I find it difficult to grasp what Zoraal Ja was thinking in regards to his world-conquering ambitions. Specifically, I'm referring to his plans as they existed from prior to Dawntrail, up through the first part of the Dawntrail MSQ. During the time period where he planned to use the forces of Tural to conquer and forcibly unite the rest of the world, starting with Garlemald.
I get that he was a big fish in a small pond. That he did not comprehend the scale or sophistication of war across the salt. It's perfectly reasonable that he simply didn't realize how outclassed Tural would be militarily.
What I don't get is how he could look at a map, ponder the logistics for more than five seconds, and still conclude "yeah, I can do this."
Picking Garlemald as a first target makes sense from a military and diplomatic standpoint. They've been terribly weakened by the events of Shadowbringers and Endwalker, and their prior imperialist actions have limited their prospects for outside military help. So he's clearly put at at least some thought into what he's doing.
But how does he plan to move his army or supply lines? He leads a nation with no blue water navy, no blue water merchant marine, and not even a single deep-water port. Does he expect to hire Lominsan merchant shipping to move his army and supplies, despite his not-exactly-secret plans to eventually invade Eorzea? Does he plan to spend several years constructing port facilities and building a navy from scratch, all the while hoping Garlemald doesn't recover while he's doing this?
Or has he just never bothered to inquire as to the experiences of a single returned Silverscale regarding just how long and complex the journey across the salt actually is?
Continue reading...
I get that he was a big fish in a small pond. That he did not comprehend the scale or sophistication of war across the salt. It's perfectly reasonable that he simply didn't realize how outclassed Tural would be militarily.
What I don't get is how he could look at a map, ponder the logistics for more than five seconds, and still conclude "yeah, I can do this."
Picking Garlemald as a first target makes sense from a military and diplomatic standpoint. They've been terribly weakened by the events of Shadowbringers and Endwalker, and their prior imperialist actions have limited their prospects for outside military help. So he's clearly put at at least some thought into what he's doing.
But how does he plan to move his army or supply lines? He leads a nation with no blue water navy, no blue water merchant marine, and not even a single deep-water port. Does he expect to hire Lominsan merchant shipping to move his army and supplies, despite his not-exactly-secret plans to eventually invade Eorzea? Does he plan to spend several years constructing port facilities and building a navy from scratch, all the while hoping Garlemald doesn't recover while he's doing this?
Or has he just never bothered to inquire as to the experiences of a single returned Silverscale regarding just how long and complex the journey across the salt actually is?
Continue reading...