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Sylphs are a race of Beastmen in Final Fantasy XIV.

Beastmen refers to a group of races that appear in Final Fantasy XI, Final Fantasy XIV, and Final Fantasy XVI. While monstrous in appearance, Beastmen are categorized separately from standard fiends as they display sentient intelligence and self awareness—oftentimes exhibiting a mix of complex emotions, culture, religion, art, philosophy, technology, and an understanding of science.

Appearances[]

Final Fantasy XI[]

Beastmen is a term for races that oppose the five Enlightened Races of Altana. Legend tells that the Beastmen are part of Promathia's curse on the five races. The Beastmen are charged with the task of occupying the Enlightened Races' minds through conflict and war, so they will never have time to group together peacefully and consider opening the Gate of the Gods.

FFXI Beastmen Example

An example of some Beastmen. Clockwise from top left: Lamia, Qiqirn, Yagudo and Mamool Ja.

Compared to the fiends that roam Vana'diel, Beastmen display self-awareness and intelligence. At varying degrees throughout the different Beastmen races they possess and exhibit emotions, culture, social structure, religion, art, philosophy, technology, and an understanding of science. At times their intellect and accomplishments, such as grand architecture, rival that of the five Enlightened Races.

While most Beastmen are in continuous conflict with the five Races, there are several exceptions. Goblins and Qiqirn are accepted into many major cities, often as an underclass used for trade and low level jobs, while the Yagudo have a peace treaty with the Federation of Windurst, their neighboring city.

When viewed impartially, the wars and discrimination that rages between the Beastmen and Enlightened Races can be seen as triggered by misunderstandings, unwillingness to compromise, ignorance and age-old racism from both sides.

Beastman races[]

Final Fantasy XIV[]

Eorzea is home to myriad unique races. Among them are the tribes of the beastmen, who are responsible for calling down the god-like beings known as primals.

Official website

The term beast tribe, or beastmen, is a racial slur that was used by Eorzeans to refer to races that differed from those descended from the wandering tribes that would later make up Eorzea's playable races. The term was coined in 1559 of the Sixth Astral Era by the Ul'dahn Syndicate in order to justify the theft of Amalj'aa land by mining companies.[1] It quickly spread through the Eorzean populace, sowing distrust against many other races including Qiqirn, goblins, and sylph. The Ascians taught these tribes the lost art of primal summoning in the waning years of the Sixth Astral Era. Though this put them on more equal martial footing with the sovereign nations, it further inflamed the divisions between them. The Garlean Empire later adopted the term as part of their campaign of primal extermination. Despite these sociopolitical differences, Eorzean naturalists agree that the so-called 'beast' tribes count among the Spoken races.

The designation is only commonly used in Eorzea and Ilsabard. In Othard, it is only used by the invading Garleans, and in Norvrandt the term is considered outdated, but was used in a similar way in the past. Peoples from these lands that may be referred to as beast tribes elsewhere are largely treated as equals. In at least one case, a Spoken race in Hydaelyn (Lalafells) is or was considered a beast tribe in one of its reflections (The First's Dwarves). In light of numerous treaties between the city-states and the tribes, the Eorzean Alliance has made efforts to phase out its use in the interest of reconciliation with the peoples in question. In Patch 6.2, 'Beast Tribe' was changed to 'Tribal Quest' in various elements of the game's UI.

Races referred to as beast tribes[]

Final Fantasy XVI[]

A somewhat derogatory nomen given the collective group of demi-humanoid beings that includes goblins, orcs, and minotaurs, among others. Beastmen tend to differ from most wild creatures in demonstrating a distinct intelligence—possessing the capacity for spoken and sometimes even written language, as well as complex tool-building—and many have developed unique, albeit simple, civilizations of their own. With civilization, however, will always come the desire to expand, and it is this ambition that has resulted in countless clashes with humanity over the centuries

Profile Entry

Beastmen[]

Gallery[]

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