[Spoilers] The Patch 4.5 Lore Discussion Thread!

[Theodric]

Gaius surviving never really bothered me. We never saw a body and he's hardly the first character to survive a situation that appeared to be deadly. I feel a lot better about characters such as Nanamo, Gosetsu and Y'shtola being 'killed' and then returning later on when the same thing happens to the occasional antagonist.

[Ursa_Vonfiebryd]

There's been a lot of talk of character death. I think the only one I feel that's really slated for it is Maxima. He's poised to be the next Haurchefant in that he's one of the few relatable/likable Garleans in the main story that's also minor enough to become a plot sacrifice when the story gets too comfortable.

Also, it's obvious to me that Varis is fundamentally against Solus and to a lesser extent Elidibus. I feel like he'll use the battle as a cover to forge a secret pact with the other alliance leaders, or at the very least trade information on their ultimate goals. Varis seems like he's pretty straightforward and not the type for level of subterfuge that Solus and Elidibus are. He feels like the iron hammer of Garlemald. More for power and subjugation than subterfuge.

[KageTokage]

Maxima isn't really at much risk compared to a lot of other characters due to being a non-combative diplomat, and he hasn't had nearly as much screen time and influence as Haurchefant to leave much of an impression

The only threats I could see to his well-being are imperial assassins or Ascians interested in ending whatever influence the Populares have over the situation in Garlemald.

[Torquil]

Gaius strike me as revengeful, ambitious. He's not out to get random people, but he might rechallenge us for another duel or fight. I don't think Gaius carries around heart of Sabik to kill Ascians. Lahabrea showed he could manipulate it, so I don't think it will work. Is that possible to have its counterpart? I imagined it's that something that can push the WoL to cause the flood, and there's nowhere else to get the heart of Sabik other than the past or another dimension. But first things first, he would need to shutdown the black rose operation.

Gaius never struck me as vengeful. By his own philosophy, because we were able to defeat him he deserved to lose.

[ObsidianFire]

If there's anyone Gaius would be vengeful towards, it would be the Ascians, not us. We beat him fairly in combat and he even acknowledges that we did so after we leave at the end of the Praetorium. The Ascians though? They lied to him about what the purpose of Ultima Weapon was for and played him for a fool. If they had told him the truth about Ultima Weapon's purpose, he probably would never have used it. He hate their guts.

If anything, we see this playing out in 4.3 and 4.4. Gaius is essentially doing (or trying to do) what we were doing for all of 2.0. He's going after the Ascians which is what the Scions and us were doing back then. The Praetorium revealed to him who was right and who was stronger when it came to the Ascian conflict and that would be us. Gaius letting us do whatever we want while he goes off hunting down Ascians in places we can't easily get to (Ilsabard probably) fits in nicely with his philosophy of the strong ruling/leading the weak.

[uvuvwevwevweonyetenyevweugwemu]

Gaius never struck me as vengeful. By his own philosophy, because we were able to defeat him he deserved to lose.

He wanted us to rule though and we never go through with his absolute order philosophy (atleast not story-wise). Towards us, not the whole motive, but he was beaten because he was manipulated. If he still going with this (defeating ascians like us back then), the next step for him would be when he is our equal or sort. Maybe vengeful is the wrong word, "someone has to do it" cross my mind. Edit: the plot may direct Gaius to Solus or Zenos as alternative, but do we want him as Garlemald ruler? There's that.

[Cilia]

I doubt Gaius is out for revenge on the Warrior of Light - by his philosophy their way was right, so as long as he's not hypocritical about it he has no reason to go after them.

The Ascians, on the other hand, he has plenty of reason to go after - Lahabrea lied by omission in regards to what the Ultima Weapon was capable of, and the reveal he was effectively little more than a tool to the Ascians probably pissed him off something fierce. If he knows the Ascians have a hand in the Imperial government that just gives him more reason to go after them, though whether or not he's aware of just how far the corruption goes is another matter.

[LineageRazor]

He wanted us to rule though and we never go through with his absolute order philosophy (atleast not story-wise).

That's not quite right - he wanted someone STRONG to rule, and just happened to consider himself to be possessed of that strength. He gave the definite impression that while he considered himself qualified to lead, he would accept someone stronger in that position, as well.

He also very definitely equated atheism with strength. He believed that the only reason to worship a god is because one was unconfident in one's own strength. In his mind, a strong leader has no need for gods - and even if those he leads are not strong, as long as they have a strong leader to rely on they, too, will not feel the need to pray gods for strength.

It probably rocked his philosophy badly that he was bested by an individual who DOES worship gods (at least if our "chosen deity" at character creation has any meaning, something which seems to fade into obscurity more and more as time passes). Why would someone so obviously strong feel the need to place faith in the Twelve? What purpose could such worship possibly have? Gaius believes that gods are nothing more than crutches for the powerless - but could there be more to them than that?

[Kuroka]

In the end i do believe Varis will side with us, as hes said to be close with Regula, how he talked with us in Abalatia, I do feel even if hes a bit of an extremest, he truly wanna save the world and do whats best, in his view... so siding with us to defeat the ascians would be logical...

[ChaoticCrimson]

In the end i do believe Varis will side with us, as hes said to be close with Regula, how he talked with us in Abalatia, I do feel even if hes a bit of an extremest, he truly wanna save the world and do whats best, in his view... so siding with us to defeat the ascians would be logical...

I've suspected that Varis will inevitably propose a temporary alliance at some point with Eorzea and its allies to counteract the Ascians. I don't think either side will be relishing working together though, but needs must and all. Of course, this is assuming the Ascians don't decide to try to dispose of him before this can happen. After all, as long as Elidibus is using Zenos as a live-in corpse puppet, if anything happens to Varis then he's the most likely candidate for succession to the emperor's throne. But I do hope Varis does get to have a chance to get back at the Ascians in some way, no matter what happens. Even if he does live to see the conflict through to the end of the story, he'll probably still need to answer for his actions as emperor in time. While I think he has potential to be an interesting character, it doesn't absolve him of what he's done.