Lindblum Castle

Lindblum Castle, also known as the Lindblum Grand Castle, is a castle located to the southwest of the Mist Continent in Final Fantasy IX. It is home to Regent Cid Fabool IX, ruler of Lindblum. Lindblum Town itself is located within the castle's walls.

Story
Zidane and his group arrive at Lindblum after narrowly escaping from Alexandria. Thanks to Garnet's relations with the Lindblum royalty, they are welcomed inside the castle where they learn Regent Cid has transformed into an oglop. While Zidane, Steiner and Vivi explore the town, Garnet remains in the castle, feeling helpless as to the rising tension between Alexandria and Lindblum. Zidane discovers her atop the castle, musing, and attempts to cheer her up by promising her a date if he wins the upcoming Festival of the Hunt.

The celebrations after the festival are cut short by the arrival of a heavily wounded soldier from the nation of Burmecia. Blinded and dying, he informs Cid of a black mage attack on Burmecia before keeling over, dead. Zidane and Vivi decide to venture out to Burmecia, accompanied by Freya, a Burmecian citizen and old friend of Zidane. Garnet wishes to go too, but she is opposed by her uncle and her friends. In retaliation, during the feast, she slips sleeping weed into everybody's food but hers and Steiner's, and flees the castle with him in the hopes of returning to Alexandria to speak with Queen Brahne. When the party awaken, they assume Garnet to have left for Burmecia.

Both groups fail in their quests, and after the destruction of both Burmecia and Cleyra, Queen Brahne turns her sights on Lindblum Castle, hammering it with a barrage from her seafaring fleet hidden beneath the Mist. She teleports armies of black mages into the city before ending the battle by summoning Atomos with one of the several jewels stolen from Garnet. Not long after, having witnessed the attack, Zidane, Garnet, and Vivi return to the stricken city to regroup and plan their counter attack. They devise a plan to defeat Kuja, Brahne's weapon supplier, who is said to have appeared from the north on a silver dragon.

Locations
The upper level is restricted, as it is where the Regent resides. It consists of a conference room and the throne room directly above. The throne is mechanically operated and can ascend or descend to either room as the Regent sees fit. A staircase near the elevator leads to an observation point with a telescope.
 * Upper Level

The middle level of the castle comprises the airship workshops and the guest rooms. The player can also enter the airship dock from here, and enter Lindblum town via the cable car.
 * Middle Level

The Base Level has fallen into disuse as it lies below the Mist. Two gates, Serpent and Dragon, lead to the harbor and outside respectively. Beyond Dragon's Gate is a moogle and a merchant, and the Blue Narciss can be boarded at the harbor.
 * Base Level

Used to navigate throughout the castle, it can take the player to all three castle levels.
 * Elevator

Zidane finds Garnet here, and together they look through the telescope at the landmarks and surrounding area of Lindblum. Six locations have to be located in order to proceed-
 * Telescope
 * Marshland
 * Aerbs Mountains
 * South Gate
 * The mountain between Alexandria and Lindblum
 * Chocobo Forest
 * Ceebell River

Musical Themes
The theme that plays in Lindblum Grand Castle is "Cid's Theme," named after Regent Cid.