FFXIV Lore- History of the Modern Miqo'te

Your eyes and ears do not deceive you! It has been an entire year since I started creating regular lore content for FFXIV, and as a show of my appreciation to everyone who has subscribed and supported me I decided to re-work and bring my first ever series on the Playable Races up to my current level of quality! This has been a crazy year, but I've had the time of my life getting to know so many of you as we share our passions over this lovely MMO. As ever, my only wish is to reach out to even more people as time goes on, and bring ever more rich lore to everyone. So until my next upload, stay safe my friends!
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Disclaimer: The MMORPG known as FinalFantasy XIV Online as well as all its related publications and merchandise are owned by Square Enix. I have no claims to it.
Primary Sources:
Video Games-
FinalFantasy XIV Online
Publications-
Encyclopedia Eorzea Volume I
Encyclopedia Eorzea Volume II
Alternative Sources:
FinalFantasyXIV, The Lodestone/Sidestory
FFXIV, Letter from the Producer
Published FFXIV Brand Art Books
#ffxiv #endwalker #miqote

[@SynodicScribe]

Something I feel I could have explained better is that the Tia's rarely try to become the Nunh of whatever tribe they were born from. More often they attempt to replace the Nunh of other Seeker tribes, thus changing the first letter of their name. So this isn't the incestuous nightmare everyone seems to immediately think it is. lol

[@DCJMS]

oh like how young lions move to new prides to challenge the old males

[@williek08472]

I think some Tias will also try to found new tribes of their own (presumably with a harem from other tribes)

[@mikoto7693]

@@DCJMS I suspect this was a deliberate design choice by the Devs. Inspired by the real world feline species examples.

[@hopediamond3318]

You mean inspired by the Disney movie "the Lion King" and every werewolf fantasy series out there. It is the most basic bland of races in the game because of the rehashing of chewed out successions to the tribes. Why not make them into Druids or Alchemical masters instead of hunters? I feel the miqo'te got the raw end of the deal and just got the "cute" looks so people with a certain disposition would play them.

[@Erisvito]

Is this mentioned somewhere? I was led to believe that they simply started new tribes.

[@Puddingskin01]

So remember folks, all those catboys out adventuring are on a grand mission to touch grass.

[@SynodicScribe]

Hm. I'll allow it.

[@foxdavion6865]

Actually in a now no longer in the game because MSQ progression patches; If you talked to Y'shtola after finishing the patch 5.3 story before starting 5.4, she talks about G'raha Tia's "Tia" suffix and muses about his goals with relationships, then quickly dismisses it and moves on.

[@NeroLucifarious]

Or. "While you were touching grass i was honing the blade! MY HAREM AWAITS"

[@MisterofBattle]

@@foxdavion6865 Any source to check the dialogue?

[@foxdavion6865]

@@MisterofBattle There might be wiki entries or videos of it. I've never looked them up myself.

[@boi248]

The style of community for Sun Seekers are like lions (males protect and lead while females hunt and are most active), while Moon Keepers are more like domestic cats (females form groups to raise their offspring while males have terriory they wander that may overlap with multiple female colonies)

[@mikoto7693]

I noticed those similarities too as I listened. I want to create a second character to experience the early content again and since my main is a Hyur female I’m debating between Miq’ote or Elezen.

[@LadyTsunade777]

I can't wait until we eventually go to Meracydia, not only for the dragons, but also for the history of the Miqo'te. It'll be really interesting to see how pre-Allagan, pre-letter-tribe Miqo'te were/are.

[@vtheman1850]

Right? I am imagining a super advanced civilization completely at odds with the tribal nature of Miqo'te !

[@BroadwayRonMexico]

@@vtheman1850 More like the Mystel of The First than the Miqo'te of Eorzea, basically

[@mikoto7693]

I hope we eventually do get to go to Meracydia to see the ancestral homeland of the Miq’ote and see how they live, and their history without Allagan or Eorzean influence. Of course I’m curious about the Meracydian dragons too, but more so for the Miq’ote But this feeling isn’t new. For many years I played FF11, the predecessor to FF14 and clearly the inspiration for many things carried over. In that game the Miq’ote predecessor was called the Mithra and they were female only, with the lore being that because the births of male Mithra were so rare they were kept at home and only females ventured out into the world. And for most of the years I played there weren’t any male Mithra models in the game itself. Because of my great fondness for pet cats in my real life I chose to be Mithra without knowing any of the lore. My Grianne, who started out as a warrior and eventually became a Paladin in total defiance of the lore and traditions of the Mithra though I got around that by writing her background as an orphan raised by Hume parents. And over time I began to really want to see male Mithra and the homeland. I got my wish for the first as a male Mithra appeared in the Wings of the Goddess expansion but not the second wish. But it should be noted that I quit the game before the last expansion or two came out. So when I transitioned to FF14 I was happy to see male Miq’ote as a choice, along with better and more detailed lore about the race. Despite this, I chose to be a midlander Hyur female starting as an Arcanist. Even now I’m seriously contemplating making a second character to run through the older content again though I don’t know whether to choose Miq’ote or Elezen. I still adore the Miq’ote but almost everyone plays a female Miq’ote. I’ll have to make a choice soon though.

[@lyconxero457]

I literally started chuckling when you said that the Miqo'te are one of the least populous races in the world given that they are THE most populous race in the game. Even taking out other played characters in the game, Miqo'te NPCs are THICK throughout all of Eorzia except for Ishgard. In fact, it became apparent to me how much I was used to seeing Miqo'te when I didn't see them everywhere for the first time when we visited the Far East. That's also something that I really appreciated about Endwalker as the focus was more on the Raen Au Ra and the Arkasodara tribe with Hyurs filling in the middle. I really hope we visit more places like this in the future where other races are the majority and the world is designed to accommodate them.

[@SemekiIzuio]

I love Bozja/Zadnor for this fact. Roes and Hroth were the prominent race there. It's a shame their land got annihilated thousands of them dead.

[@yukiotida8485]

I wonder if we would visit the lalafell islands

[@williek08472]

I'm pretty sure the playable areas of Eorzea represent a small fraction of a vast land, one that's probably dominated by Hyur and Elezen. So in all that, the Miqo'te are probably a drop of water in a lake.

[@kfk4441]

It's the most populous race when it comes to warriors of light

[@BroadwayRonMexico]

There are a decent number of them in Eorzea (but far less than Hyur, Eleven, or Lalafell) and Old Sharlayan, but aside from Meracydia (where we have no idea how common they are) and Corvus, there really aren't any outside of Eorzea's cultural sphere. Nor are any of their populations (besides maybe in Meracydia) big enough to be a backbone of any nation like the rest are Hyur: vast majority in Doma, Hingashi and Ala Mhigo, slight majority in Gridania, very large minority in all other known nations. Also been mentioned to be the majority population of Ilsabard in the past at least Elezen: majority in Ishgard/Coerthas, almost equal population to Hyurs in Gridania, seem to be the most-populous race in Old Sharlayan Roegadyn: majority in Limsa Lominsa and very large minority in Bozja. And we know a large chunk of northern and central Ilsabard is inhabited by them Lalafell: majority of Ul'Dah, majority of La Noscea outside of Limsa city proper, still live in their home islands in large numbers Au Ra: majority population of Thavnair/Radz-at-Han, and while only a small population in Doma, are mentioned to be a quite significant portion of Hingashi's population. Hrothgar: were the majority of Bozja and Zadnor's population. And while I could be remembering wrong, I recall one of them in Galemald saying he was from Dalmasca Viera are probably the only playable race who are or were (possibly the Hrothgar are less populous now than Miqo'te after Bozja's destruction) less populous than the Miqo'te in the 3 main continents and outlying islands, since they also only live in small tribal units, but in a much smaller area

[@benjaminbierley2074]

The fact that the black shroud hasn't wiped the keepers of the moon off the map has to count for something...since Gridania's forest is perfectly capable of doing just that, as Gridania itself should well know.

[@jemm113]

I imagine it’s because the Keepers were far better at maintaining natural balance while practicing their hunting, gathering, and spiritual practices and rites than most of the other Black Shroud-immigrated races did when they first arrived. The elementals weren’t disturbed by their presence, and may have even benefitted from their spiritual practices. Gridania very likely labeled them as poachers simply because they were hunting in the Shroud, but did so without receiving the elemental’s permission. But the Keepers likely did so responsibly and didn’t require permission, but the elementals likely also failed to communicate this with Gridania since they likely didn’t see it as necessary since the Mi’qote weren’t a threat to be dealt with. Similar unfortunately cannot be said for the Duskwight as they are indeed descended from a people outright rejected by the elementals, only generally coming to the foreground as the elementals’ grip on the Shroud was weakened by Calamities.

[@insecdroid]

As a Miqo’te main I’m very happy you made this!

[@SynodicScribe]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@PatCatzz]

How the hecc do you "main" a race?

[@MrDJdo]

Same here ; )

[@insecdroid]

@@PatCatzz My main is a Miqo’te and of my 2 major alts, 1 is also a Miqo’te.

[@mikoto7693]

@@insecdroid Aye, my main is a midlander Hyur female and my first alt is going to be an Elezen female. I wanted to be a Miq’ote but there are far too many of them being chosen by players. One day when I create a third character I’ll go with female Hrothgar if they’re available by then or a Roegadyn female if not.

[@RodrigoOshiro]

As a Viera, I'm very jealous of all this cat people's attention.

[@warbossspincrusha6404]

That miqo'te art in the title card is absolutely gorgeous.

[@Thornefield]

The biggest thing I wish we knew more about with the Miqo'te was the rough location/culture of each Seeker tribe, but I can see why they don't want to go that in-detail considering how little space the world has in-game to depict such in Eorzea.

[@BroadwayRonMexico]

U tribe is in Thanalan, M tribe is in Gyr Abania, G tribe stayed in Corvas after exile to Ilsabard by Allag, Y tribe lives in Dravania. But yeah, I wonder if we'll see more of the others

[@knownofear1]

Thanks for this lecture! Glad to know my mooncat's lore is consistent. Grew up in a shack near the west shroud with her siblings and three other families, passing conjurer noticed her strong connection to the elementals and talked with her mother to get her into the guild (she now sends her children to Gridania's guilds for an education in return for relaxed hunting rights and a stipend). After Bahamut they're now just the one family, but the Lunis name is still going strong!

[@benjloh]

The naming conventions for Seekers are so consistent, we already know what Y'shtola's father is called, even before we have met him (It's Y'rhul Nunh). Another interesting area of speculation is where the current Seeker tribes are based, the Y tribe seems to have relocated to Sharlayan, the M tribe is in the mountains of Gyr Abania, the U tribe stakes out territory in the Sagolii desert near Ul'dah, the G tribe from all indications have not left their ancestral lands in Corvos, more than that I am not aware of. A bit of in character amusement, I legit thought my seeker was the only W tribe member in the game, but I was able to find a cousin/sister/possibly aunt in the Endwalker expansion. As far as I know, that's the only other W tribe Mi'qote in the entire game.

[@Thornefield]

Playing a Lynx tribe Miqo'te (X), same. There's only X'rhun Tia who is the RDM mentor (which I discovered with a little happy glee), and like, one farmhand tending to dodos in La Noscea.

[@PrincessofKeys]

As a V tribe Miqo'te, I've found like 3 others in game besides my catboi! V'nbolo, V'mellpa, and V'mah! Of course V'mah was actually part of the Scions and now I wonder where he is of he is still in the game DX When there is less Miqo'te of one tribe its hard to pinpoint the location from which they might be from. I hope to see more of my tribe people in game!

[@starofaetherius]

@@Thornefield given X'rhun Tia is a former member of the Crimson Duelists in Ala Mhigo I have to imagine that the X tribe is somewhere in the greater Gyr Abania region that we dont get to see. Though that's just my theory. Sort of like how there's supposedly many Au Ra Xaela tribes wandering the greater part of the Azim Steppe, but the Steppe extend past the zone we can visit so we don't get to see them all. I think the same applies to other tribal races but far more spread out (in the case of Miqo'te Seekers that's across all of Eorzea and then some.)

[@kay_faraday]

@@PrincessofKeys V'kebbe the Stray, rogues guild member in very good standing

[@Aquastorm12]

Adding to this as I think a confirmation, the J Tribe is another group that lives in Gyr Abania, the Peaks to be precise! You find a bunch of NPC Miqo'te with J names who you can do quests for and learn about them.

[@HoodedLefty]

There is actually a single instance of an Eorzea born Miqo’te forming a city state, however it is a story spoiler. Also worth noting that the Mystel of the first seem to have very different cultures and have even held positions of political leadership.

[@granmastersword]

that's understandable. Just like in Bioshock Infinite with the concept of "constants and variables", The Source and its Shards all have elements that remain a constant, such as the races, but their culture and behavior all vary as each Shard developed differently. Where as the Source had the Mi'qote be lorewise less populous and more interested in maintaining close and meaningful communities because of their lifestyle, the Mystel must have gotten a different lifestyle that prompted them to form nations and be into politics

[@althelor]

Tbh, I don't think I remember much about the mystel being involved in politics, but I also feel like I kinda breezed through the lore of shadowbringers since I hopped onto it shortly before ew released and was too focused on the msq. The only mystel I remember that were like that were the guy who ran a mining/talos company and his wife, so I think I missed that.

[@Tystolfo]

"There is actually a single instance of an Eorzea born Miqo’te forming a city state, however it is a story spoiler." So are you gonna tell us what it is? I know I'm 6 months late but I'd appreciate a response lol

[@Millienify]

@@Tystolfo Have you finished Shadowbringer? Then you should know :)

[@Zidakuh]

@@Millienify Oh, I see. Yeah that makes sense.

[@jerome6519]

i love your lectures I am a Keeper of the Moon Miqo'te and it surprised me how close of a lore accurate Miqo'te i made is. the only thing that is different is how my First name is as my family name is basically my dads name but spelled slightly different. your lectures are always a treat and ill be sure to stay safe in the wilds of Eorzea

[@warllockmasterasd9142]

as a Keeper of the Moon I am very impressed with your research. Good job man.

[@SynodicScribe]

Glad my work meets everyone's expectations!

[@jojo110367]

I've been waiting for you to cover the Miqo'te! Nice breakdown as always, Scribe. I still love how they're supposedly a rare sight in Eorzea (Especially in the case of Miqo'te of the Moon, which my own main character happens to belong to) - While in reality a massive portion of the playerbase is cats. Who'd have thought that if you give players the option to be a catboy/girl, they tend to pick it! Haha!

[@Kitsune10060]

actually, he has an older Miqo'te video. this one is much better though, so he must be going through the older player race videos to bring them up to his current standard Which, as a Seeker main, pleases me XD

[@Inoam827]

Haven’t played in a long time. Is this still true with bunny bois being a thing now?

[@PrincessofKeys]

I mean I don't think they are too rare that goes to the Males supposedly being rarely seen

[@jojo110367]

@@Kitsune10060 So he did! My bad. I'm still glad to see there's improvements however

[@mikoto7693]

@@Inoam827 Yes it’s true. Male Viera were added with the Endwalker expansion. Female Hrothgar are apparently in the making but probably won’t be available for a very long time.

[@renmage2311]

This is really interesting! My character, Rinh'a, is a Keeper and the info in here is helping me develop his backstory in my HC. It's kinda funny how accidentally well I aligned with the idea that Keepers are quiet on their feet and in tune with aether, since his main jobs are red mage and ninja.

[@starofaetherius]

Excited to see what lore you can share in the future about the Au Ra tribes. In particular the Xaela, as I would love to know more about my heritage and I'm sure you can find some details other lore channels may have missed or left out. Even if it is much the same information, your presentation and character is always the best I feel regardless.

[@megaflamer]

that moment you realize your own personality is a very good match for your moon tribe dude, all without reading into the lore beforehand.

[@alukitvassago]

shocked by the fact i made my character that goes along with the lore of a keeper of the moon o.o without even knowing any of this when i started

[@abdulazizalbelushi7005]

greetings from Miqo'te male to you and to every race in Eorzea ^_^

[@sorrenraclaw]

I absolutely love your lore videos! It's given me a lot more insight to my character than I previously knew.

[@SynodicScribe]

Happy to be of service!

[@Lultschful]

Cat food ad at the end of the video. As always, on point, KZbin. On point.

[@reidsoto8661]

I always look forward to the next lesson you prepare for us. Your lectures are well written and well spoken, and the accompanying images aid in that presentation. Best wishes for the years to come.

[@zakashin]

9:52 I had always wondered why Matoya called Y'shtola, "Shtola"

[@SynodicScribe]

Now you know!

[@aaronlefebre5060]

If you're keen eyed and eared, there's another example of a non-Miqo addressing a Miqo by their given name as well. It's kinda spoilery if you haven't gotten to that point, but it's there.

[@leshyaedawnfire]

This is excellent! It gives me a good bit of info to use when writing about my Miqo'te sisters in the fanfics I'm working on. Fun fact; the middle sister is actually an orphaned Sun Seeker from a splinter branch of the L Tribe who was adopted into a Moon Keeper family after her original tribe was destroyed. I am so looking into the rest of your video's for more lore stuff! I have nine+ original characters I'm working with, so it's a heck of a project.

[@SynodicScribe]

Nine characters eh? I hope you have fun with them all!

[@mikoto7693]

Nine? Holy crap I’m having enough trouble with two, soon to become three.

[@NaitomeIya]

Cat boys and cat girls least populous true, but even barring the arseload of adventurers, they feel like they're everywhere. Seekers have populations in Thanalan, La Noscea and Gyr Abania. Keepers have populations in the Black Shroud, the Northern Empty, and Dravania. To me, looking at a Keeper is like finding diamond in the dark lol. I'm drawn to them for whatever reason.

[@SpyroDraconem]

If you think about it, you can liken the Seekers of The Sun to Lions. They have a singular male leader figure who generally mates with the women, who do the hunting.

[@Kitsune10060]

always good to see Miqo'te lore. Even if it's just a the same stuff as before, just better explained. though as always with these videos leaves me with confusion as to what to do with my own Seeker's back story. As even after almost 8 years, and a virtual library of head cannon for her, I still have 0 idea why she'd have left to go do the adventurer thing to begin with, and more importantly, why she has a Hyur name.

[@motorolasamurai1635]

She was adopted by Hyurs

[@PrincessofKeys]

Creating lore for characters is difficult for me as well. I also have all these ideas in my head for my catboi. One thing I know for sure is I want him to be born and raised in his tribe. Besides that what kind of traditions would they have or where are they even located for that matter!? 0-0 Well I hope you will have your background sorted out eventually! Its always interesting to read others :3

[@Kitsune10060]

@@motorolasamurai1635 you know whats sad .... I never even considered that, EVEN THOUGH we have an example of that in reverse in the MSQ

[@Kitsune10060]

@@PrincessofKeys I have a lot of her mental state during the MSQ down (like how she would actually react to things not how the WoL reacts), what Job stones she has canonically, despite me collecting all of them.

[@motorolasamurai1635]

@@Kitsune10060 It happens, my friend is a Moon Keeper but has U' tribe name. They regretted rolling Moon Keeper after they realised the convention only applies to Sun Seekers, but then I reminded them F'lahmin is also a Keeper of the Moon yet she has a F' tribe name. IRL there are always exceptions to rules and people who break convention/cultural traditions, so it makes sense it can happen in Eorzea too

[@STEELZ2000]

Accidentally making Moon Miqo'te that suits the lore (aether and using magic) is really satisfying. I haven't chugged a single fanta since I started ARR (recently finished 6.0) and I had NO idea what backstories the different races/subraces had. You love to see it!

[@metermaide1726]

would be interested in a similar video for the two Hyur clans, or the two viera tribes.

[@ElvenAngel]

This was awesome, thank you for the lecture! I'm so happy it aligns with my HCs for my Miqo'te. Aristaeus was orphaned and raised by people not very familiar with the traditions so it took him a while to discover his origins. So now X'rhali Tia gets to learn about his people same as I do. He's one of the last remaining of his tribe and he's exploring the possibility of reuniting his people in the wake of Ala Mhigo's liberation.

[@kevindavis4456]

Just a little interesting tidbit, but Keeper of the moon names are reused from FFXI's Mithra.

[@mikoto7693]

I remembered that too. Ah Khazam and the Yuhtunga jungles, such old memories.

[@Zenfaust1]

One thing I noticed that you forgot is that Keepers have longer tails & ears as well aa usually being taller than Seekers; almost wolf-like in their appearance

[@nogitsune4452]

My Miqo'te just prefers being a Tia. The thought of having to settle down with a harem of women is legitimately less appealing than spontaneous adventure.

[@SynodicScribe]

And there are plenty of Tia that feel a similar way!

[@weirdbutokay4750]

I swear this ties to your lecture professor, just let me get this off my chest- When I first visited Eorzea I disliked, and in part HATED, Gridania the most. This started with finding out they were in love with their mystical land lords (Elementals), and finding them disgustingly complacent/dismissive of other's suffering, from the refusal to help refugees' (which there was no problem with the WOL helping them, so that was either an excuse for hate, laziness or if they really did fear the elementals cowardice) to the healers/conjurers in Nophica's shrine/Conjurer's guild telling people "it's the will of the elementals" to folks seeking aid for a child. My brother in the 12, Stop Blaming Your Medical Incompetence On Your Nebulous Land Lord Gods. I have watched their botanist gather logs from trees without destroying the plant. No man, woman, child or otherwise Spoken should go hungry, without shelter or aid for all the wonders they can do. AND YET their Xenophobia and racisms mean most do! Even within their own walls! Surely you have seen the terrible treatment of Duskwights & Seeker of the Moon Miqo'te? It is no small secret that both the Lancer & Archer guild let their prejudices push members into unfortunate lives! though the Miqo'te in the archer's guild did leave that path quickly it is shame and damnation I wish on those who pushed her that way in the first place. And by 'That Life" I speak of those that steal from or take the lives of their fellow Spoken races. Not those labbled criminals for existing in the lands they happen to be in. "Poachers" for camping in the wildernes, "Poachers" for eating wild game and drinking from the river. How DARE they breathe Gridania's air! "But The Elementals!" A Fig for your land lords. Shame and fie on most of Gridania. I grieve for the Miqo'te in Gridania trying to be a part of that tree humping city. Barely tolerated more than the beastmen. . . . (Alas, it is a whole other conversation on us calling some Spoken races Beastmen. I believe their contributions may be underplayed, or may have been out right erased from Eorzea's history!)

[@SynodicScribe]

Gridania is the next city state I'll be covering, and perhaps it will explain the method behind their madness. People may not agree with everything they do, but there's always a reason. Even if it can't be seen by mortal eyes.

[@AHylianWarrior]

A solid video, but you forgot to mention their physiological differences beyond their eyes and teeth. It's important to note that Keepers have exceedingly better night vision, hearing and balance compared to their Seeker counterparts as all that is part of their culture. Basically the Keepers are the ninjas of the miqo'te with their rounder eyes taking in much more of the world around them, their longer ears giving them better hearing and their longer tails making them exceedingly good acrobats. Seekers may be physically strong, but Keepers are exceedingly agile. It's also worth noting that collectively, all miqo'te have incredible hearing, an absolutely incredible sense of smell and both Keepers and Seekers are the embodiment of "jump good" with their leg muscles being able to catapult them through their environment.

[@Aquastorm12]

Honestly, hearing all that I personally have to wonder what it would be like if a seeker kid was raised in a Keeper clan. Would he/she be able to adopt those traits or would there be a glaring difference (I certainly know that seeker eyes probably wouldn't have an easy time)

[@luna_theraider]

@@Aquastorm12 From some small mentions online in other places some have questioned about a Seeker and a Keeper having a child together. That could generate what your thinking of.

[@nora_adora]

Tongue clicks? So we can be Eorzia Knuckles?

[@SynodicScribe]

Do you know dah way?

[@sephirothcrescent5768]

Yay Miqo'te's!... My main is a Miqo'te keeper of the moon!... X3 and they are a Summoner!... :D

[@jedikitteh]

What a wonderful video! Thank you for your hard work!

[@DoomTrooper90]

A potential theory based on some sideways lore for you, Scribe - Aerslant is translated as "First Land" - the original homeland is called Nagyn (translates as "Origin") - considered to be the center of life and civilization according to Roegadyn myths. The Sea Wolves fled the rule of some "despotic tyrant" and came ashore in Vylbrand in 875 6AE. Limsa Lominsa was founded by the crewmen of the Galadion. Hellsguard settled on the mainland not long after, and refuse to speak of what exactly drove them from Aerslant - some kind of taboo to speak about it. Get this - they're also known to have dwelt in Meracydia, but there's some kind of taboo on speaking of that part of history. Apparently they had a vicious fight with a number of people upon that continent, and its a matter of great shame and a taboo to speak of it. Given that the Miqo'te are reported to arrive in Eorzea some time during 6UE - well, that's an interesting point of confluence. Could just be that section of history, especially given the hints that have been dropped about the Miqo'te having adopted a number of traits and systems to aid their survival. Here's a bit of speculation - consider that warfare is (mostly, though not always) something involving men. Now consider a mass slaughter of men, leaving many women without the potential to find mates. So they congregate into tribes, where only the strong lead them to ensure their survival. Sounds familiar? Might go a long way towards explaining the two different strains of Miqo'te - one group got decimated during some long forgotten massacre in Meracydia, while the other group mostly fled and retained more or less their original cultural systems, its origins long forgotten during the mass exodus to Eorzea. Or maybe I'm just misreading everything. We'll know soon enough, I suppose.

[@althelor]

I love listening to this, primarily because I find it so interesting that I created my character in ARR as a male seeker of the sun solely because I thought they looked cool and I knew nothing about their lore at all. Yet it just so happens that the head canon I had for him and how I've role played him just so happens to line up almost perfectly with the lore. And this lined up completely on accident.

[@SemekiIzuio]

Is it weird I want an audiobook of the Eorzean Encyclopedia voiced by you 😳 Enjoy the story telling thank you ☺

[@SynodicScribe]

If Square Enix ever wants me to voice their official audio books I will. haha

[@zfox1]

Very interesting! I'd love a video about Hrothgar at some point

[@RocRolDis]

My seeker, Sooty Felidae comes from the deep, DEEP Sagoli desert where she was found and raised by a branch of the Q tribe. Her original name was Q'shutai Feladi. She fled to Ul'Dah after becoming fed up with the mating practices of her tribe.

[@Ahawk13]

My main is a male keeper of the moon miqo'te who I named Voxi'ra Desaali. I didn't know about males being wanderers, so this actually helps explain why he became an adventurer. And by sheer coincidence i picked gridania as my starting place

[@luniers4629]

And yet two of the most powerful mages are Seekers of the Sun.

[@BroadwayRonMexico]

I mean, one was raised/trained by one of the best mages of Sharlayan, and the other had over a century with the Crystal Tower. They're hardly normal cases

[@DarkStarxLiveWire]

As someone who plays as a female Miqo’te of the keepers tribe I had no idea that our cousins of the Seekers have one male leader as well as having a harem of women so this video was quite a surprise

[@CHBina]

man i love these videos so much

[@raincloud8025]

Thank you for the information, I've been learning the history on the Miqo'te and their naming system to get an idea on some lore on my character. The only thing that's been somewhat bothering me is that the last name is Tya and decided to come in a conclusion (mainly to not bash my head into a wall) that Tya is the name for those who's been banished from the tribe, or a name given in great respect to a Tia

[@QuiteSpiffing]

Oooh, I love the presentation! I love Miqo'te lore and always treat my Miqo'te characters as if they are part of the world, giving them canon friendly names and appearances. It's a pity that the vast majority of players only see them as eye-candy, dressing them in the most revealing outfits they can. Fortunately I can pretend they do not exist as their canonical population isn't nearly as high as the player count playing them xD

[@DJ_Indigo-Angel]

Thank you so much

[@Qamikace]

For some reason, the female mooncats we get to see the most of are always these sort of peppy, airheaded girls, like Nashu from the Hildy questline and Idyllshire's Alliapoh sisters.

[@fiercelytrans1599]

Thank you for sharing!

[@thepainsight]

Any comments on the increasing amount of adventurer Miqo'te not following the naming structure typical of their tribes? Is this an attempt to "fit in" with the other cultures of the world or are these just made up names to hide which family they came from originally?

[@mikoto7693]

My guess is that we’ll never know, though I like the Viera tradition of their true family names being discarded when they leave their homeland and picking their own “city name” instead.

[@pumpkingamebox]

It’s kind of sad that all the Tia’s are bound to be maidenless forever.

[@mikoto7693]

Not necessarily. I suspect that quite a few of them will find some female Miq’ote adventurers willing to work with him in establishing a new tribe. As for the rest, well, it’s known that a decent amount of women from the other races find Miq’ote to be rather attractive.

[@XiasIV]

Miqo'tes really just acting like packs of lions😂

[@Lagbeard]

I do wonder if they had some kind Empire in their home continent of Meracydia at some point in the past.. If they did, it would've necessarily had been during the First or Second Era, since the Third Era had the Allagans and I'm pretty sure the empires they fought weren't Miqo'te empires and based what's known about G'Raha they were around as servants in the Allagan Empire...

[@raytreader9877]

I love this video and gives a ton of great information. I do have one question, though. Forgive me if this was answered and I just missed it. If the Nunh of a tribe dies from, say, sickness, old age, combat (outside of being challenged by a Tia), etc, how does the tribe determine the next Nunh?

[@SynodicScribe]

That usually varies on the tribe itself. Different tribes usually have different philosophies in that situation. But it's safe to say that any Tia being groomed to be the next Nunh would simply take that role. Otherwise, the Tia's would engage in contests to prove who should lead. Then things would resume as normal.

[@raytreader9877]

@@SynodicScribe Thank you the answer and quick response! You've gained another subscriber.

[@SynodicScribe]

@@raytreader9877 Happy to be of service my friend!

[@SashaSherons]

Thank you

[@koledirks]

loved this video thank you!

[@lilyabrams3547]

I thought that nunhs were seperate from the leader of the tribe. Doesn't M'rahz say that it's unusual that he is both a nunh and the leader?

[@starofaetherius]

As i recall it, the only thing odd about the M tribe is that they used to have 2 cooperative nunh's, M'raz and the father of the other guy we helped train. The other Nunh went out swinging when the tribe was under attack by wildlife enchanted by the local snakefolk. It may be worth looking up that questline again as that's when we learn the most about the M tribe and maybe Seeker tribe culture as a whole.

[@Cheesecakeman105]

@@starofaetherius M'rahz specifically states he has the "unusual" honor of being BOTH Nunh and chief. U'odh Nunh, likewise, is noted to be in an atypical position.

[@JusteFantastico]

This is true. The miqo'te around forgotten springs complain about the fact the company of heroes guy is the leader as well as the nunh. They consider it impossible to perform roles.

[@xanxv1246]

I made my Keepers of the moon name long ago but now i realize the fact that my character being called Aku'ya (8th son) means there are another 7 elder brothers all named Aku HAHAHA

[@Reika-bun781]

I would love one of these videos talking about the viera

[@Zenniverse]

I named my Miqo'te "Charlie Softpaw." I think I'm doing it wrong.

[@HikingFeral]

I am here as I just used a fantasia and must have a back story for my toons. I am no role player but I like a short story explaining why my character exists.

[@nighttimestalker]

So it's the harem race. Gotcha

[@Kate-ms2mn]

WOLs calling themselves Nunh is peak insecurity - my characters fucks bro, you gotta trust that, even though he doesn't even live with the clan, he's the alpha and it's really important that everyone knows. Sure.

[@treebush]

Depends if they made it for rp purposes that plays with other miqo'te

[@Kate-ms2mn]

@@treebush Nah, it's all just sad and insecure

[@Tystolfo]

Sounds like projection to me lol

[@game-enjoyer13]

Yeah usually I don’t judge character names/rp characteristics. Make whatever character you want, it’s a damn fantasy game, not real life. BUT there are some exceptions, like you said with naming your character, basically, as “The harem king chad” even though it won’t make sense. Really comes off as projecting insecurities into your character.

[@pitbullseatkids2682]

I tried really hard to figure out a backstory ( I like to give my characters backstories lol ) for my seeker miqote. Didnt want the typical going out for glory for the sake of it I see a lot. Wanted her to have a real reason and believable motivation. I love the lore behind the races in this game

[@luisburgos7365]

I’d hate to be the Nunh of the G tribe if G’raha showed back up just for the title lol

[@edwardcalvo4047]

Any chance we could get Viera lore down the line or is it another case of FF14 not releasing any yet?

[@SynodicScribe]

I want to! But until Square releases or publishes something for me to pull I've nothing to bounce my data of off.

[@edwardcalvo4047]

@@SynodicScribe Curse you Square!!! Why do you keep doing this to me...

[@mikoto7693]

@@edwardcalvo4047 Yeah I don’t understand why the Devs don’t have a full lore sheet prepared for when they release a new playable race. FF14 is an rpg mmo, surely it’s obvious that the players who want to Fantasia to the new race will want detailed lore to go with it?

[@Splizacular]

Krile calls G'raha Tia Raha very shortly after seeing him. Did i miss previous lore where they were already that familiar?

[@SynodicScribe]

They had both been Students of Baldesion together for many many years. Very close and familiar with each other. haha

[@hasseo195]

The lest populated. Is the most common player race^^

[@miri5373]

this is all good to know but i AM interested in how keeper and seeker see each other, mainly because i made my catgirl and catboi half keeper/half seeker

[@kahniceay0]

Miqo lore has always frustrated me because a lot of it doesn't make sense. The eyes for example, from a game stand point it stands to separate the two clans, from a realistic stand point their eyes would look like moonkeepers in the dark and sunseekers in the day light regardless of clan. Sunseeker culture has also bothered me cause its a genetic disaster waiting to happen.

[@DistendedPerinium]

I don't think it would be as big of a disaster as you'd think. Taking what is internal in the game, it seems like about half of the Nunhs aren't from the tribe they lead. This will naturally lead to genetic diversity all on its own. We don't have numbers of average length of reign for a Nunh, but I would assume it's fairly short (enough to produce a generation) due to a Tia needing time to become strong enough to achieve this status (with likely failed attempts prior to success) and becoming too old to effectively defend the position not too long after this (likely a decade or so). Given that this will produce a limited number of babies, depending on time, this will also promote diversity. Add onto this the inevitable "rogue" couplings (both willing and, unfortunately, unwilling that are bound to occur in any singular mating structure and I think that a so-called genetic disaster resulting from this structure would only happen if populations are absurdly low to the point of species endangerment.

[@vriksi]

Awesome video! Watching this now preparing for the Xbox release. I played half way through Heavensward and haven’t been back since.. My Miqo’te is a female seeker, and I LOVE the name I picked out for her- Ari Sahmis (taken from Sachmis, another spelling of Sekhmet, daughter of the sun god, Ra) buuut that obviously doesn’t really fit the naming conventions. I’m stuck between keeping it or changing it to be more lore friendly. Any suggestions are appreciated 😅

[@Clara_Page]

In my attempt to give my character a lore friendly name I ended up giving my moon keeper a sun seeker name

[@Bydnelg]

Do we have an idea where some of the of tribes are? I feel like I've read somewhere that the N tribe are somewhere near the mountains of Coerthas. (I could have dreamed that info, idk)

[@Bydnelg]

Ok, it was a jump of thought. N tribe hunts Aldgoats and most Aldgoats are native to Coerthas.

[@Zoeila]

An important fact not mentioned here is that miqotes were the ones that rediscovered magic and the nature of aether. All things considered it was likely a keeper mystic

[@SynodicScribe]

Miqo'te rediscovering magic? I believe the Onishishu as well as MANY other groups around the world would like to have words about that take.

[@Zoeila]

@@SynodicScribe I believe it's from one of the lore books so I think the most recent one is HW era I'll see if I can find it

[@mikoto7693]

Huh, rewatching this I’m struck by the similarities between the Duskwight Elezen and Moon keeper Miqo’te. Both darkness-adapted versions of the Wildwood/Sun Seekers in the Shroud considered poachers by Gridania. The only difference being that the Miqo’te figured out how to live in harmony with both Gridania and the forest/elementals.

[@tnumberxix]

There is an easily missed soft retcon implying the "only breeding male" lore is largely thrown out for most tribes. In post 5.3, Y'shtola mentions how nuhn is actually a title held by Seeker leaders presiding over territory, which makes more sense than rampant inbreeding in a 'modern' direction societies in FFXIV seem to be taking.

[@SynodicScribe]

Yeah, the FFXIV writing teams LOVES to use throwaway lines like that and it makes video making a nightmare. So unfortunately, unless there's more than one source to back up those lines I usually don't use them. I can't afford to go back through the entire game every time I wanna make a video just because they suddenly change their minds at random points. lol

[@BroadwayRonMexico]

"Miqo'te have never attempted to create a city-state or country" G'Raha Tia would disagree

[@lolstalgic9602]

I didn’t realize Final Fantasy had Faunus.

[@DerpyAlusky]

I look forward to your Hrothgar video ^_^

[@pepekovallin]

I started playing a moon MiQo'te simply because I like catboys, but man, such interesting background will sure help me roleplay him a lot, since it already fits the kind of person he already is, he started his journey becoming a gladiator In Ul'dah, but it didn't took too long for my attention to go to the pugilist's guild since I love martial arts, It helped me a lot during some bad times. Now his canon history is that he seeks a deeper understanding of himself through the martial arts by fighting not only with his muscles but with his spirit, while also gathering more knowledge of the world itself. With this newfound lore I can make him a more fleshed out character, great video

[@obliviouschipmunk6539]

"The miqote aren't too populated in Eorzea." MMMMMM I don't know about that. 🤣

[@SynodicScribe]

Thankfully player numbers don't equal canon numbers. lol

[@obliviouschipmunk6539]

@@SynodicScribeI know it's just a funny statement.

[@SirPhysics]

Fun xenobiology fact: Cat people would not have vertically slitted pupils. Slitted pupils aren't a feline feature, they are an evolutionary adaptation for small ambush predators to better see prey through tall grasses. That's why snakes, small cats, foxes, and crocodiles have slitted pupils while lions, tigers, and wolves do not. So if any of the ffxiv races should have slitted pupils it should be the Lalafel, lol. It's also ironic that the sun tribe has slitted pupils while the moon tribe does not considering slitted pupils are advantageous for seeing in low light. Not that fantasy needs to be scientifically accurate. But it's always fun to know.

[@steelclackers2611]

Well. Miqo'te also have horse ears. So here's that.

[@jadoba3290]

Male keeper of the moon here. In fact, my catboi really didn't fit with his kind 😂 He really look like a seeker (his skin's really light compared to other keepers), he's tall and strong (more into physical job) : only his eyes and teeth reveal his nature. Plus, with the lore you showed, i realized something, among the 3 starting cities, Gridania is the city i don't like (or like the least). Same for shroud, i'm like, always pesting on that region. Now that you said keepers are mostly from that place, i think my catboi's lore has deepened. (Same for the worshipping, i chose Rhalgr xD) And it makes me think about my character's origins and his name oo Maybe he hate that place for some personal reason and that's why he chose to travel to Ul'dah oo ? Like he's very different from his kind so he had problems with them ? Or another thing ?

[@kinggeo8545]

miqote for life gang!

[@jamesraposa942]

I kept male name on a moon miqo female for 2 years after I phantasia'd and no one ever asked me about it :)

[@dragonhearthx8369]

I would like to see the hairless variety.

[@jemm113]

Is it common for wandering Tias to just create a new tribe alongside wandering females? I could have sworn there was some lore about clans with 2 letters to their clan name but that could have been fan content. I am developing a FF tabletop world and a lot of it is from XIV simply due to the diversity of lore. Been playing through older games to find more stuff to incorporate but the MMOs give more for different races and species diversity, timeline depth, and regional political writing that is very important for ongoing story worlds. Plus I’m using FFD20 which uses a lot from the MMOs so that’s where it pulls most of the player races from. I definitely want to use both the Mi’qote and Mystel from FFXI in different ways.

[@biggrayalien4791]

The only thing I have to disagree with this is the location in which Miqo'te are from. They hail from Meracydia, who traveled to southern Ilsabard(Thavnair and the southern mainland) into Aldenard. They never came from the northern end of Ilsabard, as your migration route suggests. And their current tribe locations would suggest a more south-coast migratory passage, with how tribes are scattered from Gyr Abania all the way down to southern Thanalan.

[@TheBestestKitty]

I accidentally made my mooncat lore-accurate, lmao

[@Stickarms99]

Being a nunh sure doesn’t sound too bad, ngl

[@SirinTheBlackWolf]

So... Keepers are the cat version of Viera, got it.

[@stubern11]

Are you gonna do a lore video about the Viera????

[@SynodicScribe]

Yup! It's in the works!

[@stubern11]

@@SynodicScribe super duper Uber hyped

[@SniperKing-O]

G'raha is the most successful Tia to ever live. :3

[@jordiplacer9599]

Viera soon please! If one exists, disregard me.

[@Kougeru]

Then we have the lovely "Khloe Aliapoh" lol