Tales from the Dawn #4: "A Question of Death" (Jullus)

[Vyrerus]

A Question of Death

Sobering. Most interesting to me were the Garlean wives' names.

I also found that the writing piece inspires resolve. It seems pretty clear cut.

Your thoughts?

[Theodric]

Hah, I won a bet with a friend! I had a hunch that at least one of the stories would revolve around Garlemald and specifically Jullus. I'm glad we finally learned more names of prominent Garlean lore figures.

I enjoyed the story. Garlemald's always been one of the more interesting aspects of the setting to me for various reasons.

It's great to see the story end on a bittersweet but hopeful note - the surviving Garleans will carve a place for themselves within Etheirys one way or another. It'll be interesting to see where the dangling plot thread of Jullus working with Alisae and Alphinaud leads when the MSQ's pick that up again.

[Lurina]

Pretty good! I feel like I find the way EW advocates coping with loss to be just a little immature - showing disinterest in what the actual feelings of the now-dead were in favor of conceptualizing them as having died for and living on though you feels like a decent coping mechanism, but might be be so great in terms of further developing empathy and learning to look the complex tragedies of the world in the eye. Still, it's a sweet story all the same that'll probably touch a lot of people.

Sounds like a lot of the Garlean government is still intact in the provinces, as you'd expect with just the capital getting blown up. Even if the Empire is finished, it doesn't seem like we're done dealing with its legacy.

[Lauront]

Probably the story I enjoyed the most of the batch. I'm glad they fleshed out some aspects of life in Garlemald prior to its fall, like the entry on Unity Day, the make-up of the imperial family, the tidbits about Solus as emperor, the contrast between the two strains of the family, and how Jullus reflected on Zenos's senseless act of destruction, as well as describing his own personal tragedy.

Pretty good! I feel like I find the way EW advocates coping with loss to be just a little immature - showing disinterest in what the actual feelings of the now-dead were in favor of conceptualizing them as having died for and living on though you feels like a decent coping mechanism, but might be be so great in terms of further developing empathy and learning to look the complex tragedies of the world in the eye. Still, it's a sweet story all the same that'll probably touch a lot of people.

Sounds like a lot of the Garlean government is still intact in the provinces, as you'd expect with just the capital getting blown up. Even if the Empire is finished, it doesn't seem like we're done dealing with its legacy.

Yeah, agreed, even if I liked the final touch of the elegy and I do find the sentiment moving in its own way. The world is a bit strange, in the sense that the 'dead' will eventually be with you in some sense or other given its soul resurrection mechanism, itself described as agnostic to vice or virtue in its workings, but even so there is still death in the sense that the person those surviving the death knew is now gone for good, and certainly once the Aetherial Sea has worked its powerwash "magic".

I'd like to say this mentality makes some manner of sense for the Garleans, because of their history of persecution as a result of their general inability to manipulate aether and thus, their mindset of being against the entire world, and their answer to avoiding further persecution being to retain a position of unassailable strength, such as that which an empire could provide, even if it meant thereby becoming the aggressors; I think the below quote sums up their driving mindset well, whether one takes it as rooted in their history, a founding mythos or, as is probably the case, a bit of both. So it helps form a type of strength that lets them cope with the sheer amount of bloodshed they no doubt endured to find a foothold as a kind of fertiliser for the well-being of their future generations, and show a kind of posthumous gratitude to the sacrifices of the departed. Equally it is not exactly an approach that is conducive to empathy so much as pressing forward to get the (bloody) job done. It's great for the purposes of steeling resolve when there's less time to stop and think about it and when there's wars to be won and plenty of (arguably) senseless death that accompanies it, but ultimately it doesn't undo the tragedy involved upon further reflection and, yes, even encourage one to stop short of that.

They led us to greatness. We who formed the vanguard of history's grand march forward. His city was the heart of the world, through which flowed blood stronger than steel─a bond between countrymen that would remain unbroken even should their every enemy join together to oppose them. Glory be to Garlemald.

It's great to see the story end on a bittersweet but hopeful note - the surviving Garleans will carve a place for themselves within Etheirys one way or another. It'll be interesting to see where the dangling plot thread of Jullus working with Alisae and Alphinaud leads when the MSQ's pick that up again.

I do hope they touch upon those provinces where the Purebloods choose to make their new homeland(s) at a future juncture rather than just drop it. Especially since there was a mixture of attitudes towards the empire, depending on how the province was treated by it.

[Cleretic]

Ooh, a story about an event we didn't already know about! I love it, and the Garleans were honestly the most compelling part of Endwalker's writing, so I'm always happy to see us go there. (Followed by sad at 'oh right, the entire civilization was ground into dust by a selfish fight idiot and a suicidal wizard-scientist').

That glimpse of the photo says a whole lot without being definite about any of it; seems like none of the Royal Family was very happy at all even in their best days. And hey, a mention of the women of the royal family, that's vanishingly rare.

Even with the dour tone of the story, there was a single point I had to laugh at, though.

Why hello there, person we took the key from during In From the Cold. Didn't expect to see you here!

EDIT: Something largely unrelated to the story, but struck me when thinking about events related to it and I'm stunned I didn't realize it before:

The Garlean Empire named their main class of magitek walkers after their original vanguard of defenders.

[Lurina]

The Garlean Empire named their main class of magitek walkers after their original vanguard of defenders.

...oh, wow. That's really cute, actually.

I kinda wonder if the writers did that on purpose or if they just used a cool name twice without making the connection, though.

[Cleretic]

Man I really hope some patch content focuses on Garlemald, it's the only one of Endwalker's story hooks that isn't getting anything in the patches so far.

Also, is Lucius being the name of Varis's father new? I know all the wives' names are.

I suspect there is a plan to go there for more, because they've made noticeably little out of the fact that Alphinaud and Alisaie are there. They haven't turned up in this story or the all-roles capstone. (My guess is that they're the crafting tribe.)

And yes, Lucius' name is new to us!

...oh, wow. That's really cute, actually.

I kinda wonder if the writers did that on purpose or if they just used a cool name twice without making the connection, though.

My guess is 'a little from column A, a little from column B'; they probably had most of the idea for Reaper before then, and then the common name helped them connect it to Garlemald.

[JeanneOrnitier]

(My guess is that they're the crafting tribe.)

That would make sense, though they'd probably be the most un-tribe-like tribal quest, lol.


Here's a visual of the Galvus family tree:
https://twitter.com/ritostime/status...97952171290624

[RyuDragnier]

That would make sense, though they'd probably be the most un-tribe-like tribal quest, lol.


Here's a visual of the Galvus family tree:
https://twitter.com/ritostime/status...97952171290624

It's possible they may not be a tribe, but be another Restoration area like Doma and Ishgard. PLEASE let this be the case.

[KageTokage]

This story just makes me hope they'll delve into the political mess left in the wake of the empire's fall sooner then later with an issue in Ilsabard warranting our attention.

Between the remaining Garlean legions and some manner of "great change" looming on the horizon, I can imagine all kinds of ways for things to go sideways.