A question of origins

[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.

[Lethorian]

I was under the assumption that we were brought into Hydaelyn from an unknown world and were not a part of this world at all so what I did was continued the story of my Elder Scrolls character I created back in Morrowind, since he was infected with Corpus but had the negative side effects removed he is effectively immortal (if anyone has played that game you'll know what I'm talking about). So basically he was summoned from Tamriel by Hydaelyn to Eorzea and this is just a continuation of that character's story.

[Alleluia]

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

This is my headcanon, as well. I don't think my character existed before the opening cutscene. When she wakes up on that boat (Limsa FTW), that's her first real moment in the world.

Now, *Regana* (my character) doesn't know this. She thinks she has a history and a family and a place she was born, etc. Specifically, her mom was a Highlander from Ala Mhigo and her father was a Midlander from Ul'dah. Her mother was visiting Ul'dah when the civil war in Ala Mhigo broke out. Then the Garleans occupied and she was left without a home to return to. She met her kind and bookish husband during this time and made a home in Ul'dah, instead. Reg was born shortly after.

Regana remembers how her mother is missing in action after she decided she couldn't bear the plight of her former home without doing something and lent her skills to the Ala Mhigan resistance. And Reg remembers how, as the days turned to months, turned to years, and her mother was still gone, that her father did his best; but they both knew in their bones she was gone for good and he eventually died of illness and heartbreak.

Shortly after, with no other family and no real connections to speak of in the city, Regana left for Limsa Lominsa to get a fresh start in life as an adventurer.

She remembers it all in great detail. It informs her actions and gives her motivation. But, ultimately, none of that actually happened. Not that it will matter, cus I doubt she'll ever realize it.

(And she takes the "foreigner" comments in stride cus they're almost always from people who don't even know her in the first place. And technically she was a foreigner when she started in Limsa, so...)

[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.

[Kytrin]

Wow... okay I didn't get a chance to check back on this after my initial post yesterday, so my sincere thanks to you guys for all the great ideas!

Lethorian, I gotta say I really like your idea of us being summoned from another world entirely. That fits well for me as my most recent character is Tails of Vesperia themed, so I can have some fun coming up with her origin story using that.

I've already got a fairly convoluted concept for Riko, so I'll leave that more or less as is.

I also think the ideas of us being summons or created specifically by the Mother Crystal are interesting and worth considering as well. At least if I make a Doman (which is extremely likely once the race is revealed) I have being a refugee to fall on. It just would be nice to have an official Lore answer to this. I've posed the question in the Lore Panel thread, so we'll see what happens there.

[WellFooled]

I specifically recall that, in the newer storyline patches (perhaps 2.2 or 2.3 somewhere...) it actually mentions you are not from Eorzea, at all. It would take me time to locate that text, but I remember it being quite confronting when I read it.

I don't remember this, if you track down that text please post it! I would love to read it.

[Sagittarian]

I went with the traveller from an alternate world background myself since I figure no matter how many locations you visit in the world you will always be "new".
Either that or they are actually a fugitive who changed their identity and is just pretending they are new.... >.>

[Jinrya-Geki]

I am glad I am not from Eorzea. It's full of morons, cowards, backstabbers, and ruled by incompetents.

[Morningstar1337]

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

I'm intrigued by this theory this needs its own thread.

[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.