What is the Duskwight Elezen lore and culture?

[Obsidian]

Hello, I was thinking of roleplaying as a Duskwight Elezen. But I do need some info about the society and culture they are in, as well there professions and lore. thank you for the info if you provide it to me.

[Sounsyy]

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Hello, I was thinking of roleplaying as a Duskwight Elezen. But I do need some info about the society and culture they are in, as well there professions and lore. thank you for the info if you provide it to me.

 

Assuming your character is from Gridania originally, the links below should cover the basic info. I've pulled the Duskwight-specific lore we know and dropped it into the spoiler tag below (no real spoilers present). Though most Duskwights still make their home in the Shroud, many have moved on and left the Shroud completely due to the discrimination. So you can find Duskwights across Eorzea, as far away as Limsa Lominsa even.

 

-Elezen and other Race Lore here

-Gridanian Law, Elementals, Hearers, and Woodsin Lore

-Gridanian Law and Military

 

Spoiler

 

Encyclopedia Eorzea: "Making their home in deep forest caves and caverns for centures, the Duskwight Elezen are the descendants of those who parted ways with their brethren after the founding of Gridania, choosing instead to remain in the stone-hewn chambers of Gelmorra and seek out new subterranean sanctums. Shunning the fetters of government and society, a great majority of the Duskwight keep wide berth of the city-states, with some even resorting to brigandry as a means of survival. As a result, they are often looked upon with scorn by the citizens of Gridania, and those who have chosen to make their home in the city often suffer undue discrimination at the hands of their neighbors."

 

Lodestone: "For the past several centuries, the Duskwight Elezen have lived in the woodland caverns of Eorzea. These cave-dwelling Elezen are the descendants of a branch that split from the main Wildwood clan during the founding of Gridania. The Duskwight despise the "shackles" of urban life, and it is not uncommon for this reclusive people to avoid the city-states altogether."

 

1.0 Character Creation: "Centuries ago, a number of Elezen sought out a life of peace and seclusion in the depths of Eorzea's caves and caverns. Today, they are called the Duskwight, though to their Wildwood cousins they are known simply as the "Greys," after their preference of darkness and stone. As part of their physical adaptation, the Duskwight have developed an acute sense of hearing, capable of detecting the faintest of sounds. This natural gift grants them uncanny awareness, which many have put to exemplary use in the field of hand-to-hand combat. The cave-dwelling ways of the Duskwight persist today, with some among them turning to robbery and pillaging to survive, earning them the scorn of their woodland relatives. There are few differences between the genders, but Duskwight males are often regarded as being more stern and authoritative of the two, while females are often regarded as the more passionate and unyielding of the two."

 

Prosperlain: "The Duskwight are cousins to us Wildwood, and the same blood of the first Elezen courses through both our veins. We are not entirely unlike in appearance, but generations spent in the darkness of caves have created rift enough between our ways of life. Mind you, I bear their kind no ill will. I simply keep the records. And the records state that the Duskwight are generally believed to be...shall we say, unruly, and stubborn. Many turn to thievery and banditry to survive, and are seen as a disgrace to the nobility espoused by the Wildwood. Should you encounter any beyond a city's boundaries, you had best be wary."

 

Encyclopedia Eorzea: "Similar in height and build to their Wildwood cousins, the defining trait of the Duskwight is the color of their skin, which has come to take on darker hues after generations of calling shadowy caverns home. For the selfsame reason, they also possess an evolved sense of hearing - their ability to ascertain the source of a sound with unerring accuracy, unaffected by echoes or reverberations, is often likened to that of the shadow-dwelling bat."

 

Encyclopedia Eorzea: "The customs of the subterranean city of Gelmorra are still practiced by the Duskwight to this day, from architectural advances developed to stake out comfortable residences in dank, humid caves to mystical wards that serve to stave off the wrath of the Elementals. The Duskwight-fashioned pomanders - urns engraved with mystic glyphs of great power and filled with fragrant herbs - are an art without parallel in the realm. Duskwight cuisine is famous for its use of Mun-Tuy beans, a staple food in the subterranean depths, where they grow in abundance with no need for sunlight. That these dishes have come to be considered a Gridanian delicacy is an ironic twist, given the history between the two clans."

 

Irielle de Nevelle: "Oh, the ruins you see down there are part of the ancient subterranean city known as Gelmorra. For Duskwight Elezen such as ourselves, it represents a valuable and unexpected opportunity to learn more about the settlement where our ancestors once dwelled."

 

Rolandaix de Nevelle: "My work here is far from done, but this discovery brings me one tantalizing step closer to realizing my dream; the restoration of these ruins, and their reestablishment as a settlement for the Duskwight Elezen. Gridanians have long perceived my people as outcasts and brigands, yet if we Duskwight can return a measure of prosperity to this fallen city, we would no longer need to resort to common theft or banditry in order to make ends meet. Imagine it!"

 

PAX 2017 Lore Panel: "Q: How did the Gelmorran civilization actually come to an end?

 

A: This is a really good question and something that we haven't touched upon. In the lore book we pretty much say that here's what happened, here's when it ended, kind of, when people left, but we never talked about that process. Why did it end? If half of the Elezen are still down there, the ones who became the Duskwights, why didn't they just stay down there? So how did that civilization end? 

 

First off, Gelmorra worked. When the elementals first told the Elezen and the Hyur who resided in the Twelveswood "you need to get out now", they all went underground and created the Gelmorran civilization. That was created not just by the Elezen and not just by the Hyur, it was a combination of both of their knowledge. Because they worked together they were able to create this civilization and because they worked together it worked. Many many years later when the elementals had second thoughts, "okay you guys have shown us that you can live peacefully amongst nature you can come out now." The Hyur were the first to leave. Then the Elezen who were happy to go back out into nature where they used to live. But, by that time for a large population that had become their home, and the Elezen having a lot of pride said "no, this is our home. The elementals already kicked us out once, we made this, this is our home. We want to stay here." 

 

They felt betrayed by their Elezen brethren and the Hyur that had helped them create the city. Being very prideful of their city and their civilization, they stuck around and tried to keep things running. But you had a giant city underground that needed pretty much everyone in it to keep it running. But when 75% of the population leaves, things start to decay. They tried their hardest, but things started to break down. Things couldn't be fixed. They couldn't make new things. Not enough people were there to tend to the Mun-tuy farms so they started running low on food. Even though they wanted to stay, they were forced out. They still blame that on the Wildwood Elezen and the Hyur because if they hadn't left they still would've had their civilization. The loss of their civilization wasn't instant, it happened over many generations, and it was something that really drove the Duskwights to hate the Wildwoods. The Wildwoods couldn't understand why they were hated, and that's where all of the "subtle" conflict between those two clans within the same race comes from."

 

 

Hope this helps!

Edited March 2, 2018 by Sounsyy

[Obsidian]

Wow, thank you for the reply. I definitely use this of how to write my character.

[Valence]

Keep in mind that as Sounssy has said above, nothing prevents a Duskwight to have moved over around the world, especially when they are discriminated upon at their birthplace.

 

That said, while you will see Duskwight and Wildwood models used for Ishgardian characters ingame, Ishgardian elezens are NOT duskwight or wildwood, but a 3rd bloodline that isn't represented by the 2 playable ones ingame, and that I assume takes visual traits as a blend of both considering the devs chose to represent them through both models. Either by laziness or something else, the fact remains that they descend from the original elezen clans that also gave birth to the elezens of Gelmorra, which branched into Duskwight and Wildwoods in the Shroud. The ones that went in Ishgard branched out earlier, before Gelmorra, is all, but share the same ancestry.

 

I mostly felt the need to point that out since a lot of people, especially before the appearance of the lorebook, speculated a lot about the Ishgardian elezens, and that seeing some duskwight models in their natives might give you the wrong idea.

[Obsidian]

Keep in mind that as Sounssy has said above, nothing prevents a Duskwight to have moved over around the world, especially when they are discriminated upon at their birthplace.

 

That said, while you will see Duskwight and Wildwood models used for Ishgardian characters ingame, Ishgardian elezens are NOT duskwight or wildwood, but a 3rd bloodline that isn't represented by the 2 playable ones ingame, and that I assume takes visual traits as a blend of both considering the devs chose to represent them through both models. Either by laziness or something else, the fact remains that they descend from the original elezen clans that also gave birth to the elezens of Gelmorra, which branched into Duskwight and Wildwoods in the Shroud. The ones that went in Ishgard branched out earlier, before Gelmorra, is all, but share the same ancestry.

 

I mostly felt the need to point that out since a lot of people, especially before the appearance of the lorebook, speculated a lot about the Ishgardian elezens, and that seeing some duskwight models in their natives might give you the wrong idea.

That's nice. Since i want my character to be ishgardian in some way. I could make him ishgardian with duskwight model actually. Or duskwight who's grandfather is ishgardian. Tried to tie up to make sense for his personality.

[Valence]

But that would prevent you to resort to Duskwight/Gelmorran/Gridanian lore though, that's what I meant, because the Duskwight society appeared in the Gelmorran civilization way after the founding of Ishgard in a separate place (year 700+ versus year 300+). Unless you play a Duskwight expatriate in... Ishgard I suppose? Convoluted I know.

 

Either way, playing an ishgardian native (with a duskwight model) is also a possibility yes! But you might need a lore compilation on Ishgard instead. 

[Obsidian]

But that would prevent you to resort to Duskwight/Gelmorran/Gridanian lore though, that's what I meant, because the Duskwight society appeared in the Gelmorran civilization way after the founding of Ishgard in a separate place (year 700+ versus year 300+). Unless you play a Duskwight expatriate in... Ishgard I suppose? Convoluted I know.

 

Either way, playing an ishgardian native (with a duskwight model) is also a possibility yes! But you might need a lore compilation on Ishgard instead. 

Yeah, i should've ask that in the beginning since i wondering why there some duskwight models in ishgard as well rpers playing as ishgard with duskwight models.

[Sounsyy]

Yeah, i should've ask that in the beginning since i wondering why there some duskwight models in ishgard as well rpers playing as ishgard with duskwight models.

 

Essentially, "Elezen" believe themselves to be the first race of man to live in/return to Eorzea during the 6th Astral Era. So Elezen lived in a lot of places across Eorzea until Hyur began migrating to the realm in the fourth century and displacing the Elezen tribes. Some came to settle in Coerthas, others attempted to enter the Black Shroud, which eventually lead to the founding of Gelmorra after some prolonged territorial disputes. Which leads back to the lore above, the founding of Gridania, the death of Gelmorra, and the division between two Elezen clans of the Shroud, Wildwood and Duskwight.

 

The Elezen living in Ishgard, and many other places, don't necessarily have this distinction. Clans outside of the playable ones do exist. And "Ishgardian" Elezen is one of those, though most appear as "Wildwoods" because that's how Elezen looked before the Gelmorran Elezen went underground. However, some do also look like Duskwights (particularly those of the line of Dzemael). This could be because Duskwights fled to Ishgard in the last 500 years, it could be because the genes of certain Elezen lines just lean more towards Duskwight features and always have.

 

 

-You can find a big compilation of some older Ishgardian lore posts here

[Obsidian]

Yeah, i should've ask that in the beginning since i wondering why there some duskwight models in ishgard as well rpers playing as ishgard with duskwight models.

 

Essentially, "Elezen" believe themselves to be the first race of man to live in/return to Eorzea during the 6th Astral Era. So Elezen lived in a lot of places across Eorzea until Hyur began migrating to the realm in the fourth century and displacing the Elezen tribes. Some came to settle in Coerthas, others attempted to enter the Black Shroud, which eventually lead to the founding of Gelmorra after some prolonged territorial disputes. Which leads back to the lore above, the founding of Gridania, the death of Gelmorra, and the division between two Elezen clans of the Shroud, Wildwood and Duskwight.

 

The Elezen living in Ishgard, and many other places, don't necessarily have this distinction. Clans outside of the playable ones do exist. And "Ishgardian" Elezen is one of those, though most appear as "Wildwoods" because that's how Elezen looked before the Gelmorran Elezen went underground. However, some do also look like Duskwights (particularly those of the line of Dzemael). This could be because Duskwights fled to Ishgard in the last 500 years, it could be because the genes of certain Elezen lines just lean more towards Duskwight features and always have.

 

 

-You can find a big compilation of some older Ishgardian lore posts here

Alright then. This is what i need. Thank you of giving me this info i need. I'm off to create a character. Thank you so much sounsyy and valence.