FFXIV Lore- What it Means to be a Monk

young alamegans were playing around wronger's reach one of the youths said they saw something amazing the last time they were here and wanted to show their friends they were skeptical but decided to indulge her around the base of the cliff they sat and waited getting baked by the afternoon sun as their friend insisted that they needed to be patient if they were to see it their friends were about to give up and go home until a pair of robed figures began to walk out together onto a raised platform one of them was wearing a robe of yellowish gold the other wearing a robe of dark purple the girl insisted this was what they were waiting to see and they all watched with baited breath soon the golden figure stopped allowing the other to continue so that they might get in position and turn to face them both of these individuals brought their hands together and presented each other with a deep and respectful bow with the ceremony concluded both figures assumed different stances as the air became dead quiet the young alamegans didn't see what happened next as the dark robed person practically disappeared their stance was broken and their fist had collided with the light robed figure it took the children a moment to realize it was an attack and their opponent had blocked it soon the lighter road fighter answered this assault with a flurry of kicks forcing their opponent to back off and try again over and over these two dashed collided and fought at first it was like watching a dance but as their bell raged on the raw force of their strikes became so obvious that even the children knew that no normal person could survive such an attack their robes began to shine with brilliant light the darker robe was like a black sun devouring the light around it and the brighter robe shined like the dawn's reflection off of the freshly fallen snow finally their fight erupted with a clash that caused a shockwave to ripple through roger's reach the young ones were in shock at this tangible display of power only to hear the crumbling of rocks as they realized that the battle had loosened a stack of boulders above them the children screamed and shut their eyes as the rocks began to fall catching the attention of the two fighters who paused their battle they both realized what was happening in an instant and without a moment's hesitation they both rushed across the reach together they broke apart and moved aside all the falling stones so that only dust may touch their audience the kids that had wanted to see their duel opened their eyes and saw them a man and woman standing tall their brutal fists opening up and offering the most gentle of hands as the two helped escort the young ones from roger's reach they lectured the kids on snooping around but ended their meeting on a high note offering them the chance to watch up close next time within the temple of the fist welcome back my friends today we're headed up to the northeastern mountains of eorzea to analyze a discipline that almost ended up running an entire country the practitioners of this art train themselves both body and soul to honor and pay respect to roger god of destruction while dangerous they truly believe in peace that devastation should only serve to remove things that would put an end to harmony such as the will of roger himself so today my friends let us come together so that we might meditate and reflect on what it means to truly give yourself to the heat of battle today let us discuss what it means to be a monk the origins of this respectable arc can trace their roots all the way back to the sixth umbral calamity during the great floods caused by the calamity of water many people were desperate to find safety from the rising tides many here found salvation in a wayward comet that shone brilliantly as it raced across the night sky the comet burned with a radiant light and showed the way north into the high mountains of girobanya so broad and mighty were these mountains that even the flooding of the world could not drown them the here and other species that were guided north by the comet found sanctuary in these majestic mountains the comet was heralded as a blessing from wronger himself and this devotion to the god of destruction eventually evolved into an organized religion becoming known as the fist of ralger in the early years of this religion they were still finding their identity as a monastic group they of course spent many days in prayer to rulger which steadily evolved into deep meditation and self-reflection this was all well and good but they wished to praise roger through the methods this god was known for destruction of course mindless violence against the land and its people would be utter madness so eventually they took to a different approach instead of showcasing their will to destroy against girobanya the followers of the fist would do so against each other this is what began the long-standing traditions of ritual combat that the fist of roger is known for as such in the sixth century of the six astral era the monks of the fist of roger were officially a recognized and respected discipline the fist of ralger would make the mountains of garibanya their home but they didn't choose just any location they would spend centuries carving the stone and cliffs into beautiful shapes and practical housing the monks even crafted a gigantic statue in the likeness of their guardian deity to show their devotion at the top of these mountains would finally rest the temple of the fist with the surrounding cliffs becoming known as roger's reach the lake at the center of the reach was said to have been formed when the guiding comet finally landed in girobanya making this a holy site for the monks and would-be pilgrims what began as a mild martial art to praise a god steadily became more of an elegant yet aggressive form of combat the monks of the fist would use their bodies and souls to do battle with one another but it was through meditation and the abandonment of oneself that they discovered the thing that would solidify their new martial art they discovered the nature of what they called chakras by mastering chakras the monks were able to develop attacks and techniques that could turn a normal punch or kick into something that could obliterate a massive object in a single motion their goal was to become a force of nature one that could easily destroy all that oppose them but willingly choose not to by becoming that powerful and humble at the same time it is said that the monks reach enlightenment and walk the same path as the god of destruction himself eventually the country of al amigo would be founded by anshelm kotter in the year 1135 this means that the monks of garibanya pre-date al amigo by almost several hundred years despite this the fist of vulgar kept to themselves and remained separate from the city-state for centuries not only were the monks devoted to their training and meditation but roger's reach had become a famous site of pilgrimage for those wishing to honor the twelve gods the reach had become so popular that members of the fist created a tavern and inn for visitors and initiates what's more there was never any trouble since the monks themselves would deal with any bandits or monsters that plagued the area but this all changed after all amigos failed invasion of gridania after the failure of the autumn war al amigo was thrown into chaos as their economy collapsed creating constant civil unrest this was eventually a problem that the fist of wralger couldn't ignore the monk hood descended from the mountains using their overwhelming power to end the violence quickly and establish order the monks were so efficient in calming the citizenry and restoring balance to al amigo that the king's power and authority was threatened before all faith in the crown could disappear the king named the fist of wragger as al-amigo's official religion thus granting the high-ranking monks a seat as advisers to the throne they were even bestowed with honorary roles in alamigo's military this pleased the people of alamigo knowing that the monks would help bring balance and prosperity to their country this worked extremely well for a time as the monk's philosophy meant they couldn't be corrupted by things like political influence or financial gains but all of this ended with the reign of theodric the first also known as the mad king theodric was completely insane and saw enemies in every shadow of his castle eventually he saw the monks of the fist as a threat to his rule and devised a plan to remove them the mad king proclaimed that nimiya the spinner had anointed him as her chosen vassal and that the monks must submit to his rule just like how roger hearkened to the voice of the goddess understandably the monks were disgusted by this turn of events and openly objected but this is what theodric wanted and in the year 1552 he used their open defiance as an excuse to brand them as traitors and execute them this caught the fist of roger completely by surprise monks and priests were assassinated without pity as alamigo's standing army was made to burn roger's reach soon the monks began fighting for their lives but they were so greatly outnumbered that even the strongest among them was getting overrun senior monks began to willingly engage in losing battles just to give their apprentices the chance to run from girabanya and the mad king's bloodlust very few members of the fist of roger survived that purge and for a time people thought that the monks of the fist were gone for good but recently at the dawn of the seventh astral era survivors of the purge and those that had inherited amongst soul stone have been making their way back to roger's reach it may be very soon that the thunderous sounds of ritual combat shall echo through girobanya once more and that is the brief recounting of the monk's labored history but now let us turn our attention to the powers and abilities that scared the mad king so much in the first place as stated the monks practice a martial art that is entirely unique to the fist of roger training to become a monk was intense and as such not everyone in the temple of the fist was a martial arts master in fact many members of the fist of wronger were simply priests philosophers and crafters but those that trained hard enough did indeed become apprentice monks while the martial art handed down through the fist is uniquely powerful it's the control of chakras that sets a monk apart from all other disciplines in our world in all honesty chakra is just another name for one's personal pool of aether but the monks of the fist discovered that someone's body naturally has limiters or gates that prevent excessive release or use of aether under normal circumstances these closed chakra gates ensure that someone doesn't spend or lose their aether unnecessarily without them people could lose their aether all at once and die from it but through ritual combat the monks realized that these gates could be forced open allowing for the vast channeling of aether through their entire bodies what was normally a casual stream became a raging river this much ether being made to flow through their bodies is the true strength behind a monk it elevates their bodies to another level allowing them to move at blinding speeds and deliver attacks that could easily break stone and metal it's said that there are seven chakra gates in one's body and monks train night and day to be able to open the seventh chakra this was originally the mark of mastery but shortly before the betrayal of the mag king the monks began to realize that the seven points were each duel aspected a gate of light and a gate of darkness seven chakra points each with two gates meaning that a monk could only be considered a supreme master if they've opened all 14 chakra gates and gained complete control over their ethereal flow this is extremely difficult and for some monks the only way to reach that mountaintop is the abandonment of worldly thoughts and desires this is reflected in one of their meditative stances called anatman which encourages the monk to dissolve who they think they are so that their aether may flow unrestrained only a handful of men and women even come close to reaching this state and even fewer are known to open all 14 gates but if a monk is successful in opening all 14 they gain a level of combat instinct that could even make demons fearful lastly let's go over their choice of weapons and attire there's not a whole lot to be said about amongst weapons since their entire body is their primary weapon unlike all the other disciplines i've covered so far monk doesn't use any special gear or tools to bring their combat efficiency to its peak though it is indeed common for many monks to make use of weapons that ensure that their fists don't become too heavily damaged from prolonged battles these fist weapons take so many varieties and forms that i can't even begin to explain them all but the common trait they all share is to increase damage dealt to their target as well as protect the monks hands from excessive damage this is reasonable since a fist fighter isn't as dangerous with broken hands all that being said many accomplished monks opt to use enchanted gloves or hand wraps instead of a cumbersome weapon this way a monk gains the benefit of having something akin to a weapon while still being considered unarmed lastly let us review their choice of attire among scarb is actually quite storied given to their humble and modest philosophy amongst clothes used to be a large singular cloth that was wrapped around their entire body in an elegant fashion but over time and with the discovery of the chakras this design evolved their clothes would always fit loosely to ensure their movements were never in danger of being restricted but eventually their attire was enchanted to encourage their aether flow and thus have an easier time controlling their chakra gates this resulted in an honored tradition where an apprentice monk would spin the aether conductive threads that would be used to make their robes during their training their robes would slowly be woven and upon completion of their training they would finally be able to wear them this makes a monk's chosen attire unique and enchanted not only that but the enchantment is said to also prevent the interference of ambient aether that way a monk's chakra may flow uninterrupted by foreign powers and that my friends is my recounting of the story of the monks in truth the monks of the fist did more good for garibanya than al amigo ever achieved so there's something to be said about the philosophies created by the fist of roger they gain power but not for power's sake but the idea of something greater than themselves to those that walk the path of the monk hear me now yours is a path many have walked and one that all respect through humility you found focus through patience you discovered virtues and through training you realized power with all this in your mind and in your heart your fists will make short work of all things that would stand to ruin the tranquility of the garden that is your world and likely make the god of destruction himself proud to call you his disciple hello everyone thank you so much for watching till the end of the video i know you all are tired of hearing this but if you really want to show me some love liking the video subscribing to the channel or even just leaving a comment would do wonders for me it lets me know i'm doing a good job and helps me reach even more people but to those that really want to go above and beyond helping me and the channel i have created a patreon links in the description i have to give a big shout out to valen potato monsolo 97 and daniel campos for all showing me such massive support it really does mean more to me than you know but that being said i'm so happy you stayed and watched through my content i'll always be putting out material so long as you want to watch it that being said i need to start working on the next video till then stay safe my friends you

Channel: Synodic Scribe

Views: 27,033

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

Id: -jOy16gpzss

Length: 18min 56sec (1136 seconds)

Published: Sun Jan 30 2022