#ffxiv lore

[apathmakerstale]

I enjoy that in ffxiv that Primals aren't really a threat anymore almost solely due to the Warrior of Light. Like there aren't any in Tural or were introduced in Dawntrail, (partially for lore reasons if I remember right, something about less aether than Eorzea) and they're kinda replaced by Vidraal.

Like yeah, it's died out since the Grand Company of Eorzea is working to improve relations with the Allied Tribes and the Ascians are mostly dead, but like, most people know by now that if you summon a Primal then the WoL's gonna hunt them down. Like they still do get summoned, and the Summoner corps of Ul'dah and people like Fordola and other Scions take care of some of the weaker ones, but it can't be on a grand scale otherwise it'd bring down the WoL on top of them an no one wants that.

We are literally the natural predator to them by now.

Ifrit, Titan, Garuda, Leviathan, Ramuh, Odin, Shiva, Belias (From the Summoner questline), Phoenix, Bahamut, GOOD KING MOGGLE MOG XII, Enkidu, Ravana, Bismarck, Knights of the Round, Alexander, The Warring Triad, Susano, Lakshmi, Shinryu, Tsukiyomi, The Eden Primals, Elidibus' Warrior of Light, The Lunar Primals, Queen Gunnhildr, Daivadipa, The Magus Sisters, Anima, Asura (From Hildebrand questline), Hydaelyn, and Zodiark.

That's like three dozen, and what's more is that most of them we canonically solo'd and slayed multiple times. Plus we can even summon them ourselves too, and even fuse them together like with Solar Bahamut.

We are the Maker's Ruin after all, making a World Without Gods.

[missazurerose]

Man, how do au ra hear?

Is it lore compliant to say they have ears? Some googling says their ears are their horns. But whispering into someone's horn sounds ridiculous. Or is that how people write it? Lizards do have ears so it's probably not biologically incorrect to say an au ra has ears of some kind. It just feels strange. If you take the more reptile path, whispering into someone's ear hole sounds even less appealing than whispering into a horn.

The fandom had to have discussed this before right? Probably at length. I'm just too new to the fandom to have seen the lore debate. Can an au ra get an earache? Do their horns just hurt? Is it understood that if you say someone is whispering in an au ra's ear, they're murmuring close to like the base of their horns?

[honoura]

Shaaloani: The Land of Enchantment Part One

Hello again! It's another lore-adjacent post from me about a niche special interest of mine. This time it's Shaaloani, the American Southwest/Northern Mexico inspired zone in FFXIV's Dawntrail.

I want to disclose a few things right at the start just to temper people's expectations: I will not be definitively ID'ing any of the indigenous-inspired structures or visuals as inspired by any specific tribe. That's not my lane! I'm going to link to things that they remind me of, for sure. But otherwise my hyperfocus is going to be on the physical environment, some animals, and the ceruleum as petroleum industry. It's what I recognize best! And what I know best, truthfully.

"Hon why are you doing this?" A variety of reasons honestly. After DT dropped I saw a lot of folks who did at least one of the following:

Commented on the Old West theme park aspect

Called it "miqo'te Texas"

Generally just called the whole map "Texas"

And if I'm honest... it bugged me! Not because I thought anyone was being malicious about it (it's mostly pop culture saturation I'd suspect), but to me it stung a bit that this zone, which I grew up on the fringe of, was... kind of flattened by a lot of people?

I don't know, the response to me just felt like people assumed they knew everything about it because they'd seen it already in movies or TV or Red Dead Redemption rather than the same open-mindedness about what was presented in places like Urqopacha.

This zone isn't just Texas -- yes there are some bits and pieces here (because it's pulling from the Chihuahuan Desert and the Sonoran Desert), but so much of it reminds me of New Mexico, Mexico, and Arizona. There's some Colorado, Utah, and Nevada there too! And the background story going on there is something that still happens in a lot of those states, by both the government and corporations alike.

That variety deserves to be celebrated! So come learn with me about the inspiration for Shaaloani!

Shaaloani Geography

Shaaloani has three major regions in the zone -- Eshceyaani Wilds, Pyariyoanaan Plain, and Yawtanane Grasslands. To get this out of the way, I'm going to tell you the one that reminds me most of Texas.

Ready?

Lake Taori of the Pyariyoanaan Plain.

It's river-fed, with canyons on both ends of the Niikwerepi. The trees crowding around it are cypress trees, as you can tell by the little nubby off-shoots called knees. To compare, here is a photo of cypress trees along the Frio River:

This is also reminiscent of places along the Rio Grande and Pecos Rivers, two significant water sources in West Texas. I also would not call them bayous! Bayous typically have brackish water, are slow-moving, and are way too far east.

However, it could be partly considered a ciénega -- which according to its wikipedia article:

"Ciénagas are usually associated with seeps or springs, found in canyon headwaters or along margins of streams. Ciénagas often occur because the geomorphology forces water to the surface, over large areas, not merely through a single pool or channel."

As a caveat, ciénegas generally don't have trees around them, but I also know that you can't really drown a cypress and they love sunshine. Regardless -- if you see trees in the desert they are typically growing along a water source. Balmorhea State Park has some cottonwood trees native to the area that are going strong.

Yawtanane Grasslands reads as a mix of the Chihuahuan Desert and the Eastern Plains of Colorado. Both are rather arid and home to a variety of grasses that can thrive in such a climate -- which has historically made both areas home to large cattle industries (whether or not this was ever a good idea is debatable, since cattle are very thirsty animals).

Meanwhile the Eshceyaani Wilds looks similar to the Sonoran Desert -- the red-hued soil and rocks, the abundance of cacti with the scrub brush and some drought-tolerant grasses. Here's a shot of the Sonoran within Saguaro National Park in Arizona:

Saguaros also only grow in Arizona in the States! As well as the organ-pipe cactus, which you see in Tender Valley. And prickly pears grow just about anywhere they can get a chance -- as well as barrel cacti, both of which we see in Tender Valley (along with what could be agave!).

You could probably make a case for it being a pi��on-juniper scrubland -- everything's very short compared to those cypress trees, including the juniper trees! Piñon-juniper scrubland's found throughout the Southwest. There are also piñon-juniper savannahs and persistent woodlands intermixed in the same places. The difference lay in what plants you find with the piñon pines and junipers.

Visually, aside from the Sonoran Desert, I can also see a lot of New Mexico, like the Ghost Ranch in Rio Arriba:

It matches up with the mountains you can see, and both Yowekwa Canyon and Tender Valley. And of course, Tender Valley is likely a Grand Canyon reference, going by the sheer height of the cliffs. But you could also make a case for Canyonlands National Park in Utah.

There's a shot from Grand View Point Overlook within the park -- the closeness of the canyon walls and the warm earth tones also evoke Tender Valley!

There's also a lot of these sandstone formations in Utah that better fit Shaaloani -- like here in the Valley of the Gods:

Shaaloani Structures

I also at this point want to call attention to one of the two sites with cliff dwellings & adobe structures. We just saw Tender Valley above, which is confirmed to be old Yok Huy structures. But check out these Tonawawta buildings below.

As I stated before, I don't want to state which tribe these two styles remind me of. But I do want to say this again strikes me as another New Mexico and Arizona callback; both the Gila Cliff Dwellings and the Puye Cliff Dwellings are found in two different areas of New Mexico. And the Gíusewa Pueblo, also in New Mexico! Montezuma Castle is found in Arizona, and is pictured below! Look at that rich reddish earth color.

I also want to call attention to the place of worship for the Tonawawta in Yowekwa Canyon:

When I saw it my kneejerk response was to call it an ofrenda. But that's ultimately an incomplete response -- that was just the vibe I felt after seeing them during my life! What it also reminds me of are pictographs and petroglyphs. You find these all over the Southwest (the climate helps preserve them!), but I'm going to link some really great examples. I won't provide images to all though!

Crow Canyon Petroglyphs:

Piedras Madras Canyon at Petroglyph National Monument (New Mexico) Petroglyph Point Trail at Mesa Verde National Park (Colorado) Petroglyph Panel at Canyon Reef National Park (Utah) Nampaweap at Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument (Arizona) Horseshoe Canyon at Canyonlands National Park (Utah) and the Hueco Tanks State Park (Texas)

In contrast, I don't want to spend a ton of time on the boom town structures in this zone; they are pretty straightforward references to mining towns during the different resource booms (gold, silver, copper, oil).

Similar blocky shapes, built out of wood. One thing I noticed as a neat addition are the decorative patterns painted on it -- again, I don't want to presume if there's a specific tribe tied to this. But I do think it's a neat touch and I want to think that's a design choice to convey the underlying theme that this is a zone at odds with advancing technology and wanting to keep hold of important traditions.

I WILL talk about the ceruleum wells and pumping though. Mostly because I'm impressed that they went with structures that so closely resemble early 20th century oil derricks. Those were also predominately made of wood (including the barrels, yikes!). The pump part of what's called a pumpjack were covered in the old days -- the ones we're most used to seeing now are made of metal and are thus left uncovered.

However, as you can see from this century old rig, even the wheel's made of wood:

I don't think ceruleum gushes the same way oil did -- it seems to behave more like natural gas. However, most natural gas pipelines do burn off excess, which can be seen as a little spout of flame atop.

Oil's occupied an awkward spot in the Southwest, and still does. Aside from the heinous crimes committed in Killers of the Flower Moon (where members of the Osage tribe were murdered for their oil shares in Oklahoma) and the Teapot Dome Scandal, oil is just... well.

Bear with me, I'm about to rag on Koana a moment.

The people who make the most money and have the most power over the average roughneck's life never live in the Southwest. They work in the c-suite and have more money than sense.

I find it very fascinating that DT chose to recreate this dynamic, this uncomfortable push-pull of a region rich in a resource, and it's being harvested at the suggestion and behest of a power that is physically removed from the area. And to some NPCs it's with a certain level of disregard to traditions and practices in place before, with the focus on the nebulous quantifier of 'progress'. Progress how? It depends!

But the folks at the highest seat of power never have to grapple with those questions, because to them it's a fairly cut and dry answer. This is the way to proceed, and if they want to take this nation into the "future", then this is the clear way to do it. It speaks to Koana's fixation on foreign technology to the point he de-values his own (partly due to his childhood trauma, which kind of prepped him to be susceptible to it).

Meanwhile the locals are the ones grappling the most with this change -- how it affects their plants and animals. Sometimes pits open up in the earth and ceruleum burns (which, Santa Rita New Mexico sank multiple times into the earth thanks to copper mining). On the map there's even discolored plants -- and they only occur in the vicinity OF the bulk of the ceruleum pumps.

This is at odds with core beliefs, keeping up with traditional practices. It puts people in the place of 'do I participate in this system, which promises work and the means to take care of my family, even as it pits me against my cultural heritage?'.

Growing up in West Texas, one of the weirdest things to me (to this day) is how many people will claim they love the land. They do! They love the outdoors, they worry over how certain species of animals have become scarcer. But they also work in the single most damaging industry because it pays the most money. It lets them cover bills and give their kids what they never had.

That same push-pull is in Shaaloani narratively; when progress has been thrust upon you, how do you survive it? How do you make sure what's dearest to you comes along with you?

In Conclusion

I want to call it here for Part One -- Part Two after this will cover more observations I had regarding flora and fauna in the Shaaloani zone, and how that also shows the attention to detail given this zone! It's a good time! There will be dinosaurs!

[capriccio-ffxiv]

/pulls up a chair

what if the real "rejoining" is building bridges between all the shards and opening up trade

and instead of killing these split souls, opening a path for a way that the natural process of a reconnected Lifestream allows for a slow, gentle rejoining, with no sacrifice involved on the part of any of the newly born souls

what if we mend the broken world after all, but instead by building the pieces into something new, rather than trying to force the shape back to how it was

what if we fill our wounds with gold

and become transformed?

[avampyone]

#wolqotd ! Are there any objects that your WoL/OC holds onto for sentimental reasons?

[finalfantabee]

An Ancient Love Story

Freckles by Snowdrop Eyes by Firalia Child hair by Vievinvalor Adult hair by Clef and Lia

[hopes-legacy]

Decided to share my own Au Ra headcanons.

Most of my own worldbuilding revolves around Sui-No-Sato Raen since my Wol is from there. Enjoy!

[rosestarart]

A Comprehensive List of Halonic Swears

For your Ishgardian fanfiction and lore reference

I made this for use in my own fic, but I've decided to share it in case it is useful to someone else!

Compiled mainly from MSQ scripts and incidental NPC dialogue. Contains all sworn references of either curse or blessing to Halone or the Fury in MSQ, and some from non-MSQ content. If I am missing any, please feel free to send them my way!

Short, Common Swears

By the Fury

Fury take me

Fury strike me down

Fury willing

Thank the Fury

Halone have mercy

Halone grant me strength

Praise Halone

Halone forgive me

Longer Swears to the Fury

May the Fury watch over you

May the Fury watch over and keep you

May the Fury grant you strength

May the Fury guide your steps

May the Fury guide and protect you

May the Fury guide you

By the grace of the Fury

Receive of the Fury's judgment

Accept the Fury into your heart

Let us see whom the Fury favors

The Fury is with us

The Fury's Gaze is upon us

Fury speed you on your way

'Tis as if the very Fury herself stands before me

Are you the avatar of the Fury Herself?

Praise be unto the Fury

Longer Swears to Halone

It is for Halone to judge

May Halone guide you

Halone's blessings be upon you

If Halone is kind

I give thanks to Halone for your preservation

By the grace of Halone

Halone has blessed us

Halone smiles on us yet again

Halone grant us strength

Halone as my witness

Halone be praised

By the ruth of Halone

[mist-touchedxiv]

While I seek to be lore compliant, often it seems there's just not enough official lore from Sqeenix to provide guidance in more specific areas. I feel like the Viera culture is a big one. But, what is official does paint an intriguing picture that really could use some fleshing out! A big source of inspiration for me is this great Carrd:

I don't agree with ALL the fanon ideas it puts forth, especially the more Raava-centric stuff, however I find it to be a fantastic blueprint! Big recommend!

Now, it got me thinking about Viera culture and I have an idea that would be a great addition to their shared cultural heritage. For the consideration of the Midnight Society- I mean, the FFXIV Tumblr community, I present...

Vieran romance poetry

I'm intrigued by the segregation of Viera society by gender, especially how it's run by women who outnumber the men by a great deal: men in the role of Wood-warders act as a first line of defense of civilization and women ARE civilization as they are leaders, artisans, teachers, doctors, academics, uphold the martial traditions as warriors and creators. There's that one (I think) official lore quote regarding relations between the sexes that sticks with me that I'll poorly paraphrase: "[our loins may often be far apart but that don't mean we don't feel love...]". Again, poorly paraphrased 😅

But, it got me thinking, what if this led to the Viera deeply feeling passion, but the societal expectation is that they must not show it, similar to Vulcans in Star Trek? I love the idea that this caused the Viera to develop an extremely beautiful tradition of deeply passionate, romantic poetry that is meant to express the passion they cannot show due to the distance between lovers.

As there is a literacy gap between men and women in Vieran society, with men topping off at roughly 8th grade education before becoming Wood-warders and women receiving much more education because they are the leaders, the vast majority of the celebrated poets of this tradition are women. I like to think that the origins of these poems were essentially love letters given to Wood-warders during their periodic visits to the villages that were meant to serve to both court them and give them something to read during the oft-long periods of isolation.

Common themes are "longing", "distance", "frustration", "desire", "hope" even eroticism.

Loksen is low-key fan of this poetry and keeps a small battered paperback collection on him at all times.

[koijikido]

Getting Veena and Skatay Range lore from Botanist quests in Tuliyollal is the most precious, my heart is so happy!!!! 😭💙💙💙

Translation: To the untrained eye, one stone may look like another, but my people are able to distinguish magical stones from ordinary ones, even if there is no visual difference. We regard them as soul fragments of our ancestors who have returned to the mountains, and we always carry them with us as talismans.

The Skatay Mountains are almost always frozen cold, which makes life in the area difficult. But our ancestors taught us how to hunt when prey is scarce and what to gather when the frost only allows the hardiest plants to flourish.

Unfortunately, the Garleans had set their sights on the region, and although Kuguma (his village) was not directly attacked, it was frightening to see how the surrounding villages were gradually swallowed up by the Garlean Empire.

.....

His Family Name is Gahjewesfv, it means “cloud”. .... HE HAS THE SAME FAMILY NAME AS KOIJI OMG!!!!!!! 😭😭😭💙💙💙💙

[balladingbard]

I think one of the biggest lore tidbits for Endwalker can actually be found in Shadowbringers, where you and the Scions go to Anyder and see the old recording of Venat and her followers.

I admit one of the questions I asked myself after going through the Elpis arc was “Why didn’t Venat try to warn people more? Why didn’t she try to make the Convocation listen despite Fandaniel being there?”

As we see in Shadowbringers, her group did try to warn the Convocation…but no one listened.

Looking at the chronology of events, however, the warning came at an unfortunate time. The Convocation was missing two of the members who probably would’ve listened - Azem, the problem-solver, who had stepped down…and Elidibus, the impartial judge, who was now a primal.

Venat says herself that the Convocation was more focused on a short-term fix rather than a long-term solution.

It certainly paints an interesting picture of what life was like at the end of the Ancient’s civilization. Was Venat in the right for doing what she did? I’m sure you’ll get a different answer depending on who you talk to. But one thing is clear, the Convocation wasn’t the same without Azem and pre-primal Elidibus, both who would’ve been willing to listen despite it going against the norm. In the end, the entire Star suffered for it.

[dearestcherry]

saint endalim's scholasticate questline

my transcript of the scholasticate quests is finally done! i started organising it years ago for myself, this account has really motivated me to finish old projects. when i first started, the online records that i could find for the quests were lacking, and i really wanted them to be more accessible. some reference material exists now, but i still want to share my script. i hope it may be of use to somebody.

aside from the story, i recorded optional dialogue, added references to the scholasticate in different quests, and other information such as alternate emote responses by some characters. essentially, it's a project made out of love for the scholasticate quests and its characters.

here is the link!

i truly believe the scholasticate questline carries a wonderful amount of lore, discussion on ishgardian faith post-heavensward, noble-commoner relationships, and interesting, fluid character dynamics.

this is the first time i've posted something like this, so if there's any errors, please let me know! similarly, i'm open to feedback on improving it.

[sayakiyohara]

I was very impressed by the level of research and fidelity of representation of Indian culture in Thavnair/Radz-at-Han. The developers and localizers exceeded my expectations. Here is a guide to the Indian cultural references present in Thavnair.

[honoura]

Shaaloani: The Land of Enchantment Part Two

Hello again! First of all thank you so much for your responses to these posts -- I've really enjoyed reading your reblogs. I'm glad folks are enjoying this!

As I mentioned in the first post -- here is the second half! It's covers the plants and animals I thought worth special distinction. By that I mean animals that communicate how much research was done regarding this zone. So no rroneek, no uxtena. It's pretty clear they are both meant to be buffalo and rattlesnakes.

And if you're somebody who hadn't caught that, um... surprise! That's what they're based on.

If you're somehow getting this post without reading or seeing Part One first, here is a link to Part One. I'd recommend giving it a read first.

With that taken care of, let's pick up where we left off before!

Shaaloani Flora

Aside from the cacti, there are a lot of plants I recognize as native to the regions discussed in Part One! First is this scrubby, short and wide tree. It took a few screenshots and a lot of scrutiny. I was torn for a bit thinking it was a creosote bush, but upon zooming in close I'm of the mind it's a redberry juniper tree instead!

The leaves are long and thing, and the shape gives to mind of juniper needles more. Juniper 'leaves' kind of scale over each other and between texture resolution and my horrible eye sight I can't tell if this does the same. Still! There's a photo below my two screenshots for further emphasis:

These are also the trees turned red near the ceruleum fields -- junipers tend to do that when they are dying. They are also incredibly hardy so typically when you've managed to kill one it's likely not good.

I will say when I was out here I noticed the botanist gathering log has mesquite beans on it -- and you harvest them from these trees! Which is too silly for me; so here's a link to the the wiki about honey mesquite, and a photo of the beans on a tree.

It's probably a reach to try and ID this grass in the Yawtanane Grasslands, but given that it caught my eye I felt inclined to make a pitch. For context child me thought a fun and engaging after school club project was to learn how to identify grass and other plants native to Texas. So when I looked at it I wanted to take a guess based on other regional clues:

To me I think it could be cane bluestem, a grass that's drought tolerant and popular for grazing animals. And its seeds are dispersed from these little fluffy heads like this.

I will say as a caveat that a lot of grass in this area can be dispersed by wind. So it might not be cane bluestem -- hell it's a stretch to even try this. But I like to think they also considered the grass.

The bush above I also hmmed and hrmmed about for a bit before positing if it was meant to be black persimmon. It's commonly called Texas persimmon or Mexican persimmon -- and it's found in Coahuila, Tamaulipas and Neuvo León. They generally just look like big shrubs instead of trees.

I mentioned this in part one, but I'll go ahead and reiterate here a few things:

One is I think Lake Taori's about the only place that reads as specifically Texas

Two is it's not a bayou. That's an East Texas ecosystem and way too wet for Shaaloani

Three is there are cypress trees west of San Antonio growing along the Frio river, and doing quite well! Garner State Park has quite a few of them

I stand by this because these trees are show to be reproducing by making 'knees' -- offshoots from their root system. Think of it like Pando.

I also feel cypress is correct; the trunks are wider at the base than higher up, and the leaves are the right shape. I also appreciate there's Spanish moss hanging from them, which is also pretty common.

The last plant I want to cover is this flowering bush -- I'm going to admit this one was a struggle because I don't know of a lot of bushes with large white flowers like this. I've seen flowers of this shape, but most tend to be ground cover plants that grow very low to the soil.

What I think it might be, which would feel appropriate, is a take on the datura. They can get a bit higher off the ground than most wildflowers. And they were used by several native tribes for cultural practices.

The flowers are bigger in real life than depicted here -- so this is a reach! If someone has a better suggestion I'm open to it.

Shaaloani Fauna

When Fate farming out here, I've seen several players comment like 'huh, there sure are a lot of dinosaurs on this map'. And you're right! Because a lot of this region is home to some incredibly rich fossil formations.

Big Bend National Park contains part of the Javelina Formation -- home to large creatures such as the Quetzalcoatlus, a pterosaur that boasted a 39 foot wingspan. You can read about fossils found in Big Bend here. The Javelina Formation has its own wiki article that details some of the specimens found within it, including the Bravoceratops and the Torosaurus. The Ojo Alamo Formation in New Mexico is home to the Ojoceratops. Just south of these is the Aguja Formation in the Mexican states of Coahuila and Chihuahua. These formations are home to fossils of all three types of scalekin above -- as well as alligators, who are also on this map!

Other Formations in the Southwest home to great fossil finds are:

Kayenta Formation (Colorado & Utah)

Tepetate Formation (Mexico)

Black Peaks Formation (Texas)

There's even a fun sightseeing lore blurb which acknowledges this!

I think this is a fun addition to the zone that strengthens the real world inspiration sources and have fun with world building -- a lot of the formations near the Permian Basin were along the shore or under the waves of the Permian Sea!

And that's all I have! Thank you all for indulging me, and by all means take any and all of this to do with what you will in roleplay. Have fun with it!

[capriccio-ffxiv]

... Suddenly thinking about Viera concepts of gender again, in the most traditional hidden elf village Viera communities

Women build communities and villages. Men are nomadic wanderers who seldom stay in place for more than a fortnight. Both are hunter-gatherer types, though curiously it's probably the men who do... I forget the term for it, but it's a kind of agriculture done by nomads, where they cultivate areas based on seasons / flooding, and move between them (See: stuff that the Xaela do). The women I think are more likely to set up shop in resource rich forests where they can get everything they need without resorting to agriculture, which gives them more time for making buildings & stuff.

So.

A woman who wanders, would she be considered butch? If she leaves the village for weeks, months at a time?

Is a man who settles down somewhere to become a shopkeep, or really anything sedentary, is he femme? ... Oh my gosh Anden would come off as *so girly*. "That guy lived in the same house for YEARS!"

Deep forest Viera who automatically refer to a Warrior of Light in masculine terms no matter how feminine the WoL is in their own culture, because they're a wanderer & that's a Man Thing.

[fheythfully]

I assume this has already been mentioned somewhere (it's from the Viper quest) but if not, here's a tiny little breadcrumb of Ala Mhigan lore... I'll take what I can get at this point...