#lohengarde

To whom it may concern,

Whether you are a denizen of the Northern Empty, fleeing the tyrannical hand of ‘law’ imposed by the despot, hail from one of the islands surrounding the archipelago’s Mainland, or possess roots of the Blank while living in settlements removed from its shores across all of Eorzea, all who adhere--or wish to, at least--to the Old ways and tongue, are hereby cordially invited to join the Rainlanders of Aerslaent fellowship. From salty sailor to sheltered shaman, all are welcome within its fold.

Signed, The Hyrtfyr Embassy

There is very little lore surrounding the Hellsguard...but the lore that does exist is very interesting.  Many will miss some of what I will mention because you have to talk with Curious Gorge (at least at level 50 after the job quests but possibly still before or after) who gives you this information.  

We know that the Hellsguard came to Eorzea as Sea Wolves, but we will just refer to them as the Roegadyn for now.   The Roegadyn came from the sea on ships and were known to be marauders.  They would raid and take things for themselves. They were fierce.  They would arrive and mostly remain around La Noscea and Limsa Lominsa.  

(This paragraph I have not seen personally in lore but heard from others so if you can verify this it would help me tremendously) --> A sickness overcame the people of Nym, and some of the Roegadyn fled into the main continent high into the Mountain Range of Abalathias Spine. 

(From lore and Curious Gorge) --> Abalathias Spine is a rough environment.  It’s harsh surroundings make it difficult to cultivate and food is scarce. The firstborn will usually stick around and those born afterwards are sent off into the world where they will best serve as labor and mercenaries.  These Hellsguard would often take on names easier to pronounce than their Roegadyn names in the form of an adjective paired with a noun.  The Hellsguard were religious and superstitious. Guarding a volcano that they believed was the gate to hell.  They were also the ones who invented the Warrior job in FFXIV.   I believe this was necessitated by having to adapt their fighting abilities they had as marauders to survive and hunt food. Why do I think this? Because in a harsh environment such as that, I believe the prey would have its own adaptations...predators would be extra fierce and hostile as well.  I like to think that Holmgang was something that came about from a warrior subduing his enemy or prey.  The mental image is exciting.  Warriors were definitely a big part of Hellsguard culture.  Curious Gorge said that they mostly have abandoned those ways and he seeks to preserve it.  Curious Gorge was actually in trouble for teaching others the way of the Hellsguard who weren’t hellsguard. I am guilty for skipping through some of the job quest line so if you can help me with this i’d appreciate it, but note that Curious Gorge does not have the ash nose that the other hellsguard have. I think that part of his punishment was exile and he is no longer fit to wear the ash nose.  Which means that the nose is not exactly genetic, but cosmetic and is part of hellsguard culture.

There is still plenty we don’t know about them.  I decided I wanted to dig...I wanted to dissect what I could. I took what I knew about the hellsguard and tried to figure out where to start.  The names, their way of life, and the warrior artifact armor helped give me clues. 

Some of the designs in the AF1 and the Myth armor closely resemble some native american patterns, much like the names resemble those associated with native americans in history.  The patterns and the fur and leather.  All of these clues together helped to strengthen the idea that the Hellsguard clan borrow much from Native Americans.  But who?

The first thing that comes to mind when thinking about Native American warriors....Apache.  Depending on where you read, Apache means “enemy” in the language of their zuni neighbors, and also to the Apache it could mean “the people” and in other places about Apache “raiders and mountain men”.  I believe that Square Enix likely chose the Apache as a base and that if this is the case, could tell us much about what the old Hellsguard culture was like. So lets look at the Apache for a minute.

They hunted for their food.  They were nomadic and followed their food. Primarily ate meat and made clothing and shelters from the animals they killed. (Remember, our hellsguard are also nomadic, and don’t stay in one place)

Today’s Apache speak primarily English and use more common names, as theirs were difficult to pronounce due to the complex vowels and syllables. (hmmm sound familiar?)

Children were put to work at a young age, but still played with toys and games like regular children would.  Young men were trained for war very early. The men were warriors, hunters, and political leaders. Women cooked and made clothing, and even defended against attack.  It would be reasonable to believe the women were trained as warriors as well.  The women also were responsible for building shelters.

Women wore clothes made of skin and also dresses. They had long hair that they wore down or sometimes in a bun, and fastened with a “nah-peen”. Women and men both wore warrior shirts decorated in beads and fringe with moccasin shoes or boots with beadwork.

The Apache were superstitious and religious and believed spirits and gods were everywhere.  They relied heavily on storytelling, passing lessons down to generations. They did not have jails, and so relied on the oral passing of codes and conducts. 

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