Hellsguard
Hellsguard is a clan of Roegadyn. Hellsguard are mercenaries and bodyguards of Ul'dah. Their counterparts are the Sea Wolves, the sailors and seamen of Limsa Lominsa.
Starting Attributes
- Main article: Starting Attributes
Lore
The Hellsguard are a small clan of Roegadyn that have carved out a home in the north of Abalathia's Spine. It is clan tradition to enter the mercenary trade; thus the Hellsguard took to giving themselves easily remembered names made up of words in the common tongue. They are a common sight on the streets of Ul'dah, earning a living as sellswords or bodyguards.[1]
Roegadyn - Hellsguard Naming Conventions
You will find the "old language" used in a lot of Sea Wolf names, as the Sea Wolves tend to adhere to the ancient traditions and customs the northern islands from which they hail. The Hellsguard, on the other hand, are more prone to adapt to their surroundings, and often choose to 'translate' their names from the old language to modern Eorzean. That said, the lines between the two clans aren't set in stone, and you will find some Hellsguard have chosen to use the old language in their names, and some Sea Wolves have given themselves "translated" names.
Male
Male names are formed from two words (usually a descriptor and a noun), and tend to draw heavily from nature, whether it be vegetable or animal, inanimate or animate, abstract or concrete.
Tall Mountain
Spinning Blade
Anonymous Moose
Still River
Bloody Catapult
Female
Female Hellsguard names follow the same rules as those for male names. In addition, there are no restrictions on the second word (as exist in Sea Wolf forenames). The only real difference between male and female Hellsguard names is that the latter tend to include plant imagery (though there are many which do not). On the other hand, the use of trees, flowers, etc. is not exclusive to female names, as there are also many male names which incorporate them.
Blue Lily
Weeping Orchid
Diving Sparrow
Silent Moss
Surnames
Highly independent in nature, Hellsguard despise being defined by the actions of anyone but themselves, and therefore those who leave their mountain homes for the city-states of Eorzea, will often completely drop their family names, choosing only to be referred to by their first.
Pronunciation:
When pronouncing Sea Wolf names, you can, for the most part, follow the rules of English. There are, however, some exceptions:
Vowels:
AE: Somewhere between the 'e' in 'egg' and the 'ai' in 'air' depending on the consonant that follows it
Aerg (ambitious) would be pronounced like 'airg'
Aent (duck) would be closer to 'ent' (rhymes with 'sent')
Aergaent (ambitious duck)Insert non-formatted text here
Y: A long 'e' such as the 'ea' in 'eat' or the first 'e' in 'Steve'
Alyr (alder) would be pronounced 'ah-leer'
Blyss (blossom) would be pronounced like 'bleece' (rhymes with 'fleece')
Alyrblyss (alder blossom)
OE: An 'ooh' sound such as the 'ue' in 'blue' and the 'oo' in 'I pity the foo'
Broen (brown) would be pronounced 'broon' (like 'broom')
Loef (leaf) would be 'loof' (rhymes with 'goof')
Broenloef (brown leaf)
Consonants:
PF: Closer to an ‘f’ than a ‘p’
Pfym (five) would be 'fim' (rhymes with 'slim')
Skapf (sheep) would be 'skaff' (rhymes with 'staff')
Pfymskapf (five sheep)
TH: More like a hard 't' than a soft 'th'
Thosin (grey) would be 'toe-sin'
Sthal (steel) would be 'stall'
Thosinsthal (grey steel)
W: Somewhere in-between a ‘w’ and a ‘v’: nowhere as hard as the ‘v’ in ‘villain,’ but with a little more zing than the ‘w’ is ‘west’ (and nothing like how Chekov pronounces ‘vessels’ in Star Trek IV)
Wyzn (white) would sound like 'vee-zin'
Wilf (wolf) would sound like 'vilf' (rhymes with 'filth')
Wyznwilf (white wolf)
G: Almost always hard (like the 'g' in 'guilt' but not the 'g' in 'page')
The 'gin' in Swygyn (silent) would be NOT be pronounced like the drink 'gin' but like the 'gin' in 'begin'
Agat (amber) would be 'ah-got'
Swygynagat (silent amber)
J: A 'y' sound like in 'year' and 'yummy'
Jungh (young) would be pronounced 'yoong'
H: When paired with a vowel (before or after), almost always silent
Smhid (smith) would be pronounced 'smid' (rhymes with 'kid')
Junghsmhid (young smith)