Quote Originally Posted by Cilia View Post
Current Status of Garlean Imperial Legions:
XIVth: formerly led by Legatus Gaius van Baelsar; went rogue on the legatus' orders attempting to conquer Eorzea, but failed. All but destroyed in Operation Archon, survivors are holed up in various Imperial Castra across Eorzea. Former legatus van Baelsar survived but deserted, and now leads reconstruction efforts in Werlyt.
If I recall the Reaper quests, remnants of the XIV are engaged in a sort of black market trading in Eorzea, acting as competition to the local Ul'dahian monopoly. They could desert and return home, but they find it more valuable to remain in Eorzea, and use the imperial infrastructure there to produce ceruleum and sell it at a profit in exchange for money to send back home. It's illegal to sell things to the imperials, but the law didn't have anything against buying from them, and the high demand for ceruleum meant the risk is worth it due to the profits involved.