Karellian

The Karellians are an extinct race of technologically advanced humanoids in Final Fantasy XIV.

Profile[]

Appearance[]

The recreated Karellians encountered are humanoid in basic appearance and approximately the same size as an adult Hyur. All wear suits of armor which completely cover them, the only visible difference between the Global Citizens (those aligned with the world government known as the Global Community) and the Freedom Fighters (those opposed to the government) being the color of their headpieces - red for the Global Citizens, blue for the Freedom Fighters. What a Karellian looks like underneath their headgear is not revealed.

Society[]

The simulacrum of Ostrakon Okto visited by the Scions of the Seventh Dawn within The Dead Ends suggests the Karellians were a technologically advanced civilization. Disease was eradicated and the threat of hunger was alleviated by automated food production. Prior to unification under the Global Community, the planet consisted of many nations.^[1]

History[]

Before Final Fantasy XIV[]

The Karellians once inhabited the planet designated by the Meteia as Ostrakon Okto. The scientifically minded Karellians engineered solutions to multiple civilization-ending threats including plague and famine. Their military technology was equally advanced, leading many to fear that the "war to end all wars" was inevitable, but the Karellians prided themselves on their rationality. Rather than panic, they took action, advocating for lasting peace on a scale that their world leaders could not ignore. Thus was a unified governing organization, the Global Community.^[2]

The Global Community came to abandon the noble ideals that had led to its creation, focusing on the consolidation of power above all else. Advocates whose voices were once respected were swiftly silenced, leading others to see a need for a resistance movement.^[3][2] Thus, the Freedom Fighters rose up against their oppressors, and the very war the Global Community had been formed to prevent began, a conflict which was only exacerbated by the untimely arrival of Meteion. Meteion's appearance before the Global Community and not the Freedom Fighters only further convinced the government of the righteousness of their cause.^[1]

In the end, the Global Community constructed 10,000 autonomous combat machines known as Peacekeepers, which were intended to wipe out the Freedom Fighters and any threat to peace. Perhaps inevitably, the Peacekeepers reasoned that the Global Community themselves also posed a threat to world peace and turned on their masters.^[1] With both armies facing annihilation at the hands of the machines, an unknown entity elected to utilize civilization's "ultimate weapon" and thus was the star reduced to ash.^[2]

This war, which was greater than any previously fought on the planet, resulted in the complete destruction of the Karellian civilization. Their self-inflicted annihilation in spite of all they had achieved fuelled the Meteia's belief in the futility of existence.

Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker[]

The Scions of the Seventh Dawn members are forced to battle through a recreation of the dying days of Ostrakon Okto within the Dead Ends, where they witness the Freedom Fighters' conflict with the Global Community. At the end of the area, the Scions battle a Peacekeeper before watching a lone Global Citizen set off a barrage of missiles, destroying everything.^[1]

Following the defeat of the Endsinger, the intrepid Loporrit, Jammingway, and the Omicron N-7000 decide to turn the abandoned remnants of Ostrakon Hena into a café - "The Last Dregs". As the dead star at the heart of Ultima Thule houses the Meteia's memories of the civilizations they encountered, Jammingway and N-7000 recreate members of these civilizations as café patrons. The first patrons are two Karellians: one Global Citizen and one Freedom Fighter, who predictably argue and bicker.^[3]

The appearance of the protostar Elysion prompts the Warrior of Light and Jammingway to persuade the Karellians to work alongside each other in peacefully cultivating the new landmass. As Elysion grows, the Karellians relearn agricultural techniques and interact with the other recreated inhabitants.

Etymology[]

The name Karellian comes from Karelia, a region located in northern Europe within the borders of Finland and Russia. Karelia translates as "Karjala" in Finnish.

Citations[]