Garlean Physiology

Are Garleans just plain stronger than the playable races? Even without their armor we see them doing a bunch of stuff that you wouldn't think possible without using aether. Then you've got Zenos, who was apparently considered the deadliest man in the Empire even before becoming a Resonant. Is there a reason for this, or does Zenos just have an amazing amount of plot armor?

Zenos seems to be a special case even among garleans, but yes, Garleans seem to be physically superior with the weakness of not being able to use aether.

The garlean scientist guy in SB alludes to this. At the time I thought it may have just been propaganda, but then Hien also makes a comment about it not being fair that 'Zenos' i 4.5 has both a garlean body and magic.

Zenos has an artificial echo that lets him use magic, though I think he was also just a super prodigy even before then.

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Originally Posted by Bright-Flower

Zenos seems to be a special case even among garleans, but yes, Garleans seem to be physically superior with the weakness of not being able to use aether.

The garlean scientist guy in SB alludes to this. At the time I thought it may have just been propaganda, but then Hien also makes a comment about it not being fair that 'Zenos' i 4.5 has both a garlean body and magic.

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I had noticed that line from Hien as well. There is a lot of debate about it now. The general consensus, at least on Balmung, seems to be that it isn't canon until something comes out that confirms it. But uh... When you've got both a renowned scientist and a well respected king - a warrior-king, no less - commenting on the power of Garlean bodies, it makes you think.

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Originally Posted by Absimiliard

I had noticed that line from Hien as well. There is a lot of debate about it now. The general consensus, at least on Balmung, seems to be that it isn't canon until something comes out that confirms it. But uh... When you've got both a renowned scientist and a well respected king - a warrior-king, no less - commenting on the power of Garlean bodies, it makes you think.

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Hien's comment is what solidifies it for me. The scientist guy you could argue as being biased, but Hien? I don't think he would buy into garlean propaganda like that. Plus, greater strength would help to offset them not being able to use aether to some degree.

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Originally Posted by Bright-Flower

Hien's comment is what solidifies it for me. The scientist guy you could argue as being biased, but Hien? I don't think he would buy into garlean propaganda like that. Plus, greater strength would help to offset them not being able to use aether to some degree.

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It makes sense from an evolutionary perspective. Even if they didn't already have their increased physical abilities from the start, I'd wager being driven out into such harsh lands by the other aether-enabled races would've lead to them becoming quite a bit hardier over generations.

It kinda makes sense that the with the lack of aether manipulation in almost all Garlean pureblood they adapted by being physically strong.

Not only that, but the environment they live in is also very harsh, thus also making them physically strong much like how Highlanders and Roegadyns had to adapt to theirs.

On a side note, since Garleans are their own, could that mean they might have different clans? So far we see the Elezen-looking ones like Maxima, Eula and Lucia; while there's midlander-looking ones like Jenomis and Aulus.

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Originally Posted by Bright-Flower

Hien's comment is what solidifies it for me. The scientist guy you could argue as being biased, but Hien? I don't think he would buy into garlean propaganda like that. Plus, greater strength would help to offset them not being able to use aether to some degree.

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Remember though that scene was not actually even the real Zenos but Elidibus in Zenos's body, so the 'magic' he used was Elidibus drawing on his own Ascian powers rather than relying on his Garlean host (in much the same way when Lahabrea possessed Thancred back in ARR he used Ascian powers rather than Thancred's). So Hien's "no fair" comment is still right as 'Zelidibus' was basically superpowering himself in having the best of both worlds - a Garlean's superior physical strength and stamina (from Zenos's body), and Ascian magic (from Elidibus), and Hien had already eluded to earlier about "an Ascian wearing Zenos's face" so he outright knew the person he was facing was not actually Zenos at all but an Ascian in a Zenos-meatsuit.

Rule of thumb with the Ascians seems to be that even though they need a physical host to inact force on the corporeal realm, once they have a host though that Ascian is free to draw on their considerable magic power regardless of the native power of the host body they happen to be inhabiting.

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Originally Posted by Enkidoh

Remember though that scene was not actually even the real Zenos but Elidibus in Zenos's body, so the 'magic' he used was Elidibus drawing on his own Ascian powers rather than relying on his Garlean host (in much the same way when Lahabrea possessed Thancred back in ARR he used Ascian powers rather than Thancred's).

Rule of thumb with the Ascians seems to be that even though they need a physical host to inact force on the corporeal realm, once they have a host though that Ascian is free to draw on their considerable magic power regardless of the power of the host they happen to be inhabiting.

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Yeah I know it was Elidibus using his ascian magic, but it was still a garlean body using ascian magic, Hien's comment makes no sense if pureblood garleans don't have high physical strength.

It is worth noting that there is a small percentage of the Garlean population that is capable of manipulating aether. We know nothing of them, however - their capabilities and total number elude us.

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Originally Posted by Absimiliard

It is worth noting that there is a small percentage of the Garlean population that is capable of manipulating aether. We know nothing of them, however - their capabilities and total number elude us.

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Where are they mentioned? First I've heard of them.