Excerpt from ‘The history of the Black Shroud, from Amdapor to Gridania’ by Archon Niniri Niri. Amdapor was founded in the aftermath of the Fifth Umbral Calamity, the Calamity of Ice, as the survivors migrated across the realm to found their own villages, each dedicated to one of the Twelve. Some of these villages grew into towns, then city-states. Amdapor was one of these, and survived the initial centuries of war and instability to emerge as one of the six larger surviving states. Amdapor was formed in Central Aldenard, in the region modernly named the South Shroud, by a group of hyur migrants who chose to build their home on a wide plain of white stone outside of the Twelveswood and 300 years after the age begun Amdapor had already … [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...]
The Bestiary of Tam-Tara Deepcroft
The Retainers Taxonomy: Ashkin (Damned) Description: It seems that the retainers of both the Inik and Mena dynasties were raised as undead by something, judging by the testimony of the Gridanians that cleansed the grounds after the Lambs of Dalamud were destroyed. The undead were an issue in the Deepcroft long before the arrival of the cult, and so it may be that they were raised simply by the environment around them, so steeped in the accumulated aether of the dead as the Deepcroft is. It is also plausible, albeit much less palatable, that the ancient houses of Gelmorra raised their servants as undead to serve as guardians from beyond the grave. This would explain why they were armed and armored when interred, although this … [Read more...]
The Tam-Tara Deepcroft – A Tomb of Kings
Excerpt from ‘The history of the Black Shroud, from Amdapor to Gridania’ by Archon Niniri Niri. The histories of Eorzea tell us that Gelmorra was born out of the terror of magic produced by the Sixth Umbral Calamity. In the wake of the colossal floods that characterized the Calamity the survivors turned on the arts of magic that had caused the disaster, putting both knowledge and practitioners to the flame. The elementals of the Twelveswood were enraged by the excess of Amdapor and its contemporaries, and the Hyur and Elezen of the Black Shroud, unable to commune with the elementals after abandoning magic, were driven underground, where they would later join hands and found the underground city of Gelmorra. Over the course of centuries … [Read more...]
