Future leader of Apa Mhigo

[Theodric]

Yeah, reading that again, it's definitely Haumeric who's the chivalrous one with contempt for his more brutish brothers.

To be fair his full title is 'Ser Zephirin the Just'. He is also referred to as a man of 'integrity' which is very much an alternate word used to describe someone who is chivalrous. Plus I believe the lore surrounding elezen specifically outlines that the men in particular are prone to being 'chivalrous' in nature. Obviously exceptions exist but Zephirin doesn't seem to be one of them. He killed Haurchefant, yes, but then that was arguably done out of concern for the well being of his comrades...and he wasn't specifically aiming to strike Haurchefant down anyway.

[Frederick22]

Guys is clear that he was just following orthers from the archobiship, I mean common.
Its old story.

[Theodric]

I don't have a source for this since I stumbled across these images in another thread and they're apparently from a preview of the next step in The Warring Triad storyline:

- SPOILERS AHEAD -

http://i.imgur.com/mz5MyFi.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/6uEqqmP.jpg

I do wonder if it'll somehow tie into the end of 3.3 since it's highly likely that we'll get some sort of hint as to what 3.4 will bring us.

If we fight Regula again then that'll be the third time that we clash with him. If he survives for a third time then I can only assume that he's set to play a pretty major role in the future story. Though it appears that he's using some sort of magic in the first screenshot. Or absorbing power...from something.

I wonder if he'll end up turning himself into the next member of The Warring Triad given that he saw Ysayle change herself into Shiva? That'd be an interesting twist. Or perhaps he'll simply absorb a dangerous amount of power and it'll make him unstable...leading him to become this game's answer to Kefka.

I also have no idea how to spoiler tag images. >_>

[Rocl]

Here's a source to peruse for now with a small blurb on the 3.3 Triad quest:
http://gamerescape.com/2016/05/19/ff...review-part-1/

[Theodric]

Interesting. Has Garlemald shifted its goal from zealously destroying Eikons and Primals to harnessing their energy in a similar manner to the Allagans? If so, surely not everybody in Garlemald is alright with that? It seems weird - like Regula is a rogue agent with conflicting goals to Varis. Which would make sense if he's fated to ultimately betray Varis, I guess.

There's also the fact that Elibidus specifically stated in Gubal that the Garleans would 'play their part'. Which suggests to me that they're being manipulated/misguided.

[Hinoto-no-Ryuji]

Might not be a case of him going rogue, though - Garlemald's opposition to Primals is based around them being an obstacle to their dominance of Hydaelyn, not a matter of state religion, and it's been pretty well established that they're big admirers of Allag. With that in mind, it's not really surprising that they'd happily use a method that lets them not only make Primals into a military non-issue, but harness their power for their own use as well.

It was also the Ascians that led them to Azys La in the first place, right? Or am I mis-remembering that?

[Nalien]

It was also the Ascians that led them to Azys La in the first place, right? Or am I mis-remembering that?

I don't recall it ever being mentioned... If anything, 3.0 made it seem like the Ascians actively wanted to keep Garlemald away from Azys Lla... Well, Elidibus at least...

Their endgame was for Thordan to get to Azys Lla, to get to Azys Lla he'd need the key to Azys Lla, which was held by the Vanu... Ishgard sets up Camp Cloudtop, I wonder why... Good relations with the Vanu until something changes... Later we learn they summoned Bismarck for some reason... Then we learn that Garlemald is kicking around the Sea of Clouds and Bismarck ate the key to Azys Lla... I'd assume the Ascians had Bismarck summoned to keep the key safe...

Of course, they could have wanted Garlemald to show up specifically to fight with Thordan... Though Elidibus makes it sound like Garlemald messing with the Triad is bad for everyone... But... Well, that could also all just be part of some plan...

[Theodric]

-snip-

It's not mentioned outright but it's plausible. We know that Varis and Regula were somehow aware of Azyz Lla and the Archbishop's plans but we aren't told how they know that. One theory I've been toying with is that Lucia is, in fact, still working for Garlemald despite her claim that she defected. She's in a position where she could feed Varss information that only a few individuals were aware of. It's unlikely, though. Lahabrea and Igorthym could have been in contact with Varys and feeding him information - or Elidibus himself could have been the one to do so, especially given that he states that 'The Garleans will play their part' whilst speaking to Urianger and the WoD in Gubal.

I'm still hoping that Varis somehow pulls a 'Vayne Solidor'. I just don't really want 4.0 to kick off with the Garleans doing outright villainous things unless there's some big revelation that casts them in a sympathetic light. I quite favour the idea that they used to be fairly peaceful yet their small size drew a lot of attempts at occupation which led to the drive for power that took place. Or for there to simply be a bunch of influential Garleans who don't want to focus on invasion or resorting to messing around with Eikons due to how easily it could backfire.

Perhaps 3.3 will give us some answers.

[Morningstar1337]

I quite favour the idea that they used to be fairly peaceful yet their small size drew a lot of attempts at occupation which led to the drive for power that took place.

Somehow I think the inability to use magic and the perception of Weakness this would cause would be more likely the cause for attempts at occupying Garlemald, especially circa the War of the Magi (Assuming Garlemald has been around that long...and that the Elementals had spared them from their flood)

[Rocl]

The Garlean Empire itself is only about fifty years old, (maybe 60 now?). Garlemald probably existed for longer but it's annoying/complex. Garlemald is probably the only modern city-state I can think of that's predominantly a single race of people: Garleans. Surely some annal of history somewhere has recorded them? Then again, Auri. (Though we have evidence of Auri existing in legends which take place in the Third Astral Era)

I'm also unsure of how much the rest of Hydaelyn is affected by Calamities--it stands to reason something like the Elementals causing a massive flood would have repercussions outside of Eorzea but I'm unaware of any we've ever been introduced to. We know, vaguely, that the Seventh Umbral Calamity mucked with linkshell communication for a bit across Hydaelyn, but the massive aetherial river rerouting/corrupted crystal phenomenon hasn't been mentioned outside of Eorzea.