Garlean naming conventions?

[Enkidoh]

In regards to Cid's surname (Garlond), I think it's generally accepted that it was a subtle reference to Garland, the main antagonist for the original FF (and FFIX for that matter). I presume 'Garlemald' is derived from FFI's insane Cornerian knight as well.

[Hestern_Nestern]

In terms of Baelsar, I had a funny feeling about the name that I couldn't quite put into words -- then with a little help from the Gugull monster -- I remembered:

Baal or Bael, one of the seven princes of hell, a demon, mentioned in the Hebrew Bible.

Tsar, a Slavic title equivalent to emperor, king, or the like, from the name Caesar.

= Demon Prince/King?

Whenever I make up names, I tend to put together the names by syllable. Therefore, when I attempt to break down a name, I examine it by syllable. This doesn't always assist me, but all the same I wanted to explain my method above.

[Catapult]

I'm not sure what zos means, but it's probably something to do with Garlean leadership naming conventions, possibly (though, this is a stretch) a neutered form of the widely known Jewish word Zohar which means "radiance," so perhaps his full name means, "The Only, the radiant, Leader." Latin leaders had a similar term for radiant used to mean godly: divi, meaningly divine. It was used in many Imperial leadership names.

Given that the emperor of Garlemald is referred to as "his radiance" I suspect your hunch is on target.

As for Gaius van Baelsar...

Baal or Bael, one of the seven princes of hell, a demon, mentioned in the Hebrew Bible.

Tsar, a Slavic title equivalent to emperor, king, or the like, from the name Caesar.

= Demon Prince/King?

This also sounds credible.

Another thing to remember about the legati is that there are, surprise surprise, at least fourteen of them foreshadowed, with number fourteen protrayed as a lasting antagonist. Now Nael's story supposedly bore thematic links to FFVII, so it would logically follow that each legati will have a backstory aligning to the themes of the FF game in question.

The Legatus of the Third Legion may very well be the Cloud of Darkness manifested. The commander of the sixth legion may be somewhat mad and the thirteenth Legatus could be focused on re-booting creation.

Granted, I haven't played FFVII myself, but are people able to work with this concept for a closer examination of Nael's name?

[Yrusama]

Another thing to remember about the legati is that there are, surprise surprise, at least fourteen of them foreshadowed, with number fourteen protrayed as a lasting antagonist. Now Nael's story supposedly bore thematic links to FFVII, so it would logically follow that each legati will have a backstory aligning to the themes of the FF game in question.

The Legatus of the Third Legion may very well be the Cloud of Darkness manifested. The commander of the sixth legion may be somewhat mad and the thirteenth Legatus could be focused on re-booting creation.

Granted, I haven't played FFVII myself, but are people able to work with this concept for a closer examination of Nael's name?

It's hard to know if we'll be able to encounter them all. You have me spinning with ideas! They'd all likely be human, so CoD is a bit of a stretch.

*SPOILER WARNING* (may contain spoilers for previous FF games)

• I: A knight with a great sword, somehow related to the Four Fiends (we know Tiamat will be in the game)
• II: A mage with hidden ambitions to overthrow and replace the Emperor (Leon)
• III: A wizard who curses his own mortality, and seeks to punish the world that made him this way (Xande)
• IV: A man associated with space travel (Golbez)
• V: A man with designs to return the world to its original state in order to unlock a hidden power (Exdeath)
• VI: A madman that yearns to ascend to godhood for the sole purpose of destroying the world (Kefka)
• VII: Nael van Darnus, a man hell-bent on reclaiming the world for his bloodline, attempting to do so using a meteor (Sephiroth)
• VIII: A woman longing to reclaim her past, willing to do the unimaginable to achieve this (Ultimecia)
• IX: A man whose life-expectancy is short, though his power is not lacking (Kuja)
• X: A man seeking to become a Primal, even if it means defying death (Seymour)
• XI: Nael Van Darnus' brother, also hell-bent on reclaiming the world for Allag (Eald'narche)
• XII: The Emperor's son, also scheming to overthrow the Emperor. He and the IInd Legatus will come in conflict (Vayne)
• XIII: A religious leader interested in calling forth his god (Dysley)
• XIV: Gaius van Baelsar is related to XIV itself, so anything could happen.

Forgive me if the above is full of fan craziness. It would be interesting if they used previous FF games as the inspiration for each Legatus. They could have other allusions as well!

• Legati 1, 2, 3, and 5 could form a four-person party!
• Legatus 4 might turn out to be Cid's brother!
• Legatus 5 could have ties to Gilgamesh and Atomos!
• Legatus 8 could be an orphan, or have ties to Amon/Hein
• Legatus 9 might hate Legatus 1 for causing his disease(Kuja and Garland respectively)

[Alaltus]

*Spoiler Warning*

Just a few things i would change:
IV: A man controlled by a Allagan seeking to awaken himself and his kind from their long slumber on the moon. So they can reclaim Hydaelyn(Golbez).
IX: A man who wishes to overthrow his creator, after realizing his mortality he decides to eradicate all life, believing it to be "unfair" that the world should exist without him(Kuja).

[Alaltus]

When did Allag rule Eorzea? The height of their power was over 5,000 years ago. They were probably all Elezen. Hell, it's possible that the Elezen rode out 5, maybe even 6, umbral eras alone.

I refute your point sir engarde. I argue that the Elezen devolved from their predecessor race, the Alla-gans. But the Allag themselves were Lalafell before they fell from power hense fell. Alla over time changed into Lala, Alla rearranged and phonetically the same. Lala-fell =P

If my hypothesis becomes true which i do not doubt! the Elezen will be unable to hide from the truth, that they are just overgrown Lalafell with elongated Dhamel necks making their heads ideal for predators to pick.

[Anonymoose]

I refute your point sir engarde. I argue that the Elezen devolved from their predecessor race, the Alla-gans. But the Allag themselves were Lalafell before they fell from power hense fell. Alla over time changed into Lala, Alla rearranged and phonetically the same. Lala-fell =P

If my hypothesis becomes true which i do not doubt! the Elezen will be unable to hide from the truth, that they are just overgrown Lalafell with elongated Dhamel necks making their heads ideal for predators to pick.

I CONCUR. /lights pipe

[Hestern_Nestern]

This also sounds credible.

PHEW! I started sweating, seeing that you had replied to me...but it seems I've passed unharmed.

Another thing to remember about the legati is that there are, surprise surprise, at least fourteen of them foreshadowed, with number fourteen protrayed as a lasting antagonist. Now Nael's story supposedly bore thematic links to FFVII, so it would logically follow that each legati will have a backstory aligning to the themes of the FF game in question.

OH MY STARS!!! BRILLIANT!!!

And given that IX is my favourite in the series, I cannot wait to see how the IXth Legatus will play into this game!

[Anonymoose]

OH MY STARS!!!

Did Nestern just out himself as an Archer fan? I can't get enough of that show. When I did my playthrough of Skyrim, I primarily did Archery and all of my custom accessories were silver and named Sterling Archer's Ring and Sterling Archer's Necklace, etc.

I'm hoping to see an Ultimecia-themed legatus. And how hard would that be?

"So we just... make most of that metal and that's lunch, yeah?"
- Monster Team

[Yrusama]

I CONCUR. /lights pipe

That would make us Hyurs an off-shoot halfway through the evolutionary line... I'll have none of this! *starts burning all trace of the notion*