Excerpt from ‘The history of Vylbrand, from Nym to Limsa Lominsa’ by Archon Niniri Niri.
In the wake of the Warrior of Light’s purging of the Serpent Reavers from the Seagrot, it was hoped by the Limsan authorities that Sastasha would cease its habit of becoming a den of dangerous groups and creatures. In order to ensure this a contingent of Yellowjackets from the 4th levy, the group that presides over Western La Noscea. Unfortunately these attempts were doomed to fail, as not long after taking control of the cave system a horde of creatures that resembled horribly mutated men assaulted it, seizing the Seagrot once more.
The Wauling Pond
Upon first entry to the Seagrot the team once more found themselves in the Wauling Pond, an area of raised stone pathways over a rather sizeable drop to the cave floor below, surely a consequence of the erosion that created the Seagrot. Various forms of bioluminescent flora and coral can be found within, including common brain coral species that seem to glow a soft blue or red. Odd pillars of coruscating blue light litter the area, a sure sign of the abundance of water-aspected aether within Sastasha. While the reasons behind the name of the Wauling Pond are not immediately clear, one can make assumptions based on the evidence provided. It has been well known that for some time that the pirates of Vylbrand smuggle exotic beasts onto the island and that Sastasha was home to feline beasts such as the coeurl. To waul is to screech in a mournful tone, especially when applied to felines. Although there is no outright water in this area, there almost certainly once was judging by the erosion that carved out the chamber. This, then, must have been a pond where the cries of the felines from deeper within could be heard.
The Greeting Pond
The second cave encountered by the team in this expedition was essentially a recessed hollow, apparently filled with water when the cleansers of the Seagrot found it but fitted with drainage pumps that were used to empty it. This scholar suspects that the greeting referenced in the cave’s title could be due to the cave’s proximity to Sastasha’s entrance, or an ironic reference to the bloody embrace of the wavekin that resided within it.
The Pull
As the cavern of the Greeting Pond expanded into a network of smaller tunnels it became an area known by those who resided in the Seagrot as the Pull. At the end of the area were a series of former cells, now turned into the residence of Leviathan’s most tragic victims. The Pull could plausibly be known by its current name due to the ‘push and pull’ of the tide carving its tunnels out of the rock.
The Rower’s Quarters
The Rower’s Quarters was a modest room used seemingly partially for storage and partially for the socialization of the rowers. Rowers have long been at the bottom of a ship’s hierarchy, and indeed is filled often by slaves.
The Dead Man’s Drink
Deep within Sastasha were the facilities constructed by Mistbeard for his crew. The central room of the area, which was once a large chamber with a wooden structure used as storage and a tavern for the crews of the Seagrot, has now been altered. The Drink was turned into a wider open area by the horribly mutated Serpent Reavers, perhaps functioning as a rally point or arena for the horrible masters of Sastasha.
The Rambade
There was a circular chamber within Sastasha commonly called Rambades by the pirates that inhabited the Seagrot. They seem to have served as storage facilities and defensive measures, acting as an airlock manned by members of the pirate crew. The Rambade aboard a ship is an area above the artillery that acts as an area for onboard combat or as a command post.
The Sultana’s Lap
The end of Sastasha was found in a large cove open to the ocean, originally occupied by the docks of Mistbeard’s crew. The cove under the Serpent Reavers was home to a number of storage facility as well as the residence of the sahagin warrior chosen to oversee the Serpent Reavers and provide strategy for their operations. It was seemingly used for similar purposes by the resurgent Reavers when they were more dramatically corrupted. This particular chamber appears to have been named for the rather tawdry tale repeated in the less reputable establishments throughout Eorzea, regarding a rather scandalous encounter between Mistbeard and the mother of the current Sultana while the dread pirate was pilfering the coffers of the palace.
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