Mist Continent Politics - Who Rules Lindblum? *spoilers*

[TheSpoonyBard]

First, an outline of main areas on the Mist Continent.

Alexandria - ruled by Queen Brahne. Includes Treno.
Lindbum - ruled by Regent Cid.
Burmecia - ruled by the King of Burmecia. Includes Cleyra.

Now, a regent is someone appointed as Head of State if the monarch is i) a minor, ii) absent, or iii) otherwise unable to reign. This means Regent Cid, the brother of Garnet's father, is not the true ruler of Lindblum -- he's just babysitting for someone else. So, who is the real ruler of Lindblum?

Some theories.

Could it be possible that the King of Alexandria ruled both Alexandria and Lindblum and Garnet is to inherit both of them when she comes of age? If that is true, why wasn't Brahne made queen of both kingdoms? Conversely, why wasn't a regent placed in both territories?

Do Cid and Hilda have an unknown son/daughter/niece/nephew waiting to take the throne of Lindblum?

Was it intended for Brahne to remain Queen of Alexandria and Garnet to rule Lindblum?

Discuss.

[Rantz]

Well, sorry to be a bore, but the second dictionary.com definition of "regent" is simply "a ruler or governor". I don't think there is more to it than the game makers simply wanting to vary the titles of the different rulers.

[Heath]

Yes, I'm afraid I thought it was simply them trying to vary the titles of the rulers. I didn't think Burmecia ruled Cleyra but in fact that had been independent of each other for quite some time due to a disagreement ove the 'Burmecians' being too violent so the 'Cleyrans' left and former their own country.

[Rantz]

I believe they rather formed their own "city", although still living in the country of Burmecia.

[Bolivar]

Well the Cids ruled Lindblum for quite some time if I remember correctly, I think Regent was used in the game as a title to denote a little less self-righteousness than a King.

[Shotgunnova]

It's not touched on, really, but it's my understanding that Lindblum's heads of state are simply called regents -- i.e. not exactly as interrim appointments or anything. S'pose there are two ways to take that. One, the Fabool bloodline rules whatever form of government Lindblum is as regents, which seems likely since the previous leader is also referred to as such. On the other hand, regents can be elected when the previous dynasty/bloodline/whatever dies out, and maybe that's just the tradition they've succeeded.

[ReloadPsi]

Lindblum isn't a Kingdom (Alexandria, Burmecia) or Dukedom (FF8's Dollet for instance), it's a Regency, therefore is ruled by a Regent.

Probably just a fancy title to break away from the cliche of "Kingdoms good, Empires bad".

[Heath]

I believe they rather formed their own "city", although still living in the country of Burmecia.

They've always seemed distinctly independent to me. Especially since Freya says: "Ah, the ceremony from the time when Burmecia and Cleyra were one. I understand."

[Jimsour]

Its possible that Lindblum was contested sovreignty and the regency took control without the need for a monarch?

[Gilthanes]

The only other time I've seen Regency used is when one person is ruling the kingdom/area in the place of someone who is unfit, whether by age, illness, etc.

This means 1 of 3 things for Lindlum

a) the game designers didnt mean Regent literally, and just used it as a different title than King

b) At one time Lindlum had a King/Queen, who became unfit to rule, or had an heir that died, etc, and a Regent took over (probably Cids lineage, or Cid himself), and while Cid or his ancestors ruled, Lindlum unofficialy (or officially maybe) let Cid become the "King" and decided not to change his title, such that Lindlum was a monarchy, just under the rule of someone with a title other than King

c) There is an heir somewhere, whether its Garnet (but we know shes the heir to Alexandria, so thats doubtful), or someone that wasnt mentioned in the storyline at all

My vote is on B, but A is equally possible. C would just be bad storytelling on SEs part to have a Regent ruling a kingdom without any mention of a proper heir to the throne

[Heath]

I think of the scenarios described by Gilthanes, A seems the most likely. It would've been nice if the game had been more specific, but it's still nice to have something like this to think about.

[Ashley Schovitz]

Do Cid and Hilda have an unknown son/daughter/niece/nephew waiting to take the throne of Lindblum? Apparently Eiko will be the next ruler whenever Cid and Hilda decide to step down and this seems a little funny to me. With the ending of IX when Eiko called Regent Cid father he seemed really pleased about it, perhaps he always wanted a child and couldn't have one. Maybe Hilda was unable to have children or the Regent himself. That would be a good question to who would rule Lindblum after the Regent passes. The man is well into his age to so I would've figured he would've had a child already if he or his wife are able to have children. That's my two cents.

[ShivaBlizzard8]

Well, sorry to be a bore, but the second dictionary.com definition of "regent" is simply "a ruler or governor".

True, but the definition is circular, and that particular variation is incomplete. The full definition of that second meaning is "a ruler or governor during a Regency", and a regency definition is "rule by a regent" hence the circular definition. That brings us back to the original problem - a regent is someone who governs in place of the actual ruler.

A likely scenario is that King Alexander and Queen Brahne were royalty in their own right; meaning before being married, Alexander was king of Alexandria, and Brahne was Queen of her own kingdom - Lindblum. In that case, each would have retained rule over their own kingdoms.

To support this, Brahne inherits the Alexandrian throne upon her husband's death, and this wouldn't happen if she was only a Queen by marriage. The throne would have passed to Garnet instead. For example, if Queen Elizabeth the II of England died tommorrow, her husband, Philip, would not inherit the throne, as he is not a royal - just married to one. Her son, Charles would take charge instead.

That explains why Brahne is Queen of Alexandria, not regent. However, taking over the throne of Alexandria may mean she has to be absent in Lindblum, calling for a Regent. Or, when Brahne went nuts, Cid may have taken over in Lindblum citing her mental state made her unfit to rule.

Despite these theories, this is the most likely reason in the heads of the game's developers:

I don't think there is more to it than the game makers simply wanting to vary the titles of the different rulers.