(09-30-2015, 09:55 PM)Valeera Wrote: Examples include the immense jump in social and professional strata for killing a dragon (which can result in not only assignment to the Order of the Knights Dragoon, but alternatively the Temple Knights) and the presence of minority races and lowborn finding acceptance and prominence via the application of exceptional skill (the MCH guy, the family of Costa Del Sol's chef, Aymeric, Lucia).
Pretty much this. Ishgard is a weird dichotomy of tradition and meritocracy. And if we assume the discussion that went on in an earlier thread is even half-correct, Duskwights may have actively moved up to Ishgard and even began intermarrying there precisely because it was a better place for them than Gridania and/or The Shroud. It's a sad day when Ishgard is a more welcoming place than Gridania.
As frosty as Ishgard has been with outsiders, it's still a martial nation with a need for every hand it can get, and I think most people there recognize and value hard work and skill when they see it. In the end that trumps birth -- the Heavens' Ward being a prime example (although...did we ever determine if there were Hyur in the Ward or not?). The meritocracy system is obviously working better in theory than in practice right now and a lot of people are slipping through the cracks, but it nevertheless is a prime example of how fluid things in Ishgard can actually be.
The racism and classim is definitely there, though. The gods made Elezen tall so that they could look down their noses at people, right?
Eliane Dufresne
The Dufresne Bellworks
The hand you are dealt is determinism; the way you play it is free will.
The Dufresne Bellworks
The hand you are dealt is determinism; the way you play it is free will.
