Madain Sari

Madain Sari (マダイン・サリ) is a location in the northern region of the Outer Continent in Final Fantasy IX. It contains the ruins of a village, where a tribe of summoners once lived.

Its location is said to be a place where the pulse of the planet is strongest. The people of Madain Sari studied further into the workings of nature with their land's presence and their use of summoning magic. From their discoveries, they theorized that the eidolons were Gaia's guardians manifested from the collected belief in myths and legends accumulated within the planet's crystal. The Eidolon Wall, with the many engravings of eidolons, still survives to this day.

Story
The summoner tribe used to inhabit the Mist Continent, but after the events 500 years prior to the game's start, when Alexander was summoned, and the summoners failed to control it, resulting in a rampage, the summoners decided to look for another place to live.

Alexander's crystal was broken into four fragments, one piece given to each of the kingdoms on Mist Continent, and the summoner tribe kept the last piece. According to the Final Fantasy IX Ultimania, Madain Sari is the place where the planet's pulse concentrates and was the reason the summoners decided to make their village there.

In time, the people of the Mist Continent forgot about the summoners and the eidolons, and they became only subjects of myths and fairytales, during which time the summoners lived peacefully in their village far away from the rest of civilization.

Ten years prior to the game's start, Garland ordered Kuja to destroy the village because he feared the tribe's power of summoning eidolons could come between him and his plans. During the village's destruction, Garnet and her biological mother escaped, but her mother died upon reaching Alexandria, and Garnet was raised a princess there, never knowing of her roots as a summoner.

Madain Sari and its civilization was largely destroyed, and only a few survivors remained. Eiko was the last child to be born, but her family died soon afterwards, leaving her alone. Eiko lives in Madain Sari in solitude with the moogles as her only friends.

First Visit
The party arrives in Madain Sari after passing through Conde Petie and the Conde Petie Mountain Path. Eiko reveals Madain Sari as the village of the summoner tribe, and that she is the sole survivor. Zidane is curious about the eidolons, and decides to stay awhile when Eiko invites them for dinner.

While waiting for Eiko, Zidane, and Quina, if s/he is in the party, explore the area. Vivi and Garnet are lost in their thoughts and decide to stay put. Morrison the moogle, at Eiko's request, takes Zidane to the Eidolon Wall, a mural of eidolon paintings made by the summoners during their summon magic research. Garnet, who Zidane had asked to tag along, is struck in fear of the things she has lost. Nevertheless, she decides to look at the murals for the time being.

Eiko's Cooking
Meanwhile, Eiko is busy preparing a meal of rock-fisted potato stew and barbecued fish. She decides to divide the task of fishing, digging for potatoes and helping her in the kitchen between her three moogle helpers. While fishing, the moogle catches Quina, who had bit on the bait instead. Quina offers to help Eiko with her cooking and depending on the player's choices made during the cooking, the dinner will either be a success, or not.

The secret recipe:
 * Eiko must cook enough food for 11 people.
 * No Oglop should go into the food.
 * Eiko should ask for Quina's help.

The better the food is, the longer the dinnertime conversation will be. If the food turns out excellent Eiko will explain on how summoners communicate with eidolons through their horns.

After Dinner
After the meal, the party rests for the night. Seeing that Vivi is troubled with his thoughts, Zidane consoles him and they "engage in an age-old ritual between male friends".

The next day, the party prepares to leave for the Iifa Tree, wishing to return to Madain Sari once the journey ends. Eiko reveals the Iifa Tree is sealed from entry with an eidolon, and only a summoner can break it. She has planned to follow Zidane, and this is the perfect opportunity.

After Iifa Tree
Once the party clears the Mist, Moco arrives to alert Eiko of a precious jewel stolen from Madain Sari. The party follows Eiko and discovers that the bounty hunter Lani has entered the village and taken the stone. Eiko attempts to take it back, but is taken hostage. Zidane attempts to save Eiko, but another bounty hunter, Red, dispatches Lani. Red challenges Zidane to a duel and Zidane defeats Red but spares his life, inviting him to help in their quest instead. Red reintroduces himself as the Flaming Amarant.

Eiko resolves to follow the party, breaking her promise to her grandfather not to leave the village before her sixteenth birthday. Meanwhile, Garnet is singing her song when another song breaks in and memories of Madain Sari flash by her eyes. Garnet begins to recover memories of her life in Madain Sari, and decides to continue the heritage of the summoner tribe along with Eiko. The party continues their quest towards Iifa Tree to find Kuja.

Treasures

 * Libra
 * Kirman Coffee
 * Tent
 * Ore
 * Phoenix Pinion

After Iifa Tree

 * Survival Vest
 * Memory Earring
 * Phoenix Down
 * Elixir
 * Exploda
 * Phoenix Pinion

Garnet's true name
Princess Garnet's true name is engraved on the Eidolon Wall at Madain Sari. There is a way to reveal the truth at the beginning of disc 4.

First, the player must form a party with Garnet and visit Lani who is standing on Eiko's back porch. Upon arriving Lani will run away. The player should exit the village and return with anyone except Garnet or Amarant, then talk to Lani twice. A message will lead the player to the Eidolon Wall, where the player should walk clockwise from the entrance (heading to the right) until they complete a full circuit of the wall.

The player should move just past the "!" until a chime is heard. Then they must walk counter-clockwise back to the entrance, just past the "!" again. The player should repeat this nine times and hear a chime each time. On the ninth round, HP/MP will be recovered and all status abnormalities removed.

All the inscriptions on the murals must then be read and it is possible to do it in any order. Extra messages will appear this time. Returning to the Ifrit drawing an emotional message from Garnet's father to his daughter and his wife, Jane, is revealed. The hidden message indicates that Garnet's true name is Sarah.

Musical Themes
The theme of Madain Sari is called "Ruins of Madain Sari".

Etymology
The name is likely a misromanization of "", an ancient city located in the north of Saudi Arabia said to have been cursed and destroyed by a cataclysmic earthquake. Madain Sari's remaining architecture is quite reminiscent of that of Mada'in Saleh.

Another possible meaning is that Sari is named after Sarah from the Torah. Before God blessed Abram and made him Abraham, Sarah was known as Sarai. An even clearer sign is that from Sarai, Sarah was born.

Additionally, the name 'Sari' means "essence" in Indonesian.

Trivia

 * Despite being highly populated with moogles, Madain Sari is the only town/village in which there is no moogle Save Point.