The Battle of Lindblum (January 25, 1800) is the chief battle for domination of the Mist Continent, with Lindblum as the last remaining power on the Mist Continent to stand against Queen Brahne's all-conquering Alexandria.
Prior to the battle[]
Alexandria and Lindblum had been at peace since the Airship Revolution. When confronted by a worried Princess Garnet days before the battle, Regent Cid Fabool IX had dismissed the likelihood of war with Alexandria, as he deemed Lindblum's airship armada sufficient to deter Queen Brahne.
When news about Alexandria's attack on Burmecia reach the regent, he has Lindblum's airship armada deploy from the Alexandrian border to come to Burmecia's aid. The reinforcements arrive too late, and the redeployment leaves Lindblum exposed on the Alexandrian front. This allows Queen Brahne to cross the border on an airship undetected.
Battle[]
Despite Lindblum's resources and large airship fleet and army that eclipse that of Alexandria's, they have little effect on this conflict. Queen Brahne's black mage army is teleported into the city, and destroys everything in sight. Brahne summons the eidolon Atomos, stolen from Garnet, that rises from the ocean and destroys the Industrial District as well as sucking up people and black mages, also damaging to Lindblum Castle.
White flags are drawn from the castle signaling Lindblum's surrender, and Brahne dismisses Atomos. Brahne gives Cid Fabool IX two conditions for the surrender: she demands the Falcon's Claw, as well as the Hilda Garde II, Cid's experimental airship that flies without Mist. With Lindblum about to be obliterated, Cid complies and the Alexandrian army and fleet move in and occupy the devastated city.
Aftermath[]
Lindblum is annexed into the Alexandrian Empire, while Regent Cid is allowed to remain in his palace. Cid blames himself for surrendering, although Lindblum would have faced certain destruction had he resisted further. Lindblum's army is not disarmed, and its soldiers are allowed to carry out reconstruction efforts under Alexandrian authority. Although he still has troops under his command, Cid knows he only stands to lose if he counterattacks, and plans not to make any move as long as Alexandria still has access to magic weapons. Plans are made to strike once the balance of power has evened out.
Many in Lindblum are shocked by how easily the Alexandrians defeated them, despite their superior airship armada. An Alexandrian soldier points out that it is black mages and eidolons, not airships, that wins wars from now on. Some Alexandrian soldiers are disillusioned with Queen Brahne because of the war of aggression she has started, as well as scared by the destructive power of the eidolons and the black mages.
Although the Lindblum Army is placed under Alexandrian command, many soldiers passively resist the occupiers by delaying or refusing to obey orders. The civilians do not offer the occupying Alexandrians any quarter, and many actively foil their plans. Some form a resistance group called the Vigilantes to harass the Alexandrian Army, while others give aid to Zidane and Princess Garnet, who leave Lindblum for the Outer Continent to find information on Brahne's weapons supplier Kuja. After Brahne perishes on the beaches of Outer Continent, Alexandria withdraws from Lindblum, Garnet succeeds her mother Brahne as Alexandria's ruler, and the two countries quickly restore their cordial relationship.