Thancred's inability to interact with aether and Garleans

[No_Nick_Needed]

After his little Y'Shtola sponsored jaunt through the lifestream Thancred came back to the living world without the ability to manipulate aether.
The Garleans are also incapable of manipulating aether.

Is there a connection? Might the Garleans have been some kind of experiment, whether by the Ascians, or some other faction, that intentionally dragged people through the lifestream?
And if so, do you think the goal of this experiment was to create something stronger and it backfired, or that their condition was the goal of the experiment to begin with?
But why would someone want to create such a group of people incapable of using aether? Maybe to create a slave caste, that is less capable or rising up against magic using masters?

[Anonymoose]

I long assumed that - given the Garleans were introduced has having a unique physiology (third eye) and a unique limitation (near-total inability to manipulate aether) - the cause would explored much earlier than this (even if the reasoning was explicitly stated as, "fluke of nature, don't worry about it").

Given the fact that it only even manifests among "pure blooded" Garleans, the only theory I ever had before giving up on needing one at all was, "Allag did it", lol. Some kind of artificial control on a mage-heavy population.

Maybe they held off exploring it until the Garlean expansion and then, whoops, we skipped that one and went straight to Endwalker.

[MikkoAkure]

Given the fact that it only even manifests among "pure blooded" Garleans

One thing that throws the wrench into that assumption is Severa, who has a third eye even if it’s a dun one despite Arenvald having told us it doesn’t happen and Alma and Ramza not having one either. But we don’t know how it affects her and she’s a side-story side character so who knows if we’ll even see her again.

Honestly, taking a step back and looking at the bigger picture Garleans are 1.0 lore and I’m not sure how much of it was compatible with ARR lore. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s an incongruity that the writers couldn’t come up with a satisfactory background to and just left it unexplained. Which I wouldn’t mind considering elementals went from being a mysterious supernatural force to “an Ancient did it”.

[Anonymoose]

One thing that throws the wrench into that assumption is Severa

I side-eye at it and then I can hear Oda-san in my head; "Don't think too hard about it... don't think too hard about it..."

Very few things have zero exceptions in FFXIV. Even "Garleans can't manipulate aether" got scaled back to "it is very rare to find a Garlean who can", lol.

But I too am interested in how Severa will end up fitting into the picture.

[Cleretic]

One thing that throws the wrench into that assumption is Severa, who has a third eye even if it’s a dun one despite Arenvald having told us it doesn’t happen and Alma and Ramza not having one either. But we don’t know how it affects her and she’s a side-story side character so who knows if we’ll even see her again.

See, I think it's very simple: Severa is a Garlean at least in this perspective, Arenvald is a Highlander. Severa got a bunch of Garlean genes and so ended up more or less with their phenotype; Arenvald didn't. It might be that it's a more recessive gene, which would lead to more of an association with 'pure-blooded' Garleans... or, maybe the Garleans being racial purists is factoring in here and they're bigging that part up.

We've also got the factor of Cocobusi in the Thaumaturges' Guild questline, who was deficient in aetheric capacity; it's not that he can't manipulate it, it's that he can't manipulate it much. This seems to be a congenital thing, just a freak incident of birth, as he's the only one of his family who can't do it.


Following that logical train rather than one of deliberate genetic manipulation, I'd put forward the theory that aetheric manipulation is controlled by a certain part of the body; maybe a specific organ, maybe a gland, maybe a system like the circulatory system that has a lot of moving parts. (it may not even be a physical part of the body, magic could get weird like that.) If that were true, then if that part of the body were underdeveloped, it would lead to a situation like Cocobusi. If that part of the body were damaged, it would lead to a situation like Thancred. And if that part of the body was altogether absent from birth, it would lead to a situation like the Garleans.

Or we're looking at three different root causes of the same outward symptom and they're not actually related in the underlying, like how approximately seven million different problems could all cause you to start coughing.

[mallleable]

It'd be funny if it turned out the 'Garleans can't manipulate aether' turned out to just be extremely effective propaganda to prevent spellcraft practices.

[-Kairi]

"Y'Shtola sponsored jaunt through the lifestream" lmfao.

[Zero-ELEC]

Assuming that the connection of the people of Goug to Garleans is true, do we have any indication wether the Gougians were incapable of wielding aether like the Garleans?

[LibitIncarne]

Assuming that the connection of the people of Goug to Garleans is true, do we have any indication wether the Gougians were incapable of wielding aether like the Garleans?

Goug?
/10chars

[MikkoAkure]

Assuming that the connection of the people of Goug to Garleans is true, do we have any indication wether the Gougians were incapable of wielding aether like the Garleans?

Yes, Jenomis for sure and I believe some of the others mention that the people of Goug lacked the ability to manipulate aether like the modern Garleans and were just as inclined towards machinery.

Goug?
/10chars

The city in the lighthouse of the 2nd Ivalice Alliance raid. Home of one of the 7 tribes that eventually became the Garleans.