OTHER BOOKS

A library of one's own writings is all well and fine, but smacks of ego.  And indeed, how are we to trade in knowledge if we do not also accept the stories and songs of others, in their own words?

Herein you will find a repository of books that were written by others in Eorzea.  May they bless you with greater knowledge!

((The following are transcripts of books that are available in-game. ))

• The Boy and the Dragon Gay

• Eorzean Cuisine: A History

• Essences and Permutations

• The Flora and Fauna of Tural

• Lines in the Sand: The Geopolitics of Hydaelyn

• On Garlean Hierarchy

• Over the Horizon

• Principles of Blue Magic and Spell Acquisition

• Proceedings of the Council of Magi

• The Warring Triad

The Boy and the Dragon Gay

THE BOY AND THE DRAGON GAY

(With literary analysis)

Once upon a time, there lived a free-spirited boy who loved to play in the forest with his pet chocobo.  But the forests were fraught with peril, and one day, a band of brigands ambushed the boy, spiriting him away to the harsh mountains of the north.

Yet there be dragons there, and as they rode up in the mountain path, one of those majestic beasts came swooping down from the heavens.  The boy's chocobo reared in fright, sending the boy tumbling down the mountainside to his nigh-certain demise.

And yet the gods saw fit to spare his life, if only meagerly so.  As he lay there, battered and broken, all manner of foul beasts drew near, threatening to rip him limb from limb.  Just as the boy was making his peace with the Twelve, another dragon appeared.  A smaller creature, yes, but even a small dragon is a fearsome opponent indeed.

It was then that the strangest thing happened.  With a mighty roar, the dragon turned upon the circling beasts and spit forth a burst of flames that reduced them to so much ash, saving the poor boy's life.  With what half seemed a smile, the dragon approached the wounded child and gently raised him up to sit on his back, and the two flew off to the gods know where.

A Literary Analysis

Many scholars believe that the popular children's tale of the Boy and the Dragon Gay is, in fact, an adaptation of an older Ishgardian myth, one telling of which is transcribed below for the reader's reference:

In a bleak village on the outskirts of Coerthas there lived a shepherd boy, poor but kind of heart.  One day a band of ruffians came and spirited the boy away, seeking to deliver him to a slave trader in hopes of earning some coin.

No sooner had they left the village than they were set upon by a great dragon.  Down from the heavens it swooped, tearing the blackguards limb from limb and charring their carcasses with hellsfire.

But it was by no mere chance that the great wyrm had found them, no!  The boy had befriended the great wyrm some time ago, and it had sensed the danger to its dear friend.

Alas, in the chaos, the boy had tumbled from the mountains, and lay half-dying at the base of the cliff.  Seeing its dear friend lying there, battered and beaten, the dragon gave unto the child of its blood.  So it was that the boy took to the skies as the wyrm's minion, flying off to only the gods know where...

Eorzean Cuising: A History

Eorzean cuisine:
A History

It is impossible to adequately discuss Eorzean cuisine without speaking of that land from which many of our modern-day staples hail: the far-western continent of Tural. Ogre pumpkins, ruby tomatoes, even the ubiquitous popoto--these crops and more that regularly grace Eorzean dining tables trace their origins to the "New World", as the place is known to most.

The tale of this culinary immigration begins in the year 1498 of the Sixth Astral Era, when a Lominsan sailor named Ketenramm successfully traversed the Indigo Deep to arrive at the theretofore unknown continent. Ketenramm spent several moons exploring inland, in the course of which he encountered the denizens of the sprawling nation of Mamool Ja. He was even granted an audience with their supreme leader, whose confidence he won along with permission to roam freely.

Ketenramm would return to Tural several times, but during his first expedition he charted the land and gathered myriad root vegetables and seeds to bring back to Limsa Lominsa. The most notable of these was the popoto, whose ease of cultivation and nutritional value saw it quickly spread to all corners of Eorzea.

Produce was far from the only bounty of Ketenramm's expeditions to Tural. Many tantalizing recipes such as the bean-filled burrito and gripping legends such as that of the golden city reached our shores by way of his ship.

To those outside of Ketenramm's circle, Tural largely remains shrouded in mystery, yet its influence on our cuisine cannot be overstated. Many scholars--myself included--would relish the chance to immerse themselves in the culinary culture of that faraway continent.

ESSENCES AND PERMUTATIONS

ESSENCES AND PERMUTATIONS

Chapter 1: The Six Nativities and Myriad Creation

The spark of Lightning ignites when it strikes, and thus Fire is born.
The heat of Fire renders to ash all that it touches, and thus Earth is born.​
The density of Earth shuns sun and harbors cold, and thus Ice is born.​
The armor of Ice melts away, and thus Water is born.​
The moistness of Water mists and rises, and thus Wind is born.​
The gusts and sighs of Wind gather the clouds, and thus Lightning is born.

Chapter 2: The Three Conquests, Boundless and Unwavering

Earth grounds Lightning.
Water erodes Earth.
Lightning boils Water.

Chapter 3: The Three Submissions, Timeless and Unwavering

Fire is extinguished by wind.
Ice is melted by fire.
Wind is obstructed by ice.

Dynamic Opposites and the Bifurcation of Polarity

The six elements are manifest in all things great and small, and their polarity deriveth from the Astral heavens above and the Umbral depths below.

The Flora and Fauna of Tural

The flora and fauna of tural

Every land has given rise to unique wildlife, and the continent of Tural is no exception. Yet while some of her creatures have become a familiar sight in Eorzea, many and more exist that are rarely seen this side of the Indigo Deep. This tome introduces a select variety of species as described in the testimonies of sailors and adventurers.

Alpaca

Accustomed to Tural's craggy mountain ranges, this four-legged beastkin has been domesticated for seemingly hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Their soft, white fleece is highly prized by weavers, while their strong legs and sure-footedness make them capable beasts of burden.

Wivre

This ferocious scalekin is native to the dense jungles of Tural. The Mamool Ja have succeeded in taming them and utilize their prodigious strength for manual labor. Given their immense size and power, it should come as no surprise that the wivre is also employed as a siege beast. Enemy fortifications cannot long withstand this horned brute's rampage.

Valigarmanda

Turali folklore holds that this birdlike creature is the mightiest of beasts and the very embodiment of nature's power. Whether it exists beyond myth, however, is uncertain.

Lines in the Sand:
The Geopolitics of Hydaelyn

Lines in the Sand:
The Geopolitics of Hydaelyn

Let us begin by comparing the geographical characteristics of the Three Great Continents and Tural. The former stretches from east to west, and lies entirely within the northern hemisphere. In contrast, the latter extends to the far reaches of both northern and southern hemispheres, and a difference immediately presents itself in the form of climate variance.

Shifts in climate tend to be gentler when moving east and west, but harsher when moving north and south. Owing to this fact, longitudinal migration is far more common in history, whether it be by men, animals, or plants. A case in point is the Allagans, who rose to power in Aldenard before advancing east into Ilsabard. Their movement would be mirrored thousands of years later by the Garleans.

Meanwhile, although the disparate tribes of Tural waged war with one another for generations, stymied by the climate, none could make any great headway north or south. Tribes hailing from frozen lands withered beneath the direct sun, while those that thrived in open plains could not pierce dense jungle. Such was the way of it--until the leader of the Mamool Ja succeeded in bringing the continent under one banner. Given the land's divided history and the reason thereof, one cannot help but be in awe of this feat. Truly, it is a testament to the Autarch's greatness.

ON GARLEAN HIERARCHY

ON GARLEAN HIERARCHY

The rise of the Garlean Empire in the Year 1522 of the Sixth Astral Era led to significant changes in the structure of Garlean society.  This is most evident in the adoption of titles which serve to indicate an individual's place within the social hierarchy.

The following information was compiled with the aid of informants within the Empire and has yet to be verified:

Royalty:

• Zos - The emperor

• Yae - Member of the royal family in the line of succession

• Wir - Member of the royal family with no claim to the throne

Military:

• Van - Legatus

• Tol - Tribunus laticlavius

• Sas - Tribunus angusticlavius or Praefectus castrorum

• Rem - Primus pilus or Pilus prior

• Quo - Primi ordines or Centurion

• Pyr - Optio, Tesserarius, or Decurion

• Oen - Duplicarius or Legionarius

Specialists:

• Nan - Chief engineer or engineer

• Mal - Primus medicus or senior magitek technician

• Lux - Chief medicus or magitek technician

• Kir - Senior medicus or senior technician

• Jen - Medicus or technician

Public Officials:

• Iyl - Dictator or Princeps senatus

• Het - Consul, Praetor, Tribunus plebis, Aedilis, or Quaestor

• Goe - Censor

• Fae - Unknown

• Eir - Unknown

• Dus - Lictor

This hierarchy extends to the general populace as well, though it is far less complex.  The majority of citizens bear the "Bas" title, and there is a smaller group which appears to be comprised of respected artisans who have adopted the "Cen" title.

The "Aan" title is bestowed upon the peoples of annexed territories and indicates that they lack even the most basic rights afforded to a citizen.  However, many Garleans view this as an opportunity rather than a condemnation, as citizenship may be granted to those who have demonstrated exceptional skills, as well as those who have contributed twenty or more years of military service.

Over the Horizon

OVER THE HORIZON

(And OVER THE HORIZON: REDUX)

Over the Horizon

Though there is some debate as to whether or not Merlwyb Bloefhiswyn and her League of Lost Bastards were the first Eorzeans to discover the western continent, there is no denying that their navigational charts were instrumental in establishing the major trade routes of today.

Moreover, the accounts from the expedition are widely regarded as both informative and entertaining.  Of particular note is their first encounter with the Mamool Ja, as well as other indigenous peoples and creatures which seemed curiously intent on their demise.

These travel journals have since inspired a legion of explorers and treasure hunters to retrace the League's journey. Yet in spite of their numbers, the existence of "a bleedin' city o' gold" remains unconfirmed...

Over the Horizon Redux

It is widely known that the Mamool Ja boast one of the most impressive indigenous societies to be found in the New World.  it would be a mistake, however, to view the Mamool Ja as a single, uniform people.

A careful analysis of documents brought back by explorers reveals that the Mamool Ja are more accurately described as a federation or alliance of numerous distantly related tribes, each with distinguishing physical characteristics: the brown-scaled Hoobigo with their distinctively long combs, the large-eyed, blue-scaled Boonewa, and the mottled Doppro.

It is further said that although Mamool Ja rarely marry outside their own tribes, such unions do occur on the occasion of certain religious observances, and are known to produce two-headed offspring that are hailed as "blessed siblings" and groomed to be warlords from a young age.  Indeed, the Autarch, ruler of all Mamool Ja kind, is known to be one of them...

Principles of Blue Magic
and Spell Acquisition

principles of blue magic and spell acquisition

The origins of blue magic can be traced back to the esoteric practices of the Whalaqee, a tribe in the distant continent of Tural. The tribe holds nature in the highest, and in seeking to cultivate a spiritual connection with it, they have learned to harness the power of the wildlife around them.

In exchange for teaching them the common tongue, I was permitted to live among them and train in their ways. Those days were some of the most grueling I can remember, but they were tremendously rewarding.

For instance, I had the privilege of visiting Lapis Canyon, the tribe's sacred grounds. It is so named for the ceruleum deposit that wells up to the surface, turning the entire canyon a brilliant blue.

Under a shaman's watchful eye, I finally managed to master the Whalaqee's art and make the animals' powers my own. As no name existed for it in the common tongue, I took the liberty of naming it blue magic. The reason I chose this color, as you will have doubtless gleaned, is for the significance it holds for the Whalaqee. I cannot think of a name more fitting to honor the people from whom this noble magic was born.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE COUNCIL OF MAGI

PROCEEDINGS OF THE COUNCIL OF MAGI

Proceedings of the 284th Convocation of the Amdapori Council of Magi

A Vote was called to settle on a Name for a potent and newly fashioned Healing-Spell.

Being that said Healing-Spell was an Augmentation of Curaga, erst the most potent Healing-Spell, the following Names were proposed by the Council:

Curago, Curaza, Curaja, Curagura

Finding the afore-written Names duly lacking in Gravity and the existing Hierarchy of Spell-Names needlessly abstruse, the Council did Vote by a margin of Seventeen to Three to do away with existing Naming-Conventions entirely and adopt a new system of numerical Spell-Names, as write below, to be used henceforth.

Cure I, Cure II, Cure III, Cure IV

It is recorded.

the warring triad

the warring triad

"The Warring Triad" is the collective term for three immensely powerful eikons that were brought into existence during the twilight of the Third Astral Era. Summoned by the native tribes of Meracydia, these entities were set against the encroaching forces of the Allagan Empire.

The strength of a primal is determined by the fervent prayers of its faithful. And as the Meracydians' prayers called for saviors with the power to throw back an imperial invasion, the resulting incarnations were perforce imbued with nigh-incalculable might.

That the Allagans were capable of conquering such godlike beings well illustrates the incredible heights to which their technology had ascended. The implacable empire subdued and imprisoned the Warring Triad--shackled them to machinery that sustained the eikons' forms whilst at the same time leeching away their infinite energies.

For five millennia did the Warring Triad languish thus in dreaming servitude, their slumber undisturbed until Archbishop Thordan VII of Ishgard rattled the bars of their cage.

the awakening

The Archbishop had come to Azys Lla seeking to absorb the three's power and make of himself a god without rival. It was fortunate, then, that the Warrior of Light and his companions thwarted Thordan before he realized his tyrannical ambitions--but the victory was not without consequence.

The violence of the battle cracked the seals that keep the Triad in torpor, and the eikons have begun to stir. Worse, the Garlean Empire and their heavy-handed efforts to plunder the secrets of Azys Lla threaten to drag them into full wakefulness.

These terrible entities must be destroyed before they arise in all their cataclysmic splendor.

Chapter 1: sephirot

The Warrior of Light has toppled the first of the Warring Triad. We knew little of Sephirot other than that he was the chief deity of a tribe of treelike beings--a sacred tree ascended to godhood. Allagan histories discovered upon the event of his destruction, however, have brought fascinating new facts to light.

These recordings attribute to Sephirot the ability to "induce spontaneous growth in living organisms through the manipulation of ambient aetheric energy." It is noted that the eikon did not hesitate to direct this ability upon himself. Sephirot grew to gigantic proportions during his conflict with the armies of Allag, using his own colossal limbs to cut great swaths of destruction through their ranks. He was eventually overwhelmed, however, and his abilities contained.

The Allagans performed experiments upon the captured eikon, siphoning his growth-inducing energies into the cultivation of numerous chimerical monstrosities--one unnatural existence propagating countless others.

When one believes one's control unbreakable, however, a single, overlooked flaw inevitably leads to catastrophe. I know of at least one civilization that collapsed under the weight of such hubris...

Chapter 2: A persistent foe

The Garlean Empire's VIth Legion has breached the core laboratories of Azys Lla's research facility. Seeking to prevent the imperials from extracting the Genesis Expression, the Warrior of Light and his allies pursued the legatus and his soldiers, and succeeded in denying him the vital formula.

The Garleans claim their interest in primal-harnessing technology comes from a desire to constrain the entities' wanton destruction. But while this purpose seems perfectly noble, such control would place the power of gods in the hands of a select group of men. Who then might oppose the emperor should he wish to sunder the world? And what guarantee prevents error and happenstance from setting the primals free? Ever would the threat of their accidental awakening loom above our heads.

By "harnessing" a primal, one is also condensing and concentrating its vast energies. Upon the being's release, its long-suppressed power and simmering rancor explodes with unimaginable violence. With their potency increased far beyond that of the typical beastman-summoned deity, the defeat of harnessed entities becomes exponentially more arduous. Such might can only be overcome with more might.

...But ultimately, the battle has no victor. When powers of this magnitude collide, they consume immense reservoirs of aether. The star will be drained of life before the clash can be decided, and all will crumble into oblivion.