@Rickter
![[Image: ffxiv_shiva_04_thumb.jpg]](http://storage.siliconera.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/ffxiv_shiva_04_thumb.jpg)
This is the concept art I was talking about. Shiva is tall, lanky, and pointy-eared. You may note that the Ixal are feathery, the Kobolds hunched and bulky, the Amalj'aa scaly and horned, the Sylphs robed and levitating, the Sahaugin finned and aquatic, and the dragons are... well, dragons. Each beastman race associated with a Primal shares prominent physical characteristics with it. From lore in the similar XI and from 1.0, the suggestion exists that worship of a Primal causes a group to become more and more like said Primal over time- hence the zealous Amalj'aa, who have a more frequent success rate in summoning Ifrit, bearing a stronger resemblance to their god, while the Sylphs, who even amongst the tempered do not make frequent efforts to call upon Ramuh, do not look quite as close to him. There's a very real possibility that before the worship of Primals took, the beastmen appeared very different.
Shiva's primary characteristics are not dissimilar to those of the Elezen. The implication being that it may not be impossible that they are, in fact, a "bastard" offshoot of Hyur- those whose worship of a "Halone" who was not Halone, but Shiva- caused them to over time take on characteristics of Shiva and resemble Hyur less and less, until they became a distinct lineage separate from their shorter, less pointy-eared kin.
That said, it's very unlikely this hypothesis is true. Although there's a strong possibility that Shiva is responsible for Ishgard's current state, there's no telling if she has been posing as or is the true identity of Halone, or if her influence is what made the Elezen the Elezen. It's just an interesting way to look at things.
This is the concept art I was talking about. Shiva is tall, lanky, and pointy-eared. You may note that the Ixal are feathery, the Kobolds hunched and bulky, the Amalj'aa scaly and horned, the Sylphs robed and levitating, the Sahaugin finned and aquatic, and the dragons are... well, dragons. Each beastman race associated with a Primal shares prominent physical characteristics with it. From lore in the similar XI and from 1.0, the suggestion exists that worship of a Primal causes a group to become more and more like said Primal over time- hence the zealous Amalj'aa, who have a more frequent success rate in summoning Ifrit, bearing a stronger resemblance to their god, while the Sylphs, who even amongst the tempered do not make frequent efforts to call upon Ramuh, do not look quite as close to him. There's a very real possibility that before the worship of Primals took, the beastmen appeared very different.
Shiva's primary characteristics are not dissimilar to those of the Elezen. The implication being that it may not be impossible that they are, in fact, a "bastard" offshoot of Hyur- those whose worship of a "Halone" who was not Halone, but Shiva- caused them to over time take on characteristics of Shiva and resemble Hyur less and less, until they became a distinct lineage separate from their shorter, less pointy-eared kin.
That said, it's very unlikely this hypothesis is true. Although there's a strong possibility that Shiva is responsible for Ishgard's current state, there's no telling if she has been posing as or is the true identity of Halone, or if her influence is what made the Elezen the Elezen. It's just an interesting way to look at things.
