Tamamo Gozen

Tamamo Gozen, also known simply as the nine-tailed fox, is a powerful Auspice in Final Fantasy XIV. She is Yanxia's most well-known Auspice. Tamamo appears in several legends, but the most popular is her tale as the guardian of Doma.
==History==
===Early life===
A long time ago Tamamo Gozen lived in the Reisen Temple alongside the other Auspices. One day Tamamo Gozen left to live among men. A friend of hers, the auspice fox Kudagitsune, remained waiting in the temple in case Tamamo should return one day.
One legend says that long ago, Tamamo in the form of a fox was caught in a wolf trap. She was saved by a powerful landowner, who built a temple to her. Since then, the spirit of the fox protects Yanxia from evil.
Three hundred years ago, while making her way to the One River for refreshment, Tamamo stumbled upon a gravely wounded samurai. Taking pity on the youth, she transformed herself into a maiden and, saved the samurai by taking him to her shrine deep in the mountains. The young samurai was Shoen Rijin, the younger brother of the ruler of Doma, Seien Rijin, and leader of the people's rebellion. Shoen was immensely grateful for Tamamo's ministrations, but his thoughts were always with his comrades and his people, and he yearned to return to the battlefield to aid them. For her part, Tamamo was deeply moved by his idealism and compassion, and soon fell in love.
When Shoen healed and was about to return to his companions, Tamamo asked to accompany him. Shoen, believing her to be a young lady, refused. Tamamo revealed her true form to Shoen and offered her strength. Thus did Tamamo Gozen join Lord Shoen's cause, granting him the power to depose his brother at last, and free his people from tyrannical rule. Upon taking the throne, Shoen spared no expense in rebuilding Tamamo's mountain shrine, and instilled in his children and grandchildren a reverence for her that would last long after he passed on. Tamamo herself swore to protect Yanxia evermore.
During the Garlean invasion twenty-five years ago, Tamamo was seen confronting the invading army and knocking airships from the sky. In the end, it was surrounded by warmachina and simply vanished from the battlefield, leaving only rumors of the legendary Tamamo Gozen in its wake. The wounds she sustained during the conflict addled her mind, and the fox is said to now wander the land in a state of dangerous confusion. After the fall of Doma, the Empire implemented its policy that forbids any kind of worship. Thus, the people of Yanxia stopped offering prayers to Tamamo.
===Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood===
For twenty-five years, Tamamo Gozen has wandered without memory through Yanxia in the form of the young maiden Mikuzume. Tendo the Mirrored led a group of Onmyoji from Koshu to capture Tamamo Gozen in an attempt to dominate her. When an Onmyoji encounter Mikuzume, she resists the kidnapping. During the confrontation she transforms into her original form and killed the Onmyoji on the spot. Once she has returned to Mikuzume form, she flees in confusion.
Mikuzume ends up being captured by Tendo the Mirrored. Tendo awakens the spirit of the slumbering fox in Mikuzume. However, the ritual to imprison Tamamo fails and Tendo ends up killed by her. Tamamo Gozen goes berserk in her original form and the Warrior of Light confronts her to calm her down. After the battle, the foxes Ginko and Kinko take unconscious Mikuzume to be treated.
==Characteristics==
===Appearance===
Tamamo is a ferocious gray fox with red streaks of fur along her body and has bright orange eyes. Tamamo can also take the form of a raen Au ra woman with white hair and fox ears. She wears a white kimono with a yellow sash and a red skirt with sandals. 
===Personality===
==Gameplay==
Tamamo Gozen can be fought as a boss in FATE . To spawn the FATE, the player first needs to successfully complete the FATEs , , and . 
The is started by talking to Ginko at Doma in Yanxia (19.9, 7.4), during this FATE Mikuzume can be seen wandering around at the Glittering Basin (30, 31). The is started by talking to Kinko at the Glittering Basin (13, 30), during this FATE Mikuzume can be seen wandering around at Prism Lake (26 7.5).
After successfully completing the two FATEs mentioned above, the FATE can spawn at Valley of the Fallen Rainbow (31, 8). During FATE, Mikuzume is an allied NPC. She will fight the same way as an arcanist, and will cast Foxfire, Incineration, and Inhibition, and eventually she will turn into Tamamo Gozen. During this FATE, a fox kit will spawn at the broken shrine at the Heron's Flight (34.5 13). 
If you are inside the spawn window, the can randomly spawn somewhere in Yanxia up to several hours later after completion of Outfoxed. The spawn window begins after server reset or after 36 hours have passed since last appearance. During this FATE, the Namai Elder will appears at the broken shrine at the Heron's Flight (34.5 13).
==Behind the scenes==
Prior to Patch 4.4, Tamamo Gozen was named as "Tamamo-no-Gozen".
Tamamo Gozen shares the same model with Kamuy Of The Nine Tails. Despite their appearance, both are different vulpine auspices. Kamuy Of The Nine Tails can be obtained as a mount for completing . To accept the quest, a player must first have collected all of seven Kamuy mounts from Extreme trials in the Stormblood expansion.
==Gallery==
Mikuzume from Final Fantasy XIV.png|Mikuzume.
==Etymology==
Tamamo-no-Mae is a legendary figure from Japan. According to the stories, she was a legendary fox spirit that appeared during the Muromachi period as otogizōshi (prose narratives), and were also mentioned by Toriyama Sekien in Konjaku Hyakki Shūi. Edo period folklore then conflated the legend with similar foreign stories about fox spirits corrupting rulers, causing chaos in their territories.
Gozen is a Japanese term meaning "young lady" or "young lord". It is sometimes applied as a title for female warrior samurai.
==Citations==
Category:Characters in Final Fantasy XIV
Category:Auspices