Ala Mhigo

[K'tahrl]

So while continuing the ever draining brainstorming of a backstory, I came across a particular idea, but with little lore to go on behind it I am a bit apprehensive to how well it would go. 

 

Its never stated what Ala Mhigo's intentions were when trying to invade Gridania, and so far the only racial mention of the populous is when they were defeated by the Garlean's which is noted mainly here.  Something that was a curiousity as well is how little is known about the Fist of Rhalgr monks.

 

So with all that semi setup,  what would the likelihood of miqo'te being found in Ala Mhigo.  Would they be allowed to be a part of a seemingly sacred group of monks? 

 

The more lore I find the deeper I want to go, inception that shit.  The only problem truly is the lack of feasible lore to run with.

[K'tahrl]

Okay so plenty of people have checked out this post and on hindsight when I posted this I've noticed I really didn't have a lot to go on or much of an actual inquiry.  After I posted this thought process I actually started talking with my friend about the brainstorm I had and here's what I'd had in mind and what to know if this could be a valid backstory.

 

(~ will be approximates)

 

1552 - K'tahrl born into a small miqo'te clan in Ala Mhigo

1554 ~ Parents executed by the "Divine ruler Theodorac" with their presence in The Fist of Rhalgr.

1558 ~ After the Garlean take over of Ala Mhigo, the orphaned K'tharl is taken in by one of the occupying soldiers.

1562 - Has his first echo experience and causes a bit of a stir in his present company. Taken before a hearing amongst the Legatus to describe the event, most brush it off and some even express hostility to the 'gift'.  One whoever sees a possibility in using the echo as a way to get information that by normal means would be impossible to attain and takes him into his care.

 

(Most of the rest of what I wrote to him is up in the air but these are the things that I think are pretty solid possibilities.)

[Vareal]

My two characters, Isaac and his twin sister Ailith, were both born in the foothills of Gyn Abania though lived most their early lives in Ala Mihgo and went through the Garlean invasion. Beyond that, I haven't written any of their early childhood around Ala Migho -I think they were between the ages of 9-12 when the invasion happned?-.

 

There's not too much lore based around Ala Mihgo, at least none that we're privy too, so I thought it was safer just to say "Yeah, they're from Ala Mihgo, but beyond that I can't tell you because I don't know."

 

I think it's relatively safe to say that, yeah, your character is from Ala Mihgo and he was part of something or other, but to be safe and to keep away from lore breaking, I would keep it open and be willing to change things to suit the actual lore once we know.

 

Also, from what I remember, somewhere in my brain recalls this, Ala Mihgo was a city state just like any other, though much larger than the rest. It was home to all sorts of people, so I don't believe it would be all that uncommon to find Miqo'te there. Hell, you'll find Miqo'te in the Garlean army, conscripts and what-not.

 

**edit

 

Also forgot to note, that Ala Mihgo was a Monarchy before the invasion.

 

Also, in case you don't have it, this is the best place for lore: http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/forums/491-Lore

[Yssen]

I do not wish to rain on your parade, but those conscripted into the Garlean Military (particularly those inducted from an occupied territory) are magically brainwashed. They have no will of their own. We have been given no example of an Imperial conscript breaking this conditioning, or information as to whether or not it is even possible to do so. Further, we have next to no lore out there on how the Empire would respond to the Echo. Given their response and attitudes toward the Primals, one can speculate it would be less than stellar. That which does not fit into the Garlean's religion tends to get put on the list for extermination. Mind you, I am not saying you cannot include these elements in your back story. I am just encouraging you to take these things into account and resolve them as you create it. You don't want to paint yourself into a corner when more of the story we have yet to see unfolds. For all we know the Empire has no clue that the Echo even exists, and it is possible they exterminate anyone displaying it as a heretic or some such.

 

Just some lore food for thought.

[Vareal]

Well yes, all of that, but that wasn't my point. I was merely saying that you'll find Miqo'te just about everywhere -as per the original question-, including the Garlean forces. I didn't mean to imply they were there willingly. From other tid bits on lore I've read about Ala Mhigo, the primary inhabitants are Highland Hyur's. But that doesn't mean there weren't other races residing in Ala Mhigo.

 

Ala Mhigo was also the most technologically advanced city state, which, aside from it being closest to the Empire, made it a prime target for conquest. The Empire has only been occupying the former city state for about 15 years (prior to the fall of Dalamud) if I remember correctly, give or take a couple years. So it's feasible that a character can be born there, live through and escape the invasion with the other peoples that were able to flee Ala Mhigo into the Twelves Wood.

 

What I'm saying is, don't plan your character's time in Ala Mhigo too heavily because we still know next to nothing about it.

[K'tahrl]

No please do rain, make it rain all day.  I want to have all the information I can exactly so I don't put myself into a lore blunder fest. 

 

I haven't read anything that would suggest the soldiers being brainwashed, aside from this-

 

While it is currently unknown how they recruit soldiers from inside the Empire, a good portion of the low hierarchy imperial troops are citizens from conquered areas such as Ala Mhigo; after the fall of the city state, many of its children have been brainwashed into hating the Primals and Beastmen and became loyal servants of the Empire.

 

 

With that being said, I think that could be seen in the same terms of brainwashing as (not trying to start a fight here) religion in society, or on a less aggressive fashion just overall brainwashing children to like particular things over another.  I hadn't seen anything about actually forcing someone into their train of thought.

 

Echo - So far the only mention I'd found on their reaction to the echo was from the same page as the last quote with

 

Most importantly, it's clear that those touched by the Echo and the Beastmen tribes (as well as their Primals) are the "enemies" of the Empire, whose citizens and soldiers believe to be fighting for the greater good of their nation.

 

Now that was where I was going to have a bit of a big bite to take to figure out how to make such a thing work.  Where a lot of K'tahrl's 'training/upbringing' would've been shadowed even in the Garlean Empire, aiding in the Espionage aspect of his character design.  (If this wasn't apparent, K'tahrl isn't going to be one of the good guys)

 

tl;dr I am open to any insight I am missing with what limited resources there are.  This is still an ever evolving character design and input is gladly taken and wanted.

---

@Vareal The idea that I have for all of this, was K'tahrl was born around the time of Theodorac, the tyrannical leader of Ala Mhigo who was killing his own people condemning them to heresy against the throne, in 1552 (20 years prior to Dalamud falling). He would be 5 when the empire took over Ala Mhigo and with his parents no longer in the picture(most likely executed as heretics), would have been picked up by a soldier of the empire and brought into Garlemald (thus ending any real connection to Ala Mhigo)

[Vareal]

@Vareal The idea that I have for all of this, was K'tahrl was born around the time of Theodorac, the tyrannical leader of Ala Mhigo who was killing his own people condemning them to heresy against the throne, in 1552 (20 years prior to Dalamud falling). He would be 5 when the empire took over Ala Mhigo and with his parents no longer in the picture(most likely executed as heretics), would have been picked up by a soldier of the empire and brought into Garlemald (thus ending any real connection to Ala Mhigo)

 

Well, therein lies the problem. As Yssen stated, and this is true, nearly all of the Empire's soldiers are brainwashed conscripts. It mentions that somewhere...in the game I think? I can't remember exactly where, but it is a fact, so the likelihood of your character living in a city state that is under invasion of the Empire, being picked up by a Garlean soldier and living is extremely slim to none.

 

One of my previous incarnations of a character was a member of the Garlean empire who had overcome her brainwashing with the aide of someone, but it doesn't really fit and I considered it lore breaking, so I dropped that character. (I've had a few identify crisis issues in my 3 years on these forums, and I'm still having one atm).

 

I'm not saying it's not feasible to spend time or reside in Garlemald after being picked up by a soldier, but it's highly unlikely. You're more likely to make drinking buddies with Odin and play D&D with Ifrit while having tea with Garuda. Ok, ignore that part. ;p

[K'tahrl]

You're more likely to make drinking buddies with Odin and play D&D with Ifrit while having tea with Garuda.

 

Does having a Vampyre Lord blacksmith that lives on the 6th tier of hell as a friend count?

[Aysun]

I think these two are giving you good guidance already, I just wanted to chime in a bit. There seems to be a LOT going on around your character that pushes the lore to the limits. I'd advise reeling him in a bit for your own sake!

 

Being Ala Mhigan, if he did not escape during the take over and survived, it is safe to assume he would be one that was brainwashed and turned to work for the Empire. Those who did escape are refugees, and know the fate of many of their fellows that were left behind. In 1.0 storyline, some refugees with the assistance of the Path of the Twelve (adventurers with the Echo) actively try to infiltrate the city to help and are killed.

 

The Echo--here's another thing. Most RPers avoid giving their character the Echo. It's a messy thing that I would have avoided myself had I known what I know now about it. What I can tell you is that those who have it are considered as bad as the Beastmen/Primals by the Garleans and are, as they said, a huge enemy to the Empire.

 

Find an element or two in your story that you /really/ want to keep, such as him being born in Ala Mhigo, or his parent's fate/becoming an orphan, or having the Echo, or being raised among Garleans. Reassess how these things fit together (or more importantly, where they DON'T).

 

Remember, the best part of your character's story won't be his elaborate upbringings; it will be the story you create through RP with others! If you have too much going on already, it casts a shadow over the RP itself!

[K'tahrl]

I do hope I'm not coming off as taking the input and setting it aside.  Everything so far everyone has said is being taken and is helping me realize what exactly I was saying in the first place.  I was expecting a lot from a little and as it has been said stretching the limits to an almost breakable fashion.  I suppose I don't know the full implications of the echo in itself so truthfully that may be one of the main things dropped entirely.  It was mentioned before in the Faris/Celes thread about possibly taking a role that (for all I know) hasn't really been done before.  I plan for K'tahrl to work for the Empire in a fashion, where he is loyal to the Garleans and despite his upbringing would do his duty for the empire and push aside the hate/animosity that is instilled in their youth. 

 

I think something that is being missed, is the character is being designed around aiding the Garleans, mainly through infiltrating the grand companies and using information gathered from them to weaken them from the inside or at the very least cause unrest through plans being foiled from leaks.

[Grott]

 

 (I've had a few identify crisis issues in my 3 years on these forums, and I'm still having one atm).

 

This is off-topic but thank god I'm not the only one. I felt like such a flip-flopper making a new character in the past few days. Everyone seems so happy with theirs, like it's a part of them, and here I am like "I mean... Abodo is cool and everything, but, I don't really want to play as him." So glad I'm not alone in my trouble deciding which character is best for me.

 

Sorry, off-topic, continue your conversation about Ala Mhigo, Miqo'te, the Echo, and the Garlean Empire. :blush:

[Aysun]

Treading into OT territory again~ I just want to say that I think a majority of the new RPers to XIV are having that same crisis, you're not alone. The only reason you see a lot of us looking so comfortable in our skins is because we've been playing the characters since launch or even before. Two Three years can make one very comfortable.

 

The Echo.. well. I don't want to give too many spoilers or anything. But when you find out like.. a ton of CS's you've experienced were apparently Echos and your character didn't even know it.. ohgawd. It's so complicated. I pretty much severely play it down in Aysun's story. Luckily she has the personality that I can just have her pretend she doesn't have it, ignore it, etc, for fear of being different or abnormal.

 

Good luck with your characters. Just remember, if you start RPing them and suddenly discover they're coming out differently than you intended you can always tweak things! That's what happened with my own. While her basic personality and story remained the same, it was because I had deliberately kept it mundane until I knew for sure how she was going to be when I played. Some things were added or tweaked later. It'll all come together when you are in the game RPing!

[K'tahrl]

I wouldn't say it's completely off topic, so far my entire thread is about trying to hash out all the rough edges and get a better idea.  We all have those moments of "who am I really"

[Grott]

I'm sure by launch I'll know who I want to be. Every time I make a new character I do a good job cutting out the fat and making them more streamlined. I take away needless details and try to minimize anything like lore-breaking and god-moding. This latest character is my third and I think his story is finally simple enough to follow and not drag attention away from other RPers, while being interesting enough to tell a good story if someone asks. I've also been looking at the linkshell pages and I decided this character is a pretty universal fit for all of them, which I think is a good thing. I think I might stick with Uther Skystrider for my FFXIV career.

 

Anyways, didn't just say that for my health. I recommend you do the same thing with your Miqo'te from Ala Mhigo. I've run into a lot of trouble lately trying to find lore for Ishgard and come up with a compelling back story without lore-breaking, so I can definitely relate. Obviously you know what you're doing and I don't want to insult you with my beginner tips, but sometimes I think giving some newbie tips can bring people down to Earth. I know what it's like to get so caught up in your story you get out of control with it, and some beginner advice always helps get my head out of the clouds and back to business, which you may or may not want.

 

When creating your character, don't forget to think about the community as a whole. Where do you want your character to fit in? Where do you want some tension? Will people be able to learn about you without you talking their ear off for hours about your unnecessarily detailed life story? Do you blend in with the game? (some people might not want to blend in, but I like to give the "I could show up in a cinematic and fit right in" feel). 

 

Sorry for the tl;dr. Hopefully you read it and I didn't insult you by treating you like it's your first day of school.

[Vareal]

I wouldn't say it's completely off topic, so far my entire thread is about trying to hash out all the rough edges and get a better idea.  We all have those moments of "who am I really"

 

I've been having those for a while now, lol.

 

Characters in the order they appeared:

 

Nedral Crenl

Aixa

Eternal Darkness / D'vislian'l

Ailith Vadoma (three different versions of her since I created her, two of which were only mentioned on these forums and since then all data regarding the original has been erased.)

Isaac Vadoma.

 

All of which, I should mention, are Miqo'te. Because of v1.0, the first three are female, Isaac being the only male character I've created. I'm starting to kinda not like him, however I still like Ailith. But now that I've been reading more and more on lore, I want to stay as close to the games lore as humanly possible at this point. Which means my naming conventions for Isaac and Ailith are waaaaaaaayyyy~ off. I'm still unsure...but I have ideas roaming around in my head.

 

Three years on these forums and I'm not established in game or any RP or linkshells with anyone else here, and that's my fault.

[K'tahrl]

I did read all of it ;P and I think the whole thread was a bit of myself trying to remember that "I am not the main character".  Its brought me back down to earth and helped redirect where the building blocks are going to be worked on. 

 

When I first thought of this character, it was actually from another persons thread and I was completely hype and like yo this is how its gotta go down and its going to be completely out of this world.  

 

I then started to delve into the lore about the Garleans, and the timeline involving them.  Their motives, their culture, the people that are identifiable in their ranks (Nael Van Darnus and Gaius van Baelsar specifically) to better understand what I was going to be getting involved in. 

 

K'tharl is intended to be a lesser antagonist, so despite that I wasn't aware of the brainwashing that happened in the beginning, it isn't entirely out of the picture since it would just add to a secondary idea I've been tossing around with myself that I'll keep to myself for the time being. 

 

 

Will people be able to learn about you without you talking their ear off for hours about your unnecessarily detailed life story? This is something that is going to be interesting truthfully, because the truth of his origins will be clouded in falsehoods and covering his tracks. (Unless of course he puts himself in a predicament where someone will become suspicious of him and look to delve deeper themselves.)  

 

TL;DR THE TRUTH IS A LIE! (Also you can't offend/insult me, I want to be brought down a peg, I need to be.)

[Grott]

I guess that's what happens to us fickle types. I've been on this forum for about three weeks and I've already created:

 

A'sili Abarskyf - Miqo'te/Male/Seeker/Gladiator/Limsa - Cancelled for being too complicated and lore-breaking

Abodo Po - Lalafell/Male/Dunesfolk/Black Mage/Ul'dah - Cancelled for god-moding

Uther Skystrider - Hyur/Male/Midlander/Dragoon/Ishgard

 

Granted, with Uther I think I found my niche, and should be satisfied with this character for a while. Instead of taking inspiration from things that were way off topic (Abodo Po was initially inspired by Jules Verne books), I used Kain Highwind from FFIV and the knighthood and chivalry feeling from the King Arthur legend. Both are things I've loved since I was a kid and it wasn't too hard for me to mold them and this game's lore into a character I'm happy with. It just took a while for me to get my head out of the clouds and bring it down to basics. I've adhered as strictly as I can to naming conventions and lore, and I've tried to keep the story simple so I don't have to focus on the past for every decision and my character can effectively have an interesting future with the RPC. I think it's important to remember that your character's adventures are awaiting them at launch, and shouldn't already be behind them by the time they get into the world.

---

Another thing I did to help kill the "talking your ear off" thing, is extend his deeds a few generations. Instead of having Uther Skystrider somehow be a 24 year old super badass who is already a legend and can do anything and has fought everything, I created his father Skald Skystrider, then his father Skadi Skystrider (going back to his great-great-grandfather but those other two generations are just background info), as well as some brothers and a sister. That effectively explains how Uther knows so much about fighting dragons despite his age, and it helps me not talk about it because no one cares what his family does. It also clears up his life for more adventures instead of ARR just being another notch on the belt.

[Rhostel]

It's important to note that there is an Ala Mhigan resistance, and they have agents who pose as members of the Garlean military. Some of these appeared in the main storyline quests available at launch. While there's a lack of evidence either way for whether Garlean brainwashing is reversible, this at least demonstrates a strong possibility that it can be resisted (no pun intended).

[Yssen]

Parade raining mark two. I will try not to make a habit of this. The Ala Mhigan resistance is pretty much wiped out by the Black Wolf at the end of the original 1.0 main scenario. It exists no more. Gaius van Baelsar lured them, trapped them, and slaughtered them. To add insult to injury, he then rounded up all the citizens and children they were protecting and had them brainwashed and sent back to Garlemald to be trained as Imperial soldiers. Scary scary, bad man. There were several Ala Mhigan refugees trying to earn money to mount a new resistance effort, but no such thing has taken shape as of Dalamud's crash down and the burning dragon fun times. The fall of the resistance is actually one of the catalysts for the remaining City-States recreating the Grand Companies and the Alliance.

 

This is not to say that one cannot factor the resistance into back story, one just has to resolve the fact that they were pretty much all killed.

[Rhostel]

OBJECTION! That has nothing to do with what I was saying. It's entirely irrelevant whether members of an active resistance movement were killed, only that they prove resistance to Garlean brainwashing techniques is plausible. Thus, someone in Ala Mhigo could potentially be free willed but not actively resisting the Garleans. Perhaps out of fear, maybe from being incredibly deep undercover, or perhaps even from a genuine belief in Garlemald's motives.

 

And just to rain on your parade, like you said, there's room for a new resistance to be formed. Or even remnants of the resistance who weren't there (even if it was claimed they all were, given that resistance movements tend to keep their true numbers secret even from their own). Heck, there might even be a separate resistance movement that existed alongside the one that got wiped out, but never interacted with them due to mistrust, and survived due to that trait.

 

Any of these could be played with without breaking the setting. Remember, NPCs can only say what they know that they want you to know. Anything there's no physical proof against and never can be is where we make our stories. The existence of resistance fighters so secretive that the Garleans don't know about them is one such possibility. Just keep in mind that in order to be so secret, they'd have to take only the most subtle actions against the Empire, and it's fine. No worries about contradicting anything in the future.

[Grott]

And just to rain on your parade, like you said, there's room for a new resistance to be formed. Or even remnants of the resistance who weren't there (even if it was claimed they all were, given that resistance movements tend to keep their true numbers secret even from their own). Heck, there might even be a separate resistance movement that existed alongside the one that got wiped out, but never interacted with them due to mistrust, and survived due to that trait.

 

 

I agree with this statement.

 

Historically, almost every occupied nation has had multiple resistance movements. Since they're obviously not sanctioned by a single governing body, it stands to reason that any motivated individual or group can begin a resistance movement. That's just how the world works. Whether the official Ala Mhigan resistance was wiped out is irrelevant. Just like in the real world, there's bound to be more.

[Merri]

I had been watching this thread, but didn't really feel like I had anything to add to the discussion, so I've refrained from posting anything. However, having just recently picked away at all the Ala Mhigan lore in my head, I remembered something that actually sort of answers the most recent debate we have going on here. The following are major spoilers for certain quests that might still be around in some form in 2.0.

 

 

Monk spoilers. While the bulk of the Ala Mhigan resistance was killed off during the main storyline of 1.0, there was another movement. Whether it was entirely new, or simply the remnants of the previous is kind of left up in the air. Widargelt (the Monk job quest NPC) mentions he is a member of the resistance. In fact, the entire Monk storyline is about Widargelt's constant struggle to gain more and more power by unlocking his final Chakra in order to defeat the empire. Also partly because of his rage that the city-states stood idle while the Ala Mhigan resistance was slaughtered and did nothing to help them.  He just ends up leading his rag-tag band (which you subsequently end up defeating because they get a little bit too zealous) around in an attempt to rally a new resistance to defeat the Garlean Empire and reclaim Ala Mhigo.

 

In the end, once he realizes his mistake after you kick his ass, and Erik comes along to berate him, I'm pretty sure he resolves to continue building a resistance in the hopes of one day reclaiming their home.

 

Remember, though. Discussion is discussion. Not everyone has the same opinion. Let's keep things from heating up too much if we can.

 

[Stormlight]

Could someone give me, or point me toward, more information about the Ala Mhigan resistance?  I'd like to know where they were based and details of their destruction, but any information would be appreciated.