The primal the Garleans encountered in Gyr Abania

[Zohar_Lahar]

It was said that right after the fall of Ala Mhigo, the XIVth Legion encountered a primal which apparently delayed further invasion for five years.

So....who was that primal? Was it Sri Lakshmi? It never came up during Stormblood if she was summoned twenty years ago. Or was it that Ixion that crashes the server appears in The Lochs?

[Anonymoose]

A few friends and I refer to this as the Mysterious Primal.

As of 2014, it was planned from the start, it would be revealed at a later date, and no questions could be answered.

As of 2017, ... I have no idea!

The original source for this was part of a historical recounting that spanned years and hopped around, which made it unclear if the Empire ran into this primal before or after the Battle of Silvertear Skies. It may have been after; see the lore book, for example, which doesn't mention primals until Ala Mhigo was secure and the operation to take Silvertear Falls had failed.

The Empire had made some inferences about Mor Dhona based on the mythology and obvious power of the place. Cid even referred to it the (aetherial) center of the world. Ergo, if you control the flow of aether in Mor Dhona, you have some semblance of a grasp on the primal threat. Likewise, primals summoned in Eorzea would embolden the Othardian (and southern Ilsabardian) nations to re-summon their own, as well. Garlemald had sunk enough resources into stamping that out the first time, so Mor Dhona seemed like an obvious investment regardless of where the Mysterious Primal showed up, which makes it even harder to pin down.

Wherever it fits into all this, by the time the first primals we know about for sure were summoned right after Silvertear Skies, Garlemald was in no rush to claim Eorzea without a plan for not seeing Othard-level losses, again. They pulled back to Gyr Abania, constructed Baelsar's Wall, and no good plan came along until Darnus claimed he could totally control Dalamud, this time, you guys.

Keep in mind that this is pre-1.0-release stuff. It's original place in the game has all but surely changed, and an opportunity to introduce it in a way that's consistent with the narrative as it exists now and is a satisfying way to close the plot hole may just not have come up yet.

(Ixion is allegedly just a horse augmented by technology, according to Mhachi texts.)

[Frizze]

My gut says qiqirin(those rat things, however its spelled) primal. I dont think we've heard who/what they worship.

[Hinoto-no-Ryuji]

And now I'm really curious about this, because I've never heard about this Mystery Primal - where would one look if they wanted a primary source on it, Moose-sensei?

[Anonymoose]

And now I'm really curious about this, because I've never heard about this Mystery Primal - where would one look if they wanted a primary source on it, Moose-sensei?

It appeared on pages relating to the Garlean Empre, more specifically Gaius van Baelsar on most occasions (such as the Lodestone right now)

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.