Gridania

Overview

Gridania (グリダニア [gridania] in Japanese) is a city located in the Black Shroud on the continent of Aldenard in Final Fantasy XIV. It is on the northern shore of the Jadeite Flood and spreads to the west of the Whispering Gorge. There are various gates leading out of the city, namely those of Blue Badger Gate to the south-east (leading out to Jadeite Thick/Bentbranch area and connecting directly to the south-bound Lumberline to Ul'dah), White Wolf Gate to the south-west (leading out to Sorrel Haven/Bentbranch area), Black Boar Gate to the north-east (inaccessible to players and leading out to an unknown area), and the newest gate added after the Calamity, the Yellow Serpent Gate leading out to east to Treespeak. It connects easily to the north-west-bound Furline to Ishgard. In addition to the above, small ferryboats are used to enter Gridania at the Black Tea Brook (known as the Red Otter Gate), and travel via the Whispering Gorge to Honey Yard in the East Shroud as well as the new settlement of Lavender Beds. There is also an airship landing within the city, located on the eastern bank of the Black Tea Brook.

The city itself consists of the main areas of New Gridania on the shore of the Jadeite Flood, Old Gridania directly north of it, Lily Hills to the north of old Gridania, and finally the Lotus Gardens, an area at the west side of the city that must have been severely disrupted by the addition of the main road leading out to the Yellow Serpent Gate. It is unclear whether it is meant to be retconned out entirely, as there is no mention of the Lotus Gardens starting in version 2.0. Additionally, in version 1.x the New and Old Gridania were collectively known as the Root. It is unclear if this moniker is still supposed to be canon, as there is no mention of it anywhere.

The flag of Gridania consists of two white serpents entwined around the stem of a white lily, all on a field of yellow. The serpents represent the continuity of the people of Gelmorra to the people of Gridania, as well as unity of the hyur and elezen who established the city-state. The lily stands for the gift of communication with the elementals, while the yellow signifies the land filled with the power of the elementals.

Society

The city-state of Gridania is led by the Elder Seedseer and the Seedseer Council, who lead the city-state according to the will of the elementals. Most decisions that affect the daily lives of Gridanians are agreed upon by the elementals before they are acted on, ranging from which prey to fell, which trees to saw down or prune, where to plant and farm and harvest, and also where exactly it is allowable to live and who is allowed to live in the Twelveswood. Various rites, rituals and festivals are held on a regular basis to communicate with the elementals and to appease their - almost unavoidable - anger.

One of the most valued positions in Gridanian society is that of a Hearer, a trained conjurer who can communicate with the elementals. While this in itself relies on natural talent, the highest positions in Gridanian society belong to the padjal, a semi-race of hyurs born with horns, a sign of the elementals' blessing. Seedseers are always formed out of the strongest padjal. Hyur bloodlines known to produce padjal with regularity are held in high esteem. In addition to hyur, Gridanian nobles are known to consist of at least some amount of elezen as well, as per the presence of the ill-fated Dartancours family.

The main industries of Gridania are, quite as to be expected of a forest nation, the production of timber, as well as carpentry, farming, hunting and leatherwork. Initially the people of Gridania subsisted on mostly gathering and hunting, but since those times farming has become more widespread as elementals allow the use of more areas for the planting of orchards and fields. However, animal husbandry is still strictly forbidden as it could too greatly upset the balance of the forest, and as such most Gridanians lack all kinds of dairy goods and the meat and eggs of farm animals. Instead, they have an abundance of berries, vegetables and nuts, with their protein intake consisting of fish and the forest's wild animals.

The average Gridanian is averse to any waste of natural resources, and never takes from nature more than is needed or allowed to them. They hold the elementals as messengers of the city-state's patron goddess Nophica, and make sure to take care of the Twelveswood for being allowed to live there. Outsider views can seem incredibly wasteful to them, whereas Gridanians themselves are often seen as closed-off, bland, and obsessed with obscure unseen rules. A popular news publication is The Raven, which mostly publishes articles about events and happenings relevant to the interests of the people.

Gridanian populace consists 40% of Midlander hyur, 30% of Wildwood elezen, 10% of Duskwight elezen, 10% of Keeper of the Moon miqo'te and 10% of others1 , chief among them Plainsfolk lalafell. Coexistence isn't always harmonious, as many Duskwights and Keepers of the Moon have traditionally refused to submit to the guidance of the elementals, causing their wrath to fall on the good obedient citizens of Gridania. To this day, many of the two tribes live as poachers and bandits outside the proper permitted settlements of the Wood.

Military

The military organization of Gridania has grown organically over time, although the most extensive revisions to it have been seen since 1572 of the Sixth Astral Era. Originally, the Gridanian military consisted of only the Wood Wailers, who defended the city-state from all manner of threats. However, in 1363 the Gods' Quiver was established to protect the Twelveswood from outside threats, the outside threat in question being almost exclusively Ixal at the time. The Wood Wailers became a kind of a policing force that kept peace within the city-state and dealt with other internal threats. Both these branches of the armed forces were and are overlooked by the Stillglade Fane and its conjurers. In fact, the armed forces is not the only thing the Fane oversees, for each individual organization in Gridania has a supervising conjurer assigned to it. For hundreds of years, this division of labor stayed in effect. The current leaders are First Spear Swethyna Brooke who has kept her position for 15 years, and Bowlord Lewin Hunte who has led the Quiver for the past 30 years.

However, the changing climate if the end of the Sixth Astral Era necessitated the foundation of the Grand Company Order of the Twin Adder. The entirety of the order is led by Grand Serpent Marshal Swethryk Brookstone directly under the command of the Elder Seedseer Kan-E-Senna, and the order cooperates with the Stillglade Fane in matters of the security of the city-state. The Adders are divided into Blue Badgers, Red Otters, White Wolves, Black Boars and Yellow Serpents, each having a different specialization. The White Wolves are a youth division directly overseen by the Wood Wailers and the Gods' Quiver, and the Yellow Serpents consist entirely of adventurers. The latter were initially led by High Serpent Commander Quinquerol Flutaint, who suffered greatly during the Battle of Carteneau. The current High Serpent Commander is Vorsaile Heuloix.

Initially, the Wailers, the Quiver and the Adders were all separate branches of the military. However, due to the heavy personnel losses during the Calamity, the Adders were restructured and both the Wailers and the Quiver were absorbed within the Adders as separate ranger units.

To read more about the organization of each military structure, please refer to their individual pages.

History

Gridania the city-state was formed from the old underground city-state Gelmorra in 1077 of the Sixth Astral Era. Its main founder is considered to be the hyur conjurer Jorin Pota who led the negotiations with the elementals that allowed the Gelmorrans to settle in the forest, as well as his son I-Ohok-Pota, the first padjal, who was born to him in 1081.2

Initially, the elementals were against letting people live in the forest. However, around the year 1020 of the Sixth Astral Era the Ixal incurred their wrath and were driven out of the forest. This gave the conjurers of Gelmorra a chance to negotiate with the elementals to take the Ixals' place in the ecosystem, and it certainly helped that after decades of trying they finally found a way to communicate. The final negotiations were held in Peacegarden in 1076. The construction of the city of Gridania began the following year. Quarrymill was built as the first aboveground settlement to quarry the stones required for the construction of the city.

The city-state was initially led only the the Seedseer Council, consisting of the most talented conjurers. However, with the growing up of I-Ohok, he took on the title of the first Elder Seedseer in 1123. It is also worth noting that while the exact dates of much of the formation of Gridanian society are unknown, the Stillglade Fane was in place very early on in its life. In 1117 the second padjal born, U-Kote-Num, was taken in by I-Ohok and the Stillglade Fane to be raised there, which means the Stillglade Fane was already in place by that date.

The first known challenge the budding city-state faced was in 1322 when the Creeping Death started spreading among the hyur population. It wasn't until five years later when a cure was discovered, which gave plenty of time for the plague to kill a good number of them. The hyur that had initially consisted a good majority of Gridanian citizens are henceforth just a slight majority among many. Later in the mid 1300s the Ixal came back to the forest from their exile, and the Gods' Quiver was established in 1363 to supplement the forces of the Wood Wailers.

There is a curious incident only mentioned as Gridanians 'incurring the greenwrath' in 1451.3 It isn't mentioned what exactly caused it, only that the sacrifice of the lives of several elderly citizens was enough to remove the woodsin from Gridanians. From this it can be deduced that it probably was no minor matter. In more worldly concerns, Ala Mhigo initiated the Autumn War against Gridania in 1468. It culminated in the famous First and Second Battles of Tinolqa in the same and following year, the first ending in Gridania's sound defeat and the second in its win, with the aid of its fresh allies Ishgard, Ul'dah and Limsa Lominsa, called into duty via the first incarnation of the Eorzean Alliance. In the aftereffects of the war, captain Mistalle founds the Lancers' Guild under the care of the Wood Wailers.

In the year 1549 of the Sixth Astral Era, the padjal Kan-E-Senna was born. She quickly became the strongest padjal, and was named a Seedseer in 1561, only 12 years old. The following year, the Ixal first summoned their goddess Garuda, and from there things escalated quickly. In 1572 the Eorzean Alliance is refreshed at the urging of Elder Seedseer Kan-E-Senna, albeit without its founding member Ishgard, and the same year saw the establishment of the Order of the Twin Adder, the re-imagining of the famed Grand Company from the Sixth Umbral Era.

Present Day

Gridania is one of the main city-states on the continent in the present day, and faces considerable pressure of Garlean invasion from the north-east. The city-state is led by the Elder Seedseer Kan-E-Senna and the Seedseer Council. Gridania is currently in an alliance with the other major city-states Ul'dah, Limsa Lominsa and Ishgard.

The Calamity had a particularly strong effect in the Twelveswood, with much of the forest burning in the fires and the flow of aether changing the land. As a result, the elementals weakened greatly, and are now but a shadow of what they once were in terms of power and presence. Sunlight shines freely on the forest floor where there was once but shadows, and great swathes of the forest are now but wasteland.

Locations

Above can be found the various maps available of the city and its sub-areas, in both version 1.x and in version 2.0+, as available. Maps include (in order) the main city area (The Root: New Gridania/Old Gridania), the Lotus Stand, a room at the Roost, Adders' Nest (when it was still a separate area from the city), Twin Adder Barracks, and the Seat of the First Bow. Currently still missing is the Ashcrown Consortium offices map. Significance of the areas is listed below in appropriate areas.

Root: New Gridania

New Gridania is the section of the city formed around the Knot, the intersection of many of the city's main roads. It is located on the north shore of the Jadeite Flood. The roads leading out of the Knot are (clockwise, starting in north-east) the Poplar Avenue, the Birch Avenue, the Holly Avenue and an unnamed road leading directly north towards the Elm Avenue, which might just be part of the Elm Avenue itself. The Black Tea Brook flows right through the Knot, slightly to the west of the Aetheryte Plaza located there.
The name 'New Gridania' comes from the relative newness of this part of the city, as its oldest buildings were built a mere 200 years past.4

Carline Canopy / The Roost / Airship Landing / Chocobo Stables
All the abovementioned establishments are located in the same building. In addition, the Carline Canopy houses within it the local Adventurers' Guild as well. Carline Canopy and the Guild are headed by Mother Miounne, and the Roost is run by Boyle the Bold.
The Carline Canopy seems to take up most or all of the ground floor of the building. At the corner is the entrance to an inn known as the Roost. There are stairs at the lake end of the building down to basement level, where the airship landing can be found. Highwind Skyways operates airships from Gridania to the other city-states of Eorzea and various other locales. On the Knot end of the building are the chocobo stables, although they don't appear to be connected to the other establishments in the building.

The Oak Atrium
The Oak Atrium is the home of the famed carpenters of Gridania, right at the edge of the Knot itself. It also houses the Carpenters' Guild, and the establishment raises (at least some of) the orphaned children of the city-state. The Atrium is run by Master Beatin.

Figaga's Gift
A great waterwheel built by a lalafell of the same name. It provides power for the sawmill of the Oak Atrium.
Acorn Orchard
Acorn Orchard is a playground located behind the Oak Atrium. Many of the wards of the Oak Atrium can be found relaxing there on their free time.

The Adders' Nest
After the Calamity, the headquarters of the Order of the Twin Adder were moved from Lotus Gardens to New Gridania, right by the edge of the Knot. At the back of the Nest is the entrance to the barracks, where active Twin Adder companies are housed.

Quivers' Hold
Following the Popler Avenue north and east from the Knot, on the shore of the Whispering Gorge is the headquarters of the Gods' Quiver and the associated Archers' Guild. Within the Hold is the Seat of the First Bow, the office of Bowlord Lewin Hunte who leads the Quiver. The Guildmaster of the Archers' Guild is Luciane Corne.
Blue Badger Gate / Mistalle Bridges
Following the Birch Avenue south-east from the Knot is the Blue Badger Gate, the main gate to arrivals from the Lumberline to the south. Arrivals must cross the Mistalle Bridges above the Jadeite Flood to enter the city.

White Wolf Gate / Berlends Bridges
The White Wolf Gate used to be the westernmost gate to Gridania, and as such the gate travelers of the Furline to the north and west arrived through. The Calamity wrought many changes however, and the White Wolf Gate is now a remnant of the past. While it has been confirmed that the Berlends Bridges are still in place5 , it is probable that they no longer cross the Jadeite Flood as due to the effects of the Calamity the south-western portions of the city were greatly raised in elevation6 , and the water would have run off down to the eastern half of the Flood.

Red Otter Gate
Red Otter Gate is a floodgate at the mouth of the Black Tea Brook. It mainly serves anglers setting out to fish in the Jadeite Flood.

Root: Old Gridania

Old Gridania forms the heart of the city in a geographical sense. It is located to the north of New Gridania, to the west of the Whispering Gorge, to the south of Lily Hills and to the east of Lotus Gardens. Much of the commerce within the city-state is concentrated in Old Gridania.

Atelier Fen-Yll
The Atelier on the east-west main road Elm Avenue forms the heart of the city. Alongside the famed leatherworkers of the Atelier work those of the Leatherworkers' Guild. The Master of the Atelier and the Guild is Geva Storke.

Mih Khetto's Amphitheatre
Originally this amphitheatre, mainly used for rituals and festivals, was located on the north edge of Old Gridania. The Calamity wrecked the original place however, and the new Amphitheatre was built right in the heart of the city on the Elm Avenue, a short distance from Atelier Fen-Yll. The original structure was gifted to Gridania by the famed minstrel Mih Khetto.

Stillglade Fane
The Fane is the home of the conjurers of Gridania and the Hearers, and the place where young padjal are taken to be raised. It is also home to the Conjurers' Guild. The Guildmaster is currently E-Sumi-Yan.
It bears noting that while the location of the Fane changed from the north-west of Old Gridania to its south-west between versions 1.x and 2.0, there is no mention of this in the lore. It is possible that this is a retcon, and the Fane is meant to have been in its new location from the start. Originally, however, its current location was taken by the Aetheryte Plaza.
Lotus Stand
Lotus Stand is the 'office', so to speak, of the Seedseer Council and the Elder Seedseer. While players have always accessed it from in front of the Stillglade Fane, it is unknown just how far from the Fane it is in actuality located.
Greatloam Growery
The Growery boasts the most extensive gardens within the city, and produces the botanists required to take care of the Twelveswood as per the instructions of the elementals. It also houses the Botanists' Guild, led by Master Fufucha Fucha.
Apkallu Falls
Nearby the road to Lily Hills is the Apkallu Falls, a small waterfall and pond where, it is said, a merchant once tried to raise apkallus. It is these days used only as a place to relax by the citizens.
Wailing Barracks
The home of the Wood Wailers is on the north-eastern corner of New Gridania, along the Pine Avenue and on the western shore of the Whispering Gorge. It also houses the Lancers' Guild. The leader of the Wailers is Swethyna Brookstone, and the Guildmaster of the Lancers' Guild is Ywain Deepwell.

The Centaur's Eye
A local shop that has seen over 150 years of history.

Ebony Stalls / Rosewood Stalls / Shaded Bower
The stalls are the main marketplace in Gridania alongside the Market Wards found in Lotus Gardens. The difference is, in the stalls can be found mainly big chain names and affluential independent merchants. The names of the stalls come from a Gridanian folktale set some hundred years past.7 It is said that a child of the elementals perished at that time, causing them to freeze the land in their grief. At that time, a brother and sister became lost in the woods in search of food, but were reunited by playing the ebony zither and the rosewood pipe they had brought along. Their playing also brought out the elementals from their grief and returned summer to the forest.

Yellow Serpent Gate
Yellow Serpent Gate , right off of Holly Avenue, leads out of Gridania, presumably through the inaccessible Lotus Gardens area of the city. This gate was built after the Calamity.

Black Boar Gate
Right nearby the Wailing Barracks on Pine Avenue is the Black Boar Gate leading north and east from the city. It is unknown just where exactly it gives out to. It has not been open to the players in any iteration of the game.

Westshore Pier
Westshore Pier is located right next to the Wailing Barracks. There are various ferryboats that take people across the Whispering Gorge.

Lotus Gardens

Lotus Gardens forms the eastern parts of the city of Gridania...or at the very least it did in version 1.x. There is no mention of Lotus Gardens in version 2.0 and later, so it may be possible that this area of the city was retconned out, especially as where the entrance to Lotus Gardens used to stand is now only the Yellow Serpent Gate.

Peasants Ward
This is the part of the city where most of the commonfolk live. There are also various establishments, namely the main offices of the Ashcrown Consortium. Before the Calamity it also had the Adders' Nest - the headquarters of the Order of the Twin Adder.

Market Wards
The Gridanian Market Wards, where anyone and everyone can come peddle their wares, is located in the Lotus Gardens. The Market Wars also feature the Mercantile Houses for the bigger name merchants.

Lily Hills

Despite the entrance to Lily Hills having been present in Gridania since the very launch of the original game, not much about it is known. It is said to be the area where the nobles of Gridania live. It is located to the north of Old Gridania.

Info

NPCs

Quests

This section lists quests that start in Gridania. In case of levequests, it lists only those levequests that also take place in Gridania, that are activated there instead of simply being available for signing up to there.

Main and GC Quests

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Class and Job Quests

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Side Quests

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Event Quests

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Levequests

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Gathering

There are no gathering points for botany or mining within the city itself. However, there are plenty of water areas, featuring river- and lake-type freshwater fish. The fishing areas in 2.0 are Lower Black Tea Brook, Upper Black Tea Brook, Jadeite Flood and Whispering Gorge.

Fishing (2.0+)	Fishing (1.x)
Bloody Brewer (Black Tea Brook) Carp Diem Crayfish Gudgeon Maiden Carp Moat Carp Pipira Crayfish (Jadeite Flood, Whispering Gorge) Gudgeon Maiden Carp Matron Carp Moat Carp Pipira Raincaller Stormdancer	Crayfish Lamp Marimo Pipira Rainbow Trout