Garlean Third Eye

[Vrankyl]

Garleans with the third eye are pure blooded, and pure-blooded garleans can't manipulate aether. One of the plot points in Garlemald was how magic was seen as so alien and terrifying to the garlean citizens because they could not do it, and it does not have a root in their culture as it does everywhere else.

The only ""magic"" they've been capable of producing came as the byproduct of horrific scientific experiments (zenos), and by making pacts with voidsent (reapers).

Also garleans largely just use the elezen model with rounded ears, not exactly an exciting new race. Would be better to just have it as a cosmetic item

This is incorrect. Per the Encyclopedia Eorzea: "Garleans have little inborn ability to manipulate their body's aether, however, and thus the arcane arts have ever eluded all but a few."

There are pure-blooded Garleans capable of using aether, it is rare but it is possible. And seeing how the player character is the special chosen one that defies all social norms of their race (again see Male Viera and Male Mi'qote), there is no reason for us to not have them as a race. Nor do pure blooded Garleans only use the elezen model. Cid uses the Highlander model, and several pure blooded Garleans in the Garlemald zone use the midlander model.