lalafell? Roegadyn? Elezen? .....highlander?

[Zari]

Yeah, really people shouldnt act like there being those huge hyuran migrations over 1000 years means that before those there were absolutely no hyur in eorzea. There very well could have been, just not nearly as many as now.

[Cilia]

Of course they mean something; they're so large and prominent, it would be silly for them to just be there without reason (even today, just about every prominent statue has meaning, there is a reason for its construction after all. And with people...someone important)

There had to be some Hyuran mage of great power and ability during the time the city was constructed, a King or someone who made great advances in Void Magic, that they'd make these statues in his image.

All right... well, you have convinced me to take this seriously. (That and the servers are down.)

OK, so we have these statues that closely resemble Highlander hyur in the Void Ark and the Weeping City. They are a recurring piece of Mhachi architecture. We don't know anything else about them.

Historically, statues or sculptures of important people were placed in wide, open spaces so people could observe them. The Mhachi statues are put in way out-of-the-way places, not a public area for easy viewing. They are also incorporated into the architecture; again, something not often seen in statues of important figures. Said statues are also not particularly notable; I'd not have noticed them myself had other people not pointed them out. (Maybe I'm just inattentive. /shrug.) Point is... they're just there. There may be no more significance or purpose behind the statues beyond to be aesthetically pleasing.

Now, as for who they could be of? Anyone and no one. We do not know of any prominent Mhachi figures beyond Shatotto and Cait Sith's master (whose name escapes me at the moment). Could be one of them, or perhaps another prominent Mhachi citizen. Or it could just be a sculpture meant to represent, say, servants or a defeated enemy. (What better way to humiliate your opponents than having them symbolically hold up your buildings?) It doesn't have to be of a specific person, a prominent figure least of all. There are myriad possibilities, and without any real information on the statues, all are equally valid. In other words, Ancient Aliens .gif.

As for whether or not it could be a hyur? Well... Doga and Unei were evidently Hyur, and they were around over 5,000 years ago. While this does contradict the established lore on Hyur being relatively recent migrants to Eorzea, it would explain to some extent how the Mhachi statues appear to be Hyur. Besides which, 1,500 years ago is a long time to us - it may be that Hyur were relatively prominent in Mhachi society, only to be decimated by the Calamity that ended the War of the Magi.

Maybe. Possibly. Who knows. But I do not deal in maybes. We do not have enough information to make any reasonable deduction on who the statues could be of, if anyone in particular. My best advice is to not think about it too hard because there isn't enough information to get to any sort of real answer and there may never be. If we get more information on them this may warrant revisiting, but until then... they are just statues incorporated into Mhachi architecture that resemble Highlander Hyur. Nothing more, nothing less.

[FJerome]

Reasonably surprised no one brought up Shatotto when talking about potential Mhachi Lalafell. There's a name that screams Lalafell.

It doesn't quite fit - the proper Plainsfolk name would have been Shatoto, without that double 't' (Dunesfolk would have been Shashato).

Second, Vejjiegirl. You are right, hyurs did not came to Eorzea until recently. Before that there were only lalafells, elezens and miqotes as far as we know. By any possibility if there were hyrus, it was a very VERY small population, something people would not event notice or care.

Word of Koji is that's just the NPCs telling us what they think they know versus what actually happened.

There are times when Eorzea has been more populated by one race over another and there will be conflict there. With the Hyur and Elezen, that’s very recent. In the sixth astral era, Elezen migrated in and in that era they were like “we’re the first ones here!” even though they weren’t, but they were the first at the beginning of the sixth astral era and they settled and of course the pesky Hyur who are everywhere come in and the Elezen are like “oh my god we left you that whole continent up there why are you here!” and the Lalafell come in and you have these cycles of clashing and moving part and that gets ingrained in their society and their racial cultures.

[The_NPC]

since the "statues" are outa the way & hiddin in a way that makes them seam more "Decor" then "Memorial of a Hero" I'm gona have to say they represent eather Slaves or something along those lines (maybe a lot of captured early voidsent had a more Hyuran/Elzean form, or hid looking that way till provoked to go "full power"). as for the topic of Hyuran's only migrating in "Mass" during the early 6th era, ancient Allag were mostly Hyur (say mostly cause or the 2 clones involed with the CT questline & that Xande & Amon were smaller before all the genetic crap) thou not sure when Al Mhigio rose to power put it was founded by Highlanders (with if character create menu is sound it says they were here before Midlanders), can't ignore that the 2 dolls for the lady's day earlyer this year had a Hyur Princess & King model (thou history could have been lost & ppl now just think thats what they were). Also I just believe every "race" was probably always there just some wern't in high enouf numbers to matter... till they rose to power & caused a Calamity or 2.

Calamity's are like hitting the reset button (or destroying all buildings save 1 HQ in a Stratagy RPG to all players) its becomes up to Determination, chance & dumb luck to decide which race/city rises to uber-level 1st (then the arms race to stop/sustan it causes another calamity)... we need a timemachine to solve this in-game really else we get that 1 person who'll say "I'm a time traver I point and laugh at archeologists." (damn u Doctor u hilarius guy)

[Velynea]

It might explain Ala Mhigo's obsession with the Destroyer if they are offspring of the Mhachi. In any case, statues don't attest for anything. The statue of Llymlean if I remember is made by a Roegadyn ect. Same with the whole Shiva ordeal being made by a Hyur. People in Eorzea are just like real artists, and create what they find pleasing.

[Yuella]

Maybe Hyurs were in Eorzea in 5th Astral, driven out during the flood, only returning in 6th Astral (3 migratory periods)

[Vexander]

I kind of figured there were Hyur on Eorzea in every age to be honest. Given all those Allagan clones, I thought the Allagan Empire was primarily Hyur. That doesn't necessarily mean other races weren't at the forefront of various nations, as we have today. The only nation I can think of so far without a racial domination would be Sharlayan. It seems to have a mix of all races. Seems to.

My guess is Mhach had a smattering of races as well. For all we know, Shattoto was of a Lalafell minority in Mhach, and rose to prominence and power. Assuming that they are a Lalafell to begin with.

[MagiusNecros]

Statues in Mhach City only dictate there was a male Highlander Mage of some standing. You can tell by the lack of eyebrows. Probably just decoration though.

[Vexander]

Guess we'll wait for the inevitable time-travel expansion where we go to 5th Astral Era Eorzea and participate in the War of the Magi, moving between the three cities of Mhach, Ampador, and Nym. Then we're learn there was also Au Ra, Viera, Banga, etc... races present.

[Morningstar1337]

My guess is Mhach had a smattering of races as well. For all we know, Shattoto was of a Lalafell minority in Mhach, and rose to prominence and power. Assuming that they are a Lalafell to begin with.

Well the evedences makes it all too easy to make that assumption.

• The name: I know about their naming conventions, and extra T aside I can see the name "Shatotto Shato" being likely.
• the namesake: This particular character is named after Shantotto, a Black Mage from XI who was also a Tatutaru, the Lalafell's meta-predecessor race.
• The Job an where to get it: As the Relic Reborn quest indicate she appears to be at least a powerful Black Mage, enough for the soul crystals to be named after her. Modern Black Mages essentially learn the art from adapting Thaumaturgy, which taught in Ul'dah, who has a notable Lalafellin majority population. In addition, the teachers for Thaumaturges, and Black Mages alike are also Lalafells

The minority part might be true however as Mhach was near Mor Dhona, which I assume to be the center of Eorzea and thus a place where all of the races converge