The Hermit Ramuh

In the eastern portion of the Buburimu Peninsula by the shores of the Gugru Sea was a nation with highly advanced technology.

Unrivaled in its power, its influence in the region was great, and the fact that the nation's power lied heavily in tools and vehicles powered by lightning was known to all its citizens. The one who had invented all of this was known as the Sage Ramuh.

It was said that his great wisdom--having the reputation of being deeper than the ocean itself--came from the knowledge he gained from his reading of tomes from all corners of the world, published throughout the ages. All of his countrymen deeply trusted him, carefully lending their ears to his words.

However, one day, something unusual occurred. One of Ramuh's measurement tools predicted the occurrence of a single terrifying event--the city would be battered and destroyed by earthquakes and tidal waves.

He checked and re-checked the instrument's systems, yet the results it produced remained the same. Furthermore, it signaled that these events would occur in 3 days time.

Ramuh's sudden announcement evoked a great stir amongst the citizenry. However, as they had lived such a peaceful days in an era of great prosperity, suddenly believing in Ramuh's apocalyptic predictions was a near impossibility.

3 days later, when the earthquakes that had been predicted by Ramuh actually occurred, only a few hundred people sought shelter on high ground to avoid the disaster. Many lives were lost.

Suspicion grew in the hearts of those who had barely survived the disaster. Rather than being consumed by unhappiness and grief for lost loved ones, they became unreasonably furious. In truth, they perhaps were seeking an easy scapegoat.

"Ramuh…… the one who 'predicted' these earthquakes. Could he very well be the one who caused them?"

Their misgivings towards Ramuh later erupted into a sense of paranoia, and many a dreadful rumor was whispered about the old sage amongst them. Even in their looks, he could tell that their profound respect for him was replaced by morbid fear and vicious animosity.

One day, when Ramuh was pelted with rocks by a youth who had lost his parents in the tsunami, he made the decision to leave the country, his patience exhausted.

Ramuh packed up his vast libraries into a single ship, and rowed to an uninhabited island near the coast under the cover of the moonless night…

Several decades later, many of the tools and vessels he invented stopped working. The root of this dilemma was that their simple maintenance had been completely ignored by the citizenry.

Around that time, the Beastman Empire noticed that the nation's influence had begun to severely weaken. Seeing this time as a fortunate opportunity, they sent a great fleet of warships to invade the city.

However, the technologies with which the ocean nation desired to stop the beastman fleet from landing no longer remained.

No-- indeed, there was in fact one option left: to call back the great sage Ramuh, the very man who they had expelled so disdainfully.

Ramuh refused the pleas of the envoys that visited him countless times, but he later acquiesced. This was due mostly to the fact that one of the men who begged for his assistance was the same youth that had pelted him with stones so many years ago.

Standing at the vast cape where the Beastman fleet held its ground, Ramuh waved back and forth the Staff of Olduum he had obtained some years ago.

As he completed the motion, flashes of lightning burst forth and one after another, the enemy boats erupted into flames.

Having lost many of their troops, the imperial fleet quickly gathered its remaining soldiers and fled away from the area in pandemonium.

Drunk with the sweet wine of victory, the people praised Ramuh's sagacity. However, their display of appreciation was no more than an act.

The lightning that gushed forth from Ramuh's staff. That destructive power alone was enough to arouse fear in their meek hearts.

It was not long before the people of this nation began to wonder when the time when Ramuh would direct his staff towards they themselves would come, and again they held tight to suspicion and mistrust. Of course, they refrained from such violence as throwing rocks, however, the scornful looks they directed to Ramuh were entirely of the same nature as before.

As Ramuh let out a sigh of lament, he turned back to his home, never to show himself again to the world.

The greatly weakened nation eventually collapsed. However, those who remained in the region came to consider the place where Ramuh appeared as a place of emotional support, and thus soon came to pray in thanks for his heroic actions.

The goddess, having seen the history of the ocean country since its beginnings, took pity on the wanderers and called Ramuh to the heavens.

May the people of this earth always be able to feel that Ramuh is nearby, watching over them…

*Taken from: Vana'diel Tribune Issue No. 11*

### Notes

*Note: Olduum is the brighest star in the Ramuh constellation in Vana'diel's sky. It is a purple-colored star. Olduum is also the name of a fallen civilization which plays a role in the Treasures of Aht Urhgan storyline.*

### Article in original Japanese

ブブリム半島の東、ググリュー洋には、かつて技術の発達した海洋国家があったそうです。

比肩する国すらない、その威光の多くが、雷で動く器具や乗り物によってもたらされたものであることは、国民の誰もが知っていました。

これらを発明したのが、哲学者のラムウでした。

古今東西にわたる膨大な書から得た知識は海よりも深いと評判で、すべての人が彼を信頼し、その言葉に耳を傾けていました。

しかし、ある日、異変は訪れました。彼の発明した計測器が「大地震と津波が街を襲う」と、予兆を告げたのです。

彼はなんども調べましたが、結果は変わりませんでした。しかも、それはわずか3日後だというのです。

突然のラムウの発表に、街の人々はどよめきました。しかし、平穏な日々を過ごしていた彼らにとって、大地震や津波が襲ってくるなど、にわかには信じがたい話。

3日後、予測どおりに大地震が起きたとき、彼の言葉を信じて高台に逃れて難を避けた人は、ほんの数百人にすぎず、多くの命が失われました。

そして、避難しなかったけれど、からくも助かった人々に猜疑心が芽生えました。この理不尽な不幸に対し、彼らは分かり易い原因を求めていたのかもしれません。

「地震は、予言していたラムウ本人が引き起こしたのではないのか？」

疑心暗鬼は噂となって囁かれ、人々のラムウをみつめる尊敬のまなざしは、いつしか恐怖や敵意をむき出しにしたものに変わっていきました。

ある日、津波で両親を失った少年に石を投げつけられた彼は、いたたまれなくなって、ついに国を出る決意をしました。

ラムウは、大量の蔵書を積み込んだ舟を、月のない夜に近海の無人島へ向けて漕ぎだしたのです……。

数十年の後、彼の発明した器具や乗り物の多くは、動かなくなっていました。それは簡単な整備すら、人々が怠っていたことが原因でした。

その頃、海洋国家の威光が衰え始めたことに気づいた獣人の帝国がありました。彼らは、今が好機とみて、大艦隊を送り込んできました。

しかし、敵の上陸を阻止する術は、既に海洋国家には残されていません。いえ、正確にはひとつだけありました。それは、自分たちが追放したラムウを呼び戻すことでした。

ラムウは島を訪れた人々の願いをなんども断りましたが、ついには断りきれなくなってしまいました。なぜなら、彼に頭を下げる人々の中に、かつて彼に石を投げつけた少年の姿を見いだしたからです。

彼は、帝国の艦隊を一望できる岬にひとり立つと、手にしたオルドゥームの杖を振りかざしました。

すると、先端から稲妻がほとばしり、次々と敵の船は炎上し始めました。

度肝を抜かれた帝国の艦隊は、急いで上陸していた兵を収容すると、慌てて引き上げていきました。

人々は勝利の美酒に酔い、ラムウの英知をたたえました。しかし、それは見せかけにすぎませんでした。

ラムウの杖からほとばしった雷。その威力は、彼らをも畏怖させるのに十分だったのです。

やがて人々は、ラムウの杖がいつか自分たちに向けて振り下ろされるという、疑念を抱くようになりました。石こそ投げられませんでしたが、彼らがラムウを見る視線は、あの時とまったく同じになっていたのです。

ラムウは嘆息を漏らすと、そのまま踵を返し、二度と姿を見せることはありませんでした。

ほどなくして海洋国家は滅びました。しかし、生き残った人々はラムウの登場を心の支えとして待ちつづけ、やがては祈るようになりました。

海洋国家を昔から見ていた女神は、残された民を哀れに思い、ラムウを天に招いたということです。

人々が、いつもラムウを近くに感じられるように……。

### Credibility of the Avatar Legends

The stories told in the Vana'diel Tribune might not be actually true. There are some points in the main storyline of FFXI that contradict the facts said in these stories.

It is possible that these stories are actual legends that are spread around by the people of Vana'diel. This becomes even more likely considering that most of the time the Vana'diel Tribune is being told from the point of view of people actually in Vana'diel.