A question of origins

[Kytrin]

So, I've noticed that throughout all of the dialogue my character is constantly being referred to as a foreigner. As if I'd never set foot on Eorzea once before mysteriously sitting in a carriage/boat heading to one of the city-states to begin my adventures.

Now, I've mostly managed to ignore it (primarily because I have yet to find a roleplay group on either Courel or Jenova), but the roleplayer/lore nut in me is continually bugged by this. If I'm not from Eorzea, at all, as is implied then where am I from? Obviously there's the Empire, but what if I don't want to be Garlean either? What other choices are out there?

Admittedly, at this point I'm liable to just make something up, but I thought I'd throw this out and see if it bugged anyone else.

[Enkidoh]

It's never actually revealed where it is your character comes from, other than apparently having arrived from a foreign land, which could be anywhere really - it's left up to the player to decide exactly where your character was born and grew up.

For that matter, just because npcs call them a 'foreigner', whose to say you really are? In fact, the merchant on the carriage/ferry at the start actually asks you if you had been to your starting city already, so for all he knows your character really was born in Eorzea and has simply done a lot of travelling around Hydaelyn in the past. It's completely up to you where your character's homeland is.

As an example, the backstory I wrote for my character is Enki was born in Ala Mhigo but ended up fleeing the city when she was very young during the civil war that brought down it's monarchy (and the resulting Garlean annexation), which resulted in her ending up in Ul'dah where she was adopted by a wealthy merchant family and grew up there. After training as a gladiator she left Ul'dah when she came of age to become an adventurer and hopefully return to Ala Mhigo, as she was having bad homesickness.

Of course her naivety (as well as a terrible sense of direction!) ensured she never got to Ala Mhigo, having got herself hopelessly lost in the Black Shroud she instead ended up in Gridania, a city where she was located during Dalamud's fall and resulting apocalypse (she never participated in the Battle of Carteneau). And it was a city she returned to following the Calamity (which she had been severely injured and was evacuated to Ul'dah again to recover).

This is just my way of explaining my character's origins as still being 'foreign' to other Eorzeans, but making it that my character was born and raised there. I'm sure you could come up with something just as good if not better.

[TinyRedLeaf]

And Lyland came from the Ciedalaes, where like any son of a sailorman, he grew up on plenty of spinach.

Okay, okay, I'm just joking. He's the son of a fisherman. But he did eat plenty of spinach.

There's a lot more than that, of course, but I'm too lazy to share the details for now.

[Myranda]

It bothered me too at how heavily it's implied all players are foreign. Yes, there's ways to create a roundabout backstory while still placing yourself in Eorzea, but they do end up being rather complicated. Myself I say I'm from Ul'dah and just kind of ignore what most the NPCs say.

If you're still looking for other options though, there are at least 4 other continents (Ilsabard to the north/east, Othard to the east, Meracydia to the south, and the 'New World' to the west). If Ilsabard and Othard being under the rule of Garlemald bothers you, keep in mind that the Empire has only existed for 56 years. Depending on your character's age, it's well possible to have lived in those places before they fell to Imperial influence. Little is known about the other two.

Lyland also mentioned the Cieldalæs, which are technically still in Eorzea, but its among a decent host of other small islands scattered around the 5 seas, a couple others being Mazlaya and the Pearl. The "world" map could help in that respect, here's an annotated version I made.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Lyland also mentioned the Cieldalæs, which are technically still in Eorzea, but its among a decent host of other small islands.

I often wonder myself about the full extent of "Eorzea". We know that it's part of the continent of Aldenard, but in contemporary usage, it seems to refer only to the realm formed by the six "modern" city-states of Ala Mhigo, Gridania, Ishgard, Ul'dah, Limsa Lominsa and Sharlayan.

Meaning to say, the northern parts of the continent, like Xelphatol and the Farreach, don't seem to be part of the realm, and islands like the Ciedalaes and Mazlaya also don't seem to be part of Eorzea. I reckon though that these regions are, at the very least, culturally influenced by the city-states, if not under their direct political control. I reckon, for example, that the Ciedalaes, are under the thalassocracy's protection, as implied by the Maelstrom's organisational chart: the Sixth Squadron is named after the Ciedalaes.

To a certain extent, the question of which countries belong in Eorzea mirrors our own real-world queries over who belongs in "Europe". Is Turkey, for example, part of Europe or Asia? Or both?

[Myranda]

I often wonder myself about the full extent of "Eorzea". We know that it's part of the continent of Aldenard, but in contemporary usage, it seems to refer only to the realm formed by the six "modern" city-states of Ala Mhigo, Gridania, Ishgard, Ul'dah, Limsa Lominsa and Sharlayan.

Meaning to say, the northern parts of the continent, like Xelphatol and the Farreach, don't seem to be part of the realm, and islands like the Ciedalaes and Mazlaya also don't seem to be part of Eorzea. I reckon though that these regions are, at the very least, culturally influenced by the city-states, if not under their direct political control. I reckon, for example, that the Ciedalaes, are under the thalassocracy's protection, as implied by the Maelstrom's organisational chart: the Sixth Squadron is named after the Ciedalaes.

To a certain extent, the question of which countries belong in Eorzea mirrors our own real-world queries over who belongs in "Europe". Is Turkey, for example, part of Europe or Asia? Or both?

Generally speaking, it's considered to be all of Aldenard, but inclusive to the surrounding islands so that Vylbrand is also part of it. I'd say that includes Xelphatol and Farreach, there's just not major presence by the 5 races there (as far as we know? Xelphatol is made of canyons and home to the Ixal, not sure we have any information on Farreach). The Cieldalæs are absolutely under the Lominsan banner, as Skirmish was held there in 1.0: Hullbreaker Isle is also on the outskirts of the chain.

[TinyRedLeaf]

The Cieldalæs are absolutely under the Lominsan banner, as Skirmish was held there in 1.0: Hullbreaker Isle is also on the outskirts of the chain.

Yup, I'm aware of Skirmish, and how it was "forcefully" carried out in the Ciedalaes.

But I'm not fully convinced that it shows direct political control, in the way that, say, the United Kingdom is ruled from London (a state of affairs that can be questioned in the aftermath of the Scottish referendum). To be sure, as far as political entitities are concerned, what we have in Eorzea are mostly city-states, which don't necessarily exert direct political control over their hinterland. Rather, a variety of contractual agreements seem to exist, which may or may not grant varying degrees of autonomy.

Many of the post-Calamity settlements in Vylbrand, for example, were founded by pirate crews operating under charters established between them and Admiral Merlwyb. The impression I get is that it's up to the ex-pirates to make or break it on their own, with little direct support from the Limsan state.

More importantly, it's implied that some of these settlements are mostly left to fend for themselves (in-game examples are Summerford Farms and Poor Maid's Mill), while others are more directly occupied or protected by the Maelstrom. Direct military occupation is, to me, is one of the necessary conditions of sovereign control.

Therefore, unless it's confirmed by in-game lore that Maelstrom units actually patrol and hold ground in the Ciedalaes (it's suggested that they're largely uninhabited, visited mostly only by fishermen), I believe I have leeway to imagine the islands to be more of a protectorate rather than an actual part of the Lominsan "country".

The best modern-day, real-world examples are the Pacific islands under United States protection. They may be bossed around by the Americans — simply because they happen to fall under America's sphere of influence — but that doesn't mean they are a part of the US. In fact, some like the Marshall Islands are actually sovereign states in their own right.

That's just the way I like to interpret matters, of course. It just has to work for me. I don't claim that any of it is canon.

[Urielparadox]

I assumed since the oeneing cutscene shows adventureres coming out of the light that we came from the void and are actually a form of summons. Caused by the prayers of the Earzea needing heroes. I We Are Aether Taken form, which is why we are so spiffy and don't die

[KupoKwark]

It would be a strange twist if player characters turned out to be primals, but because we're powered by hydaelin (who is one giant crystal). We don't need outside crystals to sustain us. Wouldn't really make much sense, with Minfilia having the echo as well, but would be interesting.

[Torquil]

Coming from a "foreign land" is a fairly common trope that serves a very specific purpose. The player knows nothing about these lands, it's culture, or it's people. If the character knows nothing about them either (because they're foreign) then it's easy to just have people explain all this to your character and have it make sense. If you're from Eorzea, then it would be harder to justify all these NPCs telling you all this very basic information that any Eorzean would know.