Tree like race?

[liljramos88]

So I was reading the preview for sephirot and saw in the description that he was worshiped by tree like race. So is square hinting on a new beast tribe or even a new playable race in the next expansion?

[CyrilLucifer]

I'm going with no, especially to the playable part.

It's likely they're extinct. Or, if not completely extinct, then very close.

[Fenral]

Considering they mean a race native to Meracydia at the time of the Allagan invasion, it's entirely possible that whatever they were (some kind of Dryad, maybe), they were hunted to extinction. Could even be a race that enslaved the Miqo'te before the Allagans "liberated" them, for as little as we know.

[liljramos88]

Was thinking of a new beast tribe.

[Belhi]

We knew about their previous existence due to a sightseeing log entry in 3.1. The temple in Azys Lla is theirs. My guess is the Allagans either purged them, enslaved them or broke them to the point that any remaining members are in some lost corner of Meracydia.

[Kotemon]

We knew about their previous existence due to a sightseeing log entry in 3.1. The temple in Azys Lla is theirs. My guess is the Allagans either purged them, enslaved them or broke them to the point that any remaining members are in some lost corner of Meracydia.

I've been wondering about why there's was stone architecture for the aqueduct and temple that seemed out of place. It could explain those corpse flowers. Otherwise there's the possibility of the Korpokkur being connected and some other plants left behind in Saint Mocianne's Aboretum. (the bearded plant thing)

Otherwise if that were the case, they might just recycle the Leafkin from XI or refashion something out of the Mana series or the treants.

[Anonymoose]

We knew about their previous existence due to a sightseeing log entry in 3.1. The temple in Azys Lla is theirs.

At least they're mentioned in more than one place now. Before it was clear that Fiend = Sephirot, I was starting to think that the SSL in question was just to shut down theories (including my own) that the re-used Qarn / Belah'dian (Invisible City) assets at the Allagan Sun Temple (Cartenau) and Cathedral (Azys Lla) implied some larger, arcing connections. Especially since Oda-san specifically shut down an Allagan connection between the Cathedral, Cartenau, and Qarn on the 2 Year Anniversary stream.

Seems to be a coincidentally re-used asset, though. The design is referred to by the SSL as distinctly Meracydian, which makes it hard for it to show up in all the places they do at the times they do... I suspect that it wouldn't be impossible for the Lore Team to back themselves out of that corner; they seem to enjoy the "no retcons on my watch" challenge of coming up with an interesting and plausible excuse. But they'd have to have a reason to care first, lol.

EDIT: Here, I'll try my hand at it.

In the Third Astral Era, the design was considered "distinctly" Meracydian. The tree-like beast tribe had it, it was on the Cathedral, and it was raised into Azys Lla by the Allagans. That's where it ends for them. However, other tree-like beast tribe ruins remained in Meracydia. The Cathedral clearly displays the symbol that we know is today associated with Azyema, the Warden - the Sun. Who knows why the tree-like beast tribe had it. Maybe Sephirot is connected to the sun. Maybe tree-people like the sun because they're freakin' tree people. Whatever, the door's open.

If the Miqo'te didn't have large populations in Meracydia then, they certainly did by the fall of the Fourth Astral Era. We also know that the Seekers of the Sun Miqo'te were already established as a clan of tribes at this time. I posit that the Seekers of the Sun preserved this architectural style because of the homage it paid to the sun, bringing it with them when they crossed the frozen sea into Eorzea during the Fifth Umbral Era (aka the Age of Endless Frost).

And here is where the possibilities open up; Fifth Astral Era onwards in Eorzea itself. Lets keep the Mhach connections vague and consider them a possible, but not the only possible, vector. The style is eventually resurrected by either them, the original builders of Qarn, or the Belah'dians that came after. The Allagan Sun Temple at Cartenau isn't Allagan at all. Eorzean scholars just assumed that it was because it was surrounded by other structures that are obviously Allagan. Two cultures, two times, two ruins - one place. Either the original builders of Qarn used the style, or the Belah'dians applied it to Qarn then they took it over. So too is this true then for the Sun Temple built on the Allagan ruins. And then Belah'dia definitely used it for the Invisible City and the statue of Azyema.


Simplified Vector:

      Tribe's Cathedral lifted into Azys Lla
     ↗
Meracydian Tree-like Beast Tribe
     ↘
      Style of architecture preserved from tree-like beast tribe ruins by Seekers of the Sun Miqo'te
     ↘
        Miqo'te bring it to Eorzea in the Age of Endless Frost Style, where it is resurrected by either Mhach or the originators of Qarn or (later) Belah'dia
       ↘
          This same culture (or Belah'dia once they adopt the style) build over the Allagan ruins at Cartenau
        ↘
               Belah'dia continues to use the style at The Invisible City and the statue of Azeyma
         ↘
             Belah'dia falls. Qarn, The Invisible City, and Cartenau are all buried until the Calamity.
          ↘
                   Eorzeans are exposed to all of this at once, even Azys Lla, and, as usual, make poor assumptions.

/moonwalks out of the lore-inconsistency corner

[Fenral]

 Eorzeans are exposed to all of this at once, even Azys Lla, and, as usual, make poor assumptions.

I think even just this one line encapsulates the setting perfectly.

[Frederick22]

Seems to be a coincidentally re-used asset, though. The design is referred to by the SSL as distinctly Meracydian, which makes it hard for it to show up in all the places they do at the times they do... I suspect that it wouldn't be impossible for the Lore Team to back themselves out of that corner; they seem to enjoy the "no retcons on my watch" challenge of coming up with an interesting and plausible excuse. But they'd have to have a reason to care first, lol.

Are you tring to say moose that maybe SE once said that it was a recicled skim, but given that the players werent happy with those answers. They just regret of that descion and made a lore base reason?

[Anonymoose]

Are you tring to say moose that maybe SE once said that it was a recicled skim, but given that the players werent happy with those answers. They just regret of that descion and made a lore base reason?

I guess that's one way of putting it, lol.

To be as accurate as possible, what I'm saying is that they did indeed seem to all-but-admit that the texture was just recycled ... but if the game panned out in a way that the recycled texture stood out - that people took notice (people besides, like, us) - then they might try to work the story around to retain a sense of polish and immersion and prevent people's interpretations of the world from flying off base.

Sometimes the zone design team or the mob team makes a call and lore team's gotta make do, you know? That's game development for you. If it's not causing problems, though, then there's not much reason to care enough to conjure an explanation, and at least for the moment the issue seems tiny enough to only merit a, "No, no, it's not all connected. Don't think too hard about it."

Kinda like how (if you're from Ul'dah) you get the Water Crystal of Light from killing a Vodoriga in the desert. (Don't think too hard about it.)