(11-22-2016, 09:26 AM)rugen914 Wrote: Is there any suggestion in the lore that the Keepers have been historically able to keep from ticking off the Elementals? Do they have their own methods of purging Woodsin? Do the Elementals just embrace them as a part of the forest itself? Have I missed an important detail?
This is a question that's long been debated. The simple fact is we don't know for sure why, but we do have several theories.
For starters, we do not know when Miqo'te (Keeper and Seeker populations) first came to Tinolqa. We know they live there, but there has never to my knowledge been any hint given to when they arrived. We do know when the Elezen and Hyur arrived, however. The first Elezen began settling in the Black Shroud around the Year 660, during the Second Hyuran Migration of the Sixth Astral Era. The Hyur followed roughly 50 years later, sparking territorial conflicts for several decades until they put aside their differences to build Gelmorra and escape from the threat of the elementals in 740 6AE.
The founding of Gelmorra and later Gridania, as well as any history between the two, only cites Hyuran and Elezen populations. No mention of Miqo'te. The way I see it, you can take this in one of two ways: 1) The Miqo'te pre-date Gelmorra and were already living in the woods, causing jealousy from the Gelmorrans, or 2) Gridania predates the Miqo'te arrival and their arrival after the fact is what caused contention. Which is right? Don't know.
Let's move on to something I can answer though. Why are Miqo'te and Duskwight allowed to hunt in the Shroud without fear of the elementals? My theory has long been that it's not the fact that they hunt that causes issues, it's how and where they hunt that matters more. So the answer is the Trappers' League.
Encyclopedia Eorzea Wrote:To ensure no man is too greedy in his take, hunters who pursue game in the woods must abide by the regulations of the Trappers’ League. The League also works to combat poachers, whose actions risk upsetting the natural balance of the forest.
Now, this is a slight over-exaggeration of what all the Trappers' League actually does. They're also a group of naturalists who work tirelessly to protect, domesticate, study, and ensure the health of the Wood's creatures, including the Spoken races. They're also responsible for ensuring Gridania's wellbeing by studying pests, viruses, and blights carried by animals and plants which might endanger the Wood or its citizens, such as the Creeping Death, which nearly wiped out Gridania's Hyuran population some 250 years ago.
I actually noticed there's some interesting lore about the Trappers' League in the starting quests for Leatherworker and Archer guilds, which are corroborated in the lore book.
Athelyna Wrote:Archery as practiced in Gridania was born of two distinct styles of bowmanship. The first was devised by the longbow sentries of the Elezen who once ruled the lowlands, while the second belonged to the shortbow hunters of the formerly nomadic Miqo'te. As you will doubtless be aware, both races ultimately came to call the Twelveswood home. Though the two peoples began as rivals, they gradually learned to live together in harmony. During this time, they learned from one another, their two schools of archery intermingling to give birth to the art as it is known today.
Encyclopedia Eorzea Wrote:The Archers’ Guild began life within the Trappers’ League, a body existing to promote brotherhood amongst hunters. From its advent, the League decided where and when game could be taken in an effort to maintain peace with the elementals. In time, the hunters took to friendly competitions in bowmanship, and eventually a group split away to devote themselves to their weapon of choice. These were the founders of the Archers’ Guild.
Gridanian archery itself emerged from a history of strife betwixt two traditions: techniques of the longbow, beloved of the Elezen, and of the shortbows, developed by Miqo’te hunters. The Elezen sought to defend the forest, and clashed mightily with the Miqo’te, who poached its creatures for their meat. The two ultimately reached an accord, and merged their archery techniques into a unique style not found anywhere else in the realm.
Randall Wrote:As you cannot have failed to notice, the Twelveswood is blessed with an abundance of life, and we Gridanians have long hunted the forest's creatures for both nourishment and clothing. But Gridania is unlike any other place. The elementals that watch over the Twelveswood have never looked kindly on the taking of life, and those who flout their governance do so at their own peril. The elementals decreed that life not be taken without due necessity. And so the Trappers' League was formed to regulate the hunting of animals. The Leatherworkers' Guild was subsequently founded to manage the fair and equitable distribution of pelts. Nowadays, adventurers are a major supplier of pelts, and leather goods have become widespread. But in times past, they were rare and precious. The Leatherworkers' Guild has not forgotten those times. We treat leather with no less respect than the living creatures whence it comes, and craft goods of the highest quality. In so doing, we honor the lives lost, and minimize the need for further killing─an oft-forgotten benefit of our products' surpassing durability.
So on top of all of their other duties, the Trappers' League also regulates what can be hunted, where it can be hunted, and how much. They even take an active effort in hunting down poachers.
Eugenaire Wrote:My name is Eugenaire, of the Trappers' League - the greatest huntsman in these parts. <sigh> Or so I was long ago... Now, it seems I spend more of my days hunting poachers than game.
If you go to Quarrymill in Silent Arbor, which is elemental-sanctioned hunting grounds, you can find out a bit more about the specifics of Gridania's hunting trade. I'll pull quotes from an earlier post on this topic.
Encyclopedia Eorzea Wrote:An area where the elementals permit hunting, Silent Arbor has been a source of concern in recent times: from trespassing poachers to roaming Duskwight bandits, too many disturb the woods' peace for Gridania's comfort.
(10-10-2015, 06:07 PM)Sounsyy Wrote:Charline Wrote:Quarrymill was named for the waterwheels that served to process raw stone into building material. Over the years, it has come to be a gathering place for hunters and trappers, owing to its location amidst elemental-sanctioned hunting grounds. Quarrymill is also a place of judgement. All outsiders who wish to dwell in the Twelveswood must present themselves here to have their worthiness weighed by the elementals. Those whose petition is denied cannot remain in the wood, nor can they receive of its bounty. Harsh though it may seem, this has been the way of it since time immemorial.
045 Vista Record Wrote:South Shroud Landing
Constructed by Highwind Skyways to serve as a landing for cargo airships, this location was quickly abandoned when the imperial presence in the area became too large to ignore. Now the site is used as a makeshift market where bandits and poachers peddle their ill-gotten wares far from the eyes of the law.
Isarmoix Wrote:Antelope and dormice abound in these parts, but we must be careful not to hunt more than befits our need. What the forest gives, it can just as easily take away.
Wood Wailer Sentry Wrote:Even the bounty of the forest has its limits. To loot it for your own gains is to court the wrath of the elementals...
Now, the whole Coeurlclaw poacher problem is obviously exacerbated by the fact that its "King" requires initiates to murder Wood Wailers.
Faucertaux Wrote:Mayhap you've heard the tales, but the place they call Redbelly Hive wasn't always a wretched nest of scum and villainy. In the old days, it was home to a hamlet called Boughbury, where Hyur and Elezen alike lived a life of peace. That was before the Calamity came and all hells broke loose. Those Redbelly whoresons moved in when the villagers fled, and they've had their run of the place ever since.
And the hatred against the Redbelly Elezen seems to be more motivated by their hostile take over of a once-peaceful hamlet, and their willingness to kill Gridanians.
Faucertaux Wrote:When the surviving villagers tried to return from Gridania, they found those Redbelly bastards living on their land. Bad enough to lose your loved ones, but then to lose what little's left...
Cuthbert Wrote:Do you know how it feels? To see another man in your home, yet you're powerless to throw 'em out? For years!? Gods damn them all...
Conspiracy Theory Wrote:High-ranking members of the Redbelly Wasps have gathered in an abandoned hovel to discuss their next attack on Gridania's trade routes. See that they do not leave alive.
So this begs the question, are Miqo'te hunters really hurting the Wood and angering the elementals as long as they're following the outlines of the Trappers' League? So long as the ones who do breach the protocols are dealt with. Or, is it Gridanian bias? Unfortunately, it is an option we have to consider. Miqo'te, whether native to the Shroud or not, may still be considered "outsiders" in that they were not a part of Gelmorra or a part of Gridania's founding.
(11-22-2016, 11:12 AM)Valence Wrote: What we don't know also, is how much time Keepers have been living here for. Were they already living there when the Ixal were still the sole sentient inhabitants of the region and Gelmorrans confined to their caves?
The Ixal were actually not the sole sentient inhabitants of Tinolqa, nor were they the first. The Sylphs pre-date them by some time. As do the Gelmorrans, actually.
The Raven: 'Neath Garuda's Shadow Wrote:Some 550 years in the past, the Ixal chose the forest of Tinolqa as their homeland. The stories say they built their nests in its trees, and, spreading their wings to the wind, were able to soar among the branches. Even in this ancient time, the Ixal, feeling kinship with the creatures of the sky, revered Garuda as the Empress of Birds. During this age of prosperity the feathered beastmen flourished and multiplied, overflowing the borders of their territory. Their unchecked growth, however, angered the elementals, and the Ixal were cast out of the forest. The exiled birdmen, in search of a new place to roost, migrated en masse to the great canyon known as Xelphatol.
Hope this helps somewhat! ^^ I may come back to this and add a bit more when I have some time.
