Questions about the Garlean Empire

[Under-Archon]

First post, sorry if this has already been made. I'm a huge lore fan so I dislike inconsistencies. I never played 1.0, so that's likely the source of confusion. Please correct my version of the events below as necessary.

From my understanding: Gauis conquered Ala Mihgo with an unknown legion probably 2-5, forming the VII legion with the citizens, which was given to Legatus Nael Van Darnus. Gauis's legion was mostly destroyed in the Battle of Silvertear Skies, forcing him and the Garleans to halt the invasion. Midgardsormrs's "death" caused the release of the primals aetheric energies, enabling their summoning. Discovering this, Nael sets into motion Project Meteor, with the intent to destroy Eorzea. Gauis opposes this, but with no legion, he can't stop Nael. In the 5 years since the Calamity, Gauis gains control of the XIV legion, and against Garlemald, attempts the subjugation of Eorzea.

Based on the accuracy of my understanding, I have questions about the way this happened.

[Anonymoose]

The reason it seems off to you just stems from a misconception about how the legions are built and numbered (as far as we know(?).
You seem to be interested in the big picture, though, so let's go over it! (I'll even include the relevant info you missed from 1.0).

The information we have so far suggests that there are currently fourteen Garlean Imperial Legions (because Final Fantasy XIV, the number just comes up a lot in this game, as do seven and twelve because they come up in real-world mythology a lot, too). Some official descriptions say the legions are "countless," so either SE is leaving the door open for mentions of legions that tie thematically into later games, or that's just an erroneous "Eorzean" assumption. As far as we know, all of the current legions existed even before the capture of Ala Mhigo, formed during the wars to unify Ilsabard and conquer Othard.

Each legion is headed by a general, or Legatus; they're modeled after the legions of the Roman Empire. Gaius led the XIVth Imperial Legion, again, because Final Fantasy XIV; he was the first emblematic antagonist of this game. Similarly, Nael van Darnus, Legatus of the VIIth Legion, shared some thematic similarities with Sephiroth of Final Fantasy VII. Furthermore, we just met Legatus Regula van Hydrus of the VIth Legion, because the whole Flying Continent / Warring Triad thing heavily ties into the themes explored in Final Fantasy VI.

In Version 1.0, we didn't know any of this, at first. It was just "The Empire is coming," and then we bumped into Gaius in Mor Dhona and only really got his name. The distinction between legions, if I remember correctly, didn't come up until Nael van Darnus showed up.

Gaius was famous for his successes - he'd slain so many people who conspired to take the crown from Solus zos Galvus (nine) that his blade was named Heirsbane. He was responsible for four cities falling to Imperial rule before he was tasked with commencing the wars in the Western Theatre by securing Ala Mhigo as a Garlean foothold in Eorzea. As far as we know, the XIVth spearheaded this invasion while the other legions were deployed elsewhere (the VIIth was in the Eastern Theatre, Othard, at the time). We don't know of legion numbers changing or leaders shifting around.

However, once he'd accomplished this, the homeland supplemented his forces and the Armada sailed on Silvertear Lake to secure the aetherial center of the realm in hopes of preventing primals from being summoned. The whole thing failed - Midgardsormr took out the flagship, dragons routed the Armada, and by the time damage control was performed, primals had begun to appear in Eorzea. Gaius was ordered to withdraw to rule and fortify Ala Mhigo until a solution could be found.

Nael van Darnus promised this answer, so the the Emperor ordered Gaius and the XIVth to support the VIIth, who led the 1572 invasion. Gaius wasn't very happy about it; not only did his pride take a beating, but he was the first to see that something was ... off ... about his new superior. The Emperor no longer trusted him to complete his tasks and didn't heed his advice. Gaius tried very hard to persuade Nael to abandon the Meteor project, which it was believed would annihilate Eorzea with a massive spacerock, because he thought it was profane - beneath them. He didn't like the idea of the Three Great Continents being united under Garlean rule by raising a flag over a barren land of ash and calling it victory. By the time he realized that Nael was misleading them all, it was too late to do anything about it within the Empire itself.

Instead, Gaius committed well-camouflaged acts treason. He shot down one of Nael's airships (which contained information relative to the Castrum being built in Mor Dhona as well as the equipment housed there which was being used to bring Dalamud down) and disguised it as an Eorzean Alliance success. Gaius' subtle sabotage of Nael's operation led to Darnus being slain. After the remnants of the VIIth Legion, who thought Nael truly was close to godliness by he end, entrenched themselves in Mor Dhona (to prevent Louisoix's hail-mary plan to stop the moon's fall), Gaius took what remained of the XIVth and withdrew to Ala Mhigo to left everyone to their fates. He even bid farewell to the adventurer who would one day be known as "The Warrior of Light" and wished them luck in the Battle of Cartenau, saying to "leave him something worth conquering."

[Frederick22]

Even this days I'm still surprised how Gaius was so blindy used as a puppet for the Ascians, he didnt even supect nothing. A land full with beastmen and primals, how hw could not see that Ascians maybe may look like people tring to raise an "Eikon" ?

He did suspect nothing, he fully trust the Ascians, o_o

[Enkidoh]

I think in both Gaius's case and, how

Archbishop Thordan in Heavensward

, both might have seemed beguiled by the Ascians, but it appears both actually thought that they could defeat them after they had outlived their usefulness (after all,

Thordan all but told the player this, bending the truth that he was "paying lip service" to the Ascians' promises of alliance when in actual fact he was already working with them.

Basically they both were horribly misguided, they really did believe they had the power to defeat the Ascians themselves - of course we knew differently, but to be fair to both of them, we did have the benefit of foresight truly knowing what the Ascians were like, that they were the actual ones behind Primals in the first place (given the fact the Ascians were going around Eorzea under the guise of the 'Paragons' to the beast tribes and teaching them how to summon their gods), and then just happened to show up to them and plonk 'amazing means' of sealing/controlling Primals into their hands (Ultima Weapon and Azys Lla respectively - not surprising how both were ancient Allagan devices).

Not to let Gaius and

Thordan

entirely off the hook of course though, but such knowledge was really known only to Minfilia and those in her organization (the Path of the Twelve pre-Calamity and it's successor the Scions of the Seventh Dawn), and thus us by extension - either way, Gaius and

Thordan

were practically pawns in a sick chess game where they thought they were actually the players.

[Under-Archon]

Okay! Thanks for the great responses everyone. But there are still unanswered questions. Who died in the Agrius? If it was the warship the Empire make it out to be, it sounds like it would have required a lot more guards/personnel. If the Agrius was as stocked with people as it should have been, where did the Empire get the numbers to restock a huge part of a legion? If it was from subjugated cities, why would the Garleans leave enough people to restock an entire legion. That's easily enough people to rebel against Garlean rule?

This part is less lore like and more technical, but the castrums don't make any sense. At the moment there are 4 visitable castrums, each with their own cohort. It goes:

Castrum Meridianum- 8th Cohort
Castrum Centri- 5th Cohort
Castrum Marinum- 4th Cohort
Castrum Occidens- 2nd Cohort

We know there are at least 5 castrums that are Garlean occupied, with an abandoned one in Coerthas. Wouldn't it make more sense for it to go:
Castrum Centri- 5th Cohort
Castrum Marinum- 4th Cohort
Castrum Oriens- 3rd Cohort
Castrum Occidens- 2nd Cohort
Castrum Meridianum- 1st Cohort
Why are there 8 cohorts in a five castrum system?

[Anonymoose]

Who died in the Agrius?

If the Agrius was the flagship of the entire Garlean Armada as a whole, I'm not sure it was linked to any of the XIV specific legions (unless it's the Ist Legion, which I assume guards the homeland). Gaius led the flight of the Armada to Silvertear, but various reinforcements from the homeland were ordered to support him in that operation (similar to how he had been ordered to support the VIIth in the Meteor project). The 6th Cohort is seen inside of the Keeper of the Lake dungeon, so if any XIVth Legion Cohorts were specifically tasked with Agrius-related detail, I imagine it would have been them (but the 6th is often seen assisting Castrum Centri activities, so let's not jump to conclusions).

Why are there 8 cohorts in a five castrum system?

Each Legion is divided into 10 Cohorts (and each cohort into three Manipuli, and each Manipuli into two Centuries).
The XIVth wouldn't go out of their way to build the same number of castrums as they had cohorts unless it was coincidentally required.

As far as I've noticed so far:
1st - Praetorium Guard
2nd - Castrum Occidens (La Noscea)
3rd - Castrum Oriens (The Black Shroud)
4th - Cape Westwind (possibly implying that the 4th is stationed at Castrum Marinum)
5th - Castrum Centri (Mor Dhona) (Coerthas on occasion)
6th - Seen supporting Castrum Centri, including in the recovery of Agrius wreckage
7th - Seen supporting all three Tribuni of the XIVth Legion
8th - Castrum Meridianum
9th - Unseen
10th - Unseen

If I had to guess now, I'd assume that the 4th is Castrum Marinum, the 6th supports Castrum Centri in some manner (possibly related to technology and the Phantom Train, possibly related to the Agrius, perhaps Castrum Centri just gets two because it's bigger and more important), the 7th is dispersed protecting high-level officers, and the 9th and 10th guard Ala Mhigan territory.

[Fenral]

As for the Legati we've yet to meet, I suspect the Ist and VIIIth to be involved in stable time loops, the IInd and XIIth to be plotting to usurp, the IIIrd and Vth to be pure nihilists, the IVth and IXth to be someone important's brother, and the Xth to be all just a dream.

Jokes aside, I imagine the Cohorts existed before the Castrums, so assigning them posts was most likely influenced by a combination of convenience, merit, and whomever's nose was brownest at the time. I suppose it would also make sense for five to be stationed as defenders, while the other five operate in a more mobile capacity.