A primal halted the Empire's advance after Ala Mhigo?

[Kyan]

I'm sorry if this has been talked about in another thread, I did try searching but was unsuccessful. I was just rereading the official website for information on Othard, when I read this:

In subjugating Ala Mhigo, van Baelsar employed subterfuge to stoke the fires of civil unrest, a masterstroke which led to the nation’s capture without the need for a protracted siege. However, the unanticipated appearance of a primal shortly thereafter prompted the Empire to halt the legion’s advance. The legatus has since remained in Ala Mhigo, where he rules as an imperial viceroy.

Source: World, threats, The Black Wolf.

Is this misinformation referencing Midgardsormr? I don't think so, as the website also states this:

In the Year 1562 of the Sixth Astral Era, five years after the invasion of Ala Mhigo, the Garlean Empire finally rose from apparent inactivity to resume its attack on Eorzea. A fleet of airships was deployed to Mor Dhona, led by the massive flagship Agrius.
As the imperial fleet advanced into the skies above Silvertear Lake, the largest inland body of water in Aldenard, it was met with a wholly unexpected sight. Midgardsormr, the dragon deity of the lake, had arisen, summoned by a hand unknown.

Do we know what primal was summoned near Ala Mhigo?

[Falen_Nadleeh]

Was Ramuh summoned by Sylphes.

It's the only known summoning of Ramuh.

[Myranda]

Midgardsormr is most definitely NOT the primal, as Fernehawles once said that it's not even a primal to begin with but a dragon king. And as you note in your 2nd quote, Silvertear Skies took place 5 years later. It was when the attack was resumed, not what caused it's halt in the first place.

I don't believe it's Ramuh either. I think the sylph's summoned him in response to the Calamity, not back in 1557. To my knowledge, no existing source has given us any good answers and it remains open question as to which primal it was.

[Kyan]

Yeah, I'm not saying Midgardsormr is a primal, my first chain of thought was that it was an error of some kind.

[saber_alter]

well....ala mhigo is in close proximity to the black shroud.

due to the sylphs being ruled out, the ixal are also beastmen near the black shroud. I'm not versed into ixali history, but they might have summoned garuda because they felt threatened by the garleans.

though its likely that a native beast tribe summoned their own patron demi-god...or a bunch of ala mhigans summoned rhalgr.

[Anonymoose]

That sentence of Gaius' / the Empire's backstory has caused confusion since 2010.

We know that, in 1557, the Garleans took Ala Mhigo. We know that the Garleans spent the next few years solidifying this position, as it was the only foothold they had over the land bridge separating our continents. We know that they deciphered some of the truth behind the legends of Mor Dhona and planned to take it in a preemptive strike, and we know that this was to prevent the beast tribes from learning to summon primals, which would likely both hamper the invasion of the Eorzea and embolden the nations of Othard to summon primals in renewed resistance. And, finally, we know that upon the retreat from the Battle of Silvertear Skies, they sensed something powerful that terrified them.

The Age of Calm was due to futility. Garlemald already needed some time to gather the strength to counter this something, but after the primals began to appear, why bother? There was no hope of victory without a concrete plan of action against the primals (who will just be summoned over and over again utilizing Eorzea's bountiful aetheric resources). They didn't have that plan until Nael promised them Meteor, and after that fell though, they didn't have a plan again until the Ultima weapon as discovered and the Ascians got involved.

If you look at all of that information together, it's possible that the quote you mentioned in the OP was simply crunching all of that into too succinct of a background story. They took Ala Mhigo, then some other stuff important happened, then primals appeared, then some other important stuff happened, then they waited in Ala Mhigo for a while. It's possible that there's nothing strange in that sentence at all. They didn't expect to see primals, they expected to take Mor Dhona's superflow without incident. Or it could be specifically referring to a mysterious anomaly primal appearance. I don't know.

All I know is that when I had the chance to ask about it, the primal's identity was please look forward to it.

I still have no idea. If we were given the answer in 2.0, I overlooked the connection.

[Empressia]

Do notice how Gaius considers the Twelve and the primals are the same entities. the Ala mhigans might tried summoning Rhalgr but viewed by Gaius as summmoning one of the primals. Interestingly though, Rhalgr the Breaker symbol is the meteor and the most famous FF creatures which attack include meteor are Behemoths or Bahamuts (flare can be intepreted as meteor too)

[finiteHP]

Whether or not it was Ramuh who stopped the Garlean advance or not, I DO remember a mention of Ramuh (not by name) being summoned before the events of 1.0. I wish I could remember if it was in one of the missions or if it was just one of the things a sylph floating in the Waking Sands said. It was something along the lines of 'once before we called the primal one and he tainted the hearts of the ones who called him. These ones will not do so again.' But unless someone can provide the text, my memory should be taken with a grain of salt.

[Enkidoh]

Whether or not it was Ramuh who stopped the Garlean advance or not, I DO remember a mention of Ramuh (not by name) being summoned before the events of 1.0. I wish I could remember if it was in one of the missions or if it was just one of the things a sylph floating in the Waking Sands said. It was something along the lines of 'once before we called the primal one and he tainted the hearts of the ones who called him. These ones will not do so again.' But unless someone can provide the text, my memory should be taken with a grain of salt.

Not exactly - during the first mission for the Path of the Twelve (Together We Stand), the sylphs indeed mention they will not summon their Primal, but they never mentioned that they had ever actually summoned it in the past - it was because they saw how summoning Primals affected the amalj'aa and the Ixal and realized summoning corrupted those who did so and didn't want that to happen to themselves. It's what caused the schism in sylvan society in ARR too - ironically they didn't even mention Ramuh by name at all (it was never confirmed Ramuh was even the sylph Primal until ARR). This is the dialogue from the above quest on the subject:

Flaxio: "These ones thought of fighting. These ones thought of many things, but the price... the price is too great."
Almxio: "These ones will not summon the Primal."
Zoxio: "The Primal reaps more pain than good. That One is best left undisturbed."
Path Companion: "The Primal... yes... Had the sylphs summoned their god, the Empire would already be preparing to enact their revenge on all of Eorzea. Thank the gods they didn't."
Diluxio: "Metal ones are the lesser evil. It is the Primals who darken hearts. Primals who poison minds! See the feathered ones. See the scaled ones. All are changed!"
Path Companion: "I have not noticed any great change in the behavior of the other beast tribes. They seem familiarly bestial, though a touch more highly strung, perhaps."
Diluxio: "Woken ones have eyes but cannot see! Woken ones refuse to see! Woken ones are blind!"
Path Companion: "We saw well enough to save the kin you failed to protect!... I'm sorry, I let passion rule my tongue. Though you doubt us, I can assure you that we saw the atrocities committed against you by the Empire all too clearly, and that we see you as friends. Friends against a common enemy."
Flaxio: "The metal ones are not the only threat. No. Not the greatest threat."

And of course, it should be noted that none of the beast tribes actually couldn't summon until the Paragons (ala, the Ascians) visited each tribe in turn and instructed them on how to do so - the sylphs mentioned the Paragons even visited them and told them how to summon, but that they didn't want to due to the reasons I mentioned above. When the Paragons appeared to each beast tribe is anyone's guess though, but I'm liable to assume it was probably some time around the time a 1.0 player's character first appeared in Eorzea at the start of version 1.0''s storyline (around 1572 6AE I'd imagine) - but no doubt one of the Loremasters will be able to confirm that.

[finiteHP]

That is why my memory of it is bugging me so much. When I was looking at my videos what you posted is all I could find, but that conversation happens out in the shroud. What I'm remembering was in the Waking Sands. I can even picture where in the Sands it was (the hallway leading to the solar near the Lalafell that talked about being able to understand the beast tribes' languages). I can remember everything about it except what exactly was said. It's driving me crazy. For the sake of my sanity, it's best I conclude that I'm just mixing a bunch of different things together..