Limsa Lominsa is one of the starting city-states in Final Fantasy 14, one that is built by the sea and serves as a major port for Eorzea. Most players think of Limas Lominsa as a city that is easy to get lost in and a place where it is hard to understand NPCs in their thick dialects. There is much more to the city though, especially in terms of lore and history.
The founders of Limsa Lominsa hailed from the Roegadyn's homeland, the island of Aerslaent. It was in 874 during the Sixth Astral Era, with a crew on a ship called the Galadion. This crew of Sea Wolves had to set sail after failing a coup d'etat against a tyrant. It was from here that the first steps forwards founding Limsa Lominsa were taken.
The Birth Of Limsa Lominsa
On their journey, with the Galadion commanded by Admiral Elilwaen, the Sea Wolves saved a group of Elezen explorers from being shipwrecked in a storm. Thankful for the rescue, the Elezens told the crew about a safe place where they would be safe from the tyrannical king they sought to escape from. This safe place was an island far south. After journeying to this south island, the crew determined that the soil was fertile and worth building upon. They built a little village and called it La Noscea.
This little village was not lived in long, as the crew had to abandon it when attacked by kobolds. They returned to their ship, the Galadion, and determined that they could not build inland for fear of being attacked by beast tribes. So instead of building outwards, the crew built upwards in the bay. This created the unique buildings and decks of Limsa Lominsa that are easy for players to get lost in.
However, the Lominsans never gave up expanding onto the land. They founded little villages that were constantly in battle against kobolds. Admiral Elilwaen became the first admiral of Limsa Lominsa but passed away in 902 to what many consider to be Lung Rot. In Elilwaen's will, he named the next admiral, Tragghyr the Cold.
The Rise Of Piracy
Many refugees that suffered from poverty came to live in Limsa Lominsa. Due to most citizens being skilled sailors, they resorted to piracy to survive. In 908, the Moraby Drydocks was established, and more ships were built. The increase of ships made piracy against merchant ships commonplace. As merchants tried to retaliate with armed escorts, the pirates would band together in stronger groups. With these bigger groups, there was more competition and infighting among the pirates.
The bloody pirate feuds eventually got so dire that an incumbent Admiral of the city-state was assassinated. This appointed Admiral Agatzahr Roehmerlsyn as the new leader. To try to solve the infighting, Agatzahr took the strongest of the fighting pirates to a negotiation. After three years, the groups finally negotiated to end the infighting and created a code of conduct that dictated that no crew is to plunder or rob a fellow Lominsan. The code was enforced by a group of rogues called the Upright Thieves.
This newfound unity strengthened Limsa Lominsa in its expansion on land, defeating more kobolds and building settlements. The territorial wars ended for a time in the 970s, and the Lominsans allowed the beast tribe to keep their sacred summit, Mt. O'Ghomoro. Not only was Lominsa mightier, but it also got far more wealthy and diverse. Plainsfolk Lalafell, Hyur Midlanders, and Miqo'te Seekers of the Sun began to filter into the population for Lominsa's freedom, wealth, and pirate gangs.
The Golden Ages
In 991, Admiral Agatzahr created the Trident, a race between pirates that would choose future admirals. This was to prevent future wars for power. A Golden Age of Piracy began when pirates began to raid Ul'dahn merchant ships full of wealth. In 1221, a masked pirate called Mycharde Mistbeard became known as the pirate king. He was rumored to have died in 1249, but his mask reappeared later in 1251. This pattern of thinking of him dead but the pirate reappearing kept happening to the point that Lominsans believed he was immortal.
In 1497 a Lominsan adventurer discovered a new continent and named it the "New World." This started a second Golden Age for the city-state, one rooted in exploration. When the adventurer, Ketenramm the Blue, returned from the New World with many goods, a lot of Lominsan's then traveled to the New World as well in search of adventure and riches.
It was during these times that the future and current Admiral of Limsa Lominsa was born, Merlwyb Bloefhiswyn. She was the daughter of the captain of the pirate crew, the League of Last Bastards. When she found out her father had been making deals with the sahagin, she challenged him to one-on-one combat and killed him. This made her the new captain, and she took her crew to the New World and had a very successful expedition.
Towards And Into The Seventh Umbral Era
In 1562, guided by an Ascian named Tavanchet, the Commodore of the Knights of the Barracuda assassinated the Admiral of Limsa Lominsa. Merlwyb then won the Trident with her crew and became the new Admiral. Due to the threats of the Garlean Empire at their doorstep and the need for alliances, Merlwyb signed a legislature that outlawed piracy. Her decision was not popular, as it was a blow to the economy and some Lominsans tried and failed to have her assassinated.
Under Merlwyb's leadership, she restructured the Upright Thieves into the Rogues' Guild. She used the Company of Heroes to subdue beast tribes in their summoning of primals such as Leviathan and Titan. The defeat of the primals got civilians to warm up to Merlwyb's leadership. Not long after the Imperial Legon marched into Eorzea, Merlwyb founded the Maelstrom Grand Company.
With the alliance of other city-states, Merlwyb and many of her people were on the front lines when the Seventh Umbral Calamity occurred. Their armies retreated as Bahamut was released, but Limsa Lominsa was dealt a huge hit through tidal waves caused by the primal. This made many civilians drown, and the bay was a graveyard.
Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker is currently live on PC, PS4, and PS5, and will be available for purchase again on January 25.