8.0 speculation

[Cilia]

I mean Yoshi-p did say in the latest live letter that something is happening in garlemald. And I’ll admit that anything could be happening there, with the void and the withering and all. But when I remember Titus and that he was nowhere to be seen and have no confirmation that he and other royalties survived. It’s possible that the Clyteum might be their home base or something.

Maybe? Even if that were the case, and the conspicuous elements are just red herrings, why would we go there? The Garlean people have already started moving back towards their republican roots and the royals have had more than ample time to seize the throne if they so chose. We can come up with ideas as to where it is (and I agree that despite the conspicuous elements it looks like Garlemald) and what purpose it served, but why go at all?

Starting to wonder if 8.0 takes us way off course. Lopporits are involved with us in 7.5 and now that they have a grip on interstellar travel, I wonder if they'll write in a whole new planet (or shard travel so the scions can go). Yet us going back to Garlemald tells me we may be getting the Corvos/Blindfrost expansion that ties in to whatever overarching plot that involves Halmarut. Would nice to see Gaius again, if he's not locked in sidequest stasis to come along with us as a guide and if we're hunting down an ascian he thought he killed way back in Stormblood.

Considering we're already using interstellar travel in Cosmic Exploration, a character closely tied to the Void in V is set to be the trial in 7.5, and the moon is pretty remote... my guess is it's going to be turned into the interdimensional nexus we use to visit other reflections, since the only method we currently have of doing so is really damaging to the Source.

[Iscah]

The Garlean imperial family is never a detail that has grabbed me so I'm a bit fuzzy on what they're all up to, but if Titus was completely out of the picture during the civil war (and I don't recall him being in it) then why would he come up now? Do we actually know he's currently alive?

I recall back when all we knew of the family was the one shot of Varis spitting on a coffin, there was some speculation that "maybe it's not Solus's coffin but Titus, who is dead because Varis defeated him in the fight over who gets to be emperor now". We do now know that Varis hated Solus enough to be spitting on him, and not needing to recontextualise it as his rival, but I don't recall getting any indication since then that Titus is in fact still around. So he still could be dead, so far as I know.

[Pimsan20]

Maybe? Even if that were the case, and the conspicuous elements are just red herrings, why would we go there? The Garlean people have already started moving back towards their republican roots and the royals have had more than ample time to seize the throne if they so chose. We can come up with ideas as to where it is (and I agree that despite the conspicuous elements it looks like Garlemald) and what purpose it served, but why go at all?

That is the part I’m trying to figure out. It’s possible that after the death of Zodairk, Winterer contacted the remaining royal family and let them join with the organization.

[Mansion]

None of these define that the location for spending the winter has to be a warm place, or far away from their usual location, or a pleasant place to be. It can mean bunkering down and surviving in a relatively safe spot within the inhospitable landscape, and it can mean keeping something safe and cared for during that period.

I think it's very likely the Winterers' implied "winter" is metaphorical in this case, but it doesn't have to mean they have fled from elsewhere or planning to flee elsewhere.

Interesting!
I'm just jumping back here with the French word used "hivernautes", which I have detailed in an earlier post here.

"Hivernaute" induces more proactive interaction with winter compared to the english / japanese / german winterer. Translating that definition in French would be something like "hiverneur", which is used for an animal spending winters away from its main habitat.

I can't remember when we had a linguistic debate like this the last time, but I always love these.

[Zero-ELEC]

The Garlean imperial family is never a detail that has grabbed me so I'm a bit fuzzy on what they're all up to, but if Titus was completely out of the picture during the civil war (and I don't recall him being in it) then why would he come up now? Do we actually know he's currently alive?

I recall back when all we knew of the family was the one shot of Varis spitting on a coffin, there was some speculation that "maybe it's not Solus's coffin but Titus, who is dead because Varis defeated him in the fight over who gets to be emperor now". We do now know that Varis hated Solus enough to be spitting on him, and not needing to recontextualise it as his rival, but I don't recall getting any indication since then that Titus is in fact still around. So he still could be dead, so far as I know.

Titus was explicitly a participant during the last Garlean civil war following the death of Varis, or at least a figurehead. One of the factions, lead by the IIIrd Imperial Legion, rallied behind Titus and Nerva. It is unclear what happened to Titus.

[MikkoAkure]

I mean Yoshi-p did say in the latest live letter that something is happening in garlemald. And I’ll admit that anything could be happening there, with the void and the withering and all. But when I remember Titus and that he was nowhere to be seen and have no confirmation that he and other royalties survived. It’s possible that the Clyteum might be their home base or something.

There's a sidequest in Garlemald that seems to suggest that the remaining members of the Garlean royal family were gunned down by machina in the Senaculum Imperialis during the fall of the city after the fled they ruins of the Palatium Novum, which was Titus and Nerva's home.

[Cleretic]

Genuinely, I feel like Titus suddenly becoming a presence now would feel worse than him never coming up at all. It'd feel like a cop-out; why did he never turn up or get mentioned in the big story about the Garlean succession crisis that he would reasonably be the very first answer to, when he could've just walked into the story at any time and gone 'what's up, I'm voiced by a slightly famous British actor'? If that happened, I would feel a little ripped off.

That would not feel like a positive turn for the character (why the hell did you just sit out your entire empire crumbling and your son dying without doing anything), or an intentional or interesting turn for the story ('oops, we forgot about Titus, let's let him magically be relevant... here, sure'). No, I think the best you could reasonably expect is that he's unceremoniously dead somewhere, and you might find out some other time while doing something else.

I could see a note in Clyteum mentioning that Titus chickened out and died in some bunker, but I wouldn't expect--or want--him to physically turn up.

[Pimsan20]

Genuinely, I feel like Titus suddenly becoming a presence now would feel worse than him never coming up at all. It'd feel like a cop-out; why did he never turn up or get mentioned in the big story about the Garlean succession crisis that he would reasonably be the very first answer to, when he could've just walked into the story at any time and gone 'what's up, I'm voiced by a slightly famous British actor'? If that happened, I would feel a little ripped off.

That would not feel like a positive turn for the character (why the hell did you just sit out your entire empire crumbling and your son dying without doing anything), or an intentional or interesting turn for the story ('oops, we forgot about Titus, let's let him magically be relevant... here, sure'). No, I think the best you could reasonably expect is that he's unceremoniously dead somewhere, and you might find out some other time while doing something else.

I could see a note in Clyteum mentioning that Titus chickened out and died in some bunker, but I wouldn't expect--or want--him to physically turn up.

I think that is a high possibility that your theory could be true. Since the place is in ruin, it possible we’ll have confirmation about his fate there.

[Pimsan20]

There's a sidequest in Garlemald that seems to suggest that the remaining members of the Garlean royal family were gunned down by machina in the Senaculum Imperialis during the fall of the city after the fled they ruins of the Palatium Novum, which was Titus and Nerva's home.

But do we know where this Senaculum Imperialis is?

[MikkoAkure]

But do we know where this Senaculum Imperialis is?

Yeah it’s the senate building. The one building that’s unblemished by the war in the part of the Garlemald map we have access to. In the sidequest, a guard charged with protected the royal family said they escaped to there but were all killed and only he and a maid escaped.