General Lore Questions

[LiadansWhisper]

Please forgive my newbie question, as I have not done the story quests for these yet, but I was wondering...

 

Why is it that no one can be a BLM or WHM now? I read somewhere else that it is frowned upon by the lore people, and I am curious. Also, even if one could become a BLM or WHM in character, is it mutually exclusive? Selarian has the dream of mastering both Thaumatergy and Conjuration, and the natural step would be for him to become both a BLM and WHM, but I don't want to break lore.

 

Hey!

 

Newbie question forgiven as that's the purpose of this thread I think.

 

Alright, so there's a misconception in the question that I need to address.

 

First things first... People can be BLMs and Whms. It can happen. It has happened. In the past there was entire nations of these people walking around.

 

It's not lore breaking to be a BLM or a WHM.

 

So why do lore people frown on it?

 

They frown on it because they are extremely rare. In the case of BLM the art has been largely forgotten, and is in most cases outright illegal, and any spread of its knowledge is -actively- policed. In the case of WHM, it's knowledge is guarded by a race of very very stingy people. They don't want to teach you.

 

Can that be worked around? Yes. In a myriad of ways, a ton. Seriously, only your imagination limits you in how you can explain your character's acquisition of a knowledge long forbidden and forgotten.

 

Why do people still frown at it then?

 

Well, because explaining away how your character got around those limitations is never done for the majority of characters in a satisfactory way. And those characters are never role played in a way that really showcases these jobs as portrayed in the lore. And finally, the desire to adds these characteristics to the character is usually an indicator of poor character building skills, shoving cool-looking things into a character needlessly to make the character more special-- mary sueish and overpowered.

 

This is also a good, quick explanation.  As Sin daid, if you can come up with a good explanation as to how and why you've managed to get access to the forbidden art, no one will really look at you funny. Just gotta sell it.

[Aya]

This is not exactly a lore-response, but a more general one.  There are many areas where an RP character can be designed in ways that feel implausible.  It is not strictly verboten (nor should it be in my opinion), but such instances can effect how both the character and the player are viewed. 

 

Such instances of imagination-stretching should not necessarily just be avoided, but should be carefully considered.  What does it add the the character?  What is the player trying to accomplish?  Is it adding to the tapestry of the character such that it makes her more interesting or more engaging?  Or is it simply being done to make her more powerful, seem more accomplished, or feel rarer and thus "more special"?

[Sounsyy]

Selarian has the dream of mastering both Thaumatergy and Conjuration, and the natural step would be for him to become both a BLM and WHM, but I don't want to break lore.

 

Folks have already answered your questions, but if you're still curious about the lore, I'll leave a few links below:

 

War of the Magi Lore

Aftermath of the Great Flood

THM Lore Compilation

CNJ Lore Compilation

 

Hope this helps! ^^

[Lydia Lightfoot]

Just for the sake of getting rocks hurled at me (shh, I'm trying to make some pretty landscaping and I need the rocks, okay, gosh), would the kind gurus of lore have a read over my V'alka wiki and pelt me with pebbles for every bit that doesn't feel plausible? I'm not worried about Callie's history since it's much simpler (though do feel free to read it if you like, and, at your discretion, either change your job to Squire or equip the Basic Skills set and use Throw Stone at me... haha, Tactics joke).

[Sounsyy]

either change your job to Squire or equip the Basic Skills set and use Throw Stone at me... haha, Tactics joke).

 

This makes me miss when Gatherers/Crafters had stone throw in 1.0. =/

 

EDIT: Also your wiki info seems solid as far as lore is concerned. Also making her Mycegal's protege works for getting her into the city-state at a time when Ishgard's gates were closed to outsiders.

[Lydia Lightfoot]

 

EDIT: Also your wiki info seems solid as far as lore is concerned. Also making her Mycegal's protege works for getting her into the city-state at a time when Ishgard's gates were closed to outsiders.

 

Yay!

 

I guess I'll have to get my own stones!

[I'nhalki]

Hey Calli,

 

I'm no lore expert by any stretch, but the wiki for V'alka seems solid. Is there anything in particular you're unsure about? 

 

The only question that really popped in to my head was why not be a Gridanian lancer/Wood Wailer or just a straight adventuring lancer? The Dragoon aspect seems somewhat tacked-on for a group that has so much clout in Ishgard. It also seems like something that may unnecessarily limit your RP mobility.

 

From what I understand from quests, Dragoons would be expected to stay in Ishgard to maintain defense of the city. A Dragoon scout would probably be mostly concerned with scouting missions in to dragon territory rather than south toward the other city states, I would imagine. In my own head it just doesn't make sense to send someone who's specific role would be to gather information on and fight dragons during wartime would be sent off to another part of the realm to develop themselves. Maybe she has a personal reason to leave? Maybe she doesn't approve of the war? Lots of room for character development there.

 

That said, I'm firmly for RPing what you want to RP. I would develop her role and history as a Dragoon in Ishgard a bit more. Maybe someone with more Dragoon lore knowledge can hop in and offer much more detailed advice than I can. With the way each job's story is handled in a kind of special snowflake way, I think it's generally safer and more RP-flexible to go with one of the base classes as an IC specialty. That's just my two gil in the topic. I think the WHM discussions that have cropped up recently touched on that a lot, too.

 

Edit: I haven't done the 3.0 Dragoon job quests yet, but I do know from the Warrior 3.0 quests that I have done that your trainer has begun to spread the techniques of the Warrior job among soldiers of the Maelstrom. I was just thinking that maybe the 3.0 Dragoon quests may open up the Dragoon lore in a similar way. Again, maybe someone who mains Dragoon can hop in on this.

[Lydia Lightfoot]

Easily answered!  That specific aspect of her background story is a "cover my bases" element since she's not yet high enough in the MSQ to even access Ishgard (boo gating). Since I'd like to be able to RP her while I'm accomplishing that, I figured I'd come up with an excuse as to why she'd ICly be somewhere like Ul'dah, etc.

 

That said, she's creeping up on 47 right now, so it won't be too long before she'll push through the gating limitation.

[V'aleera]

From what I understand from quests, Dragoons would be expected to stay in Ishgard to maintain defense of the city. A Dragoon scout would probably be mostly concerned with scouting missions in to dragon territory rather than south toward the other city states, I would imagine.

This is largely true, and how most of the Ishgardian/dragoon players I know handle the matter. However, dragonkind has spread out all across the face of the continent, even as far as La Noscea. If a character told mine IC that they went on a journey to train their skills against wyrms not just domestic but foreign I feel like that would be believable.

[Diskwrite]

Do we have a list of all the locales visited for the pilgrimage Llymlaen followers take? I've only been able to find 2 locations: Cassiopeia Hollow and Shposhae.

[Sounsyy]

Do we have a list of all the locales visited for the pilgrimage Llymlaen followers take? I've only been able to find 2 locations: Cassiopeia Hollow and Shposhae.

 

Fun Fact: perhaps you have noticed, but in several of the dungeons in La Noscea you will find locations on your maps with names like "Llymlaen's Folly" or "Llymlaen's Trial." These are, in fact, sacred sites for the followers of the Navigator - each representing one of the 12 chapters in the tale of Llymlaen's Ascent. As part of their worship, followers risk their lives to perform yearly pilgrimages, visiting all twelve sites in the order they appear in the tale.

 

The chapters (in order) are as follows:

 

Llymlaen's Folly

Llymlaen's Flight

Llymlaen's Tempest

Llymlaen's Clarity

Llymlaen's Resolve

Llymlaen's Bearing

Llymlaen's Trial

Llymlaen's Encounter

Llymlaen's Stand

Llymlaen's Triumph

Llymlaen's Oath

Llymlaen's Ascent

 

Cassiopeia Hollow, a series of caverns located beneath Bloodshore in eastern La Noscea, was home to the first four of the twelve pilgrimage locations: Llymlaen's Folly, Llymlaen's Flight, Llymlaen's Tempest, and Llymlaen's Clarity. Pilgrims would start in the western caverns and travel clockwise around the caverns to visit each site.

 

 

 

Shposhae, another series of subterranean caverns located this time in Moraby Bay, was rumored to be the long sought-after hideout of the famous Rycharde Mistbeard said to contain riches, treasures, and secrets known the world over. Pure black chocobos, gold ingots, a ten-ponze Meracydian diamond, and if the rumors are true... proof that our Admiral Merlwyb Bloefhiswyn and the mysterious dreadpirate were an item. (JK, it was a Bloody Executioner hoax) Anywhoozles! Shposhae marks the fifth through ninth locations upon the Llymlaen pilgrimage: Llymlaen's Resolve, Llymlaen's Bearing, Llymlaen's Trial, Llymlaen's Encounter, and Llymlaen's Stand.

 

 

The final three locations upon the Pilgrimage of Llymlaen's Ascent (Llymlaen's Triumph, Llymlaen's Oath, and Llymlaen's Ascent) are unaccounted for and have yet to appear in game. There are also no known references in game to their supposed location, unfortunately.

 

Hope this helps some! ^^;

[Diskwrite]

This is absolutely fantastic, thank you!

[Juromaro]

I'm working on a new character story for my eventual return to Eorzea and I was curious about a few things. A little background first though, I left sometime either in 2.1 or 2.3(can't really remember) Ninja job patch was months away and I had just gotten to the Coil part of the story around turn 2 or 3 I think. So anyway I'm extremely out of date on the story from that point on.

 

 

The Character I'm wanting to make is an Au Ra female, I haven't decided between a Raen or Xaela yet as I want to play around with the character creator before I do, but then problem is I know absolutely nothing about them and the wiki doesn't have very much info other than the general description and most threads I find on the subject aren't very informative either. So here are my questions.

 

 

1: Where can I find lore on the Au Ra?

2: I know now that BLM isn't a viable RP since I'm far from experienced enough to pull it off, but what about SMN?

3: What would be an acceptable timeline to use to explain an Au Ra character knowing certain aspects about an area I.E: Character was in seclusion somewhere near Gridania?

4: What elements would be a fitting affinity for said Au Ra?

5: Do the Au Ra worship any of the Guardians like Rhalgr? If so which one/ones would be a better match for the affinity?

 

Sorry for the wall of text and the noobish questions ><

[Sounsyy]

1: Where can I find lore on the Au Ra?

 

I've been compiling any racial lore I find and posting it to this Race Lore Compilation post, which contains lore on each race, lore on cross-race breeding, racial origins, religion, and the history of racial conflict common throughout the Sixth Astral Era.

 

 

2: I know now that BLM isn't a viable RP since I'm far from experienced enough to pull it off, but what about SMN?

 

I'm going to drop a few links here on relevant lore posts, but I'll go into a more detailed answer below as well:

-Arcanist Lore Overview

-SMN Lore Basics and Egis

 

SMN (and BLM) for that matter are both open for roleplay. Each job just comes with some specific history and baggage that some roleplayers feel uncomfortable with. Honestly, many feel more ill at ease with SMN than BLM, but we can figure out a way to make both work! ^^

 

Summoner requires the unenviable position of being present at the defeat of a Primal. You do not necessarily have to have dealt the killing blow, but you must have been close enough to get washed in the Primal's dying aether after the killing blow is struck. This is the point of contention for most roleplayers, as fighting Primals has a high risk of your character dying or becoming tempered. With Hydaelyn's Blessing, the Player Character has been able to avoid becoming tempered and as such can take on the primals with relative ease and smaller numbers. In the past, the strategy for less fortunate folk is to throw entire armies at the primal and try to overwhelm it with numbers. Countless individuals would perish in these skirmishes.

 

Other than that, you need only figure out a reason why your character would know about a 5,000 year dead magical art of the Allagans and you're golden! ^^ In one of the above links I listed out the steps required for obtaining an Egi. In the spoiler I'm going to add some lore quotes...

 

Let us review the history and role of the summoner, that we might never forget the tragedy that befell the unfortunate Tristan.

 

A summoner is a unique type of mage who harnesses the energy of the primals and reshapes it into a biddable avatar. In the ancient Allagan tongue, these avatars are known as "egi." Only those who are present at the defeat of a primal and have captured its savage essence are able to manifest such aetheric entities. Now, any explanation of the summoner is not complete without a brief history of its origin.

 

The Allagan Empire reached its peak during the Third Astral Era. Dissatisfied with dominion over Eorzea alone, this thriving civilization sought to expand its borders to ever more distant lands. Eventually, the empire cast its avaricious gaze upon the southern continent of Meracydia. The peoples of these nations did not, however, take kindly to being invaded, and they summoned the primals to repel the Allagan forces. Hard-pressed by these incarnations of elemental wrath, the leaders of the empire's military were forced to alter their tactics. They ordered the mages under their command to devise some manner of magic with which to counter the primals, and, after much experimentation, the art of summoning was born.

 

The magic invented by these arcane pioneers met with great success, and, within the Allagan Empire, the title of "summoner" earned the bearer an uncommon measure of awe and respect.

 

(While the "official" history credits the Allagans with the creation of Summoning, certain aspects of the MSQ heavily suggest that the Ascians may have taught the Allagans exactly how to do it in the first place.)

 

According to the records we recovered, the summoners of old would perform these rites in a land in which the naturally dominant element matched the aspect of the avatar they wished to call forth. Only in such a place might one sufficiently shift one's aetheric balance in the desired direction.

 

Now you must focus. Visualize the aether flowing through you, a vibrant current of energy transforming into living fire. Hold this image in your mind, and the raging heat of your life force shall spawn an egi wreathed in flames! Be aware, however, that this nascent entity will appear before you unbound and hostile. It is your charge to overpower the avatar, and establish yourself as its master.

 

Q: At Fan Fest, we had some people very interested in the nature of faeries and we got a lot of information about that. I thought we might talk about Egi this time. We know the story is that you’re tainted by the aetherial mist that comes about in a primal’s defeat. Can you be more specific about how that works and how that comes back out in the entity you summon?

 

MCKF: Basically, every being is made up of aether. It’s your own aether, and that is you. By taking your aether and splitting it, you create an egi, but you still have yourself. The thing is, you’re maintaining both of these at the same time, which is why summoners can only do this with one egi at a time. If you split yourself too much, your grip on yourself is gone and you fade back into the Lifestream. That’s not to say there aren’t certain beings in the world that have a larger pool of aether; some beings can split into multiple egi, while maintaining that balance, before they die. As for how to create an egi, as you said before, you get that mist – that taint – by defeating it; it goes into you. You are creating an image of what that primal was, so without ever having seen it, you cannot create it. By attuning with their aetherial remnant, you know that primal and can attune an egi in that image. There are no new egis in 3.0, and the reason why will be explained in a way that ties back to this information, as well.

 

 

 

EDIT: Adding in a couple of BLM links, just in case you wanted to check those out as well since it was mentioned.

-Black Mage Lore Compilation and Legality

-Becoming a Studious Black Mage

 

 

 

 

3: What would be an acceptable timeline to use to explain an Au Ra character knowing certain aspects about an area I.E: Character was in seclusion somewhere near Gridania?

 

Raen Au Ra are but recent immigrants to Eorzea, after the Garlean Empire razed the Raen's city-state, Doma, less than a year ago. Refugees from the imperial province and the surrounding region have been flocking to Eorzea ever since. Garlemald has controlled the Far Eastern continent of Othard for close to 25 years now, and for the large part, the city-states of Othard have been left in relative peace until recently.

 

The Xaela, however, are a nomadic people who cover the other regions of Othard and have been known to venture out beyond their territories. Sidurgu of the DRK storyline attests that shortly after Garlemald began invading Othard (20~25 years ago) he and his tribe came to Eorzea seeking asylum near Ishgard. At the time, Ishgard mistook these early Auri settlers as dragons, and most were slaughtered by the temple knights.

 

So there is lore precedent for Au Ra living in Eorzea prior to the recent Raen refugee crisis, but not much.

 

 

5: Do the Au Ra worship any of the Guardians like Rhalgr? If so which one/ones would be a better match for the affinity?

 

Worship of the Twelve is primarily restricted to Eorzea. The many peoples of other continents worship different deities. We know, for example, that many Xaela worship Azim, goddess of the sun. Azim is not directly related to Azeyma, though they sound similar. There are also tribes who worship other deities, such as Nhama. More lore on this can be found under the Xaela Tribe section of the Au Ra Naming Conventions post.

 

-Au Ra Religion Thread

-Eorzean Religion Masterpost

 

 

 

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

[Juromaro]

Thank you very much Sounsyy :lol:, I've still got quite a bit of time to flesh out details so rest assured I'll be obsessing over those links for the next few weeks <3

 

 

P.S: I've noticed when it comes to anything lore you are almost always the go to person for answers lol should rename this thread "Ask Sounsyy Lore questions"

[GhostlyMaiden]

I have Void questions~

 

1) What do we know about the void?

2) I can't remember: Black Mages essentially learn from the void, yes?

3) How can you become voidtouched?

4) Is it possible to go into the Void and come out alive? 

 

If these questions would be better off in it's own thread for further discussion, I will happily make a thread.

[Unnamed Mercenary]

I have Void questions~

 

1) What do we know about the void?

2) I can't remember: Black Mages essentially learn from the void, yes?

3) How can you become voidtouched?

4) Is it possible to go into the Void and come out alive? 

 

If these questions would be better off in it's own thread for further discussion, I will happily make a thread.

 

Here goes.

 

1) Not much. It's characterized as a place between realms and has a complete lack of aether.

 

2) No, not really. Some select Black Mages did, yes, but Black Magic itself is not related to the void. Black Mages sought to use/exploit the void to enhance their powers and to unleash voidsent upon their enemies. (It backfired on them in the end)

 

3) Step 1. Find a voidsent or void-tainted area. Step 2. Don't avoid it or try to kill it or try to cleanse it because it's a known evil/tainted place/thing. Step 3. ??? Step 4. You did it!

 

In seriousness though, I beleive the common belief among Eorzeans is to basically destroy anything voidtouched as it -is- evil, it's likely dead, and it's in the realm to cause harm. Having free will -and- being officially voidtouched (which basically means possessed) is not a good thing.

 

4) See: Syrcus Tower and World of Darkness. Yes, but your chances of becoming voidtouched or corrupted are extremely high. Voidsent will effectively attack you for your aether on the spot.

 

Some decent links (all are Sounsyy posts from their relevant threads)

 

BLM:

The paradox of drawing aether from different mediums

Black Mage legality and questions

BLM/THM Inquiry

THM/Magic Roleplayers - How is thaumaturgy used? (links to Sounsyy Lore compilation as well)

 

Void:

Necromancy, death, and the undead

Need lore info on the Void/Dark Realm and Sharlayan

The Void (Lore Request)

[FreelanceWizard]

I have Void questions~

 

1) What do we know about the void?

2) I can't remember: Black Mages essentially learn from the void, yes?

3) How can you become voidtouched?

4) Is it possible to go into the Void and come out alive? 

 

If these questions would be better off in it's own thread for further discussion, I will happily make a thread.

 

Merc here's covered most of the key points.

 

One thing I'd add, regarding your second question, is that those who oppose Black Magic (e.g., select Hearers of the Fane, some adventurers) are likely to believe that Black Magic is intimately connected to the Void, and that anyone using or even researching Black Magic is just one spell away from summoning Diabolos. That's because of all the evidence of Mhach's naughtiness during the Fifth Astral Era, which our characters are even now still cleaning up. However, this belief is, of course, not true. Summoning and binding voidsent is something one can do with proper magic, and binding voidsent can provide a quick route to considerable power (as demonstrated by Mhach), but nothing inherent in the practice requires involving the Void at all, as explained in the Sounsyy links. It seems the case is more that Black Magic lends itself easily to being used to call things from the void, and that Black Mages very generally speaking are highly motivated by power for power's sake. Combine those two characteristics together and you have disaster with a capital D (for Diabolos ). The WoL and their mentors during the BLM quest lines show that Black Magic can be used safely and responsibly without ripping the world apart.

 

As a more general point to consider, Eorzeans know precious little about the Void and its denizens. In fact, "voidsent" is sort of a catch-all term for anything in the taxonomy of beasts that naturalists can't readily comprehend. Bombs, for instance, are considered voidsent, but they don't come out of void portals or appear to consume aether in the way, say, that a succubus does; they're actually crafted by kobolds in bomb furnaces using magic (Pharos Sirius HM, Outer La Noscea, etc.). Fernehalwes made a point once, echoed just recently in his comments about item naming, that much of what we see is from the point of view of unreliable narrators. For instance, lamia are commonly believed to be Drowned servants, but in reality, they're the results of Allagan genetic engineering. Contradictory information abounds and "the truth" is somewhat up for grabs, particularly as it applies to the Void.

 

Likewise, "voidtouched" can refer to an actual condition of being influenced or even possessed by voidsent, as well as being akin to being called "tainted" -- a way to dehumanize someone you don't like or don't trust. Calling someone "voidtouched" could be true, or it could just be the same as calling someone a witch.

[GhostlyMaiden]

Another question!

Was it possible to travel from Othard (more specifically, Doma) to Eorzea, and vice versa? When I ask this, I mean before we started seeing refugees.

If it was possible, how would people do it? Was there trade between Eorzea and Othard?

[Martiallais]

Another question!

Was it possible to travel from Othard (more specifically, Doma) to Eorzea, and vice versa? When I ask this, I mean before we started seeing refugees.

If it was possible, how would people do it? Was there trade between Eorzea and Othard?

 

Yay for (sort of) being able to answer a question. Sounsyy answered the travel portion not too long ago. Link posted below! There are also mentions of Limsa and Doma having trade relations as well.

 

http://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/showthread.php?tid=15149&pid=242267#pid242267

 

http://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/showthread.php?tid=12473&pid=197413#pid197413

 

There are also mentions of some routes from Doma to Eorzea in this post by Sounsyy as well.

 

http://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/showthread.php?tid=12877&pid=203714#pid203714

 

Hope this helps!

[Yuella]

Why did Minfilia declare the 7th Astral Era at the end of 2.0?  Who gets to decide whether we have moved from an Umbral Era to Astral Era?  (Astral to Umbral is easy.  It's a calamity).  What if someone disagrees and thinks we're still in the Umbral era?

[Sounsyy]

Why did Minfilia declare the 7th Astral Era at the end of 2.0?  Who gets to decide whether we have moved from an Umbral Era to Astral Era?  (Astral to Umbral is easy.  It's a calamity).  What if someone disagrees and thinks we're still in the Umbral era?

 

Fernehalwes addressed this at the 2014 Las Vegas Fanfest Lore Panel:

 

Q: So, officially, it’s the Seventh Astral Era… but there’s still… a lot of stuff going on. Who are the Grand Company Leaders that they can just be like, “Okay, it’s over, we’re done!”

 

MCKF: This is a very political thing. Basically, five years ago, you had half of your world destroyed because Louisoix stepped in and tried to stop things and only half stopped things. A lot of people did pass away during the calamity and their livelihood as been destroyed and they have to rebuild and go into the shroud to move felled trees and rebuild their farms and it got a lot of people down. If you look at some of the NPC dialogue, one thing we did in 2.0 was, we thought you know if my life had been destroyed I’d be all depressed, I’m just trying to rebuild things and get back on my feet. SO we’ve tried to put that kind of text into these regular NPCs. You have all these people in these nations that are very down. They had this big war with the Garleans, they won all these great battles, it was the first time in thousands of years the Grand Companies were formed and then “hey we made… DIDN’T make it” so basically the GC leaders were waiting for something good to happen and they grasped onto that and said “ok! umbral era is over mission accomplished we’re done!” to hopefully bring peoples spirits up. It’s a morale thing, you can’t have your people depressed all the time, they won’t be productive thinking “why should I farm? Another Bahamut is gonna just destroy my fields.”

 

Q: So we have that quest line, Chronicles of a New Era.. so we ARE in a new era then?

 

MCKF: Yep. When they announce it, that’s it. But it’s weird because if a new player picks up the game and starts today they’re still in the Umbral Era, it’s in that time bubble.

 

Of course, that only covers this most recent Umbral to Astral. For previous Calamities, specific events in history marked the recovery from Umbral to Astral time periods. For instance, mankind's discovery of magic (thaumaturgy) 3000 years ago marked the end of the 5th Umbral Era into the 5th Astral. And the 6th Umbral Calamity ended when the waters of the Great Flood receded and mankind destroyed the last traces of any remaining 5th Astral Era civilizations, including all libraries and books and science related to earlier discoveries. It was... a dark time... even for an Astral Era. Similar to what we're facing in this current, 7th Astral Era.

[Yuella]

Is the Duskwood the "black sheep" of the playable races?  Their official description says they work as thieves.  The lancer quests especially have this duskwood villain and the "of course it's the duskwood" comment at the end gives the impression that duskwoods have bad reputation.  the gladiator queses also have you fight duskwood lancers.

[LiadansWhisper]

Is the Duskwood the "black sheep" of the playable races?  Their official description says they work as thieves.  The lancer quests especially have this duskwood villain and the "of course it's the duskwood" comment at the end gives the impression that duskwoods have bad reputation.  the gladiator queses also have you fight duskwood lancers.

 

There's deep-seated prejudice against Duskwights in the Shroud/Gridania. It's based on some historical things (apparently the Duskwights didn't sign on to the Pact of Gelmorra, and native Gridanians deeply resent them for this).

[Sounsyy]

Is the Duskwood the "black sheep" of the playable races?  Their official description says they work as thieves.  The lancer quests especially have this duskwood villain and the "of course it's the duskwood" comment at the end gives the impression that duskwoods have bad reputation.  the gladiator queses also have you fight duskwood lancers.

 

The Duskwight Elezen face extreme racial prejudice, which is why they have these poor reputations among NPCs, especially those in Gridania.

 

Essentially, at the beginning of the Sixth Astral Era Elezen tried to live in Tinolqa, the Black Shroud, but the elementals would not permit them to enter. So the Elezen built an enormous city-state beneath the ground called Gelmorra. Over hundreds of years, two clans diverged between the Elezen, those Elezen who still petitioned the elementals for entrance into the Wood stayed near the surface and ventured out into the world and became the Wildwood. Those who no longer held any desire to reside in the Wood burrowed deeper in their city-state and became the Duskwight.

 

Eventually, the elementals relented and allowed the eager Gelmorrans to live in the Wood if they agreed to the Pact of Gelmorra. This protected the Gridanians so long as they respected the Wood and did not use the elemental-gifted powers for war. But the Duskwight Elezen rejected the Pact of Gelmorra, for they were more than happy to remain as they had within their subterranean city-state. The Wildwood Elezen were so insulted by this slight against the elementals they believed messengers of Nophica, the Wildwood retaliated by razing Gelmorra and ensuring it remained buried forever. Now with no city-state to call their home, the Duskwight were at the mercy of the Wildwood's hatred. Homeless, jobless, and prejudiced against, the Duskwight had no choice but to resort to banditry and lives of crime. Many fled Tinolqa, many could not. Those who remained became known by the derogatory term "Greys."

 

 

Here's some more Duskwight Lore:

-Race Lore Compilation (Elezen)

-Duskwight and Gelmorra Interview

-Duskwight Lore Dump

 

In former times, the Elezen were the sole inhabitants of Eorzea, claiming dominion over her. Traditionally a nomadic people, the tall, slender Elezen believed the realm to be theirs by divine right - a gift from the Twelve themselves. Unfortunately, this belief made the eventual appearance of the Hyur in their multitudes akin to an invasion, and a long history of conflict ensued.

 

Ultimately, the Elezen diverged into two clans which exist today. The Wildwood Elezen took to the forests in their ongoing fight to protect their homeland against the encroaching Hyur, while the Duskwight Elezen withdrew to caves and subterrane opting instead to avoid all contact with any but their own.

 

For the past several centuries' date=' 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.[/quote']

 

Centuries ago' date=' 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.[/quote']

 

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.

 

Oh' date=' 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.[/quote']

 

My work here is far from done' date=' 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![/quote']