FFXIV Lore- Understanding Garlemald 

As a DnD nerd I like the idea of the Garlean Empire a sub race of people unable to channel magic shunned and viewed as lesser eventually becoming a technological powerhouse I'm definitely going to use them as inspiration for antagonists for a campaign.

I think a brief biography of some of the Empire’s most famous or infamous figures would be a cool topic to cover. Like Gaius van Baelsar’s early career and current status. Or even Zenos.

10:00 - That's really nice of Emet, letting the Garleans believe they 'Discovered' this all on their own... XD Like a father suggesting crayon colors to his kids while supervising a coloring book ^_^

And maybe around the time when the Garleans were attacked by invaders, they found the way to use the power of the voidsent, giving the birth of the first reapers.

Once the origins of the nation were uncovered, it led me to wonder. Look at the Garlean flag and consider the nation's place in the Ascian plan. If I didn't know any better, it almost looks like a depiction of a rejoining.

It's my personal belief that the Ascians had designed the Garleans genetically, due to them not existing in Novrandt at all or even mentioned and after the mess that was the Allag Empire that they likely lost control over due to becoming too advanced for their own good. Sealing primals into batteries like the warring triad and bahamut? It didn't benefit them at all in the Rejoining. And they did not want to risk the chance of them progressing beyond their means, thus the inability to use magic so even if the Empire went wild the Ascians can easily wipe them out with their abilities. It would explain why Emet-Selch was in charge of the country as he took the reins of the Empire and likely controlled the majority of the path. They ensured that there would be a race discriminated by Eorzea and, in return, Garleans would want to get revenge on the rest of the realm. The pressure would make the beast tribes summon primals and etc.

Why are the Hyur's, my people, so blood thirsty!? This is like the third race they tried to pick a fight with, they're like FF14 equivalent to orcs!

I think i'll start to help The Garleans after this.

My keeper of the moon’s tribe roamed the mountains and was subjugated by the garlean empire. He was shipped all over islabard when he was younger, forced to learn how to live with other males and inside cities rather then the nomadic life most keeper of the moon males live. He escaped in his late twenties to Ivalice thinking it’d be safe and was forced to run again to Doma and then Hirogashi. I know it’s not the most lore friendly mi’qote but I want to tell the tale of a man struggling to find his place in a world shattered by one empire’s ambition. He eventually made it back to Eorzea where his tribe used to roam the mountain streams and forests, but… his tribe is gone. He is their last survivor, and does not know their traditions.

Very relevant for the next expansion 👀

this is indeed a most welcoming lore video :) i realy like your style. but after all of that i would also like to see videos about Bozja and Ivalice. Especialy the last one, bcs it is a little bit confusing for ppl who are never played ff12 or Tacticts.

The end and good bye of this story almost remembered me of night vale style goodbye

great work as always professor, hope to see a video on the viera soon

Understandable, see you back in a few months

My man, this is the best XIV lore channel on RU-vid. I’m really glad I found it. I love the way you incorporate yourself into the video as if you are scholar just looking for information (you are, but I digress). Looking forward to the “what it means to be a hrothgar” video! Keep up the great work!

Thank you for the lore. I'm looking forward to other topics.

Hi, recently found your channel and am loving the content. Any plans to analyze the grand companies and how their outfits represent their cities and guilds?

Great video man

Hmm, question - during the Ivalice raids, its implied that the Garlean people originated from the Clockwork City of Gogh. Is there any indication as to -why- they abandoned their giant spire city, or really anything at all about it and the associated civilization? I'm curious if this place existed as a compatriot of the Allagan Empire or if it came after.

Keep up the good work.

I thought Congenital refers to NON genetic conditions. literally what my doctor told me.

As far as the reports of a Gaerlean using magic, would not Nael be considered among their number? Admittedly to say that it was their magic would perhaps be hyperbole, but Bahamut or not I would assume that they made use of some arcane arts during the events of Dalamund's fall.

Soooo when can we play as Garleans? Garlean WoL let’s go

always amazing.

It would've been more than enough to recapture Corvos back, but Emet-Selch had ideas. Bad ideas.

Does anyone know what that mask is called and how to obtain it? I don't think I've ever seen it.

I think we can all relate to the Garlean's origins in some respect. But there's an important lesson here for the individual. They overcame their circumstances through ingenuity and opportunism. In fact, their turnaround was so huge, they almost enslaved the entire world. There's also something to be learned for the individual in that; sometimes, what doesn't kill you can turn you into a monster. And I would note that despite **That One Guy's** professed desire to bring chaos, he wound up creating a ton of order; he might have done so as a means to bring about chaos, even. Something to be learned about the shifting pendulum of order and chaos inherent in mortal civilizations by that. I think it's best summed up by the cry: "I see what my parents did wrong, and I'm going to do something different!" What they fail to grasp is that this pendulum has been swinging for far longer than their lives, their parents' lives and their grandparents' lives, and that the road they travel is well worn. I think, perhaps, this is an element of why historians try to educate others: Maybe this time we can go in a different direction than where the pendulum's already swung - or even keep the pendulum from ever swinging again. So, for that element, I thank you, Teach'. Edited to prevent spoilers.

Excellent video! Something i think worth noting to grasp the situation of the garleans is that when we see, for example, fish swimming around in the air above the beaches of the ruby sea, that's not simply because, well, there's no underwater combat... rather, those fish have developed an inborn ability to respire air as through it were water, through the use of aether, so they can hunt out of the water in lean times. Likewise, the insects that small fish would prey upon have evolved to utilize their innate aether reserves to sap the strength of predators, or stun their own prey with electrical discharges; in other words, in a world steeped in magic at every level of existence, it's not unreasonable to say that in some way, even lowly insects are more powerful than pureblooded garleans. thinking about it that way, the emergence of a leader who made them, for perhaps one of the only times in their history, feel PROUD to be garlean, was a perfect catalyst for the fanaticism and tragedy to follow.

Endwalker has already got me interested into Garlean Empire, but I would LOVE more history vids of the empire :D

Maybe what makes pure blooded Garlean so physically resilient and strong is the aether they can't use circulating and strengthening their body. And maybe that might also have to do with their third eye, too as a side effect of their bodies being strengthened by their physiology.

Awesomely comprehensive lore you've gathered, and well told to boot. Just in time for the expansion, too! Always looking forward to your videos. No in-character response today I'm afraid, haha. Just wanted to toss in my continued appriciation of the channel since, man, you're churning these videos out fast.

they also used ideas from those they conquered such as taking the infamous gunblade from the bozjans or siphoning aether from the eorzeans who possessed echo to create Zenos' resonant.

Hoping my boy Regula at least gets a mention in one of these episodes.

the sad part is that the garleans may not have became so tyrannical and militaristic if Emet-Selch hadn't taken over.

I wonder if we’ll learn even more about the city of Goug and if Garlean’s predecessors did hail from there. It’s interesting how they reversed-engineer Goug’s Construct and threw it at Bozja.

No magic explains why they aren't playable. I wonder if a future event will change that and open them up as player choices someday.

This video makes the arrival of Endwalker even more exciting. Imagine if players were able to harvest ceruleum for crafting armor and weapons rather than it being just for story development. Also, great job on this and your other videos. I happened upon this channel through my recommended feed. You have earned my sub :)

What i find funny about Garlemmald when playing ffx14 is they got gunship big big air ships tanks guns and yet keep losing to people with bows shield swords riding animal's

I love how simple and detailed this video was! It’s a fantastic refresher before endwalker or any sprouts picking FFXIV lore! I also loved the cozy apartment with lots of books! 😊✨

I love the Garlean's and would love to be able to play one. I saw a concept for how to do one, used a magitek device on the forearm to bypass the inability to use magic.

Me, any time garleans go on about what happened to their ancestors "cool motive, still genocide." Like, what happened was absolutely awful (and lets be real, likely orchestrated by Emet anyway) but they've gone way too far. Can't wait to rid this star of the blight that is the Empire soon.

I hope one day the republic can rebuild its self. After all not every garlean was a monster, FOR GLORY GARLEMALD 🎶

At 3:08 you said you couldn't find any names or proof of Garleans using magic. I wouldn't exactly call it using 'magic', but in the Chronicles of Light short story 'The Hunt Begins', Zenos uses a crystal shard pressed into a cut in his hand to force his body to release aether, so he can channel it into his attack. I'm talking about this paragraph: *Zenos bared a bloodied hand to his slain foe. There, embedded in the cup of his palm, glinted a crystal fragment. “I have learned two things, however. First the inability to manipulate aether is a vexing disadvantage, and one which must be addressed.” Without so much as a blink, Zenos plucked the crystal free of his flesh, his own blood oozing from the open wound. He had buried it in his palm in a bid to force his body to release aether. And the risks had been great; in the worst case, his body’s aethereal balance could have been altered irreversibly, even fatally. Yet in full knowledge of the dangers, naught else would suffice but to sate his curiosity and put this new fighting style to the proof.* (Unfortunately I don't own the book, so I'm forced to take this reddit post by it's word: www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/comments/iiyeeu/chronicles_of_light_the_hunt_begins_the_offical/ )

I regret that there are spoilers beyond my progress in the game. I’m a lvl 65 Smn for solo content and Scholar for group content. Also lvl 70 Whm. My next main scenario quest is to start Stormblood by going beyond Baelsar’s Wall. It’ll be likely close to a week before I actually go though. I have to catch up on levelling my Land and Hand classes, as well as the job quests for each one as well as those for Smn, Sch and Whm to 65 provided they don’t take me to Stormblood locations. It’s really quite nice to be able to do all my prep work before a long journey into the unknown just like in real life. Now I freely admit that I haven’t been completely successful in avoiding all Stormblood and Shadowbringers content. For example I know I’m to face a real Garlean brute named Zenos or Xenos or something like it and that he pounds the WoL a few times. That he is a brute who just cares about finding strong enemies to fight. Presumably we do eventually liberate Ala’Migho and we’ll be visiting our Ninja Au Ra’s home. (I temporarily forgot her name.) Visit Doma. As for Shadowbringers I’m told it’ll be a tearjerker. I’m sure I will given Noraxia’s end made me angry. Moenbryda’s, I felt cheated. If Midgardsormr hadn’t robbed the WoL of her Blessing then Hydaelyn would have helped and Moenbryda wouldn’t have had to sacrifice herself for the weapon against the Ascian. Haurchefant… Yeah I tears in my eyes over that. One of my WoL’s closest friends who worried when she went into danger and was the only one to provide shelter and protection when she needed it the most. Papalymo… surprise and tinges of sadness because he was one of the few Scions that didn’t annoy me. Anyway in Shadowbringers I’ve been spoiled that the WoL and at least some of the Scions wind up in the First- Where the Warriors of Darkness come from. The Crystarium and we end up fighting for the First. And that a character from earlier in the story reappears. That’s all I know so I try to avoid more. So sadly I had to pause this video to write a comment then hit the back button. A shame since the Garleans fascinate me. LOL I do truly suspect that their rise to power enough to create a whole Empire is the work of the Ascians. I mean, this nothing little humanoid race that can’t manipulate aether to use magic, confined basically to a little island suddenly develops powerful magitek that can be used to subjugate magic wielding races? The kind of magitechbology that hasn’t really been seen since the Allags? Yeah I’m pretty sure an Ascian taught the Garleans the secrets of magitek development. The Garlean Empire has certainly caused a lot of pain, chaos, death and suffering-exactly what the Ascians seem to want. *Chuckle* One day I suppose I’ll see how right or wrong my theories are.

THis video was super informative, I've been roleplaying as a Garlean in both in-game and in tabletop for awhile now. I didn't even know there was numbered years, What year is it as of FFXIV Realm Reborn? or Endwalker for that matter?

Thanks alot for this lore!

I thought dalmasca was considered part of othard :o i mean, that appendage on ilsabard looks rather strange

3:50 Okay, it's a superstition. ... How accurate is the superstition, though? Just because it's a superstition, does not automatically mean it's wrong.

naw im never forgiving "in from the cold"

I'm loving this channel, keep up the good work !

No one told me this had spoilers

Literally has mald in its name imagine if they were garlecope or garleseeth

Not sure if the lore was n this has been explained at all, but k owing what we know about the star and the ancients… how does the Garleans inability to use Aether fit into that?

Every video that sounds like really good [ love all vids btw. ] are w spoilers 😭😭

Yooo, thank you for doing this!

I stumbled across your channel by accident while searching for FFXIV lore videos - your videos are absolutely wonderful and help to scratch that lore itch I have! Really digestable and accessible, which I appreciate a lot. Can't wait to see the other job lore videos - you've got my sub for sure!

Thank you for the vid!

Fantastic. Learning about the empire like a history lecture really helped me put all of the pieces together!

I’ve been trying to find a lore channel like yours for months. I’m so glad I’ve found it. Thank you for your hard work.

You should make a playlist with ALL your lore videos. I like to listen to you when I go to sleep but the shorter playlists are too short and I basically know all the job videos by heart now lol

Glory be to Garlemad!

I need more for my character story. Thannnkkksss lovubye

I must say- you need more subscribers. Anyway- your videos got me thinking about an old question i brought up with my FC. Emotions and how they interact/react/cause reactions- with Aether. Bard/Dancer/Paladin/Dark-knight these 4 classes seem to involve alot of emotion, either of the caster or those around the caster to manipulate magic. Bards and their magic raise the Moral of those around them. Dancers do the same as bard but with their movements. - We learn from both questlines that Moral isnt just Moral, but it can directly Effect ones Aether- sometimes even cause people to literally dance themselves to death. Paladin and Dark-knight both ignite their Aether with their emotions. Be it a strong sense of justice, or unwavering willpower. I hope you make a video on this someday. Even if its just a theory video.

Just found you, instantly subscribed. Keep up the good lore work

This is such a great video! Please keep up the good work, I need more FFXIV lore!!

I’m very confused. Are Solus and Emet selch the same person or are they different? I was under the impression Emet selch was always alive even before the foundation of Garlemald. Considering his endless time doing the things he has. It just leaves me a bit confused..maybe he possessed the boy’s body from his birth. If someone could elaborate I’d appreciate it.

Finally I found the channel about FFXIV's lore but my man you need to work on video thumbnail.

Is this gonna be on the test?

Your channel is soooo good

There's a Theory that the Guardians are a incomplete race and that's why they can't use Magic and they might have been created by the death of zodiac is this a theory I don't know it's true

i love XIVs lore... unfortunately the writing style is so drawn out and droning that i always lose interest in the msq. every expansion i say to myself "THIS TIME for real. im not gonna skip cutscenes and fast forward through dialog" but....everything takes 10 damn minutes to explain. this isnt real life. good writing is brief. every single person i interact with for whatever reason has to tell me the story of their life. nothing is snappy in this game. i remember NPCs in snes,ps1 era rpgs would say a few lines, give you the gist and you move on. it makes you appreciate the dialog and the information rather than dreading it. but these guys do 20 minutes over a damn ham burger. everything is TMI. if they would just shorten all dialog by like 35% it would be perfect. you still get your point across in detail but you dont cross into excessive babbling territory i wish the writers would be just a little more succinct. cause i feel like im ALMOST able of sticking with it up until the last 30% (at which point im like "alright, enough is enough....SKIP!"