Quote Originally Posted by NaesakiAshwell View Post
Have you even read the lore for them on the site since it was updated? Or even remotely paid attention to the AST storyline with what the higher echelon's of Sharlyan society think of sharing their knowledge with the 'savages' of Eorzea?
Yes, and yes again. As an interesting note to the AST storyline, there are Sharlayans who -oppose- this philosophy of keeping knowledge out of the hands of others. Levava is but one such example, the Scions of the Seventh Dawn being something of another. Even the Sons of Saint Coinach aren't the sort to shy away from collaboration just because it means what they've learned would become known by others, and they even have an active goal in -spreading- the knowledge they've gleaned in order to rekindle the lost art of Summoning, rather than hoarding that knowledge, taking it home, and rekindling it there.

The idea of a group of Red Mages joining this movement against the isolationists would've meshed well with existing examples of small populations of Sharlayans defying that mindset.

Instead, Red Mages will be a different group of Mhach and Amdapor survivors who created a class during a time everyone from the elementals to the baker next door were lynching even learned persons because they -might- know magic. The Witch Hunts which followed the Flood were a key point in the narrative that is now being subverted.

The optimist in me wants to think its being subverted as a narrative tool to show us how powerful Red Mages are. The Worf Effect, if you will. These Witch Hunts had no effect on Red Mages. Too OP.
The pessimist in me thinks putting Red Mages in Gyr Abania is SE's way of going, "See? This expansion isn't JUST about Doma! We're giving Ala Mhigo a new class too! See? Totally fair and even."

In short, yes, I understand the lore. That doesn't mean my -opinion- on it is favorable, or that I'm not curious why SE chose to pass up the obvious route to essentially go back on existing lore. I would not mind learning their rationality behind this.