The offensive efforts of Garlean forces have grown ever more insistent.
Time and again their flying warships have rained troopers upon our camp on Vylbrand, and time and again the stalwart soldiers of the Maelstrom, along with the assistance of both the local militia and adventurers, have weathered the steel-clad storm.
There are some few who, after claiming such trifling victories, might think the imperial threat little more than an occasional nuisance. Those who possess the wits the Twelve gave a gnat, however, might be more inclined to question why the Empire, with their overwhelming superiority in numbers, continues such seemingly scattered and ineffectual forays.


Our puissant publication may have acquired the information needed to answer this very question. According to our Maelstrom sources, it appears the Garlean Empire has constructed a base of operations in central Aldenard, in the region of Mor Dhona.

The Empire has long exhibited uncommon interest in this area—one might recall the fleet of warships deployed to occupy Mor Dhona some ten years past. Though that particular attempt was foiled in rather spectacular fashion by a dragon of immense proportions—whom the dominant theory holds to be the legendary wyrm, Midgardsomr—the imperial forces have, it seems, finally succeeded in establishing a foothold in the region.
Could it be that these half-hearted assaults on Eorzean cities were intended to accomplish nothing more than to divert attention from the Empire’s base-building activities? Maelstrom officers have responded to our posited hypothesis with a non-committal, “the investigation continues.”
What elusive prize do the Garleans hope to gain with the construction of this new base? As is often the case, scholarly opinion on the matter diverges rather wildly—some theorize the desire for ceruleum to power magitek weaponry, while others put forth the crystal mines as a likely candidate. There are even those who believe the entire operation a façade for a more sinister purpose.
Whatever the truth may be, all can agree that, at the very least, the Empire has gained a significant foothold on Eorzean soil. One hopes that the upper echelons of the Maelstrom are corresponding with their counterparts in the Twin Adder and the Immortal Flames to contrive a swift reprisal to this unsettling development.

Yumah Molkot