Final Fantasy XIV - Gaius van Baelsar / Characters

Voiced by: Akio Ōtsuka (JP), Richard Epcar (EN, Los Angeles cast), Michael McElhatton (EN, London cast), Philippe Dumond (FR), Thomas Dehler (DE)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gaius_4.jpg

^{Click here to see him unmasked.}

Race: Garlean
Epithet: The Black Wolf, Shadowhunter

"He who cannot preserve the sovereignty of his nation is unfit to rule it."

The Legate of the XIVth Imperial Legion, and the commander in charge of the Garlean invasion of Eorzea. Gaius is a proud and powerful soldier who holds absolute belief in the ideals of the Garlean Empire. Believing that Eorzea is plagued with chaos and strife, he seeks to deliver the stability and absolute order that would come with Garlean rule

Due to his extensive role in the story, expect unmarked spoilers.

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#-F

A Father to His Men: Gaius has nothing but the utmost loyalty from the men under his command, whom he treats with respect equal to their accomplishments. What gave him the resolve to escape the Praetorium rather than go down with it and pursue vengeance against the Ascians was the memories of the men he'd lost to Lahabrea's trickery.
- In some cases, this is literal. According to Cid, Gaius took many promising young orphans of war under his wing in order to give them better lives and many of these children took up working for the imperial army in order to repay him. This turns tragic after his Heel–Face Turn as many of his children are still loyal to Garlemald.
Affably Evil: He congratulates the players on defeating Nael and genuinely supports their quest to stop him. Then, in A Realm Reborn, he displays considerable charm when talking to the player and is shown to care about his underlings (or some of them, anyway), which makes him even more personable.
Always Someone Better: In the original 1.0 storyline, he was this to both the Warrior of Light and the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. They could push him back, but he still held the upper hand as a singular force of power and was willing to be a Combat Pragmatist by using his excess forces to his advantage. By the time of the end of the A Realm Reborn 2.0 story, however, the Warrior of Light has become this to him, topping not only his physical efforts but his attempts to use the Ultima Weapon as well. Considering how nigh-unstoppable he was up to this point, he's left baffled and utterly confused before his collapse.
Animal Motifs: Wolves. His title is "The Black Wolf", and he's the alpha of the pack. That being said, he also embodies a Noble Wolf, since he's an Anti-Villain that believes a Might Makes Right mentality would be better for all involved in Eorzea.
Anti-Hero: As of the end of Stormblood and into Shadowbringers, Gaius is firmly on the side of good, although definitely not without his rough demeanour.
Anti-Villain: Compared to many of his peers who decry Eorzeans as mere savages to be put to heel, Gaius genuinely believes that the order and Might Makes Right ideals of Garlemald will bring propserity to the lands he conquers. He's horrified by Nael van Darnus' Meteor Project and secretly tips off the Alliance to help them stop Dalamud's fall. Even after he returns to conquer Eorzea in A Realm Reborn, he's stunned by the devastation wrought by Ultima and is angered the Lahabrea would force the Ultima Weapon to use it. In fact, he's so distraught by the consequences of his actions that he defects from Garlemald to hunt down every Ascian he can find before allowing Valdeaulin to kill him.
Arm Cannon: The left gauntlet on his armor is bulkier and has a visible barrel. The arm cannon, called the Hand of the Empire, fires blue ceruleum blasts that can kill an Ixal in one shot.
Asskicking Leads to Leadership: He is regarded both as a powerful warrior and shrewd administrator. He even got his position as viceroy of Ala Mhigo by being the man who conquered it!
Badass Boast: He gives one before the boss fight with him in the Praetorium, along with a Motive Rant that the strong must rule over the weak. He finishes this off with "It is only right that I should take your realm! For none among you has the power to stop me!"
Badass Longcoat: Wears a red and black long coat that makes him certainly imposing.
Badass Normal: Gaius, as a Garlean, is incapable of using magic. Everything he does in his boss fight is a combination of his abilities as a Master Swordsman and his Magitek Powered Armor.
- He's notably even more of this as Shadowhunter, as he no wears his armor and relies entirely on Heirsbane as his only weapon.
- Yoshi-P stated in one interview that his prowess in battle isn't due to his gunblade but rather from his own strength and force of will, and if his performance in the Burn isn't proof enough his battle trophies are. Bear in mind that Garleans by their nature cannot perform magic or manipulate aether, Shadowhunter is by all accounts a normal human equivalent and he is able to kill Ascians and destroy Magitek armor like it is nothing.
Battle Trophy: As Shadowhunter, he carries the masks of the Ascians he has slain on his person.
Benevolent Boss: Unlike many other Legati and other high-ranking Garleans, Gaius genuinely is a reasonable and fair commanding officer and is a fan of meritocracy for promotions, even of recent conscripts from conquered nations.It's not entirely surprising that he ends up pulling a Heel–Face Turn later.
Big Bad Ensemble: He and Lahabrea, despite himself being Dragon-in-Chief to The Emperor.
Black Knight: Wears black armor, and has a sense of honor.
Blood Knight: He truly wants to compared his strength with the Warrior of Light. Even after realising he's an Unwitting Pawn to Lahabrea through his use of the Ultima Weapon, Gaius puts his vengeance on his to-do later list, as he's more interested in seeing whether the Warrior can best him in combat.
Calling Your Attacks: "Terminus Est......Crocea Mors!"
The Cavalry: He rescues Alphinaud’s party from the soldiers that were coming to kill them, and later escorts them safely out of the Burn.
Characterization Marches On: Scenes in A Realm Reborn heavily imply that he is sleeping with his subordinate Livia. His portrayal when he reappears at the end of Stormblood is generally too noble for one to imagine him doing so, especially since it's stated he basically raised her from childhood. A later quest even states that noticing her obession with him, he started to keep her at arm's length which doesn't quite match up with him ordering her to meet him in his bedchamber as he did in ARR.
Combination Attack: Performs one with Estinien in their battle with Zenos in 5.4. Too bad Zenos No Sells it.
The Conqueror: Gaius is a veteran of many of the Empire's wars. Until Eorzea, he had yet to meet a nation he could not bring down.
Cool Sword: He has a custom-made and modelled gunblade, a unique gift made by famed engineer and his dear friend Midas nan Garlond, albeit this is a case of Informed Attribute, as it is outwardly identical to the gunblades commonly used by Garlean officers.
Dangerous Deserter: He and his Legion are technically this, having gone AWOL back in 1.0 to help stop Nael's insane scheme. Nero outright says during the Crystal Tower arc that, even if Gaius had won, he would have likely been executed for his desertion.
Didn't See That Coming: By all accounts, the Ultima Weapon was supposed to live up to its name and both Gaius and Lahabrea firmly believed it to be unstoppable. Then comes the Warrior of Light, who not only decimates his forces like a hot knife through butter, but wipes all three entities in battle with a little help from Hydaelyn's protection. Not once prior to Lahabrea stating it did Gaius even think Hydaelyn was involved, but he's still horrified and baffled by the impossibility of the Warrior's power.
Didn't Think This Through: When his Eorzean headquarters of the Praetorium is invaded by the Warrior of Light, he uses his own attack ships to barrage the place and blow holes all through it while effectively directing the Warrior and Cid to a central control station in the facility, entirely to corral them his way so that he can offer a free employment in his forces. Naturally, this doesn't stick, lets Cid direct the Warrior straight to the Ultima Weapon, and the Warrior just has to do their thing from there, leading to the fall of the Praetorium and the weapon together.
The Dragon: To Emperor Solus.
Dragon-in-Chief: Due to the Emperor's failing health and advanced age.
Enemy Mine: He aided the player subtly so that they could stop Nael's ambitions to bring Dalamud crashing down in 1.0.
- Following his reveal as Shadowhunter Gaius insists he still wishes to fight for his homeland, but in this he means he wishes to rid it of the Ascian scourge and offers to ally with the Eorzeans against this mutual foe, not purely for their sake. In the face of this, they are willing to accept, especially since he brought back Alphinaud in his vulnerable state to them safely.
Raubahn: As for Gaius... I'm not sure what to think. Am I happy he's alive? Not in the slightest. Am I happy he's hunting Ascians? Aye. I'd have to say I am.
Equal-Opportunity Evil: Gaius is noted as being progressive for promoting based on ability rather then birthright. Rhitahtyn sas Arvina in particular was noted as having come up from nothing to get to where he was, based on what Gaius saw in Rhitahtyn.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: It's clear Gaius has great affection for Livia, Rhitahtyn, and Cid.
Even Evil Has Standards:
- Killing the primals and taking over Eorzea? Not a problem. Calling a meteor and destroying everything in the process? Now that's going too far.
- A sidequest line in Stormblood reveals that the same principle applies to chemical weaponry, personally shutting down the Black Rose chemical weapons program. Not that that stopped the Empire from using it.
  Gaius: Toxic gas is not a tool of conquest, but of extermination.
- The reveal of what Oversoul does to whoever is piloting the warmachina of the rebooted Weapon program leaves him furious. Especially since the pilot/victims are his adopted children.
Evil Former Friend: He was very close with both Cid and Midas, to the point of being an Honorary Uncle to the former. Cid defecting and Midas going mad thanks to Bahamut put a stop to both relationships. Even when Cid and the Warrior of Light confront him at the climax of ARR's storyline, Gaius tries to get Cid back on his side before even acknowledging the Warrior's presence.
Evil Is Bigger: As part of his Darth-Vader-expy credentials, Gaius towers over almost everyone around him in most of his appearances. Only male Roegadyn and Au Ra with maxed-out height sliders even come close.
Evil Versus Oblivion: Assists the player in the 1.0 storyline with stopping Nael. Eorzea needs to actually exist for him to conquer it, after all.
Evil Virtues: Determination, loyalty to his underlings, and a desire to only be as evil as necessary when it comes to getting what he wants.
Expy: Doesn't he remind you of Darth Vader? He also has visual similarities to Grahf.
Face Death with Dignity: With his base ablaze and in ruins, the Ultima Weapon destroyed, and his plans utterly crushed, Gaius looks around the remains of his ambitions as he quietly admits that's he's lost before letting the explosion of the base consume him. Ultimately subverted since he doesn't actually die and goes on to later call this a moment of weakness.
Final Boss: Of A Realm Reborn, by way of piloting the Ultima Weapon.
Flat-Earth Atheist: Of the 'are they truly gods?' variety. He mocks the Eorzean Twelve for not intervening with the primals, and says they're no different to primals.
Forced to Watch: A variant during the Sorrow of Werlyt storyline. During the Emerald Weapon arc of the storyline, Gaius is present at the battlefield but locked out of the arena, leaving him powerless to do anything more than observe when the pilot activates Oversoul and dies by turning into a bioclone of Gaius himself. Keep in mind the pilot is one of Gaius's adoptive children. It leaves him sutibly disturbed.
Foreshadowing: The game drops many hints about Shadowhunter's real identity before officially confirming it in Patch 4.5:
- Being a pureblood Garlean who recognizes Alphinaud as a Scion and his declaring he has history with the organization really narrows down possible candidates from the word go.
- His collection of Ascian masks includes the faceplate of his old helmet, and the camera lingers on it for a long time at the end of his introductory scene.
- While Heirsbane is outwardly identical to the common gunblades used by Garlean officers, he is the most famous user of the model and the camera lingers on it in a couple shots.
- His Sword Beam is Terminus Est, a technique which Gaius invented and which is almost exclusively used by high-ranking Garlean swordsmen.
- In Patch 4.4, he and Alphinaud discover that a rebel camp has been wiped out without any signs of injury or struggle. Shadowhunter identifies the cause as Black Rose, a top secret chemical weapon that Gaius knew about and had decommissioned for being too extreme.
Four-Star Badass: Legatus of the XIVth Legion.
Friend to All Children: Gaius was something of a serial-adopter of children. In addition to Cid and Livia, he also adopted a quintet of Au Ra children-Milisandia, Allie, Alphonse, Rex, and Ricon-who were orphaned by an epidemic that swept through Werlyt shortly after Garlemald's invasion of it.

G-O

Gas Mask, Longcoat: His helmet looks the part at any rate.
Good Parents: In Shadowbringers, it's revealed he adopted several war orphans from the countries he invaded. They have nothing but glowing things to say about him and try to live up to his standards. In the 2022 Hatching-tide event; he's willing to embarrass himself attending the Hatching-tide Festival just because his adopted daughter wanted to see it.
Golden Super Mode: His armor turns gold in the boss fight against him, and stays that way until Ultima Weapon is defeated.
Gunblade: His weapon, Heirsbane, is a revolver gunblade. Unlike Squall's, however, his is more akin to the real-life historical version of a pistol built with a sword alongside it rather than trying to obtain any sort of Vibroweapon effect. Though it appears he's using ceruleum fuel to create a Flaming Sword and launch a Sword Beam.
Hero of Another Story: In Shadowbringers, he teams up with Estinien to curb the Empire's production and distribution of Black Rose while the Warrior of Light and the Scions are otherwise occupied on the First. The two even manage to infiltrate Garlemald and make it as far as the Emperor's throne room to confront Varis over it, arriving just in time to find Zenos, back in his original body, striking his father down.
Honor Before Reason: Several times both in 1.0 and in ARR, there are times where he can easily kill the player and their allies, but chooses not to, deeming it would be too easy. He also despises winning any battle with the help of divine intervention, citing it as a power of weak, false rulers.
Hunter of Monsters: His group as Shadowhunter hunts Ascians in order to protect mankind from their malevolent influence, and his mask collection shows that he’s racked up quite a body count by the time he encounters Alphinaud in the Burn.
I Never Told You My Name: Shadowhunter instantly pegs Alphinaud as both an Eorzean and a Scion upon meeting him, but doesn’t explain how he knows this beyond having some “history” with their order. He also recognizes the Warrior of Light, a fact which clues them in to his real identity.
Irony:
- Despite his Anti-Villain nature, he still completely and utterly believes in the cause of Garlemald to his very heart, as one of the most loyal commanders in the entire army. Thus, he believes Eorzea is a threat to the world with the primal threat, and that the Twelve are nothing more than primals in their own right waiting to ruin the world's aether — for Eorzea to continue existing unabated is to cause The Burn all over again as the Emperor decreed. He's completely unaware that the Burn was Allagan-inflicted, and while the primals are indeed a threat, they're intentionally caused by Ascians and his entire purpose as a loyal soldier was to fulfill Ascian machinations to basically destroy all of the world so that theirs can exist again, something that Gaius later takes very deep offense to for understandable reasons.
- Also, as mentioned above, he was under full belief that the Twelve were primals drinking aether from the land and worship of them needed to stop. Endwalker would reveal that he was mostly incorrect and turning his attention towards conquering Eorzea's spoken was built on a total mistake. Only the Twelve that Louisoux summoned at Cartinaeu were primals, the actual Eorzean Twelve are both very real and repeatedly drive home that they are not primals.
Knight in Sour Armor: A villainous version. He doesn't even like Eorzea very much, seeing it as technologically backwards, prone to infighting and having way too many false gods for his liking... but he believes it can be saved from itself, and that he has an affirmative moral duty to do so.
Knight Templar: He believes that the Eorzean people's faith in the Twelve is a weakness and leaves them at the mercy at the primals. And that only through strength can peace and stability be obtained.
Know When to Fold 'Em: When Estinien and Gaius try to take on Zenos after the initial exchange Estinien points out that even the Warrior of Light was barely a match for Zenos. Gaius agrees and they make a run for it once Garlean reinforcements arrive.
Lantern Jaw of Justice: While his allegiance to the Eorzean Alliance is vague, he does fight on the side of good and he has one heck of a jawline.
Late-Arrival Spoiler: His receiving a voice credit in the Stormblood patches can be one. So he appears in Stormblood, but probably in flashbacks, right? Not so much.
A Lighter Shade of Black: While he is a dangerous foe in A Realm Reborn who is dead-set on conquering Eorzea, in comparison to the other military leaders of the Empire, Gaius is far more pragmatic and far less genocidal. He was staunchly opposed to the Meteor Project and even helped Eorzea's heroes in small ways, since it wouldn't do to wipe out a region that could otherwise be brought into the Empire. He is also A Father to His Men, who rewards his soldiers when they show merit. Furthermore, he does not buy into the racist doctrine that is endemic in the Empire, believing that one's actions show the measure of one's character, not the circumstances of their birth — which has gone a far way towards earning him the loyalty of non-Garlean soldiers. This would be in stark contrast to Valens, who gleefully partakes in torturing "savages", even those under his command, including Gaius's adopted children.
Limit Break: Veni Vidi Vici, which is Latin for "I Came, I Saw, I Conquered". It's named for a quote of Julius Caesar, who reportedly said this after a decisive military victory. Gaius summons four shadow clones which must be defeated before his sword's power completely fills; otherwise, it's a One-Hit Kill on everybody.
Magic Knight: Uses magitek to enhance his abilities, particular those based on using ceruleum fuel.
Mascot Villain: Gaius is the one on the cover of most versions of A Realm Reborn and is quite popular among the staff and fans for his reasonable and honorable personality.
Master Swordsman: Gaius' swordsmanship knows practically no peer in Garlemald. Many of the sword techniques used by Garlean legates were invented by Gaius.
Meaningful Name: As his alias indicates, he is a hunter of the shadowy Ascians. As for his real name: his discarding of "van" from his full name, reducing it to simply "Gaius Baelsar", indicates that he is no longer the Legate that once plagued Eorzea, that he is now simply a man without rank or allegiance.
- After the base story from Shadowbringers is completed, Gaius is shown in the Garlean capital, drawing Heirsbane to attack Zenos yae Galvus, Emperor Varis's son and heir, giving a much more literal new meaning to the weapon's name.
- His Signature Move, Terminus Est, can be translated from Latin as "it is the end" or "it is the limit". His upgraded version, Crocea Mors, translates as "Yellow Death", and according to mythological legends spread by British clergyman and author/translator Geoffrey of Monmouth,^note was allegedly a golden sword wielded by Gaius Julius Caesar
Might Makes Right: Part of his viewpoint as to why it's okay to conquer the lowly heathens of Eorzea. The fact the player can beat him in battle is the reason he's impressed with them.
Mistaken for Murderer: Is mistakenly believed to be responsible for killing Varus, who, in truth, was in fact murdered by his son, Zenos. Granted, Zenos had no real intention on setting the record straight.
Moral Myopia: He's right to call out Eorzea on their divided citystates causing them to totally fail to come together. For most of A Realm Reborn, at least. Though by the time he's finally fighting, they've amended this, even if it comes to bite them in the ass again after the Empire's out of their immediate hair. However, Gaius is willfully ignoring the very, very blatant fact that most of the Empire is just as divided; even if they generally follow the goals of Solus and Varis, almost every other commander, scientist and Legate is out for their own ends and power, some of them even straight up traitors to their country the moment they get the opportunity. And Gaius is hardly blind to it; he himself has stood in the paths of his own emperor, and betrayed Nael and the Meteor Project to Eorzea, to prevent The End of the World as We Know It.
Mr. Exposition: He imparts a lot of important information to the Warrior of Light during their brief encounter in Patch 4.5, including the Ascians’ internal hierarchy, the Black Rose bioweapon, and the existence of the Emperor’s secret cloning facilities.
The Musketeer: Is a very skilled sword fighter and gunman who can take on superior numbers.
My Country, Right or Wrong: Played with. For all that he may be seen as rebelling against the Empire, his true foes are the Ascians pulling the strings behind the scenes and he his still wholly dedicated to the Empire and its ideals, up to and including its ongoing conquest. Despite having been on his way to confront the Emperor himself, he is absolutely enraged when he finds that Zenos has murdered him and plunged the Empire into chaos. Later on, he more or less confirms he wants to save the country and its people from the corruption he has witnessed in it, but has no intentions of returning to it in the end.
My God, What Have I Done?: He is genuinely horrified to learn of the Ultima Weapon's true purpose, and the destruction it's capable of. His shocked disbelief is contrasted with Lahabrea's malevolent cackle. It's even more apparent in the Japanese voice over, where you can hear the sheer horror in his voice and the volatile rage he has for Lahabrea.
Gaius: Such devastation... This was not my intention...
My Greatest Failure: He cites the Ultima Weapon as his, for letting himself be used as a pawn by Lahabrea. That it further led directly to the VIIth Legion's Weapon program haunts him.
Mythology Gag: The Shadowhunter was an alias previously used by Noel Kreiss in Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII.
Named Weapons: His gunblade is called Heirsbane.
Never Found the Body: Gaius was last seen to still be alive as the Praetorium exploded, which in turn lead to the speculation that he is Shadowhunter. This was confirmed to be true in patch 4.5
No Badass to His Valet: Is this to his duskwright elezen companion, Valdeaulin. While Valdeaulin has undying loyalty to Gaius and believes him just and honest in his desire to stop the Ascians, Valdeaulin still holds a grudge against Garlemald for killing his wife and children in their campaigns, many of which were lead by Gaius himself. He confides in the Warrior of Light that if Gaius shows any inkling of returning to Garlemald's path of conquest, he will kill Gaius himself. Gaius even promised that once his mission to eradicate the Ascians is done, he will gladly let Valeaulin execute him. Subverted after Sorrow of Werlyt, which sees Valdeaulin decide to abandon his plans of execution by the end.
No One Could Survive That!: He was caught up in the explosion of the Praetorium, but managed to drag himself free of the rubble and survive. Alisaie is understandably incredulous to learn that he’s still alive when she meets him. A conversation with Valdeaulin reveals that he found him barely alive after the explosion and went to kill him, but instead Gaius asked to be spared so he could hunt down the Ascians in exchange for being put up for execution later.
Not So Stoic: He loses his icy front when a dying Alfonse says how proud he was to have had Gaius as a father and finally cries over the loss of all but one of his kids.
Numerological Motif: Legatus of the XIVth Legion, and a primary antagonist throughout both 1.0 and A Realm Reborn, thus representing Final Fantasy XIV.
Older Than They Look: Once we see him without his helmet, Gaius looks remarkably young for a man in his late fifties to early sixties.

P-Z

Papa Wolf: When he's finally cornered Valens, he wastes absolutely no time in avenging his children.
Parental Substitute: He helped raise Cid while his father was frequently away on business and raised Livia himself after she was orphaned by war.
Pre-Asskicking One-Liner: "As you wish." ^note
Playing with Fire: Creates blue fire pools to burn you with from his ceruleum-fueled Magitek and can use it to create a Flaming Sword and to become Wreathed in Flames.
Powered Armor: Gaius's armor can gild itself with Aether, a process described to increase the armor's resistance to enemy spells.
Rage Against the Heavens: Gaius does not sugarcoat what he thinks of Eorzea's gods and religious beliefs.
Rage Breaking Point: Seeing Zenos cut down his own father for the sake of his Blood Knight desires while making clear he intends to drag the Gods themselves into it, enrages him enough to charge forth and try to cut him down as the screen fades away before the victor could be seen.
Reasonable Authority Figure:
- He wants to lead an invasion to conquer Eorzea, not destroy it and turn it into a smoking crater. He believes in earning rank and honor through one's own skills. And he offers his opponents a chance to surrender and join the Empire peacefully. Recognizing the Warrior of Light's talent; Gaius immediately offers to let the WoL rule over Eorzea on behalf of Garlemald as Regent. Normally, a subjugated person must serve for 20 years in the military before they are even recognized as official citizens.
- In Stormblood, it's revealed that Gaius founded an entire squadron of Ala Mhigan conscripts called the Skulls, hoping to help integrate the youths of Ala Mhigo into imperial rule without much fuss or trouble. Unfortunately, this backfired, leaving a band of youths who had known only violence accepted by neither the empire ("a savage is a savage") or their own people ("a band of kinslaying traitors"). He might've been able to right the ship, or at least help Fordola have a bit more pride in herself, had he lived, but instead the Skulls end up under the command of Zenos, and that goes about as well as you'd expect.
- As mentioned under Even Evil Has Standards, Gaius wanted to bring other nations into the fold as arms of the empire and have their Spoken members aid them in stopping the threats of the primals, not leave them empty dead territories to repopulate with their own people. For this reason, he sabotaged both Nael's Project Meteor event by tipping off the players and leaving them to go at him when he could have killed them then and there, and putting a full halt to the Black Rose project unveiled in Stormblood due to finding it too horrific, ordering all samples destroyed and all research burned/deleted. He had no way of knowing at the time, but doing so almost certainly saved the world from another Umbral Calamity.
- In Endwalker, despite his personal stake in the Alliance's mission to help the Garlean citizens recover from their nation's ruin and defeat the Telophoroi occupying the royal palace, he says his presence would just cause further strife most of Garlemald thinks he's the one who killed Varis and plunged their country into civil war, and despite this there are several that want him to take the throne for himself.
"The Reason You Suck" Speech: When he meets the Warrior of Light, he lambastes the Eorzeans for their faith in the Twelve gods, stating that even if they intervened, the Eorzeans would be weak for depending on them, and believes only a strong ruler can break the cycle of primal summonings.
Red Baron: The Black Wolf.
Red and Black and Evil All Over: His armor consists of black plate armour overlaying red fabric and Gaius is a ruthless, if benevolent, conqueror.
Redemption Earns Life: Downplayed. Having finally shut down the Weapons project and liberating Werlyt at the cost of his childrens' Heroic Sacrifice, Gauis is forgiven by Valdeaulin who drops his plans to execute the former legate, the people of Werlyt take him on as a leader in their rebuilding and reformation process, and the memories and spirits of Milisandia, Ricon, Rex, and Alfonse help restore Allie's mind and will to live. Gauis is finally able to start a new life of seeing his children's dreams become reality. That said, the Ala Mhigans indicate that they aren't fully over his conquest, so while he gets some closure for his past, he isn't quite this trope as of the end of Shadowbringers.
Revenge: He hunts Ascians to avenge all the men who believed in his cause, and whose lives were thrown away by Lahabrea’s machinations. He tells the Warrior of Light that he intended to go after Lahabrea personally, and seems disappointed that the Ascian had been killed by someone else.
Right for the Wrong Reasons: He fiercely proclaims that the summons of the Twelve that bound Bahamut during the Battle of Cartenau were primals and always were, given the reverent belief that brought them forth. However, while Endwalker's Alliance Raid series confirms the summoned versions were indeed primals, the Twelve themselves are very real entities, and implied to be the fellow Ascians that helped summoned Hydaelyn, meaning they're technically self-made deities outside of the established primal system in a way anyone would mistake for primals.
Signature Move: Terminus Est, an X-shaped Sword Beam. While used by several Garlean officers, Gaius created the technique and shows far greater aptitude for its use, using several different variations.
Skeletons in the Coat Closet: His helmet is a stylized Skull for a Head.
Social Darwinist: Of the 'strong deserve to rule the weak' variety, albeit with a touch more nuance - he doesn't think it's a matter of the strong ruling the weak with authority, but rather, guiding and protecting them because they can't protect themselves.
Spanner in the Works: During 1.0, he allowed the players to take the plans of the Lunar Transmitter to Cid so they can find a way to stop Project Meteor and Nael.
- In Stormblood Elidibus intended for everyone inside the Populares ship to die from either the crash or being finished off by the honor guard. It's only with Gaius's effort that anyone survives putting a significant problem in Elidibus' plans, as doing so causes the Empire to begin to fracture, and gives Zenos the chance to slowly climb his way back to the Empire to get his body back. Its telling that Gaius' arrival ends up forcing Elidibus to focus his attention on the First instead of the Source.
Sword Beam: Terminus Est (latin for "this is the end"), which creates an X made of energy that launches in a linear pattern after being created. While several Garlean officers are able to replicate it, Gaius is the one who created the technique and proves much more masterful in its use. He saves one last surprise one for Valens when his standard Terminus Est can't penetrate the defenses Valens has based on Gauis' combat data. Cue Terminus Est: Crocea Mors, a shining golden version that ignites a jet of flame from his sword, adds an additional third beam to the attack with a follow up sword thrust that leaves Valens have an Oh, Crap! moment as he doesn't know how to block that one before critically wounding him.
Teleport Spam: Like Nael before him, Gaius is capable of limited short range teleportation. Once he starts teleporting during the battle with him, he won't stay in one place very long, forcing the tanks to chase him.
That Man Is Dead: To quickly diffuse potential hostilities, he tells the Warrior of Light that Gaius van Baelsar, Legatus of the XIVth Legion, died in Castrum Meridianum. Now he is simply Gaius Baelsar, a man with no rank or allegiance.
This Cannot Be!: After the Warrior of Light defeats the Ultima Weapon the first time, yanking the primals inside out of it, he roars out "But the Ultima Weapon is all-powerful! Why does my enemy still stand?!"
Tin Tyrant: Gaius is the latest of a long line of armor-clad Final Fantasy Big Bads.
Took a Level in Badass: In the 2.0 Praetorium up until 6.1, his fight was little more than a footnote prior to the real threat of the Ultima Weapon. 6.1 overhauled him to be the actual endboss of Praetorium, and thus gave him a significant glow up to be a more notable challenge appropriate of his hype. He also ends up becoming badass enough to kill several Ascians off-screen after he survived his supposed demise.
Took a Level in Kindness: Gaius the Shadowhunter is a far cry from Gaius the Legati in terms of his morals and friendliness - he not only is much more amicable with the Warrior of Light and the Scions after he pulls a Heel–Face Turn, he even becomes a devoted family man for Allie, who's the only survivor of Valens's mad conquest that sees many of Gaius's other adopted children killed.
Trying Not to Cry: After you defeat the Diamond Weapon, Gaius is asked by Alfonse, who is by this point hardwired into being the weapon's core for a Mercy Kill. Gaius complies, but not before having to restrain his tears.
Übermensch: He shares all Garleans' disdain towards the primals. What makes Gaius different is he openly mocks the worship of the civilised Eorzean's Twelve gods, saying that even if they intervened, they're no different to the primals, and man's dependence on them makes them weak. He believes freedom from the primal threat can only come from shedding belief in all deities and finding strength in man's self (though this subsequently leads to a Social Darwinist view of the world, believing it is the destiny of strong men to rule over the weak...just without the intervention of deities).
Undying Loyalty: To the Emperor; his gunblade is called Heirsbane because he personally slew nine potential usurpers of the crown. Even after going into exile and sabotaging the Emperor's chemical weapon factories, he still attacks Zenos to avenge the Emperor's death.
Walking Spoiler: Gaius was thought to have died during the events of A Realm Reborn. His survival and identity as Shadowhunter is a significant twist that comes more than five real world years after his presumed death.
Wide-Eyed Idealist: An unusual example. Gaius stands out as being one of the few and only high ranking Garleans who completely believed in the ideals that Garlemald was founded on, and while he isn't an idealist in the sense of seeing the best in people, he genuinely believed in the Empire and the ideals he saw in it as the best hope for the world, which forms the basis for his desire to conquer Eorzea and bring it under Garlean rule. A major part of his character arc post A Realm Reborn is struggling with the realization his belief in the Empire was not only used against him, but that the Empire itself was not founded on the beliefes he thought it was. By the end of the The Sorrow Of Werlyt storyline, he has to come to grips with the reality that a lot of his actions weren't done for the noble vision he saw, but for an Empire that was used for nefarious and evil purposes.
Wreathed in Flames: His blue fire again.
We Can Rule Together: In the buildup to the final battle, he offers Cid and your character the chance to join him in conquering Eorzea for the Empire in return for Regency of it once they've fallen, but you deny him almost instantly. Due to this, he believes that you are too dangerous to be left alive.
Wife Husbandry: He is strongly implied to be involved with Livia, whom he raised from her childhood as a war orphan. Subverted come 5.4, where it is revealed that Gaius found Livia's romantic obsession unsettling and kept her at arm's length because of this.
The Worf Effect:
- Gaius is one of Garlemald's greatest warriors and an almost unparalleled swordsman. His and Estinien's attacks are effortlessly repelled by Zenos to show just how much stronger the latter had gotten after further mastering his Resonant powers.
- He recovers a bit immediately after when Julia and Annia try to use their signature attack on him and Estinien as they retreat. Gaius quickly and almost effortlessly puts them down for the count before leaving them in stunned disbelief, cursing their inability to do anything to counter him.
Villain Takes an Interest: Much like the rest of Eorzea, he takes a vested interest in the Warrior of Light after they slay Ifrit, ordering Livia to attack Vesper Bay in an attempt to capture them.
The Von Trope Family: This being the Garleans hat, he has one.

Characters / Final Fantasy XIV - Gaius van Baelsar

Voiced by: Akio Ōtsuka (JP), Richard Epcar (EN, Los Angeles cast), Michael McElhatton (EN, London cast), Philippe Dumond (FR), Thomas Dehler (DE)

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Characters / Final Fantasy XIV - Gaius van Baelsar

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Voiced by: Akio Ōtsuka (JP), Richard Epcar (EN, Los Angeles cast), Michael McElhatton (EN, London cast), Philippe Dumond (FR), Thomas Dehler (DE)

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