The whistling breeze, mute. The pounding surf, frozen. Time itself takes a breath... At Light's edge, all is perfectly still. The world captured in a painting, locked in a moment. Music, faint and fleeting, drifts coastward on the lifeless air... And in the distance, beyond the broken earth, a city beckons...
Ardbert
Kholusia is an island located to the west of mainland Norvrandt in Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers. Geographically, it is the First's counterpart to the island of Vylbrand in the Source. The region of Kholusia visited in-game is starkly divided into a coastal lowland area and a mountainous highland area, separated by a towering cliff-face traversable only by elevator.
Just off the southern coast of Kholusia stands Eulmore, the "City of final pleasures", where the rich await the end of the world in indolence and hedonism under the auspices of Lord Vauthry. Unlike other parts of Norvrandt, Kholusia is relatively free from sin eater attacks. This has attracted refugees from all over what remains of the world, many congregating in the shanty settlement of Gatetown outside Eulmore.
Profile[]
The largest island in Norvrandt, the greater part of Kholusia lies under the dominion of Eulmore, the city of final pleasures. Compared to other lands, it is known for experiencing few sin eater attacks, a reputation which draws throngs of refugees to its shores.
Official website description
Story[]
The Warrior of Light first travels to Kholusia to track down Alphinaud Leveilleur, whom they locate in the village of Stilltide. Alphinaud explains that he has spent the past year since arriving in the First trying—unsuccessfully—to gain access to Eulmore and meet with its leader, Lord Vauthry. His latest plan is to impress the city's representatives with delicacies purchased from an Ondo merchant; however, a Mystel named Kai-Shirr overhears and, wanting to enter Eulmore himself, rendezvouses with the Ondo, poses as Alphinaud and takes the delivery for himself.
Alphinaud and the Warrior of Light catch Kai-Shirr but decide to give him the opportunity of entering Eulmore after hearing his desperate pleas. The Scions of the Seventh Dawn members eventually gain entry to Eulmore by posing as traveling artists, and fall under the patronage of Chai-Nuzz and his wife Dulia-Chai. After incurring Lord Vauthry's enmity, Alphinaud and the Warrior of Light leave Kholusia and regroup with the other Scions, although the player is still able to return to Kholusia.
The Scions later return to Kholusia to seek out the final Lightwarden, having determined that it is located in Eulmore. When they approach the city, some of the residents of Gatetown begin acting strangely, as if in a trance. Y'shtola Rhul and Ryne determine that meol, the unidentifiable food given out by Eulmore's Jongleurs to placate its bonded citizens and the residents of Gatetown, is sin eater flesh, and that Vauthry is able to exert control over those who ingest it. The Scions fight their way past the enthralled and Eulmore's army to the base of the tower, where Alphinaud and the Warrior of Light are intercepted by Vauthry's murderous pair of jesters. Seeing as the duo were unaffected by Vauthry's mind control, the Scions do not hold back against them, bringing the jesters' cruel game to an end. While Alphinaud fends of more of Eulmore's soldiers, the Warrior of Light confronts Ran'jit for the final time. They discover Vauthry feasting on the sin eaters under his control, but he partially transforms and flees before they can stop him.
Shortly after, the peak of Mt. Gulg, Kholusia's highest mountain, is raised into the air, surrounded by an immense golden halo. The Scions determine that Vauthry—the final Lightwarden—has made the mountain his base. Attempts to reach it by air are thwarted by attacks from Vauthry's legion of sin eaters; all seems lost until Chai-Nuzz suggests, half-jokingly, that the mountain could be reached if one could construct a Talos large enough. The Scions leap on this suggestion and, with the assistance of the Crystal Exarch and all those they have aided across Norvrandt, bring to life a gigantic Talos that allows them to scale the mountain. At the very top the Scions confront Vauthry, who transforms into an ascended Lightwarden known as Innocence. Even with his new powers, he is no match for the Scions and at last falls, releasing the last of the light.
The return of the night sky to Kholusia is cut short, however, by the Warrior of Light's inability to contain the light within them. The Crystal Exarch appears and reveals his plan is to absorb the light into the Crystal Tower and transport it—and him along with it—into the Void where it can do no harm. He begs the Warrior of Light and the other Scions to let him perform this act of self-sacrifice, but before he can finish it, he is shot in the back by Emet-Selch, who expresses his disappointment in the Warrior. Their inability to contain the light has cost mankind its final chance to prove itself worthy of existence. Emet-Selch leaves, but not before bidding the Warrior of Light to seek him out in the depths of the Tempest, where they may die in dignity if they wish.
Vows of Virtue, Deeds of Cruelty[]
After Emet-Selch is defeated, the night sky returns to all of Norvrandt. Now bereft of leadership, the free citizens of Eulmore elect a startled Chai-Nuzz as their new mayor. Alphinaud, the Warrior of Light, and Chai-Nuzz travel throughout Eulmore and Kholusia to assess the work to be done. Along the way they enlist the aid of Wrenden, former advisor to Vauthry's father.
YoRHa:Dark Apocalypse[]
Following Emet-Selch's defeat, rumors spread around Tomra that the Dwarves of Komra have located something interesting. After a series of misadventures involving the Dwarves Anogg and Konogg, they gain access to the excavation tunnels and encounter mechanical lifeforms attacking a woman in white. After fighting them off, the woman introduces herself as 2P, an "android" whose mission is to explore a factory accessible deep within the tunnels. The Warrior of Light agrees to help her (while Anogg and Konogg insist on accompanying them), and together they venture into the depths.
Locations[]
Aetherytes[]
There are Aetherytes located in the lowland settlements of Stilltide and Wright, as well as one Aetheryte in the Dwarven village of Tomra.
Areas[]
- The Bright Cliff - Located in the southeast of Kholusia.
- Shadow Fault - The western portion of the lowland area.
- Scree - A scrubby, barren area that lies in the shadow of Mt. Gulg, this region is primarily mined by the Tholl clan of Dwarves.
- The Duergar Mountains - A mountainous area controlled by the Gogg clan of Dwarves, separated from Scree by the Watts River.
Settlements[]
Amity[]
A small village overlooking the cliff, mainly inhabited by refugees who have fled or been cast out of Eulmore.
Gatetown[]
A shanty town located right outside the gates to Eulmore, hence the name. Gatetown's inhabitants dream of living in (relative) luxury as indentured servants to the free citizens of Eulmore, and constantly try to attract their attention by learning unique and unusual skills. Eulmore entices the would-be bonded citizens with regular gifts of Meol, a nutritious but addictive foodstuff.
Komra[]
A village inhabited by the Goggs, a clan of Dwarves who are constantly feuding with the Tholl clan.
Stilltide[]
A small fishing village on the southeastern coast of Kholusia.
Tomra[]
A village inhabited by the Tholls, a clan of Dwarves who are constantly feuding with the Gogg clan.
Wright[]
A village that was once home to those who worked at the nearby shipyards. In the aftermath of the Flood, the need for shipbuilding declined and the village's inhabitants moved to a more agricultural lifestyle.
Weather[]
Kholusia's climate may exhibit any of the following weather conditions:
| Weather | Frequency or conditions |
|---|---|
 Fair Skies
|
40% |
 Clear Skies
|
15% |
 Clouds
|
15% |
 Fog
|
10% |
 Gales
|
10% |
 Rain
|
10% |
 Everlasting Light
|
At all times prior to completing dying gasp. |
 Starshower
|
After unlocking heroes' gauntlet until seat of sacrifice is completed. |
Places of interest[]
Cracked Shell Beach[]
A beach in southeastern Kholusia infested with Hobgoblins. The player can return to the Crystarium by speaking to the Amarokeep here.
The Copied Factory[]
An enigmatic series of industrial structures recently discovered by the Gogg clan of Dwarves, accessible via mining tunnels near Komra. The factory is inhabited by aggressive "machine lifeforms" of unknown origin.
The Duergar's Tewel[]
A series of sulfur deposits in the Duergar Mountains, mined by the Dwarves of Komra.
The Ladder[]
A large, Talos-operated elevator providing access between the lowland and highland areas of Kholusia.
The Puppets' Bunker[]
The wreckage of a large, technologically advanced structure of unknown origin. The Bunker lies in a large crater beyond the Duergar Mountains and is exposed following an attack on Komra by androids garbed in white.
Venmont Yards[]
Shipyards near Wright that were largely abandoned in the wake of the Flood, now used only for dismantling old vessels for parts.
Activities[]
Duties[]
 |
| Toppled from his seat of power, Vauthry, the final Lightwarden, has fled to Mt. Gulg, whose fiery summit now hangs in the firmament, beyond his enemies’ reach. However, with the aid of the myriad peoples of Norvrandt, you succeed in building a gigantic Talos that rises to take the volcano in its grasp. Using the golem's rocky body as a bridge, you begin the arduous ascent to your quarry's newly built paradise, there to put an end to the tyranny of Light. |
|
| Deep in the Tempest─deeper still than the phantom Amaurot of Emet-Selch's design─lies what remains of Anyder's ancient edifices. It is to an unexplored corner of this bed of knowledge that the Scions now travel, in hopes that what has long slumbered forgotten may be brought to the surface once more. |
 crown of the immaculate |
| Traversing the body of the giant Talos, born of the collective hopes of the realm’s peoples, you have carved a path to Vauthry’s sanctuary. There, you corner the unrepentant Vauthry, who declares his intent to expunge you and rule over creation as an immaculate being. At struggle’s end, will man live a waking dream in a false paradise, or will he live a painful existence in a harsh reality, yet be free to follow his own heart? Beneath a blazing sky, the battle for the fate of the world will unfold... |
 copied factory |
| Anogg and Konogg's explosive efforts have at last opened a path from Komra's excavation tunnels into an expanse of enigmatic ruins─but if the equally enigmatic 2P is to be believed, it will not be the inert and rusting relics of a long-dead civilization that await within, but life unlike any this world has ever seen... |
 puppets' bunker |
| Having put an unceremonious end to Komra's carnival with their incomprehensibly advanced weaponry, 2P's cohort of white-garbed androids retreats into the crater from whence they came. Though they are certain to have the tactical advantage should you pursue them into the installation, such a threat cannot go unchecked, and you and your newfound ally 2B are quick to give chase─Anogg and Konogg hot on your heels. |
 tower at paradigm's breach |
| A pale tower looms over the Duergar Mountains, an unmistakable symbol of the machine lifeforms' threat to the dwarves and their world. At Anogg's behest, you join her and your android allies in an ascent to its zenith, where the machines' enigmatic orb─and its fearsome secrets─await. |
 stone sky sea |
| “They who fight with strength of stone unyielding, breathe deep of boundless sky and embrace serenity of rolling sea, against them none can stand.”
Embrace the esoterics of foreign masters and destroy the striking dummy within the time limit! |
FATEs[]
| Name | Level | Location | Time limit | Objective |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Description Spawn conditions (if any) | ||||
 Shadow Over Stilltide
|
70-74 | The Bright Cliff (x31 y25) | 15 minutes | Defeat the hobgoblin runners. |
| Sick of seeing the fruits of their hard work hooked by harrying hobgoblin hooligans, the fishers of Stilltide have taken up arms against the crooked cracksmen. However, at the end of the day, they are but humble men and women of the sea, and could use a helping hand for one more seasoned in the art of fisticuffs. | ||||
| Shadow Over Stilltide
|
70-74 | The Bright Cliff (x36 y24) | 15 minutes | Defeat the hobgoblin blaggers. |
| Sick of seeing the fruits of their hard work hooked by harrying hobgoblin hooligans, the fishers of Stilltide have taken up arms against the crooked cracksmen. However, at the end of the day, they are but humble men and women of the sea, and could use a helping hand for one more seasoned in the art of fisticuffs. | ||||
| The Wright Stuff
|
70-74 | Shadow Fault (x12 y27) | 15 minutes | Defeat the hobgoblin longsticks. |
| The people of Wright have had their fill of hobgoblin malfeasants raiding their fields, and a handful of their hardiest have pledged their sickles and hoes to hammering some hamlet justice into the hobbies' heads...though, they would not turn away any offers of assistance in their noble endeavor. | ||||
| The Wright Stuff
|
70-74 | Shadow Fault (x18 y27) | 15 minutes | Defeat the hobgoblins blaggers and runners. |
| The people of Wright have had their fill of hobgoblin malfeasants raiding their fields, and a handful of their hardiest have pledged their sickles and hoes to hammering some hamlet justice into the hobbies' heads...though, they would not turn away any offers of assistance in their noble endeavor. | ||||
 Bitter Barley
|
70-74 | Shadow Fault (x18 y30) | 15 minutes | Protect the barley crates from the thirsting rails. |
| A flock of thirsting rails has descended upon the barley fields of Kholusia, and it appears the birds are not only thirsty, but also extremely hungry. Protect the crates of recently harvested grain and the livelihoods of those who maintain the fields. | ||||
| JELL-NO
|
70-74 | Cracked Shell Beach (x31 y33) | 15 minutes | Defeat the windborne hydrozoans. |
| There is nothing like a warm breeze softly blowing off the summer seas...except when upon those winds are borne untold thousands of free-floating jellyfish looking to wrap their tingling tentacles about anyone and anything. | ||||
| Roadside Dinner
|
70-74 | The Bright Cliff (x25 y27) | 15 minutes | Defeat the tragopan hatchlings. |
| Soon after her eggs hatch, mother tragopans begin the process of teaching her young where they might find their prey. Unfortunately for the people of Kholusia, this most often involves leading the fledglings to busy thoroughfares where the young birds might dine on weary travelers. | ||||
| One-punch Mantis
|
70-74 | Shadow Fault (x8 y30) | 15 minutes | Defeat the jumbo mantis shrimps. |
| Not content with pummeling every creature in the sea into silent submission, a school of jumbo mantis shrimp have strolled ashore seeking a little set-to with the heedless settlers of Kholusia. Drub some sense into the crabby crustaceans quick and send them packing. | ||||
| Foes Most Formidable
|
78-80 | Scree (x22 y13) | 15 minutes | Help the Tholl engineer defeat the automaton escorts. |
| A poor engineer of the Tholls has been set upon by a band of unruly Goggs and their unrulier iron constructs. Save the man of middling mass from this moot of metallic mauling. | ||||
| A Family Most Formidable
|
78-80 | Scree (x25 y20) | 15 minutes | Help the Tholl engineer defeat the Gogg dollcrafters. |
| You chase down the unruly Goggs only to run into a gaggle of their kith and cousins all bent on bleeding you dry. Dispatch the uninvited guests that you may sit down for a quiet heart-to-heart with the original crew.
Spawn conditions:
| ||||
| Knockout
|
78-80 | Scree (x23 y9) | 15 minutes | Defeat the knocked-about knockers. |
| Knockers will eat most anything, but given a choice, they will sup on the scraps of metal sloughed off by wild calxes. This iron-rich diet, however, has the unfortunate side effect of sending the knockers into a frenzy that oft ends in blunt force trauma for any and all nearby parties. | ||||
| Season of Our Discord
|
78-80 | Scree (x15 y10) | 15 minutes | Defeat the discordant calxes. |
| Whereas most modest monsters are not ones to toot their own horns, the calxes of upper Kholusia do nothing but, blasting a cacophony of strident screeches and unharmonious honks from dusk until dawn with little cease. The dwarves who call these mountains home are in need of someone who might help see them silent once and for all. | ||||
| The Amity Village Horror
|
78-80 | Scree (x18 y19) | 15 minutes | Protect the storage chests from the hobgoblin robbers. |
| Amity's storage chests rarely store anything on account of their contents constantly being plundered by pilfering persons─if one might call a hobgoblin a “person”─which they most certainly are not. The settlement's residents have sought help in the past to solve their hob-problem, but alas the chests still lie bare. Though, perhaps this time will be different! | ||||
 Not Today
|
78-80 | Scree (x11 y15) | 15 minutes | Defeat Crawling Death. |
| What crawls along the ground, leaving naught but death in its wake? If you guessed Crawling Death, you would be correct. You will also be dead...unless you slay it first! | ||||
 Ironbeard Builders - Rebuilt
|
78-80 | Scree (x25 y16) | 15 minutes | Deliver chunks of prismatic ore to the Tholl engineer. |
| To complete his automaton, a crafty engineer of the Tholl family seeks the aid of errant travelers to help him collect prismatic ore─an item he could quite possibly procure himself, but has refrained from ever since taking an oath to “work smarter, not harder.”
Spawn conditions:
| ||||
| Ironbeard Builders - Resist
|
78-80 | Scree (x18 y14) | 15 minutes | Defeat the ironbeard prototypes. |
| The Tholl engineer has completed his pièce de résistance, and now seeks the assistance of kind-hearted gluttons for punishment to learn if his piece can resist their blades.
Spawn conditions:
| ||||
| Ironbeard Builders - Revolt
|
78-80 | Scree (x16 y20) | 15 minutes | Help the ironbeard striker defeat the ironbeard mazers. |
| Ever the conniving coots, the Goggs, discontented with bringing but a single shiv to this knife fight, have instead brought a drawerful, greatly skewing the odds in their favor. It will be up to you to even, nay tip, the scales back.
Spawn conditions:
| ||||
| A Finale Most Formidable
|
80-80 | The Duergar Mountains (x33 y21) Does not appear on the map. |
30 minutes | Defeat Formidable. |
| It appears that the Goggs have been secretly engineering a massive new automaton capable of thwacking and throttling on a scale heretofore unheard of. Put an end to the malevolent machina by doing a little thwacking and/or throttling of your own.
Spawn conditions:
| ||||
Others[]
Participation in and completion of 
A Finale Most Formidable will award Formidable Cogs, which can be traded in Eulmore for special rewards.
Enemies[]
Elite Marks[]
| Mark | Hunt | Description |
|---|---|---|
| B |  Coquecigrue |
"You may have noticed the rails which roam the wilds surrounding Wright. Coquecigrue may be likened to a king of sorts. On the whole, the beasts can be highly aggressive and territorial. Indeed, they drove away nearly all other competing species, and those they could they simply slaughtered. They've even been known to attack travelers and residents of Gatetown. At this rate, I shouldn't be surprised if they march on Wright en masse. And so before it comes to that, we believe we should teach these feathered menaces a lesson in respect, starting with their leader." |
| B |  Indomitable |
“You may be interested to learn that this mark was brought to our attention by a resident of Amity, way up above. Apparently, it's an automaton the Goggs originally built for mining that malfunctioned and has since been attacking anything and everything that moves. Considering this spat I hear's been going on between the dwarven factions for a while now, I wouldn't be surprised if the malfunction was in truth sabotage... but regardless, a mark's a mark." |
| A |  Huracan |
“Are you familiar with General Ran'jit's familiar, Gukumatz? It is a creature born of forbidden foreign magicks, passed down from general to general. Familiars such as these are usually sustained by the aether of their master, which is why when they fall in battle, their minions fall as well. There are, however, certain notable exceptions. Ran'jit's father commanded a familiar as well, but when he was slain by a sin eater, Huracan somehow survived, and has been seen on several occasions since. One theory posits that since the master was transformed into an eater, the familiar endures, though it is no more than conjecture...” |
| A |  Li'l Murderer |
“Folks on Kholusia have never gotten on all too well with hobgoblins. There's been conflict for as long as anyone can remember. They're clever enough to use tools, but they lack patience and foresight. You'll never catch them plowing a field, to say the least. Building's not in their nature─but thievery and destruction, they most certainly are. Li'l Murderer, as some have taken to calling him, is perhaps the worst of the lot. A liar and a scoundrel who has swindled countless innocents, relieving them of their worldly possessions and often their lives as well. He is a cunning fiend and is not to be underestimated.” |
| S |  Forgiven Pedantry |
“Ah yes, the Forgiven Pedantry. That one's a notoriously vicious eater. In life, he was a fusspot of a mage. Fond of his own voice and making fools of those he saw as his lessers, he boasted that he would find a way to reverse the chaos wrought by the Flood of Light. You can imagine how that worked out for him in the end. One day he up and vanished, and a short while after, an eater wearing his face appeared. For all his faults, his loss was felt keenly. He helped many with his magicks─powerful spells that utilized yarn he spun himself as catalysts. But I don't suppose eaters have much call for spinning yarn, do they...” |
Musical themes[]
While Everlasting Light is in effect, "Unmatching Pieces" plays in all parts of lowland Kholusia at all times. "High Treason" plays in all parts of highland Kholusia until completing Mt. Gulg. After completing the 5.0 main scenario, "A World Divided" plays throughout all of Kholusia during the day, while "The Quick Way" plays at night.
"Such as it is" plays in Wright, while "No Greater Sorrow" plays in Amity, Gatetown and Stilltide. "A Reason to Live" plays in the Dwarven villages of Tomra and Komra. "Amusement Park" from NieR:Automata plays in Komra after the completion of the YoRHa: Dark Apocalypse quest "One Way to Do It," until the completion of the quest "To Make Amends."
"Rencounter" plays during all standard enemy encounters in Kholusia.
Gallery[]
