Category:Beasts of the Final Days

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The Final Days were twice accompanied by the appearance of a terrifying menagerie of twisted beasts, which laid waste to the resplendent world of the ancients and caused untold suffering in our own. Yet despite the indelible strain they have left on the pages of history, much of their true nature is not widely understood.

— Encyclopædia Eorzea Volume 3, p. 282

Beasts of Eld

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As the shroud of the Final Days descended upon the ancients, out-of-control creation magicks gave birth to the beasts that would spell the end of their golden age. While the conjuration of life from aether was commonplace among the people at the time, the process had ever been bound by a rigorous set of rules. This chaotic period saw each of these rules shattered in turn, with the unpredictable appearance of monstrous entities wreaking untold havoc—and, for the first time, gave the ancients reason to fear the power they possessed.

The cause lay in Ultima Thule, at the very edge of existence, whence the Endsinger sent a wave of despair to sweep across the sea of stars. Once Etheirys was caught in the churning tides of dynamis, men began to witness their darkest fears becoming reality. For one poor soul, this meant meteors raining destruction upon the land; for another, it was a city burned to ash by unquenchable flames. Yet another saw an abomination from the realm of nightmares come to life—the First Beast of the Final Days.

— Encyclopædia Eorzea Volume 3, p. 282

Beasts of the Current Age

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The primary difference between the first and second comings of the Final Days is the manner in which their calamitous beasts were made manifest. While the monstrosities of eld were, as previously mentioned, created by an outburst of creation magicks, those of the present day were the result of innocents being transformed by the swells of despair.

This variance arises from the fundamental nature of the ancients versus those alive today. We are composed of much less dense aether, thus our inability to wield creation magicks. This paucity of aether, however, makes it easier for us to manipulate dynamis, a force driven primarily by emotions. The physical metamorphoses observed during the Final Days arose from such sudden changes to the dynamis—birthing beasts shaped by the dark hands of despair.

Similar phenomena have taken place in which aether, the constituent energy of body and soul, is warped to create creatures such as sin eaters and voidsent. However, since beasts are wrought from emotion unbound by physical limitations, dynamis gives rise to more extreme results. Furthermore, when one succumbs to transformation into a beast, naught remains in their heart save the singular sentiment that inspired their despair. This is thought to be the reason behind beasts' single-minded behavior.

— Encyclopædia Eorzea Volume 3, p. 284