UPPER LA NOSCEA

Here begins the ascent of fertile, low-lying La Noscea to the slopes of Mount O'Ghomoro. Upper La Noscea has long been a hotly-contested region between the forces of the Lominsans and the kobolds.

But it was not always so. In the Fifth Astral Era, here was the soul of the Nymian Empire: the highest Eorzean temple to Oschon, called the Wanderer's Palace. Its ruin, and the elegant stone walls and columns of the city that worshipped at its feet, were revealed when Bronze Lake was drained in the Seventh Umbral Calamity.

Upper La Noscea is typically divided into three zones: Bronze Lake and its eastern surrounds, Oakwood, and Zelma's Run.

BRONZE LAKE

Bronze Lake stands as a testament to the works of Man being both transitive and enduring. During the Fifth Astral Era, the mages and engineers of Nym dammed up Bronze Lake, filling the walls of the canyon brimful so as to drown the Wanderer's Palace and thus quarantine the sufferers of a terrible plague. The highways and walls at the Palace's feet were also swept under the peaceful waters. (1)

The Seventh Umbral Calamity, however, broke open the floodgates and drained away the waters, revealing that the stones still stood, even thousands of years later. (1)

(1) Encyclopaedia Eorzea Vol. 1, p. 110

CAMP BRONZE LAKE

Camp Bronze Lake was once an unremarkable aetheryte camp in Upper La Noscea. The Seventh Umbral Calamity changed this, as it changed many other things; and as the bounds of Bronze Lake were sundered and the waters drained away to form the new rivers of Middle La Noscea, that which had lain hidden was revealed.

Not only was the Wanderer's Palace beneath the waves, but hot springs as well. By some miracle or magic, these springs contained remarkable healing properties--and Limsa Lominsa wasted no time in moving the old camp to this place.

The Warmwine Sanitarium is no luxurious bath for the wealthy, though. As near kobold territory as it stands, it is reserved first to the healing of soldiers. Coin can purchase the ministrations of its physickers, but not all who offer it are welcome. (2)(3)

Here is served the eponymous warmwine, mulled from a special vintage direct from Wineport. (4)

Its waters are also a favorite spawning ground for the local uragnite, who must occasionally be culled. (5)

(1) Encyclopaedia Eorzea Vol. 1, p. 110
(2) Quest: The Monster of Bronze Lake
(3) FATE: Peeping Ja
(4) Quest: Red, Red Wine
(5) FATE: Nine-Ilm Snails

THE WANDERER'S PALACE

Fifteen centuries ago, upon Vylbrand stood the Empire of Nym. The people worshipped Oschon, god of travelers and mountains, and so built Him a mighty clockwork temple at the foot of O'Ghomoro.

Many know that, as the Fifth Astral Era drew to its close, the Empire was struck with a disfiguring plague that made tonberries of Lalafell; unable to reverse its march through their people, they sealed the stricken up in quarantine and flooded the valley. (6)

When at last the Palace was revealed, the tonberries within had gone mad with rage; only once that rage was quelled, could the cure for their ailment be found and begun. (6)(7)

(6) Encyclopaedia Eorzea Vol. 1, p. 108
(7) Quest: True Beauty

JIJIROON'S TRADING POST

Jijiroon's Trading Post is one of two posts run by two Qiqirn brothers, and the older post at that. The brothers had a falling out, leading to Memeroon crossing the lake to set up shop in Oakwood; in the twenty summers that the brothers then did not speak, Jijiroon's fortunes declined considerably.

Until recently, the Brugaire Consortium had a significant interest in the business; but Memeroon has paid his brother's debts in full. (8)

(8) Quest: A Qiqirn Always Pays His Debts

OAKWOOD

Thanks to the people's peculiar sense of humor, Lominsan place names tend to run either to the ironic opposite, or to the extremely obvious. Oakwood is among the latter: a forest of oak trees. The name extends to the regions above Fool Falls, where lumberjacks plied their trade until very recently. (1)

Now, however, other things dominate the region, not least among them the unearthed bones of a sea monster dubbed "Thalaos".

(1) Encyclopaedia Eorzea Vol. 1, p. 110

POOR MAID'S MILL

Poor Maid's Mill took its name from the sad truth of woodcutting: it is a dangerous proposition even in the best of circumstances, and not a few young lasses of the village lost their lovers to accident or attack. (1)

Sometime around the Seventh Umbral Calamity, the village was abandoned and logging operations abandoned. However, it remains desolate no more; the Salthounds, a "reformed" pirate crew beached by Admiral Merlwyb's anti-piracy laws, followed their captain Ratata into the town to build anew. (9)

(1) Encyclopaedia Eorzea Vol. 1, p. 110
(9) Quest: Grinners in the Mist

Captain Ratata is more marauder than manager, it is true; however, the problems that continue to plague Poor Maid's Mill are quite within her expertise. (10) The Mill is forever under assault by rats, coeurls, and even the 382nd Order Dig; some say that buffalo have been known to rampage in the area, though this has not been seen in some time. (11)(12)

Rumor has it that some of the Salthounds still maintain their contacts with their former shipmates, the Grinning Curs, and keep tabs on the black market. (13)

(10) Quest: The Captain of Her Heart
(11) FATEs: Poor Maid's Mess; Poor Maid's Misfortune; Poor Maid's Mishap
(12) FATE: Poor Maid's Misadventure
(13) Quest: The Impossible Girl

MEMEROON'S TRADING POST

There are three paths from one shore of Bronze Lake to the other: through Outer La Noscea and kobold territory; the long way around by Western La Noscea and Wineport; and a simple ferry operated by qiqirn. Memeroon, one of two qiqirn brothers, owns the trading post and dock on the west shore of the lake. Despite the more remote location, Memeroon does significantly better business than Jijiroon, and offers good wares, healthy box lunches, and the occasional game of Triple Triad for passersby. (1)(8)(14)

(1) Encyclopaedia Eorzea Vol. 1, p. 110
(8) Quest: A Qiqirn Always Pays His Debts
(14) Quest: The Hottest of Box Lunches

THALAOS

It is said that, when the world was yet young, Llymlaen created the oceans. To this end, She created a great serpent who would forever pour out brine; when She deemed the seas full enough, She sealed it away into a rocky island, and set that island to wander forever. (15)

But this does not stop people from drawing conclusions of their own, of course. A great skeleton of a sea serpent came unburied by the Seventh Umbral Calamity, and despite its complete lack of saltwater vomit, its emergence drew the attention of naturalists. Tanga Tonga, one such scholar, built himself a dwelling in its very shadow, and there seeks proof of its identity. (16)

(15) 2015 Lore panel, as summarized by Fernehalwes
(16) Quest: Buried Truth

FOOL FALLS

Tucked away behind Poor Maid's Mill and the great skeleton called "Thalaos" lie the Fool Falls. Once, they were so called because of the great felled trees the lumberjacks would float down from on high; only one completely bereft of wisdom would linger under the flume. (1)

However, now the name takes on a new meaning; should one get past the kobolds and yarzons that linger nearby, he may yet run afoul of the coeurls, slugs, and even the odd Death Gaze that make the Falls their home.

(1) Encyclopaedia Eorzea Vol. 1, p. 110

ZELMA'S RUN

Two roads lead north, up the slopes of O'Ghomoro. The eastern road, above Camp Bronze Lake, is called Zelma's Run.

Zelma was a hunter, a man minding his own affairs in quest of his quarry, when he stumbled upon a kobold force marching south, into Lominsan territory. Gravely wounded by the kobolds, he nonetheless raced them to the nearest settlement. Dying, rather than beg for aid for himself, he warned them of their coming doom; they summoned the Knights of the Barracuda to their defense, and were saved.

As is the custom of Limsa Lominsa, this ordinary man's heroism is forever honored, the valley renamed for his sacrifice. (1)

(6) Encyclopaedia Eorzea Vol. 1, p. 108

Zelma's Run is, to this day, hotly contested by both nations. The Maelstrom treats the western branch as a supply route, which is frequently ambushed. (17)

The kobolds, on the other hand, have placed an improvised aetheryte in the eastern branch of the valley, which permits access to the inward reaches of O'Ghomoro--the place where Titan has occasionally been summoned. This aetheryte must be powered in order to work, and that is no mean feat. (18)

(17) FATE: Surprise
(18) Quest: Lord of Crags (Cutscenes #1 and 2)