Fordola Lupis bastard child of...

[TogekissBough]

I'm not sure if this has been answered anywhere, (forgive me if this has) but from reading Fordola was appointed by Gaius. But I had assumed it was implied she was the bastard child of Gaius (as he enjoyed local women) and there's the allusions to black wolf through last name lupis plus how the camera lingers on the gunblade during the MSQ when Zenos gives Fordola the blade.
Any idea's, has it been answered? or am I looking into it too much?

Also quick question anyone know a good resource for how dialogue changes in quest if (you are different race, have completed certain quest, are a certain job...etc).
Thanks for your time.

[Cilia]

Probably looking into it a little too much.

Fordola's last name, Lupis, is more than likely a reference to Gaius, but that doesn't mean he sired her. She was one of the Skulls, or Crania Lupi (Skulls of the Wolf), a military unit created by Gaius to try and integrate the Ala Mhigans into the Empire with little muss or fuss. This is likely where her last name comes from.

If Fordola were half-Garlean, she'd likely have pale blonde or white hair like Arenvald. The gunblade is meant to be a symbol of Imperial trust in Fordola (as a part of Zenos' manipulation).

Garland Tools has access to most dialogue. Some you'll have to recheck the Unending Journey in an inn, but for most purposes the database works (and is an invaluable research tool).

[Astrid_Stormborn]

Though I have to admit that I don't remember hearing that Gaius slept with local women, I find that highly doubtful. Livia wouldn't have stood for it, for a start.

[FJerome]

Though I have to admit that I don't remember hearing that Gaius slept with local women, I find that highly doubtful. Livia wouldn't have stood for it, for a start.

Livia would have been 8 or 9 at the time and hopefully wouldn't have had much say in the matter.

[Belhi]

I don't remember anything really hinting at it. Frankly she doesn't have any physical traits to suggest she is half Garlean. I think Fordola's view of Giaus is more born out of his vision of having the Ala Mhigans incorporated members of the Empire. Giaus had a habit of being far less discriminatory towards non Garleans than many of his peers.

That said, it was still under his command that much of the original brutal treatment of the Ala Mhigans took place. I would be curious if this was part of a typical 'breaking in' of a conquered culture or if it was just side effect of Garlean views of Ala Mhigans as savages.

[Daralii]

I don't remember anything really hinting at it. Frankly she doesn't have any physical traits to suggest she is half Garlean. I think Fordola's view of Giaus is more born out of his vision of having the Ala Mhigans incorporated members of the Empire. Giaus had a habit of being far less discriminatory towards non Garleans than many of his peers.

That said, it was still under his command that much of the original brutal treatment of the Ala Mhigans took place. I would be curious if this was part of a typical 'breaking in' of a conquered culture or if it was just side effect of Garlean views of Ala Mhigans as savages.

It was probably part of how he judged people. If they were broken, he had dregs to use for labor or conscription. If they stood tall, he knew that they were worth his time. The Crania Lupi would fall into the latter category.

[Cilia]

[I]t was still under [Gaius'] command that much of the original brutal treatment of the Ala Mhigans took place. I would be curious if this was part of a typical 'breaking in' of a conquered culture or if it was just side effect of Garlean views of Ala Mhigans as savages.

While the brutality the Domans and Ala Mhigans suffered under is often attributed to Zenos alone, I don't think that's entirely fair. For starters the Empire had 25 and 20 years, respectively, to improve the lives of the citizens of those territories; other than standard Imperial mandates (outlawing even the most basic religious practices, f'ex) and installing barriers on the Daiyu Moon Gates, absolutely nothing about life in the provinces we liberate during 4.0 seemed to have changed. It almost certainly got worse under Zenos, but... nothing suggests Gaius or the former viceroy of Doma did anything to help the citizens of their provinces. Their treatment was not "standard," such as it is (Baut notes that some provinces have things much better, others have it even worse), but... yeah.

Gaius, for his part, respected primarily strength. This is likely why things like leaving Ala Ghiri to fend for itself happened; if they weren't strong enough to survive on their own, they didn't deserve to live in his eyes.

[Anonymoose]

That said, it was still under his command that much of the original brutal treatment of the Ala Mhigans took place. I would be curious if this was part of a typical 'breaking in' of a conquered culture or if it was just side effect of Garlean views of Ala Mhigans as savages.

Imho, a little of Column A and a little of Column B.

Ala Mhigo was on the marches of the Empire, the last bastion before a corrupted land infested with primals, and its people never fully embraced the Empire or ceased resistance. Baelsar saw a polarized simplification of reality. It's as easy as black and white: the world is at stake; you are either supporting the righteous order of Garlemald or you're as good as actively warring against it. The enemies of order are fit for naught but slaughter.

That explains how he treated the Resistance and beast tribes, and I expect he would probably have spent another 5 years punching the city-states and yelling, "STOP RESISTING. EVERYTHING WILL BE FINE IF YOU STOP RESISTING." The Mission is all that matters, there's no room for people not doing their part, or worse, acting against it. You can lead a chocobo to water, but you can't make him drink. (And if he doesn't drink it's off to the rotisserie.)

I imagine that the best people could hope for if they didn't embrace imperial order was that somehow their settlement was seen as insignificant and somehow had the means to get by despite everything around them being under Garlean control (like, for example, the Qalyana clan of Ananta). If you wanted to be left alone, you had to be unworthy of attention. Most who try will live with very little to show for it.

Therefore, if people under his dominion were suffering, it was likely (in his mind) their own fault. I think, from his point of view, many Ala Mhigans would be clinging to the trappings of a civilization that had been too weak to stand - that had turned on and devoured itself at his whim. They held tight to worthless traditions, false gods, and unearned pride. If you're not willing to pull yourself up by your own bootstraps, glorify the ivory standard, earn your citizenship, and do your part to bring honor and glory to your homeland and salvation to the world, what good were you for except keeping the Imperial machine running?

It's like Lieutenant Rasczak's on the authoritarian side of history, lol.

For starters the Empire had 25 and 20 years, respectively, to improve the lives of the citizens of those territories; other than standard Imperial mandates (outlawing even the most basic religious practices, f'ex) and installing barriers on the Daiyu Moon Gates, absolutely nothing about life in the provinces we liberate during 4.0 seemed to have changed. It almost certainly got worse under Zenos, but... nothing suggests Gaius or the former viceroy of Doma did anything to help the citizens of their provinces.

If I read it right, Garlemald just didn't think Doma was worth much. It was on the fringes of the Empire; there are cities that they didn't even bother to conquer juuust beyond Doma, so Doma itself wasn't exactly a march or a fort or a prize. Judging by the scenes we saw, they took over the top tiers of government, instituted the basic civil order they expected, and then stuck Kaien back on top as a paper tiger for 25 years and left them to their fate. Looks like imperial academy students and cannon fodder conscripts were all they bothered with once they the territory under control. Until the rebellion, it wasn't a threat nor was it under threat. It just ... was.

[TogekissBough]

Thank you for your input everyone.
Just to clarify though a resource/ or thread for changes of dialogue based on (points in time, race, class, quests completed) (Like I've seen some of estinien and alisae ones but nothing really else aside from the crafter ones having completed other crafter lines mentioning they exist) specifically doesn't exist and I just need to review dialogue in Garland tools? Or is there a dedicated resource to these changes of dialogue?

[Cilia]

If I read it right, Garlemald just didn't think Doma was worth much. It was on the fringes of the Empire; there are cities that they didn't even bother to conquer juuust beyond Doma, so Doma itself wasn't exactly a march or a fort or a prize. Judging by the scenes we saw, they took over the top tiers of government, instituted the basic civil order they expected, and then stuck Kaien back on top as a paper tiger for 25 years and left them to their fate. Looks like imperial academy students and cannon fodder conscripts were all they bothered with once they the territory under control. Until the rebellion, it wasn't a threat nor was it under threat. It just ... was.

If Doma wasn't worth much, why was it conquered at all? I mean, the Xaela tribes of the Azim Steppe are, for want of a better term, less civilized; yet they are left alone, while Doma was crushed and put under the Imperial yoke. A less advanced civilization would probably be more likely to summon - this is, after all, why the Empire has a genocidal policy toward beast tribes. As noted when you get there, the exact reason the Empire hasn't conquered the Steppe is unknown - however there is clearly reason beyond stopping primals that goes into the decision to conquer.

Going by the Roman influence, it's probably just because whatever legatus conquered Doma thought it would heighten his or her political power. Either way, the point I'm getting at is that the treatment the Domans and Ala Mhigans got was not just to break them into Imperial service; it had been going on for 25 / 20 years. Got worse under Zenos, but we have nothing proving it was much (if any) better before him.

Thank you for your input everyone.
Just to clarify though a resource/ or thread for changes of dialogue based on (points in time, race, class, quests completed) (Like I've seen some of estinien and alisae ones but nothing really else aside from the crafter ones having completed other crafter lines mentioning they exist) specifically doesn't exist and I just need to review dialogue in Garland tools? Or is there a dedicated resource to these changes of dialogue?

You do have to comb through the dialogue for specific changes; fortunately, they are few and far between, and none really impact much (Yugiri mentioning your mad ninja skills by not wearing ninja garb when gathering information in Namai, f'ex. Yes, a ninja compliments you for not wearing an outfit that screams "I'm a ninja!").

... but no, there is no repository dedicated specifically to the differences in dialogue depending on various factors (job, race, Legacy player, etc).