Hey there Solistor, welcome back! Most everything about the profile is pretty general enough that there's no problems just running with the idea! There were a couple of things I wanted to bring up though.
The first is timeline. You mentioned the Calamity happened when Varn was a young man and it's what forced the family to relocate to Thanalan as refugees. You also mentioned years and years passed towards the bottom and your character appears(?) older, however, the Calamity only happened 5-6 years ago (per lore). Whether or not this alters the story at all I guess depends on how old your character is intended to be now?
Assuming he is supposed to be an older character and you're looking for a replacement event to drive the Kriegspire family from the Shroud, there's only a few things that come to mind. Fifteen years ago, in 1562 6AE, the Greenwrath awakened after a small forest fire, resulting in a temporary end in the protection of the elementals. This was also the year of the Battle of Silvertear Skies, where Garlemald launched its fleet over Gridania into Mor Dhona. It was thought by many as a prelude to Eorzea's destruction, and as Gridania was now (and had been for 5 years) on the frontlines against the Garlean Empire, many chose to leave the city-state behind. Unfortunately there's not a lot of other major Gridania-altering events in recent history (besides the Calamity of course).
The second bit is regarding the railway. This is one of those things you can sorta evade or handwave, so take what you will from this. The railways we see in Thanalan were constructed following the Calamity and are based on magitek technology from the Garlond Ironworks. The innovation of the steam engine allowed Amajina & Sons Mineral Concern to increase production and profits. Amajina hires its own guard, called the Stone Torches, to watch over the railways.
Here's why I say you can handwave this fairly easily: 1) it's not uncommon for the Stone Torches to hire out help since all Ul'dahn police/military/law is mercenary anyways. 2) While there are no railways leading into southern Thanalan in canon, we do know that Amajina & Sons has had and continues to have interests in the area. It was their surveys which discovered Byregot's Strike. 3) You're talking deep south Sagolii Desert area, which traders used to traverse on their way to the coastal villages on the southernmost point of Aldenard, Cape Deadwind. There could be leftover prototype clockwork rail tracks left over from this era decades ago. Though this is kinda headcanon territory, obviously, but the idea is fun and general enough that it shouldn't cause any issues.
Hope this helps! ^^
The first is timeline. You mentioned the Calamity happened when Varn was a young man and it's what forced the family to relocate to Thanalan as refugees. You also mentioned years and years passed towards the bottom and your character appears(?) older, however, the Calamity only happened 5-6 years ago (per lore). Whether or not this alters the story at all I guess depends on how old your character is intended to be now?
Assuming he is supposed to be an older character and you're looking for a replacement event to drive the Kriegspire family from the Shroud, there's only a few things that come to mind. Fifteen years ago, in 1562 6AE, the Greenwrath awakened after a small forest fire, resulting in a temporary end in the protection of the elementals. This was also the year of the Battle of Silvertear Skies, where Garlemald launched its fleet over Gridania into Mor Dhona. It was thought by many as a prelude to Eorzea's destruction, and as Gridania was now (and had been for 5 years) on the frontlines against the Garlean Empire, many chose to leave the city-state behind. Unfortunately there's not a lot of other major Gridania-altering events in recent history (besides the Calamity of course).
The second bit is regarding the railway. This is one of those things you can sorta evade or handwave, so take what you will from this. The railways we see in Thanalan were constructed following the Calamity and are based on magitek technology from the Garlond Ironworks. The innovation of the steam engine allowed Amajina & Sons Mineral Concern to increase production and profits. Amajina hires its own guard, called the Stone Torches, to watch over the railways.
Here's why I say you can handwave this fairly easily: 1) it's not uncommon for the Stone Torches to hire out help since all Ul'dahn police/military/law is mercenary anyways. 2) While there are no railways leading into southern Thanalan in canon, we do know that Amajina & Sons has had and continues to have interests in the area. It was their surveys which discovered Byregot's Strike. 3) You're talking deep south Sagolii Desert area, which traders used to traverse on their way to the coastal villages on the southernmost point of Aldenard, Cape Deadwind. There could be leftover prototype clockwork rail tracks left over from this era decades ago. Though this is kinda headcanon territory, obviously, but the idea is fun and general enough that it shouldn't cause any issues.
Hope this helps! ^^
