Seekers of the Sun
Seekers of the Sun is the diurnal clan of Miqo'te. Seekers of the Sun live in the port city of Limsa Lominsa and the region of Sagolii Desert. Their counterparts are the nocturnal clan of Keepers of the Moon, who live in the forested city of Gridania.
Starting Attributes
- Main article: Starting Attributes
Lore
The self-proclaimed Seekers of the Sun are the diurnal clan of the Miqo'te race. Their preference for the warm light of day pervades all aspects of their culture, as is apparent in their devout reverence for Azeyma the Warden, goddess of the sun. Though relatively few in Eorzea, a small number of them have been accepted into everyday life by the other races in the port city of Limsa Lominsa. Others are known to make their home in the region of the Sagolii Desert.[1]
Miqo'te - Seekers of the Sun Naming Conventions
Male
Most males have simple, one or two syllable names. The extra aitches we see in names such as “Bhee,” “Kuzh,” and “Pahsh” represent a slight hissing/spitting sound that is made when the name is pronounced by the cat-like Miqo’te. Many of the other races in Eorzea cannot accurately reproduce this sound, so the aitches end up going silent when read (Bee, Kooz, Pash).
The first name is always proceeded by a letter representing their tribe. In the mass exodus which occurred during the Fifth Umbral Era, 26 Seeker of the Sun tribes crossed the seas (which had frozen solid as a result of the Calamity) to Eorzea in search of food and warmer climates. The names of these tribes contained many sounds which were difficult to represent with the existing Eorzean alphabet; but the fact that there were the same exact number of tribes as letters in the Eorzean alphabet was taken as a sign that they were destined to make the new realm their home, and so assigned each tribe with a letter/sound that was closest to its name. Over time, this resulted in the changing of the pronunciation to more closely resemble the pronunciation of the Eorzean letter than that of the original word.
The tribe names are originally based on traditional beastkin, scalekin, or cloudkin totems, which are said to protect the tribe.
A: Antelope (pronunciation: short Ah)
B: Boar (short Bee)
C: Coeurl (short Ka)
D: Dodo (short Deh)
E: Eft (short Eh)
F: Bear (short F)
G: Gryphon (short, hard Goo)
H: Gigantoad (short Hah)
I: Bufflalo (short Ee)
J: Jackal (short Jah)
K: Hipparion (short Koo)
L: Viper (short Lee)
M: Marmot (short Meh)
N: Aldgoat (short N)
O: Mole (short Oh)
P: Basilisk (short Peh)
Q: Puk (short Key)
R: Raptor (short Ruh)
S: Zu (short Soo)
T: Condor (short Tuh)
U: Drake (Ooh)
V: Vulture (short Vah)
W: Wolf (whort Wah)
X: Lynx (short She)
Y: Jaguar (short Yah)
Z: Ziz (short Zoh)
Males do not take family names, as they are each considered the ‘origins’ of new families. In place of a family name, they are given a title that denotes their tribe, and their position within it. For a male Seeker of the Sun, there are only two positions available—breeding males (nunh – pronounced ‘noon’) and all others (tia – pronounced ‘tea-ah’). All males are born as tia. At any time in their lives, a tia can challenge the tribe nunh to battle. If the tia is victorious, he takes the nunh’s place as tribe breeding male (until he is challenged and defeated), and the nunh becomes a tia once again (if he survives the ordeal). This is done to ensure that the tribe’s offspring are of the finest stock. Depending on its size, a tribe may have multiple nunh (a ratio of one nunh per ten to fifty females is average).
There is only one other way a tia can become a nunh, and that is to leave his tribe, and start his own. This, of course, requires several females to accomplish, and most female Seekers of the Sun are rarely impressed by a male who cannot defeat a nunh. This does not mean that it doesn't happen. If a male leaves to form his own tribe, he will replace the letter from his original tribe (for example, the "Y" in Y'shtola) with a new one. Since the 26 letters of the Eorzean alphabet are already taken, the new tribal prefix will be often be two letters (Ma -> Ma'shtola) which are of the tribe-forming male's choosing (and all people in his tribe will use that same prefix).[1]
Nunh status does not equate to leadership within a tribe, and in fact, very few nunh ever become leaders.
Pronunciation-wise, other than the tribe pronunciations listed above, names follow common English phonics. Though followed by an apostrophe, the tribe sound is usually flows into the name.
O’raha would be pronounced “o-RA-ha” not “OH. raha”
- O’raha Tia
- O’bhen Tia
- U’odh Nunh
- K’tyaka Nunh
Female
A female first name will always begin with the letter representing her tribe, followed by an apostrophe, and then her given name. Her last name is the first name of the tribe’s breeding male who sired her.
R'Sushmo Rhiki
Sushmo of the Raptors, sired by R’rhiki Nunh (breeding male of the Raptors)
The apostrophe pronunciation rule applies here, as well. The first name Y’shtola would be pronounced “yash-TOE-lah” not “ya. shtoe-lah”
- N’bolata Raha
- A’zumyn Bhen
- H’amneko Odh
- J’nangho Tyaka
In colloquial speech amongst close friends and companions, sometimes the tribe letter will be dropped from the first name.
F’lhammin -> Lhammin[2]