Quote Originally Posted by Hasrat View Post
I might also pitch that we're presented with the exact group of people most likely to be huddled around the radio as the world falls apart around them. "The rest" were the tempered.
I'd buy that as an explanation; I'm just idly lamenting lost potential more than anything.

Quote Originally Posted by MikkoAkure View Post
I think the Garleans will go through a rough patch for sure, and some will remain in Ul'dah (Lemures), Sharlayan, and the Moon in diaspora, but Garlemald will lurch on and eventually carve their own niche in a more peaceful global community. Ishgard is near-ish by and would probably be on more friendly terms since Ishgard wasn't directly assaulted by Garlemald (though they might have things to say about the Calamity caused by them that ended their summers) and they have similar histories of being pushed out of their original lands to live in places otherwise undesirable and both are technologically minded.

Cid was still held in high regard even after defecting to the west and Nero is still around too. But I don't know if either will rejoin Garlemald.
I think Garlemald would also find allies among a handful of their former provinces, too, as we've seen the Empire afforded a not-insignificant number of people a much better quality of life than they'd had prior, and some of them might already be missing the luxuries that Garlean industry provided. This is what makes me believe this arc would be better realized if they kicked it down the road awhile to the Ilsabard expansion.
Based on his brief appearance in the Role Master quest, I'd say Nero is a possibility solely predicated on his desire to conduct arcane research, but I have firm doubts Cid would ever associate with Garlemald again. Lucia's too tied down to Ishgard but I could see Maxima having some involvement as well.