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+--- Thread: Ixali Lore (/showthread.php?tid=6127)
RE: Ixali Lore - Lalili Lali - 01-15-2014
A tiny thing:
Tempered individuals tend to take on some of the characteristics of their patron primal - although often in rather twisted ways. (This is mentioned in ~level 24 story quests.)
If you're interacting with tempered Ixali, they're going to take on some of Garuda's qualities. She's known for being bloodthirsty and capricious.
RE: Ixali Lore - ansemaru - 01-15-2014
I was aware of the tempered individuals taking on Primal qualities! The Ixal in question are followers of Garuda, but not specifically tempered by her, so they're not likely to be specifically bloodthirsty or fanatical.
RE: Ixali Lore - Sounsyy - 01-15-2014
Most has been covered but I wanted to fill in a couple things in this thread.
Ixali were allowed to live within the Twelveswood roughly somewhere around the same time that Gelmorrans were allowed to live above ground. The Ixali and Gelmorrans inhabited the forest peacefully. There was a 1.0 quest stating that this all happened circa the year 1022 of the 6th Astral Era. Now, for reasons that weren't completely expanded upon in 1.0, the Ixali were banished from the Twelveswood about 400 years later. I think it was something like they started taking more from the Wood than was offered? Probably something to do with the Ixali cutting down a ton of trees as offering to their Primal God Garuda.Â
Anyways, the Elementals banished them, and the Ixali were forced to leave "Tinolqa" (Blessed Forest in Ixali tongue) or else face the Greenwrath. They took up home in Xelphatol, but they greatly resented the Gridanians who were still allowed to live among what the Ixali consider their Holy Land. This resentment probably turned even nastier when the Ixal children began to be born without feathers, as a result of living in the mountains. They lost the ability to fly and began raiding the Twelveswood to cut lumber to create flying machines called Dirigbles.Â
Also saw some stuff in here about Greenwrath and Wildlings...
Greenwrath is actually a lot scarier than just animals attacking you. The forest is against you. It will lead you astray, get you hopelessly lost, even eat you if something else doesn't get to you first. All living things within the Wood can sense the Greenwrath, and it infuriates them.Â
There's something accrued by everyone who sets foot in the Twelveswood called Woodsin. (Think of it like Tonberry's Rancor but for the Wood.) If you get enough Woodsin, you risk envoking the Greenwrath. To sum it up, it's the Elementals Grudge wishing to destroy you because you've done something terrible in their eyes. And while the Elementals aren't really around in 2.0 and they seem kind of easily consolable and cuddly, I encourage you to check out some quests from 1.0 that demonstrate what happens when you tick off an Elemental. It's pretty terrifying.Â
>Â Beckon of the Elementals
>Â Shadow of the Raven
>Â Sundered Skies
Closely related to this topic are the Wildlings. Wildlings are those taken by the Elementals, usually after envoking Greenswrath, but not always. Wildlings basically are soulless shells of people wandering the Wood for the rest of their days doing the Wood's bidding. They can never leave the Wood. You encounter quite a few in 1.0 Grid Storyline. And in the Beckon of the Elementals video I linked above you can see the boy Krimm start to turn into a Wildling. In the 1.0 CNJ storyline you get to meet a conjurer named Morys, who was taken by the Elementals as a boy. He lost all of his memories and was found wandering the Woods. When the Conjurer's took him in, they found that he could communicate with the Elementals extraordinarily well, so they trained him in Conjury, and he carries out his Wildling sentence by healing the forest as a Conjurer. E-Sumi-Yan keeps the fact that Morys is a Wildling a very tightly kept secret though.
EDIT: Also, interesting side note. The masks worn by the Wood Wailers are actually for protection against Woodsin. The mask takes the Woodsin instead of the Wailer. However, the mask can break, be defective, or becomes ineffective if too much Woodsin is absorbed.
RE: Ixali Lore - ansemaru - 01-15-2014
E-Sumi-Yan doesn't seem all that soulless to me. Sure that's the best way to describe a Wildling?
And okay, I think I'm starting to see the point about the Greenwrath- at least in 1.0. There's a marked difference in how it functions prior to the Calamity and after the Calamity, though.
RE: Ixali Lore - Sounsyy - 01-15-2014
(01-15-2014, 01:17 AM)ansemaru Wrote: E-Sumi-Yan doesn't seem all that soulless to me. Sure that's the best way to describe a Wildling?
And okay, I think I'm starting to see the point about the Greenwrath- at least in 1.0. There's a marked difference in how it functions prior to the Calamity and after the Calamity, though.
Woops, I wrote that a bit confusing. No, E-Sumi is not a Wildling. The Wildling Conjurer's name was Morys. Edited.
But yeah, we haven't (yet) seen the Wood get angry in 2.0. It could be that the Elementals were severely weakened by the Calamity, but it could also be that there hasn't been much activity in the Twelveswood to envoke the Greenswrath like in 1.0. Gotta remember that 1.0 was a living game at the time and a lot of crap was going down. Burning trees, Garleans attacking the forest, Garuda summoned inside the Twelveswood, Hedge Trees being attacks at every turn... Also the Black Shroud was a much scarier place in 1.0. Much darker.
RE: Ixali Lore - ansemaru - 01-15-2014
Hrm. I'm getting the impression that the difference is either one of two things:
- Square telling but not showing. The writing continues to imply that the Greenwrath is a major threat to avoid, but events in the game do not ever show the exact consequences of invoking it. If this is the case, we're meant to take these words at face value, regardless of the lack of tangible demonstrations that the Greenwrath and elementals are the same as they were in 1.0.
- Square using the discrepancy to imply that the elementals were weakened by the Calamity. The reason behind the Greenwrath hardly showing up in tangible form in 2.0 could be entirely an intentional way of showing how much the Calamity changed the world, rather than a weak point in the writing of the game.
...goodness, this got off-topic. Back to the subject of Ixal...
It seems like there are a few different versions of what forced them to leave Tinolqa/the Twelveswood and why they were once at peace with the Gridanians but no longer. And all of them appear to be based in canon sources. How frustrating.
RE: Ixali Lore - LiadansWhisper - 01-15-2014
(01-14-2014, 10:55 PM)Ildur Wrote: That's quite a useful bit of data!
The Greenwrath is actually kind of catastrophic. People who are target of it draw nature's wrath, whose most obvious manifestation is animals trying to kill you (and anyone who gets in the way).
Additionaly, it looks like in 1.0 when the player arrived at Gridania, there was a whole questline dedicated to purifying one of the woodsin (which is exactly what it says on the tin: sins against the woods) and thus not being target of the Greenwrath. It was implied that all outsiders had to take part of this ritual if they wanted to stay in Gridania. But since the player never does this on the storyline, we can assume this practice has been dropped. The reason for that might be that the Elementals are just too weak after the Calamity, though it could also be that it just got retconned and is not part of canon anymore.
Source.
There's also apparently something called a "wildling", which is basically an undead: a soul claimed by the elementals and cursed to roam the Shroud. Since there's none in ARR, as far as I can tell, they are pretty uncommon or they got retconned out of existence.
:-\ Â Am I the only one sad that flavor stuff (like having to purify yourself of the woodsin) got taken out in 2.0? Â It makes me so sad. Â :-\
RE: Ixali Lore - ansemaru - 01-15-2014
Honestly, I'm pretty fine with Gridanians having less of a leg to stand on in justifying their xenophobia.
RE: Ixali Lore - Ildur - 01-15-2014
I am sad that it doesn't even get mentioned. Maybe it is hidden in some inconsequential NPC, but who knows? The Greenwrath is an interesting concept for roleplay and if there were more information about it in ARR we could use it more effectively. But right now, some things might or might have not been retconned, and some things might or might have not changed. It's hard to say.
Back on the subject of the Ixali: the Elementals seem to have a policy with those that live in the Twelveswood that asks them to return what they take from the forest. If you want to cut down 10 trees, you have to plant 10 new ones. I imagine other things would work like some kind of barter (because I'm not sure how you would return consumed food, for example). It's likely that the Ixali were breaking this rule in some way. The specifics of it can be assumed to have been lost to history and, if there's more than one version, we can pretend all of them are product of an in-universe lack of data about the matter.
RE: Ixali Lore - ansemaru - 01-15-2014
What I'm also beginning to realize is that the majority of information about the Ixal concerns why they're antagonistic towards Gridania and vice-versa. While it is useful for me, what would be most useful would be more concrete information about Ixal culture, behavior, speech patterns, beliefs... Anything about how they act in a capacity beyond "GRR FORESTBORN" and "OH GARUDA YOU'RE AWESOME WE'RE GOING TO KEEP SUMMONING YOU". But I suppose I'm just going to have to wait until we get beast tribe quests regarding them for that sort of stuff. It's how we got actual concrete data on the Amalj'aa and their culture, after all.
RE: Ixali Lore - Tla - 01-15-2014
(01-15-2014, 03:12 AM)ansemaru Wrote: What I'm also beginning to realize is that the majority of information about the Ixal concerns why they're antagonistic towards Gridania and vice-versa. While it is useful for me, what would be most useful would be more concrete information about Ixal culture, behavior, speech patterns, beliefs... Anything about how they act in a capacity beyond "GRR FORESTBORN" and "OH GARUDA YOU'RE AWESOME WE'RE GOING TO KEEP SUMMONING YOU".ÂI fully agree with this. Once I wanted to make a plot involving the Ixali, but then I realized how few I knew of them, and besides the informations that are also written here I could not find much over the internet. Â I really hope that you are right and tribe quests wil add more. As far as sylphs go they added nothing that makes me find them more interesting.
I really have this feeling that in 1.0 the world was much more consistent, shame I haven't played it.
RE: Ixali Lore - Naunet - 01-15-2014
Isn't the Greenwrath the big, hooge, ginormous, [insert other synonyms] explosion of forest-y rage that's supposed to happen if the elementals aren't appeased (as per the WHM story), while the Woodwrath is the affliction individuals can become targetted by should they run afowl of the forest too much? That would explain why the effects of Greenwrath specifically do not show up in 2.0 (though you do experience threat of it in the WHM story), as this is something that only happens occasionally.
/likely completely useless contribution
RE: Ixali Lore - LiadansWhisper - 01-15-2014
(01-15-2014, 11:45 AM)Naunet Wrote: Isn't the Greenwrath the big, hooge, ginormous, [insert other synonyms] explosion of forest-y rage that's supposed to happen if the elementals aren't appeased (as per the WHM story), while the Woodwrath is the affliction individuals can become targetted by should they run afowl of the forest too much? That would explain why the effects of Greenwrath specifically do not show up in 2.0 (though you do experience threat of it in the WHM story), as this is something that only happens occasionally.
/likely completely useless contribution
Not useless!
This article seems to talk about the Woodwrath, but it's suggested that, if affected, you can actually get back in the good graces of the Elemental through ritual dance.  That seems to differ from the Greenwrath, which has no recourse - you're basically fucked.  And what I remember of the quests, they were using Greenwrath on the micro and macro level.
It's entirely possible, though, that it's a localization issue and someone didn't translate the wording correctly. Â Which, of course, would make the situation with the poor guy from Ala Mhigo who may have been a target of the Greenwrath even worse. Â Because the Gridanians could have actually helped him, but would have refused to do so (unlike with the Greenwrath where there was really nothing they could do to alleviate it other than say "get out").
Then again, I don't remember them explicitly saying he was a target of the Greenwrath. Â If he had been, they wouldn't have let him back in Quarrymill, and they didn't even expel him from it - they just refused to offer aid to the Ala Mhigans for unexplained reasons (possibly xenophobia).
RE: Ixali Lore - ansemaru - 01-15-2014
Interesting. Wish it had more primary sources linked...
Also, I think it's an understatement to say that the reason Ala Mhigans went unhelped was "possibly" xenophobia. It was definitely xenophobia.
RE: Ixali Lore - Sounsyy - 01-15-2014
(01-15-2014, 03:12 AM)ansemaru Wrote: What I'm also beginning to realize is that the majority of information about the Ixal concerns why they're antagonistic towards Gridania and vice-versa. While it is useful for me, what would be most useful would be more concrete information about Ixal culture, behavior, speech patterns, beliefs...
Yeah, there really isn't a lot of lore out there about them other than a few stories about how they were banished from the Twelveswood. Now, maybe I'm inferring a little, but if you read the BLM job quests and a few other quests from 1.0 surrounding the Ixali, they seem to refer to their mothers a lot? So possibly a strongly matriarchal society. They have high priestesses I seem to remember from a GC levequest or FATE in Natalan? Could be wrong. But that's all I can think of sadly... Definitely hope more comes out about the Ixali when they release the Beasttribe quests.
(01-15-2014, 03:07 PM)LiadansWhisper Wrote: This article seems to talk about the Woodwrath, but it's suggested that, if affected, you can actually get back in the good graces of the Elemental through ritual dance.  That seems to differ from the Greenwrath, which has no recourse - you're basically fucked.  And what I remember of the quests, they were using Greenwrath on the micro and macro level.
Gridanians use ritual wooden masks to absorb Woodsin. The Wood Wailers wear these to protect against accruing Woodsin while defending Gridania from threats. But they can also be used to draw Woodsin from a person. The 1.0 Story quest Beckon of the Elementals goes into this a bit.
Beckon of the Elementals Part 1
(Skip to about 11:00 if this link doesn't automatically.)
Beckon of the Elementals Part 2
(Skip to about 5:35 if this link doesn't automatically.)
The second video actually shows the ritual. It's a ritual dance/incantation that Brother E-Sumi is seen using a few times throughout the original storyline.Â
Too Lazy; Didn't Watch: Basically E-Sumi tries to perform a ritual cleansing for Krimm after Krimm sets a Hedge Tree on fire and takes the full force of the Greenswrath to the face. The plan is to transfer the Woodsin into the mask he's wearing. However, the amount of Woodsin may be too great for one mask to bear. So the Wildling Dunstan (who's kind of responsible for all these events) wears a second mask to absorb the Woodsin. Which, according to E-Sumi is highly dangerous and E-Sumi states that in order to fully cleanse the boy of his sins, the Elementals may take Dunstan's life as collateral.Â
So, curing Greenswrath can be done, but it's very risky. Woodsin seems to be a much simpler process. You have a special mask crafted for you, you do a little jig, a Padjal prays to the Elementals, and you are cleansed of the Woodsin. Supposedly, that's how it works. Based on the quests prior to this one, I would say that the ritual is something that every Forest-born is familiar with. They grow up being taught the dance and about Woodsin and Wildlings and Elementals.Â
Oh and there's more evidence that Greenswrath can be repealed by the Padjal. In the Twin Adders GC Storyline there's two quests "Shadow of the Raven" and the one after it, I can't remember it's name. But the Garleans attempt to burn down the Twelveswood, evoking the Greenwrath on the Gridanians. The Garleans are successful, and the Elementals attack, claiming several unfortunate Wood Wailers and Quivermen as Wildlings. In the following quest, you have a chat with Kan-E-Senna and she states that the Seedseers were able to barter with the Elementals into returning some of the souls of those taken.