I was recently involved in a debate regarding the recent history of the Othard Steppes under Garlean rule. Â One party held that since Othard was originally invaded and conquered some fifty years ago, the only way for the Xaela to have any knowledge of their culture was to have fought a lifelong guerilla war against the Garleans, moving their tribes and fighting for survival until the Doman rebellion forced the Garleans' hand and they were finally forced out.
The other party held that since there's no lore describing the Xaela's interations with the Empire, the only reasonable explanation is that Garlemald circumvented the whole of the Steppes solely to conquer Doma, and that all of the savage Xaela lived in total ignorance of Garlemald's conquest until the aftermath of the Doman rebellion.
It was suggested that the two attempt to reconcile this with the fact that Othard is invariably huge, and the tribes may have each had very different experiences as far apart as they were. Â Unfortunately, one party couldn't abide this divide and left.
What are the thoughts on this? Â The concern of the party that left is the massive fracture such assumptions would cause within the community. Â However, this isn't something that can be ignored, since a large part of refugee roleplay is their experience in Othard. Â Does it make sense that the Xaela fought a lifelong war against their oppressors, or were they blissfully ignorant, brutally fighting one another the entire time? Â Or should we just say that everyone had different experiences, and accept the fracture as not being harmful?
The other party held that since there's no lore describing the Xaela's interations with the Empire, the only reasonable explanation is that Garlemald circumvented the whole of the Steppes solely to conquer Doma, and that all of the savage Xaela lived in total ignorance of Garlemald's conquest until the aftermath of the Doman rebellion.
It was suggested that the two attempt to reconcile this with the fact that Othard is invariably huge, and the tribes may have each had very different experiences as far apart as they were. Â Unfortunately, one party couldn't abide this divide and left.
What are the thoughts on this? Â The concern of the party that left is the massive fracture such assumptions would cause within the community. Â However, this isn't something that can be ignored, since a large part of refugee roleplay is their experience in Othard. Â Does it make sense that the Xaela fought a lifelong war against their oppressors, or were they blissfully ignorant, brutally fighting one another the entire time? Â Or should we just say that everyone had different experiences, and accept the fracture as not being harmful?
