ffxiv-datamining/csv/custom/000/JobDefMnk_00093.csv

1	key	0	1
2	#
3	int32	str	str
4	0	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_000	Do not disturb me. Can you not see that I am building a device to measure the fluctuations of the land's aether? What am I saying, of course you can't. Bloody simpleton.
5	1	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_001	Ah, an honest inquiry─that sad, wonderful moment when ignorant curiosity overcomes pride. Right, then, let us begin.
6	2	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_002	You─you who have journeyed the realm, borne witness to aetherial wonders that shape our very destiny, you whose seventh chakra has begun to open─you would pose to me an inquiry befitting a suckling babe? You are either a <If(PlayerParameter(4))>woman<Else/>man</If> of rare enlightenment...or a fool.
7	3	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_003	So, it appears you have gotten embroiled in some manner of trouble yet again. It comes to me as no surprise, seeing as trouble is wont to follow that Widargelt around like his own shadow. Well, whatever should come to pass, the learning must go on.
8	4	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_004	You─you who have journeyed the realm, borne witness to aetherial wonders that shape our very destiny, you within whom the fourteen chakra of light and shadow have opened─you would pose to me an inquiry befitting a suckling babe? You are either a <If(PlayerParameter(4))>woman<Else/>man</If> of rare enlightenment...or a fool.
9	5	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_100_001	The thickness of Widargelt's skull never ceases to amaze me. From the first, there has only ever been one path for him to walk, yet he still struggles to find it.
10	6	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_100_010	I will not lie: traveling repeatedly to and from Gyr Abania will be physically taxing. Yet I cannot be absent from Ul'dah overlong, for there are countless souls who would be lost for want of my knowledge.
11	7	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_100_020	I shall apologize to Master Hamon. You and the others need only focus upon what lies ahead.
12	8	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_100_030	My thanks again, <Split(<Highlight>ObjectParameter(1)</Highlight>, ,1)/>. The Corpse Brigade are a depraved lot, and I shudder to imagine what might have happened were it not for your intervention.
13	9	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_100_040	Widargelt showed rare mettle in his confrontation with Theobald, and I am proud of him despite my general aversion towards violence. He has truly come far since first we met. He used to be a simple brute; now he is a brute with conviction and purpose.
14	10	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_100_050	Indeed, the Scions sought my counsel with regards to your slumbering comrades. That the aether of their souls should disappear without a trace... Never in all my experience have I heard of such a thing. I must confess, I struggle to make sense of it.
15	11	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_100_060	So, the mystery of the Scions' missing aether has been solved. But <Emphasis>of course</Emphasis> their souls were transported to a different world. The thought did cross my mind, but at the time I judged it too implausible, if theoretically not impossible.
16	12	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_100_070	I am told the Archons have been reunited with their wayward souls. This is glad tidings indeed. I have been quite curious about the history and culture of this world─this First─and should like to hear their accounts of their time there. I could ask you for yours too, obviously, but dim as you are, I fear you would struggle to articulate your experiences.
17	13	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_100_080	For all my pursuit of creation's mysteries─for all my research into myriad phenomenon─I could provide nary an explanation for the Final Days. It seems this scholar still has much and more to learn...
18	14	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_Q1_000_000	What will you ask about?
19	15	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_A1_000_000	Sil'dihn history.
20	16	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_A2_000_000	The study of aether.
21	17	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_A2_100_000	Bloodshore.
22	18	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_A3_000_000	Finesand Banks.
23	19	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_A4_000_000	East End.
24	20	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_A5_000_000	Monks and the Fist of Rhalgr.
25	21	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_A6_000_000	The fate of the Fist of Rhalgr.
26	22	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_A7_000_000	Silvertear Falls.
27	23	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_A8_000_000	The last king of Ala Mhigo.
28	24	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_A10_000_000	The revival of the Fist of Rhalgr.
29	25	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_A11_000_000	The fate of the man named Adri.
30	26	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_A9_000_000	Nothing.
31	27	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_010	I need hardly mention that Sil'dihn civilization is now centuries dead.
32	28	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_011	Sil'dih was plunged into chaos in the wake of King Lalawefu's demise─or the King of Springs, as he was known. Despite the success of his economic reforms, the tax increases he imposed did not sit well with his subjects.
33	29	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_100_011	This, coupled with a prolonged sequence of untimely droughts, fomented unrest among the people and in time sparked violent unrest throughout the kingdom.
34	30	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_101_011	Sil'dih was not alone in its want for water. Ul'dah, too, felt the effects of the droughts.
35	31	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_012	The sultan at the time, Sasagan Ul Sisigan─ Ah! But perhaps you recognize the Ul name? The current sultana, Nanamo Ul Namo, represents the second Ul Dynasty. She is Sasagan's distant descendant.
36	32	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_100_012	Now...where was I? Ah, yes! Right, so, Sasagan ordered an attack on Sil'dih to claim the water resources discovered as a result of Lalawefu's flood control acts.
37	33	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_013	But the royalty and nobility of Sil'dih would not remain idle. They mobilized their nation in the face of this crisis, and the people fought with great tenacity against the Ul'dahn threat.
38	34	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_100_013	The full strength of both nations met in battle, and the end result was an arduous protracted conflict.
39	35	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_014	Though arguably more desirable than surrender, the ruling Sil'dihn elite took little pleasure in having succeeded in uniting the theretofore querulous citizenry to fight. For despite all they accomplished, every day spent waging war dragged the nation's financial affairs─which you will recall had only just been brought under control─back into the mire.
40	36	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_015	To bring an end to the long military deadlock, Sil'dih devised and set about implementing a perverse yet ambitious strategy.
41	37	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_016	It sought to zombify the deceased among its army, that they might fight again.
42	38	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_017	At first, it appeared to have worked. Yet at the height of hostilities, the Sil'dihns lost control over their necrotic creations. The undead turned on their masters, and before long the zombification had spread to a majority of the population.
43	39	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_018	Ever knowing an opportunity when they saw one, the Ul'dahns used this to justify their war─now proclaiming it a crusade to send these zombies to Thal. After seeing to the extermination of all zombies outside the city, they then sealed the gates of Sil'dih, entrapping both the living and dead within.
44	40	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_019	And that, in brief, is a history of the fall of Sil'dih. I only pray that your feeble mind is able to retain it.
45	41	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_020	I shall tell you yet again of the study of aether.
46	42	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_021	As I laboriously explained, aether is not only the source of all magicks, but also the fount of all life. Yet despite its ubiquity, it remains imperceptible to the senses of man. When a living thing dies, the aether comprising its life is released.
47	43	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_022	It has been learned that when this discharge takes place, a portion of that aether remains, lingering in the physical world. No doubt you have come across aetherial crystallizations in the course of your travels.
48	44	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_023	All scholars now agree that these are the physical manifestations of great concentrations of aether.
49	45	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_024	I have a theory, however, that they are not the <Emphasis>only</Emphasis> such manifestations.
50	46	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_025	Allow me to give an example even you can understand─that of ghosts, spirits, disembodied souls. Apparitions of the deceased come back to haunt and generally unnerve us? False!
51	47	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_026	These are nothing more than the luminescent glow of aether in the atmosphere. It is possible, though highly unlikely, that you are asking yourself <Emphasis>why</Emphasis> a portion of the aether remains.
52	48	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_027	Right, well, the amount of aether that can shift between the physical and aetherial realms in any given instant is limited. I call this the <Emphasis>aetherial threshold</Emphasis>. Any aether present in excess of that threshold is left behind.
53	49	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_028	The more violent or dramatic the loss of life, the greater the amount of inner aether released to take the form of crystals or remain imperceptibly in the atmosphere. And you surely recollect the scene I identified as the most apt to produce such violent deaths?
54	50	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_029	On the field of battle! It stands to reason, therefore, that through the aetherial measurement of such sites, I will be able to reconstruct details of the wars waged upon them.
55	51	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_030	And <Emphasis>that</Emphasis>, <Split(<Highlight>ObjectParameter(1)</Highlight>, ,1)/>, is why this military historian has a deeply vested interest in the subject of aether.
56	52	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_031	Despite all we do know, however, many mysteries remain. The study of aether will no doubt continue to yield fascinating and awe-inspiring discoveries for years to come─of that I am certain.
57	53	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_032	Very well, prepare to learn all you ever cared to and more of the land known as Bloodshore.
58	54	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_033	The sanguine nomenclature derives from a truly horrific battle which took place there some fifty years ago.
59	55	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_034	The two greatest pirate fleets of the day─the League of Lost Bastards and the followers of Rycharde Mistbeard─met one another at sea just off the coast.
60	56	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_035	To this very day, none can say with certainty who shot first, nor why. Mayhap there was no good reason at all. All know the two pirate leaders loathed one another, and when dealing with pirates, little more than that is needed to ignite a war.
61	57	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_036	By the by, it just so happens that the head of the League of Lost Bastards, one Bloefhis, was father to the current Admiral of Limsa Lominsa. It is told the old sea dog wished for his daughter to take command of his fleet upon his death.
62	58	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_037	But that is a tale for another time. Suffice it to say, a shot was fired, and the mightiest pirate armadas in the realm came to fight one of the bloodiest naval battles in Eorzean history. All told, seven galleys were sunk that day, and dozens of smaller warships.
63	59	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_038	Four of the seven galleys went down in mere moments. When at last the smoke cleared and the cannons fell silent, hundreds lay dead on the ocean's bottom.
64	60	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_039	It is said the foam of the tides was tinged red with blood for days after the battle, and bodies washed ashore for weeks to follow.
65	61	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_100_039	So, as you can see, geography and history are inextricably linked. Regrettably, the region has recently been purchased by a wealthy Ul'dahn merchant named Gegeruju. He has chosen to turn a blind eye to the land's history, and has taken to calling it Costa del Sol.
66	62	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_101_039	And I believe I will stop there concerning Bloodshore, and allow your feeble brain to process all it has heard.
67	63	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_040	The Finesand Banks have a rich history indeed.
68	64	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_041	They are found on the west shore of the Velodyna River, at the foot of a now-extinct volcano overlooking the Rothlyt Sound. The area is a sedimentary basin formed by the deposit of the fine silts and sands carried by the river.
69	65	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_042	Today, it falls within Gridanian territory, but in days past it belonged to my own home nation, Ala Mhigo.
70	66	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_043	A century ago, King Manfred came to power in Ala Mhigo and decided to expand the nation's territory in order to promote economic growth.
71	67	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_044	To that end, he ordered the Ala Mhigan army to undertake large-scale campaigns that would eventually lead to the onset of the Autumn War.
72	68	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_045	Naturally, such action was met with vehement opposition from the other nations. Gridania, fearing encroachment along its border with Ala Mhigo, placed the renowned lancer Vainchelon in command of its standing armies and war began.
73	69	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_046	His opponent was Gylbarde, the great general of Ala Mhigo, a fervent believer in the Fist of Rhalgr, and a man who enjoyed enormous popularity among the Ala Mhigan people.
74	70	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_047	The two leaders were loved by their troops, and, at the outbreak of war, morale on both sides was very high. The armies clashed time and again all along the border, neither general yielding an ilm. But in a galling twist of fate for Gridania, Vainchelon suddenly took deathly ill.
75	71	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_048	After no victor emerged following the Battle of Finesand Banks, Vainchelon devised a new strategy.
76	72	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_049	He ordered his forces to retreat to Camp Nine Ivies, fully intending for Gylbarde to give chase. This would lure the Ala Mhigans to terrain more favorable and familiar to the Gridanians.
77	73	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_050	He died, however, before he was able to see his plan executed. Now, the man who would replace him, Osbern, was extremely ambitious and eager to prove his worth to the Seedseers. Having neither the mind nor patience for Vainchelon's defensive war, however, he ordered a frontal assault on the Ala Mhigan position. When Gylbarde learned of this plan─if plan it may be called─he secretly deployed troops to the most vital points along the Finesand Banks.
78	74	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_051	The Gridanian forces had scarcely entered the area before they began to suffer heavy losses from highly coordinated Ala Mhigan ambushes.
79	75	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_052	In response, Osbern ordered a forced march, permitting his troops no rest for several days as he attempted to surge through the region. Eventually, exhausted, the Gridanians came to entrench themselves on a hill.
80	76	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_053	But this is <Emphasis>precisely</Emphasis> what Gylbarde had wanted! He surrounded the hill with six thousand soldiers to deny the forestborn any hope of retrieving water, and then proceeded to rain down barrage after barrage of arrows upon the encampment.
81	77	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_054	In this seemingly hopeless position, the morale of the Gridanians quickly dwindled. Following two failed attempts to break free, Osbern himself led the van in a third and final charge.
82	78	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_055	In the end, Gridania was defeated. Osbern and several of his officers were captured, and the legendary staff Claustrum, lent him by one of the Seedseers, was taken.
83	79	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_056	This abject defeat accounted for what little morale remained among his surviving troops, and they beat a desperate retreat to Five Hangs with the relentless Ala Mhigans harrying them every step of the way.
84	80	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_057	Gylbarde's victory brought him ever greater accolades from his country, and as a result both he and the Fist of Rhalgr came to wield considerable political power.
85	81	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_058	And <Emphasis>that</Emphasis> is a brief history of the Finesand Banks. No, no, you needn't thank me. Knowing there is a little less ignorance in the world is all the reward I require.
86	82	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_060	East End is just that─the eastern end of the Black Shroud.
87	83	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_061	The Autumn War marked the beginning of hostilities between Ala Mhigo and Gridania. The first major victory in that war came at the First Battle of Tinolqa, and it belonged to Ala Mhigo.
88	84	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_062	Defeated, the Gridanians retreated to the safety of Five Hangs. The front was splintered, and afterwards they would resort to opportunistic ambushes, and the constant redeployment of troops to continue their resistance.
89	85	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_063	The Ala Mhigans, confident of ultimate victory, enjoined Gridania to surrender. As conditions, they demanded that all of the East and portions of the Central Shroud be relinquished, and perhaps more disturbingly, that the Seedseers be taken as wards of Ala Mhigo, where they would be met with no harm.
90	86	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_064	Needless to say, Gridania refused.
91	87	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_065	Providence was to be delivered to the forestborn by the neighboring nation of Ishgard. Wary of Ala Mhigo's ambitions for the region, the See appealed to Limsa Lominsa and Ul'dah for aid. The three joined Gridania in her declaration of war against Ala Mhigo, and sent troops to reinforce the front.
92	88	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_066	But this was far from a gesture of charity. It is easy to see what the motives of the See were.
93	89	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_067	Should certain sections of the Black Shroud be annexed to Ala Mhigo, Ishgard's southern and eastern borders would become extremely vulnerable to a possible invasion.
94	90	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_068	For their part, Limsa Lominsa and Ul'dah had virtually nothing to lose by entering into the war, and yet everything to gain by curbing the power of Ala Mhigo in the realm. Even more, victory would place Gridania in their debt.
95	91	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_069	And so it came to pass that these four great nations joined into a grand alliance to combat the advance of Ala Mhigo. The fighting which was to follow would later be named the Second Battle of Tinolqa.
96	92	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_070	The heaviest and most devastating combat took place on a tract of land called East End. In the beginning, there were several small-scale skirmishes, but the allied powers succeeded in foiling the stratagems of Ala Mhigo at every turn.
97	93	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_071	Feeling the tide begin to turn against them, Ala Mhigo dispatched its pikemen─known far and wide for their effectiveness against mounted units, such as the knights of Ishgard.
98	94	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_072	To rally the troops even more, King Manfred himself took to the field to lead them.
99	95	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_073	At first, it seemed as though Ala Mhigo had succeeded in reversing its fortune, as the allies began a slow retreat towards East End.
100	96	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_074	This was a clever ploy, however, designed to lure the pikemen into the dense growth of the forest, where their long polearms would be unwieldy and near useless.
101	97	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_075	It was during these days that the archers of Gridania would prove their value beyond the bow, singing songs of heroism and glory in the field to bolster the allied troops.
102	98	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_076	It is said that this gave birth to the bard tradition.
103	99	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_077	The archers of Gridania excelled at combat in the dense vegetation of the Black Shroud, and their arrows inflicted heavy casualties on the Ala Mhigans.
104	100	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_078	In the end, General Gylbarde was slain, King Manfred severely wounded, and Ala Mhigo completely and utterly defeated.
105	101	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_079	And <Emphasis>that</Emphasis> is a brief summation of the history of East End─site of the end of the forest, and the end of the war both. Do you know, I can almost feel you getting less stupid, <Split(<Highlight>ObjectParameter(1)</Highlight>, ,1)/>!
106	102	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_090	The monks and the Fist of Rhalgr are interesting in the same way as any other organized religion─a sad, pathetic, and humorous way.
107	103	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_091	The brothers and sisters of the monkhood are those souls training in the service of Rhalgr, god of destruction among the Twelve. The Fist of Rhalgr is their order.
108	104	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_092	This barbaric cult traces its origins back several centuries to Ala Mhigo. That simpleton Widargelt is one of their number.
109	105	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_093	The Fist teaches those foolish enough to listen that through rigorous training of the mind and body, and with constant invigoration and refinement, one can approach the sublimity of Rhalgr Himself.
110	106	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_094	Such is their power of concentration that they are able to master the aether within their bodies and channel it in a manner that grants them immense destructive power.
111	107	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_095	The monkhood insists on calling this internal essence “spiritual energy” or “life force”─but trust me when I say it is nothing other than aether.
112	108	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_096	Endowed with this brutish, unthinking gift for hitting things very hard, the entire cult has evolved into a sort of clergy with martial proclivities. This was no doubt a result of their main temple being located in Gyr Abania─a region plagued by warfare where knowing how to protect oneself is essential.
113	109	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_097	As the years passed, however, what began as a simple group of religious fanatics fighting to protect themselves grew into an ambitious organization of religious fanatics taking part in the region's power struggles.
114	110	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_098	Those in power in Ala Mhigo grew wary of these war priests who proclaimed all their fights to be fought in the name of a god, and who employed deadly force without the slightest hesitation. And so, rather than make enemies of the monks, they decided instead to use them to their benefit.
115	111	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_099	Through affiliation with the Ala Mhigan royal family, the Fist of Rhalgr was incorporated into the nation's standing army.
116	112	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_100	This not only granted the monks a great deal of power, but furnished them with all of the rights accorded protectors of the citizenry. And their political influence was still growing...
117	113	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_110	I confess I find great joy in studying the demise of a religion─and even greater joy in recounting it!
118	114	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_111	The power of the Fist of Rhalgr grew unchecked in Ala Mhigo, and it was eventually named the state religion. After this, its influence over political, economic, and cultural spheres of life became even more considerable. Needless to say, this did not sit well with one and all.
119	115	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_112	Among them was the last and most ugsome of Ala Mhigan royalty, the King of Ruin─Theodoric. The rise of the Fist meant a potential rival for power, and he would not suffer the monkhood to encroach on his prerogatives.
120	116	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_113	To counter their claims of religious righteousness, he simply conjured his own out of thin aether, proclaiming that the throne was his by divine right, given him by the word of Nymeia Herself─master of Rhalgr.
121	117	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_114	He then banned the worship and likenesses of Rhalgr and all other gods, and demanded that the prayers and praises of Ala Mhigo be given to Nymeia and Her alone. In doing so, he sought to establish his own absolute, uncontested rule.
122	118	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_115	Naturally, the Fist and other worshipers of Rhalgr throughout the nation rose in protest, <Emphasis>precisely</Emphasis> as Theodoric had known they would.
123	119	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_116	He used the uprisings as a pretext to imprison several high-ranking monks, whom he then tortured until they confessed their order's plans to topple his rule.
124	120	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_117	In 1552 of the Sixth Astral Era, Theodoric led a vast army to the site of the monkhood's main temple and surrounded it.
125	121	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_118	Monks, novices, and devotees, including the elders; refugees seeking shelter after the fires of war had turned their homes to ash; servants and peasants hired to do no more than till the fields─none were left alive.
126	122	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_119	The monks fought heroically, but were hopelessly outnumbered. With the massacre of that day, nearly all of the monkhood perished.
127	123	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_120	The elders, the keepers of the tradition and its knowledge, resided within the temple grounds. It was thought that all versed in the ways of the chakra were lost...
128	124	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_121	But then what of this Widargelt simpleton? Just who is <Emphasis>he</Emphasis>? Perhaps the end of the Fist was not the end of the monks, after all.
129	125	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_130	My dear, poor <Split(<Highlight>ObjectParameter(1)</Highlight>, ,1)/>. What you do not know about Silvertear Falls could fill a book. And has─multiple times over, I'm sure.
130	126	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_131	Since ancient times, the Falls and the region of Mor Dhona in which they are located have been believed to be the seat of a great <Emphasis>spiritual</Emphasis> energy, as less advanced peoples were wont to call it.
131	127	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_132	So old are these beliefs that the tomb of Xande himself, the first emperor of Allag, was built deep beneath the surface of Mor Dhona, in the hope that the <Emphasis>mystical</Emphasis> power which resided under the lake would raise him from the dead.
132	128	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_133	Oh, there are any number of legends and myths surrounding the place. I think the oldest and most widely known would have to be that of the dragon of the Falls. I do not claim to be a folklorist, but I can certainly provide the general tale.
133	129	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_134	There was the birth of Althyk, god of time among the Twelve, and in turn, His younger sister Nymeia, goddess of fate. And then there was water, and through it Silvertear Falls came to be at the center of all that was.
134	130	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_135	Here was the source not only of water, but the fount of all magic as well.
135	131	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_136	Now, when water came into being, so too did the great dragon Midgardsormr. Brother Time and Sister Fate, fearing the Falls might fall into the hands of evil, ordered Midgardsormr their protector and warden.
136	132	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_137	Much later, with the arrival of man, would Midgardsormr be worshipped as the guardian deity of Silvertear Falls.
137	133	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_138	Have you been to Silvertear Falls, <Split(<Highlight>ObjectParameter(1)</Highlight>, ,1)/>? Or are you as untraveled as you are unread? Have you gazed upon the enormous dragon corpse, frozen as a statue with wings outspread? If you have, you have gazed upon Midgardsormr.
138	134	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_139	That tragedy is but ten years old. After invading my home of Ala Mhigo, the Garleans launched a fleet of airships led by the monstrosity <Emphasis>Agrius</Emphasis>.
139	135	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_140	They flew for Silvertear Falls, knowing them to harbor the greatest concentration of aether.
140	136	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_141	And then, as those horrific instruments of evil loomed overhead, casting the dark shadow of death, the surface of the lake suddenly parted and burst skyward as Midgardsormr emerged to defend his waters.
141	137	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_142	The battle between Midgardsormr and the <Emphasis>Agrius</Emphasis> has since come to be known as the Battle of Silvertear Skies. The dragon fought with divine strength and purpose, and after a fierce and grueling struggle, succeeded in bringing down the airship.
142	138	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_143	As it fell into the lake, the impact caused the ceruleum onboard to detonate, and Midgardsormr was killed, his corpse charred black in the conflagration.
143	139	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_144	The structure formed by the wreckage of the <Emphasis>Agrius</Emphasis> and the entangled remains of Midgardsormr is now called the Keeper of the Lake.
144	140	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_145	For many religious and mythological enthusiasts, it stands as proof of the existence of the gods. For most people, however, it serves as a grim reminder of the horrific, dare I say deicidal, power of Garlemald.
145	141	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_146	Why did that dragon appear that day? Was it truly <Emphasis>the</Emphasis> Midgardsormr, the legendary guardian of Silvertear Falls? Such questions and more remain unanswered.
146	142	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_147	For my part, I make the entire debacle for an elaborate Garlean fabrication, acted out to near perfection.
147	143	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_148	But let us put aside dragons and empires, and speak instead of mine own latest discovery at the lake!
148	144	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_149	The aether of the area is in an extremely chaotic state. I had long thought this to be a result of the Battle of Silvertear Skies, but have learned that this is not the case!
149	145	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_150	The disturbances I have observed do not all derive from a single source. Beyond the imperceptible aether emitted by the Keeper of the Lake, there are even stronger aetherial waves coming from deep below the earth to the east.
150	146	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_151	I studied them in great detail, and learned that they are coming from a massive tower that was buried deep below the earth at the time of that battle─the Crystal Tower!
151	147	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_152	To think, I had stumbled upon this legendary structure─the very height of Allagan civilization and technology! The shifting and grinding of the earth caused by the Calamity woke the tower from its slumber of some five thousand years.
152	148	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_153	And, having since slowly risen from its earthen tomb, the tower pierces the skies once more!
153	149	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_154	You must someday gaze upon it with your own eyes. It is truly a sight to behold. Yes, I can still recall the thunderous applause of my colleagues when I presented my theory of the tower. They were a great deal more grateful than you, that much is certain.
154	150	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_155	There is a team of scholars who specialize in the study of all things Allagan. They are known as the Sons of Saint Coinach. At present, they are focusing their efforts on testing the validity of this theory. I very much look forward to news of their findings.
155	151	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_160	As I likely explained if you have ever bothered to ask me about monks and the Fist of Rhalgr, the King of Ruin, Theodoric, was a ruthless despot and tyrant. It should come as no surprise, then, that he was the last king of Ala Mhigo.
156	152	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_161	But the tale of his rise and fall is the stuff we historians live for!
157	153	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_162	Theodoric's lust for power was such that nothing less than absolute rule would appease him.
158	154	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_163	To counter the political influence of the Fist of Rhalgr, he proclaimed his kingship to be the product of divine will─ordained by Nymeia Herself. What followed was a crusade which sought to exterminate the monks entirely.
159	155	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_164	Yet it was the truly depraved acts of barbarism to come that would shake Ala Mhigan society to its very core.
160	156	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_165	This ensuing era of terror was what earned Theodoric the title “King of Ruin.”
161	157	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_166	After the massacre at the Fist's main temple, religious opposition to Theodoric nearly disappeared altogether.
162	158	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_167	He then began purges of the Ala Mhigan royalty, seeing any and all potential pretenders to his throne dead and buried─regardless of house, loyalties, or standing.
163	159	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_168	Beheadings were commonplace, carried out daily. Before long, it looked as though Theodoric would have no heads left to take.
164	160	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_169	But he then turned his wrath upon any soul with a claim to the throne, no matter how remote. After that, it was to be the empowered nobles and wealthy merchants.
165	161	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_170	Fearing for their lives, they professed their innocence to the queen, pleading for her to stay her maniacal husband's hand. She attempted words to assuage his lust for power turned lust for blood, but he was deaf to her appeals.
166	162	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_171	Finding no recourse, she conspired with a group of nobles to murder Theodoric.
167	163	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_172	Yet before the regicide could take place, one among them betrayed their plot, and for their treason, the king saw them all less a head.
168	164	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_173	This only served to compound Theodoric's paranoia and insanity. Distrustful of all, his purges now became little more than random executions, claiming the lives of noble and beggar and all in between.
169	165	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_174	It is not difficult to imagine what transpired next.
170	166	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_175	The palace became a despicable gathering of sycophants and backstabbers, and the commonfolk scarce left their homes. Seeking heads on which to lay blame for worsening conditions, Theodoric turned the axe upon his most loyal followers.
171	167	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_176	When the oppression became too much to bear, the people revolted and stormed the palace. The royal guard cast aside their vows and allowed the Ala Mhigans to pass.
172	168	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_177	A noble revolt? For the best, no? False! It was the absence of leadership and solidarity in the wake of this chaos that prompted Garlemald to attack!
173	169	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_178	In the end, Theodoric was lucid enough to judge suicide preferable to death at the hands of an angry mob. He ended his own life, and with it, his reign of ruin and his own bloodline.
174	170	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_179	Or so it was thought at the time!
175	171	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_180	But Theodred, a nephew to the king, was hidden by his mother in a remote temple of the Fist of Rhalgr which had survived the purges, and thus he escaped his uncle's fury.
176	172	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_181	And <Emphasis>that</Emphasis> is the history of the last king of Ala Mhigo. And many a lesson there is to be learned from it! It is only a pity you are too dull to do so.
177	173	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_200	Widargelt and his two chief disciples continue roaming the lands of Gyr Abania on their mission to revive the Fist of Rhalgr.
178	174	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_201	It will not be easy to bring a nigh-dead faith back to life, but they are a determined lot. If anyone can accomplish this, I believe it is they.
179	175	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_202	The simpleton that Widargelt is, there is no greater joy for him than to have a purpose to pursue with all his being. He is at peace, I shouldn't doubt, and I am too. For it means fewer hassles for me to deal with.
180	176	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_205	Widargelt continues imparting the faith to the Resistance soldiers at Rhalgr's Reach.
181	177	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_206	D'zentsa and O'tchakha have also joined him, and together they conduct their training at the Temple of the Fist. After all these years in the wilderness, the faith has finally returned home.
182	178	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_207	Lest you wonder, I merely chanced to see them when unrelated business took me to the Reach. I didn't approach them, however, but observed from an unobtrusive distance.
183	179	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_208	They are their own persons, after all. If they require my help, they may seek me out themselves. ...Or I simply send you, of course.
184	180	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_220	For a time, all was routine. Widargelt continued to impart the teachings of the Fist of Rhalgr in his homeland.
185	181	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_221	Upon learning of the dire situation in Garlemald, however, he and his chief disciples promptly set forth for the imperial capital.
186	182	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_222	Despite the oppression his faith had endured under the Empire, he is resolved to aid its people. Long gone is the man who once lived for naught but retribution.
187	183	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_223	The oaf, however, is very much alive and well. Ere he departed, I warned him to pack for the cold...only to be told that his training will keep him warmer than any garb can. I could only shake my head.
188	184	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_224	As I understand it, he will be on the road for a while, and I know not when he will return. For now, we can but wish him well on his mission.
189	185	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_210	As you know, following his defeat, Adri─or Theobald, his assumed role─was given to the care of the village healer. Alas, he vanished without a trace nary a day later.
190	186	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_211	In all likelihood, he feared reprisal from the Corpse Brigade, with whom he had entered into an unlikely─and uneasy─alliance.
191	187	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_212	According to the Resistance, one of the Griffin's doubles approached brigade members with an eye to recruit them to his cause. Fair to say that the double was Adri.
192	188	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_213	As the mad king's favored tool of terror, however, the brigade was feared and loathed by the masses. Its members knew that there would be no place for them in a new Ala Mhigo.
193	189	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_214	Adri exploited this fact, winning them over with the promise of reinstatement in return for helping him ascend his throne. Whether or not they believed him the rightful heir was immaterial; it was an opportunity to return to power, and they took it.
194	190	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_215	Of course, Adri's plot came undone, and the Corpse Brigade fell with their employer to even deeper depths. Suffice it to say they are not well pleased, and their displeasure will find Adri first of all. This he anticipated, and thus he fled.
195	191	TEXT_JOBDEFMNK_00093_ERIK_000_216	Now, at about the same juncture Adri vanished, a contingent of brigade members were sighted striking out of their hideout in the direction of Gyr Abania. That is all I know. And perhaps all that I wish to know.