Au Ra physiology and other lore.

[Belhi]

I don't think the Shiva story was a red herring. I think people were just reading far too much into it.

Even before this new lore, the lore currently in game made the Au Ra having any relation to Shiva rather unlikely. Shiva would likely have lived around a thousand years prior to the current time if that. Even if we ignore the mention of an Au Ri warrior with the Odin thing, which means they would have at least dated back to the Allag time, a thousand years isn't much time for a couple of kids of Shiva's to spawn an entire race of half dragons particularly without inbreeding or dilution of the bloodline.

[Kedrah]

I imagine the Shiva story was mostly to make it apparent to the player that a Primal can be born of prayer/hard belief and take a vessel.
I think the dragon lover thing was more so to just color her as a heretic to Ishgard and probably add some information to the Dragonsong War backstory (presenting to the player the idea that the dragons may not entirely be wrong).

Shiva really has nothing to do with Au Ra at all, I'm glad it's confirmed now.
I'd always just thought it would've been better if the Au Ra evolved on their own from some distant common ancestor they share with the dragons.

[lololink]

I wonder if the Dusk mother and the Dawn Father isn't a reference to the vietnamian legend of the viet being born from the union of the dragon from the sea ( so from the east, and the dawn ) and the fairy of the mountain ( from the west, and so the dusk ).


Again, dragons everywhere !

[Vejjiegirl]

Repost: From Here

Here is a little something I put together to help me compare Skincolor, horncolor, and hornstyles based on the Au Ra screenshots we have been given so far:



From taking a look at those I noticed The Male Au Ra'Raen with Brown Horns and Brown skintones. I doubt Skincolor will be effected by gender so it might be possible to make a female Au Ra with brown horns and with a more tanned skintone even though the lore says they have white scales (It might just mean the scales are more saturated or light rather than pure white).

As far as horn style goes, it seems the Ogre Horns might be male only while the Bat Wing style might be female only
although there is a male Au Ra'Xaela with an almost Bat wing or Crescent moon hornstyle. Lets hope hornshape isn't effected by gender.


Also remember back to some of Yoshi-P's interviews about the Au Ra, especially these two:

How diverse are the creation possibilities for Au Ra?
Y: By combining different colors and horn styles as well as different eye types, you can create a female character that can resemble anywhere from a beautiful woman to a succubus.

It sounds like there's more of a range available than there is for other races - was that your plan?
Y: I told the art team to add more personality to the facial patterns on the Au Ra for both genders. For the original races, the patterns are pretty similar with small changes between them, but the Au Ra change that up.

http://www.bluegartr.com/threads/125...29-Translation

I wonder if the Dusk mother and the Dawn Father isn't a reference to the vietnamian legend of the viet being born from the union of the dragon from the sea ( so from the east, and the dawn ) and the fairy of the mountain ( from the west, and so the dusk ).


Again, dragons everywhere !

Nice Catch!

From : reedomforvietnam.wordpress.com

Dragons and Fairies: The Legend of the Hundred Việts

The following is a myth that chronicles the origin of the Vietnamese people. It has been passed down from generations to generations, long preceding even the thousand years of Chinese occupation. It is a cornerstone of Vietnamese culture, a foundation that has safeguarded the identity of the Vietnamese for many thousands of years.

This is a mythical tale, filled with magic and wonder, and should not be taken literally. It is meant to paint a picture in your mind, giving you something to think about. After this reading, you will understand why the Vietnamese people refer to themselves as the seeds of Dragons and the descendants of Fairies. It’s also kind of a love story, if you’re into that sorta thing?

The Legend of Lạc Long Quân

Legend speaks of a man named Kinh Dương Vương (aka King Kinh Dương), a mythical figure that descended from a long line of dragons. Long Nu, a female descendent of another dragon clan, was married to Kinh Dương Vương and gave birth to a boy named Lạc Long Quân. As an immortal with the dragon lineage, Lạc Long Quân would be known as the Dragon Prince in Vietnamese history. As Lạc Long Quân matures, he meets a beautiful woman by the name of Âu Cơ, and falls deeply in love with her.

The story of their first meeting happens when the Dragon Prince notices a demonic bird chasing after a defenseless white crane. Lạc Long Quân rushes to the crane’s defense, smashing the demon bird with a rock. The demonic bird was so furious that it morphed itself into a tiger and bitterly tried to maul the Dragon Prince. As a result, the Prince found himself tangled in a violent struggle against an adversary he did not know.

Lạc Long Quân prevails in the end, killing the demon and succeeding in his protection of the vulnerable white crane. As the Dragon Prince would find out, things are not always as they seem. The white crane was actually the beautiful Âu Cơ in disguise, trying to get away from the predatory abomination that was pursuing her. Lạc Long Quân was pleasantly surprised to find this out and the two quickly become close.

Âu Cơ was an angelic beauty, a descendent of the fairies, and an immortal like Lạc Long Quân himself. Together, the two would form a family, becoming the parents of one hundred sons. With his wife Âu Cơ, Lạc Long Quân would preside over the mountains and rivers of the land. Their children would carry the blood of the dragons and the charm of the fairies.

Sadly, as time went on, Âu Cơ starts to long for her home in the sky, while Lạc Long Quân begins to miss his life at sea. As a result, the two lovers would separate. Princess Âu Cơ would take fifty of the children and depart to the mountains, Lạc Long Quân in-turn would bring the other fifty sons to the coastal regions close to the seas. These children, the seeds of the dragon clans, the descendants of the fairies, will inhabit the mountains and rivers of the south, becoming the originators of the Vietnamese people.

[Nialle]

Even if in 'reality' the AuRa are not dragonkin, don't you think the first assumption of the average Ishgardian would be to assume they were and react accordingly?
I am guessing this reaction will be explained / dealt with early in the expansion, to justify having such visually-confusing people running around a nation that has old myths about evil heretics sleeping with dragons.

[Kaiser-Ace]

Even if in 'reality' the AuRa are not dragonkin, don't you think the first assumption of the average Ishgardian would be to assume they were and react accordingly?

Lol, I've already got my RP set to where I've been an Au Ra this whole time. I simply made up my "History" as a hyur and used an ancient magic ,not unlike a void sent's glamour, to make my self into a Hyur when in fact I am and always have been an Au Ra scout who's job it was to survey Eorzea on behalf of my race. Now that Garlemauld is on the move again we are prepairing to use the Dragonsong War to make our existence and allegiance known.

By my RP's story the Dragonsong War will fix the problem of "The Dragon People from Oethard" by clearly combating the Dravanians on behalf of Ishgaurd (As the PC Au Ra will be doing any way. lol). And why wouldn't Yugiri recognize my glamor? Well the Ishgaurdians, Primals, and and Ascians didn't so why would she since she's never met me.

[Lusavari]

Repost: From Here

Here is a little something I put together to help me compare Skincolor, horncolor, and hornstyles based on the Au Ra screenshots we have been given so far:

Pretty sure those aren't "possibly" Vej :P. Since Xeala have the darker scales, the ones in those image must be Xaela, especially since the picture with the 2 males and 2 females was full intended to show case both tribes. Personally, I'm hoping the skin colors for Xaela aren't locked into the Keeper of the Moon/Duskwight set as I want something more like a dark middle eastern skin tone to match my Highlander female, as I'm considering swapping her over...

[LycorisSelunis]

I agree, a nice tan with black scales would have a great feel to it. The Tall, Dark, and Mysterious type.

Edit- although I am hoping to keep my colour pallete of my character the same if I racechange, a pale redhead with green eyes.

[Blueyes]

Referring back to an image on the first page, it would appear that we should get a decent range of skin tone options for (hopefully) both clans. The male Au Ra riding a griffin looks to have black scales or at least a very dark brown, but with a warm skin tone in contrast to the blueish tones most portrayed for the Xaela.

[Naraku_Diabolos]

Snip of Vietnamese culture...

I was actually going to mention this LOL. My girlfriend is Vietnamese and I had just finished reading a Nat Geo travel guide book for Vietnam (I'm going there next year to meet her family and to ask for her hand in marriage; my girlfriend lives in Japan at the moment because of school), and the Vietnamese believed that the descended from dragons. I'm trying to get my girlfriend interest in playing this game because of the Au Ra race being draconian. Plus some of the facial models look almost Asian, so she may like it.