New Year's Poem 2018

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Originally Posted by Ghastly

Don't so sure that 5.0 will only be Isalbard/Garlean related. It could be like Stormblood where we visit the areas leading to Ilsabard and the new world/meracydia/nothern empty at the same time.

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God I hope not. It's bad enough that a continent the size of Aldenard is reduced to two zones. I don't want that to happen again. Especially not with Meracydia.

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Originally Posted by Balipu

God I hope not. It's bad enough that a continent the size of Aldenard is reduced to two zones. I don't want that to happen again. Especially not with Meracydia.

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Interesting that you say that, because the current expanded map shows three distinct areas beyond the current confines of Othard that look like they'll be distinct zones at some point, amounting to more than half of the revealed landmass. We'll probably be getting those next, along with whatever "surprise" areas they throw at us. Could be that whatever turning point we're headed for next commits us to Othard for the long-term, if only to increase the irony of all the "Eorzea" branding.

I'm hoping that it ends up taking two expansions to resolve the Garlemald conflict once and for all, because having the whole of Ilsabard and possibly the remainder of Othard condensed into one expansion seems a bit excessive.

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Originally Posted by Fenral

Interesting that you say that, because the current expanded map shows three distinct areas beyond the current confines of Othard that look like they'll be distinct zones at some point, amounting to more than half of the revealed landmass. We'll probably be getting those next, along with whatever "surprise" areas they throw at us. Could be that whatever turning point we're headed for next commits us to Othard for the long-term, if only to increase the irony of all the "Eorzea" branding.

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Oh I hope so. Othard is a gold mine yet we only ever got to Yanxia and the Azim Steppes.

I kinda have some problems with the claim that Varis had to be in league with his son simply because as the emperor he had to approve his plans as the role of emperor and local governor doesn't really works that way.
Local governors in an empire can do pretty much anything they want with how they administrate their provinces this is backed by the imperial administrator in ala ghiri and also it's historically true because The empror himself could not rule a vast landamass alone and has to choose ppl to delegate the government of provinces away from the capital, which sometimes led to said governors to move against their liege because they gained so much power that were able to overthrow the emperor (be it militar power o simple consensus with the overall population)
Also Zenos really had a sarcastic tone about his father while he was addressing his troops in the royal palace as such I wouldn't really say that they were of the same mind, not to Aulus was, according to him, ridiculed by his peers in the capital which fits with Zenos idea of choosing outcast moved by vengeance as his collaborators.
As such Until directly stated I would refrain from making such a claim

edit: To be precise Aulus said that his research were met with consternation in the imperial court and only Zenos supported him

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Originally Posted by Remedi

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Ordinarily I would agree, but for two things: power politics and the other language versions of the 4.0 stinger.

Garlemald is very vested in power politics as part of its Roman inspiration; this is easily shown by how Varis became Emperor by defeating his uncle, who was likely next in line to the throne but without the military track record Varis had got his claim contested. (In all fairness, this actually has some truth to it - one of the duties of the Roman Emperor was to lead the military, which caused... problems when the current Emperor had no interest in doing so, such as with Nero.) There is also no record of any Imperial openly denouncing the Meteor Project, but it is known that Varis clandestinely used the Ivy to try and stop it from coming to pass. The point is... just because Varis denounced Aulus' theories doesn't mean he wasn't interested in pursuing them; it's just that as Emperor, he has an image to maintain, and supporting a seeming crackpot like Aulus wouldn't have meshed well with that. Zenos, who thirsted for power without any other cares in the world, would naturally pick up the wayward scientist for him.

As for the other bit... senpai's commentary on the 4.0 stinger in other languages actually got me interested to go see what they said, and sure enough, in all but the EN version Elidibus more or less criticizes Varis for being so ruthless that he'd use Zenos, his own son, as a sacrificial guinea pig. Varis doesn't deny this. Added in with the fact that Varis seemed to be watching the final showdown on some sort of surveillance system, it's reasonably safe to assume that Varis knew what Zenos was up to.

Tbh the Roman Emperors had to lead the military mostly because they were generals before, one of the problems of the empire was that the legions pledged their loyalty to their generals and not on Rome so military coups were quite common.
I think it's more likely that Varis started following Aulus project secretly after he got wind of what the echo could do from the remnant of the VIth legion and frankly speaking he has banned plays I don't think he cares much of his imagine.

To me he kinda reminds me of king Charioce from Rage of bahamuth virgin souls but we'll see

He isn't banning plays. He is censoring them. If anything that suggest he cares a great deal about image since he is doing his best to supress any negative propaganda. If he didn't care he wouldn't be bothered what playwrights were saying about him.

Well censoring them is not really helping on that department either, in fact is the quickest way to sow dissent.

That said my point is that assuming that he was in league with Zenos is a thing, saying that he had to is another, especially since Elidubus claim is hard to be considered a truth afterall he is working towards his agenda as such his words should be taken very cautiously.

Varis may be ruthless, though it is unlikely that he takes pleasure in being ruthless. Zenos, however, actively tormented his own allies just as frequently as he tormented his enemies...and he most certainly was not working for Garlemald's benefit as he did very little to prevent not one but two territories to be liberated. That is precisely why his father branded his heir a monster. I also believe the '...' at the start of his speech writing off Zenos combined with his expression at the time is indicative of him feeling sadness for how things turned out yet keeping his guard up to prevent showing Elidibus any sign of weakness or hesitation.

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Originally Posted by Remedi

Tbh the Roman Emperors had to lead the military mostly because they were generals before, one of the problems of the empire was that the legions pledged their loyalty to their generals and not on Rome so military coups were quite common.

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Not all Roman Emperors were ex-generals. For a time after Julius Caesar, the Emperor was chosen by birthright or appointed by the previous Emperor. This is how they got nutcases like Caligula and Nero as Emperors. (Historians debate whether Caligula was just that crazy because he was crazy or because he was mocking the idea of giving one man so much power, and whether Nero really was the incompetent despot history paints him as... but I digress.) It was only after the Empire began to decline that most Emperors became as such through military might and coups.

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Originally Posted by Theodric

Varis may be ruthless, though it is unlikely that he takes pleasure in being ruthless.

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Whether he takes pleasure in it or not is irrelevant. He is a ruthless despot who is willing to use his own son as a (seemingly unwitting) lab rat and (apparently) not care that he died due to being an unworthy successor. That should tell you a lot about Varis' character.

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Originally Posted by Theodric

Zenos, however, actively tormented his own allies just as frequently as he tormented his enemies...and he most certainly was not working for Garlemald's benefit as he did very little to prevent not one but two territories to be liberated. That is precisely why his father branded his heir a monster. I also believe the '...' at the start of his speech writing off Zenos combined with his expression at the time is indicative of him feeling sadness for how things turned out yet keeping his guard up to prevent showing Elidibus any sign of weakness or hesitation.

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Originally Posted by Theodric

Yeah, Zenos being completely deranged is worthy of dismissal. With that said, there's the use of '...' at the start of his sentence which suggests he feels something. Added to Elidibus stating that he wants to 'comfort' Varis then it could be that Varis does wish that things had turned out differently with Zenos...

[...]

I doubt he's emotionless - he likely just guards his emotions well...especially around someone like Elidibus.

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If you repeat an argument enough times, it might become the truth! /sarcasm

Unlike certain posters here, however, I simply do not assume the worst about every single antagonist in the game. I'm certain that there will be much more to Varis' motives and character than is initially apparent. It wasn't so long ago that a lot of people on this board were convinced that Regula was going to be a straight up Kefka reference. That did not end up being the case at all.

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Originally Posted by Cilia

Not all Roman Emperors were ex-generals. For a time after Julius Caesar, the Emperor was chosen by birthright or appointed by the previous Emperor. This is how they got nutcases like Caligula and Nero as Emperors. (Historians debate whether Caligula was just that crazy because he was crazy or because he was mocking the idea of giving one man so much power, and whether Nero really was the incompetent despot history paints him as... but I digress.) It was only after the Empire began to decline that most Emperors became as such through military might and coups.



Whether he takes pleasure in it or not is irrelevant. He is a ruthless despot who is willing to use his own son as a (seemingly unwitting) lab rat and (apparently) not care that he died due to being an unworthy successor. That should tell you a lot about Varis' character.





If you repeat an argument enough times, it might become the truth! /sarcasm

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Yes, how dare he mimic your own strategy.

As for Varis, you're basing your post on incomplete knowledge about the situation and your assessment is therefore mostly gibberish. Elidibus - and not Varis - referred to the whole situation as an experiment, most likely beginning at the point he gave Ilberd the two spheres. We are not sure what he meant by this or how Varis is meant to have understood it. If it was a test to see if his son was ready for the throne one day, I fail to see the issue with it. He did not care that he died because he considered Zenos to be a monster. He was not wrong and Zenos clearly did not care very much about Garlemald, as such. Whether it something that came about due to Aulus's or Elidibus's experiments, or whatnot, who knows.

What it does tell me about Varis is that he is not someone who will idly bestow worth upon someone simply due to blood ties.

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Originally Posted by Cilia

The issue with that angle is that Elidibus is a schemer (or as senpai puts it, a snake); he doesn't make direct actions or force things to happen. He nudges, he whispers, he manipulates - leading a military coup sounds extremely out of character for him.

Elidibus doesn't need to lead a coup against Varis. He's already gotten him to insist on binding eikons instead of eliminating them, create supersoldiers capable of using the Echo like Dragon Ball Super's Ultra Instinct at the cost of roughly 100 : 1, and biologically and cybernetically enhance what is implied to be a Garlean child into a cybernetic magitek monstrosity (Inferno) on top of all the other horrific things in Castrum Abania. If a parallel to previous FF antagonists must be made, I rank Varis as closer to President Shinra than Rufus. Lolorito is already fitting the bill of "morally ambiguous male antagonist who is redeemed and lives" (that's an extremely narrow character archetype, by the way) by helping the protagonists for his own ends rather than out of benevolence. Do you believe it realistic for Varis to do the same, given the above things he has directly or indirectly consented to? Why is another character of the same (extremely specific) archetype needed (not that Varis is really morally ambiguous in light of his implicit consent to all of Zenos' horrific experiments)?

... past that, I am going to wait and see what 4.2 brings. The main chunk of it will probably have to do with Yotsuyu, Gosetsu, and be "4.1, Doma Style," but with information from the stinger guesses can gain accuracy.

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Yet again, more idle speculation dressed up as fact. We don't know what Elidibus's role in this is yet and the context of Elidibus's words is cryptic, at best. We do know that Aulus was dismissed by the Garlean imperial court and had to seek refuge in Zenos's domain to continue his experiments. Whether Varis allowed for all this to happen under Elidibus's manipulation, or whether it occurred in spite of his knowledge, is not known. I don't doubt we will see the Resonance come back in the future, since it does significantly level the playing field in terms of aetheric capacities for Purebloods, even with the downsides the prototype forms of it might have.

Trust you to try twist Varis's disgust at his son's actions into some kind of negative trait. Naturally, your post is laced with weasel words like "implicit consent", which you know you can't back up because the sole basis for it is a rather short, very cryptic cutscene at the end of the MSQ for SB.

Elidibus has been fairly subtle in his activities, thus far, yet if Thordan was smart enough to see through Lahabrea's schemes, why would Varis not treat Elidibus with similar suspicion? So, if Varis is not really dancing to his tune, and puts up opposition, with Elidibus now bearing Zenos's assumed form, why is it not plausible that he might seek to take a more direct approach? We'll see what Elidibus is up to soon enough and how he intends to achieve it, assuming he has malevolent motives.

Varis is also stated to be a competent tactician within the lore book so I don't doubt that it would be difficult to outplay him. Furthermore, if anything Elidibus' words suggest that he seeks to bring 'comfort' to Varis and showed off a face that visibly unnerves the Emperor. If it turns out that it is Zenos or Regula that Elidibus has taken over and Varis goes along with it...then that puts yet another nail in the argument that he is cold and unfeeling anyway.

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Originally Posted by Anonymoose

Setting aside that Zenos's actions were oft based on his father's (lack of) consent—why Zenos didn't attack the Wall, resorted to baiting the Alliance deeper into his own territory, went to Doma even though he didn't want to (and bailed as soon as Shinryu was found, saying that he'd fulfilled the letter of his orders and was thus beyond Varis's reporach), and was allotted a massive R&D budget on tech that is coincidentally exactly what Elidibus was proffering—I would argue that Elidibus's lines at the end don't leave an abundance of wiggle room for what the Emperor was ignorant of.

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This is assuming that Zenos was not claiming the budget for other purposes and then using them for the R&D in question. Ala Mhigo and Doma were particularly recalcitrant provinces, which is why the Emperor might have allowed his son control over them in the first place - to ensure they don't rebel again. Whether he was fully aware of all that went on or not, is unclear. As to Elidibus referring to him as a test subject... the context is entirely unclear. That he did not have questions about it could be due to the fact that Elidibus had already made him aware of the chain of actions that led to Zenos empowering himself and giving rise to Shinryu, which the Emperor might at that point have allowed if it got the WoL off the Empire's case. It is true, he did not seem surprised at the choice of wording, but the whys and wherefores are in the dark.

I don't really disagree with your broader assessment as to how things might pan out for the Empire, but it's not a fait accompli just yet. There's too many missing threads to conclude much about the Emperor's role in it yet. On the one hand, he did not see his son as fit to sit on a throne, precisely because he considered him to be a monster, he opposed Project Meteor and you have to consider the fact that a man as honourable as Regula was very loyal to him on a personal level. On the other hand, he does exercise some level of censorship and he wishes to subjugate the Eikon threat and its causes by any means. With what happened in the Dragonsong War, you can certainly see why the Empire has even more reason now to worry about how Eikons can arise than it did before. I had suspected they might pull a Kefka when the Warring Triad came in with Regula, yet they haven't. If they substitute Varis with a more palatable choice later on, if/when the Empire chooses to work with the Eorzean Alliance, so be it.

Yes, it's interesting that Elidibus repeated the same line to him that he had to "us", and it might be that he had more success convincing Varis than the WOL or indeed Urianger, yet this is an individual even more cynical about aetheric entities like Primals than Thordan was. I have trouble believing he will simply fall prone to the "well this Ascian sure seems like a good guy!" line of reasoning. If deceit is their hallmark, why not assume the worst of Elidibus from the outset? He most likely will, particularly having seen Thordan's fate, and his son's own. So we'll see if he is just playing ball for appearances' sake, whilst it benefits the Empire, like Thordan did with Lahabrea.

All we have for now are speculative threads to go off and given how much SE can surprise us with the twists and turns they take, I would say a dose of scepticism remains reasonable at all times.

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Originally Posted by Anonymoose

Ihre Geschichten, die leset hier
Your histories, read (gleaned) here.

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"Ihre" translates to "Their". I presume the warriors are being addressed here.

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Originally Posted by Theodric

Unlike certain posters here, however, I simply do not assume the worst about every single antagonist in the game. I'm certain that there will be much more to Varis' motives and character than is initially apparent.

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Don't take this the wrong way, but would you assume the same way if the antagonist in question was not in any way affiliated with the Garleans? People can be biased about their favorites. Just look at me and all my posts regarding Othard.

That being said I prefer my villains to be complex (as in: not Kefka)

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Originally Posted by BunnyChain

"Ihre" translates to "Their". I presume the warriors are being addressed here.

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It can also mean "your" if you are being polite. Studied german for 8 years plus another 2 years for my translation MA.

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Originally Posted by Balipu

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Absolutely. Ilberd is one of my favourite antagonists in this game - his desire to free his homeland was a noble cause, though one severely misguided due to the methods he chose to make use of. Over time, he became increasingly deranged and beyond salvation - though he had a huge impact upon various aspects of the story. He also served to knock Raubahn down a few pegs and succeeded at lopping off one of his limbs. He left a lasting impression, in other words.

As for Garlemald, I'm certainly rather fond of all things related to it. Though I'm not nearly as biased as some people here like to make out. My favourite characters and factions are much more varied than that and I frequently switch between role-playing a Pureblood Garlean and role-playing a Hingan adventurer. As some would have noticed, I suspect, due to how often my character's avatar and name changes.

At the moment, my current favourite character overall is Hien.

I think Varis may very well be an antagonist with valid reasons from his perspective. That said, I still expect him to be an antagonist thought maybe not THE antagonist when we deal with Garlemald.

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Originally Posted by Theodric

At the moment, my current favourite character overall is Hien.

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No surprise there. Hien is awesome. I hope he gets lots of development next patch. I think Yoshida said in an interview that his favorite is Alphinaud, which clearly shows. I mean no character lacks character development per se, but we know most about Alphie as a person (womanizer, loves politics, afraid of ghosts, can't swim). I hope others get the same treatment as we go forward.

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Originally Posted by Belhi

I think Varis may very well be an antagonist with valid reasons from his perspective. That said, I still expect him to be an antagonist thought maybe not THE antagonist when we deal with Garlemald.

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Well he IS the Emperor so it is hard to think fo anyone else to be the main villain beside Varis if we ever go against Garlemald. Maybe he really does gets deposed. A new Emperor. Or Empress. Hell maybe someone brings back Solus to life as a cool zombie Emperor. Let's repeat the mistake of ancient Allag and make use of the cool Solus concept art.

Hey, maybe that is what Elidibus wants.
1. Somehow persuade Varis to make stupid unpopular decisions
2. Teach necromancy to people against Varis' rule
3. Cackle like a madman and quoth Death Note memes as people resurrect Emperor Santa
4. Profit.

Am I good or am I good?

Yeah, Alphinaud's development has been consistently great and meaningful. He makes for a great travelling companion and plays off of other characters rather well. He is also proof that a character can undergo a massive amount of development over time...assuming they are kept around long enough to do so. As it stands, some characters suffer immensely for only being around for a handful of scenes before being killed off.

With that said, though, Stormblood has improved on that quite a bit so far.

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Originally Posted by Balipu

No surprise there. Hien is awesome. I hope he gets lots of development next patch. I think Yoshida said in an interview that his favorite is Alphinaud, which clearly shows. I mean no character lacks character development per se, but we know most about Alphie as a person (womanizer, loves politics, afraid of ghosts, can't swim). I hope others get the same treatment as we go forward.


Well he IS the Emperor so it is hard to think fo anyone else to be the main villain beside Varis if we ever go against Garlemald. Maybe he really does gets deposed. A new Emperor. Or Empress. Hell maybe someone brings back Solus to life as a cool zombie Emperor. Let's repeat the mistake of ancient Allag and make use of the cool Solus concept art.

Hey, maybe that is what Elidibus wants.
1. Somehow persuade Varis to make stupid unpopular decisions
2. Teach necromancy to people against Varis' rule
3. Cackle like a madman and quoth Death Note memes as people resurrect Emperor Santa
4. Profit.

Am I good or am I good?

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I think we will go to Garlemald but I don't see Eorzea invading. It just isn't feasible for the size and power of the imperial land mass. Taking a provence is one thing. Invading Garlemald as a whole is another.

For me that means the most likely situation is someone in Garlemald comes to us for help, either because they feel that our actions have created a mess in Garlemald is the WoL's responsibility to fix, or because as an outsider we aren't tied to any particular political faction in Garlemald. I don't see it being Varis. I think Varis will have plenty of enemies but I don't see them him getting overthrown yet.

If Elidibus is there he has a plan afoot and because of their nature of using proxies I suspect whatever the plan is it involves Varis and potentially his political enemies. Varis is being very tyrannical but is he doing that because he is a jerk or does he have a plan/know something which makes him feel it is the only course of action. He clearly knows a lot about the metasituation of Hydaelyn and I would bet has a plan to 'save' the world. Our conflict with him may be less about what he is doing but how he is doing it.

As for who could be a big bad beyond him, that depends on what he has planned, who is involved, who is against him and what the repercussions of his plans are. I can easily see Elidibus playing Varis's enemies against him if it served his purpose or tricking Varis into releasing an even greater threat.

I would not be terribly surprised if Elidibus arranges for Varis to be killed or ousted in favour of starting a new succession conflict. I would prefer the reason for infiltrating Garlemald to be a surgical strike against an Elidibus posing as Zenos or Varis. Extreme liberties have already been taken in regards to preventing Garlemald from truly being as imposing as it should be, so I would prefer a more measured approach where we get to see and explore Garlean territory through our own eyes, helping both Imperials and civilians alike along the way with their own local issues. Just like how we slowly warmed up to the Ishgardians and saw them do the same in turn.

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Originally Posted by Theodric

I would not be terribly surprised if Elidibus arranges for Varis to be killed or ousted in favour of starting a new succession conflict. I would prefer the reason for infiltrating Garlemald to be a surgical strike against an Elidibus posing as Zenos or Varis. Extreme liberties have already been taken in regards to preventing Garlemald from truly being as imposing as it should be, so I would prefer a more measured approach where we get to see and explore Garlean territory through our own eyes, helping both Imperials and civilians alike along the way with their own local issues. Just like how we slowly warmed up to the Ishgardians and saw them do the same in turn.

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Again I don't see Elidibus ousting Varis but at the same time I think when we go to Garlemald we will generally be assisting imperials. Were we fight imperials, I expect it to be either factional or military groups we come into conflict with. As I said, I expect us to be invited to Garlemald by someone with influence, not invade. That said, our journey there could very easily be under the radar. Most Garleans would have no idea what we look like. Hell, most Eorzeans don't recognise us on sight.

I don't see Elidibus seizing power directly though. The Ascian MO is almost always to work through proxies. Taking direct power seems out of place and frankly considering Varis has political enemies, probably not necessary. If we see Elidibus instigate a power play, I would bet it would be through a proxy. Perhaps even one who thinks he is working to save the Empire from a tyrant.

I think between Regula and the folks we meet on the Prima Vista they are clearly priming us to see a different side to Garlemald. I found it interesting that Cid claimed to still have a deep love for his homeland even if he disagreed with its policies. I wouldn't be surprised if when we go to Garlemald the Ironworks crew is involved. There families are all there after all. God I hope Nero stays on our side and doesn't go villain. I love that guy.

Between the Ironworks, Lucia, and the Lexentales, I'm struggling to think of an 'in' into Garlemald (the Lexentales seem the best positioned to be allies on the inside, but they're relegated to side-story). I'll just have to hold out hope that if more city-states slip through Galvus' fingers thanks to the Scions actions in Gyr Abania and Doma, the frontier unrest inspires a well-positioned figure to embark on a "diplomatic mission" to Aldenard ;)

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Originally Posted by Belhi

I think we will go to Garlemald but I don't see Eorzea invading. It just isn't feasible for the size and power of the imperial land mass. Taking a provence is one thing. Invading Garlemald as a whole is another.

For me that means the most likely situation is someone in Garlemald comes to us for help, either because they feel that our actions have created a mess in Garlemald is the WoL's responsibility to fix, or because as an outsider we aren't tied to any particular political faction in Garlemald. I don't see it being Varis. I think Varis will have plenty of enemies but I don't see them him getting overthrown yet.

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My completely wild and unsupported speculation is that the tales of our heroism against "safe" targets like Primals and voidsent will have spread to Garlemald, thanks to both the efforts of the Doman Shinobi spreading unrest in provinces, and possibly the Prima Vista crew performing of our feats in Ivalice.

So with this fame, possibly fueled by the utterly inept propaganda efforts the Garleans appear to be attempting that will obviously backfire, the non-pureblood people of Garlemald, especially those in conquered territories, inadvertantly summon a WoL Primal.

At which point Garlemald has to roll its eyes and grudgingly invite the premier Primal-slayer in the world, ie us, to go handle this situation that can be said to be indirectly our fault.

Notably this provides for a situation where Garlemald allows us in its borders to do whatever we need to do, but once we're done, they can go "now get out, and don't come back", and everything returns to status quo.

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Originally Posted by YianKutku

Notably this provides for a situation where Garlemald allows us in its borders to do whatever we need to do, but once we're done, they can go "now get out, and don't come back", and everything returns to status quo.

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And surely everyone will obey this request and no hotheaded response will make things worse. Definitely no chance of that happening.

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Originally Posted by Balipu

And surely everyone will obey this request and no hotheaded response will make things worse. Definitely no chance of that happening.

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At least they can say they gave it a fair go.

(I don't even think it would last a patch update. It would completely blow up in the very same MSQ update the request is made in.)

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Originally Posted by YianKutku

At least they can say they gave it a fair go.

(I don't even think it would last a patch update. It would completely blow up in the very same MSQ update the request is made in.)

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Update? It wouldn't get past the cutscene :D

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Originally Posted by Belhi

-snip-

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Elidibus does not usually take a hands on approach, certainly, though he presumably will when it comes to having to deal with him once and for all. Whether that will be the case for 5.0 or not remains to be seen. Still, one of the past questions for a lore related Q&A session implied that the Ascians weren't behind Garlemald and it could be something else. I guess the question is, does Elidibus count as that 'something else' as he isn't necessarily loyal to the other Ascians or will there be additional complications to consider? I suspect there may be huge revelations in regards to Pureblood Garleans and their origins, explaining how they came to be and why they cannot typically manipulate aether.

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Originally Posted by Theodric

why they cannot typically manipulate aether.

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I have my headcanon about that.

Solus simply didn't like magic as it is a destructive force very much unlike the more predicatble and controlled magitech. So he made several laws that discriminate magic users. Ban from inheritance or marriage for example. Because of this there are no bloodlines with high magic potencial. Those who can use magic are either drafted into the military and sent off to the provinces to fight, or are relocated to a sort of reserve where they can freely practice and develop magic. The city of Mysida.

But this is 100% fan fiction.

The lore book specifically mentions that aether-users in the Garlean legions are highly valued (no matter where they come from/what race they are) and that the Garleans haven't been able to use aether since before they were driven to Northern Ilsabard in the first place. In fact, them not being able to use aether is why they're in Northern Ilsabard at all. Centuries ago, the Garleans used to be much further south and have been driven steadily north by aether-using races who wanted their territories. Once they got to Norther Isabard (FFXIV Siberia?) there was nowhere else for them to go and they've constantly been at war with the surrounding people to keep from being overrun. It was only with the invention of the curulium engine and magictech that they were able to get on an even footing with the other countries at all never mind take them over.

I'm actually curious if we'll ever see another black-robed Ascian Overlord. Elidibus seems to have taken over the role of the Ascian Influence, and his method of being all indirect and scheming has become the norm. Going back to the direct interventions of Lahabrea, Nabriales, and Igeyorhm would seem less interesting now.

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Originally Posted by ObsidianFire

It was only with the invention of the curulium engine and magictech that they were able to get on an even footing with the other countries at all never mind take them over.

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To be fair, with almost six hundred years between the foundation of Garlemald as a nation and the invention of the ceruleum engine, I think Garlemald counts as having survived perfectly fine without it. Possibly not as well as they deserve, but it's hard to picture a nation just barely holding onto existence over six hundred years.

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Originally Posted by YianKutku

I'm actually curious if we'll ever see another black-robed Ascian Overlord. Elidibus seems to have taken over the role of the Ascian Influence, and his method of being all indirect and scheming has become the norm. Going back to the direct interventions of Lahabrea, Nabriales, and Igeyorhm would seem less interesting now.

To be fair, with almost six hundred years between the foundation of Garlemald as a nation and the invention of the ceruleum engine, I think Garlemald counts as having survived perfectly fine without it. Possibly not as well as they deserve, but it's hard to picture a nation just barely holding onto existence over six hundred years.

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They relied on very strong unified defence and Hellsguard mercenaries who Garlemald has had long historical ties to. Hellsguard are naturally magically talented and so provided some measure of counter to the Garleans weakness. That, and the fact that the lands the Garleans held weren't particularly desirable, meant that most of their southern neighbours found it just not worth the cost in actually conquering them.

However yes, the Garleans have been a people who have struggled against stronger neighbours for a long time. It is somewhat ironic considering how their foreign policy developed but perhaps that is a result of their historic treatment.

It's definitely something that needs to be addressed. I'm surprised the Warrior of Light and Scions do not appear to be in the know regarding Garlemald's history and the suffering of their people. Especially when they went to great efforts to uncover the truth behind Nidhogg's actions. Garlemald's foreign policy needs to change, yet it is a result of persecution they themselves have suffered...and in a world heavily riddled with magic to not have access to it leaves them open to exploitation. Magitek gives them an advantage and a niche of their own - in addition to the unique benefit of their 'Third Eye'.

So solving the situation with Garlemald isn't about putting down a threat, it's about a need to compromise and find a way to convince Garlemald to adjust their foreign policy. Slaughtering them isn't going to work, because it isn't realistic for the Warrior of Light and his allies to go and do that...and the plot conveniences involved for such a thing to happen would be pretty dull to see play out. We can't see every Imperial slain, either - since then Garlemald itself would be left largely defenceless and it would prove to add more weight to their concerns.

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Originally Posted by Cilia

Not all Roman Emperors were ex-generals. For a time after Julius Caesar, the Emperor was chosen by birthright or appointed by the previous Emperor. This is how they got nutcases like Caligula and Nero as Emperors. (Historians debate whether Caligula was just that crazy because he was crazy or because he was mocking the idea of giving one man so much power, and whether Nero really was the incompetent despot history paints him as... but I digress.) It was only after the Empire began to decline that most Emperors became as such through military might and coups.

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Tecnically speaking The empire formally started with Tiberius, Augustus considered himself princeps not yet imperator and Julius Caesar was a dictator, besides even in the first dinasty military coups and assasinations happened let's not forget that between the 2 mayor dinasty there was a civil war that only sorted out once Vespasian defeated Vitellio and could claim the throne and he had a military carrer so It's not really something that started just in the worst end of the roman empire.
Let's not forget that the republic fell because Julius Caesar could march with his troops against Pompeus the fact that the troops pledged loyalty to the general and not to the emperor/republic senate remained a real problem for Rome

Sry for the OT anyway

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Originally Posted by Belhi

They relied on very strong unified defence and Hellsguard mercenaries who Garlemald has had long historical ties to. Hellsguard are naturally magically talented and so provided some measure of counter to the Garleans weakness. That, and the fact that the lands the Garleans held weren't particularly desirable, meant that most of their southern neighbours found it just not worth the cost in actually conquering them.

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935 - The Republic forges an alliance with the Roegadyn mountain clans, enlisting Roegadyn battle mages as mercenaries to fortify defenses around the perimeter of the capital.

937 - Bolstered by the strength of the Roegadyn battle mages, the Garlean Republic succeeds in repelling the nomads.

945 - The Roegadyn mountain clans demand compensation from Garlemald for the services of their people in driving off the Hyur. After months of negotiations, talks break down and the mercenaries withdraw from the capital.

I wouldn't call ten years (of seemingly unpaid services) "long historical ties." This also means that, from 6 AE 945 - ca. 6 AE 1500 (when magitek was invented), the Garlean Republic survived without Roegadyn battle mages or magitek. Was it because the Republic's lands weren't desirable? Possible. Point is... this makes it highly doubtful the Republic's people were under daily threat of extinction.

Do we know much/anything about the Garlean homeland in southern Ilsabard? Considering the way the continents are arranged, it'd be likely we'd have to go through there to get to Garlemald, right?

I'm very eager to learn more about the territory that the Garleans originally hail from and which races/nations, precisely, were involved in driving them out of it.