From a small pamphlet entitled ‘A Primer on Eorzean Geopolitics for New Researchers’ by Archon Niniri Niri. Kan-E-Senna - Elder Seedseer of Gridania Kan-E of the Senna family is a padjal of immense power and wisdom who leads the Seedseer Council, the presiding body of her forested home. Perhaps her most noted trait is the unprecedented ability for prophecy she has exhibited since a young age, a gift often attributed by her subjects to blessings from the elementals of the Shroud and the Twelve themselves. In her childhood, Kan-E was already protecting her home from catastrophe via her prophetic gifts, predicting fires and other such disasters with uncanny clarity. The padjal left her homeland to enter seclusion in the woods and commune … [Read more...]
The Bestiary of Haukke Manor (Hard)
Altered Wailer - (Demon) 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. These creatures were once Wood Wailers of Gridania, who were tragically mutated by the perverse rituals employed by the voidsent of the Manor. The Wood Wailers are an organisation of lancers within Gridania that date back to the city-state’s founding. Garrisoned across the Shroud in watchtowers and … [Read more...]
Haukke Manor (Hard) – Bitter Consequences
The dark machinations of Lady Amandine Dartancours had dire consequences for her residence, as consorting with voidsent so often does. The forces of Gridania discovered this when an entire squad of Wood Wailers went missing inside. The noblewoman's rituals had profaned the site to such a degree that over time the manor became re-infested with the dark spawn of the Void. The Wood Wailers, for context, are an organisation of lancers within Gridania that date back to the city-state's founding. Garrisoned across the Shroud in watchtowers and settlements, the Wood Wailers extend patrols across the woods to keep the peace and protect the compact between Gridania and the elementals of the Twelveswood. The masks of the Wood Wailers are intended to … [Read more...]
The Padjal – Children of the Twelveswood
Tome Request - William Tome Retrieved - 'The history of the Black Shroud, from Amdapor to Gridania’' by Archon Niniri Niri One cannot truly discuss the modern Black Shroud or its inhabitants without mention of the rulers of Gridania - the eternally mysterious padjal. In effect a subspecies of the midlander hyurs, the eternally-young individuals are created by the blessing of the elementals and certain bloodlines seem to be especially commonly blessed with padjal births, typically becoming nobility by virtue of this. Padjal have been a prominent feature of Eorzea during the Sixth and Seventh Astral Era. The History of the Padjal - The origin of the Padjal is found in the subterranean city of Gelmorra, a mixed Hyuran-Elezen society … [Read more...]
The Armory of Haukke Manor
From the archeological notebook of Archon Niniri Niri. Weaponry: The Charred Axe: A fairly standard war axe, a form of weaponry used by both armed forces and rebelling peasantry since time immemorial. The 'charred' segment of this weapon's name is fairly obviously a reference to the fire motif set into the axe's cheek. The exact significance of this weapon is difficult to discern, as fire has a somewhat complex relationship with Gridania. Arson is one of the most harshly prosecuted crimes in the city-state, in no small part due to the extreme risk posed by it upon the Twelveswood. This may have been seized from an arsonist or danger to the Twelveswood by a former member of House Dartancours. The Heart of House d'Arlendre: An … [Read more...]
The Bestiary of Haukke Manor
Manor Maidservant 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. These specimens, specifically, are inhabiting the corpses of the maids … [Read more...]
Haukke Manor – The Corruption of Vanity
Excerpt from ‘The history of the Black Shroud, from Amdapor to Gridania’ by Archon Niniri Niri. This will not be the first examination of Haukke Manor by a Sharlayan scholar, but whereas pre-calamity accounts were able to study it at first as a symbol of the Elder Seedseer's excess and prestige, then later as a symbol of the same for the Dartancours family, this author will be cataloguing the now fallen residence as a cautionary tale against consorting with dark powers. The manor had been the residence of the Elder Seedseer for generations, but increasingly incurred the wroth of a discontent populace for its opulence, resulting in the Elder Seedseer before Kan-E-Senna's predecessor selling the manor to the Dartancours, an ancient and … [Read more...]
The Armory of Toto-Rak
From the archeological notebook of Archon Niniri Niri. Weaponry: The Antares Needles: A common pair of daggers in terms of design, equipped with cutting edges but primarily specialized for a stabbing point. These specific weapons seem to have been named for a previous inhabitant of the gaol, namely the dreadful banemite Antares, who was slain by adventurers within Toto-Rak before the calamity. These daggers may even have been named after their wielder died fighting Antares with them. Etymology Notes: Antares is, of course, a star within the Scorpius constellation, which is why they are named for a diremite. Antares, as a boss of Toto-Rak in 1.0, accompanied Shaula and Graffias, both also named for stars in Scorpius, of which only … [Read more...]
The Bestiary of Toto-Rak
Prison Pteroc Taxonomy: Scalekin (Puk) Description: The common puk is an insectivore creature specialized for an arboreal life with an irritable, territorial streak a mile long. They are unrelated to dragons despite their common name of 'wind dragon'. These specimens likely migrated from the shroud into Toto-Rak. Etymology Notes: The name of pteroc is evidently drawn from pterosaur, a gliding dinosaur. The Flying Traps Taxonomy: Seedkin (Flying Trap) Description: Deeply predatory seedkin, flying traps rely on the use of their brightly colored petals to lure in prey which is then stuck to these petals by a secreted adhesive, and drained of nutrients by the plant's roots. They are also capable of more direct combat, … [Read more...]
The Thousand Maws of Toto-Rak – The Adder’s Gaol
Excerpt from ‘The history of the Black Shroud, from Amdapor to Gridania’ by Archon Niniri Niri. A complex of tunnels hidden deep beneath the South Shroud, the Thousand Maws are modified natural caves that were used as a prison for the most heinous criminals of Gridania. What exactly constituted the worst possible criminal is different in Gridania due to the influence of the elementals, with poachers and arsonists being imprisoned with the complex due to the existential threat their actions posed towards both the forest and Gridania itself. Thirty years ago the prison was deemed untenable due to the widespread mistreatment of its prisoners, and after construction of a jail closer to the city, it was abandoned. Toto-Rak has since become … [Read more...]
