I couldn't miss the chance to practice my drawing!
Beasts of the Final Days, also known as terminus and fell beasts, are a type of monster first appearing in Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers and later Endwalker. They are the harbingers of chaos that plagued the Final Days. The first and most powerful beasts to appear in each region affected by the Final Days are given the title of blasphemy (偽神獣, Gishinjū?, lit. False Divine Beast).
History[]
Before Final Fantasy XIV[]
The beasts originated in the Final Days before the Sundering. Created by the Meteia's song of oblivion, this "keening sound" brought forth by a surge of dynamis into Etheirys, transforming the ancients' creations into nightmarish beasts, as well as causing their creation magicks to go awry, making them manifest more of the beasts uncontrollably. This snowballed, causing people who witnessed these beasts to manifests beasts themselves, causing chaos and destruction.
These creatures first originated in areas where aether currents were at their weakest, allowing the Meteia's song to pierce the aether-rich planet. This caused the sky to turn red and meteors to rain from above. One beast of the final days, known as Archaeotania, was captured and taken to Akadaemia Anyder where it was studied and eventually formed the basis for the "deity" concept. Eventually, the calamity found its way to Amaurot and the city fell to ruin even as its populace were devising a means to avert it. The Convocation of Fourteen came together to find a way to halt this unknown threat and using the deity concept, created the primal Zodiark to avert the Final Days by projecting a massive aether shroud to stop the waves of dynamis. However, due to the schism amongst the ancients due to the nature of Zodiark's creation, the ancients never learned the origin of the Final Days or its complete nature.
Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers[]
The Ascian Emet-Selch, a survivor of the Final Days, was one of the few who vividly remembered the tragedy and recreated it as part of his Amaurot simulacrum to show the Warrior of Light and the Scions of the Seventh Dawn what befell of his home. He spared no effort to recreate the scale of event from the city to the entire planet itself, assailed by meteors, all brought forth by the terrible beasts that besieged his people. Though the Warrior cleared his gauntlet of recreated fell monsters, Emet-Selch remained unconvinced of their worth until the adventurer eventually defeated him.
Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker[]
Return of the Final Days[]
The rogue Ascian Fandaniel sought to recreate the Final Days after the defeat of the last unsundered Ascian Elidibus. Creating towers to siphon the planet of its aether to power his "gateway to the gods", he destroyed the seal on the moon to free Zodiark from his imprisonment there. He took Zodiark over and fought the Warrior of Light: by having them weaken the Dark god, Fandaniel took the opportunity to destroy Zodiark himself by crushing his core, undoing the shroud of aether covering the star, allowing the Meteia's dynamis to influence it once more. This time, rather than conjuring beasts from nothing with creation Magicks, the victims were the mortals that lived in the star due to their lesser aetherial density, turning into beasts themselves.
All across the world, several people who had succumbed to despair became consumed in black shadows, morphing into monsters that induced panic and fear, repeating the same snowball effect that had destroyed the original Etheirys. Certain regions were hit the hardest as both Thavnair and Garlemald experienced the meteor showers from the ancient days.
In Thavnair, Khalzahl, a failing maritime merchant who had come under hard times due to a freeze in trade, felt he had been ruined, transforming and causing a mass panic, creating in turn a legion of monsters, before the skies turned red. Christened a "blasphemy", as it bore superficial resemblance to Thavnairian deities, the beast took residence in Vanaspati. The satrap of Radz-at-Han, Ahewann, assembled a rescue team with the Warrior of Light and the Scions to deal with the threat. Though aided by the great wyrm Vrtra, secretly the true satrap of the nation state, he could not bare fang and claw against the beasts, knowing they were his own citizens transformed, and only shielded those who had not turned yet. The threat main threat was quelled for a time after the blasphemy, dubbed Svarbhanu, was destroyed. When it was defeated, Y'shtola noted that the beast dissipated completely, seemingly leaving no aether or soul in its place, not returning to the lifestream.
While Vrtra and Estinien took to the skies to help ward off the remaining flying beasts, the group reconvened as they discovered that people transformed into the beasts when consumed by negative emotions. The satrap assembled a meeting with the populace in Radz-at-Han to discuss how to deal with the threat. But when a worried elder began to panic over the safety of her grandchild, she transformed into a beast, causing others to turn in turn. In the chaos, Ahewann died protecting a distraught father seeing his son transform.
The Scions and Vrtra traveled across Thavnair to save as many as they could from the beasts, with Vrtra finding his resolve to fight back, just in time to save Matsya and a frightened baby from turning. Having done away with the worst of the monsters, the Scions regrouped back to Radz-at-Han for their next course of action. G'raha Tia suggested that the Warrior of Light return to the First and see if the remains of Elidibus information regarding the Final Days and their origins. Just before the journey several delegates from across Aldenard and the Far East arrived at the Radiant Host to ask the Warrior's help with the new beasts appearing in several regions across Eorzea and Doma.
Upon returning to the their world and time, the Warrior received word that beasts had besieged the war torn state of Garlemald.
Hunting the blasphemies[]
The Warrior of Light worked with delegates of various nation states to aid in hunting down the various blasphemies that had appeared through the continents. In the Black Shroud the Warrior aided Kan-E-Senna and the Keeper of the Entwined Serpents in quelling the panic caused by Gleipnir, who stirred memories of the Creeping Death and resentment toward the Elementals. In Yanxia, the Warrior aided Hien Rijin and in stopping a cult to the blasphemy Izanami. In Vylbrand, the Warrior aided the Company of Heroes to defeat the Indigo Beast, born of the Sahagin broodmother's despair for her kind. In Gyr Abania, the Warrior aided Fordola Lupis in hunting down Chartlet, a blasphemy born of people's resentment towards Imperial collaborators and the Crania Lupi. In Coerthas, the Warrior aided Aymeric de Borel in hunting down Profane Fafnir, a blasphemy resulting of the vestiges traditionalist sentiment, born of a clone made off the Heavens' Ward and Thordan VII.
Finally, in Garlemald, the Warrior aided the Ilsabard Contingent and various heads of the allied city states in slaying the last remaining blasphemy, Nerva yae Galvus, turned into a blasphemy in his desire to obtain the throne. After all blasphemies were culled, and with the defeat of the Endsinger and the silencing of the song of oblivion, the beasts of the Final Days were no more.
Characteristics[]
Though most resemble the voidsent of the Thirteenth, the beasts of the Final Days share much in common with that of both the voidsent and sin eaters of the First, essentially being aether-drained monsters and largely bereft of reason. These monsters use dynamis to sustain themselves to compensate for their aether deficiency and seemingly exude an aura of dynamis that can induce negative feelings in others, capable of chain reactions that effectively allow them to multiply with frightening speed.
The original beasts from before the Sundering were made from the Ancients' creation magicks, as although their aether-dense composition could not be compromised by dynamis, their creations were. Due to the sundered's ability to indirectly harness dynamis and lower aetheric density, they are capable of morphing into the beasts should they succumb to despair. When a sundered person begins to transform, their body becomes engulfed in a smoky black-gray aura. If the subject is able to overcome their emotional duress and calm down, the process is halted and reversed. If fully consumed, their aether rots from the inside out and their body transforms from a black burst of dynamis, leaving scant remnants of the original person who is driven only by their base emotional desires that led to their transformation and violent rage. It's even believed that since practically no aether remains, the souls of the victims turned into beasts do not make it to the aetherial sea. Thus, even when the beast is laid low, there is no saving the soul of the victim.
Though many beasts cause wanton violence and destruction out of pure instinct, the stronger blasphemies are driven by a fervent desire from their original form, much like the Cardinal Virtues. In exceptional cases, such as Charlet and Profane Fafnir, they appeared to be relatively docile and fled the scene after their transformations, never harming anyone until sufficiently provoked. In the special case of Nerva, he not only retained his desire to claim the throne, but was even capable of formulating tactics, hoarding and commanding several beasts to set up defenses and overwhelm his enemies in battle.
Notable beasts[]
Blasphemies[]
When Svarbhanu first emerged in Thavnair, it was called a "blasphemy" for its twisted resemblance to Thavnairian deities. The term blasphemy has since been adopted in reference to the first and most powerful beasts to emerge in each region affected by the Final Days. The despair wrought by the appearance of a blasphemy would give rise to more beasts, making each blasphemy the epicenter for a potential outbreak.
- Svarbhanu: the blasphemy of Thavnair, transformed from the merchant Khalzahl [kælˈzɑːl].
- Gleipnir: the blasphemy of the Black Shroud, transformed from the former Padjal Ea-Sura-Supin.
- Charlet: the blasphemy of Gyr Abania, transformed from the former Crania Lupi member of the same name.
- The Indigo Beast: the blasphemy of La Noscea, transformed from the Sahagin broodmother, the Indigo Queen.
- Izanami: the blasphemy of Yanxia, transformed from an Isari villager named Minato.
- Profane Fafnir: the blasphemy of Coerthas, transformed from an Elezen clone who took the name Vaindreau.
- Nerva yae Galvus: the blasphemy of Garlemald, transformed from the cousin of Varis zos Galvus and legatus of the IIIrd Legion.
Other notable beasts[]
- Archaeotania: an early beast manifestation kept for study in Akadaemia Anyder. Emet-Selch's recreation of it now haunts the Tempest.
- The First Beast: the first documented beast of the Final Days, a recreation of it is encountered in Emet-Selch's Amaurot.
- Therion: another beast seen in the recreated Amaurot, with several of them laying waste to the city.
Lesser beasts[]
- Terminus Beholder
- Terminus Bellwether
- Terminus Crier
- Terminus Detonator
- Terminus Drainer
- Terminus Flesher
- Terminus Horror
- Terminus Howler
- Terminus Idolizer
- Terminus Lacerator
- Terminus Pursuer
- Terminus Reaper
- Terminus Robber
- Terminus Roiler
- Terminus Shadower
- Terminus Shriver
- Terminus Slitherer
- Terminus Snatcher
- Terminus Sprinter
- Terminus Stalker
- Terminus Trampler
- Terminus Twitcher
- Terminus Vanquisher
- Terminus Weeper
- Terminus Wrecker
Etymology[]
Blasphemy is the act of showing contempt for or demeaning a god, or other object held in reverence.
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