Hrothgar and Viera: how did they appear on Eorzea?

[Monsalvato]

I was wondering what's the lore explanation for Hrothgar and Viera suddenly appearing in Eorzea.
Granted we already saw Viera during Stormblood in the FFXII-inspired 24men raid.

For the Au'ra, if I'm not mistaken, the tentative explanation is that it's a race originating from the Far East (around Doma etc) but that recently arrived to Eorzea in larger numbers thanks to the runaway expeditions led by Doma (Yugiri & friends) and such.

But for Hrothgar and Viera what is the explanation?
Plus I get that Hrothgar do have a Female gender, they're just very very rare and tipically they're "queens" of a pack of males.
But what about the Viera? Do they have males? If not how do they reproduce?


Thanks!

[Brightamethyst]

IIRC viera are the opposite of hrothgar in that respect. Males viera are rare and valuable and almost never leave their hidden villages.

Which honestly makes more sense than hrothgar having few females. A small number of queens works in egg laying situations (a single bee can lay hundreds of eggs per day) but breaks down in live birth situations when pregnancy lasts months and results in only a small number of births. In that situation having more females than males is much more likely.

[MrThinker]

IIRC viera are the opposite of hrothgar in that respect. Males viera are rare and valuable and almost never leave their hidden villages.

Yes to that Viera males are rare. But they don't stay in the village of their birth. Once they are of age, another adult male comes to take them away and train them in protecting the forest from the shadows, only going back in order to breed or find new males to train. Actually, the Fanow Viis culture acts exactly the same way as the Source Viera are said to.

[thegreatonemal]

Just like with any other new race being added they've always been here.

[JeanneOrnitier]

Just like with any other new race being added they've always been here.

They've always been in the world, but not always in Eorzea specifically which is just the western continent plus surrounding islands.

Given both Viera and Hrothgar are from areas oppressed by the Garleans, I think it makes sense that adventurers of those two races started coming to Eorzea once they heard the Eorzean Alliance managed to free Ala Mhigo and Doma.

[Iscah]

IIRC viera are the opposite of hrothgar in that respect. Males viera are rare and valuable and almost never leave their hidden villages.

I think that might have been the explanation in FFXII? (Though I didn't actually play that game.)

Given both Viera and Hrothgar are from areas oppressed by the Garleans, I think it makes sense that adventurers of those two races started coming to Eorzea once they heard the Eorzean Alliance managed to free Ala Mhigo and Doma.

That isn't how it works though. Retroactively "adventurers of those races have been coming to Eorzea" (i.e. new characters of those races have started the game) since long before Ala Mhigo and Doma are freed. And it's those specific adventurers who will be the one(s) that free them.

[MrThinker]

I think that might have been the explanation in FFXII? (Though I didn't actually play that game.)

It's been a while since I played it, but IIRC, male viera were hardly mentioned in-game, if at all. It was the FFXII Ultimania that told us they actually existed... as well as the whole separate hidden villages from the females deal.

[MikkoAkure]

Character creator says that some Rava viera have ventured out into the world. They make up 5% of the population of Dalmasca, so the cosmopolitan, non-tribal population of viera is already in the thousands. As for the Veena, character creator said that members of that clan have started leaving for Eorzea specifically, after war came to the Skatay range where they live.

Hrothgar Lost are mercenaries, which could have brought them to Eorzea. Helions don't particularly have a reason for being here, but I'm sure any made up reason for one being in Eorzea works.

[RagingStallion]

Evolution. What happened is probably that a man had the same number of chromosomes and mated with a lion and you get a Hrothgar. This happens in real life too, ligers are cross breeds between lions and tigers. The issue is if the cross breed is fertile and that you'll have to roll the dice. That's why biology is so amazing.

[Amnmaat]

One of my hopes is that the A Realm Reborn revamp coming in 5.3 adds Au ra, Viera, and Hrothgar to some of these locations. It would be a great way to re-introduce the 2.0 experience; and the perfect opportunity besides.

But if they don't I'd at least expect to see them in the locations 6.0 will add. Shadowbringers was just another world so race representation there wasn't really important to the game, nor of any consequence to our reality in the Source. The next expansion will be our first look at Viera and Hrothgar in the game as far as lore and their role in the world is concerned.