@Trahtar - That really depends on how much of Silan's teachings you remember. Given that most gear from Silan is vastly inferior to the stuff you find on the shelves for cheap at Mainland merchants, I didn't even do a single mission on Silan; I told Chiang that I didn't want to stay in Silan, and he agreed to let me go.... after spending a few minutes running around the camp listening to trainers who couldn't teach me anything I didn't already know.
Now, if Chiang were not willing to let little homins go to Mainland without doing any of the Silan missions, then I would agree that Silan takes too long. But given that I was in Fairhaven in mere minutes, I think that anyone who thinks running a lap around the Ranger Camp is "too long" probably lacks the patience to succeed on Atys in the first place. While I would love to see more homins running around on the Mainland, I don't want to see anyone not enjoy themselves.
Let us not forget that people come to Atys with varying levels of adventuring experience and learning aptitude, and Silan must be able to accomodate those who are not veteran adventurers as well as those who already have at least some idea how we do things here. Between your previous incarnations and my big sister, you and I had more Atysian knowledge than the target audience for Silan's trainers. Silan simply wasn't made for us.
@Bittty - I'm not sure that I would consider the transition from Silan to Mainland to be harsh. Sure, there is a little bit of a learning curve. Leaving Zora by any gate other than the South gate can be a rude awakening for the uninitiated, and some care must be taken if you plan to leave Yrkanis along the road, but overall I wouldn't consider it "harsh".
Then again, my perceptions may be a bit skewed. After all, look who my sister is. Compared to spending my childhood under the same roof as her, Kinchers are pretty tame.
Now, if Chiang were not willing to let little homins go to Mainland without doing any of the Silan missions, then I would agree that Silan takes too long. But given that I was in Fairhaven in mere minutes, I think that anyone who thinks running a lap around the Ranger Camp is "too long" probably lacks the patience to succeed on Atys in the first place. While I would love to see more homins running around on the Mainland, I don't want to see anyone not enjoy themselves.
Let us not forget that people come to Atys with varying levels of adventuring experience and learning aptitude, and Silan must be able to accomodate those who are not veteran adventurers as well as those who already have at least some idea how we do things here. Between your previous incarnations and my big sister, you and I had more Atysian knowledge than the target audience for Silan's trainers. Silan simply wasn't made for us.
@Bittty - I'm not sure that I would consider the transition from Silan to Mainland to be harsh. Sure, there is a little bit of a learning curve. Leaving Zora by any gate other than the South gate can be a rude awakening for the uninitiated, and some care must be taken if you plan to leave Yrkanis along the road, but overall I wouldn't consider it "harsh".
Then again, my perceptions may be a bit skewed. After all, look who my sister is. Compared to spending my childhood under the same roof as her, Kinchers are pretty tame.