3.4 speculation

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Originally Posted by Cilia

Still! There are always people who disagree with the warlike path many such nations choose (Cessair of Mhach, for instance), so even if there aren't any Garleans who really remember the Republic if we go to Garlemald we might find an ally who isn't an expatriate. Maybe. Possibly.

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From observations like this...I think you're reading too much into my speculation.

It's, at this point, a very neutral thing - simply wondering if we will learn more about the history of Garlemald, which is a young empire (a fact which I was reminded of by the excerpt from the book) and was a republic before that.

Allies? Ex-pats? People that disagree? Not part of what I was wondering about, which begins and ends at wondering if we will learn more about that period of transition in Garlemald's history as we learn more about Garlemald in the future, and whether we'd gain more details on Garlemald from before that period of transition.

But I thought a forum was a place for discussion...

... I'm just going to drop it before I inadvertently set another fire.

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Originally Posted by Cilia

But I thought a forum was a place for discussion...

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And that hasn't changed?

I was just clarifying on my speculation, cause it felt like you were responding to my speculation as if I was saying one thing, and it wasn't what I was trying to say.

I'm not saying discussing those particular points - expatriates, potential allies that stem from when Garlemald was a republic, etc - aren't worth discussing. Just that such a line of discussion wasn't where I was going with my current limited line of speculation.

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Originally Posted by Cilia

But, if we got into a war with Garlemald and if we won, the likelihood of Eorzeans executing Garlean survivors and POWs is pretty low. From what we know.

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The Scions and Grand Companies, sure. But other groups like Ilberd's turncoats, the Ala Mhigan Resistance, the more ruthless Lominsan pirates, the Elementals, and various beast-tribes might not be so magnanimous.

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Originally Posted by Zohar_Lahar

The Scions and Grand Companies, sure. But other groups like Ilberd's turncoats, the Ala Mhigan Resistance, the more ruthless Lominsan pirates, the Elementals, and various beast-tribes might not be so magnanimous.

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Those are very small guerrilla factions at best. Excepting the Elementals, who will only act in earnest if the Twelveswood is threatened. (God I would hate to live in Gridania. No matter how idyllic they try and make it seem, having to bow to the arbitrary demands of the Elementals is... not worth it.)

This is war we're talking about. Full-scale war, not the skirmishes we've had with the Garleans throughout Heavensward and not Operation: Archon against the XIVth. As a whole, however, the Grand Companies (which are the only forces that have the structure needed to properly oppose the entire Garlean military) are more than likely not going to execute survivors, POWs, and noncombatants.

There's no guarantee that won't happen - even modern militaries, with all the tech and oversight we possess, still have soldiers commit war crimes. However most the groups listed - Ilberd's turncoats (which consist of... himself, Laurentius, and Yuyuhase and that's it), the Ala Mhigan resistance (a guerrilla faction), some of the Lominsan pirates, and the beast tribes are a far cry from proper militaries and would be utterly crushed if the Garleans decided to decisively deal with them. (The Elementals, who knows? They're content to let dying people... just die though, so roll the dice and see what comes up.) Aside from the Gration's engines being frozen, there is literally nothing preventing them from using it to blast the Vanu Vanu (and other beast tribes) to smithereens.

If we want to win, that means standing together... and the Grand Companies are the only ones who have the structure to do so, meaning we'll play by their rules. Meaning no executing survivors, POWs, and noncombatants - or at least that not being an official policy and an offense worthy of court martial (that will get you a lifetime in prison). Again though, no matter how hard you try to avoid them, war crimes are inevitable on both sides. There are no real survivors of war - just the guilty and the dead.

In the context of the lingering remnants of the XIVth Legion, though... I don't think there's much to worry about.

TL;DR ver.: there's no guarantee Garlean survivors, POWs, and noncombatants won't die or be executed by any and every splinter faction of Eorzeans if we get into a war with Garlemald, but the Grand Companies who will doubtlessly helm the effort will never condone and almost certainly condemn war crimes.