FFXIV Lore- Understanding the Twelve

come on it should be further down here i hope so this place hasn't exactly been friendly well that's what happens when stuff gets abandoned nature is pretty fast about taking things back and it doesn't play favorites still would be nice not to have to fight for our lives for one week no rest for the wicked i'm afraid ah here it is i think the 12 it's all still here again with this 12 stop do you even believe they exist i guess i'd say yes and no i believe in the ideals they represent in the hope they bring i don't believe in some entity sitting on a cloud looking down on and judging me every day if the gods do exist they have better things to do than watch me read makes sense but i can't say i know much about them past their number and having to do with the elements well here help me look through these and i'll explain while we search here what are we looking for again the history and advanced practices of aetherology written by a charlatan author i want to compare their notes against what i found in the thaumaturge guild we butchered a small legion of monsters for a book on spellcraft will you just help me look please as for the twelve let me start at the beginning the worship of the twelve is something that's rooted primarily in eorzea but it's something that's been a part of aorzia's culture for more than five thousand years even during the days of the elegant empire references to the six and six deities can still be found no one knows exactly when or how the worship of the twelve started it can be assumed the earliest evidence of their worship would be the second umbral calamity the calamity of lightning regardless we see evidence of their influence in our daily lives after all there are 12 months and modern astrology uses a 12-year cycle i'm going to be sick of the word 12 by the end of this aren't i yeah probably so even without these gods the number 12 is kind of all over the place it's kind of crazy how often it pops up from a historical point of view while the gods are rooted in aorzga's creation myth the mythos itself had multiple different iterations but thankfully a wise charlene named lufon spent years picking them all apart and put together what he believes to be the original creation myth and since lufon was an overachiever he created the spell school of astromancy while he was at it but allow me to quote the 12's creation myth in the beginning there was neither light nor darkness only the whirl it was not until all thick emerged thence in his nakedness did time take its first steps forward with him the keeper also carried weight and with weight were the realms of land and firmament defined yet allthick wouldn't be alone over long for soon from the world did another step forth her name was nimia and she was but a mewling babe who could do not but weep and soon her tears had created a vast lake althich seeking companionship in the early realm of his creation took the goddess under his wing and cared for her as one would a daughter as anemia grew however so too did their love for one another until it could no longer be contained culminating in a divine coupling which resulted in the birth of two holy daughters azima the sun and menfina the moon and with their advent was day and night conceived so did countless cycles of light and darkness pass before from the world once again did another step forth tholiak bearer of wisdom and knowledge looked upon the silent unchanging lake left behind by nimeo's tears and coaxed from it a river to carry that water to the far corners of the realm azima drawn to thaliak's sagicity professed her love to the new deity and begot him two daughters lim lane who took the water created by her grandmother and expanded it into the world's seas the second daughter was lonely nothika who wanting for companionship created her own playmates and thus brought life into the world it was not until life had spread throughout the land and newly created seas that a new god appeared though whence the others did not know for the world lay dormant his name was oshan and where he wandered did towering mountains rise from level plains with formation of these spires did cold wind flow from on high down to the warm seas and back up again carrying life that was once reserved for land and water into the skies those winds did bring love into the heart of lim lane yet though she longed to be with o'shawn his wanderlust prevented the two from ever being joined ever long and lo did they never beget children of their own this was a time of great creation but also great chaos ocean's mountains rose and fell at his whims thaliak's rivers flowed hither and thither and lim lane's seas ever expanded swallowing entire swathes of land before the gods even knew they were gone to bring order to this chaos nimiya pried forth a mighty comet from the heavens and gave it life directing it down to the world that it may destroy the excess her sons and daughters had wrought while bringing harmony once again to the realm and for many days and nights was the world calm the gods content in the order which now reigned supreme that is until the world woke from its slumber and beckoned forth two final deities by our god and his younger sister helone it was feared that the untamed and ambitious siblings might once again usher chaos unto the world so to see that they were properly disciplined nimia quickly made them wards of roger the destroyer a builder by nature bargat resented his newfound stepfather who could teach him only destruction choosing instead to spend most of his time in the tutelage of thaliak the scholar bestowed upon his eager student the knowledge he would use to forge the tools and techniques of creation though more open to her new stepfather's teachings helone too grew restless longing to test her strength an opportunity arose when o'shawn invited the young goddess on one of his journeys it was during these travels that helona's ambition slowly transformed into a lust for battle while on the road she would challenge every creature she met honing her skills and methodically devising new techniques for killing when norfolka mother of life learned of helone's wonton destruction of her creatures she was angered beyond words and swore revenge but the fury ignored the matrons challenges widening the rift between the two ocean feeling responsible for this rift devised a plan to calm norfolka from within the mountains of his creation o'shawn summoned a font of magma which spewed forth onto the land upon cooling the magma took the form of the twelfth and final god the duel aspected naldthal with naughtthal oshan had provided a god to oversee the souls of those who met their deaths and provide them with peace in the afterlife satisfied that her creations would no longer wander the void aimlessly nafika agreed to a truce with helone and with the advent of the twelfth and final god was the pantheon complete but before they could call an end to their toil they first required a realm in which they could reside and watch over their myriad creation to this end he created the seven heavens into there did they finally retreat bequeathing the rule of eorzea to mankind i didn't know creation myth was so involved right it explains the world life death and more than a few phenomena we're used to seeing it's no wonder people gravitate to the 12 so easily they give context for things people don't understand while also remaining familiar but what's that world that kept creating them no one knows could be an elder god or some kind of uncontrolled cosmic power or just a natural force your gas is as good as anyone's so let me get this straight al thick god of time in nimiya the goddess of fate were born from the world got together and that made azima goddess of the sun and menfina goddess of the moon yes then thalia god of knowledge came from the world met azeema they also got together making lim ling goddess of navigation and nafika goddess of abundance correct then oshan god of wanters just kind of shows up and lim lane falls in love with him but he's not entirely interested yeah he kind of just arrives it doesn't say he came from the whorl either he's just there then nimiya got mad at the gods reckless behavior and threw a comment at the world to teach the younger deities a lesson that comment became roger god of destruction yes then bergot god of the arts in helone goddess of war were the last deities to come from the world and were put under the care of ralger bear god hated roger's domain and was tutored by thalik instead but helloni enjoyed ralger's domain a bit too much and and oshan made nod thal god of commerce so helloni's love for battle wouldn't ruin the world a bit reductive but yeah that's the creation myth in a koopa nut well that explains how the gods came to exist and what role they played in making the world but doesn't really explain all their jobs or what their heavens have to do with all this true enough lucky for you i've studied in charlie and astrology so we can discuss that too it's said that when people die their soul goes to one of the heavens best suited for them we begin at the first heaven or the heaven of earth where althak the keeper and nothica the matron reside as you now understand all thick is the god of time and observer of space while nothika is the goddess of life in nature malthik is just spending time with his granddaughter then in a wholesome way naufica planted a holy seed although used his power over time on it making it rapidly grow into the world tree which is a constant source of life under and on its branches rest the souls of naturalists farmers historians and archaeologists and botanists most likely yeah people pray to nothika for fertile harvests and healthy lives meanwhile being the first god allthick is mostly worshipped by leaders and overseers often you'll see the heads of households wearing his symbol you'd think there'd be more worship for a god of time but i barely heard alfix name well time's movement forward means change is inevitable and change scares most people but that's why other is so caring and nurturing he understands that while sometimes terrifying change is necessary for growth and improvement a lesson he learned well since he's been around from the beginning after that is the second heaven the heaven of fire that is where naldthal the traitors created a city of gold the bricks and mortar for this city were forged from the sun that azeema the warden created this city is where all the honest just and philanthropic souls can find sanctuary so why is non-doll's name split up sometimes nald and thall are technically twins naldol is the singular deity they create when together he's the god of the dead and commerce which is why you see so many tradesmen and undertakers praising him meanwhile azima is a goddess of inquiry and righteousness as the sun goddess she serves to illuminate and cast down the wicked so that the just may revel in her light so the god of death imbalance works with the goddess of illumination and justice that's fair though a city of gold under a blazing sun sounds like an oven but that explains why some people aren't as scared of death it's easy to move on knowing someone is waiting for you and plans on judging you fairly of course nothal is pragmatic able to judge the value of a coin and the integrity of your soul he's the ultimate appraiser meanwhile nothing can hide under azima's light all truths and lies are laid bare in front of her next up are the two living within the third heaven or heaven of lightning buyer got the builder and roger the destroyer you've got the rebellious creator and the wrathful destroyer on the same heaven i didn't put them there in the heaven of lightning stands a massive mechanical tower this tower was built by byrgott as a testament to creation and advancement rolger wasn't too happy that his stepson quite literally did the opposite of what he was told and often strikes the tower with bolts of destructive lightning but it's that same lightning that fuels the tower and keeps it powered since the tower itself was designed to absorb roger's rage a destruction fuels creation and vice versa makes sense so what souls live on this heaven well inside that tower the souls of architects revolutionaries and conquerors of evil are able to rest so gods of the same element can be polar opposites i suppose that means the elements themselves are just as versatile indeed creation and destruction are two sides of the same coin one cannot exist without the other just like how no one element is used purely for good or evil everything is relative i assume then that creators builders and artists pray to burgot for guidance while those who breed of religior usually pray to be a force of nature like destruction itself indeed they do following that is the fourth heaven the heaven of wind here rests a breezy mountain range that overlooks a mighty ocean ocean the wanderer stands atop these mountains and looks down over the sea ruled by lim lane the navigator limsa lumensa is always talking about the navigator understandable the ocean is her domain as well as the winds that roll over it wait a goddess of wind is in charge of the oceans not water or something like that strange i know but i guess it's because the ocean's currents carry things beneath the waves much like how air currents carry things through the sky as the goddess of navigation she guides these currents regardless of where they are what about oshan does he live on those mountains kinda he sort of comes and goes but his mountain range is where the souls of adventurers explorers saints and guides are able to rest so people who want safe travels probably pray to oshan and anything involving the sea is a prayer for lim lane right indeed and anyone praying for guidance during tough choices usually pray to them both as well the fifth heaven or the heaven of water is a majestic river overseen by nimia the spinner and thaliak the scholar the river was created when nimiya melted a star into thaliak's ewer he added the essence of knowledge to the ewer and once it was turned over the eternal river began to pour from it ah so i take it the souls of scholars teachers and wise people relax on or around this river and you'd be right but apparently inventors and entrepreneurs can be counted among them as well so as a self-proclaimed professor you pray to thaliak to find your books right i never called myself that but technically i could also pray to nimiya too she's the spinner of fate and watcher of stars after all a while back you said fader destiny ruins the idea of free will it does but in this case you can say she's spinning together threads of possibility that become the tapestry of your life if just one of those threads was right then i guess it was fate in a weird way wait a second now that i think about it i've seen that alex symbol before the archon luis suarez had that symbol on his staff observant yes his staff was called tomati and did have thaliak symbol some rumors even say that the staff was blessed by thaliak himself making it uniquely powerful didn't luis wah try to invoke the twelve during the seventh unbridled calamity why didn't it work if he already had thaliak's blessing that is hard to explain and maybe we'll get back to that another time once we're done here but finally is the sixth heaven also known as the heaven of ice that's where hellone the fury and menfina the lover resides love and war are in the same place this feels strange understandable allow me to explain helona used her spear to carve a palace of ice out of the moonlight that came from minfina's moon it's within these halls of crystal ice that the souls of champions honored knights and faithful lovers reside so while home to the goddess of war it is also built from the rays made of the goddess of love i take it so that even violence can be calmed by mercy and compassion right exactly violence can be born from defending the things we love but it's also that same love and empathy that stops a weapon from harming the innocent and defeated action and restraint precisely well from what you've been saying there are clear themes here each of the 12 gods represent something important to our lives and has a partner that complements them it's all connected so now that we've covered the gods and their domains you tell me where you've seen them worship the most in our travels let's see like i said the people of limsa lumensa practically adore lamb lane people in ulda seem to worship non thal not surprising since they're heavily focused on mercantile trade i think i saw a norfolk symbol in gridania over the conjurers guild the people of alamigo still worship ralger and i've heard too much about helloni from ishgard a lot of talk about heresy up there thankfully they've recently calmed down a lot but good memory though you could also add that the once respectable civilization of nim worshipped oshan the islands of old charlien have shrines dedicated to thaliak and the makote as a race hold azima and menfina in high regard since they are seekers of the sun and keepers of the moon respectfully but i doubt i had to remind you of that through but i have not thought about this stuff in a while i forgot just how involved the twelve are on this continent let alone everyday life now you understand why people value the idea of the twelve so much despite their silence no matter what you do in life it feels good knowing there's someone smiling down at you with approval so long as you live humbly ayorzia itself is called the land touched by the gods and forged by heroes after all what about the seventh heaven if no gods live there do no souls live there well the seventh heaven is undefined i personally like to imagine the seventh is beyond life and death where one becomes all and all becomes one like perfection it's a finish line to run toward but never to be crossed which is why the gods themselves never reside there makes sense i guess so i take the hells are basically the awful versions of the heavens where all the trash of the world goes yes basically all the good things happening in the six heavens have side effects which created the elemental hells causing misery for the souls trapped within them bandits murderers thieves traitors cowards defilers and basically anyone without any sense of standards fill up the six hells with the seventh hell snuffing your soul out of existence for being an unrepentant fool that only brings pain and misery but that's a principle that was only made popular by a playwright in the six astral era and i can't remember their name for the life of me speaking of names is this the author you've been looking for uh let me look yes wonderful work i was sure we'd be here for a few hours at least guess thaliak is happy to see us spreading knowledge and wants to contribute i guess so think the 12 right indeed my friend hello everyone thanks for staying to the end of the lesson if you enjoyed this and want to see more subscribe and like this video to let me know i'm doing well if there is a topic you'd want me to cover in the future leave a comment about it and i'll see what i can do until next week me i'll be researching even more of our world's rich lord to share with you till then stay safe my friends

Channel: Synodic Scribe

Views: 42,598

Keywords: ffxiv, FFXIV, Final Fantasy 14, mmorpg, mmo, lore, gaming, educational

Id: c0QyKEvxbZw

Length: 25min 16sec (1516 seconds)

Published: Sat Nov 13 2021