The Houses of Ishgard

Lore wise, are all the members of the big 4 houses, and everyone in general in Ishgard Elezen? It seems to be in game. I would love an official word on this from a dev, but anyone who knows is welcome to answer.

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Originally Posted by ErikMynhier

Lore wise, are all the members of the big 4 houses, and everyone in general in Ishgard Elezen? It seems to be in game. I would love an official word on this from a dev, but anyone who knows is welcome to answer.

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It's not a guarantee, but Ishgard was originally all Elezen just as Ul'dah was once all Lalafell. Being that it's closed off, it might not have diversified once the Astral Era really got rolling.

They seem so paranoid about outsiders being heretics and spies, I doubt they've integrated much over the years.

We do see a decent number of Midland Hyurs in Coerthas, who seem to all be workers and soldiers. It's extremely unlikely that any non-Elezen would be able to marry or be adopted into a noble house. It must have taken a ton of time and effort for those Hyurs to make it even as far as they have, considering their history with the Elezen and Ishgard's history with...being Ishgard.

Maybe they aren't even allowed to enter the city proper--I don't know, haven't spoken to very many NPCs.

Actually... Did anyone notice any hint of racism towards Hyurs (or others) from a Ishgardian Elezen? I haven't.

I haven't either, but I did notice that Hyur do seem to be more servile positions in Dragonhead and Whitebrim than anywhere else. I think there could be a lot of merit in what Junah observed - especially since their numbers aren't exactly stellar due to the creeping death.

They're not racist, but bigoted against any that don't share their religious beliefs. Their hostility to outsiders isn't racially based, that I can tell.

However, Elezen in particular are known for being prejudiced against non-Elezen, especially Hyurs. With the exception of the Wildwoods who founded Gridania, at least. It's diminished over the years, but you can still see it flaring up on occasion. Mostly in covert "you couldn't possibly understand our traditions!" form.

With Ishgard being so closed-off and bound by tradition, it wouldn't be surprising if they held onto their prejudice against other races much more than the Elezen outside of Ishgard do. Especially since the only Ishgardians we see are Elezen (of all stations) and Hyur (never noble, as far as I've seen).

Unless someone has seen NPCs of other races that I've missed, anyway.

while we are here, why is Ishgard so involved with the dragon affair?

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Originally Posted by Shuon

while we are here, why is Ishgard so involved with the dragon affair?

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If there's more evidence than this, I haven't found it yet; but, as far as I can tell, it's just that Ishgard is on the front line between Dravania and the rest of Eorzea. You spend a few hundred years in that position and I'm sure it just becomes part of your identity. Why the Dravanians are so angry, though, that's up for grabs. Could be the whole "enslaved by the Allag" thing, but that was a long time ago, but then again, dragon kings don't wake up all that often, if Niddhog serves as an example. Maybe the Ascians'll end up having their hand in this, as well.