(01-20-2018, 04:45 PM)Kairu Wrote:(01-20-2018, 02:46 PM)Valence Wrote: When the Pact of Gelmorra was made with the Elementals, the gelmorran elezens branched into two bloodlines: Wildwoods and Duskwights, the ones that stayed behind.
That was only a few centuries ago, right? I'm surprised there's so much physical divergence in those branches and so little in the Ishgardian ones - Ishgard was founded over a thousand years ago, wasn't it?
Gelmorra and Ishgard are relatively concurrent. Both were established about 500 or so years after the Sixth Umbral era. Dravania (the kingdom where dragons and elezen lived together) is far older, but we are not sure by how much. Elezen settle Coerthas in 350, and Ishgard is expressly founded in 545. We have no hard dates as far as the founding of Gelmorra, but 761 marks the time the Elezen of Gelmorra banded together with the Hyur for mutual protection in the face of the Elementals wrath (instead of the two races fighting). 1077 of the 6th astral era marks the founding of Gridania and the pact the Hyur and Elezen made with the Elementals. Gelmorra itself falls some where between the 1100s and 1300s (most in game sources put Gelmorra's fall at being 500+ years ago) when the Elementals order Gridania to attack it. The first part of the split between Wildwood and Duskwight is made when Elezen refuse to accept the pact with the Elementals, and it is sealed when their Wildwood cousins come at the Elementals orders to drive them out and scatter them.Â
Ishgardians are effectively Wildwoods by the character creator, though some bloodlines do have Duskwight traits since Ishgard was on of the main places they fled to after Gelmorra's fall. It is super weird that there was a divergence of Elezen physiologically after only 500 years or so, but you can give that some flex time by a few centuries or more since Duskie trait (dark skin tone, longer ears, better hearing) might have started cropping up while Gelmorra was still a thing. It should be noted that Duskies get a them only face tattoo in the character creator, this most likely represents one of the wards against the Elementals they are said to have created, all though I don't think that has been explicitly stated anywhere. Whee.
