I hope it is alright that I’m going to do things a little differently today, and instead of writing fiction, I’m going to try and write an analysis on the new lore that was revealed in the second lorebook. We’ve reached a new plateau in our understanding of this world we all love to play in, after all. This will only touch on Seeker of the Sun M-tribe lore, particularly four of its characters that were highlighted in the book and shared on BRPN. If you do not want anything spoiled from the lorebook, then please do not read below the cut. Special thanks to people from @balmungrp and @the-wardens-reliquary for sharing these blurbs of info!
Part 1 M-tribe history
From the Encyclopaedia Eorzea, volume II:
“During the Age of Endless Frost, a great migratory wave saw tribes of Miqo’te cross the frozen sea of Eorzea. Following the Velodyna River northward, they finally arrived in a region now known as Gyr Abania. As the ice melted, giving way to the Fifth Astral Era, the majority of these tribes spread across the realm, but the J and M peoples alone elected to remain, the former settling for the Peaks while the latter claimed the Fringes for its hunting grounds.
Since that time, the M tribe has lived quietly in its domain east of the Velodyna, untouched by the changed that unfolded around them. They watched from afar as the city-state of Skalla rose and fell in the neighboring Lochs, and survived the floods of the Sixth Umbral Calamity and all that followed. Though they occasionally entered into alliances with other races, ever did they preserve their identity and their crag-top home.
However, the tribe’s resilience would be sorely tested under imperial rule. Rendered unwelcome in their own territory, it was all they could do to eke out a living. To limit the mouths that wanted for feeding, they took the drastic action of shedding their second nunh, but this was no permanent solution to their hardships. Thus did they join hands with the Ala Mhigan Resistance, that they might reclaim the freedom to simply live their lives.”
At first glance, there doesn’t seem to be that much new information here, except for a few more details on the migration of the Miqo’te. What is interesting though, is that according to this only J and M Seekers stayed in Gyr Abania. From the way it is worded, it would seem that the Jackals (J) claimed the Peaks while the Marmot (M) claimed the Fringes.That makes it unlikely that other tribes could settle in those areas, as they are claimed by these two.
Does that mean that your Seeker character from another tribe, but native to Gyr Abania is now lore-breaking? Well, technically, kinda, yeah. But this late in the development of the game and RP scene I highly doubt anyone will give you any trouble for it. Your tribe could have returned to Gyr Abania at a later stage. It is, however, somewhat unlikely that the tribe was huge, or else it would infringe on the Marmot or Jackal hunting grounds. After the occupation, it would become even harder to justify, as even the big Marmot tribe has trouble feeding its people. City slickers are a different story altogether, of course. I personally focus on tribal Seekers, so I haven’t looked into how Miqo’te were viewed by the other races before the Empire.
Another interesting part is about the shedding of their second nunh. What does this tell us? The Naming Conventions say that on average, there are 10-50 females per nunh in a tribe. That means that with two nunh, the Marmot tribe had to have between 20-100 female Miqo’te, if they abide by these averages. Quite a large group, I would say.
“To limit the mouths that wanted for feeding, they took the drastic action of shedding their second nunh, but this was no permanent solution to their hardships.”
Boy… That’s pretty significant, isn’t it? It means that they apparently had no other system in place to limit birth rates. It doesn’t say that the tribe’s numbers went down enough to make the second nunh obsolete, but instead they seem to be having the opposite problem. They have too many people, and their solution is to limit the growth of the tribe by having one less breeding male.
I can’t help but wonder if they fully thought that through. It kinda makes it sound like Miqo’te have no control over their, for lack of a better term, breeding practices. This suggest they couldn’t or wouldn’t choose other options to limit the size of the tribe, like, I dunno, not have sex? Birth control of any kind (herbal or magic)? Keep in mind, birth control can be things like ‘don’t have sex during fertile periods’ or simply ‘pulling out’. It doesn’t have to be some magical herb or anything like that.
Instead, with this, they kinda make it sound that there was no way the breeding males could slow the hell down a bit with their breeding. I mean, I know it is in the name, but come on SE.
To me, it would make more sense if numbers had dwindled to a point where a second nunh wasn’t needed, but that’s not what that quote says, unfortunately. Even worse, it worked, albeit temporarily. So I suppose Seekers can’t keep it in their pants, at least not in this tribe. Do with that information as you please. Those of you that wanna ERP only will do o regardless of lore, I’d wager :P
Keep in mind, this is just one tribe. This doesn’t mean all Seeker tribes would choose the same solutions, or that even fringe septs of the Marmot that split off from the main group ages ago would.
Below the cut will be information about four of the M Tribe members as described in the Encyclopaedia Eorzea, volume II. If you don’t want anything from this book spoiled, it would be best not read on.
M’rahz Nunh
“There was a time when I was the weakest of the males in the M tribe. It wasn’t easy, but through rigorous training, I eventually grew to become the man you see before you.”
M’rahz was only three and twenty when he bested his predecessor in a duel and replaced him as nunh, a breeding male. While that was an impressive feat in its own right, the Seeker of the Sun would be the first to acknowledge that the harder part was still to come. In the early days, it seemed as though he could please none of the womenfolk, but pain proved an effective teacher and he quickly honed his sensitivity to the needs of others.
Over the next twenty-seven years, he has protected his people as both a husband and a father. A challenging task at the best of times, it was only made more difficult when the Empire invaded two decades ago. With their hunting grounds shrinking and food growing scarcer by the season, many hard decisions had to be made. And the hardest one of all was that which saw his dear friend and fellow nunh, M’aht, leave the village behind. Owing to their history, he harbors a fondness for M’zhet, M’aht’s spirited son.
M’aht Nunh
“My path may take me to the ends of the world, but my heart shall ever be here.”
Together with his fellow nunh, M’rahz, this Seeker of the Sun once led the people of the M Tribe. When necessity forced them to revert to single-nunh rule, rather than face his friend in a duel as tradition dictates, he relinquished his title and left the village. He took with him his beloved son, M‘zhet, and the two lived in isolation in the mountains of the Fringes. Yet M’aht never forgot his people, and he continued watching over them from afar. In the course of his vigil, he caught wind of a dastardly Qalyana plot to unleash frenzied beasts upon his village. Facing the creatures alone, he succeeded in herding them inside a cave, but he could not avoid the baneful touch of their petrifying poison. With the last of his strength, he entombed the beasts in stone in stone before turning into stone himself. He was but twenty-five.
M’zhet Tia
“Is that the sound of damsels in distress? Fear not! Your cries of despair will not go unanswered! For the future nunh of the M tribe, M’zhet Tia, has arrived!”
M’zhet is the son of M’aht, the former nunh of the M tribe. Before he had seen but six summers, he left the Peering Stones with his father, who had volunteered to cast aside his title. The decision was prompted by their dwindling hunting grounds -- the consequence of imperial rule -- but these facts were not known to the young cub. His father would later be slain protecting their village, leaving him an orphan. And though he survived on his own, bereft of a guiding presence, he grew up naive in the ways of the world, particularly with regards to the women of his tribe -- an unfortunate failing for one who longs for family and aspires to become a nunh.
Now five and twenty, the Seeker of the Sun is in the prime of his years, with a resilience to survive even a grenado blast (albeit with some powder removed), but only time will tell if he will realize his dream of establishing his own harem.
M’hahtoa Lhan
“Come, come, eat your fill of our food, and drink deep of our spirits. There is more than enough for all.”
According to her daughter M’naago, M’hahtoa is the true leader of the M Tribe. A willing listener and an accomplished cook, the forty-two-year-old welcomes those with troubles to unburden their minds and fill their bellies at her hearth, and thus sees their worries vanish alongside their hunger. That the members of the tribe, strong-minded folk by nature, are able to rally under one nunh is in no small part due to her comforting presence.
Aside from her skills at the cook fire, the Seeker of the Sun is also a peerless huntress, and hers was the hand that trained M’naago in the bow. In her spare moments, she can be seen crafting arrowheads, but one is advised not to disturb her as she works.
