Questions about White Magic, Sealing and Guardian Statues…

[Soge01]

Basically all questions relating to the Lost City of Amdapor that we know of:

1. What types of White Magic do we know of so far that the citizens of Amdapor used both before and during the War of Magi? I only know of them creating a seal to seal away Diabolos and the guardian statues living below the city from what I can bring up from memory.

2. Besides sealing demons like Diabolos and Ferdiad away, were there any other special types of seals existing in Amdapor that were mentioned or we might have run in through the game during our dungeon explorations of Amdapor Keep and the Lost City?

3. How did the crystals within the guardian statues inhabiting the ruins below Amdapor maintain function after so many years had passed since the 5th Umbral Calamity? I could have sworn I had read during after the boss fight with Kuribu in Amdapor Hard that the crystals within the statues constantly absorbed aether from their surroundings. But since I currently can't get to the game at the moment, I can't confirm it for myself and thought to ask about it here.


I ask these questions because I'm currently thinking up what a Blue Mage with FFXI Puppeteering qualities with miniature stone guardians would be like in FFXIV if ever added into the game.

[Yuriane]

1. Apart from those seals they professed in the construction of golems although most civilizations in that time did and they may be constructed the exact same way regardless of what kind of magic is used. We know they had at least 4 Stages of the spell "Cure" as given from a book in Gubal Hard. Besides that everything is mostly common White Mage knowledge. One could however draw attention to the Light Sprites in Lost City of Amdapor Hard, as they aren't naturally occurring and almost certainly have something to do with White Magic. What that is though is up for debate.
2. I don't think there really are any that we can definitively say are Amdapori and not a result of the mobs within the respective dungeons (Lambs of Dalamud for example). Sealing magicks isn't really a big thing in White Magic, it's probably just sort of a thing you can do. Lackluster but unfortunately it's all I personally can offer.
3. The statues are golems created with golem soulstones. The difference between a golem soulstone and the average everyday crystal is that it's naturally autonomous. True one can bind them to ones will, but if the magick wavers too much or the golem is a feral or wild, then the golem will go haywire and attack anything it comes into contact with, looking to assimilate more golems into it's form. Bit of a tangent, on the actual point, their soul stones are extremely durable. They contain a lot of aether in them anyway and the white magic that binds them more than likely assists in it staying that way.

I'm no authority on White Magic though, so a few of these could be wrong. It's mostly from memory.

[Shadotterdan]

One other thing I might point out is the overgrown insects and mold and who knows what else in the dungeon. While not explicitly stated as such, I don't think it's too much of a stretch to see this as an example of the misuse of white magic. Probably done so as a fallback measure while retreating.

[SuperFruit]

The giant bugs and fungus is stated to be a result of the imbalanced earth aether of the ruins. I think the conjurer guildmaster E-Sumi says something along those lines when you're first given the quest to go to the lost city.

[Annana]

I feel like the mold and insects could've formed due to the fact that Amdapor was completely underwater for such a long time. Cold, damp, and dark. Perfect conditions for mold and insects.

[rainichan]

Boy oh boy, my favourite ancient city-state My tumblr ain't amdapori for no reason!

From the Demon Brick minion:

We are all better off not knowing what arcane magicks animate this ordinary stone block. Use item to acquire the demon brick minion.

For many years, modern archaeologists did not understand how a seemingly primitive civilization without clockwork or steam technology could build the massive stone structures of Amdapor. Animated bricks, such as the one that has chosen to follow you, may be the missing link.

From the Demon Box minion:

Lacking the spells required to animate a gift in the same manner in which the ancients animated bricks, the crafter of this quaint creation simply cut a pair of holes into a wooden box and slipped it on a spriggan. Problem solved.

From the Morpho minion:

The wings of this butterfly were highly sought after during the War of the Magi, as their scales could be used to make poison that inhibited the restoration of magical energy. As a result, they were hunted to near extinction, and now very few remain."

Bonus: the hover text is a quote from E-Sumi-Yan: "The War of the Magi must have been a conflict of truly terrifying proportions.

From the Disembodied Head mount:

E-Una-Kotor created this winged monstrosity using stone hewn from the very walls of the Palace of the Dead in an attempt to better understand the guardian golems which watch over the Lost City of Amdapor. That the face chosen for the design bears an uncanny likeness to a certain someone is one stone best left unturned.

From the Demon Wall card:

These frightful guardians are the creation of ancient spellcraft, given life when a chosen wall was inscribed with an arcane pattern of blood. Though their masters have long since perished, these sentinels of demonic visage continue to protect the crumbling ruins to which they are bound - to the surprise and horror of many an unsuspecting adventurer.

Adding on to Demon Wall and how it was created, from Encyclopedia Eorzea, p032:

Despite their sinister visage, demon walls are not voidsent, but forgekin created by using a primal form of Amdapori white magic. By inscribing a stone wall with an arcane pattern of blood, these golems would spring to life to intimidate and repel trespassers.

From the Ferdiad card:

Summoned in ages past by the sorcerers of Mhach to join the assault on Amdapor, this scythe-wielding voidsent was defeated by the city's defenders and consigned to languish behind potent seals. As a lesser note, Ferdiad occupies the third rung of the hierarchy of twelve.

From the Kuribu card:

Created by the magi of Amdapor using an advanced form of golem construction, this statue is animated by the gems embedded in its chest and hands. Kuribu commands formidable white magicks to aid in its battle against invading voidsent.

From the "One Night in Amdapor" questline:

E-SUMI-YAN
It is well that you are here, . Some burdens are too heavy to bear even for those so favored to abide. Know that you were chosen as much for your true heart as your skill.
E-SUMI-YAN
I speak to you in the name of the three Seedseers. The eldest, Kan-E-Senna, you will already know as the guardian of our fair land. Two siblings has she.
E-SUMI-YAN
It is the younger of this pair, A-Ruhn-Senna, who hears the voice of the elementals with greatest clarity. And what he has heard lately is troubling indeed...
E-SUMI-YAN
These dark stirrings we have traced to the Lost City of Amdapor in the South Shroud. The city once throve in the fullness of magic during the Fifth Astral Era, but it was sealed in the wake of its demise.
E-SUMI-YAN
Alas, the Twelveswood has been out of balance since the Calamity. So riotous has its aspect become that the seal was severely weakened. When this happened, the forest surrounding the city began to wither and die. We would enjoin you to investigate the cause.
E-SUMI-YAN
Now, I must confess that this is a task for the Twin Adder...normally. But you are the heir to Master A-Towa's legacy, and the Seedseers were unanimous in the belief that no one is better suited to the undertaking. Will you not assist?
E-SUMI-YAN
It is well that you assent, for the need is great! Go now to Seedseer Raya-O-Senna at Camp Tranquil, and listen well to what she says of her brother's divination.

RAYA-O-SENNA
Ah, a white mage after my own heart, come to help get to the bottom of this noisome business!
RAYA-O-SENNA
Hm, Brother E-Sumi-Yan hasn't told you much, has he? Discretion is the better part of his valor! Well, aside from Amdapor Keep, the city is all that remains of an advanced magical civilization from the Fifth Astral Era.
RAYA-O-SENNA
No records survive of how the city met its end, but the elementals tell us all was undone by what the great one calls “an unclean presence.”
RAYA-O-SENNA
I fear that what my brother senses is this very thing, its satedness drained away after so many centuries. If it hungers for another city to slake its thirst on...

ALPHENE
The Seedseers have sent word of your coming. You are bold indeed to willingly glimpse into the darkness. The lost city festers more and more by the day, and they say you're to lance the boil, eh?
ALPHENE
Beyond this gate lies a land out of balance, its earth aspect sapped by the Calamity.
ALPHENE
You had best be prepared before proceeding further. Rot and wrong, that's what you'll see! Creatures run mad, tormented by hooked burrs that clutch and burrow...
ALPHENE
...Ahem. Well, good luck with that! No doubt you'll prevail, being favored of the Seedseers and all. Fight well!

Journal entry from the same quest:

The magicks entombing the Lost City of Amdapor have recently faded, and the darkness within grows restless. Brother E-Sumi-Yan would have you still its stirring, and in his subtlety, has sent you to consult with Seedseer Raya-O-Senna. Make your way to Camp Tranquil in the South Shroud, where the Padjal awaits.


The Seedseers Raya-O-Senna and her brother, A-Ruhn-Senna, apprise you of the darkness that has emerged within Amdapor. Suffice it to say, it falls to you to vanquish the fell presence. To venture into the lost city, speak with Alphene, the Wood Wailer stationed at the entrance in the South Shroud.

Dialogue from completion of "One More Night in Amdapor":

E-SUMI-YAN
You are returned from your expedition into the lost city? That is well. We for our part have at last succeeded in easing the elementals' disquiet. But tell us, : what was the nature of the hostile presence that so unsettled them?
E-SUMI-YAN
Extraordinary... I was all but certain that some seed of the darkness had survived... I could not have been more wrong.
RAYA-O-SENNA
I certainly did not expect ensorcelled statues. ...Creations of the Amdapori magi, I imagine.
E-SUMI-YAN
It would appear so─they likely began to stir when that fiend was awoken by the weakening seal. Yet that does not explain why the elementals would have cause to fear these ancient sentinels...
RAYA-O-SENNA
It seems safe to assume that the Amdapori built them to repel the armies of Mhach. Were I to hazard a guess, I would say that the passing of the years has dulled the statues' senses, and that they mistook our friends for aetherial beings of a different order─voidsent of the kind employed by the Mhachi magi. The elementals' arrival would have seemed like an invasion.
E-SUMI-YAN
That would explain much, yes. Voidsent monstrosities and undying guardians of stone... The War of the Magi must have been a conflict of truly terrifying proportions.
E-SUMI-YAN
It is well that these ancient relics have at last been laid to rest. With the city's defenses thus disabled, we may safely return to our task of cleansing the ruins. You have our deepest gratitude, .
ALPHENE
The city feels...quiet. Whatever you did in there, I am happy to report that the hairs on the back of my neck are no longer standing on end. For this I can only thank you. Now be on your way. The Seedseers will wish to hear word of your success!

A line from the questline "Ghosts of Amdapor":

MAXINNE
This fortress was built by the Amdapori, an ancient people who rose to power upon arcane knowledge. During the heyday of their civilization, they built magnificent structures such as this.

From "Encyclopedia Eorzea":

The Ancient City of Amdapor:
At the dawn of the Fifth Astral Era, a group of Hyur arrived in what is now the South Shroud. The area in which they settled was an open plain interspersed with massive outcrops of light-colored rock, distinctly bereft of the thick forest cover now associated with the region. The abundance of stone allowed the Hyur to erect exceptionally sturdy structures, and by the year 300 central Aldenard had transformed into the bustling city of Amdapor.
The people of Amdapor attempted to commune with the enigmatic elementals of the Black Shroud, that they might partake in the bounty of the forest. The elementals - ever untrusting of men - declined any interaction with their new neighbors, content with the distance between them. The Amdapori respected this wish and did not forcibly encroach upon the sacred holt, save for the occasional pursuit of quarry during a hunt. It is worth mentioning, however, that the elementals did not entirely shun outsiders during this period; amicable relations were maintained with the Ixali tribes, the elementals allowing them ingress into the Shroud upon deeming the beastmen no threat to the forest's natural balance.
As their citry-state prospered, the Amdapori focused on fortifying their domain, expanding their defenses by constructing an enormous stronghold atop a knoll outside the city proper. Paying reverence to Nophica, the goddess of abundance, they claimed to cherish harmony with nature, and promised their neighbors a peaceful coexistence. The societies in the surrounding vicinity benefited from this philosophy, and Amdapor was views not as a threat, but a respected elder watching over its eleven fellow cities. Thus did it come to be known as "the ancient city."

From the same page (032) on a concept art picture of the crumbling city:

Much of what remains of the city of Amdapor is slowly being swallowed by an ever-thickening blanket of mold and rot caused by an elemental imbalance lingering in the aftermath of the Seventh Umbral Calamity. Even so, archaeologists expect the decay to do little to destroy the ancient city's stone foundation - architectural feats which have already withstood more than a millenium and a half of nature's wrath.

The Discovery of White Magic:
The Amdapori initially harnessed basic magicks for use in their city's defenses, drawing and expanding upon the primitive knowledge of golem creation to temporarily imbue stone statues with life. However, in the ninth century, mages of the ancient city bore witness to Mhach's use of the destructive arts to subjugate neighboring city-states. Wary of their neighbor's ambitions, the Amdapori sought to counter these black magicks by improving upon their own spellcraft, weaving with the intent to purify, ward, and heal - the art of white magic.
It has been argued that without the discovery of white magic, Amdapor would likely have succumbed to Mhach's ambitions. That the ancient city had developed a means to keep the black mages in check prevented the Mhachi army from waging a full-fledged assault on Amdapor, lest they, too, suffer grievous losses. Thus for the next few centuries did Eorzea experience a fragile, yet lasting peace fostered by the precarious balance between the two nations and their opposing schools of magic.

Next to art of a carved, winged lion:

Carved during the Fifth Astral Era, this winged lion is an ensorcelled stone guardian capable of manipulating white magic of its own will - a testament to the advancement of Amdapor's arcane capabilities.

Note: this is the second boss of Lost City HM.

The Battle of Amdapor:
By the year 1510, the War of the Magi was nearing a climax as the voidmages of Mhach pushed ever closer to Amdapor. Despite having stood for centuries, Amdapor Keep - the ancient city's first line of defense - was quick to fall to Mhach's fell army of otherworldly demons. With the gate to Amdapor lain open, the voidmages heralded their arrival in the city proper with the summoning of Diabolos, a high-ranking voidsent meant to seal Amdapor's fate.
However, Mhach sorely underestimated the defensive magicks of Amdapor. To withstand Diabolos and the minions under his unholy command, the white mages breathed life into the city's most powerful stone guardians. Gathering their collective strength, the Amdapori were able to seal away the void prince, forcing the Mhaci to withdraw. Yet while the ancient city may have triumphed that day, it was a hollow victory, for it did little to stall the sun as it set on this once-great civilization. The era's darkest hour was nigh.

the last of this passage just talks about what we already know re: what caused the Sixth Umbral Era.

On the same page under this passage, art of Kuribu:

Crafted and given life by the mages of Amdapor, Kuribu os one of many guardian statues erected around the city to counter the voidsent invasion. Using advanced techniques honed over centuries, the Amdapori were able to create a golem who had not only mastered martial artistry, but arcane spellcasting, as well.

From Encyclopedia Eorzea, p035:

The Sixth Umbral Era - The Calamity of Water
[...]As most of their lands' energies had been exhausted in their efforts to seal Diabolos, there was little remaining for Amdapor's white mages to draw upon to stay the waters which had already enveloped the territories held by Nym and Mhach. The alternative was a hurried exodus into the highlands of Gyr Abania before the deluge reached the ancient city. The region abandoned, the elementals, who had quietly borne witness to the Amdapori people's rapacious consumption of the land's aether, saw to it that the city's remnant be devoured in thick, sorcerous brush not long after the waters receded, thereafter preventing ingress into Amdapor. Thus did the ruins remain hidden from mortal eyes until the elementals' glamours were dispelled during the Seventh Calamity.

As a note, the Amdapori also scattered all over Abalathia's Spine and not just Gyr Abania - this was confirmed by Koji to me when I asked him about it at FanFest 2016.

I don't think I need to transcribe the passages out of the Soulkin part of the EE since it rehashes what's written above about Kuribu and the Demon Wall, however the giant Headstone you see in Void Ark is actually the Mhach's version of a Soulkin, stolen from the Amdapori, studied, and created from their own magicks. the Magic Pots and Clay Golems seen in Lost City HM before facing Kuribu were all mass-made and imbued with magic instead of the intricate carvings of things like the Winged Lion and Kuribu. At that point, they wanted a magical army that could be made quickly.

AND WITH THIS INFODUMP:

- The Amdapori were capable of things our WHM PC's can't do. While yes, we can seal things, theirs was on a completely different level since they were creating life within their stone statues - evidenced by the fact that the Lion and Kuribu can use white magic not available to us (ancient-tier spells, Cure IV, Reverse) and the fact that they were able to use magic like their creators. They were OP in magic! There's a throwaway line somewhere (I'm trying to find it) that the Amdapori were known for their manipulation of time and space magic as well as their white magic. This fueled the speculation that they worshipped Althyk since not only is that Althyk's domain, but his stone is situated next to Amdapor Keep. EE dispelled that as their patron deity ended up being Nophica, but that doesn't mean they might not have dabbled in such things - the sealing magic they used on Diabolos might have been the very same sort of magic! Until we get Actual Confirmation through either Ferne coming to say hello in here, or we get a FFXI Wings of the Goddess-esque xpac that shows us what these places were like in their heyday, or more info from more quests we can't be too sure.

- AFAIK the only seals we saw in AK/AK HM/LC/LC HM were all the same that I listed in here, though they seem to be different kinds of seals and sealing magic. Seeing as how the Morpho was used as a poison to seal away magicks, they probably dealt with making that poison as well, considering their foes were magical, Morphos are found within Lost City (and around Gyr Abania unless they were just reused assets) so they likely cultivated the poisons that way. Not necessarily the same kind of magical sealing they were known for, but hey.

- Kuribu's stones didn't absorb aether to maintain them, but I imagine they were placed in stasis. Between the city being sealed anyway after the Amdapori locked Diabolos to sleep there and that seal only weakening because of the Seventh Calamity mucking up the seals and the like, it likely set a slow awakening on the city itself once the seal stopping Diabolos was gone. After all, the magicks that kept the stone guardians going started going haywire thinking that the elementals going in to cleanse the city were voidsent. Since the stones were imbued with life, practically, my guess is that the Amdapori just... put their city to sleep, then sealed it up so no one could go in and wake up Diabolos for more voidsent rampage fun, to which the elementals sealed it even further once the flood waters receded.


Aside from that, the current-day mammets and Forgekin/Soulkin are wildly different from what the Amdapori did to create their stone guardians. During the HW Hildibrand quests, Gigi is a completely differently made mammet, the GSM quests show how mammet hearts are maintained and created (or at least explained) so for something like PUP, they would likely go off of what is available during the Sixth/Seventh Eras since the magicks that the Amdapori actually used to bring their creations to life have been lost for 3000+ years.

Gosh this was an infodump, but this is sort of my thing with the War of the Magi and that era, so I had to contribute. :P

[Elladie]

May be misrembering this, but I believe part of the Scholar job quests from 60 to 70 take you into Amdapor solo. You're on a hunt to heal a Tonberry whose strange purple 'fairy' has landed her in a coma, and you end up fighting a 'guardian' of some type. The quest starts at Camp Tranquil so pretty sure it's Amdapor. I'll have to look the dialogue up and get back to you though: it's been a while

[ObsidianFire]

It is Ampador Keep. The Ampadori wanted to know what type of magics the Nymians were using to rebuff both them and the Machi. You end up finding his gear and notes in Magic Pot enemies I think.

[Yuriane]

The quest starts at Camp Tranquil so pretty sure it's Amdapor.

The quest quite literally makes you run Lost City of Amdapor Hard, the latter half of it, with only NPCs.

It is Ampador Keep.

You're thinking of an earlier quest, Elladie is referring to after that point.