Question on Highlanders

[Lizzo]

Hey all, I'm from Gilgamesh, but was hoping for a little input on a bit of lore.

 

I understand highlanders - especially a good deal of those found around Ul'dah and predominately in Little Ala Mhigo are from Ala Mhigo; but, I would assume not all highlanders come from there as there are elezen who do not originate in Ishgard.

 

To this end, and the fact that they are called 'highlanders', where else would they hail from?

I main a highlander, Parker Connor (under construction, obviously), and am trying to flesh out her backstory - which means fleshing out her parents more or less.

 

Any information would be much appreciated, especially if it's from one of the lore books.

 

Thank you!

[Seriphyn]

Highlanders are distinctly Ala Mhigan in origin, though lorebook suggests there are Highlanders who have been part of Ul'dah long before the fall of Gyr Abania. There is also a Highlander in the MSQ who states he is from Othard.

 

There's also the idea that just because a character has a Midlander or Highlander model, that they are not necessarily of that clan (though still a Hyur or whatever). Minfilia and Yda are Highlanders. So you could play a character with the Highlander model and not necessarily BE a Highlander. The Ninja NPCs are of the 'Far Eastern' Hyur clan, and are not Midlanders, for example.

[Unnamed Mercenary]

Commonly, Highlanders are from Gyr Abania, which is where Ala Mhigo was (or I guess is).

 

But really, it's more of a genetic background than anything else at this time. Highlanders were hyur who stayed in that area and adapted. Midlanders continued to wander/spread across the land and are considered more or less the same as they were when they arrived.

[Aya]

Highlanders have long been renown mercenaries, and you can surely find Highlander families and communities scattered across Eorzea.  Although how many generations they stay physically distinct is hard to stay

 

This is how Aya's relatives, with whom her family eventually went to stay, had come to Coerthas, and then Ishgard.

[Lizzo]

Okay, so predominately from Gyr Abania, centered around Ala Mhigo. I guess I'm asking as before 3.0, the most defined highlander is Raubahn, a dark-skinned man with an accent I can't place. 

 

I used the 'classical' idea of highlanders to create my character, pale, freckled, with red hair and gave her a Scottish accent (at least tried via typing haha). This was quite different to a vast majority of highlander npcs ingame, as well as Raubahn, so I figured there could be other locations that highlanders could come from.

 

With the launch of 3.0, Raubahn has a new VA and actually sounds Scottish which was a big plus for my character, but I'm still wary of the skin tone I've chosen. I'm going to assume, highlanders, like any other race or clan, would have differing skin tones throughout their makeshift homeland of Gyr Abania, and that my character's family could have simply come from another location in that area, am I correct in that assumption?

[Virella]

Ala Mhigans are very diverse when it comes down to skintones. Don't sweat it. We see a lot of diverse skintones. The Monk trainer is Ala Mhigan and he is pale skinned. Just wander trough Little Ala Mhigo and you will find all sorts of skintones! Skintones have little to do with where a character hails from.

 

Also accents in this game make zero sense. It is just a 'generic fer the nerth' accent. I had my Irish, Scottish and UK friends trying to make sense out of it and they all gave up on trying to pin it down. It's a mixed bag of 'what sounds nice to the general audience' type of deal.

[Sounsyy]

I'm going to assume, highlanders, like any other race or clan, would have differing skin tones throughout their makeshift homeland of Gyr Abania, and that my character's family could have simply come from another location in that area, am I correct in that assumption?

 

This is correct. I'd ignore Raubahn's accent and skin color as a placement for his origins. There are many NPCs who hail from Ala Mhigo with vastly differing skin tones, such as Minfilia, Yda, J'moldva, etc. The nation that actually has the most "Scottish" tones and themes is Sharlayan, actually, and we know for a fact that Raubahn is not from there.

 

I posted these links in another recent thread asking for Highlander lore. Hopefully these should help.

-Highlander Lore Compilation

-Racial Lore Compilation

 

Like I said in that thread, and like has been said here, there are Highlanders from all over. While most Highlanders in Eorzea are from Gyr Abania, there are populations from as far away as Othard, which also has numerous mountain ranges and steppes that the Highlanders could've made their homes. Would they be called "Highlanders" though, if they're from Othard or even Ilsabard? Likely not, no. The names of the Clans you see in Character Creation are Eorzean-centric (with the exception of the newly added Au Ra, but even they have additional clans) and not representative of all existing "Clans" of the race.

 

There are Highlanders in Eorzea who've called Coerthas home for an era or more, many even returning there after the fall of Ala Mhigo 20 years ago.

Sheep were domesticated by the Highlanders during the Age of Endless Frost. They spent countless years breeding the beastkin in an effort to produce animals that yielded a greater quantity of wool. The result is a species which now seems more fleece than flesh. Wild sheep can be seen grazing the grassy regions of La Noscea and Coerthas.

 

There are Highlanders from Othard, as I said, we know specifically at least one city-state there they make their home: Rabanastre. However, considering the whole of the north and northeastern regions of Othard are mountainous, Highlander clans could live there and have since come to Eorzea to escape Imperial governance. Alternatively, Highlanders could probably thrive on the western Azim Steppe, where many of the Xaela clans make their home.

 

Ilsabard and the Near East is also home to many Hyuran clans, what's to say your Hyuran family could not have come from there?

 

There's many possibilities, don't feel nailed down to Ala Mhigo if that's not where you want your family to be from. If you would like your Highlander to be from Eorzea, you might find these links helpful as well:

 

-Ala Mhigan Lore Compilation

-Settlements in Eorzea Lore

 

 

Hope this helps! ^^ Lemme know if you have more questions!

[Lizzo]

Wow, thanks for the all the information folks, especially you Sounsyy. I'll check out those links when I have a bit more time.

 

I didn't want to really retcon things, and with all this it looks like I may have to simply 'pick an area' rather than change anything.

 

*The info on the midlanders from Othard is also nice to see - good reminder that the Doman refugees were nearly all midlanders.

 

Thanks again, much appreciated!

[Aya]

Don't feel too bad... I envisioned Highlanders as a celtic-Norse inspiration, and ran with that as well.  I think there is room enough for your interpretation! :-D

 

Sounsyy as always has all the best information

[Kilieit]

Extremely small contribution:

 

Raubahn's 3.0 accent is from Yorkshire, not Scotland! Faintly so (probably just because the voice actor is effecting the accent rather than having it naturally), but nonetheless.

 

*src: mum is from Yorkshire, lol

 

(accordingly... have this and imagine Ala Mhigans who struck it rich in Ul'dah.)

[Virella]

Extremely small contribution:

 

Raubahn's 3.0 accent is from Yorkshire, not Scotland! Faintly so (probably just because the voice actor is effecting the accent rather than having it naturally), but nonetheless.

 

*src: mum is from Yorkshire, lol

 

(accordingly... have this and imagine Ala Mhigans who struck it rich in Ul'dah.)

Uuuh. Not to start a completely OT discussion here, but my ex is from Leeds and he was in stitches over Raubahn's VA for it trying to sound like a 'random northern' accent.

 

I agree, it's not Scottish, but it's also not something from up Yorkshire. It is just a voice actor trying to sound like a very generic northern British bloke and failing miserably at it according to a lot of UK/Scots/Irish folk

[Lizzo]

It's still better than the VA in 2.0 though. . .

[Aya]

I like this thread more every time I look at it! :-D

[Kilieit]

Extremely small contribution:

 

Raubahn's 3.0 accent is from Yorkshire, not Scotland! Faintly so (probably just because the voice actor is effecting the accent rather than having it naturally), but nonetheless.

 

*src: mum is from Yorkshire, lol

Uuuh. Not to start a completely OT discussion here, but my ex is from Leeds and he was in stitches over Raubahn's VA for it trying to sound like a 'random northern' accent.

 

I agree, it's not Scottish, but it's also not something from up Yorkshire. It is just a voice actor trying to sound like a very generic northern British bloke and failing miserably at it according to a lot of UK/Scots/Irish folk

 

Honestly... I wasn't impressed with the accent either. It's obviously a southerner's attempt, and his vowel shapes in particular fall short in most sentences, if not all.

 

I think they think Yorkshire's an easy "northern" one for them to try because, like... Emmerdale is a thing. LOL. Other "northern England" accents aren't quite as popularised, I don't think.

 

It makes it even harder to incorporate Raubahn (and Ilberd's) accents into clues about Highlander/Ala Mhigan society.

[Star Lin]

I have a Monk NPC for Kestlona that been training her who is a Midlander from the temple (though he was just entering his teens when the Mad King attack and destroy the temple), who is blond and gray (age) streaks in his hair.

 

John adoptive father is Highlander and from Ala Mhigo though he left long before the Mad King went completely mad.  With RDM coming, the background I had been working on with Thomas is being trike(sp?) so that I can have him start teaching John how to be a RDM.

[Lizzo]

As a Canadian, I can't really tell British Isles accents apart from each too easily, unless it's a ridiculous difference; as such, I still prefer Raubahn's new VA over 2.0.

Think I'll do what Sounsyy mentioned and make my character's father from Sharlayan, would be a minor detail, but an interesting one. (As he fought in the Battle of Carteneau and has been presumed dead since - and I have a plan to bring him back in 4.0).

[Virella]

Extremely small contribution:

 

Raubahn's 3.0 accent is from Yorkshire, not Scotland! Faintly so (probably just because the voice actor is effecting the accent rather than having it naturally), but nonetheless.

 

*src: mum is from Yorkshire, lol

Uuuh. Not to start a completely OT discussion here, but my ex is from Leeds and he was in stitches over Raubahn's VA for it trying to sound like a 'random northern' accent.

 

I agree, it's not Scottish, but it's also not something from up Yorkshire. It is just a voice actor trying to sound like a very generic northern British bloke and failing miserably at it according to a lot of UK/Scots/Irish folk

 

Honestly... I wasn't impressed with the accent either. It's obviously a southerner's attempt, and his vowel shapes in particular fall short in most sentences, if not all.

 

I think they think Yorkshire's an easy "northern" one for them to try because, like... Emmerdale is a thing. LOL. Other "northern England" accents aren't quite as popularised, I don't think.

 

It makes it even harder to incorporate Raubahn (and Ilberd's) accents into clues about Highlander/Ala Mhigan society.

If only they would give us more lore, or real life references for dialect/accents/languages in Eorzea!

 

Then again I've seen people headcanon that Ala Mhigan speak Dutch :l Not German, but Dutch. Being Dutch myself? Nooooo thanks on that one. (Dutch is an ugly  language without any charm to it to begin with)

[Unnamed Mercenary]

The thing about Eorzean accents is they're not supposed to sound -exactly- like some real-world equivalent. It was brought up in one of the lore panels that the vocal team does have some sort of vocal requirement to sound a particular way though. That said, the English dub is trying to do something that sounds "older" and only so much vocal training can really modify a person's speech.

 

So they might kinda sound Scottish or Northern or something else or none of the above. I wouldn't be too concerned with it. Especially since only the english language in the game gets all those localization goodies. The other languages don't get all the archaic stuff or cryptic messages. Or all the cool lore-filled flavor-text until after the English team's written it. (Yes, the main script is usually in Japanese first, but the other localization teams generate unique content too!)

[Arcian]

Extremely small contribution:

 

Raubahn's 3.0 accent is from Yorkshire, not Scotland! Faintly so (probably just because the voice actor is effecting the accent rather than having it naturally), but nonetheless.

 

*src: mum is from Yorkshire, lol

Uuuh. Not to start a completely OT discussion here, but my ex is from Leeds and he was in stitches over Raubahn's VA for it trying to sound like a 'random northern' accent.

 

I agree, it's not Scottish, but it's also not something from up Yorkshire. It is just a voice actor trying to sound like a very generic northern British bloke and failing miserably at it according to a lot of UK/Scots/Irish folk

 

Honestly... I wasn't impressed with the accent either. It's obviously a southerner's attempt, and his vowel shapes in particular fall short in most sentences, if not all.

 

I think they think Yorkshire's an easy "northern" one for them to try because, like... Emmerdale is a thing. LOL. Other "northern England" accents aren't quite as popularised, I don't think.

 

It makes it even harder to incorporate Raubahn (and Ilberd's) accents into clues about Highlander/Ala Mhigan society.

 

Yeah, my dad's side of the family is from the UK (Merseyside, to be exact), and neither of us could figure out what the hell his accent was supposed to be, so we just had a laugh about it for a few minutes.

 

It makes sense that they'd go for a generic 'northern' accent, but man, it's kinda hilarious.

 

Then again I've seen people headcanon that Ala Mhigan speak Dutch

 

I met a guy once who insisted that Highlanders were Slavic. I am still not quite sure where he got that from.