For the sake of the discussion, I figure I should post the lore compilation of quotes from the Lost City Lore thread that was referenced in the OP:
(08-19-2015, 11:49 PM)Sounsyy Wrote: Amdapor & War of the Magi Lore Text Compilation
Raya-O-Senna Wrote:But tell me, are you versed in the histories? I take from your silence that you are not. No matter, it shall be my pleasure to educate you. The Fifth Astral Era is said to have begun approximately three millennia ago. The ice age that ushered in the Fifth Umbral Era made the land a barren and merciless place, and man was pushed to the limits of his resourcefulness in the struggle to survive. Yet survive he did, through the discovery of magic as we know it─an event which marked the dawning of the Fifth Astral Era.
At first, man was well pleased just to have the means to keep the cold at bay and compete with the other races. But man is nothing if not an ambitious beast. It was not long before he began to seek mightier magicks, hoping to win greater glory. It was this desire that brought forth black magic, the arcane art of destruction, into the world. In order that this force of chaos be kept in check and balance preserved, at roughly the same point in history, white magic, the arcane art of succor, came into existence.
Emboldened by magic, man went on to reach the zenith of glory. But his hunger knew no bounds. Over time, even they who donned the white began perverting their powers for the sake of self-gain, and in this single-minded pursuit scrupled not to sully the sanctity of the Twelveswood. In his pride and avarice, man brought down the wrath of the elementals upon himself. A great deluge was sent to cleanse the land of his wicked presence, in the wake of which the forest rose to swallow up all that was not washed away. Thus did the Six Umbral Era begin...or so it is told.
Encyclopedia Eorzea Wrote:The mages of Amdapor devised this arcane art during the Fifth Astral Era to counter the destructive black magic of Mhachi sorcerers. Focusing heavily upon spells of restoration and purification, the practice of white magic led to great advances in Amdapori society. Intoxicated by their newfound power, however, the magi surrendered prudence to ambition.
Encyclopedia Eorzea Wrote:The Amdapori initially harnessed basic magicks for use in their city's defenses, drawing and expanding upon the primitive knowledge of golem creation to temporarily imbue stone statues with life. However, in the ninth century, mages of the ancient city bore witness to Mhach's use of the destructive arts to subjugate neighboring city-states. Wary of their neighbor's ambitions, the Amdapori sought to counter these black magicks by improving upon their own spellcraft, weaving with the intent to purify, ward, and heal - the art of white magic.
Encyclopedia Eorzea Wrote:The ephemeral guardian spirits of the Twelveswood. With bodies comprised entirely of aether, these entities are nevertheless possessed of an intelligence and intent that can be sensed by those blessed with preternatural awareness. The elementals perceive the aether-draining nature of white magic as a direct threat to their existence, and for centuries did they seek to prevent its secrets from reentering the world.
Lost City of Amdapor Wrote:Born in magic, the ancient city of Amdapor lived in splendor and died in agony. As the Fifth Astral Era gave way to the Sixth Umbral and the ensuing catastrophe, the agent of Amdapor's destruction slept. Now, the seal that has held so long is softening like windfallen fruit - and what blind worms writhe underneath the skin of the dead city?
E-Sumi-Yan Wrote:Amdapor was not always thus afflicted. Indeed, the city once owed an age of prosperity to the benevolent art of white magic. But that was before the War of the Magi. It is told that the enemies of the Amdapori abandoned all caution in their pursuit of victory, and used their dark magicks to summon a king among demons. Though the mages of Amdapor eventually succeeded in imprisoning this fell creature, its recent resurgence speaks eloquently to the impermanence and unpredictability of arcane energies.
Amdapor Keep Wrote:Once, the lost civilization of Amdapor thrived in the Twelveswood, her citizens wielders of powerful, yet forbidden magicks which could be used to alter the very fabric of existence. However, as is oft the case with peoples who fancy themselves gods, the self-assuring hubris of the Amdapori eventually became their downfall, and as quickly as they rose to power, did they disappear from the world. For generations, this relic of their once-mighty civilization has remained hidden in plain sight - cloaked by the elementals who sought only to prevent newer generations from stumbling across the ancient Amdapori magicks. That is, until the Lambs of Dalamud - a dark cult who worships the now-fallen lesser moon as a god - dispelled the elementals' glamour by means unknown, and claimed the keep as their own. Now the crazed followers use its ancient chambers to perform blood sacrifices in an effort to resurrect their evil lord.
Lalai Wrote:The origins of black magic can be traced back many, many years - to the beginning of the Fifth Astral Era, to be precise. There lived at that time in Eorzea a powerful sorceress named Shatotto, who strived to push the destructive power of magic to its very limits. The typical practice of magi is to weave magic using their own aether. The ability to do so is the greatest magical gift, yet at the same time that gift's greatest limit.
Shatotto was able to overcome such inherent limitations by developing a new technique which allowed her to draw upon the aether all around her as the fount of her magic. It was this technique that came to be known as black magic. Following the War of the Magi and the Sixth Umbral Calamity, however, black magic was branded far too great a danger to life, and so its use and even its mere mention were made forbidden. Over time, it came to be forgotten entirely. Or so it was thought...
Raya-O-Senna Wrote:The art now known as white magic dates back to the Fifth Astral Era. It was then that a brilliant young sorceress - for the first time in history - succeeded in channeling not merely her own life energy, but the aether that inhabits the very land itself. Her magic was that of destruction: black magic. The people of Amdapor felt this power was too great to be allowed to go unchecked, and so it was that white magic - the magic of healing and solace - was born. So it was that the forces of magic were brought into equilibrium, and civilization flourished.
But this era of peace and prosperity would prove short lived. War broke out, and the realm was thrown into chaos. The War of the Magi. To rain death and destruction on their foes, mages summoned forth greater and greater powers. The war raged on, until the aether dried, and the land itself could bear the burden no longer. So did the hubris of the magi bring forth the Sixth Umbral Era... and with it a mighty flood that swept away entire civilizations, leaving naught but ruin and suffering in its wake.
The survivors - what few there were - banded together. Vowing never again to repeat their mistake, white and black magic were declared forbidden arts, never to be practiced again. The Elementals of the forest, knowing that men could not be trusted to keep such vows, took action as well. The Twelveswood grew, swallowing the ruins of Amdapor, and the power of white magic was sealed away deep in the forest, far from the reach of mortals.
Ages passed, until five centuries ago, the Elementals at long last welcomed people back into the forest. So the nation of Gridania was founded, and my people - the Padjal - came into being, to serve as mediators between Elementals and those who would reside in their forest home. It is from the Elementals themselves that we inherited white magic.
Tyago Moui Wrote:According to the loremasters' books, there was an age of shadow and calamity some fifteen hundred-odd years ago, when a great flood drowned the world─the sixth Umbral Era, they called it. Believers say it was the twelve Archons what came to fight the darkness then.
They say Ahldbhar was the mightiest of the twelve Archons. Rhalgr the Destroyer himself, taken form in Roegadyn flesh─a bloody mountain of a man, and a fearsome warrior, besides. You must've seen renderings of Rhalgr at some point─in paint or stone. Looks like a bag of angry muscles in a mage's robes, right? Aye, well, those are done in the likeness of Archon Ahldbhar.
Ahldbhar fought relentlessly against a clan of wicked sorcerers that sought only to wreak havoc on the world through their dark powers. But then, something happened... Something that threw Ahldbhar into deep despair. And in the end, he turned and took up with the enemy, though none can say as to why.
What came of him after his betrayal? Well, I confess I haven't heard the end of the tale myself. That bard's a wily bugger, see, and he only ever gets part way through before his throat dries out. Meaning I have to give him yet another bloody ale─free of charge, of course.
Raya-O-Senna Wrote:Oha-Sok is the collective fury of the elementals given form. Their suffering summoned her forth, and in her turn she stokes the fire of their rage with her keening. As I related to you earlier, it was the rage of the elementals that brought an end to the civilization of the Fifth Astral Era. And now the selfsame harbinger of that destruction is come once more. The histories vividly describe the fearsome nature of the elemental of nihility─or “the Wrath,†as she is sometimes called. It is writ that each time she keens, she sets off a hundred of her kind to doing the same. Ever more elementals shall join the keening, and so shall it continue until their chorus rends the land asunder. And then the heavens shall spill forth a deluge of tears, and the trees weep till they are hoarse of voice. Oha-Sok's awakening spells cataclysm for Eorzea...
Forlemort Wrote:The aether should be left be! Has history taught you naught about the folly of the Nymians? The Amdapori? The Mhachi?
Demon Wall Card Wrote:These frightful guardians are the creations of ancient spellcraft, given life when a chosen wall was inscribed with an arcane pattern of blood. Though their masters have long since perished, these sentinels of demonic visage continue to protect the crumbling ruins to which they are bound─to the surprise and horror of many an unsuspecting adventurer.
Demon Brick Minion Wrote:For many years, modern archeologists did not understand how a seemingly primitive civilization without clockwork or steam technology could build the massive stone structures of Amdapor. Animated bricks, such as this one that has chosen to follow you, may be the missing link.
Monarch Ogrefly Hunt Wrote:Monarch Ogrefly, the dread vilekin of the lost city of Amdapor. The barrier that seals in its infestations is considered sound... yet even the Gods' Quiver could not stop the monstrous Ogreflies from escaping with their deadly taint of mold and burrs.
Ghede Ti Malice Wrote:The first among gremlins in saltiness of speech, the Ghede Ti Malice finally lost its place in Amdapor after one too many contumelies. The Ghede Ti Malice wouldn't be the first to fall out with its gremlin mates. Thin skin and big mouths make for an uneasy combination.
Gravel Golem Wrote:Mage-controlled golems were in such wide use by the end of the Fifth Astral Era that entire battles were waged by armies comprised of nothing but the lifeless soulkin. This recreation, however, is nothing but a standard #001 mammet outfitted with simple gravel plating.
Mahisha Wrote:In death does Mahisha find its purpose, and so the scent of corse-flower is sweet to this creature. A stele unearthed at Nym records Mahisha was summoned during the War of the Magi in the Fifth Astral Era, for the conquest of the Floating City. The ploy failed and Mahisha was bound at great cost, by the efforts of some two-score phrontists at Nym. What broke the tethers is not known, though there are theories ranging from the Calamity to the humble weevil.
