As an aside, how is finding loopholes or finding a way that a character could obtain some skill/knowledge less creative than sticking to the black and white (eeeey) of the lore?
A lot of bits of lore are up to speculation, or just not well defined, and there is nothing saying that the red mages and their knowledge stayed holed up exclusively in Ala Mhigo for centuries, especially if other races have been able to go freely to and from Gyr Abania (prior to the most current events). It's not like it's Ishgard, for Highlanders.
It also seems to be the nature of Red Mages to actively want to spread their philosophy and practice of magic to other magic users to have less devastating effects on the environment, so I feel like that leaves a lot of open room as to how a character could get to know of Red Magic or meet a Red Mage.
A lot of bits of lore are up to speculation, or just not well defined, and there is nothing saying that the red mages and their knowledge stayed holed up exclusively in Ala Mhigo for centuries, especially if other races have been able to go freely to and from Gyr Abania (prior to the most current events). It's not like it's Ishgard, for Highlanders.
It also seems to be the nature of Red Mages to actively want to spread their philosophy and practice of magic to other magic users to have less devastating effects on the environment, so I feel like that leaves a lot of open room as to how a character could get to know of Red Magic or meet a Red Mage.
