Is anyone else dying to get to Garlemald?

[Lauront]

The world would be a lot flatter if some people got the Manichaean struggle they envision in their heads - and really, it exists only there - and the Empire were presented as unambiguously evil and removed, much like it would be flatter if the Empire succeeded in its aims. I really don't see what's hard to grasp about this. I want to visit Garlemald, I don't want to see it ruined, but rather I would like to see it scale back its war and come to terms with the city-states. I don't see the need for any more "revolutions", particularly if the existing regions are satisfied with how things are. Certainly, they could be a lot bloodier, and with many more unintended consequences if attempted next time round, however I am certain that the lore devs have the good sense for SB's to be the last.

You would go around and kill all beast man tribes (even those that you helped in the story and that does not want to create a primal), so you would be part of true Genocide. Then you would truly start to kill innocent people as the WoL and not only out of pure necessity or self-defense.

The DRK quest chains suggest that this is already the case.

[Lauront]

...and they really should because realistically taking on Garlemald should not be so simple as it has been presented thus far. As a conflict it has also gone on for much less time than the bitter war between the Ishgardians and the Dravanians and as such the possibility of peace should not be seen as a lofty, out of reach goal. Not. After. Ishgard.

Let's be honest, without the WOL and Cid, the Alliance would be pretty screwed. They'd no doubt be at Shinryu's mercy, if not Omega's. Any successes against the Empire thus far have solely been the result of those two factors. In particular, Gyr Abania and Doma are backwater provinces on the Empire's outermost borders. Realistically, any unaided attempt to breach the Empire should result in a resolute thrashing of the Alliance, and probably will. That said, I think they will focus on something else for 5.0 to avoid beating the same horse.

[Alleo]

The DRK quest chains suggest that this is already the case.

I saw the fights in the quests and none of those were truly innocent or killed by us. We never did any kind of Genocide and all that we had to kill were fighting for what they saw as right but sadly still fought. Killing innocents would be like just going into a village like Yotsuyu, pointing a gun at them and just shoot them for the laughs. If we ever did something like that and not just killing because they attacked us or were doing stuff that would mean a worse outcome if we would not do it, then please help me out a bit and post those names. Maybe I am forgetting them and I am okay with proven to be wrong but at least I dont remember any true civilians that we just killed because we felt like it.

[NoblePigeon]

As I said before, I'd be all for Eorzea and Garlemald making peace and teaming up against the bigger bad, but the problem is that Emperor Zaris has made it pretty clear he intends on conquering Eorzea (and murdering every single beastman to get rid of primals), nothing less. Maybe that's changed by the end of 4.0's story, but we just don't know yet. And I'm pretty sure the Eorzeans are not going to agree to a permanent peace settlement that sees any sort of Imperial military presence in Eorzea.
That, among other factors, is going to lead to serious deadlocks in any permanent peace. Maybe a ceasefire, but that solves nothing.

[YianKutku]

And I'm pretty sure the Eorzeans are not going to agree to a permanent peace settlement that sees any sort of Imperial military presence in Eorzea.

There are already Imperial military presences in Eorzea. The Castrums show no signs of being abandoned, even though the people manning them (the XIVth Legion) are technically considered rogue to the Empire. How they are still being supplied and what sort of support they have from Garlemald is left undefined, even after all this time.

We can blame the time bubble for that, I suppose.

Obviously the Eorzean Alliance would like nothing better than to kick the Imperials out entirely, but even Operation Archon was only a massive coordinated strike, rather than a plan to take and occupy the Castrums. The only Castrum we are explicitly told to have occupied is Castrum Oriens.

For those keeping track:

- Castrum Oriens, with Baelsar's Wall, in the East Shroud. Sieged by the Twin Adders during Operation Archon. Taken over by the Eorzean Alliance at the end of 3.56. Mostly 3rd Cohort of the XIVth Legion.
- Castrum Occidens, in Eastern La Noscea, near Wineport. 2nd Cohort. Not much of interest here. Rhitatyn sas Arvina was in charge of this until we dogpiled him in Cape Westwind. Sieged by the Maelstrom during Operation Archon.
- Castrum Marinum, in the Rhotano Sea between Vylbrand and Aldenard. Mentioned in a Sightseeing Log. Allegedly resupplies Castrum Occidens, and Cape Westwind. Blockaded by the Lominsan Navy during Operation Archon.
- Cape Westwind, in Western Thanalan. Mostly 4th Cohort. Where we dogpiled Rhitatyn sas Arvina during Operation Archon.
- Castrum Centri, in Mor Dhona. Mostly 5th Cohort. The kidnapped Scions were brought here after the attack on the Waking Sands, and we broke them out. During Operation Archon, the Twin Adders blockaded the Phantom Train railway.
- Castrum Meridianum, in Northern Thanalan. Mostly 3rd (for some reason) and 7th Cohort. Primary HQ for the XIVth Legion, including the Praetorium. The infamous rush-through 8-man dungeons during Operation Archon.

All of these (with the obvious exception of Castrum Marinum) have Imperial troops wandering around. Even Castrum Oriens. Again, time bubble.

Back to the topic at hand, though, mostly the Eorzean Alliance wants to effectively tell Garlemald to stop being so terrible, and knock it off with the expansionism and conquering. I don't actually think it's important how this is achieved, only that it is achieved. If Varis suddenly has a change of heart and promises to treat his provinces better (ie with more oversight) and not threaten genocide or subjugation of everyone remotely capable of summoning a Primal (ie everyone, with the possible exception of pure-blooded Garleans), that will be the end of the matter. That is literally all the Eorzeans are asking for.

[Seyrr]

There are already Imperial military presences in Eorzea. The Castrums show no signs of being abandoned, even though the people manning them (the XIVth Legion) are technically considered rogue to the Empire. How they are still being supplied and what sort of support they have from Garlemald is left undefined, even after all this time.

We can blame the time bubble for that, I suppose.

I have an answer for this! From the Maelstrom company leve in Mor Dhona, "Go Home to Mama":

The supply route blockade is having an effect; the Garlean forces in Castrum Centri have sent a skulk of men to the shores of Silvertear. They forage for airship debris like children on a morel hunt, unaware that they have wandered too far off the apron strings of the Empire. In the name of the Maelstrom, secure the wreck and teach the sons of Garlemald a harsh lesson.

The Yellow Adder leve "Get Off Our Lake" and the main scenario quest "The Rising Chorus" also refer to this. It seems like a lot of the Imperial forces have been left behind enemy lines and are trying to survive until the airships of the motherland come for them. They'll be here soon, right? Garlemald wouldn't abandon its loyal soldiers, right? ... Right?

[Cilia]

Garlemald wouldn't abandon its loyal soldiers, right? ... Right?

The issue with the Castrums in Eorzea is that, aside from the ones in Gyr Abania, they are all in Eorzean-held territory. These Castrums were, largely, built during the 5-year time skip between the ending of 1.x and 2.0. This was the timeframe during which Gauis' XIVth Legion went rogue... and all deemed traitors punishable by death, which is why Nero didn't return to Garlemald after Gaius' death.

It's not that Garlemald abandoned its loyal soldiers, it's that Garlemald's loyal soldiers abandoned it. Kinda. They were more loyal to Gaius than Garlemald. I suspect things would be quite different had Gaius succeeded in subjugating Eorzea... but I digress.

That said, I suspect the soldiers in the Keeper of the Lake may have been sent by Garlemald proper. It's unclear. We do know that the Empire is able to carry out operations in Eorzea if it so wishes though - see Grynewaht attacking us while we're attempting to access Omega's control room in Mor Dhona, the heart of Eorzea.

[YianKutku]

This was the timeframe during which Gauis' XIVth Legion went rogue... and all deemed traitors punishable by death, which is why Nero didn't return to Garlemald after Gaius' death.

I have this vague recollection that the XIVth were responsible for taking over (or rather, re-establishing themselves in) the Castrums after the Battle of Cartenau, by executing whatever remnants of the VIIth legion were still there. I'm not sure if this is canon, though.

If it is, then everyone in the XIVth, including the rank and file, knew the consequences of going rogue. That they followed Gaius anyway is possibly a sign of severe systemic dysfunction in the whole Imperial military organization; if the soldiers are loyal to their general over their nation (due to actual loyalty, or merely fear of punishment), then there isn't much preventing said general from attempting to launch a coup, assuming they have plans to deal with the other legions.

EDIT: Found the cite: lorebook page 54, about Gaius's actions directly after the fall of Dalamud. He sent the XIVth to take over Castrum Novum, which is now known as Castrum Centri, then sent troops all over Eorzea to secure land and build even more Castrums.

Considering one of them was Castrum Meridianum, which has a Phantom Train Depot like Castrum Centri has, I would suggest the XIVth had Imperial sanction at least in the beginning. I would otherwise find it difficult to believe that a rogue Imperial Legion, presumably cut off from mainland support, would be able to construct four entire Castrums plus one outpost at Cape Westwind in the space of five years.

(Four Castrums, since Castrum Oriens was already built after Silvertear, and Castrum Novum was renamed Castrum Centri. The extra Castrum is Castrum Aquilonis, over in Dravania, near Ishgard.)

[Cilia]

Ah, right. I don't have the lore book, so my ability to reference it is very minimal. Either way now that my memory's been yogged, yeah, Castrum Centri is the renamed Castrum Novum.

More to the point... there's a lot of missing information, enough so that a proper timeline can't be constructed. It is known that Castrum Centri is the renamed Castrum Novum, there are Phantom Train Depots in Castrums Centri and Meridianum, and that the XIVth went rogue sometime before 2.0. Without knowing if the Phantom Train connects any Castra but Centri and Meridianum, when the Castra were finished, and whether the XIVth went rogue before their construction was completed, it's impossible to say whether or not the XIVth had Imperial support building them. I've been told the Imperials are quite good at building quickly, and seeing as the Eorzeans were preoccupied putting their lives back together I'd believe the XIVth was able to build the Castra scattered throughout Eorzea on its own.

It's... kind of a moot point, though. The XIVth's stragglers are still marked for death in Garlemald, so there's no going home for them; likewise the Eorzeans don't want anything to do with them and they have not made any outreach to us thus far. My personal wager is that the Eorzeans are just leaving them alone out of pity, so long as they do not cause trouble.

Considering Gaius went rogue, Regula's own men tried to betray him, and both Nael and Zenos severely mistreated their troops... yeah, I think it's fair to say there's systemic dysfunction in the Imperial military, or at least what we've seen of it. Still, casualties aren't a huge concern to them since a lot of the rank and file are conscripted "savages," and seeing as no legatus has been reprimanded for their misconduct (excepting Regula who was professional throughout) it seems the Emperor is fine with how the army functions.

[Theodric]

Well, we know that the Warrior of Light canonically charged into the Castrums to literally infuse a weapon with the souls of those slaughtered and that such an event took place after Gaius' defeat so whilst some Eorzeans may very well allow the Garlean remnants within to do their own thing I doubt it applies to everybody. As for Varis being 'fine' with how the military operates I doubt it very much - we know he spoke up in defence of Regula and was firm friends with the man for roughly thirty years so I doubt very much that he approved of some of Regula's own men betraying him. We also know that he sees his own heir as a 'monster' so clearly he did not approve of Zenos' actions either. Furthermore Varis was against the Meteor Project.

He's also but a single man, Emperor or otherwise. By all accounts Garlemald is a vast and powerful entity and different elements of it operate independently of one another. He also rose to power through a bloody power struggle which is unlikely to have ceased completely. Funnily enough, I feel that Gridania's leader can be quoted to attest to such a fact: