Many Years Ago:

* Hyne, a sorcerer/deity, becomes the father of humanity. He gives a part of his power to the sorceresses. The sorceresses' power is passed on through the generations; when one dies, another must take over for her. Only certain people have the potential to become sorceresses.

4000 Years Ago:

* The time of the Centra civilization. Centra founds two empires; Dollet to the west and Esthar to the east. Dollet begins to excel in military might, while Esthar begins to prosper scientifically.

80 Years Ago:

* The Lunar Cry, a phenomenon wherein the Moon becomes oversaturated with monsters, who erupt towards Earth in a tide of destruction, strikes the Centra civilization. It is utterly destroyed (and a huge crater forms in the middle of it). The Centra's mobile shelters (giant buildings which move through a force of science and/or magic) are mostly ruined, with only two still remaining, both in the Dollet Empire.
* The Esthar people begin to rebuild its scientific society, but Dollet is splintered into the countries (more like city-states) of Dollet, Galbadia, and Timber.

19 Years Ago:

* A girl named Ellone is born in Winhill. She has the power to send her consciousness backwards in time.

18 Years Ago:

* Sorceress Adel has an iron grip on the country of Esthar, and she pits it in a war against Galbadia, led by President Deling, a dictator. Galbadia fights heated battles against Esthar, as well as against its peaceful neighbor Timber; Galbadia takes over Timber and captures it. The fathers of two men named Zone and Watts, the heads of a resistance faction named the Forest Owls, are killed after Timber's capture. Soon, a number of copycat rebel factions begin cropping up, all without a single successful coup to their name. Zone and Watts take over the Forest Owls from their fathers.
* A number of scientists and researchers, disheartened by Galbadia's motives, leave to start their own town they called Fishermans Horizon (FH), dedicated to pacifism.
* Adel discovers the existence of the Crystal Pillar, a stone from the Moon capable of reacting from a certain position on the Earth (within the Esthar continent) to cause a Lunar Cry. She orders a special enclosure called Lunatic Pandora to be built around it. The Pandora seals the Lunar Cry's abilities, but it can also cause a Lunar Cry at any time.
* Dr. Odine, a slightly manic professor, begins experiments on magical beings known as Guardian Forces (GFs). He discovers that they can be harnessed (Junctioned) to human minds, which allows humans to use magic, or, more accurately, para-magic. He also studies the sorceresses' powers, and creates Odine-brand jewelry which is capable of inhibiting those powers.
* Three Galbadian soldiers, Laguna, Kiros, and Ward, return to Deling City from an assignment. They check out the bar at the Galbadia Hotel, where Laguna is treated to a performance by Julia, a pianist. Julia invites Laguna to her room, where a flustered Laguna tells her of his desire to become a journalist. Julia tells him that she has wanted to field-record herself, but has never been able to come up with lyrics, until that night.
* Julia writes the song Eyes On Me about Laguna. She later marries General Caraway of Galbadia, and they have a daughter named Rinoa.
* Laguna, Kiros, and Ward are sent to the Centra Excavation Site to patrol. They lose their way and come up against a battalion of Esthar soldiers. They are trapped and only manage to escape by jumping off a huge cliff. Laguna manages to come away unharmed, but Kiros and Ward are badly injured. Ward loses his voice permanently.

17 Years Ago:

* Sorceress Adel orders the Esthar troops to search for any possible successors to her, whom she wishes to keep in her custody. Many girls are taken. They attempt to take a girl named Ellone from Winhill as well; though they fail, her parents are killed. She is taken into custody and raised by a woman named Raine.
* Ward takes up a job as janitor in the D-District Prison, a Galbadian political jail. Kiros roams around as a vagabond, and Laguna finds meaning in the small Galbadian town of Winhill, formerly assailed by Esthar. He meets up with Raine, takes up a job defeating the monsters that roam around the village, and eventually falls in love with Raine and marries her.
* Kiros finds Laguna in Winhill and joins him for a while in his job. Eventually Laguna goes on to pursue his dream of working for Timber Maniacs, a large magazine.