Mothercrystal (Final Fantasy XI)

There are six mothercrystals in the setting of Final Fantasy XI. Five of the six shards broke off from the great crystal in the creation myth. The mothercrystals play important roles in the storylines of the Final Fantasy XI expansions, especially Rise of the Zilart, Chains of Promathia, and Rhapsodies of Vana'diel.
==The Mothercrystals==
The names of the mothercrystals are:
*Mea
*Dem
*Holla
*Vahzl
*Al'Taieu
*Selh'teus
The first four are considered Vana'diel mothercrystals. The fifth is the mothercrystal in the Lumoria region, and the last mothercrystal is the new crystal on the island of Reisenjima. The four Vana'diel mothercrystals are enormous blue crystals, while the Al'taieu is a bright amber color. 
===The Crystal Line===
The Crystal Line was built by the Zilart to open the Gate of the Gods and force their way into Paradise. They encased the mothercrystals in what they named "Arks", modernly called "Crags", and connected them through conduits modernly called "Spines". These connect to Delkfutt's Tower, the control center for the harnessing of their power, which was channeled to Tu'Lia with the goal of opening the gate to Paradise. 
The Kuluu and the Dawn Maidens, with the help of the Terrestrial Avatars, waged war with the Zilart to stop the attempt. While Bahamut and his wyrm army attacked Al'Taieu, the Kuluu destroyed the Vahzl Crag from a tunnel dug from Pso'Xja. This caused a chain reaction called "The Meltdown", which not only caused a crater that forms the modern-day Sea of Shu'Meyo, but blew pieces of Vana'diel all the way to the moon.
===Holla===
The mothercrystal of Holla is encased in the crag of the same name close to the Kingdom of San d'Oria in La Theine Plateau. When the adventurer goes to investigate the shattered telepoint crystals, they find themself being teleported inside the crag. Not long after, a gate opens up and two members of the Armathrwn Society try to escape from behind the now open gate, but a dark force pulls them back, deeper into the crag. The adventurer makes through the area inside the crag, now corrupted by the Emptiness. They get to the mothercrystal Holla, and upon their arrival, find Nag'molada with several more from the Armathrwn Society there at the mothercrystal as well. Nag'molada prepares to attack the adventurer, but Selh'teus shows up and saves them by warping them back outside the crag. While doing so, Selh'teus shows them a vision of the past.
===Dem===
Afterward, the adventurer investigates the crag of Dem near the Republic of Bastok in Konschtat Highlands. They find that Cid and Ayame are also investigating in the area. While they are conversing, Wolfgang shows up with the ducal guard, assuring everyone that the issues with the crags are being taken care of by Jeuno. The adventurer enters the crag anyway, and ventures through the area infected with the Emptiness to get to the mothercrystal, Dem. They find Selh'teus lying unconscious at the foot of the mothercrystal. When the adventurer tries to help him, they are again warped out of the crag by Selh'teus. Selh'teus also shows the adventurer another vision.
===Mea===
Once the adventurer gets inside the crag of Mea near the Federation of Windurst in the Tahrongi Canyon, Nag'molada and Wolfgang are there waiting for them and Selh'teus. Nag'molada is convinced that the adventurer and Selh'teus are working together to drain the light of the mothercrystals, and orders Wolfgang to attack. He lands a direct attack on Selh'teus, but it does not seem to hurt him. Selh'teus takes the adventurer further towards the mothercrystal and they find that Nag'Molada is not far behind. Selh'teus touches the crystal, and they are all teleported out.
===Vahzl===
When the adventurer gets to the fourth mothercrystal deep within Pso'Xja, Nag'molada is again there to attack Selh'teus. He is successful at subduing Selh'teus this time, and just as it seems he has won, Prishe steps in a saves Selh'teus.
===Al'Taieu===
The adventurer gets to the ancient Zilart capital and mothercrystal of Al'Taieu. They learn that Selh'teus wanted them to get to every other mothercrystal to transfer their light to the adventurer and then from the adventurer to this fifth mothercrystal. He wants to do this to keep the Gates of the Gods closed. To transfer the light of the four Vana'diel mothercrystals to Al'Taieu would require the death of the adventurer near the mothercrystal though. Prishe insists that there is another way to keep the Gates of the Gods closed without shedding innocent blood.
===Selh'teus ===
In the Rhapsodies of Vana'diel story, Selh'teus travels between many worlds gathering the light from their mothercrystals to create a new mothercrystal in Reisenjima. He does this to protect the island of Reisenjima from the Cloud of Darkness that threatens the well-being of the other five mothercrystals. This new mothercrystal is lodged inside the Sanctorium of Reisenjima.
==Function==
===General function ===
The mothercrystals have several functions. They serve as the source of "light" that gives rise to new life in Vana'diel. The light of the mothercrystals can be thought of as similar to the lifestream from the Final Fantasy VII setting. When one dies, their soul is sent to the nearest mothercrystal. The Terrestrial Avatar Phoenix has the power to manipulate this. When Emptiness forms around a crystal, the Empty and Promyvion form from the souls inside of the crystal and their memories.
The light of the mothercrystals clashing with the Promathian Emptiness also stirs up the Winds of Time, which repel the Cloud of Darkness. When the five original mothercrystals begin to die and there is no more resistance to the Emptiness, the Cloud of Darkness takes Vana'diel over, leaving only Reisenjima untouched thanks to the Selh'teus mothercrystal.
Mothercrystals, just like their smaller counterparts, serve as a gateway to the higher realm of the gods. The Zilart wanted to unify the mothercrystals to bring the higher realm back together with Vana'diel in what they called 'opening the gate of the gods'. When one gets too close to a mothercrystal, they are taken a higher realm, such as with Selh'teus' mothercrystal, or to the Promyvion, a higher realm corrupted by the Emptiness.
===Specialized function===
The four Vana'diel mothercrystals fend off the Emptiness, which is the physical manifestation of Promathia's will, which are the sins that he embedded in the enlightened races of Vana'diel. The fifth mothercrystal has a slightly different function from the four Vana'diel crystals: to keep the Gates of Paradise closed. It achieves this by keeping the Lumoria region suspended in a different dimension from Vana'diel. Towards the end of the Chains of Promathia storyline, it is made known that the light of the mothercrystal is beginning to wane. This causes the manifestation of the Emptiness to blanket the lands outside Vana'diel, and the weakened fifth mothercrystal is resulting in the region of Lumoria to descend back towards Vana'diel.
==Behind the scenes ==
The concept of mothercrystals is reused in Final Fantasy XIV and Final Fantasy XVI, both games by Creative Business Unit III. Their reappearance in the latter is similar to that of Final Fantasy XI. Both sets of mothercrystals are related to the "plague of the land", and while this is a minor plot point in Final Fantasy XI, it is one of the primary conflicts in Final Fantasy XVI.
category:Final Fantasy XI