Is traveling to Othard possible?

[skoryn]

I have some ideas for my Eorzean raised Xaela to meet his clan over in Othard, but Im not too sure on the lore behind current affairs over there. Is it plausible to have my character 'visit' Othard in current Eorzea timeline?

 

:?

[Unnamed Mercenary]

Currently, no.

 

Othard is under control of the Garlean Empire as of 3.1. when Doma tried to fight back, the Garleans razed the land, forcing them to flee their country. (Although Doma was mostly Domans and Raen Au Ra, we can assume Xaela were on the ships as well).

[skoryn]

Thanks for the quick response, exactly what I was looking for

[Sounsyy]

Actually, it is very possible to travel to Othard even in the current political climate. Far Eastern and Eorzean trade ships have made the journey across the Sea of Jade quite regularly over the last 25 years of Garlean occupation of Othard. It was only within the last year, during Garlemald's War of Succession, that Doma attempted to rebel against Garlemald and to set an example for the other Far Eastern provinces, the Empire razed the city-state. This is the cause of the recent influx of Doman refugees, particularly the Raen Au Ra, who were native to the city-state and its surrounding province.

 

The Xaela, on the other hand, for the most part live in Othard's other regions. The Azim Steppes northwest of Doma, the deserts to Othard's south, etc. According to Sidurgu of the DRK storyline, when the Garleans first began to occupy Othard 20-25 years ago, his tribe of Xaela journeyed from Othard to Eorzea and wound up in Ishgard. They were greeted with some rather intense discrimination and racial violence, and Au Ra have been incredibly rare sight in Eorzea since. So there is precedence for the Au Ra coming and going in Eorzea, even in recent months, as trade still continues between the continents under Imperial supervision. This is why we have the Far Eastern delegates for the new years celebrations and also why there are still many Far Easterners arriving in Eorzea months after Doma was made example of. In the Ninja questline, the main NPCs even plan on returning to Othard after they are done training the Player Character. That said, the difficulty of getting into Othard from Eorzea has likely increased tenfold since Doma's razing.

 

Hope this helps! ^^

[Teadrinker]

What I got from that is that it's about as possible as trying to sneak into a country under military occupation.

 

You -can-... but how would you not get caught/get out/not get killed?

[Seriphyn]

Depends on the nature of the military occupation. Could be as extreme as KOS everyone not wearing identification or far more benign, such as the local political apparatus being in control of a foreign military  (and life goes on otherwise). If it's been 25 years of Garlean occupation then pretty sure it is "life goes on" by this point. And a whole generation of youngsters raised under Garden influence.

[Smagon]

I am curious as to what degree the Garleans have a presence in Xaela lands. Are they making an active effort to crush all the tribes and/or reign them in or do they have a small presence there that is more like patrols and maybe the odd outpost? I am trying to figure out this aspect for my character's backstory so anything helps.

[Kellach Woods]

It is possible in the same way that it is possible to travel anywhere that is attainable in Hydaelyn if you're willing to put the means to it.

 

However, you do so knowing you're headed into a country that has a military occupation who's had a recent uprising quelled.

[Sounsyy]

I am curious as to what degree the Garleans have a presence in Xaela lands. Are they making an active effort to crush all the tribes and/or reign them in or do they have a small presence there that is more like patrols and maybe the odd outpost? I am trying to figure out this aspect for my character's backstory so anything helps.

 

There's not any concrete lore on it that I know of, but...

 

It's likely just that - patrols and outposts throughout the region to ensure order. Garlemald likely set up Castrums sporadically throughout Othard from which they can unload troops or supplies to problem areas when necessary. The Xaela tribes are all nomadic, making the Empire policing their comings and goings across the continent more trouble than it'd be worth and would only serve to insight more resistance. Remember those nations who surrendered peacefully to Garlemald 25 years ago were pretty much left alone by the Empire and now serve only as peacekeepers in the Imperial provinces. Also, lore found in Gubal tells us that peoples of conquered nations are actually accepted as full-fledged naturalized citizens for service to the Empire.

 

The "Aan" title is bestowed upon the peoples of annexed territories and indicates that they lack even the most basic rights afforded to a citizen. However, many Garleans view this as an opportunity rather than a condemnation, as citizenship may be granted to those who have demonstrated exceptional skills, as well as those who have contributed twenty or more years of military service.

[Smagon]

What do you think caused the mass exodus of the Xaela? Do you think the Garleans started making a more active effort to police the tribes? I was thinking that maybe the Garleans only showed up in Xaela in recent years but I think they might have been around for longer.

[Unnamed Mercenary]

What do you think caused the mass exodus of the Xaela? Do you think the Garleans started making a more active effort to police the tribes? I was thinking that maybe the Garleans only showed up in Xaela in recent years but I think they might have been around for longer.

 

The Garlean Empire is reletively new. (Not even 100 years old). It's more likely that some Xaela clans, as nomadic as they are, decided to further pursue new lands, which caused a migration. Or perhaps even a split of clans, as we know they can come and go.

[K'nahli]

What do you think caused the mass exodus of the Xaela? Do you think the Garleans started making a more active effort to police the tribes? I was thinking that maybe the Garleans only showed up in Xaela in recent years but I think they might have been around for longer.

 

As far as I know, there is no evidence at all to suggest that very many Xaela actually made the journey to Eorzea as a result of the Garlean occupation. Personally, I am treating it as though the Garleans are letting sleeping dogs lie because they'd have little interest in needlessly fighting what are essentially an uninteresting bunch of uncivilised tribes. They might slowly expand into their territory if they see need for further construction, but I doubt it would be extensive and I am sure most Xaela would keep their distance from them until they felt it to be becoming a problem.

 

If you're implying that the sheer number of Xaelan Player Characters infer that many canonically made the journey since, then I don't think that is the correct way to be looking at it. Everyone is basically playing the exception. In fact, the WoL can not be an Au Ra of any kind simply because it disrupts the storyline involving Yugiri.

[Smagon]

I've had similar conversations with some friends about it before but do you think that Au Ra were just always around in Eorzea before they became available for play? I don't mean as anyone of importance but as just random people you might just see around. People like travelers, sellswords, the odd merchant, maybe even bandits. I don't imagine there was a huge population of them but there must have been some just kind of hanging around for whatever reason.

 

I assume they were just never addressed since they were not available to play and had no character models to represent them in game but what do you guys think?

[K'nahli]

Now, as for how the Au Ra are regarded by others living in Eorzea, while there was racial tension in past ages, recently with the onset of the Age of Adventure and an influx in the amount of people of all races flocking to Eorzea, there truly isn’t any form of heavy discrimination towards the Au Ra (it also helps that because very few Au Ra ever visited Eorzea before, there is little deep-seated hate stemming from historical conflict). However, because they are new to Eorzea and there is much mystery surrounding them, a lot of native Eorzeans are still a bit wary (even if they don’t really know why).

 

If you saw any, then you are likely in an extreme minority it would seem.