Excerpt from ‘The history of Mor Dhona, from Allag to an Adventurer’s Hearth’ by Archon Niniri Niri.
Dragons have ever featured in the ancient history of the Source, and indeed in Eorzean myth they were created by Althyk and Nymeia, the gods of time and fate alongside the element of water. Midgardsormr was born into existence as water was, and the Twelve entrusted him with the protection of Silvertear Lake that he might protect the essential magic which flowed from it. New revelations in history have revealed that this is not the true tale of Midgardsormr however. The great wyrm arrived at the nascent star extremely early in its history, and bought with him seven eggs. He struck a deal with Hydaelyn that he and his brood would be granted succor upon the new world in exchange for the protection of the lake. He nurtured his eggs in the aetherically charged waters of Silvertear, eventually hatching the first brood; Tiamat, Bahamut, Nidhogg, Hraesvelgr, Ratatoskr, Vrtra and Azdaja. The first brood spread across the Source, where they would bear their own broods.
Midgardsormr then fell into a deep, eons-long slumber, returning in the Sixth Astral Era. When Ala Mhigo fell to Garlemald four of the five city-states of Eorzea immediately signed a compact joining their forces together against the Empire, while the fifth, Sharlayan, fled the continent entirely. In the year of 1562 a Garlean fleet led by the colossal airship Agrius entered Mor Dhona, but found a foe that they had not expected. Midgardsormr called upon his brethren and led an immense army of dragons against the force approaching Silvertear, triggering an aerial battle far greater than any Eorzea had seen before or since. The battle ended with a final duel between Midgardsormr and the Agrius, ending in the destruction of both. This forced a complete withdrawal for the invading XIVth legion.
The charred corpse of Midgardsormr might not be so dead as once thought however, as the astrologians of Ishgard have observed signs of life within the ancient dragon. Certain that should Midgardsormr revive and join the Dragonsong war Ishgard would be destroyed in a matter of months, the Ishgardians have dispatched the Scions of the Seventh Dawn to the wreckage of the Agrius.
The Forecastle
The research team entered the Agrius atop a large metal platform that fell from the ship, landing on one of the small islands in the lake. Several aether crystals sprouted from the lake and the island itself, presumably created by the prodigious eruption of aether that occurred when the Agrius struck the lake, unsealing the aether reserves beneath it, as well as releasing the power of the ship’s ceruleum tanks. The ship was truly astounding in size, towering before the team like one of the towers of Limsa Lominsa. This portion of the ship seems to have been the forecastle, the section that occupied the very front of the Agrius, which is commonly used as a berth for the crew in mundane ships, though who can speak for the inscrutability of the Garleans.
The Agrius Hull
Easily the largest airship ever made in the Sixth Astral Era at the time of its construction, rivalled only by the great works of Allag many millennia prior, the Agrius was in fact a support vessel and not a conventional warship. It was built to support entire military campaigns singlehandedly, and was given over to Gaius van Baelsar’s XIVth legion for use in the conquest of Eorzea.
The Agrius was named for a giant who stood against the Greek gods in the Titanomachy, who would go on to be slain by the Fates. The Eorzean perception Midgardsormr as related to time and fate via Althyk could be related to this, as could the ship’s demise in a literal battle of titans, between itself and the father of dragons.
The Provisional Research Camp
After emerging into the Agrius using the most easily accessible route, the team found themselves in a prefabricated Garlean camp, apparently dedicated to the acquisition of knowledge judging by the names stenciled onto certain objects in the area. This may have taken the form of research into the aetheric peculiarities within Silvertear, or Midgardsormr’s corpse itself. The area also seems to have served as a resource for storing and maintaining magitek devices.
The Ceruleum Spill
Further upon the ship’s hull was a large metal platform without any decoration or interesting detail, labelled the Ceruleum Spill. There did not seem to be any amount of ceruleum spilled on the surface, which suggested that it was a component of the ship’s fuel systems, perhaps as an overflow or spill-over for excess ceruleum in the fuel lines.
The Keeper’s Spine
Ascending further upon the Agrius led to a walkway formed out of the flesh of Midgardsormr’s corpse, melded with the steel of the airship by the explosion that rocked the structure previously.
The Forsworn Promise
The shattered hull of the Agrius, at the very zenith of the fallen ship, formed an enclosed platform with some form of elaborate design on the floor, a mirror of aetherically infused Allagan designs. The dormant corpse of Midgardsormr lay dormant at this platform. Records by bards refer to this area as a ‘Forsworn Promise.’ The scholars of the land know that the primary promise given by Midgardsormr was to Hydaelyn, when he vowed to protect Silvertear Lake in return for permission to live upon the Star. Perhaps his death, his failure, was considered an act of forswearing his ancient promise.
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