The Lambs of Dalamud
Taxonomy: Spoken (Various)
Description: The Lambs of Dalamud are a vile cult in service to their own divine perception of the lesser moon, Dalamud. The origin of the cult is shrouded in mystery, and although most believe them generated by the mass hysteria produced by the oncoming Seventh Umbral Calamity or planted by Garlean subversives, some scholars hypothesize an older origin, perhaps even dating back to the Fourth Astral Era, known as the Fall of Civilization, spurred on by a mingling of the relatively recently fallen Allagan Empire’s history with the religious renaissance of the era.
The Lambs hold that Dalamud is a divinity in and of itself, the ferocious hound of the moon goddess Menphina, despite evidence proving its artificial nature being evident across Aldenard after the Calamity. Fundamentally an apocalypse cult, the Lambs believe that the Calamity was their deity attempting to return to Eorzea and scour it of nonbelievers, only to be foiled by the ‘selfish’ actions of those who subverted the destructive ability of the lesser moon. The cult exalts in death and self-sacrifice, believing their own deaths to place them in the Hells where Dalamud would elevate them to the true afterlife.
Despite the size of the cult at the time, numbering at least in the thousands, they disappeared on-masse during the fall of the lesser moon. It is likely that the membership fractured, with some robbed of their faith by the mundane, if awe-inspiring, nature of Dalamud revealed, while some others fled to the far-east, finding sanctuary in cults of Nhaama, the Dusk Mother, and others still retreated to the dark places of Eorzea such as the Keep, where they sought to re-invoke Dalamud’s wroth.
The Lambs found here, in the Keep were a mixture of thaumaturges who dabbled in void magic and the warriors that guarded them. Their order was led in this location by a priest who was also a thaumaturge, though they died as their followers did at the hands of the Warrior of Light and their companions.
Soul Collector
Taxonomy: Voidsent (Demon)
Description: Commonly referred to as ‘reapers of souls’ by the people of Eorzea, demons are particularly rife throughout the folklore of Hydaelyn. It is a common opinion amongst scholars of the Void that demons were once members of the spoken races of the thirteenth shard, corrupted into mindless soldiers of dark entities when the shard was flooded by the Void. Demons seem to have often take a role in the sacrificial practices of the Lambs, and the title given to them here by their vile summoners, ‘soul collector’ seems to be in reference to this.
Capabilities: The demons of the Keep were capable of unleashing malevolent void energies in ‘dark orbs’ intended to slay their foes.
Recluse Hippogryph
Taxonomy: Beastkin (Hippogryph)
Description: Hippogryphs are fierce beastkin of the mountains and hills. Their vestigial wings are incapable of flight, but can propel them along the ground as they sprint. The recluse name they bear likely references the hidden nature of the Keep until the Calamity.
Etymology Notes: A hippogryph, or hippogriff, is a half-eagle, half-horse creature from European folklore, ridden by figures of legend.
Dullahan
Taxonomy: Soulkin (Dullahan)
Description: Golems of arcane origin, dullahan such as these doctore are suits of animated plate armor. Opinions on the origin of the dullahan vary, from magical creations to ghostly possessed armor. The general scholarly opinion seems to lean towards the former, however. These creatures may have been weapons of Amdapor, used to re-secure the Keep before the Calamity.
Capabilities: According to reports given by those who cleaned the Keep, the Dullahans were capable of using a number of terribly destructive techniques including a wide sweep named the ‘iron justice’ and a magical empowerment of their physical ability named the ‘king’s will’ which might reference the authority of Amdapor’s leadership.
Etymology Notes: Dullahan were headless figures which rode spiritual horses found in Irish mythology, riding across the land and slaying folk by calling their name and drawing out their souls. Their naming in FFXIV is likely a reference to their representation as dark, armored knights in many fantasy settings.
Psycheflayer ☠
Taxonomy: Voidsent (Soulflayer)
Description: Physically weak, soulflayers are sixth ranked voidsent nonetheless and are capable of great feats of intelligence and magical might. This particular creature was summoned forth by the vile sorceries of the Lamb’s priest.
Capabilities: This creature was apparently capable of unleashing mighty sorceries such as manipulating ‘water’ aether in harmful ways as well as unleashing terrible ‘void thunder’. The vile beast was also capable of kindling sickness within its target, creating ‘cankers’, as well as unleashing waves of dark energy harmful to the mind, nicknamed ‘mind melt’ by those who observed its effects.
The Marionettes
Taxonomy: Soulkin (Golem)
Description: Golems are beings of stone animated by magic, with rumors suggesting that they may be easier to animate in the path of a calamity, although any real research will demonstrate that this is not the only time they are possible to create. These figures were likely created by the Amdapori during this period however, as golems such as these were their signature creations, although these lesser creatures were much cruder than the standard fare produced by the city-state. This may imply that they were created clumsily as a last resort by the defenders of the Keep during its fall. These golems were crafted both out of standard stone and the signature white marble of Amdapor, but had been destroyed since, likely in the fall of the Keep, and by the time the Keep was recovered they were revived in enslavement by the psycheflayer summoned there, earning them their ‘marionette’ names.
Capabilities: These creatures were capable of causing sizeable ‘rockslides’ by stamping on the ground, and ‘obliterating’ their foes by slamming the ground forcefully. The largest of their kind was also capable of unleashing massive power directed towards the ground, nicknamed ‘plaincracker’ for its hyperbolic ability to destroy even large plains and sections of terrain.
Brontotaur
Taxonomy: Voidsent (Taurus)
Description: Seventh rank voidsent within the voidal hierarchy, taurus are mostly notable for being a favorite of voidsent summoners throughout history. Slain livestock have been popular sacrifices for as long as history can recall, and taurus prefer such sacraments as their hosts on the Source, creating an easy coincidence where such rituals will commonly bring forth taurus voidsent. These creatures were doubtless part of the Mhachi invasion of Amdapor.
Etymology Notes: The brontotaur is named for a real life dinosaur, the brontosaurus. The ‘bronto’ segment of this name translates to thunder in Latin, which may relate to the destructive ability of the voidsent.
Hound Light
Taxonomy: Elemental (Plasmoid)
Description: Plasmoids are small motes of energy, often theorised to originate as an accidental consequence of. the machina of Garlemald. This was, of course, not the case with the ones found within Amdapor Keep, which may have been generated by the mighty lightning aether of the Mhachi in conjunction with the direly unbalanced aether of the Fifth Astral Era.
The Vodoriga
Taxonomy: Voidsent (Vodoriga)
Description: The vodoriga are a species of Voidsent that specialize in possessing inorganic matter such as statues. These particular creatures seem to have taken their place alongside a number of suspiciously similar looking Amdapori statues. The first vodoriga encountered were named sleepers for their habit of lying dormant for prey to pass them before ambushing. The fearsome dahak encountered at the end of the Keep was also found to employ vodoriga, named ‘dark helots’ for their service to the greater voidsent.
Etymology Notes: Vodoriga is Bulgarian for shark, likely a reference to the creature’s facial features and ferociousness.
Demon Wall ☠
Taxonomy: Soulkin (Demon Wall)
Description: Amongst Amdapor’s greatest defenders, demon walls are created via inscriptions of blood marked onto walls and defend their charge with intense prejudice.
Capabilities: The Amdapori had enabled the demon wall to use a number of deeply harmful techniques. This included pulses of deadly energy emitted from the creature’s hands, nicknamed ‘murder hole’ in reference to the holes built in walls from which arrows and burning pitch are dropped. The creature was also capable of unleashing waves of kinetic energy to ‘repel’ its foes. Upon first fighting the creature, the adventurers who fought it assumed it was capable of generating puddles of voidal energy, though this author contests this and assigns the assumption to the adventurers confusing the Wall with a voidsent. Instead, the void-like essence seems to have been techniques aimed at ‘liquifying’ their foes by undermining their flesh with disruptive aether, as well as unleashing harmful ‘pollen’ to their foes lungs, likely inspired by Nophica’s worship by its creators.
Succubus
Taxonomy: Voidsent (Succubus)
Description: A particularly insidious variant of the voidsent which occupies the fourth and fifth rungs of the voidal hierarchy, signifying a high rank in the minds of the realm’s scholars. This may be due to their noteworthy intellect, but it should be noted that the voidal hierarchy is a construct of our realm and does not hold authority over the void’s inhabitants own perceptions of their home. Succubi such as these operate by possessing the corpses of spoken women, and can occasionally be observed as taking on certain personality traits of their deceased hosts, which is unusual even amongst the voidsent.
Smolenkos
Taxonomy: Voidsent (Ahriman)
Description: Fourth and fifth ranked voidsent, Ahriman are powerful creatures with a prodigious ability for manipulating aether both for propulsion and as a means of attack. Voidsent access our mortal plane by possessing the eyes of animals.
Capabilities: The creature was apparently capable of channeling aether through its eyeball in a ‘dread gaze’ to paralyze the adventurers attempting to slay it. They were also capable of employing the common aetheric manipulation of the ahriman, namely earth aether in the form of a typical ‘stone’ spell.
Etymology Notes: The smolenkos was apparently a cyclopean creature of Native American myth, able to run on its jointless legs faster than any deer. The cyclopean nature of the creature is where the name for the ahriman comes from, and it is a recurrent name in the Final Fantasy franchise.
Anantaboga ☠
Taxonomy: Voidsent (Dahak)
Description: Dahak enter the world by possessing the corpse of drakes and harbor a certain intelligence, despite not being able to speak, marshalling large stores of magical potential and physical stamina. Dahak occupy the fourth rung of the voidal hierarchy due to their strength and intellect alongside succubi, ahrimans and other similar creatures. Anantaboga was sealed in the Keep by the Amdapori upon reclaiming it after the Mhachi defeat, and the Lambs of Dalamud were attempting to have it ensorcelled into their service.
Capabilities: The fel creature was reportedly able to use its mighty tail to ‘drive’ at their foe, slamming them with great force. It was also capable of exhaling foul fumes from its ‘rotten breath’ that damaged the flesh of their target, as well as unleashing great gouts of dark voidal energy to wrack the flesh of an unfortunate foe, so destructive that it was nicknamed ‘imminent catastrophe’ by the adventurers that faced it. The beast was also capable of using the dahak’s signature ability, commonly recorded as ‘the look’ in which it used its eyes to form a magical geometric pattern, concentrating aether into beams of harmful energy.
Etymology Notes: Anantaboga is named for Antaboga, a world serpent found in the traditional animist folk religion of Java, in which it created the world through meditation. The name antaboga directly means endless food or wealth. This boss is likely named after the serpent due to its reptilian nature, as well as the endless greed and hunger of the aether-starved voidsent.
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