Hydaelyn Role-Players

Seeming this topic recently came up, I wonder, what is the status on the Castrum the Garleans hold lorewise? Do they still occupy them all, did they abandon some posts? If anyone has a clue, it would be appreciated. I sort of forgot a lot of things about ARR lore (and roleplaying an Ishgardian before didn't really require for me to really dig into Garleans and their outposts before).

Help a fellow roleplayer out <3

In the 2.x quests (after Operation Super Duper Original Endgame Content), they're treated as still being held. The hit that was done in OSDOEC seems to have only destabilized the Castrums, or killed everyone originally in them, prompting the Garleans to send more. To unlock the Binding Coils, you have to kill your way into Limsa's Castrum in order to survey the dig site, and during the Crystal Braves storyline, you have to stop someone from fleeing back to their Garlean masters within the big Castrum in Northern Thanalan, and have to save one of your fellow Braves from being captured in the Castrum in Mor Dhona.

When the Doman children ask what Mor Dhona is like during a cutscene, you have the option to tell them (in a rather reluctant way) that Revenant's Toll is a "stones throw away from an Imperial Castrum," implying that it is still a danger, and very much active. You also bomb the crap out of some of their supplies to sabotage their efforts a few quests later.

It's therefore safe to say or assume that most of the Castrums have been remanned and restocked.

(10-10-2015, 05:59 PM)Virella Wrote: [ -> ]Seeming this topic recently came up, I wonder, what is the status on the Castrum the Garleans hold lorewise? Do they still occupy them all, did they abandon some posts?

Pretty much what Oli said. They were dealt a crippling blow by the Eorzean Alliance during Operation Archon, but they are still very much active and still pose a threat to Eorzea. As Oli also mentioned in his post, there are several points in the MSQ where the WoL has to venture into the Castrums because of some danger.

J'brohka Wrote:At Master Alphinaud's request, the Maelstrom has taken measures to deter any further exploration of the caverns beneath Castrum Occidens. So long as the castrum remains, however, we must keep watch for signs of imperial activity.

Back and Fourth Wrote:Alphinaud informs you that a unit of Crystal Braves was ambushed by Garlean forces during your absence. Worse, it seems that one of the unit's members was captured and taken to Castrum Centri.

Doman Connection Wrote:An imperial squadron has set forth from Castrum Oriens on a mission to destroy an Alliance communications-jamming device in the South Shroud.

About the only Imperial Castrum no longer active in Eorzea is Castrum Aquilonis in Coerthas. It's off the map but visible from Monument Tower.

E3 Interview Wrote:Q: There’s a silhouette visible from Monument Tower in Coerthas that looks exactly like Castrum Marinum, but the size and angle seem to be all wrong. Does Marinum have a twin out there?

Fernehalwes: Oda-san says that this is a place called Castrum Aquilonis. The Empire started building it, but it was way too cold; the climate was way too harsh. They stopped halfway through, it’s now abandoned. That’s all I can say, because that’s all that’s been written.

It utterly boggles my mind that the Empire was allowed to creep back in and reclaim Castrum Meridianum. Between the damage dealt to the garrison's forces by the WoL and his raid party, and the entire northern Eorzean Alliance that smashed their main forces in the field at North Than, there's not a single reason at all why that fort shouldn't be flying an Alliance flag right now.

(10-10-2015, 07:21 PM)Chris Ganale Wrote: [ -> ]It utterly boggles my mind that the Empire was allowed to creep back in and reclaim Castrum Meridianum. Between the damage dealt to the garrison's forces by the WoL and his raid party, and the entire northern Eorzean Alliance that smashed their main forces in the field at North Than, there's not a single reason at all why that fort shouldn't be flying an Alliance flag right now.

Because the Garlean Empire is massive, and could totally dwarf what little resistance a hastily patched-together alliance could provide.

Killing their leaders and disrupting their plans to use Ultima Weapon destabilized the empire's footing on Eorzea, but considering they control one and a half continents or more at this point, there's little reason why they couldn't have overtaken fortresses that not only are strategically positioned to their advantage, but also contain technology that only they know how to use. It's likely that the Alliance wouldn't even be able to get the gates closed without Cid's help or something.

It's less "yay, we won and now the Garleans are gone forever!" And more "yay, we stalled them by killing their generals and destroying their Super Duper Doomsday Device so that we can buy more time and get our shit together!"

If they were so readily capable of steamrolling Eorzea, they wouldn't have failed three times already.

(10-10-2015, 08:09 PM)Chris Ganale Wrote: [ -> ]If they were so readily capable of steamrolling Eorzea, they wouldn't have failed three times already.

But their purpose isn't to kill all of Eorzea. It's to get Eorzea to willingly join the Garlean Empire.

Nael van Darnus was seen as too-violent. And when he finally went off the deep end for Project Meteor, he was branded a madman and lost Garlean support.

The Garleans want to win on their terms. You can't unify people if you simply kill them all.

(10-10-2015, 08:09 PM)Chris Ganale Wrote: [ -> ]If they were so readily capable of steamrolling Eorzea, they wouldn't have failed three times already.

There is a big difference between reclaiming an area that you know the ins and outs of because you basically designed it yourself, and taking over a bunch of hostile territory where other people are even more firmly established than you are, is the thing. They're also interested in capture, not nuking everything and dancing on the ashes.

You can either chalk it up to the Garleans knowing what they're doing, or the Alliance being hilariously incompetent and partying it up while the Garleans snuck themselves back in, but the point is that they're back and resupplied either way.

(10-10-2015, 08:16 PM)Oli! Wrote: [ -> ]They're also interested in capture, not nuking everything and dancing on the ashes.

Depends on the day of the week.

(10-10-2015, 08:09 PM)Chris Ganale Wrote: [ -> ]If they were so readily capable of steamrolling Eorzea, they wouldn't have failed three times already.

(10-10-2015, 08:16 PM)Oli! Wrote: [ -> ]You can either chalk it up to the Garleans knowing what they're doing, or the Alliance being hilariously incompetent and partying it up while the Garleans snuck themselves back in, but the point is that they're back and resupplied either way.

It's also important to remember that shortly following the events of 2.0, First Emperor of Garlemald, Solus zos Galvus fell ill and died, beginning Garlemald's War of Succession between the Founding Houses of Garlemald. It took until the events of 2.4~ish before Galvus's grandson, Varis yae Galvus, officially took the reigns of the Empire. During this time, Garlemald was more focused on maintaining order in their rebelling territories (see: Doma) after the news of Solus's death.

Another important thing to remember, is that the original campaign against Othard and later Ala Mhigo, as well as successive attempts at invading Eorzea have strained the ceruleum supplies which power Garlemald's warmachines. Garlemald has risked numerous ventures into Eorzea's northern mountains seeking to replenish their ceruleum supplies. This was one of their primary goals in their capture of the Dzemael Darkhold and their campaigns to take northern Thanalan. They've recently gotten as desperate as to attempt scavenging the Agrius's ceruleum tanks.

The Rising Chorus Wrote:The Doman watch reports that forces from Castrum Centri have been scavenging materials from the wreckage, but that otherwise the distant monument has shown no signs of activity. Given the imperial presence, a stealthy approach will be necessary.

EDIT: And, as far as why Garlemald has failed to take Eorzea three times, well... Gaius van Baelsar who was famous for already toppling four city-states, took Ala Mhigo, the greatest military force in all Eorzea in a single night. And their first full on invasion was only crushed by Midgardsormr and the might of Dravania - but remember that was just one of Garlemald's fourteen legions.

Garlemald's second attempt, headed by the VIIth Legion's Nael van Darnus, did not have the support of Gaius's XIVth legion. In fact, in 1.0, Gaius van Baelsar actually actively worked against Nael van Darnus's attempts at annihilating Eorzea. Dalamud later tempered Nael and drove him mad, and Darnus's devoted following within the VIIth legion was crushed by Bahamut on Carteneau. Note that the VIIth legion never made full scale assaults against the city-states, only skirmishes meant to distract and harry the Eorzean cities while Garlemald built their castrums and mined ceruleum for their machines.

Their third and to date last assault against Eorzea was again conducted only by the XIVth legion following the wake of the Calamity. Again, the XIVth legion was a shade of its former self after its crushing defeat at Silvertear Skies and its fall from the Emperor's favor. But it was this successful assault which pushed the Alliance forces back far enough to establish the castrums deep within Eorzean territories.

So Eorzea has never faced the full strength of Garlemald. Othard was taken by (if I remember correctly) three of Garlemald's legions. It's likely that several of Garlemald's legions are currently tied up maintaining the peace in their now-many territories. If Varis zos Galvus devotes a similar number of legions to invade Eorzea, I doubt the city-states will put up much resistance. Though, with Ishgard joining the Eorzean Alliance, the WoL bringing some modicum of peace to the Dravanians, and the Empire's ever dwindling supply of resources to maintain their foreign territories - we may have a chance depending on how long Garlemald stalls their advance.

It should be mentioned that Castrum Miridanum's reclaiming was done so easily because it's connected via an advanced rail system and the Phantom Train to Castrum Centri in Mor Dhona. It would have been a simple matter for them to cart over men and start rebuilding.

(10-10-2015, 09:07 PM)Sounsyy Wrote: [ -> ]EDIT: And, as far as why Garlemald has failed to take Eorzea three times, well... Gaius van Baelsar who was famous for already toppling four city-states, took Ala Mhigo, the greatest military force in all Eorzea in a single night. And their first full on invasion was only crushed by Midgardsormr and the might of Dravania - but remember that was just one of Garlemald's fourteen legions.

It's important to remember though that Ala Mhigo fell so easily in large part due to factors beyond sheer Garlean might: the nation was divided and already crumbling from a civil war, and parts of the populace even welcomed Garlean "assistance". I think the story would have been very different had Garlemald been forced to contend with Ala Mhigo on even ground; not to say they wouldn't have eventually won, but they would likely not have done so nearly as cleanly.

And as for the battle between Dravania and Garlemald, I'm actually fairly interested in whether it had nearly as much of an impact on the dragons as it did the Garleans. As far as I can tell, the Dravanians only consider the fight against one of Garlemald's greatest armies and one of its most powerful machines of war to be a side-scuffle compared to the conflict with Ishgard. I would be curious to see if there is any Heavensward lore that gives a Dravanian perspective on the battle and its ramifications.

(10-11-2015, 09:25 PM)Valeera Wrote: [ -> ]It's important to remember though that Ala Mhigo fell so easily in large part due to factors beyond sheer Garlean might: the nation was divided and already crumbling from a civil war, and parts of the populace even welcomed Garlean "assistance". I think the story would have been very different had Garlemald been forced to contend with Ala Mhigo on even ground; not to say they wouldn't have eventually won, but they would likely not have done so nearly as cleanly.

Yes. Ala Mhigo actually repelled repeated Garlean assaults for years before Gaius van Baelsar devised the plan to topple the city-state from within. Their united armies were more than a match for Garlemald's might, hence why I referred to them as the "greatest military force in all Eorzea" in my previous post. It was through this civil unrest, wherein the last King of Ala Mhigo destroyed a large portion of his armies and murdered the royal family, nobles, merchants, and his own citizens for five years that finally culminated in Ala Mhigo's defeat. Once the King's own kingsguard turned against him, he took his own life leaving an angry and divided people to be reaped by Gaius van Baelsar, who appeared to them as a savior. Ala Mhigo fell to the Garleans that night and those who resisted were slaughtered.

Lodestone Wrote:The highlands of Gyr Abania in the eastern reaches of Aldenard were once under the control of a martial nation known as Ala Mhigo. It was, perhaps, the historically conflicted nature of the territory that forged the country into a significant military power. Even as this aggressive nation sent its forces to conquer in the west, it repelled repeated attempts at invasion from the east. In the Year 1557 of the Sixth Astral Era, however, it finally fell to the incursions of the Garlean Empire. From that time onwards, the country became merely another imperial territory under the governance of its usurpers. Though the people of Ala Mhigo once revered Rhalgr, the Destroyer, as their patron deity, any such religious observance has since been forbidden by the controlling authorities.

Lodestone Wrote:Legatus of the XIVth Legion, the imperial force currently occupying Ala Mhigo, van Baelsar is possessed of a natural flair for wartime command equaled perhaps only by his sensibilities as a governing administrator. Among his numerous accomplishments is the conquest of five enemy cities, the political conversion of which he also oversaw. 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.

Tyon Wrote:We had heard that Ala Mhigo's armies were more than enough to fight off the Garleans. Tidings of her demise were...disheartening, to say the least. And now there is word that Garlemald has made a stronghold of the ruins. It is from there that they launch their winged monstrosities, such as the one which destroyed our own airship. Their juggernauts have been spotted in the skies over every part of the realm, and their silver-clad soldiers are becoming a regular sight in the borderlands. Aye, it would seem the Garleans mean to unleash their full wrath on Eorzea.

The last king of Ala Mhigo Wrote:As I likely explained if you have ever bothered to ask me about monks and the Fist of Rhalgr, the King of Ruin, Theodoric, was a ruthless despot and tyrant. It should come as no surprise, then, that he was the last king of Ala Mhigo. But the tale of his rise and fall is the stuff we historians live for!

Theodoric's lust for power was such that nothing less than absolute rule would appease him. To counter the political influence of the Fist of Rhalgr, he proclaimed his kingship to be the product of divine will - ordained by Nymeia Herself. What followed was a crusade which sought to exterminate the monks entirely. Yet it was the truly depraved acts of barbarism to come that would shake Ala Mhigan society to its very core. This ensuing era of terror was what earned Theodoric the title "King of Ruin."

After the massacre at the Fist's main temple, religious opposition to Theodoric nearly disappeared altogether. He then began purges of the Ala Mhigan royalty, seeing any and all potential pretenders to his throne dead and buried - regardless of house, loyalties, or standing. Beheadings were commonplae, carried out daily. Before long, it looked as though Theodoric would have no heads left to take. But he then turned his wrath upon any soul with a claim to the throne, no matter how remote. After that, it was to be the empowered nobles and wealthy merchants.

Fearing for their lives, they professed their innocence to the queen, pleading for her to stay her maniacal husband's hand. She attempted words to assuage his lust for power turned lust for blood, but he was deaf to her appeals. Finding no recourse, she conspired with a group of nobles to murder Theodoric. Yet before the regicide could take place, one among them betrayed their plot and for their treason, the king saw them all less a head.

This only served to compound Theodoric's paranoia and insanity. Distrustful of all, his purges now became little more than random executions, claiming lives of noble and beggar and all in between. It is not difficult to imagine what transpired next. The palace became a despicable gathering of sycophants and backstabbers, and the commonfolk scarce left their homes. Seeking heads on which to lay blame for worsening conditions, Theodoric turned the axe upon his most loyal followers. When the oppression became too much to ear, the people revolted and stormed the palace. The royal guard (Corpse Brigade) cast aside their vows and allowed the Ala Mhigans to pass.

A noble revolt? For the best, no? False! It was the absence of leadership and solidarity in the wake of this chaos that prompted Garlemald to attack! In the end, Theodoric was lucid enough to judge suicide preferable to death at the hands of an angry mob. He ended his own life, and with it, his reign of ruin and his own bloodline. Or so it was thought at the time! But Theodred, a nephew to the king, was hidden by his mother in a remote temple of the Fist of Rhalgr which had survived the purges, and thus he escaped his uncle's fury.