Tales from the Dawn #3: "A Question of Life" (Hermes)

[Alleo]

You don't get to cherry pick when you compare pros and cons of the choices available.

I mean what counts as pros and cons comes down to the people themselves. Would you as a modern person that has not grown up in any of the cities even fit in? What if you absolutely love individuality would Amaurot truly be a paradise to you? What if you dont even want that kind of life?

There are countless of people in this world that risk their lifes daily to do things that are fun for them, some even die young because of that. For those the pros and cons look probably much more different.

Next to all of that we also have no real look into the real Amaurot. What we saw from the city was a glimpse through Emet-Selchs memory of it. And some small hints in the stories. We dont know what life was for a ordinary ancient. We have two NPCs in phantom Amaurot that talk about how they got accepted into the city and one wonders if that was really a good choice. So it seems that not everyone may have been able to live there either.

Maybe you would not be allowed to be there. Maybe only the best of the best could stay. And how would life then be outside of the city walls? The only thing we know is that people outside needed help from time to time. Azem as a position was needed. And if it was not for our Azem a whole village would have lost their home to a volcano.

[Lurina]

I wanna clarify my intent on my last post a little bit, because I ended up worrying it might come across as callous towards people with clinical depression, which wasn't really my intent - I'm chronically depressed myself. Regardless of the nature of a society, I believe all societies have an obligation to help everyone in need as best they can. My point was that 'as best they can' is often determined by how widespread the problem they're suffering is.

IRL, I have a physical disability that's a bit too personal and obscure to explain, but that I think about in this context a lot. It's maybe a little conceited of me, but I'll use deafness as a stand-in for it since it's well-known, and I have some familial experience with that topic too.

We can probably agree that being deaf generally makes people's lives tougher and leaves them unable to experience a bunch of things others can, making it less than ideal and a potential cause of suffering. However, because quite a lot of people are deaf, they collectively impact culture enough that society has adapted somewhat to make their lives easier. There's also enough deaf people to form a large community and give everyone in it a chance to form connections with others who inherently 'get it' and find catharsis. This is good!

However, as we've technologically advanced, we've also found ways to help some people's hearing, and in other cases to prevent or cure deafness altogether... But critically, not universally - for the foreseeable future, there will always be some unwillingly deaf people. A lot of them are uncomfortable with these treatments because they perceive (correctly) that reducing the incidence of deafness will result in less social awareness and fewer functional support systems for it. As the amount of deaf people lowers, the suffering of the remaining deaf people will probably go up as the culture surrounding the condition is damaged.

There is nothing more lonely in the world than being one of the only sufferers of an issue, where no one understands your specific struggles, and there's nothing to do but shout them into the void. I have a lot of empathy for Hermes for this reason. But at the same time, I don't know if this is really a solvable issue. It's a paradox - the brighter future you make, the starker the shadows for those few behind.

...though, even this idealistic - most societies, including our own, don't even get as far as the 'trying to help people as best they can' part most of the time. The fact that Amaurot seems to makes it better than most cultures presented in the game, IMO.

Next to all of that we also have no real look into the real Amaurot. What we saw from the city was a glimpse through Emet-Selchs memory of it. And some small hints in the stories. We dont know what life was for a ordinary ancient. We have two NPCs in phantom Amaurot that talk about how they got accepted into the city and one wonders if that was really a good choice. So it seems that not everyone may have been able to live there either.

Sorry, where is this dialogue you're talking about, exactly?

[Alleo]

Sorry, where is this dialogue you're talking about, exactly?

Sadly I dont remember. I think its just two NPCs standing somewhere having speech bubbles when you pass them. Might be near some building since they just got accepted? Of course there might be different dialogue in languages other than Germany.

They just stuck to me in my playthrough because they were just another small hint the devs dropped that it was not all just paradise. Of course it could have also been a hint at their fate. That they would become part of the sacrifice.

Edit:
Since this topic is now so much about where we would live, I honestly would say that I do not want to live in FF14 at all. I would just end up death a few weeks after getting there. (And I would miss modern technology way too much)

If I am forced here and have at least some connection I would choose Il Mheg. I absolutely love the look of it and if the Pixies like me, nothing bad will happen there. (Add the bonus that there are not many people to interact either) I would move into Uriangers old house and read and relax all day.