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Captain Madison is a non-playable character in Final Fantasy XIV. He is the captain of the Serpent Reavers, a band of pirates who have allied themselves with the Sahagin. Madison is a recurring antagonist in the Sastasha duties.

History[]

Madison worked as a navigator aboard a merchant vessel up to the year 1567 of the Sixth Astral Era, when he was believed to have arranged his own disappearance in order to escape a prodigious gambling debt. He would later re-emerge as a member of the newly formed Serpent Reavers, a pirate band that had aligned themselves with the Sahagin, placing them firmly as enemies of the city-state of Limsa Lominsa. Madison thrived as a pirate and swiftly rose to the post of captain.[1] Despite his lofty position, he and the Reavers were ever subservient to their Sahagin masters.

Working closely with the Sahagin Denn the Orcatoothed, the mind behind the creation of the Reavers,[1] the Reavers under Madison occupied the Sastasha Seagrot. Seemingly an unassuming network of caves, within the depths of Sastasha lay a hidden cove, which had in the past served as as a Sahagin spawning ground and later a hideout for the legendary pirate Mistbeard. Claiming the spawning grounds for Denn and the hideout for themselves, Sastasha became the Reavers' main base of operations.

FFXIV Denn Kills Madison

Madison is struck down by Denn.

The Reavers' activities in the area inevitably drew the attention of the Yellowjackets, who began investigating the Seagrot after reports of suspicious men entering the caves, recruiting several adventurers to plumb its depths, including the future Warrior of Light[2]. The Warrior's party would find the hidden entrance to the pirate hideout and stumble upon a surprised Madison. After a couple short skirmishes Madison fled to the spawning grounds to entreat the aid of Denn. Enraged by the intrusion, Denn struck down Madison, but was in turn defeated by the adventurers.[3]

FFXIV Releasing the Kraken

Madison releases the kraken.

Madison would survive the encounter, and he and his surviving crew were dragged before the Sahagin primal Leviathan. As punishment for their failure to defend the Seagrot, Leviathan subjected the pirates to an enormous amount of aether, mutating them into squad-faced abominations known as the Drowned[4]. Tasked with once again retaking Sastasha, Madison was granted the services of a kraken to accomplish this. When the Warrior of Light also returned to the seagrot investigating reports of monsters rising from its depths, Madison immediately recognized the adventurer whom he blamed for his transformation. Once again fleeing, Madison attempted to unleash the kraken on them, only for the kraken to turn on him, swatting him into the ocean with one of its massive tentacles and killing him.[4] The kraken was then slain by the Warrior.[5]

The Yellowjackets were able to recover Madison's mutated corpse and presented it to Commodore Reyner Hansred. With the aid of the Warrior of Light's testimony and aetherologist Ceana's expertise, it was from Madison's corpse that it was first surmised that prolonged exposure to a primal's tempering aether could mutate living creatures[4]—a theory that was later reaffirmed with the findings of Allagan researcher Owen.[6]

When the Warrior of Light later plumbed the depths of the Palace of the Dead, they would come across the monstrous Madison's cursed spirit wandering its halls.[7]

Characteristics[]

Captain Madison Hard from FFXIV

Madison's corrupted form.

Appearance[]

Madison is a Midlander Hyur with fair skin, brown hair, and purple eyes. His face is painted with the blue "X" commonly seen on members of the Serpent Reavers. He wears a black tricorne with an eyepatch over his left eye, black linen shirt, green woolen gaskins, black wristguards, and dark leather shoes. He wields a scimitar and round shield in battle.

After being corrupted by Leviathan and becoming a Drowned, Madison takes on a monstrous form, his head mutated into a cephalopod-like form with a crowned mantle and tentacled beard. He wears a black longcoat and slacks with white-trimmed boots. While he still carries a scimitar into battle, he trades in his shield for a double-barreled pistol.

Personality[]

While a successful pirate, when truly pressed Madison regularly proves himself to be a craven, fleeing the battle and leaving his henchmen behind, this behavior earning him the ire of his superiors.

Despite being tempered by Leviathan when turned into his monstrous form, Madison still demonstrates enough free will to lament his current state, recognizing the Warrior of Light and blaming them for his predicament. During the third battle against him, he uses the fear of being further transformed to motivate his men.

Madison's colibri[]

FFXIV Sastasha Colibri Intruders

Madison's colibri sounds the alarm.

Madison has a pet colibri that follows him wherever he goes. The colibri has a habit of repeating everything Madison says, even should it be unflattering to the captain. The colibri continues to accompany Madison even after he is mutated by Leviathan, even sounding the alarm when it discovers the Warrior of Light has returned to Sastasha, but it is similarly dispatched by the kraken. Unlike the captain, the colibri survives the encounter, but no longer speaks.

Gameplay[]

Madison is fought as a boss three times across Sastasha Sastasha and Sastasha (Hard) Sastasha (Hard), fleeing at the end of each battle. His spirit can also be encountered wandering The Palace of the Dead (Floors 131-140) The Palace of the Dead (Floors 131-140) as the Half-cracked Captain.

Madison's pet colibri can acquired as the Tight-beaked Parrot Tight-beaked Parrot minion upon completing Sastasha (Hard).

Citations[]

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