Padjal



Padjal are mysterious figures in Gridanian culture in Final Fantasy XIV. They are seemingly unaging children born from normal people (likely exclusively Hyur) in the Twelveswood. Every Padjal has thin horns growing directly outward, and is gifted with powerful Conjury. As soon as a child is confirmed a Padjal, he or she is indoctrinated into Stillglade Fane.

Padjal typically become mentors to other Conjurers, if not members of Gridania's government. E-Sumi-Yan is the master of the Conjurer's Guild at Stillglade Fane, and Kan-E-Senna leads the Order of the Twin Adder.

Naming Conventions
The language that the Padjali names are based off of is that of the Ainu peoples, indigenous to northern Japan. While not a direct application of the language, the FFXIV lore team used its phonetic and spelling conventions in re-creating the "overall feel".

Here are a few real-world examples of that language:
 * sir e-tok: the edge of the world
 * nupe: tears
 * pon: small
 * wakka: clear water

Following rules applies to the naminf pattern:
 * All are comprised of three words.
 * The first two are the forename, and the final word is the surname.
 * The first name is constructed of simple vowel-based word (E, Ae, Uo, I, Ea, etc.) combined with a longer companion word. In the case of males, the vowel-based word comes first. In the case of females, it comes second.


 * Male:
 * E-Sumi-Yan
 * O-App-Pesi


 * Female:
 * Kan-E-Senna
 * Raya-O-Senna


 * Words in the Padjal language are normally separated by spaces. However, when a group of words forms a single concept (such as a proper noun, or a compound word), they are connected with hyphens.

Gelmorran Names
In addition to NPC names, the ancient language can be seen used in names of sacred locations around the Twelveswood. If a name is Padjali, you can assume that the location has been there for a long time, and is likely tied to Gridania's predecessor, Gelmorra.

Place names:
 * The Thousand Maws of Toto-Rak (a beast from Padjali mythology)
 * Tam-Tara Deepcroft

Enemy names:
 * Ak-Inik varlet -> servant of the Inik house
 * Ak-Mena varlet -> servant of the Mena house (Ak being the honorific prefix attached to a deceased member of a house)

There are several old Hyur families in Gridania which consistently (albeit rarely) produce Padjals. Those include the Senna, the Yan, and the Pesi families. (Note the family names still possess the Padjali linguistic roots). When a baby is born to one of these families, he or she is given a "normal" Hyur name, as is the custom (i.e. Bryce Senna) until they are confirmed to be Padjal. They are then given a new first name based off the ancient Padjali tongue, and accepted into Stillglade Fane for their indoctrination.

Trivia

 * As the equivalent of real-world holy men and women, they are often referred to as "Brother" or "Sister". They do not use the titles "Father" or "Mother." This could possibly indicate that they are eternally children.
 * If they are indeed ageless then it becomes unlikely that the Padjal themselves can ever reproduce, being biologically too young to be fertile.
 * Prior to release, leaked images of Padjal sparked rumors that it would be a playable race. Some even confused it with the Gria of Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift. Final Fantasy XIV, however, makes it clear that Padjal are far too rare to justify playability in an MMO setting.