Tales from the Dawn #4: "A Question of Death" (Jullus)

[Theodric]

I feel like in order to be appealing targets for invasion, the Garleans need to not only be weak, but also have a resource that is worth going to war for.

The land of Garlemald isn't very valuable for farmland, and the big cerulean deposits they're sitting on are not going to be in high demand without the Garlean Empire's war machine.

Also, doing so now would mean souring diplomatic relations with Sharlayan, Thavanair, and the Eorzean Alliance, not a good idea really.

The Garleans were attacked even over those scant resources as outlined in the reaper job quests:



Furthermore, ceruleum is an incredibly valuable resource that can only be found in specific places - and all signs are pointing to many nations embracing magitek to a greater degree even when accounting for purely non-military pursuits.