For me, I think it had to do with the fact that we really did not interact much with male roes that were supposed to be attractive. I mean, sure, we had the Boulders, but they were so much in the background and almost meant to be juniors. I barely remembered them until 7.5 had them reappear and Hoary Boulder got a voiceline. We have two female roes that are very attractive because they are given opportunity to show their personality, competense and relationships off better.
I liked that roegadyn dude in the Ruby Sea just fine when he appeared, and then he didn't anymore, and the roegadyn in Dawntrail is also fine. I liked Gosetsu but I did not even know he was a roegadyn until the game explicitly said so, because I thought he was a big buff hyur. We get time with them, to view them as more than, what I feel at least, the muscle.
Similar to how we do not really get to interact with many male lalafells outside of comic relief or evil-doing, most of the time. Also, it helps that he is shown doing cool things in a cinematic trailer; there is still time for them to goof it up and have him be lame or act unattractive in the actual game.
When I played Wandering Village's Story Mode, I had a lot of fun, but at some point I went "okay, can I challenge myself in any way?" and, naturally, chickened out from achievements. Instead I wanted to see how much I could do on the back, and decided to make it to 1'000 villagers before redoing the story mode's finale. Now that it has finally happened, went to finish the story mode. After that, I think I am done with the game, but it certainly was fun to slowly but surely build on the Onbu's back, it really felt like it was a home, of sorts.
the whole 'nobody would miss me if i were gone' line of reasoning is so completely and mindblowingly false, it's almost laughable if you take a couple steps back. there's a lady at work who has been there for maybe two or three weeks and has only talked to me a handful of times, ask where the necklace i usually wear went. another person asked where i was cause i wasn't scheduled for about a week. i regularly think of friends who have deactivated their accounts or who i've lost contact with and what id tell them. i still think about people i haven't talked to for years even though i didn't know them well. people still think about you even if you're a passing specter on the street. and that's not even holding a candle to how much the people who are personally involved in your life care. people do notice and care. all the time. it might be hard to see it or remember it but people do care. ily.
For me, the main reason Shadowbringers was good was that it kept its focus and setting one one place, the First. Heavensward struggled with telling the story of the Dragonsong War while also going back to retcon or conclude what happened in 2.X, as well as going places just so that the expac had six zones. Stormblood, I think did well to have two settings, because the red thread was still there with both of the settings struggling with the Garlean occupation, but even so they still fumbled what with Ala Mhigo being hyped for years only to be somewhat side-lined and then only being a tiny dungeon. I like Endwalker just fine, but I did not like how they took the Garlean story, which has been hyped up since 1.X, and basically massacred it so that we could hurry up to the second, actual part of Endwalker, which was convincing a goth chick murdering and slaughtering billions of people because she was depressed to please stop having depression.
Dawntrail seemed to have a red thread, but it also felt like they were not really interested in Tural when it came to it, and was rather much more interested in Alexandria and the Ninth, pushing Tural to be the side content area, while Alexandria and the Ninth was the actual main-story they wanted to tell. I think that is what pissed me off a bit, to be honest; I was told this was a vacation, of sorts, where we would assist this woman in her political endeavours and explore new land, going back to our adventuring roots, as it were (just like they promised we would do in 6.1, before slapping us in the face with another upcoming apocalypse). We got to explore this land, clearly made with love and research, with an interesting history and potential for a lot of political tension as the story went on. We could learn about these people and how they view their history, how generational trauma can keep grudges alive, how some people like the hyurs have moved on, while the long-lived viera that were adults during the bloody war eighty years ago still be alive and well now. We could see how difficult it can be for the first leader of a new concept to peacefully retire for the next generation, without people constantly being at odds with the new ones.
But then we just breeze through Tural as if on a theme park ride, so that we can focus on the "actual story".
I might not like that we are visiting ANOTHER shard after we got our Hydaelyn-based stories hijacked by other shards THREE TIMES already (people thought we would go to Garlemald for 5.0 only for the Exarch to soulnap the Scions to the First; we were supposed to go on adventures again only to be dragged into Thirteenth drama; we were supposed to be exploring Tural only to be dragged into Ninth drama), but at the very least it seems like the story will STAY on the Fourth, rather than suddenly turn around and hurry off to, I don't know, the Seventh (oh, lord, please don't have us go to the Seventh to make the FF7-collab make sense). So far, it seems like we will, if not on the Fourth, at least in a past and present version of the Fourth (that old miqo'te woman is either the little girl or Y'shtola, mark my words).
Like, I get that Alexandria was not enough for its own expansion, but it still annoys me that we lost Tural, which had so much potential to be a self-contained story, that would lead into Alexandria later, maybe. I just hope FFXIV can get away from this idea that you must take a turn in order to shock your audience, or go against expectations to the point that it sort of ruins the flow (I still think them squeezing two gods together in the Myth of the Twelve-alliance raid, just to have space for a surprise boss, was insane). Sure, there will be surprises in Evercold, but I hope they will not do sudden shifts in the story or setting like they have done in the latest expacs.
I wonder if collabing gives them more budget, because I don't understand why they keep doing them, especially when BOTH raids become collabs. Not just "this raid is a collaboration with these artists and take inspiration from their work", but genuinely "we give some handwaving in-world reason to go on a theme park ride of this collab duty".
I want raids - both normal AND alliance - to be used to further explore the world of the actual game! For that matter, I want them to separate the three trials from the MSQ so that they can be part of the story again, rather than make dungeons less relevant (because they must save the actual boss for the trial rather than final boss) or to just be an afterthought (like the 7.5 trial was). I keep thinking the trial story could have been us learning more about the tural vidraal and fighting them, or for the alliance raid to be going through the other areas of the Dome, maybe in an attempt to fix it.
The normal raid series of 8.X was amongst the best content they had in 7.X, despite being from the Ninth, because it felt grounded in that world, relevant, and had amazing characters. The 5.X alliance raid story was good DESPITE the collab, not because of it, because we got to explore more of the dwarves and their culture. The 4.X raid series was one of the most boring series for me, because it really was just a theme park ride of some popular FF enemies, and as I have only played XIV, I could not be interested.
We lose so much possibility to learn more about the setting of Hydaelyn, of XIV, by arbitrarily including dungeons and trials into the MSQ (Meso Terminal was really just "Alexandria" and "Underkeep" combined - showing the past to explain the villain's motives but also being a test for WoL from Calyx. Don't even get me started on Aetherfont), that we basically only have the two post-story dungeons, of which we get nothing more, then we have the allied societies, the crafting, the alliance raids and the 8-man raids. Allied societies lately are more often than not toothless fluff rather than actual explorations, it seems like alliance raids have been locked out of being anything but collab, and now the normal 8-man raid is going to be collab, too.
I don't know, I ended up loving the 7.X normal raid series so much despite me hating Alexandria, it was the one content in 7.X I was genuinely excited to continue, and the one thing I thought I would be excited for in 8.X, too, but now it has just become yet another theme park ride.
So... yeah, I keep wondering WHY they keep going away from making content about Eorzea, Hydaelyn, about the world of XIV, and more and more go into other games, especially with collabs. It really makes me wonder if it is because they get budget bonuses, especially since this collab seems to be more for the FF7 remakes rather than original, which still isn't finished, thus it surely being good publicity.
I'm just happy he made this part somewhat complicated, and not the character creation part; I almost got a physical reaction when they discussed character creation changes and he said, with pause "lalafell". I thought we were going to get another 30 minutes talking about lalafell chins, or noses.
So, when 1.0 was released, they introduced the playable races, as is normal for fantasy MMOs. However, they also introduced something else, and that was that after choosing a race, you also chose one of two "clans", which basically means different cultural groups of that race. Over the years we have been introduced to more clans, technically, but the CC is still limited to only the initial two. Furthermore, it is not like the clans really matter, because either they are completely ignored like the Duskwights, or they are just randomly chosen whenever we visit a new area and they go "actually, in THIS place we call the races THIS". Stats do not matter anymore, and in 8.0 they will give us more freedom in the CC, so, again, the clans are basically obsolete.
I still wanted to make a list of all the races and clans we know of, how they are separated, and if they do have names, and so on.
If you have something to share about what you know, or your headcanons, or your OCs/WoL, please tell me!!
Every racial lore from Bozja/"Save the Queen" content should be taken with a ladle of salt, since apparently the main writer was allowed free reign due to his status within Square Enix, so I get the vague impression they rarely cared about keeping things consistent, which is not their strongest or even stronger suits anyway.
EDIT: Edited some facts to look better, added some stuff since 25.07.26, and removed Sharlayan as their own clan in the various races.
Hyur
The basic human race, most hyur clans do not have special cultural elements to them, as they are more often than not the default of locations and thus their culture is based on the location's mainstream culture.
Midlanders: They live in Eorzea's low-lying regions, and that is basically what identifies them. They are more often than not the default hyur model. Because Midlanders refer to where they live by the regions, they do not have a unique culture. They are the majority 50% in the city of Gridania, 30% in Ul'dah, 10% in Limsa Lominsa and 20% in Ishgard, but note that this is mainly about the cities themselves, not necessarily their entire states.
Highlanders: These hyur call the Eorzean mountains home. Most highlanders live in the mountainous Gyr Abania. They are taller than Midlanders (except when they give Highlander women Midlander models, which is "surprisingly" often). Most highlanders will identify as Ala Mhigan or Gyr Abanian, where they are the native majority, but refugees are found around Eorzea, where they are a 10% minority in Ul'dah, and part of the 10% Other minorities in Gridania.
Tonawawta: Hyurs that reside in Tural, in particular the northern Xak Tural. Although they have tribes that are culturally unique, those Tonawawta that live in Tuliyollal base their cultural identity on that, instead. Tonawawta seem to normally be the height of Midlanders, and often have darker skintones.
Ilsabardian Hyur: While we know of the hyurs living in the Near East, we do not know what they are called. Like how Eorzean hyurs are split into two distinct clans, and then further split by the geographical cultures, Ilsabardian hyurs are also split culturally,
- Thavnairian Hyur: Generally of darker skin and colourful garments. (Not of the Ilsabardian landmass, but in-game Thavnair is considered a part of Ilsabard.)
- Werlyti Hyur: The 80% majority of Werlyt, they likely share ancestry with the Highlanders, until the founding of Ala Mhigo in 1335 of the Fifth Astral Era split them up.
- Corvosi Hyur: We know little about Corvos, but from the "The Merchant's Tale" variant dungeon, there were and probably are native hyur there.
- Bozjan Hyur: A 10% minority of Bozja, their nomenclature seems somewhat similar to the Eorzean Midlanders.
- Landisian Hyur: At least two hyur NPCs have their birthplace be in Landis.
Dalmascan Hyur: The 40% majority of the Kingdom of Dalmasca in Othard. Unlike with Ilsabardian hyurs, they are made into their own category from other Othardian hyurs.
Far Eastern Hyur: Hyurs which nomenclature and culture is mainly based on Japan, they live in the regions of Yanxia, the Ruby Sea and Hingashi. In Doma they are the 60% majority, while in Hingashi they are the 50% majority.
Hume: The hyurs of the First.
Hyune: The hyurs of the Ninth.
Fourth's Hyur: Not 100% confirmed anywhere, but they would sooner cancel the game than not include a myriad of hyurs everywhere.
Thirteenth's Hyur: We know from voidsents' flashbacks that there existed hyurs on the Thirteenth.
Headcanon for dumb clan names:
- Lowlander: The hyurs of Gelmorra, the Gridanian midlanders' ancestors.
- Deeplander: Hyurs that live underwater, somehow.
- Northlander: Abandoned name for Ishgardian hyurs.
- Westlander: The Eorzean name of Turali hyurs.
- Eastlander: The Eorzean name of the Doman refugees.
- Southlander: The Eorzean name of Meracydian hyurs (because you just KNOW there are hyurs there).
Elezen
The elves of the setting. They were thought to have been the original inhabitants of Eorzea since the First Astral Era, and were the main inhabitants after the Sixth Umbral Calamity, yet were displaced by the Hyuran migratory waves, eventually being forced to the northern parts of the land. Over the course of the Sixth Astral Era, there came to be three Eorzean clans/cultural identities of elezen that share this common ancestry.
Duskwights: Elezen were forced into the Black Shroud by the second hyur migration wave in Year 660 of the Sixth Astral Era, then went underground, and then established Gelmorra with the following hyurs in Year 740. When half the elezens and all hyurs of Gelmorra left in 1077 to found Gridania with the elementals, a group of elezens stayed; their skin-tone is apparently a result of the damp and dark enviroment, and became the Duskwights. Some Duskwights have entered Gridanian society, but face discrimination there as a 10% minority. Though forenames are the same as the Wildwoods', no Duskwight and Wildwood would have the same surname.
Wildwood: Elezens that left Gelmorra to found Gridania in 1077, most elezen found in Eorzea is probably of Wildwood origin. In Gridania, they are 40% of the population.
Ishgardian Elezen: Elezen that first moved northward in Year 350 of the Sixth Astral Era because of the first major hyur migration wave, they form the 70% majority of Ishgard. Although their elezen population uses a mix of Duskwight and Wildwood models and nomenclature, it is stated that the Ishgardian Elezens are their own cultural identity, though they hail from the same ancestry as Wildwood and Duskwights. They still differ from these two clans with their religion, government and biology, as all Ishgardian elezens are descendants of Thordan's Twelve Knights that drank dragon blood.
Eschva: Nomadic elezens of Ilsabard, of which Clarricie originates from. They made a deal with the Garleans in order to continue their unique lifestyle, where they ignored state borders during their travels. Their nomenclature seems similar to Eorzean elezens. OBS: They might not be only elezens, I say it here because the one Eschvan we know is one. MY HEADCANON: They are a fourth clan of the common Eorzean ancestry, that left Eorzea rather than go north during the three hyuran migratory waves, and kept to the nomadic traditions that elezens apparently practiced in the past. Almost all elezens of Ilsabard and Othard hails from the Eschva.
Ilsabardian&Othardian Elezen: From the "Save the Queen" content, there are a few Elezen that were born and raised around the continent other than the Eschva, including Garlemald when it was still a republic.
- Garlean Elezen: At least one elezen NPC has his birthplace be in Garlemald.
- Landisian Elezen: There are two Elezen NPCs whose birthplace is Mannatheihwo, Landis.
- Dalmascan Elezen: There is one elezen NPC whose birthplace is Sal Ghidos, Dalmasca. Elezens would be part of the 10% Other minority.
Again, please keep in mind that all these Elezens is from the "Save the Queen" content, where the main writer was apparently allowed to write whatever he wanted, so we do not know whether to consider these Elezens part of different clans or descendants of other clans.
Elves: Elezen of the First. It seems they mostly lived in Lakeland before the Flood of Light with their own kingdom.
Eldite: Elezen of the Ninth.
Thirteenth's Elezen: We know there were Elezen on the Thirteenth.
We do not know if there are elezen on the Fourth yet.
My headcanon of Elezens:
- Wyrmwrath: Name of the Ishgardian Elezens. After 3.3 they have ongoing debates on what their new clan name should be, something preferably less anti-draconic and aggressive, but buearocracy keeps them discussing.
Lalafell
Smallfolk who come from the southern islands to the east, where they worked on various kinds of summoning magic. They originally came to Eorzea around Year 500 of the Fifth Astral Era, where they would split into two clans.
Plainsfolk: Lalafells that abide in the green regions of Eorzea, like the Black Shroud and La Noscea. Their ancestors founded Nym, and their survivors left during the Sixth Umbral Era, and returned around year 980 of the Sixth Astral Era. Their nomenclature does not practice family names as surnames, but surnames are given when they are of age that in some way rhymes with their forenames. Men's names are AB CB (Paiyo Reiyo), while women's are ABB AB (Utata Uta).
Dunesfolk: Lalafells that live in Thanalan's desert regions, their eyes are covered by a membrane to protect from the sand. The Dunesfolk descend from the lalafells that helped found Mhach around Year 500 in the Fifth Astral Era, and during the Sixth Umbral Era were forced into a nomadic lifestyle in the outlands, which is how they slowly changed their appearance, eventually founding the state Belah'dia in Year 737 of the Sixth Astral Era. Men's names are AAB CCB (Lolorito Nanarito) while women's are AAB AB (Tataru Taru), and the royal family add a middle name that acts as a family name (Nanamo Ul Namo).
Dalmascan Lalafells: We do not really know if there are lalafells native to Dalmasca, as we only have one example of such, Pagaga, whose birthplace is Neimrahava Woods, Dalmasca, from Bozja, and I already said why we might have to take any content originally from "Save the Queen" with a grain of salt. Nonetheless, Dalmasca does have a coastline, so it would make sense that some lalafells traveled there, since they are a merchant-conscious people. If there are Dalmascan lalafells, they are amongst the 10% Other minority.
Dwarves: The lalafell of the First, they mainly reside by the mountaintop. They all dress with clothes including an aesthetic beard, and to take off the helmet in front of outsiders more than oftens means exile for the offender. Though lalafells are amongst the spoken main races other places, on the First they used to be viewed as beast tribes.
Milalla: The lalafell of the Ninth, and everyone use the Plainsfolk model. Technically these Milalla originate from Aloalo Island from the Fifth Umbral Calamity; we do not know if there were Milalla on the Ninth from before. Currently the Milalla nomenclature seems to enjoy palindrome-sounding names.
We do not know if there are lalafells on the Fourth or Thirteenth yet.
My headcanons of other clans that do and do not exist:
- Islesfolk: the Eorzean name of the lalafells living on the southern isles, and the common ancestors of Plainsfolk, Dunesfolk and Milalla. Though Aloalo Island is abandoned, I imagine the other isles are still inhabited. This is the only canon clan in my list.
- Seasfolk: Another branch of Islesfolk that live the majority of their lives on ships, traversing the seas to trade. Either that name, or Shipsfolk/Boatsfolk.
- Frostsfolk: Or Snowfolk, lalafells that live far north.
- Groundsfolk: Lalafells that, like Duskwights and "Lowlanders", live underground.
- Cloudsfolk: Lalafells that live up in the Sea of Clouds.
Miqo'te
Although there were miqo'te on Eorzea far back, during the Third Astral Era the vast majority ran to Dalmasca due to being targeted by the Empire of Allag, or were placed there by Allag as slaves. Because 1.0 did not have male models (because they wanted to be ~more realistic~), XIV used to say that males are rare amongst the miqo'te, but have since quietly tried to retcon this.
Seekers of the Sun: Descendants of the twenty-six tribes of diurnal miqo'te who returned together to Eorzea in the Fifth Umbral Era. When they noted that the Eorzean alphabet had twenty-six letters upon their return, they took it as a sign, and each tribe took one letter to represent them alongside their representative animal. The tribes are spread across Eorzea and beyond, but they all use the letters, separated by an apostrophe, as a prefix to their names, followed by a patronym. Seekers are patrilocal, with a select few males being allowed to sire children.
Keepers of the Moon: These nocturnal miqo'te have lived in the Black Shroud for centuries. They have struggling relationships with Gridania, being often seen as poachers. They are unique with their matronym and matrilocal culture, in which men do not get their own name, but take their mother's name with a suffix, separated by an aprostophe, that denotes him as her Xth son. MY HEADCANONS: Although the first lorebook states that all miqo'te ran to Ilsabard during the Third Astral Era and only returned in the Fifth Umbral Era, I like to imagine that the Keepers never left and mainly hid in the Shroud, which is one of the reasons this is practically the only place where nocturnal miqo'te live. This is mainly because the story of the miqo'te's refuge and return are more integral to the Seekers' lore, and we never learned how the Keepers came to be in the Shroud nor how they survived there until modern day. As far as we know, there are no other nocturnal miqo'te.
Dalmascan Miqo'te: Seems to be diurnal descendants of miqo'te that arrived in the Third Astral Era and stayed behind rather than follow the Seekers of the Sun to Eorzea in the Fifth Umbral Era, their nomenclature is similar to theirs but without the letter. This is based on the two miqo'te we meet in "Save the Queen". They would belong to the 10% Other minority of Dalmasca.
Hhetsarro: Diurnal nomadic miqo'te of Tural, in particular Xak Tural. It seems they mainly live nomadic lives, following the animals they herd. There seem to be more males than females, with no mentioned comparison to established miqo'te lore.
Mystral: Miqo'te of the First, with the light going on there it is natural that most of them use the diurnal Seeker model, though there is one male who uses the Keeper one. They are mainly living in the lower parts of Kholusia, and seem to be the majority of Eulmore, though the leadership has consisted of Humes and Galdjents. Their nomenclature consists of two words hyphenated. Like with the Hhetsarro, there seems to be more of a balance between the genders compared to previously established lore for the miqo'te (because god forbid we keep to established lore when said lore can limit men from authority positions).
Fourth's Miqo'te: From the Evercold extended trailer, we know there are miqo'te on the Fourth.
Thirteenth's Miqo'te: We know from voidsents' flashbacks that there were miqo'te on the Thirteenth.
The miqo'te of Solution Nine are survivors or descendants of Hhetsarros, we do not know of any miqo'te native to the Ninth.
Mithra: Though also the name of miqo'te of Vana'diel, mithra is also said to be the common ancestor of the miqo'te from long, long ago. This is mostly thought to be a meta joke hiding in a minion description referencing the mithra of FF11.
Roegadyn
We know almost nothing about roegadyns, except that the ancestors of the two Eorzean clans hail from Aerslaent, an archipelago in the Northern Empty. It is possible that this is where all roegadyns on Hydaelyn came from, we do not know.
Hellsguards: Roegadyns that left Aersleant long ago to reside by Abalathia's Spine, their skin colours are often more tuned to red and dark. Their original culture long forgotten, their names are descriptions in the Common tongue, inspired by their old nomenclature. As such, Hellsguards do not really have surnames the same way hyurs and elezens have; the second name can be shared amongst family members, but it is not a steadfast rule. A few can be found in Ul'dah, where they number 10%, the same percentage as in Ala Mhigo; since these statistics are mainly for the cities and not regions, there are likely more Hellsguards living independently outside of the city states.
Sea Wolves: Roegadyns that left Aersleant much later than Hellsguard, escaping from a tyrant. Their nomenclature consists of a descriptive name of two words in their roegadyn language, followed by a patronym. In Limsa Lominsa, they are the 40% majority.
Far Eastern Roegadyn: Roegadyns of Yanxia, the Ruby Sea and Hingashi, they are entirely integrated into their Japanese-inspired cultures and nomenclature. They seem to mainly use Hellsguard models, which might mean they were amongst the roegadyns that left Aersleant at the time, but we do not know. They are a 10% minority in Doma, and 15% in Hingashi.
Nagxian Roegadyn: "Save the Queen" states that there are a small percentage of roegadyns native to Nagxia, with a nomenclature unique enough from surrounding areas that the NPC we meet is known by a nickname given by outsiders.
Ilsabardian Roegadyn: There are some Roegadyns that seem to have lived amongst the mountains of Ilsabard, which has since mainly been completely integrated in Garlean rule. We also know that there are some roegadyns native to Bozja according to "Save the Queen", where they number about 10% of the population.
Galdjent: The roegadyns of the First.
Fourth's Roegadyn: From the extended Evercold trailer, we know there are roegadyns on the Fourth, likely using Hellsguard models.
Thirteenth's Roegadyn: From voidsents' flashbacks, we know there were roegadyns on the Thirteenth, seemingly using Sea Wolf models.
We have seen no signs of roegadyns on the Ninth.
Au Ra
These scaly people originated in the northeastern Othard, in particular the Azim Steppe and Nhaama Desert.
Raen: Au Ra that left the northern Othard and nomadic lifestyle behind, they are nowadays part of the Yanxian and Hingan cultures, with a Japanese nomenclature. Though many have integrated into Doma and Hingashi, there are also Raen that live by themselves in isolated principalities, like Sui-no-Sato. Raen are unique with their bright scales. Most au ra seen around Eorzea seem to hail from Raen ancestry. They number about 10% of the Doman and Hingan populances.
Xaela: Au Ra that never left the northern Othard and still practice nomadic tribal culture, their scales are almost black. Their nomenclature is more based on Mongolian names. The tribes' main identifier is that they live in the same region, but every tribe has a unique culture and lifestyle that can greatly differentiate from others.
Near Eastern Au Ra: Descendants of Au Ra that left upper Othard to settle in Thavnair and Werlyt, where they number 15% of Werlyt's population. It feels like the Thavnairian Au Ra's scales are slightly darker than Raen, but it might just be my imagination.
Drahn: Au Ra of the First, they mainly use Raen models, with some few using Xaela.
Fourth's Au Ra: We know from Evercold's trailers that there will be Au Ra on the Fourth, using Xaela models.
Thirteenth's Au Ra: We know from voidsents' flashbacks that there were Au Ra on the Thirteenth using Raen models.
We do not know if there are Au Ra on the Ninth yet.
Viera
Viera clans are a bit easier to track, as their ancestry are based on the forests or the region they dedicate themselves to. Similarly to Seekers of the Sun and Xaela, the Viera clan only denotes which forest the viera comes from, and within each forest are multiple villages.
Rava: They live in the Golmore Jungle and seem to have had more direct contant with the Garlean invasions and such.
Veena: The viera of the Skatay Range, it seems they are not limited to the forests at the mountainous tops, but the mountains themselves.
All Dalmascan vieras we meet are descendants of Rava and Veena that left their regions behind; they consist of about 5% of the population. The same can be said by most other Viera we come across outside of Tural.
Shetona: Viera of Tural, in which they seem to live mainly in the northern Xak Tural. They do not seem to have any particular lifestyle tied to a Green Word like Rava and Veena, nor geographical limits, though they do seem to put large importance on hunting. All Shetona use the Rava models, and are usually of darker skin colours. Shetona are polygynous, with a male having multiple families spread across Xak Tural that he travels between.
Hingan Viera: There is one male viera along with the Hingan entourage for the New Years event, and considering how isolationist Hingashi is, I would say there has to be a viera clan somewhere in Hingashi, rather than the NPC being an outsider. Of course, considering XIV's aversion to lore consistency, it could just be that they wanted to use the newest cool race, now that the new cool race finally had a male model, so who knows. I have many headcanons for this clan, but for the time being that is not important. They are part of the 15% Other of the Hingan population.
Viis: Viera of the First, their lifestyle and practice seem to be more similar to the Rava, with them following the Green Word and exiling those that leave the woods.
There are no signs that there are viera on the Fourth, Ninth or Thirteenth; the viera living in Solution Nine are descendants or survivors of the Shetona native to Yyasulani.
My headcanons:
- Chisa: The name of the Hingan clan, they would be based on northern Koshu and be inspired by the Ainu culture. They live in the vast woods, protected by their god Siuninkamuy, who is a lupine auspice that "eats" the memories of any viera that wishes to leave, so that they cannot guide outsiders through the labyrinthine woods.
- Mierra: A clan of viera that lives underwater, similarly to Sui-no-Sato, amongst the kelp forests. Yes, I felt very clever when I made this up.
- Kunna: An extinct clan of viera that used to live in the Black Shroud and follow the elementals as their Green Word, in my headcanons they were the ones that helped the ancestors of Keepers of the Moon to hide and survive in the Black Shroud in the Third Astral Era, which is why there are many Keepers of the Moon that can survive outside of Gridania's pact with the Elementals, even if they are deemed poachers for it. They died out by the Sixth Astral Era. This is inspired by the fact that the Viis live in the First's version of the Black Shroud and is not based on anything else.
Hrothgar
Hrothgar are interesting, at least the two clans players are allowed to choose from; they actually belong to one clan, if one thinks of them as geographical and cultural. One clan is for those that serve a queen, the other for those that do not. Unlike other clans, these two are flexible and one can switch between the clans multiple times throughout their lives. For the Ilsabardian hrothgars, I am not sure if "queen" is meant to be the family matron, or tribal chief, or an actual regnal queen; that would be too much feminine lore for XIV to handle, I guess.
Helions: Ilsabardian hrothgars who have a queen they are loyal to. Their surname is their queen's name prefixed by an "A-". Women who are not queens do this, too, but we do not know what the surname for a queen is (why did they allow the random name generator to give male Seekers the "nunh" surname, but not any female Helions to have a queen surname? You know why). MY HEADCANON: I imagine Ilsabardian hrothgars practice a form of naming taboo; when a woman is made queen, her surname becomes her own ("Tonna Atonna"), and if there are any woman under her rule that shares her name, she must rename herself or be exiled. I would wager that most women within the same queendom try not to share names.
The Lost: Ilsabardian hrothgars who do not have a queen they are loyal to, for whatever reason. Their surname is the name of the last queen they served, suffixed by "-sch". MY HEADCANON: I imagine that a former queen who lost her queendom will either have her predecessor's name, if she was cast out, or if her entire tribe is lost, she uses her own ("Tonna Tonnasch").
Xbr'aal: Hrothgars of Tural, specifically the southern Yak Tural. Unlike the Ilsabardian hrothgars, their lifestyle is gender-neutral, so they do not follow a woman, but whoever is worthy of leading (it just so HAPPENS that the leader is male, the one time we finally meet a hrothgar community when female hrothgar models are available, and his wife is a non-person, because again, lord forbid lore consistency would limit a man's authority).
Ronso: Hrothgar of the First, we do not know where they resided before the Flood of Light, but now are mainly in Rak'tika and Lakeland.
We do not know if there are hrothgars in the Fourth, Ninth or Thirteenth.
Intuitively working out the one true way to play evercold and being snobby about anyone who did the starting areas differently. I know more than you Yoship.
This is interesting, becaus eit is what Elder Scrolls Online has been doing for years; each zone and dungeon has its own story, you can explore and complete them in whatever order you choose, because everything is scaled so that levels do not really do much after level 50 (and only the basegame MSQ depended on level). Even so, people do have opinions on what order of zones are superior, hahah.
Let's take a moment to appreciate Caleb's perfectly sculpted facial features and also some subtle translation differences in this story:
1. "Big Brother?"
[ EN Version ]
MC: ...When you used to sit beside me before, did you look at me this way, thinking the same thoughts? As "a childhood friend?"
[ CN Version ]
MC: ...When you used to sit beside me before, did you also think about these things and look at me this way, "big brother"?
[以前你坐在我身边时，也会想到这种事，用这样的眼神看我吗。“哥哥“？]
As usual, the censorship of their relationship as adopted siblings (which has been legally terminated) unfortunately watered down the sizzling tension in this scene.
Also, I wish MC had voiced lines during this dialogue because the delivery of this line would contribute to our understanding of her feelings towards Caleb. This line could have been coy and teasing, genuinely curious, or even somewhat apologetic that she never realised how he felt all this time and how he had to hold himself back.
2. Monsters / Strange Creatures
[ EN Version ]
MC: It's almost scary. One moment I have the perfect, cheerful childhood friend, and the next he does something like this.
Caleb: Heh.. Yeah, I must be quite the monster.
MC: Then in the coming year, we should rename this place to "The House of Monstrosity."
[ CN Version ]
MC: How scary. One moment you're playing the role of a cheerful and good big brother, and in the next second you do such things all of a sudden.
[真可怕。上一秒还在扮演阳光居家的好哥哥的角色，下一秒却突然做这种事。]
Caleb: Yeah, I'm basically a strange creature, aren't I.
[是啊，简直是个怪物吧。]
MC: Then in the coming year, we should rename this place to "The House of Strange Creatures" then.
[那新的一年，我们这里应该改名叫“怪物之家”了。]
The Chinese word "怪物" literally translates to "strange creature". Translating it into "monster" also works, though it carries more negative connotations and the idea of something which induces fear. In this case, I agree with the use of "monster" as it is in line with Caleb's negative perception of himself.
However, I feel that "The House of Monsters" (i.e. a house where its inhabitants are monsters) would work better than "The House of Monstrosity" (i.e. a house where its inhabitants have monstrous traits) because it reflects more potently that MC views herself as a fellow monster, and is Caleb isn't alone in harbouring these "forbidden" thoughts and emotions.
As a side-note, I find it interesting that MC didn't refute Caleb's comment about him being a monster but instead suggested that she was one herself. To me, this contributes to the theme of MC and Caleb being separate from the rest of the world which is sad but sweet at the same time (ಡ‸ಡ)
3. Dangerous vs Wild
[ EN Version ]
MC: ...Caleb, you're not the only one with these dangerous thoughts.
[ CN Version ]
MC: Caleb, you're not the only one with these wild thoughts, you know.
[夏以昼，会有这种有疯狂念头的人，又不只有你一个。]
While the EN translation uses the word "dangerous", the more accurate translation of the original word "疯狂" is "wild", "crazy" or "mad". The word for "dangerous" is different (危险), though in this context, both words have the same effect of reflecting MC's acknowledgement that their feelings border along the edge of what is acceptable based on typical standards.
However, the word "dangerous" (and on a broader scale, the palpable tension between them) makes little sense in the EN version where they are described as mere childhood friends 🤣
( ´ ꒳ ` )⸝ Thanks for reading! Please accept this blushing Caleb as a token of my gratitude:
Oh, man, with Veilguard, I had actually sort of decided what I wanted Rook to be.
She would be Hazel, a Tevinter slave. After DA2, there was a trend amongst some Tevinter nobles where they would take a slave that showed talent in something, and make them into a sort of personal bodyguard and showcase all at once. It started after the stories of Fenris spread around, and others thought they could do a better job with it. Hazel was a slave who showed incredible magical talents, so her owner had private tutors come to teach her (since, as a slave, she would not be allowed into the Tevinter mage circles), but in a very specific way so that Hazel would follow orders and teachings, not necessarily learn by herself. Growing up, Hazel was amongst the slaves that was indoctrinated, believing that her owner was good and that slavery was fine if you just knew your place and did well; her place was performing magical arts for her owner's social circles to show that she was talented and that she would protect her owner should someone try to kill her. Only when she was old enough that she overheard her owner talking about "breeding" her did she panic and accept help from the Shadow Dragons, who gave her a new background as the adopted child of Mercar (a secret benefactor of the organisation). She would struggle for a long time with her identity, thoughts and feeling of belonging, often fighting with her own want to return to the life she had before, other times unconsciously searching for other people to serve, and feeling guilty for how she supported slavery. As one of the few slaves that was treated well, though, she also struggles to identify with the other escaped slaves, as their experiences and traumas are very different. Part of Hazel's journey, especially when Elgar'nan would whisper in her ear to submit to him for paradise, is to stand her ground and refuse these temptations, and to make her own choices and not succumb to her servant habits. Even then, part of her and Emmrich's relationship struggles IS in fact if she is not looking for a new "master" in him, as he is older, more experiences, acts like he is amongst the elite of his people, and so on, and how they work through that.
Now, Veilguard turned out to be very unfriendly to any kind of open roleplay; Rook's personality (regardless of what dialogue choices you make) does not work with what I had in mind for Hazel, and I did not even know about Rook Mercar's adoption background until way after I played the game, because I did not get that very late and optional dialogue with a specific character.
I later tried to play the game over again with Zita de Riva, who had her own background and personality that better worked with the Rook in the game, but I was not able to get far before I lost interest, again because the game really does not give much back for choices or roleplay.
M'nemesyne Rhan can get very angry quickly, and let that anger take over. Often, this comes out as her yelling and blaming people around her, even though they are her friends, even if she has forgiven them (like blaming Alphinaud for Minfilia's death, or never quite being able to forgive Urianger even after all this time). It never gets so bad that it disrupts the MSQ, but I have put in times where she isolates herself from the Scions for a while, until the anger dissipates and she awkwardly tries to integrate herself again, or wait for her friends to accept her back, because her pride makes it difficult to initiate an apology.
In Dawntrail, though, this got BAD.
I changed some story elements in order to integrate M'neme's family, and to sort of explain for myself why she was not as active even in situations like when Tural was attacked and an interdimensional conflict arose. To make M'neme not just go through the enemies like the Mary Sue-atom-bomb I love to make her, Zoraal Ja and the gang kidnapped M'neme's M'venah, threatening to kill her if she did not stay behind Wuk Lamat, who Zoraal Ja actually had a grudge against; M'neme was more like Wuk Lamat's pesky hound than anything else in his eyes.
However, during the attack, the robots had also held down M'neme's mother, M'laruh, and hurt her so she was unconscious when M'neme found her. In her panic and rage, M'neme's Inner Beast (from the WAR questline) took over, she lost control of it for the first time, and she directly endangered M'venah's life by trying to go after the ship Zoraal Ja was in. Only after falling off the ship, hearing her mother actually was not dead like she thought and getting out of her stupour, did M'neme realize she had forgotten her daughter in her anger and vengeance, and it had put her life at risk.
She will probably never forgive herself for that, and from then on did try to control her anger much more, as well as make better arrangements so that M'venah would be safe elsewhere, rather than attempt to have her "join" her on her adventures. M'neme also left behind her Warrior soul crystal, as she needs it in order to connect with her Inner Beast; she did not use it regularly, but just enough to "tap" into the strength it would bring her.
i think one of the most important things you learn about making connections with others is that a significant portion of the time people just do not know theyre doing what theyre doing
sometimes someone is acting selfish because they just didnt think you had any interest in what theyre hogging. sometimes you dont get invited to the movies because your friend could have sworn that you said no. sometimes you think someone is mad at you because theyre bad at hiding how little sleep they got. we are all like little worlds that briefly crash into one another from time to time and we just arent physically capable of seeing the whole picture at once in those moments. and learning that really changed everything!
In my head, I call this "vase of flowers" thinking.
See, when I started driving, I would get irritated by people who drove Soooo Slowly... like, the ones who slow down to 10 MPH to take a turn kind of slow. And then one day I was taking a vase of flowers to an event, and even though I'd strapped it in carefully you can bet I was taking the turns extra carefully to keep it from tipping over, slowing way down, and... oh.
And, like, there are definitely unpleasant people in the world. There are definitely people who are toxic, or just don't care about other people, or have a pattern of hurtful behavior. But there are a lot of people who are just trying to deliver a vase of flowers.
