I'm less certain about the idea that Sophia came first
I apologize, i never intended to imply that.
It still bugs me that the only god we have any connection with outside of "the Twelve" is Azeyma. Wasnt there also a church of azeyma in 1.0? with a single Roe in Drybone advocating for it today.

Welp, time for an even flimsier theori:
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Ala Mhigo, Highlanders and Mhach. I know i already shared an incomplete version in ages past. I have now completed it


So on the topic of highlanders we know that they are from Ala Mhigo and that they came in the first Hyuran Invasion.

We also know that Royal Allagans were eerily similar to midlander hyurs save for eye colour.

I believe that Highlanders and Lalafells lived together in Mhach during the war of the magi, and that soon after the calamity flooded the world, the remnants split into two groups:

The Magi and the Destroyers.

We know that Ala Mhigans got a new irish/welsh (im bad at recognizing accents) accent in HW
The void ark and weeping have bosses from irish mythology; Forgall, Chuchulainn, Scathach
Highlander statues in Mhach, possibly depicting Rhalgr due to meteor in hand.
Rhalgr is often depicted as a mage weilding a bronze staff
Rhalgr was the deity of Ala Mhigo
Ala Mhigo = Allag Mhach?!

What if, after the flood, the lalafells of Mhach (name dropped: Shattoto in the city, possibly lalafell name) realized that excessive use of magic was bad and went south into thanalan and founded Belah'dia. Also found the original ruins of qarn and adopted the idea of balancing knowledge and power because they know what happens when magic is abused (Ozma happens. and noone wants living nukes)

The highlanders on the otherhand moved east, into the shroud. They forgot the magely ways due to lack of organized society (and intelligence, Highlander scores lowest on that stat) but kept their Deity, A destroyer. A mage. Their bodies could still have been used to the high aether levels in Mhach (One could assume a city of mages use lots of it.). What if they trained their bodies to absorb the aether from the land and go for a more martial society?

Then the Highlanders found Ultima Weapons lair. They had trained their bodies to absorb aether and now they had plenty. Their soldiers, lancers, Monks, became the toughest foes in the land granting them military supremacy just until the Autumn war, were the combined forces of Gridania and ishgard defeated them.

There is a connection im sure of it. And the final piece lies in Mhach part 3