Stormblood page updated with new lore.

[Rongway]

In re: Susano, the part where it says

From the myriad of deities housed within the three sacred treasures of the Kojin, Susano stepped forth to answer their pleas for deliverance.

is an interesting statement. I wonder what other gods live in the sacred treasures, and why the summoning evokes Susano.

[Cilia]

Ala Mhigans descendants of Mhachi confirmed? Statues that line "Shadow of Mhach" raids confirmed to be Rhalgr?

Samurai sounds more like Ronin in practice. Ehh... now I'm not sure if I want to bother leveling that or doing 4.0 during Early Access.

In re: Susano, the part where it says

[...]

is an interesting statement. I wonder what other gods live in the sacred treasures, and why the summoning evokes Susano.

Probably Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi. In Japanese mythology they're Susano'o's siblings.

As for why Susano'o... well, he's typically portrayed in media as the "bad sibling" of the trio, since his domain is storms and he's kind of a jackass. Got kicked out of Heaven for it.

[Dualgunner]

Ala Mhigans descendants of Mhachi confirmed? Statues that line "Shadow of Mhach" raids confirmed to be Rhalgr?

Samurai sounds more like Ronin in practice. Ehh... now I'm not sure if I want to bother leveling that or doing 4.0 during Early Access

As I understand it we'd be Ronin anyway, unless the questline involved us serving a lord specifically.

[jameseoakes]

Ala Mhigans descendants of Mhachi confirmed? Statues that line "Shadow of Mhach" raids confirmed to be Rhalgr?

Samurai sounds more like Ronin in practice. Ehh... now I'm not sure if I want to bother leveling that or doing 4.0 during Early Access.
.

Belah'dia was suppose to have been founded by the few survivors of Mhach, the population of Amadpour where suppose to have fled into Gyr Abania so Mhach should have very little to do with Al Mhigo

[Enur]

Belah'dia was suppose to have been founded by the few survivors of Mhach, the population of Amadpour where suppose to have fled into Gyr Abania so Mhach should have very little to do with Al Mhigo

If we go strictly by the lorebook, Bela'dia was founded by the lalafellin descendants of Mhach. But the statues in Mhach indicate there would have been highlanders present. And where do we happen to find Highlanders? Gyr abania.
Mhach seemed to revere a highlander carrying an object looking like a comet, Rhalgr. All specuilation though. But what would a civilisation do if they belived in magic meteors and suddenly saw one in the sky after a catastrophy? I'd say they would see where it would go. From Yafaem to Gyr Abania one has to pass through the shroud. Rhalgr and ramuh shares strikingly similar details, especially when looking at the yet to be released Rhalgrs reach.

I have thoughts about the sudden change in Ala Mhigan accent when HW launched. It is northenr english yet all we have seen of gyr abania seems asian in style. The names of Highlanders are highly germanic with celtic/given surnames. The celtic language seems to have inspired Mhach with its much old english letter formations coupled with its apparent irish voidsent inhabiting.

English as we know it is roughly a mix of French and german from the 8th century which would make a northern english accent if two similar language mixed, like the Germanic Highland hyurs mixing their language with elezen french creating the common tongue spoken throughout eorzea. Im rambling now.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Samurai sounds more like Ronin in practice.

While I can see why you would think that, I believe it's more the case of restless knights looking for things to do to stay relevant in a time of peace. The impression I got is that Hingashi has only been recently united after long years of war. And peace has, not surprisingly, rendered soldiers redundant, hence the worries of "neglected blades" growing "dull with rust", and men-at-arms forgetting their "purpose". They aren't masterless (unless one chooses to role-play as the former samurai of a defeated lord), as much as they are left suddenly without a direction in life.

There are historical analogies aplenty for such circumstances, especially in the immediate aftermath of the Warring States period (Sengokujidai) of Japan. But even without resorting to real history, think about the immediate problems that the Eorzean Alliance faced when an anticipated Garlean invasion did not materialise. All the sell-/spell-swords that answered the Grand Companies' call to arms were suddenly left without a job to do. Thankfully, the Adventurers' Guild was soon founded to give the restless youth meaningful employment, otherwise the city-states would have had quite a fair bit of unrest to deal with.

[Bloody]

While I can see why you would think that, I believe it's more the case of restless knights looking for things to do to stay relevant in a time of peace. The impression I got is that Hingashi has only been recently united after long years of war.

I disagree with the assumption that Hingashi is free. The description of Kugane literally states "Kugane stands as the only port in Hingashi whose docks remain open to foreign vessels in the era of occupation." and the trailer shows garleans chasing samurai WoL. Definitely not indicators of a free city. It reminds me more of a "occupied gem" so to speak, one of those locations given more freedom due to either their good behavior or the strategic value of that freedom (or both). Since Kugane seems to be an important trade port, I wouldn't be surprised if the Garleans wanted to take advantage of that.

[Hinoto-no-Ryuji]

I disagree with the assumption that Hingashi is free. The description of Kugane literally states "Kugane stands as the only port in Hingashi whose docks remain open to foreign vessels in the era of occupation." and the trailer shows garleans chasing samurai WoL. Definitely not indicators of a free city. It reminds me more of a "occupied gem" so to speak, one of those locations given more freedom due to either their good behavior or the strategic value of that freedom (or both). Since Kugane seems to be an important trade port, I wouldn't be surprised if the Garleans wanted to take advantage of that.

On the other hand, Yugiri and her band of fleeing Domans were denied port at Hingashi specifically to avoid poking the Garlean hornet nest, so there's pretty solid implication that Hingashi does indeed exist outside Imperial control, ala Thavnair. Garlemald would obviously have a presence in Kugane, it being a major port for trade and the like, but from what we know so far, they don't actually control it.

As for the soldiers - I wonder if they are Garlean. Their armor has some similar aesthetics to it, but their weapons - flintlock pistols, specifically - seem a pretty far cry from the tech wielded by the other Garlean soldiers we've faced. Could just be my imagination, but they could also be a local militia or something, unrelated to Garlemald's military.

[Theodric]

-snip-

No matter the case, it's likely that a settlement like Kugane is going to value neutrality very highly for the sake of trade and profit. It will also likely be very diverse in terms of who lives there - and the description already states outright that it isn't unusual for both Eorzean and Garlean ships to be docked side by side in its port. Add in intrigue and there is likely to be all sorts of different factions operating within, each with their own goals and desires. I think it could go either way when it comes to the combatants, the simple answer would be that they're Garlean or at least allied with Garlemald. The more complicated answer would be that they're not.

I'm hoping that Kugane will remain neutral and refuse to side with either Eorzea or Garlemald whilst allowing both to operate within. We already know from the lore book that Garlemald came to be out of necessity and that whilst some of their methods are certainly extreme things are far from complicated than them simply being evil and completely irredeemable. This was only highlighted further by Regula and his sacrifice. We know Zenos is going to do something bad but that doesn't mean everybody in Garlemald is going to follow or support him. It also wouldn't make much sense for everybody to side against Garlemald because, again, they're not without their redeeming qualities and the Warrior of Light and his allies do not have any business stirring up political unrest in every single settlement they choose to visit.

The 'liberation' plot points will likely be limited to Ala Mhigo and Doma, I believe. Mostly because of the hints a while back that implied that not everybody will want to be 'liberated'. We'll likely see the Warrior of Light deal with Zenos and the more rotten, power hungry Garleans but at the same time I would hope that we also see him deal with the same elements within the Eorzean Alliance.