[Forgive any implausibility in the lore, I'm still not terrible read up]
Let me tell you all a story, a story of a tribe of monsters whose names only lives because the twelve willed it, I speak of course of the Raiku Seekers of the Sun, and of the last known member of the tribe.
Years ago, the founding members of the Raiku had a falling out with their tribe regarding their treatment of other races, they believed all other races were beneath them, that they should kill, conquer, and dominate those that the rest of their kind were befriending. When it became clear that the majority of the Seekers were against them, rather than throw themselves headlong into a losing clan war, they retreated, laying claim to a lush forest on the farthest end of the Gridanian border on a steep mountain.
The area of the black forest the tribe called home became known as the woods of sorrow, a place where any race that wasn't a Mi'quote would be warned off by an arrow to a tree beside them, and then one to the throat should they not heed said warning. Following an assassination of an entire gridanian unit, of which only the bones of non-Mi'quote (the Mi'quote of the squad were never found at all) were found at the edge of the forest, rumors began to spread that they had gone feral, cannibalistic, and that setting foot past the territory marker was a death wish.
Z'karu's parents, and Z himself, were born into the Raiku tribe at the height of their hostility towards invaders, Z's parents only did as they had been raised, showing their hostility towards intruders all the same, But Z himself never understood the reason for their hatred, a fact he questioned his elder on when he came of age. Though understanding, the elder was infuriated at the lack of resentment, and sent the young teenager out of the village to wander the world, "To see for himself the cruelty of the other races."
Z'karu walked the world for some time, though he did indeed see the worst of Eorzia, it was always followed by the best. For every bandit that shook him down, every highwayman that stopped him, there were one, two, sometimes up to ten people who would come to his defense, to protect him for no other reason than the kindness in their hearts.
 Though there was always one problem, when he introduced himself by his full name, especially around other Mi'quote, they would shrink back, wary or outright afraid of him without him understanding why. It took a week before one of his saviors, who he had come to travel with for defense, told him of the Raiku's true nature towards others, a fact Z, who had seen the good of the world, grew to be horrified with.
He was heading home when Dalamund fell and Bahamut destroyed everything, he did what he could and dove into a hole in the ground that broke through into a cave system, protecting him from the destruction the dragon god rained down.
After it had passed, he ran through the forest, faster and faster, until he came to his village and saw it burned to ash, its position on the mountain most likely having made it an especially vulnerable target. Though he mourned and wept, as all who know loss of family and loved ones do, when he recovered, he realized there may have been a reason for this... the Raiku were the bad guys, the monsters, the ones mothers tell their children to be careful of. Though he didn't discredit the idea of other survivors, he saw none at the sight and did all he could, to walk the world.
His resolve was clear, he was going to become a hero and redeem his tribe's name, but first, he needed knowledge, and tools. Asking around and travelling eventually led him to Lomsa Limonsa, and the Arcanist's guild, where his training, and new life, would begin.
Let me tell you all a story, a story of a tribe of monsters whose names only lives because the twelve willed it, I speak of course of the Raiku Seekers of the Sun, and of the last known member of the tribe.
Years ago, the founding members of the Raiku had a falling out with their tribe regarding their treatment of other races, they believed all other races were beneath them, that they should kill, conquer, and dominate those that the rest of their kind were befriending. When it became clear that the majority of the Seekers were against them, rather than throw themselves headlong into a losing clan war, they retreated, laying claim to a lush forest on the farthest end of the Gridanian border on a steep mountain.
The area of the black forest the tribe called home became known as the woods of sorrow, a place where any race that wasn't a Mi'quote would be warned off by an arrow to a tree beside them, and then one to the throat should they not heed said warning. Following an assassination of an entire gridanian unit, of which only the bones of non-Mi'quote (the Mi'quote of the squad were never found at all) were found at the edge of the forest, rumors began to spread that they had gone feral, cannibalistic, and that setting foot past the territory marker was a death wish.
Z'karu's parents, and Z himself, were born into the Raiku tribe at the height of their hostility towards invaders, Z's parents only did as they had been raised, showing their hostility towards intruders all the same, But Z himself never understood the reason for their hatred, a fact he questioned his elder on when he came of age. Though understanding, the elder was infuriated at the lack of resentment, and sent the young teenager out of the village to wander the world, "To see for himself the cruelty of the other races."
Z'karu walked the world for some time, though he did indeed see the worst of Eorzia, it was always followed by the best. For every bandit that shook him down, every highwayman that stopped him, there were one, two, sometimes up to ten people who would come to his defense, to protect him for no other reason than the kindness in their hearts.
 Though there was always one problem, when he introduced himself by his full name, especially around other Mi'quote, they would shrink back, wary or outright afraid of him without him understanding why. It took a week before one of his saviors, who he had come to travel with for defense, told him of the Raiku's true nature towards others, a fact Z, who had seen the good of the world, grew to be horrified with.
He was heading home when Dalamund fell and Bahamut destroyed everything, he did what he could and dove into a hole in the ground that broke through into a cave system, protecting him from the destruction the dragon god rained down.
After it had passed, he ran through the forest, faster and faster, until he came to his village and saw it burned to ash, its position on the mountain most likely having made it an especially vulnerable target. Though he mourned and wept, as all who know loss of family and loved ones do, when he recovered, he realized there may have been a reason for this... the Raiku were the bad guys, the monsters, the ones mothers tell their children to be careful of. Though he didn't discredit the idea of other survivors, he saw none at the sight and did all he could, to walk the world.
His resolve was clear, he was going to become a hero and redeem his tribe's name, but first, he needed knowledge, and tools. Asking around and travelling eventually led him to Lomsa Limonsa, and the Arcanist's guild, where his training, and new life, would begin.
