Roleplay question

[Enkidoh]

Lore wise in regards to mount riding, there was an old bit of lore from 1.0 that was meant to explain why chocobo riding/mounts were not available for much of 1.0's life and were only added in a patch later on - and that was because a deadly disease was spreading through Eorzea that was affecting chocobos, called 'Chocobo Blight'. Things got so bad Ishgard's stables were concerned that if left unchecked the disease could render the species virtually extinct, so to stop that they quarantined their healthy birds and refused to supply any to the other city states, helped by Ishgard's closed border policy at the time.

Eventually the Blight diminished enough that they cautiously started to supply chocobos and eggs to the other city states, but because the supply was strictly controlled (Ishgard holds the monopoly on chocobo breeding in Eorzea), this meant the city states too had to be restrictive about who they allowed to ride them.

Because at that time the Seventh Umbral Era was imminent and Dalamud loomed large in the sky, most of the birds released to the citystates were prioritised for military use (read: use by the newly formed Grand Companies). Hence, they started to provide birds as mounts to GC enlistees who had demonstrated sufficent dedication to their Company to warrant being issued a mount. And this continued after the Calamity into ARR, where a chocobo licence is only granted to adventurers after enlisting in a Grand Company and showing requisite dedication to the Company. By extension this then applies to all other mounts as well, no matter how exotic they are.

Of course we are then shown merchants using chocobos to haul carriages and the like so maybe non-adventurers are licenced under a different system or none at all, but adventurers at least have to enlist in a Grand Company before they're legally allowed to ride a chocobo (and issued one for their personal use).