Why are there pixies, etc. on the First but not the Source?

[DPZ2]

As an aside, the level 55 gatherer quest for Fishing has this line:

Reyna: <sigh> Looks like Stenny's away with the faeries again ... [Sten appears to be standing while sleeping]

Who says that just because we haven't seen them, they don't exist?

[Lumivyory]

The first had namazu like creatures in ronka or came to ronka via the Qatari or rat race before the flood. You learn that in their beast tribe quests

Moogles do exist on the First as well - they have blue poms and are seen even running a version of the Moogle Delivery Service (presumedly G'raha established it there based on the Source's one, but it still leads to questions as to how that can connect with the Moogle Delivery Service on the Source - presumedly it's similar to how retainer services are handled by Feo Ul, but that's a long shot).

Ah, totally forgot about these lol

And I suppose we could still encounter Source's versions of Pixies or Nu Mou when we venture into the new expansion, or it could be completely new beast tribes. For now we can only assume that they either don't exist or aren't in any area we have explored.
To be honest I'd like them to stay exclusive to the First, it's nice to have some differences.

[LineageRazor]

It's been my theory that the severe tilt toward Umbral/Light on the First had some connection to why Fae appear (not just Pixies, but Fuath, as well). Any kind of magical technobabble could be employed to serve as a link; perhaps the tendency of light-rich aether to "still" causes freed souls to sometimes crystalize into a living form, like ice around a dust particle making snow. (This theory also supports the similarities between ice aether and Umbrally-charged aether noted when they were talking about restoring the ice element to the Empty during the Eden raids.)

I also like the theory mentioned earlier in this thread that the extra density all aether on the Source has (due to many Rejoinings) makes it unlikely or impossible for a soul to reform as a Pixie, instead forming things like Ghosts (I don't think we've seen any Ghost mobs on the First, interestingly).

Those are the main notable differences between the Source and the First, structurally, so I think they're reasonable theories!

[YianKutku]

EDIT: Oops, I didn't see the new page, so my original post (that there are Moogles on the First) is redundant.

I admit to some curiosity that the Viera on the Source are mostly in Othard, while the Viis of the First are in Norvrandt, half the world away. Given they have lengthy lives and are also deeply insular (and thus not likely to migrate), I have to wonder if this is actually a decision made out-of-universe to allow for the newly-designed race to appear in the expansion, rather than actual lore.

[Brightamethyst]

I have to wonder if this is actually a decision made out-of-universe to allow for the newly-designed race to appear in the expansion, rather than actual lore.

It's almost certainly primarily a gameplay decision, but there are any number of legitimate lore reasons a move could have happened if they ever need to explain it. For all we know the Viera are native to Eorzea but moved out in the wake of one of the calamities.

[zlygork]

EDIT: Oops, I didn't see the new page, so my original post (that there are Moogles on the First) is redundant.

I admit to some curiosity that the Viera on the Source are mostly in Othard, while the Viis of the First are in Norvrandt, half the world away. Given they have lengthy lives and are also deeply insular (and thus not likely to migrate), I have to wonder if this is actually a decision made out-of-universe to allow for the newly-designed race to appear in the expansion, rather than actual lore.

Obviously, the meta reason is that they want exposition to the new races in the new content, but I suppose the non-meta difference would come down to the Ronkan empire whose knowledge they safeguard. Either it doesn't exists in the source, or all of its ruins have been long lost to one of the many calamities.

[Jonnycbad]

Also remember 12,000 years ago the Flood of Darkness tipped the balance of the remaining shards out of balance, and the first was tipped closest to light from the onset several millenia even before the flood. The elemental polarity being naturally shifted more towards light might have been an environmental factor that led to Pixies coming into existence.

It's also possible that Pixies did exist on the Source, but maybe were entirely wiped out in any of the 7 calamities that hit the world, whereas the First never had a calamity besides the Flood of Light.

[Iscah]

Also remember 12,000 years ago the Flood of Darkness tipped the balance of the remaining shards out of balance, and the first was tipped closest to light from the onset several millenia even before the flood.

12,000 years ago was the Sundering, by the Source's reckoning. The Thirteenth was flooded sometime after that, but time doesn't flow evenly across the shards so we can't be certain of that timeframe anywhere else - unless of course the various fluctuations of time roughly even out over millennia, which they well might.

In any case, several thousand years is plenty of time for tribes and races to spread differently on different shards with different histories.

[Myvar]

I also like the theory mentioned earlier in this thread that the extra density all aether on the Source has (due to many Rejoinings) makes it unlikely or impossible for a soul to reform as a Pixie, instead forming things like Ghosts (I don't think we've seen any Ghost mobs on the First, interestingly).

I believe there is a quest in Kholusia that

has you defeat the ghost of a mother and her unborn child.

[CeruleanArc]

It's also possible that Pixies did exist on the Source, but maybe were entirely wiped out in any of the 7 calamities that hit the world, whereas the First never had a calamity besides the Flood of Light.

This is my view. Especially considering that Bismarck, the fae, existed on both the First and the Source, although he appears to have died long ago on the Source.