted these?) were created by Altana? to allow a hero from her dreamworld to try and make her template into reality by your actions in the past. For some reason the current reality also got some time travel maws (either some of the Caits did this or Atomos / Odin / promethia? wanted to see which would prevail?)

You find the maw and are sent back (Kara/Robel also played a major role in changing the outcome of many Windurst battles that should have been lost) to not only inspire other people for a different outcome but to fight yourself in order to change the outcome of the crystal war.

So it turns into two sides meddling in history to change / retain the present, you vs Lillith. You and Lillith were never originally supposed to be there.

You succeed despite Lillith trying to aid the shadow lord against your actions (to make sure her timeline prevails and she turns into Lillith) and so your dreamworld becomes reality. You push Lillith to the brink of death. Then it gets even more confusing.

You now have a time paradox in (is WoE outside of time?) all this newly re-written history could not of taken place without Lillith, Robel (his role was pivotal in the victory) etc and they no longer ever actually existed at all now because you changed the present reality and they aren't in it in the same way. So both existences are about to be consumed by Atomos.

I don't get it from here on, assuming everything above is correct. Why is your reality and the other now allowed to co-exist, why did Lilisette have to go into the other to replace lillith to stop atomos destroying both? I guess because she had to be erased from your current time line for some reason?

Isn't there still a time paradox? I'm very confused.