Why did Solus (1st Garlean Emperor) have some of the royal family members killed?

[CyrusArjuna]

I've always wondered if more of the Garlean higher-ups were Tempered by Bahamut like Nael was. I know we haven't had any discussion about it, but who all knows that Bahamut was a Primal? I remember at the end of the 2.0 story, after beating the Praetorium, there's a random Immortal Flame (I think) that mentions a Primal awakening - which turned out to be Bahamut. Surely some of the Garleans put 2 and 2 together and figured out that the Bahamut that was released from Dalamud was a Primal right?

Maybe some of these other aspirants to the Imperial throne were Tempered as well?

[Rocl]

I think this is unlikely. Nael didn't become Tempered until the restoration of the Lunar Transmitter, which was well into his Eorzean campaign. There's a chance those at Bozja Citadel were Tempered, but they all got Megaflare'd right quick so it's of little consequence.

Come to think of it, I'm surprised we haven't heard anything about current Garlean's opinions on Nael. There's a bit of a throwaway that indicates Nero was using Nael's old aetheric data but I'd be curious what Varis and Regula thought of Project Meteor. With Regula so close to unleashing the sins of Allag all over again as well, it seems like it'd be due.

[Hinoto-no-Ryuji]

I've always wondered if more of the Garlean higher-ups were Tempered by Bahamut like Nael was. I know we haven't had any discussion about it, but who all knows that Bahamut was a Primal? I remember at the end of the 2.0 story, after beating the Praetorium, there's a random Immortal Flame (I think) that mentions a Primal awakening - which turned out to be Bahamut. Surely some of the Garleans put 2 and 2 together and figured out that the Bahamut that was released from Dalamud was a Primal right?

Maybe some of these other aspirants to the Imperial throne were Tempered as well?

Mm, but then you run into the problem of Bahamut being dormant however many thousands of yalms under the surface of Eorzea after the Calamity, with no indication that Garlemald had any desire to follow up on the impact sites (they're completely uninvolved in the Coil story, Nael aside). Garlemald had put the Eorzean campaign on hiatus after the Calamity, and didn't seem to gain a renewed appetite for it until Varis rose to power, so nobody was really around to get Tempered by Bahamut.

The implication of the story seems to be that Varis was simply acting to secure his throne, and/or possibly as an early show of power. They had a claim to the throne, thus they were a danger to him, thus he had them killed.

[Anonymoose]

I've always wondered if more of the Garlean higher-ups were Tempered by Bahamut like Nael was. <...> Maybe some of these other aspirants to the Imperial throne were Tempered as well?

Nael didn't become Tempered until the restoration of the Lunar Transmitter, which was well into his Eorzean campaign. There's a chance those at Bozja Citadel were Tempered, but they all got Megaflare'd right quick so it's of little consequence.

I'd planned on just tossing Rocl a PM like, "AKSHELLY" but he thought it'd be better if I went on a digression ... sooo ... here I am.

When the second Garlean lunar transmitter in Castrum Novum is activated, and you later see Darnus become empowered (and more than a little theatrical) as the moon warbles and flashes a bit, he may be being tempered here, but it wouldn't be his first dose of Bahamut's influence. (Perhaps that's one reason he starts behaving more and more strangely as the project moves along.) The exact nature of who is tempered and when is left a little vague to allow for questions and drama, but when Darnus convinces the Emperor to reboot the Meteor project, he's already tempered.

The most obvious bit: Darnus uses magic when you first meet him at the Bowl of Embers. It's a little thing, but even his own men are like, "...!?". It's the first red flag that something is amiss. At the Howling Eye, he even brags that when the land is "bathed in crimson brilliance", all he has "labored long to accomplish" will have come to pass. Read: "I have long been a vessel for the will of 'Almighty Dalamud', and His will is that you shall burn."

The second lunar transmitter barely worked at first (when the moon turned red and Nael started channeling the power of the crystals towards Dalamud), and it was completed towards the end of the story. The only likely vector for his first tempering was, therefore, the first lunar transmitter. But when was it turned on in such a way that Bahamut's influence could first come through and claim Nael? When it was first excavated by House Darnus? Whilst it was being studied at Bozja Citadel? And was anyone there with him? Was anyone else claimed? Is that why Midas nan Garlond was so obsessed with the project? These specifics are left to the imagination.

Still, with House Darnus and the Meteor Project being so shrouded in secrecy, and with Nael killing his father and Bozja being annihilated by an accidental energy transfer (read: Megaflare), it's unlikely anyone else is wandering around Garlemald doing work in Bahamut's name. Not impossible, but pretty unlikely ... if for no other reason than that story arc was created to bridge 1.18 through the relaunch and into Coil; the realm is reborn, Coil is over.

[Rocl]

I'd planned on just tossing Rocl a PM like, "AKSHELLY" but he thought it'd be better if I went on a digression ... sooo ... here I am.

It made more sense than me editing my post saying "nvm Moose proved me wrong again!" LORE IS MEANT TO BE SHARED!

The most obvious bit: Darnus uses magic when you first meet him at the Bowl of Embers. It's a little thing, but even his own men are like, "...!?". It's the first red flag that something is amiss.

I'm also incredibly amazed I didn't put 2 + 2 together before. It allows some interesting thought though... a Primal's Tempering can "cure" a genetic defect like a Garlean's inability to manipulate aether?

The point is it's unlikely Bahamut tempered more Garleans, I guess. (And Garlemald proper didn't investigate any Dalamud impact sites in Eorzea I guess, but don't forget the XIV Legion built Castrum Occidens on top of an impact site and began to explore it before we showed up for Coil.)

[CyrusArjuna]

I was just throwing that idea at the wall to see what stuck. Didn't really think it was true, just one of those things that I was curious about.

Might have been (or still might be if it turns out to be true somehow) a decent way to make the Garleans slightly more sympathetic if we have to eventually ally with them to combat a greater threat in the future.