So I like cutscene watching. But Raubahn's face...

[KikoriL]

Spoilers in case people are silly enough to read the Lore forum without being up to date on in-story quests, this concerns the enormous chain of quests at the end of the content as of the 2.55 patch. Please avert your eyes, click the "Back" button on your browser, or prepare your butt for hurt if the warning's not heeded.

-

-

With that out of the way. What the fuck is up with Ala Mhigo?

"The Parting Glass", cutscene #11.
Ilberd's armor piercing statement of "We can't all abandon Ala Mhigo and become great war heroes as you have" just plain irks me. Raubahn's reaction of looking so thoroughly shaken over the statement, like it's actual justification for Ilberd's treason, is even worse.
... What? Incredibly high position in the Immortal Flames, higher position in the Crystal Braves, and "We can't become heroes?" Abandoning Ala Mhigo is worthy of killing a monarch? It's not just this quest, either.

"Wilred Wants You", level 27?
"Hi, I'm a Scion, sworn to try to bring peace to the land."
"Ala Mhigo!" And they attempt to kill you before trying to take advice to summon a Primal.

"Five Easy Pieces", level 50 for MNK?
"Hi, I'm a MNK in training, trying to follow your advice of opening my Chakra."
"Ala Mhigo!" And he attempts to kill you.

And now?
"Hi, I'm the Warrior of Light, here to offer support to Ul'Dah's beloved leader and her most trusted guardian and friend."
"Ala Mhigo!" And he kills her, attempts to kill him, attempts to have you locked up.

... What? Really, just what the actual fuck. Is Ala Mhigo cruise control for cool in this story? What about it was so special that anyone seems to be able to reference it, draw a heart-wrenching grimace from everyone in the area, and get a justified rampage? I'll admit I haven't the heart to review every cutscene and piece of script in the game to see if I'm missing it, but I'd like to think if Ala Mhigo were truly something more special than a piece of land claimed by the Garleans, it would be made known. All I have seen thus far is the following.

1.) Referencing Ala Mhigo seems to justify terrorism. Including killing a monarch who actively wants happiness for her people, but is bound by laws that put power in the hands of people who are known to abuse it for personal gain. And by serving people who abuse said power, who seem to know the monarch wants to change the rules of the land.
2.) Ala Mhigans are cold at best and, at worst, more of a threat to the general good than the Garleans.
3.) Ala Mhigo is an exaggerated tragedy. The realm was destroyed when a unified Eorzea attempted to drive back a rampant Empire amidst the appearance of Bahamut, but what happened to dear, sweet Ala Mhigo? Taken over. Big whoop.

Really, Square? This is where the minds that write some of the most epic tales you've had in the past are forced to go? Where one single city of terrorists is somehow so dearly missed by everyone that it's grounds for dismay from the Good and rampage from the Evil? There are very, very many good things I have to say about this game, including its story (especially for an MMO), but Ala Mhigo's placement in one of the biggest, most emotionally invested turning points in the story (let alone everything beforehand) now has me removing my glasses to facepalm.

So, since I can't ask Rabauhn the emotionally torn victim of being an Ala Mhigan refugee who turned out as a Good aligned, strong willed hero, I'm left at the end of the rant wondering if someone else here has the puzzle piece I may be missing to why it's so important. Otherwise I'll be left wondering when the Domans find their ambition to stop being productive, ambitious, friendly, sane, decent refugees and start doing the cool kid thing of terrorizing Eorzea.

[Chewy2nd]

It's the homeland of a lot of the down and out people in the Realm, a lot of the people who once called Ala Mhigo home, have turned to crime in order to survive, in order to justify this to themselves, they claim it is for the good of Ala Mhigo, they blame Ul'dah and the rest of the Alliance for not doing a better job protecting Ala Mhigo, it's not so much that Ala Mhigo justifies anything, it's that its used as a reason. As for Raubahn and Ilberd, they're long time friends, they lost Ala Mhigo, and unlike Ilberd, Raubahn made something of himself, in the eyes of some Ala Mhigans, they probably saw this as him turning his back on the homeland.

[gamesmart]

It's more of an extreme case of patriotism than terrorism - the Ala Mhigans have had their home under Garlean for occupation for...15 years? Ul'dah is doing nothing to help them, they've been living out in terrible places (for those in Little Ala Mhigo I'd barely even call that living, it's that bad), and meanwhile Raubahn is up on the top of the hierarchy living the good life. It's natural that they'd feel bitter against those that are doing better than them (though it still makes little sense to attack him and claim he doesn't care as much as they do).

[Riepah]

The funny thing is that Wilred, an Ala Mhigan, was killed for this oh-so-just plot to work. I don't think we're supposed to understand Ilberd's motivations or feel sympathy for him at this point. It looks to me like they're just replacing one despicable scumbag - Teledji Adeledji - with another, give us a new jerk to loathe. I just hope Ilberd will meet a similar fate.

[Fenral]

Good news is: Ala Mhigo is slated for the expansion after Ishgard. (Unless Yoshida is a liar. Oh, wait.)

Bad news is: by the time that rolls around, all the Ala Mihgans we actually cared about will be either dead or maimed, and most likely by other Ala Mhigans. I'd love to meet an Ala Mhigan who uses the homeland as an excuse to be nice to people. Can't we have one of those?

[WyrahFhurrst]

Good news is: Ala Mhigo is slated for the expansion after Ishgard. (Unless Yoshida is a liar. Oh, wait.)

Not trying to call you out, but when did he say this? I love the idea and I hope you're right, but I'd really like evidence.

[Cilia]

I don't think even Ilbert believes what happened in Ala Mhigo is justification for the things he's done. He just said what he did to goad Raubahn into fighting. He might consider Raubahn a traitor for "giving up" on Ala Mhigo and making it to the top of Ul'dahn society, but I think it's fairly clear he did what he did for coin, plain and simple. Envy towards Raubahn may have played a factor in it, but the coin was the most important thing.

What he intends to do with that coin is another matter. Raubahn made it to his position on the Syndicate and as Nanamo's right-hand man by earning a colossal amount of coin in the Bloodsands (gladiator pit) and buying the place. It's possible Ilberd is simply imitating his once-friendly rival, albeit using less honest means.

As for the rest... chalk it up to the Ala Mhigans being kind of belligerent in general. I forget the name of it but during the Sixth Astral Era the rest of the Eorzean Alliance (Ishgard included) had to wage a war against Ala Mhigo. They've also been occupied by Garlean forces for 15+ years.

[Dalvy]

Well, not all ala mihgans are crooked or zealous about the resistance, like the Mandervilles and that npc in Pearl lane. But seeing your people get kicked around by your own king, then garleans and finally your reluctant benefactors, pride in your heritage is just about all you left. Illberd does have a point about not every refugee having the chance to be like Raubahn or Godbert Manderville, but obviously a coup is not the right way to handle it.

[Enkidoh]

The resentment and contempt that Eorzeans (especially Ul'dahns) feel towards Ala Mhigans probably is very ingrained though, and most likely is far older than the fall of the nation to the Garleans, as Ala Mhigo had a long history of belligerence towards it's neighbours - the most recent being the Autumn War nearly a century before when they actually tried to invade Gridania. Naturally, this failed after Gridania allied with Ishgard, Ul'dah and Limsa to drive them back, sending Ala Mhigo into a long period of decline that culminated in the rise of their last monarch, the 'King of Ruin' Theoduric (sp?).

After Ala Mhigo fell to the Empire following Theoduric's overthrow, those who could escape fled to the other city states where they were regarded with a mixture of scorn and suspicion, especially in Ul'dah. 'Money talks' is Ul'dah's motto in a way, and as the refugees lacked a home and financial means to support themselves, small wonder Ul'dahns would turn them away, leading to this resentment that still is bubbling to this day.

1.0 showed incidentally a lot of Ala Mhigans fighting in Ul'dah's Colosseum, who in a token act of kindness opened admittance to the arena for them for free, leading to many Ala Mhigans distinguishing themselves on the Bloodsands, like the Hellfire Phoenix J'moldva, and of course, the Madbull of Ala Mhigo, Raubahn Aldyn himself, who made so much money fighting there he managed to not only buy the Colosseum itself, he managed to secure himself a seat on the Syndicate as well (no small task). This last point was probably the catalyst for the current situation - a mere refugee managing to break into the highest echelons of Ul'dahn society was never going to go down well with them, to say nothing of the possibility of Garlean manipulation.

[Fenral]

Not trying to call you out, but when did he say this? I love the idea and I hope you're right, but I'd really like evidence.

Skepticism is understandable, given how often out-of-date or inaccurate info is treated as canon on these forums.

It was in one of the older Live Letter Q&As, but I'll be damned if I can remember exactly which one. He mentioned that he imagined us going to Ishgard, Ala Mhigo, and Garlemald in that order, but that the first expansion would only include Ishgard. They haven't said anything on it since, but since we'll only have one unvisited Eorzean city-state left after this coming expansion, I really can't imagine them sending us to another continent before completing the map of Eorzea.