Terncliff & Raen Au Ra

Terncliff has some serious lore drops on the raen. Hopefully in time we will see this area of Ilsabard, because in my humblest opinion it is long overdue. We Xaela got an entire zone dedicated to us and Raen had to share it with turtles and a bunch of pirates. More zones that have strong raen influence would be a welcome addition. It makes me wonder how much of Ilsabard is Raen dominated.

I think some hints to it hide in the Ivalice raid series. One of the bosses resembles a raen combined with a horse, so perhaps Raen are quite frequent throughout parts of Othard and Ilsabard.

From what little we know, hyur are native to the area around Terncliff and au ra are semi-recent immigrants. No word yet on how recent, but the au ra from Werlyt all have European-esque sounding names rather than those from the far east.

I don't think there's any specific reason to think they're recent immigrants just because the Raen we're aware of are from the Far East. If we can have "Midlanders" and "Hellsguard" over there than it's no less remarkable to have "Raen" that are native to somewhere else (and may not consider themselves Raen).

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Originally Posted by Iscah

I don't think there's any specific reason to think they're recent immigrants just because the Raen we're aware of are from the Far East. If we can have "Midlanders" and "Hellsguard" over there than it's no less remarkable to have "Raen" that are native to somewhere else (and may not consider themselves Raen).

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According to an NPC in Terncliff:

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Most of the townsfolk are either Hyuran natives or Au Ra who found their way here over the years.

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It's implied that there are also Xaela tribes in the region since Sidurgu's fled to Eorzea to escape imperial oppression and it seems fairly probable that Alaqa's is also from there considering how they were being treated according to her.

Hopefully they touch on that in the future DRK/WHM quests.

I'm digging this up !
From what we know, Raen originated in the Azim's steppes as well, contrarily to the Xaela, they just left. Anywhere they might have went to they were first received with hatred by the other races in the early years. Eventually they were welcomed well by some Yanxia warlords who recognized their value as warriors and some other were hired as retainers. They gained their citizenships quite everywhere bit by bit I'd say. In the meanwhile, a group ultimately settled in the Ruby Sea foundind the now-well-known Sui-no-Sato town decreting they shouldn't involve with other races and the world's affairs, aside commercial exchanges that transit via Tamamizu.

So, in the end most Raen live in Doma and its surroudings, one group settled in the Ruby Sea, however it's not so farfetched to think other groups of Raen crossed the sea to establish around Kugane (Though I can't remember of any NPC being a Raen in Kugan for example but lore-wise/rp-wise it wouldn't be that wrong to think that) or other groups that fled towards Nagxia and Ilsabard regions, especially on the Werlyt coast and some fewer Raens going deeper into Ilsabard and rejoining the surroundings of Ghimlyt dark near Eorzea. Plus, as seen in the Werlyt storyline quests, some Raen enrolled into the Garlean army, either willingly or by force.

EDIT : Indeed there's some Raen NPC in Kugane, some giving side quests such as the timid girl up the market alley

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Originally Posted by Astralia

I'm digging this up !
From what we know, Raen originated in the Azim's steppes as well, contrarily to the Xaela, they just left. Anywhere they might have went to they were first received with hatred by the other races in the early years. Eventually they were welcomed well by some Yanxia warlords who recognized their value as warriors and some other were hired as retainers. They gained their citizenships quite everywhere bit by bit I'd say. In the meanwhile, a group ultimately settled in the Ruby Sea foundind the now-well-known Sui-no-Sato town decreting they shouldn't involve with other races and the world's affairs, aside commercial exchanges that transit via Tamamizu.

So, in the end most Raen live in Doma and its surroudings, one group settled in the Ruby Sea, however it's not so farfetched to think other groups of Raen crossed the sea to establish around Kugane (Though I can't remember of any NPC being a Raen in Kugan for example but lore-wise/rp-wise it wouldn't be that wrong to think that) or other groups that fled towards Nagxia and Ilsabard regions, especially on the Werlyt coast and some fewer Raens going deeper into Ilsabard and rejoining the surroundings of Ghimlyt dark near Eorzea. Plus, as seen in the Werly storyline quests, some Raen enrolled into the Garlean army, either willingly or by force.

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There are more than a few raen in Kugane and Hingashi as a whole and the local lord of Kugane himself is a raen au ra. I thought I remember a source mentioning that raen are also found in Nagxia. Everywhere else outside Othard, au ra are not considered a part of the "native" population from what we can tell. We haven't seen any Dalmascan au ra and according to the NPC in Terncliff, the local hyur are native to southern Ilsabard and the raen have semi-recently been showing up.

One thing that I've noticed is that raen don't have a culture of their own and they just adopt the local culture's customs and even names. All of the Doman and Hingan raen use Japanese names and are fully integrated into the hyur's culture. In Ilsabard, they all have European names and also seem to be fully integrated in their culture.

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Originally Posted by DamianFatale

I think some hints to it hide in the Ivalice raid series. One of the bosses resembles a raen combined with a horse, so perhaps Raen are quite frequent throughout parts of Othard and Ilsabard.

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That would probably be Hashmal, and like most if not all the bosses in the Ivalice raids, they are actually either taken outright from, or at least inspired by, enemies in FFXII and FF Tactics, the former of which is the case for Hashmal, so any raen au ra connection would be a retcon at best, or at the very least coincidental and not representative of anything deeper I'm sorry to say.

Hence I wouldn't read into it that much, given the whole Ivalice raid series (and even Bozja too for that matter) are just fanservice to the Ivalice games like FFXII (hell, Hashmal looks more like a hrothgar in FFT than au ra, being very leonine).

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Originally Posted by MikkoAkure

There are more than a few raen in Kugane and Hingashi as a whole and the local lord of Kugane himself is a raen au ra. I thought I remember a source mentioning that raen are also found in Nagxia. Everywhere else outside Othard, au ra are not considered a part of the "native" population from what we can tell. We haven't seen any Dalmascan au ra and according to the NPC in Terncliff, the local hyur are native to southern Ilsabard and the raen have semi-recently been showing up.

One thing that I've noticed is that raen don't have a culture of their own and they just adopt the local culture's customs and even names. All of the Doman and Hingan raen use Japanese names and are fully integrated into the hyur's culture. In Ilsabard, they all have European names and also seem to be fully integrated in their culture.

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You were right, I've just verified this !
But yes, Raen seem to spread quite everywhere unlike Xaelas, that's what I like also about Raen, the fact that they adopt and fully integrate into the culture where they settle, though they may have been showing up to souther Ilsabard semi-recently (as a group the way I understand it) I still think that few of them, perhaps 2 or 3 of them here and there have already settled throughout Ilsabard. But it's true that until the opening of Ishgard to strangers at least, or even till the end of SB, no Raen have been spotted in Eorzea, let alone Yugiri who was hiding her face, and maybe Sid... I mean to be fully consistent with the game and if some want to rp with this (as I'm rping a Raen :D )

The general reclusiveness of the Xaela inversely makes it a bit odd when they decide to venture away from the steppe.

In the case of Adkiragh, he just really wanted to escape from his responsibilities and the tribal drama, though there's also a lone Xaela smithy in Kugane, as well as a number amid the ranks of the Joi mercenaries who invaded Kugane Castle.

I'm a little curious as to how many of both clans we'll see in Old Sharlayan since we know that Mikoto and family as well as Mide and her associates were from there.

I feel like the Raen have likely been in Terncliff awhile. The Age of Blood, in particular, seems like a good catalyst for a Raen exodus into other parts of Hydaelyn. I use that as the time when my character's ancestors migrated to Ilsabard at least. Through the years they eventually integrate into the culture there which is also why my name doesn't follow typical Raen naming conventions.

I'd like some more concrete info in Lorebook 3 if it happens, but there's enough to work with just having a Raen hub outside of Sui-no-sato to make a decent background.

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Originally Posted by Daemius

I feel like the Raen have likely been in Terncliff awhile. The Age of Blood, in particular, seems like a good catalyst for a Raen exodus into other parts of Hydaelyn. I use that as the time when my character's ancestors migrated to Ilsabard at least. Through the years they eventually integrate into the culture there which is also why my name doesn't follow typical Raen naming conventions.

I'd like some more concrete info in Lorebook 3 if it happens, but there's enough to work with just having a Raen hub outside of Sui-no-sato to make a decent background.

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I think we'll definitely have a lorebook 3.

Concerning Raen yeah, it's not even weird to think they spread quite everywhere except Eorzea since their exodus from the steppes though you can as well imagine other events like abductions for forced enlisting in the Garlemald's Army as well.
Though in the case of Sui-no-Sato, as for Yugiri and other npc mentioned here and there I think, you're forbidden to go back to Sui if you leave !

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Originally Posted by Astralia

I think we'll definitely have a lorebook 3.

Concerning Raen yeah, it's not even weird to think they spread quite everywhere except Eorzea since their exodus from the steppes though you can as well imagine other events like abductions for forced enlisting in the Garlemald's Army as well.
Though in the case of Sui-no-Sato, as for Yugiri and other npc mentioned here and there I think, you're forbidden to go back to Sui if you leave !

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I think why the au ra were generally stuck in Eastern Othard is due to the fact they're penned in from the Burn, Dalmasca's deserts, and the Golmore Jungle. It's quite a hefty barrier to normal migration. Any au ra outside of that seems to be part of the big push of refugees caused by the more recent fighting that is literally everywhere now. But all we really have to go on is Sidurgu's story and a small mention from an NPC that au ra have been showing up "over the years" whatever that is supposed to mean. I feel like it was left vague on purpose for them to fill in blanks later.

But not every race spreads out like the hyur do either. The hyur are an outlier and shouldn't be representative of other races. The hyur are found on every single continent in the game, not just the 3 great continents. The other races are much more limited in how far they've migrated.

As far as Sui no Sato goes, I've seen a lot of people get the misconception that all raen are from Sui no Sato, but 99.99% of raen don't even know it exists and they're a completely separate clan that went a different way than the others. The rest of the raen also aren't a peaceful people.

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Originally Posted by MikkoAkure

I think why the au ra were generally stuck in Eastern Othard is due to the fact they're penned in from the Burn, Dalmasca's deserts, and the Golmore Jungle. It's quite a hefty barrier to normal migration. Any au ra outside of that seems to be part of the big push of refugees caused by the more recent fighting that is literally everywhere now. But all we really have to go on is Sidurgu's story and a small mention from an NPC that au ra have been showing up "over the years" whatever that is supposed to mean. I feel like it was left vague on purpose for them to fill in blanks later.

But not every race spreads out like the hyur do either. The hyur are an outlier and shouldn't be representative of other races. The hyur are found on every single continent in the game, not just the 3 great continents. The other races are much more limited in how far they've migrated.

As far as Sui no Sato goes, I've seen a lot of people get the misconception that all raen are from Sui no Sato, but 99.99% of raen don't even know it exists and they're a completely separate clan that went a different way than the others. The rest of the raen also aren't a peaceful people.

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Except what's told in Azim's steppe for Xaelas, I don't know much about them. I don't even remember any dialogue/npc mentionning ao'ras ever got penned in the Burn. The Burn is basically a desert where there's only traces of past battles and some allagan artefacts. I don't doubt either some Raen have fled to Dalmasca and Golmore Jungle as well, though we can only suppose most ff xii places will exist in ff xiv too.

Concerning the hyurs being not representative of other races, sure, but even if they are outlier, they are the most common people in Eorzea at least so they should at least represent a great part of other populations as well whether it is in Othard or Ilsabard, as far as other races goes as well Raen are known to have spread as much through the Far East to north and south west of Ilsabard. But it's true that other races than Hyurs and Raen are much more limited in how far they've migrated as groups. Some exceptions goes for Hrothgars and Vieras. Going back to Raen, they've spread greatly in the Far East as groups and to south-east of Ilsabard, other than that, it's force enrollement in Garlemald's army and Au'ras sent to diverse places here and there. However, they're surely less in number than Hyurs, there's at least 50 tribes known in Azim's steppes, we don't know how many Raens there are but we can only suppose they were initially as numbered as the Xaela in Azim steppes according to the legends.

Regardin Sui-no-Sato, it's only a small fraction of Raen people, not even 10% of Raens live in the submarine town, it would be like the equivalent of 1 or 2 tribes of Xaelas in Sui.

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Originally Posted by Astralia

I think we'll definitely have a lorebook 3.

Concerning Raen yeah, it's not even weird to think they spread quite everywhere except Eorzea since their exodus from the steppes though you can as well imagine other events like abductions for forced enlisting in the Garlemald's Army as well.
Though in the case of Sui-no-Sato, as for Yugiri and other npc mentioned here and there I think, you're forbidden to go back to Sui if you leave !

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Coincidentally, I wrote into my backstory that my character was a Garlean conscript; the empire is a convenient vehicle for backstory crafting if you don't feel like your character was born in Eorzea.

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Originally Posted by Daemius

Coincidentally, I wrote into my backstory that my character was a Garlean conscript; the empire is a convenient vehicle for backstory crafting if you don't feel like your character was born in Eorzea.

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True ! It offers a lot of possibilities to be a Garlean conscript for a backstory and it gives you quite lots of liberties as well since we won't explore all of Ilsabard as well