My attempt at the FULL lyrics for the Garlean (stolen) anthem.

[Enkidoh]

Not much to go on? Well, I think it implies a lot.
Possibly, this is the anthem used throughout the subjugated territories? It certainly speaks of a coast-to-coast overview. It's certainly a big boast, but it also hides a painful truth for Garlemald; lakes - plural. They weren't fussed with the rivers, or the mountains (though mountains are mentioned in the preceding stanza, so they couldn't use that again ) They focused on Eorzea's lakes.
Now I doubt, when this was written, they saw themselves just being content with Loch Seld. No, though there are many bodies of water in Aldenard, Silvertear Lake is the only one they cared to really own. Possibly this was written just after the occupation began, and they fully expected to lay claim to all of Eorzea. I mean, at that time, Middy was unknown to them.

Now, it could just be that the lyrics were never corrected in light of the setback at Silvertear, or they were deliberately retained as a sort of "don't you dirty Eorzeans get any silly ideas about complacency, ya'hear?" sort of thing. They are saying they'll be back (and, in fairness, they have tried a bunch of times). I'm pretty confident it is the latter; they see Eorzea as theirs, they just haven't been been allowed to pick up the keys, yet.

Well, when you think about it it is true to a certain point, there is a Garlean facility next to Lake Silvertear even before the Calamity (originally Castrum Novus, later Castrum Centri), so they can easily claim "Silvertear is part of Garlean territory!" simply because there is a Castrum there (not that any citizen could or would probably challenge that accuracy openly anyway even if they knew otherwise - the Frumentari would probably see to that quick smart.).

Also I think the use of lake in the plural was simply for dramatic effect, which for propaganda is all important, and is especially here, driving home the Empire's holier-than-thou attitude that all lands potentially belong to them and are simply waiting for the time for Garlemald to arrive and "show them the way".

[YianKutku]

Also I think the use of lake in the plural was simply for dramatic effect, which for propaganda is all important, and is especially here, driving home the Empire's holier-than-thou attitude that all lands potentially belong to them and are simply waiting for the time for Garlemald to arrive and "show them the way".

I think so too. Also, even if someone challenged the literal meaning, there are several smaller bodies of water in Gyr Abania that people apparently count as lakes as well; Grimm and Enid was mentioned in the Lore Panel.

And if we were to continue being literal, the anthem only talks about Aldenard, so Vylbrand (and La Noscea and Limsa Lominsa) is completely safe from Garlean aggression. (Again, the lore panel notes that the Garleans have no interest in annexing Hingashi, since they care about the mainland continents, not the islands.) And yet Castrum Occidens (near Wineport) is a thing.

[Cilia]

[I]f we were to continue being literal, the anthem only talks about Aldenard, so Vylbrand (and La Noscea and Limsa Lominsa) is completely safe from Garlean aggression. (Again, the lore panel notes that the Garleans have no interest in annexing Hingashi, since they care about the mainland continents, not the islands.) And yet Castrum Occidens (near Wineport) is a thing.

It's important to remember that most of the Castra built in Eorzea were built by the Rogue XIVth; I'd need a Legacy player to verify but I don't think Castrum Occidens was around during 1.x.

While Vylbrand may be safe from Imperial aggression if the Lore panel is to be taken completely literally, the fact that Limsans have pirated engaged Garlean vessels in "spice trade" for quite some time could easily make them susceptible to it. Even if they didn't, looking at how things were for the Confederacy prior to our intervention their way of life would be greatly impacted, so it's not as if the Limsans would be unaffected by Aldenard falling completely under Imperial control.

[Anonymoose]

I'd need a Legacy player to verify but I don't think Castrum Occidens was around during 1.x.

A bit of a build-up: Between Ilsabard and Eorzea is a land bridge that makes invasion difficult. Air superiority is a massive advantage, but you can't hold anything without infantry. This is why Ala Mhigo as a foothold on Aldenard was so important in the first place. Knowing how costly fighting primals would be, and putting 2 and 2 together about the mythology of Mor Dhona, the Empire tried to secure the heart of the continent and failed so hard (shout-out to the Father of Dragons) that they just went back to Ala Mhigo and hid behind their wall, unwilling to see a repeat of the eastern theatre just yet.

While Gaius was able to maintain a tenuous hold on Mor Dhona with supply camps and infantry, no Garlean fortifications were established beyond Ala Mhigo until just before the Calamity. When the VIIth Legion was combined with the XIVth, airships observing blackout brought in a massive amount of supplies in a short period and Castrum Novum was raised in Mor Dhona, the only such fortress in the (free) realm.

Why is all of this important? The invasion of the VIIth (supplemented by the XIVth) spurred the re-establishment of the Grand Companies and Eorzean Alliance. Even if Garlemald has little interest in holding outlying islands, Limsa Lominsa was one-third of the Alliance. When Gaius resurrected Castrum Novum as Castrum Centri and established peripheral castra radiating out from it, Vylbrand couldn't be ignored.

After Eorzea had been completely subdued, Vylbrand probably would have suffered the same fate as Doma, being left on the fringes with a puppet government and little attention. Until such a time, however, the Maelstrom needed to be kept in check.

What about the song? If the whole point of Garlemald co-opting the anthem was to adjust and assimilate an existing culture, why would they bring that new song to other territories? I assume Garlemald has simply changed many anthems. What then of the "lakes of Aldenard"? A declaration of intent and reminder of the Empire's purpose, I suppose. If everything went according to plan, the anthem wouldn't have been not-entirely-accurate for very long.

[YianKutku]

It's important to remember that most of the Castra built in Eorzea were built by the Rogue XIVth; I'd need a Legacy player to verify but I don't think Castrum Occidens was around during 1.x.

While Anonymoose is working on his edit, I'll just mention that this is an excellent point. I have no idea what Legacy was like, but based on the Lorebook, it implies that up until the Calamity, the only Castrums on Eorzean territory were Castrum Novum and maybe Castrum Abania. No idea if Castrum Oriens was actually built back then (I recall this topic having been brought up before).

Of course, maybe the truth will be much deeper and more confusing.

While Vylbrand may be safe from Imperial aggression if the Lore panel is to be taken completely literally, the fact that Limsans have pirated engaged Garlean vessels in "spice trade" for quite some time could easily make them susceptible to it. Even if they didn't, looking at how things were for the Confederacy prior to our intervention their way of life would be greatly impacted, so it's not as if the Limsans would be unaffected by Aldenard falling completely under Imperial control.

Entirely true. If nothing else, the Garleans would probably want control of the artificial Allagan island/testing ground that is Seal Rock, so I can't see the Garleans ignoring Vylbrand like they do for Hingashi (Confederacy notwithstanding).

Old Sharlayan may be spared, though. At least until they develop something the Garleans decide they want.

EDIT to add:

Even if Garlemald has little interest in holding outlying islands, Limsa Lominsa was one-third of the Alliance. When Gaius resurrected Castrum Novum as Castrum Centri and established peripheral castra radiating out from it, Vylbrand couldn't be ignored.

Which does bring up speculation on what Gaius's plans for Ishgard would have been. Ishgard used to be part of the Eorzean Alliance (and Ala Mhigo would probably have plenty of histories about that), but then holed up in Coerthas to continue their Dragonsong War, ignoring the Empire.

But then the XIVth tried building Castrum Aquilonis in Coerthas anyway.

But then they abandoned Castrum Aquilonis half-built after complaining about the climate.

I can't imagine Gaius to be the sort of commander to leave a potentially hostile force unchecked, especially when one side of the Dragonsong War consists of, well, dragons, ie the beings that so decisively stopped the Empire's advance into Silvertear Lake.

So would Castrum Aquilonis have been resurrected and completed? If so, why abandon it in the first place, when the XIVth managed to construct castra everywhere else, including Castrum Marinum in the Rhotano (ie well within territorial range of the Lominsan Navy)?

[FJerome]

Which does bring up speculation on what Gaius's plans for Ishgard would have been. Ishgard used to be part of the Eorzean Alliance (and Ala Mhigo would probably have plenty of histories about that), but then holed up in Coerthas to continue their Dragonsong War, ignoring the Empire.

I'd been wondering about that too lately in terms of the better overall understanding we have of how Garlean Imperialism works. Their modus operandi of leaving the native power structures more or less in place as puppet rulers works pretty well *except* somewhere like Isghard. One of the biggest things that Garlemald does impose on a conquered territory is mandatory atheism, when the government you're dealing with is a theocracy that means massive upheaval and a lot more structural overhaul than you wanted to do.

TL DR - Maybe Gaius just decided to leave it for last because he didn't want the headache.

[Anonymoose]

Which does bring up speculation on what Gaius's plans for Ishgard would have been.

There's a whole lot of speculation to figure out that one ... Guess we better get started!

Gaius had castra raised along the entire north-east / south-west axis opposite Dravania (Gyr Abania, Black Shroud, Mor Dhona, La Noscea). He controlled all of the land up to the start of the mountain range that provides Ishgard natural defenses from hypothetical attack from the lower realm. Yet from those mountains, 100% of their attention and resources were focused on the dragons in the opposite direction ... and they were losing that battle.

When Castrum Aquilonis started becoming a miserable resource pit, it held little strategic value, anyway. Ishgard wasn't opposing him, and by the time he'd taken Gridania, Ul'dah, and Limsa Lominsa, there's a good chance that Dravania would have already razed Ishgard to nothing and went home, allowing Gaius to just waltz in and set up shop.

So let's assume that Ishgard held out until the next time Nidhogg attacked and managed to take him down somehow, and now they're still capable of resisting Baelsar. I guess we'll also assume that the Warrior of Light never returned and the attack on the Waking Sands was the end of that. Let's assume that Iceheart's dead, and Frumentarium was unable to set off the internal struggles they had in Ala Mhigo. Ishgard is unified in its victory and more confident than ever that Halone will see them through anything. Let's assume it'll take a protracted siege.

Would he have completed Aquilonis first? Would it have benefited him to?

As 3.0 (Falcon's Nest arc) and 3.4 (Xelphatol arc) showed us, the western and eastern highlands (respectively) had been given up for lost. Would it really be worth the cost and delay to focus so far southwest of Ishgard when he already possessed Mor Dhona and the Black Shroud? How valuable is the elevated terrain? (Better surveillance, advantages with low-velocity projectiles, less stamina depleted in battle.) Garlemald has airships, machina, and guns. Unless Cid Garlond escaped to Ishgard in the fall of Eorzea and has been ceaselessly upgrading their military capabilities, it'd probably be unnecessary. Their ballistae and cannons also likely can't match the airships' range.

It might have been more prudent to push from the Shroud and Mor Dhona into the eastern and central lowlands, converting the bridge at Griffin Crossing and the mountain pass at the Hall of the Seven Echoes into castella. We've seen that airships from Gyr Abania can make it to Mor Dhona and still be battle-ready. Castrums Centri, Marinum, Meridianum, and Occidens should be more than enough to destroy both highland crossings and isolate central airspace.

This would require one uphill battle from each castellum to take Whitebrim and Dragonhead. You could blow Boulder Downs and force Whitebrim to reinforce Dragonhead, but bottlenecking everything into Skyfire Locks would be ... messier. Supported by airships, infantry (with reapers, vanguards, and colossi) would break through the stone walls and pincer the Gates of Judgement. From there, Ishgard is completely besieged. Strike their cannon towers and they have nothing.

What then? Let a little chaos take root. Rain propaganda linkperals on Foundation while the wealth and food go missing. How long before they're starved out? Has anyone sued for peace? What kind of resistance can you expect if you land dropships on the Pillars' docks?

And then suddenly God-King Thordan and the Knights of the Round take to the field! Curse you, Ascian! Does the army of Halone defeat the XIVth and take their war to Varis? Or does the Ultima Weapon prevail against Ascalon, giving its core more than enough power for Lahabrea to wield the Heart of Sabik like nethicite? Either way, congratulations, you've just ushered in the Eighth Umbral Era.

[Kohdo]

I'm gonna say:

Beyond majestic mountains, across the emerald dale,
On march the ivory standard, united we prevail.
From distant shores of Othard, to lakes of Aldenard,
The light of mighty Garlemald, foer'er our guiding star.

Beneath the lofty heavens, with pride at* heart* we toil,

*Not sure about these.

[Cilia]

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Yeah, I figured Oriens was built by the Rogue XIVth. Novum was the first built beyond Gyr Abania, and the others weren't constructed until the Calamity destabilized Eorzea enough that van Baelsar could get them built largely under the nose of the Alliance (since it had more pressing matters). While the song only mentions going to "the lakes of Aldenard," based purely on Limsan resistance I have a hard time believing they'd leave Vylbrand alone. There's also the Kobolds, Sahagin, and their respective Primals that would need to be kept in check.

Hingashi is given a free pass because it has not shown violent resistance against Imperial interests, and no primals are known to be extant within the region. Had Hingashi lent Doma military aid during the Garlean conquest, I can't help but feel the nation would have fared much worse.

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Castrum Abania was more than likely built prior to the Calamity. It was within Imperial-held territory; I don't see why they wouldn't build a military fortification within their own area. Oriens is part of Baelsar's Wall, so... whether it was built prior to the Calamity is kind of immaterial, as it was also within Imperial-held territory.

If the Imperial goal is control over all the continents, I don't see why they'd leave Sharlayan alone. It's part of Aldenard, yeah?

EDIT

I'm gonna say:

The full lyrics to the song are on the previous page.