Hydaelyn Role-Players

Encyclopedia Eorzea Wrote:The two most prominent Elezen clans are the forest-dwelling Wildwood Elezen, who make their home in the Shroud, and the reclusive Duskwight. The former have a long history of cooperation with the Hyur, having jointly formed the forest nation of Gridania, while the latter have long since eschewed contact with other races to pursue their own path in the shadowy seculsions of Eorzea's deep tunnels and caverns. As such, the Wildwood and Duskwight each consider each other traitors to their race, and tensions between the two clans continue to the present day.

Encyclopedia Eorzea Wrote:Making their home in deep forest caves and caverns for centuries, the Duskwight Elezen are the descendants of those who parted ways with their brethren after the founding of Gridania, choosing instead to remain in the stone-hewn chambers of Gelmorra and seek out new subterranean sanctums. Shunning the fetters of government and society, a great majority of the Duskwight keep wide berth of the city-states, with some even resorting to brigandry as a means of survival. As a result, they are often looked upon with scorn by the citizens of Gridania, and those who have chosen to make their home in the city often suffer undue discrimination at the hands of their neighbors.

Lodestone Wrote:For the past several centuries, the Duskwight Elezen have lived in the woodland caverns of Eorzea. These cave-dwelling Elezen are the descendants of a branch that split from the main Wildwood clan during the founding of Gridania. The Duskwight despise the "shackles" of urban life, and it is not uncommon for this reclusive people to avoid the city-states altogether.

1.0 Character Creation Wrote:Centuries ago, a number of Elezen sought out a life of peace and seclusion in the depths of Eorzea's caves and caverns. Today, they are called the Duskwight, though to their Wildwood cousins they are known simply as the "Greys," after their preference of darkness and stone. As part of their physical adaptation, the Duskwight have developed an acute sense of hearing, capable of detecting the faintest of sounds. This natural gift grants them uncanny awareness, which many have put to exemplary use in the field of hand-to-hand combat. The cave-dwelling ways of the Duskwight persist today, with some among them turning to robbery and pillaging to survive, earning them the scorn of their woodland relatives. There are few differences between the genders, but Duskwight males are often regarded as being more stern and authoritative of the two, while females are often regarded as the more passionate and unyielding of the two.

Prosperlain Wrote:The Duskwight are cousins to us Wildwood, and the same blood of the first Elezen courses through both our veins. We are not entirely unlike in appearance, but generations spent in the darkness of caves have created rift enough between our ways of life. Mind you, I bear their kind no ill will. I simply keep the records. And the records state that the Duskwight are generally believed to be...shall we say, unruly, and stubborn. Many turn to thievery and banditry to survive, and are seen as a disgrace to the nobility espoused by the Wildwood. Should you encounter any beyond a city's boundaries, you had best be wary.

Encyclopedia Eorzea Wrote:Similar in height and build to their Wildwood cousins, the defining trait of the Duskwight is the color of their skin, which has come to take on darker hues after generations of calling shadowy caverns home. For the selfsame reason, they also possess an evolved sense of hearing - their ability to ascertain the source of a sound with unerring accuracy, unaffected by echoes or reverberations, is often likened to that of the shadow-dwelling bat.

Encyclopedia Eorzea Wrote:The customs of the subterranean city of Gelmorra are still practiced by the Duskwight to this day, from architectural advances developed to stake out comfortable residences in dank, humid caves to mystical wards that serve to stave off the wrath of the Elementals. The Duskwight-fashioned pomanders - urns engraved with mystic glyphs of great power and filled with fragrant herbs - are an art without parallel in the realm. Duskwight cuisine is famous for its use of Mun-Tuy beans, a staple food in the subterranean depths, where they grow in abundance with no need for sunlight. That these dishes have come to be considered a Gridanian delicacy is an ironic twist, given the history between the two clans.

Irielle de Nevelle Wrote:Oh, the ruins you see down there are part of the ancient subterranean city known as Gelmorra. For Duskwight Elezen such as ourselves, it represents a valuable and unexpected opportunity to learn more about the settlement where our ancestors once dwelled.

Rolandaix de Nevelle Wrote:My work here is far from done, but this discovery brings me one tantalizing step closer to realizing my dream; the restoration of these ruins, and their reestablishment as a settlement for the Duskwight Elezen. Gridanians have long perceived my people as outcasts and brigands, yet if we Duskwight can return a measure of prosperity to this fallen city, we would no longer need to resort to common theft or banditry in order to make ends meet. Imagine it!

PAX West Lore Panel 2017 Wrote:Q: How did the Gelmorran civilization actually come to an end?

A: This is a really good question and something that we haven't touched upon. In the lore book we pretty much say that here's what happened, here's when it ended, kind of, when people left, but we never talked about that process. Why did it end? If half of the Elezen are still down there, the ones who became the Duskwights, why didn't they just stay down there? So how did that civilization end?

First off, Gelmorra worked. When the elementals first told the Elezen and the Hyur who resided in the Twelveswood "you need to get out now", they all went underground and created the Gelmorran civilization. That was created not just by the Elezen and not just by the Hyur, it was a combination of both of their knowledge. Because they worked together they were able to create this civilization and because they worked together it worked. Many many years later when the elementals had second thoughts, "okay you guys have shown us that you can live peacefully amongst nature you can come out now." The Hyur were the first to leave. Then the Elezen who were happy to go back out into nature where they used to live. But, by that time for a large population that had become their home, and the Elezen having a lot of pride said "no, this is our home. The elementals already kicked us out once, we made this, this is our home. We want to stay here."

They felt betrayed by their Elezen brethren and the Hyur that had helped them create the city. Being very prideful of their city and their civilization, they stuck around and tried to keep things running. But you had a giant city underground that needed pretty much everyone in it to keep it running. But when 75% of the population leaves, things start to decay. They tried their hardest, but things started to break down. Things couldn't be fixed. They couldn't make new things. Not enough people were there to tend to the Mun-tuy farms so they started running low on food. Even though they wanted to stay, they were forced out. They still blame that on the Wildwood Elezen and the Hyur because if they hadn't left they still would've had their civilization. The loss of their civilization wasn't instant, it happened over many generations, and it was something that really drove the Duskwights to hate the Wildwoods. The Wildwoods couldn't understand why they were hated, and that's where all of the "subtle" conflict between those two clans within the same race comes from.