Au Ra physiology and other lore.

[Isklexi]

Based on their size, physical characteristics, habitat, and likely activity levels, I'd say the Au Ra are almost certainly endothermic (warm blooded). Ectotherm (cold blooded) animals tend to have restricted habitat ranges and activity levels based on local weather and temperatures since they depend on external heat sources. The naming guide specifically names a tribe, the Kagon, that are purely nocturnal. An active nocturnal nomadic lifestyle would be impossible for ectotherms.

On dragons, you could draw parallels with dinosaurs (another strain of extremely large reptile-like animals). There is currently some debate over whether dinosaurs were true endotherms (like their descendants the birds) or were mesotherms (a compromise between endo and ectothermy).

[Samcaesar]

Snip

I wonder how on earth the one tribe of just men hasn't decimated them yet seems like just too good of a target to not destroy entirely >.>

Some interesting (in my opinion anyways) things to note.

Wildlife of the steps includes horses, tigers, mammoths, and goats.

The horses seem large enough to be able to support the men considering that one tribe with horse spouses

There is at least one tribe who does practice selectivery breeding habits, though for some unknown reason only the men got tall.

The Xaela are pretty cool tbh, still not pleased with their women, but they seem culturally cool! Plus it even allows with some leeway tribe wise due to the 51 main tribes and other "hidden" ones.

[Sapphos]

Loving the cultural blurbs on each tribe! Some even led by the itsy bitsy women, nice! Very nice indeed!

This sorta eliminates the "moe" I saw repeated constantly. Don't judge a book etc etc.

[Nataruma]

I wonder how on earth the one tribe of just men hasn't decimated them yet seems like just too good of a target to not destroy entirely >.>

They're probably really good at shooting huge hulking targets from range, just saying

[XLauncher]

I can appreciate a lot of imagination went into the write up of the Auri naming conventions, but ultimately, I feel the Xaela side is pretty gimmicky. A lot of those clan's snippets feel like they were chosen because they seemed interesting or provocative, not because they made any kind of cohesive sense. Certainly, history is filled with cultures with customs that most of us would find bizarre, so I don't take any issue with the fact that a lot of Xaelan clans are just downright weird. But those customs arise for reasons that, put in the context of that culture's history, are based in sound reasoning, if incomplete or bad information.

Let me present an example: the Borlaaq. They're the female exclusive ones that toss their male babies in the dumpster if you don't feel like going back to check. That's certainly an interesting and attention grabbing fact about that clan, but does it make sense? This is a clan that's continually embroiled in war against members of its own species. A species which exhibits some pretty extreme sexual dimorphism with the male half of the species clearly having the physical advantage. In what world does it make sense to discard your male children, leaving yourself with only women to fight? Oh, and cherry on top, they're cutting their numbers in half on top of it, seeing as most of the other clans seem to raise both their men and women to fight. Other cultures might be strange, but Christ, they're not *stupid*. Maybe, *maybe* you could dream up some context to make this make sense, but there's no way that snippet stands on its own.

And don't even get me started on the ones that marry horses. Though, this is Final Fantasy. Why horses and not chocobos?

[Sapphos]

I wonder how on earth the one tribe of just men hasn't decimated them yet seems like just too good of a target to not destroy entirely >.>

If they evolved, culturally, to the point where they have survived alllll this time without being wiped out without a single man in the clan that would imply the men are the weak ones here. :P

[Nataruma]

Snip

There are plenty of historical examples of tribes culling a certain sex of baby (mostly girls), because they are less useful to them, even though in the long run they still need the girls to keep the tribes going.

[Phia]

Let me present an example: the Borlaaq. They're the female exclusive ones that toss their male babies in the dumpster if you don't feel like going back to check. That's certainly an interesting and attention grabbing fact about that clan, but does it make sense? This is a clan that's continually embroiled in war against members of its own species.

Just going off what I recall from an admittedly quick read, I noticed a fair amount of clan descriptions referencing trade between clans, maybe as many or more than ones referencing combat. It seemed like mostly the largest clans were warring, and a good deal of the other clans had references to trading amongst each other, or several even covering their avoidance strategies. I don't think the initial idea that all Xaela clans are constantly warring with one another holds up with all the new info.

[MiniPrinny]

<snip>

There's another tribe that follows them around and are likely allied with them who adopt all the unwanted sons and raises them as their own.

[StarDrake]

And don't even get me started on the ones that marry horses. Though, this is Final Fantasy. Why horses and not chocobos?

Previous seasonal events have made a big deal out of the fact that chocobos are native to Eorzea specifically in XIV, and horses are native to Othard.