So, I've been playing for 6 years and it wasn't until THIS YEAR that I realized how almost all of the characters I really like are Elezen. I was like "Oh, I have a type!!"
There's also the Meracydia Elezen. Not much is known other than what was revealed in Heavensward Triad content. Other than their dark complexion and worship of a goddess named Sophia(along with other races back in the 3rd astral era).
Hmm. Listening to this video, I suddenly realized that FF14 story writers seemed to have completely forgotten about the Duskwight/Wildwood Elezen split. There was some mention of it in ARR questing, but this particular conflict seems to have completely vanished in the post ARR storytelling. It doesn't even come up during the Endwalker role quest when we're following the Elder Seedseer around Gridania. Meanwhile, the conflicts that Ul'dah and Limsa were embroiled in have continued in later expansions and some have even been resolved. Also given the history, it feels to me like the Elezen living outside Gridania (Ishgard for example) shouldn't belong to either the Duskwood or Wildwood races because they split off long before the Gridania Elezen moved underground into Gelmorrah, let alone moved out and founded Gridania as a nation.
@invisibleseeker Weapons, I believe they're talking about Gaius' duskwright partner? I vaguely remember him facing discrimination for being duskwright but can't remember the specifics
I always surprise people when I explain that while yes Elezen are longer lived than Hyurs, they aren't like Tolkien Elves. Super Pope (Thoraden) is only 74 years old XD
Yes, our most distinctive physical feature, is our ears AND NO OTHER PART OF OUR BODY. Nope, nothing else, every other part of our bodies are well proportioned. Yep, totally.
Ah, the elusive Duskwight. They’re so elusive-both among NPCs and the player base-that whenever I see them, I feel like I won the lottery, or crossed paths with a potential friend (someone new to get to know). In terms of in game lore and universe, one of my retainers is a Duskwight. My WoL was based in Gridania before moving to Ishgard, so he employs the marginalized of both places; a Duskwight and a Moon Miqo from the Black Shroud, and an Ishgardian from the Brume.
As a Tolkien fan (and specially a fan of the Elves) I really loved Gridania the first time I got there (I mean, as far as I see it, it is a mix of Rivendell and Lothlóriel with a bit of the Shire), and while I went with a Hyur character (and made him a Dunedain-like character similar to Viggo's Aragorn in looks), I still have a Fantasia at hand that I look at almost every day I play, and ponder if I should stay Hyur or become an Elezen. This video only makes it harder for me.
Actually, if we follow the current lore, there is! We just never see them or go there because they don't want to be interacted with. Kinda like how we're not welcome at Keeper of the Moon camps.
@@SynodicScribe Oh cool, thanks I didn’t know that. I thought they were mostly wanderers, often mistaken for poachers and brigands. Still, it would have been nice to visit maybe a tiny enclave of Gelmorra where outsiders may visit. Same for Keeper Miqo’te camps. But that’s just me. I enjoy poking around Eorzea and beyond to learn more about the lore. I’m part way through Stormblood and while I had a bit of a rough time with the pirates of the Ruby Sea and the Kojin part, I’m having an absolute blast on the Azim Steppe. The Xaela Au’ta are fascinating enough I’m tempted to roll an Au’Ra alt or get an Au’ra retainer.
@@mikoto7693 Oh trust me, ever since I read that there are Duskwight that still follow the old ways and make their home in elaborate caves I've wanted to see one. haha
If anyone is interested, to actual French people, Elezen names sound like old medieval french. Also, my roleplay character is a male duskwight who swears like a chocobo-cart driver. Also also, fascinating and enlightening video.
Glad to finally see more appreciation for our tall long eared friends! Out of curiosity, have you thought about starting a class on skillshare for video essays? I love the way you write and narrate your videos, and it inspired me to get into making lore videos for FFXIV and Lobotomy corp, but I have no clue where to start.
Was previously an Elezen, with my character being a DRK based off of Ser Ompange and Geralt of Rivia. I loved that character but wife wanted to go Miqo'te, so here I am lol.
This is making me wanna fanta from miqo to elezen even more 😭😭 but i already have elezen alt.. which is literally just Estinien… with the name Estinyan XD
The first time I tried out FF14, I made a male wildwood elezen archer, this character wouldn't see level 20 since I didn't enjoy the game at the time and didn't have a friend to play the game, that was around 2.2 or so, years later, and the start of my transition I had someone talk about it, and I wanted an MMO and they needed someone to play with, so around stormblood I would reinstall and make a new character on their server this time a female miqote warrior, I've fantasia'd countless times hoping around, but I think I've finally landed on my final one, a female wildwood elezen
The pompesity of the Elezen might just be a cultural thing. Ishgard and Old Sharlyn, more than a couple of Gridanian. Like how Ul'dahn lalafel are greedy because it's Ul'dah.
This is very unrelated, but would you consider making a video on dalmasca? I feel like there's so much culture and lore and fashion and trade and cuisine etc. that was only barely touched upon and it'd be lovely to hear all the details about how the nation once was and how it now operates.
Hey there Sir Scribe, i look forward to checking out yet another awesome lore video from you! I had yet another lore question if you find yourself with enough free time to indulge me at some point. This is shadowbringers spoilers for anyone that concerns One thing i have a difficult time wrapping my head around is exactly what happened with Cylva/Cyella and Mitron + Gaia as far as how the flood of light was brought about. As best as i can tell Cyella was encouraging Ardberts crew to take on more and more creatures of darkness and collect more and more crystals of light in order to increase the influence of Light in the first drastically, and Gaia/Mitron were the Shadowkeeper that they battled that eventually caused the scales to flip over and start the flood of light by way of turning Mitron into Eden, the first Sineater. Is that correct? Am I missing something? When i first did those missions, which admittedly was over a year ago, I didnt fully undersrand and it felt like the role quest finale and the eden raid were contradicting each other. If im missing something or am getting something wrong would you care to clarify?
That's more or less correct. Cylva was a resident of the 13th shard who was tricked by the Ascians into helping cause the Flood of Light on the 1st. Being told that in exchange for her help, they'll save the 13th. She did as she was told, helping to guide the 1st Hero's into doing what was necessary for the eventual Rejoining. Then everything went to hell when the Flood of Light began.
@@SynodicScribe i guess what confused me the most is she says she is the shadowkeeper but she isnt thats mitron and gaia. And i guess it also confused me that it only took 5 warriors of light to tip the balance. Thanks for taking the time to answer, my questions are never on topic with your video so i appreciate you answering them anyways lol
I wouldn't really call Ishgardians Wildwoods necessarily, since it's more complicated than that. I laughed at how you ran out of Duskwights to show off and had to loop one of them. To be honest though, I think it's worth being meta with Duskwight and discussing how SE seems to hate them, with nearly all the noteworthy non-villain Duskwights either getting killed off, retconned into WW, or removed from the game. Actually I guess the villain ones get killed off too. It's just most of them are villains to the point where you can use racial profiling to guess who the twist villains are in questlines.
It's mostly because the elezen from Gridania and Ishgard ultimately come from the same culture that was displaced in the early 6th Astral era. The Duskwight were the only major biological shift their species experienced in the passed millennium, making the Ishgardians and Gridanias essentially the same stock. Sure we could split hairs here and there, but the differences eventually become negligible. But, if you're referring to that business with Ratatoskr, not all the elezen in Ishgard have her "inheritance."
@@SynodicScribe I get where you're coming from, but I don't think I wholly agree with that interpretation. The Ishgard-Shroud split happened before the DW-WW split, so I wouldn't rule their differences out as neglible. Since the WW and DW terms specifically refer to the distinction between the two in the Shroud, with no real term for any others existing. So calling any non-Shroud Elezen a DW or WW is... nebulous. The Ishgardians are not altered the way DW are, but I think it's a stretch to presume that they're exactly the same as the WW in every physical regard, since the three types have each had to adapt to different climates/combative circumstances, and the Ishgard-Shroud split happened first. Though I'm ignoring all the weirdness with Duskwights, and how they keep popping up in places like Ishgard or Dalmasca, Ysayle, and the Estinien's retcon from being a Duskwight.
@@keelhaulsthingsthatdontmatter In that case. I would be curious to see your catalogue of observable biological differences between the Gridanias and Ishardians as well as the reason those traits manifested.
@@SynodicScribe We know the abilities of WW and DW, since they're both playable, but any other Elezen are pretty much just up for interpretation, including the Ishgardian. But I think it's a safe inference that there's probably greater physical strength, based on where the Ishgardian martial arms are emphasized (knights), with even some Paladin abilities being named after Halone. One could argue that it comes from their dragon heritage, but that'd be complete speculation.
Proud Duskwight, so much appreciation for Elezen :)
Duskwight assemble!
i to am proud to be a duskwight nothing shall make me use the fantasia
There are dozens of us! Dozens!
Here here. No regrets going for Elezen
d u s k w i g h t s
Been an elezen since day one, will never change
The one race you know people are gossiping about has the best hearing to catch every nasty word, so sad for Dukswights :(
So, I've been playing for 6 years and it wasn't until THIS YEAR that I realized how almost all of the characters I really like are Elezen. I was like "Oh, I have a type!!"
There's also the Meracydia Elezen.
Not much is known other than what was revealed in Heavensward Triad content. Other than their dark complexion and worship of a goddess named Sophia(along with other races back in the 3rd astral era).
I am a Duskwight and will never ever never fantasia away from it, so happy to be Elezen 🥰
Same!
Duskwight here, too. I‘ll never change to anything else.
Elezen are amazing, especially the girls. Totally underrated
As a Duskwight learning about Elezen history is truly amazing. I can't wait to hear more about the other races and the world.
Hmm. Listening to this video, I suddenly realized that FF14 story writers seemed to have completely forgotten about the Duskwight/Wildwood Elezen split. There was some mention of it in ARR questing, but this particular conflict seems to have completely vanished in the post ARR storytelling. It doesn't even come up during the Endwalker role quest when we're following the Elder Seedseer around Gridania.
Meanwhile, the conflicts that Ul'dah and Limsa were embroiled in have continued in later expansions and some have even been resolved.
Also given the history, it feels to me like the Elezen living outside Gridania (Ishgard for example) shouldn't belong to either the Duskwood or Wildwood races because they split off long before the Gridania Elezen moved underground into Gelmorrah, let alone moved out and founded Gridania as a nation.
It actually came back up recently in the Shadowbringers Trial series. Don't want to spoil though so I'll say no more.
@@Kekira which trials?
@invisibleseeker Weapons, I believe they're talking about Gaius' duskwright partner? I vaguely remember him facing discrimination for being duskwright but can't remember the specifics
Elezen gang represent!
I always surprise people when I explain that while yes Elezen are longer lived than Hyurs, they aren't like Tolkien Elves. Super Pope (Thoraden) is only 74 years old XD
Yes, our most distinctive physical feature, is our ears AND NO OTHER PART OF OUR BODY.
Nope, nothing else, every other part of our bodies are well proportioned. Yep, totally.
So was it only an illusion of them reaching fruits from tall trees with their mouths only by standing?
reaching fruits, with just their mouths?! they'd need to be significantly taller to do that! or at the very least have, say, a longer neck...
You just made me realize that this is the first video I've ever seen on Elezen that doesn't mention *that* even once. How refreshing!
I'm a duskwight elezen from the moment I made my first character and I never changed since
Proud Elezen. We are dozens!
Always good to see a video about us. Elezen have such an interesting history, especially the Duskwight, although I may be biased to say that hehe...
also I want to go to Gelmorra now.
This needs more views, this is really well done.
Honey, come quick! We got a Synodic Scribe lore dump about Elezen!
Also, we never see which race of Elezen our esteemed tutor is... what secrets is he hiding?
Ah, the elusive Duskwight. They’re so elusive-both among NPCs and the player base-that whenever I see them, I feel like I won the lottery, or crossed paths with a potential friend (someone new to get to know). In terms of in game lore and universe, one of my retainers is a Duskwight. My WoL was based in Gridania before moving to Ishgard, so he employs the marginalized of both places; a Duskwight and a Moon Miqo from the Black Shroud, and an Ishgardian from the Brume.
Duskwight best wight! GELMORRA WILL RISE (...sink?) AGAIN
Absolutely love the Elezen. My WoL is a Duskwight
Good ol Duskwight, Eorzea's Drow
As a Tolkien fan (and specially a fan of the Elves) I really loved Gridania the first time I got there (I mean, as far as I see it, it is a mix of Rivendell and Lothlóriel with a bit of the Shire), and while I went with a Hyur character (and made him a Dunedain-like character similar to Viggo's Aragorn in looks), I still have a Fantasia at hand that I look at almost every day I play, and ponder if I should stay Hyur or become an Elezen. This video only makes it harder for me.
I started as a Duskwight Elezen and I am still a proud Duskwight. ❤
OMG I love that piece of Scribe's lore at the begining!
Actually. That story was written from the perspective of a dragon during the early days of Ishgard. Pre-Dragonsong War of course. haha
This was absolutely an incredible seminar.
It’s a shame there isn’t a small part of Gelmorra still settled by Duskwight.
Actually, if we follow the current lore, there is! We just never see them or go there because they don't want to be interacted with. Kinda like how we're not welcome at Keeper of the Moon camps.
@@SynodicScribe Oh cool, thanks I didn’t know that. I thought they were mostly wanderers, often mistaken for poachers and brigands. Still, it would have been nice to visit maybe a tiny enclave of Gelmorra where outsiders may visit. Same for Keeper Miqo’te camps.
But that’s just me. I enjoy poking around Eorzea and beyond to learn more about the lore. I’m part way through Stormblood and while I had a bit of a rough time with the pirates of the Ruby Sea and the Kojin part, I’m having an absolute blast on the Azim Steppe. The Xaela Au’ta are fascinating enough I’m tempted to roll an Au’Ra alt or get an Au’ra retainer.
@@mikoto7693 Oh trust me, ever since I read that there are Duskwight that still follow the old ways and make their home in elaborate caves I've wanted to see one. haha
Why did it take me this long to realize the duskwight elves are a reference to drow?
I think whenever Elves appear anywhere, there would always be the Wood and the Dark. Sometimes High.
If anyone is interested, to actual French people, Elezen names sound like old medieval french.
Also, my roleplay character is a male duskwight who swears like a chocobo-cart driver.
Also also, fascinating and enlightening video.
Glad to finally see more appreciation for our tall long eared friends!
Out of curiosity, have you thought about starting a class on skillshare for video essays? I love the way you write and narrate your videos, and it inspired me to get into making lore videos for FFXIV and Lobotomy corp, but I have no clue where to start.
I've not, but maybe I could rattle the idea in my head some!
First time catching a video the same day it released. I've been catching up on these lore videos so much as I slowly progress through the MSQ
Proud Duskwight femme elezen... love her to death ❤
Duskwight have the right of it.
Most Wildwood will go and dare use a fantasia once in a while.
A Duskwight? Never.
Was previously an Elezen, with my character being a DRK based off of Ser Ompange and Geralt of Rivia. I loved that character but wife wanted to go Miqo'te, so here I am lol.
The story of my people!
Still wish that after reaching level 30 as a lancer I could reprimand the two harassing the duskwright outside the lancer guild
This is making me wanna fanta from miqo to elezen even more 😭😭 but i already have elezen alt.. which is literally just Estinien… with the name Estinyan XD
ELEZEN NUMERO UNOOOO
Let's talk about the Elezen in the room
They can hear you just fine.
@@Wastingsometimehere exactly lol :D
Started off as Duskwight but swapped to Wildwood sometime around EW.
The first time I tried out FF14, I made a male wildwood elezen archer, this character wouldn't see level 20 since I didn't enjoy the game at the time and didn't have a friend to play the game, that was around 2.2 or so, years later, and the start of my transition I had someone talk about it, and I wanted an MMO and they needed someone to play with, so around stormblood I would reinstall and make a new character on their server this time a female miqote warrior, I've fantasia'd countless times hoping around, but I think I've finally landed on my final one, a female wildwood elezen
Was Xande an Elezen? His ears look pretty much as pointed as Elezen have them on all artworks
Possibly... but all we ever saw of Xande was his enhanced clone, not his "normal" form in his first life...
The pompesity of the Elezen might just be a cultural thing. Ishgard and Old Sharlyn, more than a couple of Gridanian. Like how Ul'dahn lalafel are greedy because it's Ul'dah.
This is very unrelated, but would you consider making a video on dalmasca? I feel like there's so much culture and lore and fashion and trade and cuisine etc. that was only barely touched upon and it'd be lovely to hear all the details about how the nation once was and how it now operates.
I could try. There's not tons of data but certainly enough to fill a video!
@@SynodicScribe That'd be super awesome, thank you :D
Love the little artwork and drawings . May I ask who did them?
Catti! Links to her stuff in the description and at the end of every video!
Hey there Sir Scribe, i look forward to checking out yet another awesome lore video from you! I had yet another lore question if you find yourself with enough free time to indulge me at some point.
This is shadowbringers spoilers for anyone that concerns
One thing i have a difficult time wrapping my head around is exactly what happened with Cylva/Cyella and Mitron + Gaia as far as how the flood of light was brought about.
As best as i can tell Cyella was encouraging Ardberts crew to take on more and more creatures of darkness and collect more and more crystals of light in order to increase the influence of Light in the first drastically, and Gaia/Mitron were the Shadowkeeper that they battled that eventually caused the scales to flip over and start the flood of light by way of turning Mitron into Eden, the first Sineater.
Is that correct? Am I missing something? When i first did those missions, which admittedly was over a year ago, I didnt fully undersrand and it felt like the role quest finale and the eden raid were contradicting each other. If im missing something or am getting something wrong would you care to clarify?
That's more or less correct. Cylva was a resident of the 13th shard who was tricked by the Ascians into helping cause the Flood of Light on the 1st. Being told that in exchange for her help, they'll save the 13th. She did as she was told, helping to guide the 1st Hero's into doing what was necessary for the eventual Rejoining. Then everything went to hell when the Flood of Light began.
@@SynodicScribe i guess what confused me the most is she says she is the shadowkeeper but she isnt thats mitron and gaia.
And i guess it also confused me that it only took 5 warriors of light to tip the balance.
Thanks for taking the time to answer, my questions are never on topic with your video so i appreciate you answering them anyways lol
Another view for the view factory.
Lotta duskwright representation in the comments! As a moonie, us outcasts gotta stick together lol!
I wouldn't really call Ishgardians Wildwoods necessarily, since it's more complicated than that.
I laughed at how you ran out of Duskwights to show off and had to loop one of them. To be honest though, I think it's worth being meta with Duskwight and discussing how SE seems to hate them, with nearly all the noteworthy non-villain Duskwights either getting killed off, retconned into WW, or removed from the game.
Actually I guess the villain ones get killed off too. It's just most of them are villains to the point where you can use racial profiling to guess who the twist villains are in questlines.
It's mostly because the elezen from Gridania and Ishgard ultimately come from the same culture that was displaced in the early 6th Astral era. The Duskwight were the only major biological shift their species experienced in the passed millennium, making the Ishgardians and Gridanias essentially the same stock. Sure we could split hairs here and there, but the differences eventually become negligible.
But, if you're referring to that business with Ratatoskr, not all the elezen in Ishgard have her "inheritance."
@@SynodicScribe I get where you're coming from, but I don't think I wholly agree with that interpretation. The Ishgard-Shroud split happened before the DW-WW split, so I wouldn't rule their differences out as neglible.
Since the WW and DW terms specifically refer to the distinction between the two in the Shroud, with no real term for any others existing. So calling any non-Shroud Elezen a DW or WW is... nebulous. The Ishgardians are not altered the way DW are, but I think it's a stretch to presume that they're exactly the same as the WW in every physical regard, since the three types have each had to adapt to different climates/combative circumstances, and the Ishgard-Shroud split happened first.
Though I'm ignoring all the weirdness with Duskwights, and how they keep popping up in places like Ishgard or Dalmasca, Ysayle, and the Estinien's retcon from being a Duskwight.
@@keelhaulsthingsthatdontmatter In that case. I would be curious to see your catalogue of observable biological differences between the Gridanias and Ishardians as well as the reason those traits manifested.
@@SynodicScribe We know the abilities of WW and DW, since they're both playable, but any other Elezen are pretty much just up for interpretation, including the Ishgardian.
But I think it's a safe inference that there's probably greater physical strength, based on where the Ishgardian martial arms are emphasized (knights), with even some Paladin abilities being named after Halone. One could argue that it comes from their dragon heritage, but that'd be complete speculation.
@@keelhaulsthingsthatdontmatter Ah. So assumptions then. Here I was hoping for lore I might've missed. =/
rejoice fellow Elezen, our time has come!
First ahaha.