A question of origins

So, I've noticed that throughout all of the dialogue my character is constantly being referred to as a foreigner. As if I'd never set foot on Eorzea once before mysteriously sitting in a carriage/boat heading to one of the city-states to begin my adventures.

Now, I've mostly managed to ignore it (primarily because I have yet to find a roleplay group on either Courel or Jenova), but the roleplayer/lore nut in me is continually bugged by this. If I'm not from Eorzea, at all, as is implied then where am I from? Obviously there's the Empire, but what if I don't want to be Garlean either? What other choices are out there?

Admittedly, at this point I'm liable to just make something up, but I thought I'd throw this out and see if it bugged anyone else.

It's never actually revealed where it is your character comes from, other than apparently having arrived from a foreign land, which could be anywhere really - it's left up to the player to decide exactly where your character was born and grew up.

For that matter, just because npcs call them a 'foreigner', whose to say you really are? In fact, the merchant on the carriage/ferry at the start actually asks you if you had been to your starting city already, so for all he knows your character really was born in Eorzea and has simply done a lot of travelling around Hydaelyn in the past. It's completely up to you where your character's homeland is. :)

As an example, the backstory I wrote for my character is Enki was born in Ala Mhigo but ended up fleeing the city when she was very young during the civil war that brought down it's monarchy (and the resulting Garlean annexation), which resulted in her ending up in Ul'dah where she was adopted by a wealthy merchant family and grew up there. After training as a gladiator she left Ul'dah when she came of age to become an adventurer and hopefully return to Ala Mhigo, as she was having bad homesickness.

Of course her naivety (as well as a terrible sense of direction!) ensured she never got to Ala Mhigo, having got herself hopelessly lost in the Black Shroud she instead ended up in Gridania, a city where she was located during Dalamud's fall and resulting apocalypse (she never participated in the Battle of Carteneau). And it was a city she returned to following the Calamity (which she had been severely injured and was evacuated to Ul'dah again to recover).

This is just my way of explaining my character's origins as still being 'foreign' to other Eorzeans, but making it that my character was born and raised there. I'm sure you could come up with something just as good if not better. ;)

And Lyland came from the Ciedalaes, where like any son of a sailorman, he grew up on plenty of spinach.

Okay, okay, I'm just joking. He's the son of a fisherman. But he did eat plenty of spinach.

There's a lot more than that, of course, but I'm too lazy to share the details for now. ;)

It bothered me too at how heavily it's implied all players are foreign. Yes, there's ways to create a roundabout backstory while still placing yourself in Eorzea, but they do end up being rather complicated. Myself I say I'm from Ul'dah and just kind of ignore what most the NPCs say.

If you're still looking for other options though, there are at least 4 other continents (Ilsabard to the north/east, Othard to the east, Meracydia to the south, and the 'New World' to the west). If Ilsabard and Othard being under the rule of Garlemald bothers you, keep in mind that the Empire has only existed for 56 years. Depending on your character's age, it's well possible to have lived in those places before they fell to Imperial influence. Little is known about the other two.

Lyland also mentioned the Cieldalæs, which are technically still in Eorzea, but its among a decent host of other small islands scattered around the 5 seas, a couple others being Mazlaya and the Pearl. The "world" map could help in that respect, here's an annotated version I made.

I assumed since the oeneing cutscene shows adventureres coming out of the light that we came from the void and are actually a form of summons. Caused by the prayers of the Earzea needing heroes. I We Are Aether Taken form, which is why we are so spiffy and don't die

This has always bothered me, too. Especially about being called foreigner. And, although people say "you can make up where you came from, including Eorzea" I specifically recall that, in the newer storyline patches (perhaps 2.2 or 2.3 somewhere...) it actually mentions you are not from Eorzea, at all. It would take me time to locate that text, but I remember it being quite confronting when I read it. I would like to know where the boat/chocobo carriage from 1.0 and 2.0 picked me up from.

Being a Miqo'te, I am not even certain as to which continent is the homeland - I am assuming the "south" or possibly the "west" (the southern lands were home to Mithra in FFXI, and in XIV the 'west' seems to be recently discovered, so south would make more sense...). I personally would like to know more about my own character. :)

Acording to my RP I came from a Moutain Village on the Southern Border of Xelphatol. My Character's father was a Decendent of Sil'dih and his mother was the last of The Amdaporian people. Then on the way to Silver Tear falls Nael van Darnus and the VIIth Imperial Legion Burned the village to the Ground and Darnus him self killed my father. And I wound un in Ul'dah because a Garlen Trator saved me. So I think as far as RP goes you can be from just about any where. As they say, It's your story, and you'll tell it how you want to. lol

My character is from the town that used to reside beside Swiftperch that now lies in ruins (the place with buccaneers and dodo nests). She's not Lominsan, even though she lives in La Noscea, so in a way she's "an outsider", because she's not of the cityfolk. ^^

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Originally Posted by Myranda

Lyland also mentioned the Cieldalæs, which are technically still in Eorzea, but its among a decent host of other small islands.

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I often wonder myself about the full extent of "Eorzea". We know that it's part of the continent of Aldenard, but in contemporary usage, it seems to refer only to the realm formed by the six "modern" city-states of Ala Mhigo, Gridania, Ishgard, Ul'dah, Limsa Lominsa and Sharlayan.

Meaning to say, the northern parts of the continent, like Xelphatol and the Farreach, don't seem to be part of the realm, and islands like the Ciedalaes and Mazlaya also don't seem to be part of Eorzea. I reckon though that these regions are, at the very least, culturally influenced by the city-states, if not under their direct political control. I reckon, for example, that the Ciedalaes, are under the thalassocracy's protection, as implied by the Maelstrom's organisational chart: the Sixth Squadron is named after the Ciedalaes.

To a certain extent, the question of which countries belong in Eorzea mirrors our own real-world queries over who belongs in "Europe". Is Turkey, for example, part of Europe or Asia? Or both?

It would be a strange twist if player characters turned out to be primals, but because we're powered by hydaelin (who is one giant crystal). We don't need outside crystals to sustain us. Wouldn't really make much sense, with Minfilia having the echo as well, but would be interesting.

Coming from a "foreign land" is a fairly common trope that serves a very specific purpose. The player knows nothing about these lands, it's culture, or it's people. If the character knows nothing about them either (because they're foreign) then it's easy to just have people explain all this to your character and have it make sense. If you're from Eorzea, then it would be harder to justify all these NPCs telling you all this very basic information that any Eorzean would know.

I was under the assumption that we were brought into Hydaelyn from an unknown world and were not a part of this world at all so what I did was continued the story of my Elder Scrolls character I created back in Morrowind, since he was infected with Corpus but had the negative side effects removed he is effectively immortal (if anyone has played that game you'll know what I'm talking about). So basically he was summoned from Tamriel by Hydaelyn to Eorzea and this is just a continuation of that character's story.

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Originally Posted by Urielparadox

I assumed since the oeneing cutscene shows adventureres coming out of the light that we came from the void and are actually a form of summons. Caused by the prayers of the Earzea needing heroes. I We Are Aether Taken form, which is why we are so spiffy and don't die

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This is my headcanon, as well. I don't think my character existed before the opening cutscene. When she wakes up on that boat (Limsa FTW), that's her first real moment in the world.

Now, *Regana* (my character) doesn't know this. She thinks she has a history and a family and a place she was born, etc. Specifically, her mom was a Highlander from Ala Mhigo and her father was a Midlander from Ul'dah. Her mother was visiting Ul'dah when the civil war in Ala Mhigo broke out. Then the Garleans occupied and she was left without a home to return to. She met her kind and bookish husband during this time and made a home in Ul'dah, instead. Reg was born shortly after.

Regana remembers how her mother is missing in action after she decided she couldn't bear the plight of her former home without doing something and lent her skills to the Ala Mhigan resistance. And Reg remembers how, as the days turned to months, turned to years, and her mother was still gone, that her father did his best; but they both knew in their bones she was gone for good and he eventually died of illness and heartbreak.

Shortly after, with no other family and no real connections to speak of in the city, Regana left for Limsa Lominsa to get a fresh start in life as an adventurer.

She remembers it all in great detail. It informs her actions and gives her motivation. But, ultimately, none of that actually happened. Not that it will matter, cus I doubt she'll ever realize it.

(And she takes the "foreigner" comments in stride cus they're almost always from people who don't even know her in the first place. And technically she was a foreigner when she started in Limsa, so...)

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Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

I often wonder myself about the full extent of "Eorzea". We know that it's part of the continent of Aldenard, but in contemporary usage, it seems to refer only to the realm formed by the six "modern" city-states of Ala Mhigo, Gridania, Ishgard, Ul'dah, Limsa Lominsa and Sharlayan.

Meaning to say, the northern parts of the continent, like Xelphatol and the Farreach, don't seem to be part of the realm, and islands like the Ciedalaes and Mazlaya also don't seem to be part of Eorzea. I reckon though that these regions are, at the very least, culturally influenced by the city-states, if not under their direct political control. I reckon, for example, that the Ciedalaes, are under the thalassocracy's protection, as implied by the Maelstrom's organisational chart: the Sixth Squadron is named after the Ciedalaes.

To a certain extent, the question of which countries belong in Eorzea mirrors our own real-world queries over who belongs in "Europe". Is Turkey, for example, part of Europe or Asia? Or both?

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Generally speaking, it's considered to be all of Aldenard, but inclusive to the surrounding islands so that Vylbrand is also part of it. I'd say that includes Xelphatol and Farreach, there's just not major presence by the 5 races there (as far as we know? Xelphatol is made of canyons and home to the Ixal, not sure we have any information on Farreach). The Cieldalæs are absolutely under the Lominsan banner, as Skirmish was held there in 1.0: Hullbreaker Isle is also on the outskirts of the chain.

Wow... okay I didn't get a chance to check back on this after my initial post yesterday, so my sincere thanks to you guys for all the great ideas! :D

Lethorian, I gotta say I really like your idea of us being summoned from another world entirely. That fits well for me as my most recent character is Tails of Vesperia themed, so I can have some fun coming up with her origin story using that. :D

I've already got a fairly convoluted concept for Riko, so I'll leave that more or less as is.

I also think the ideas of us being summons or created specifically by the Mother Crystal are interesting and worth considering as well. At least if I make a Doman (which is extremely likely once the race is revealed) I have being a refugee to fall on. It just would be nice to have an official Lore answer to this. I've posed the question in the Lore Panel thread, so we'll see what happens there.

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Originally Posted by Kyan

I specifically recall that, in the newer storyline patches (perhaps 2.2 or 2.3 somewhere...) it actually mentions you are not from Eorzea, at all. It would take me time to locate that text, but I remember it being quite confronting when I read it.

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I don't remember this, if you track down that text please post it! I would love to read it.

I went with the traveller from an alternate world background myself since I figure no matter how many locations you visit in the world you will always be "new".
Either that or they are actually a fugitive who changed their identity and is just pretending they are new.... >.>

I am glad I am not from Eorzea. It's full of morons, cowards, backstabbers, and ruled by incompetents.

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Originally Posted by Urielparadox

I assumed since the oeneing cutscene shows adventureres coming out of the light that we came from the void and are actually a form of summons. Caused by the prayers of the Earzea needing heroes. I We Are Aether Taken form, which is why we are so spiffy and don't die

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I'm intrigued by this theory this needs its own thread.

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Originally Posted by Myranda

The Cieldalæs are absolutely under the Lominsan banner, as Skirmish was held there in 1.0: Hullbreaker Isle is also on the outskirts of the chain.

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Yup, I'm aware of Skirmish, and how it was "forcefully" carried out in the Ciedalaes.

But I'm not fully convinced that it shows direct political control, in the way that, say, the United Kingdom is ruled from London (a state of affairs that can be questioned in the aftermath of the Scottish referendum). To be sure, as far as political entitities are concerned, what we have in Eorzea are mostly city-states, which don't necessarily exert direct political control over their hinterland. Rather, a variety of contractual agreements seem to exist, which may or may not grant varying degrees of autonomy.

Many of the post-Calamity settlements in Vylbrand, for example, were founded by pirate crews operating under charters established between them and Admiral Merlwyb. The impression I get is that it's up to the ex-pirates to make or break it on their own, with little direct support from the Limsan state.

More importantly, it's implied that some of these settlements are mostly left to fend for themselves (in-game examples are Summerford Farms and Poor Maid's Mill), while others are more directly occupied or protected by the Maelstrom. Direct military occupation is, to me, is one of the necessary conditions of sovereign control.

Therefore, unless it's confirmed by in-game lore that Maelstrom units actually patrol and hold ground in the Ciedalaes (it's suggested that they're largely uninhabited, visited mostly only by fishermen), I believe I have leeway to imagine the islands to be more of a protectorate rather than an actual part of the Lominsan "country".

The best modern-day, real-world examples are the Pacific islands under United States protection. They may be bossed around by the Americans — simply because they happen to fall under America's sphere of influence — but that doesn't mean they are a part of the US. In fact, some like the Marshall Islands are actually sovereign states in their own right.

That's just the way I like to interpret matters, of course. It just has to work for me. I don't claim that any of it is canon. :)

Now Then my character's back-story (that I totally didn't just make up on the spot/sarcasm). Note that I'm not a legacy player but this is tied to the calamity and the Warriors of 1.0.

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The Calamity was an event that changed the landscape of Eorzea. During the event here was a battle at Cateneau, several warriors that were blessed by powers of light to illuminate the darkness. Dalamud hung over the planet like a sword hung above a throne by naught but hair. And the sword was poised to cleave.

Louisoux Levellier, an Elezen sage, stood forth with a daring but foolish plan to summon the Twelve to stop the fallen moon. But the elder Primal Bahamut emerged from the lesser moon and sought to reduce Carteneau and the combatants to ash, followed by the rest of Hydealyn.

The sage went through with his plan hoping that the 12 deities can fetter the dragon, but Bahamut proved too strong for them in thier incomplete state. The aether around the area grew in excess and became unstable. Louisoux focused his will on the power of one or the twelve and use it to save the Warriors of Light. The power he invoked was that of Althyk, surveyor of change and god of space and time.

The warriors of Light found themselves dissipating into the aether before Bahamut's ultimate attack hits them, leaving only Louisoux to face his demise.

The instability of the aether followed by the use of powers of time and space caused repercussions thought out history. the Sixth Umbral Era began with no knowledge of the missing warriors.

Elsewhere in nearby Thanalan, southeast of the Highbridge, a mysterious form of Aether appears, incomplete but still growing. in the coming years, the identities of the Warriors of Light were competently removed from history. people report feeling that they had a relative, a son or daughter, a brother or sister, a mother or father, but they could not remember for all they knew it was all in their imaginations, as if they never exist.

5 years later and the form of aether was completely materialized, it took a shape of a little Lalafell girl. Strange in appearance and without knowledge of self and surroundings. She spent the next few months learning of the desert, picking up some speech from passers-by she observed from a distance and having strange dreams of the past. Dreams that felt familiar to her despite that she didn't remember any of the events dreams that confuse her at every turn. Then one day she noticed a carriage on its way to Ul'dah...

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Legit back-story or shameless Mary Sue fanfic that spits in the face of lore and those that played Legacy? You decide

Good, i don't need peeps to know my birth city is the Garlean Empire capital city and my toon snuggling out to Eorzea in a grand scheme to subdue Eorzean through "not so militaristic" conquest campaign!

In the opening or at the very least near the beginning the mother crystal is talking to "you" but you also see a roegadyn male (?) and I think a Lalafel in that dimension too and head towards the crystal the same way we do.

I kinda like the theory that the PC is somehow "possessed" as they were sleeping; hence the memory loss

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Originally Posted by WellFooled

I don't remember this, if you track down that text please post it! I would love to read it.

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I'll certainly try! It is either Minfillia, or one of the leaders that says something along the lines of "you aren't from Eorzea, you don't know these things, yet you continue to help" kind of deal. I found it confronting because it reinforced that sentiment of being foreign from way back in the 2.0 storyline, that you kind of hear nothing of.

I also recall that references to Carteneau refer to adventurers (and specifically the Warriors of Light) as taking up the fight to defend these lands "even though they are not their own" or something to that effect. Might try looking even as early as the Lv15-ish cutscenes to find NPC text in this vein, it's definitely not just from the newer patches.

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Originally Posted by Myranda

I also recall that references to Carteneau refer to adventurers (and specifically the Warriors of Light) as taking up the fight to defend these lands "even though they are not their own" or something to that effect. Might try looking even as early as the Lv15-ish cutscenes to find NPC text in this vein, it's definitely not just from the newer patches.

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Yes, true that. I revisited a lot of cutscenes in the inn room, but it is probably dialogue text that isn't in a cutscene that I am thinking of! *madly scours xivdb quest dialogue text...*

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Originally Posted by Kaiser-Ace

Acording to my RP I came from a Moutain Village on the Southern Border of Xelphatol. My Character's father was a Decendent of Sil'dih and his mother was the last of The Amdaporian people.

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/hi5, one of my RP characters (also on Balmung) has Amdaporian lineage, but hails from an area around Sharlayan (since no official hamlet/town names exist yet for around there, I've not given an exact place, just "somewhere near there," enough for her to say "yeah I know of those Scion people".) We need more Amdapor descendants!

Another is from Dravania, though not one of the ones that would be called a Heretic, though she's been branded one. My main character (Alair) is from... somewhere in Eorzea, first was in Gridania before the Calamity, and then found herself in Limsa. She lived out in the Thanalan area before Limsa.

So, I guess, long story short, OP: it's probably wherever you want them to be from, up to and including "Hey they were born from Aether."

But even from 1.0 your character was from ouside Eorzea. Maybe they left it obtuse to allow you to create your own backstory rather than it being set in stone.

I am Gaius' illegitimate son. He just doesn't know it yet.

I just ignore most of the NPC references of being a stranger to Eorzea. I understand the need for story continuity, but from a RP standpoint I don't like being forced to be an outsider (just creates unneeded limitations). Even if my character wasn't always an adventurer, I still want him to be an Eorzean native.

I just always took it to mean my character wasn't originally from whatever city or area that part of the script refers to. Like she could either be from a different land altogether, or one of the other cities, or from the outskirts of Eorzea, or just out in the woods somewhere. That makes me feel a little bit more free to build my character's history any way I want it even though I don't really put that much thought into it tbh.

I think it's far fetched to think or have characters from a completely different universe/franchise/timeline but then thats just me.

The different world cannon of the FFXIV franchise where every single game is set in a different world was broken by this game with references to Lightning, Crystal Tower, Crystal Bearers, Warriors of light, armor and so on. So it could be a good and very logical possibility that you could be from an alternate timeline in which games like FF13 and FF3 took place aand it being completely cannon because the warriors of light were sent five years forward by a wizard so its not impossible if Hydalen pulled you from a completely diffrent timeline and gave you a new purpose.