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.

[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

[Kyan]

This has always bothered me, too. Especially about being called foreigner. And, although people say "you can make up where you came from, including Eorzea" 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 would like to know where the boat/chocobo carriage from 1.0 and 2.0 picked me up from.

Being a Miqo'te, I am not even certain as to which continent is the homeland - I am assuming the "south" or possibly the "west" (the southern lands were home to Mithra in FFXI, and in XIV the 'west' seems to be recently discovered, so south would make more sense...). I personally would like to know more about my own character.

[Kaiser-Ace]

Acording to my RP I came from a Moutain Village on the Southern Border of Xelphatol. My Character's father was a Decendent of Sil'dih and his mother was the last of The Amdaporian people. Then on the way to Silver Tear falls Nael van Darnus and the VIIth Imperial Legion Burned the village to the Ground and Darnus him self killed my father. And I wound un in Ul'dah because a Garlen Trator saved me. So I think as far as RP goes you can be from just about any where. As they say, It's your story, and you'll tell it how you want to. lol

[Haprimac]

My character is from the town that used to reside beside Swiftperch that now lies in ruins (the place with buccaneers and dodo nests). She's not Lominsan, even though she lives in La Noscea, so in a way she's "an outsider", because she's not of the cityfolk. ^^

[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?

[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.