#ffxiv lore

[records-of-our-star]

A tale of a ferocious martial tradition from the mountains north, an art that unleashes the fury within and how it came to be tamed.

[records-of-our-star]

A tale of the Grand Companies of Eorzea, the brave men and women at arms who stood firm against the Garlean Legions.

[caffeinated-moogle]

Another silly screenshot from my folder clean-up.

One of my favorite random details from ARR is something I noticed (and got chills over) during my second play-through: this stool is the only one toppled here when you return to the Waking Sands for "All Good Things," and it remains that way even when you return after Garuda. It feels intentional—maybe even symbolic—given who we last saw sitting there. Maybe I'm reading more into it than was intended, but I like to think it was designed this way intentionally to tell a part of the story we don't get to see and hint at the fall (or rather the revelation of that fall) to come.

[records-of-our-star]

A tale of Limsa Lominsa, that city of salt and sea riding the winds of change.

[lilac-keeper]

Into the Sokkaverse - Ep. 1

Welcome to the first of many posts detailing the lore I've created for my WoL Sokka. I try my best to keep things based in canon and have refined it through the years, lots of time reading the Encyclopedia Eorzea volumes I have. So let's begin :]

The Keepers of Ilsabard

During the Fifth Umbral Era, the frozen seas brought on by the Calamity of Ice allowed Keeper of the Moon Miqo'te displaced by the Allagan Empire to return to their home in the Twelveswood. However, after nearly 2 millennia in Ilsabard, a small number of the population chose to stay behind in the only land they had ever known. The handful of Keeper tribes that reside in the northern Thavnairian forests today are descendants of those who remained.

Through the ages, these miqo’te have remained mostly solitary. Tales passed down of subjugation during the Allagan Empire have led the tribes to adopt isolation policies. Some tribes have become more open to trade in recent decades as the city-state of Radz-at-Han has expanded, with a few individuals leaving the forest for a more modern life in the city proper. Most still choose to remain in the various settlements deep within the jungles, only leaving to sell wares at markets.

Since this population of miqo’te have been isolated for so long, a few unique traits have been observed. The ears of Thavnairian Keepers are much larger than their Twelveswood counterparts. Scholars do not have a solid explanation as to why this has occurred, but common hypotheses include possibly needing to adapt to the sounds of Ilsabard wildlife or simply that larger ear size is seen as a more desirable feature when choosing partners. On the other hand, these miqo’te still share the naming conventions and societal structure as the Twelveswood population. Tribes are matriarchal with a majority being female. The few males are raised no differently than the females, but when coming of age they are encouraged to leave their tribe to search for a partner. Most never return and become part of a different tribe once starting a family.

It is rare to see these Thavnairian Keepers, locals only see the few that come into cities to trade. Those that leave for cities often return to the forests after a few summers, citing city life as being too different for them and struggling to adapt. Language barrier also plays a role in their isolation. Miqo’te on Ilsabard still use a lot of “huntspeak”, a combination of clicks and whistles to call out hunt targets. While many are at least familiar with common tongue, most don’t use it in day to day conversations. Instead this population has developed their own dialect made up of mostly huntspeak and various loan words picked up through the years.

Until very recently this population was shrouded in mystery. Notably, the Warrior of Light Sokka Manawa hails from one of these mysterious tribes and has been incredibly helpful in answering questions about her life there.

[call-me-noa]

Since we’re going shard hopping again in Evercold I thought I’d share this image from Encyclopedia Eorzea 3.

With the Fourth being in Evercold, the Eighth and Eleventh will be the last still-existing shards that we haven’t seen.

[records-of-our-star]

A tale of the Guilds of Ul'Dah, the heart of the martial, magical, and industrial traditions of Thanalan.

[records-of-our-star]

A tale of Ul'Dah, the jewel of Thanalan, that city of gold, trade, and merchant lords.