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

[SentioftheHoukai]

So let me reword it with clarity: a right to feel resentful. And the Eorzean Alliance is sitting in Garlemald itself protecting the Garleans, citizens and soldiers alike. Whether we go into any of the other freed provinces to aid any Garleans in there instead of the non-Garleans (which is what parts of Stormblood, Werlyt, and Bozja we’re about - and even in SB we had that side quest where we helped the townsfolk in Ala Ganni irrc protect a Garlean ex-soldier. And in the patches the Doman prisoner exchange was returning Garlean soldiers). Right now we don’t know what the situation is in these other places still covered by map clouds. If we use the former British Empire- well, there’s enough former colonies, some still symbolically tied via the Commonwealth while others decidedly not. And Japan’s history and how it colors diplomatic feelings in Korea, Taiwan, China, and the Philippines is the Real Life example that I have a feeling the writers are more leery of. This is well-tread ground, story-wise, for XIV because of ….well, all of Stormblood and even patch content of ShB. Honestly my biggest question is if when they get to exploring the rest of Ilsabard what new story beats will be explored. Maybe the 6.3 patch content will turn out to be ‘protect the Garleans in Garlemald from an Ilsabardic former colony coming for revenge’. It’d fit the story beat in the 6.0 MSQ and be that cheesy but feel-good breaking the cycle of abuse. The Garlean Empire was the Garleans becoming their oppressors writ large on a global scale. I want a restored stable Republic for them, not wiped out but not a new expansionist colonizer a generation later trying to redo Solus. *shrug*

The devs aren't leery of real-world parallels, they just see things through rather black-and-white lenses lately which is ultimately a detriment to their storytelling. You'll notice (or perhaps you will refuse to) that I mentioned Yotsuyu, who is a textbook example of a woman mistreated by pseudo-Imperialist Japan (Doma). Can't blame Garlemald for that one~

For as bad as Stormblood may have been, nuance in its storytelling was most certainly NOT one of its primary flaws.

Might wanna read those quest again. I know you have trouble with that and I see you still haven't managed it but I shall implore you to read it again. Nobody in game said what you said. They did say the opposite though, considering the contingent's primary purpose was providing aid to the Garleans.

As for the story itself it was good. I'm more interested in the state and affairs of all the former occupied nations and how they will get on but it is nice to know that the Garleans have some hope.

Nice work being a pretentious one, little Sylph. Your information is still yet inaccurate, however. I do believe it would be in your best interest to go back and watch those cutscenes, since you'd realize that Lyse mentions that the formation of the Ilsabard contingent was initially hamstrung by the necessity of the onerous process of weeding out those who merely wanted to go take bloody revenge on what they saw as their oppressors and those who genuinely wanted to help those who would be ultimately revealed as ailing, freezing, close-to-death victims of Zenos' and Fandaniel's monstrous villainy.

For as bad as Endwalker was with nuance, ironically the criminally short Garlemald segment was one of the few points in the storyline that lacked that absent nuance.