Garland (Final Fantasy IX)



Garland is an antagonist in Final Fantasy IX. He worked behind the shadows and was first confronted in Terra's Castle Pandemonium, although he is first seen piloting the airship Invincible over Alexandria during its destruction.

Story
Garland is a Genome, created by the Terrans to accomplish their plans of "survival". Terra had always assimilated other planets to survive, and the soul of Terrans lived inside Genomes. When Terra was already reaching its maximum capacity, the planet Gaia was born. With their world Terra dying, the Terrans chose Gaia to be assimilated. They entrusted Garland with their plans and slept. Garland describes this plan as turning the "light of this planet... from blue (Gaia) to red (Terra)". Garland attempted to assimilate the planet by force, which resulted in failure. This setback in his plans forced him to wait for 5,000 years, when Gaia would reach the peak of its civilization and harness incredible powers such as Eidolons.

In the meantime, Garland constructed more Genomes to be vessels for the souls of the Terrans. In order to control the cycle of souls in Gaia, he placed the Iifa Tree on the planet. This vegetative structure prevented the souls of Gaia from returning to the planet, trapping them within Iifa's roots, and allowed souls of Terra to flow into Gaia instead. Garland then constructed another Genome, which had a stronger will than others. He named this Genome Kuja and sent him to hasten the Iifa Tree's soul dividing process by killing more Gaians. However, Kuja's role as Angel of Death was not meant to last due to his mortality, and Garland had created another Genome, Zidane, to eventually replace him. Kuja, jealous of Zidane but unaware of his own mortality, kidnapped Zidane and left him in Gaia. A short time later, the people living in the town of Madain Sari on Gaia had mastered the art of summoning Eidolons. Garland, fearing their power, destroyed the Eidolons and the summoner's village, though two summoners and twelve Eidolons survived.

Garland let this slip by, wishing only for Kuja to stay true to his destructive manner. Garland created another Genome, Mikoto, to replace Zidane, who he thought lost. However, when Kuja began his plans to control the Eidolons, beginning with Bahamut and Alexander, Garland could no longer tolerate Kuja's rebellion and came to Gaia to stop the Genome's plans. He wrested control of the Invincible and destroyed both Alexander and the town of Alexandria, leaving Kuja to forumulate a new plan involving the power of Trance.

When Zidane arrived in Terra, Garland revealed everything about their purpose of existence. Zidane refused to accept his destiny as an Angel of Death, and Garland imprisoned him in Castle Pandemonium. However, Zidane's friends managed to convince him that he had control of his own life, and together, they confronted Garland on the highest ledge of his fortress. Garland was weakened, but as Zidane pressed him for more answers, Kuja arrived exultantly on the Invincible, touting his new soul-driven powers. Rendering the party unconscious with a blast of Ultima, Kuja then turned to Garland, intending to gain total control of Terra and Gaia. Garland wearily informed Kuja that his powers would come to nothing, and in a fit of anger, Kuja kicked the old man off Pandemonium's apex down to his death.

However, Garland retained his presence as a formless, omniscient voice and revealed Kuja's mortality, pushing that Genome over the edge. In Memoria, he then assisted Zidane, the only one who could hear him, with advice about the origins and nature of Gaia, Terra, and the Crystal, source of all life. In the void of space just before the entance to the Crystal's inner sanctums, Garland presence faded away, asking Zidane to protect the crystal. In his last words, Garland expressed no regrets for being created as a savior to a world that would eventually wither and die.

Battle
The party fights Garland as a boss in Castle Pandemonium.

Trivia

 * Garland may possibly be the antagonist from the original game or just a mere reference. Garland's appearance as an old man may be compared to the Garland in the original title who is a strong knight. The line "Once, Garland tried to use a more forceful method, but failed..." may be the reference to the original Garland's quest to conquer the world. This may tie in to many other allusions to the early games that are present throughout the story.