Did they forget to add an NPC?

[VeyaAkemi]

3 of these are from the steppe and incorporate it into their story.

1 of them is literally a shop vendor lol

Yes but that's also the Xaela homeland, it'd be like complaining there aren't any Mamool Ja that don't come from Tural, the point is that they are just introduced into the story without needing for us to return to the Steppe, and so long as that happens, where ever they come from is irrelevant.

I could also point out there are Xaela in the First, like (and admittedly an extremely minor character), Princess Sauldia from Il Mheg, who shows up in Branden's flashbacks to pre-Flood Il Mheg.