Talk:General Baal

Mullen's Father
A recent update by User:Mr.Curator altered a line about Mullen being the son of a humanoid woman and General Baal to suggest that Mullen is only Baal's adoptive son. I have not seen any dialogue or information to suggest that this is the case and it seems highly unlikely since Mullen appears entirely human while full humanoids have tails and horns. However, I wanted to make a note here before I changed anything back so that there was an opportunity for someone to present the evidence of Mullen's surprising paternity.

If nothing is given, I will change it back in a few days.

-- Orc King  00:56, January 26, 2014 (UTC)

I believe that Baal married Mullen's mother after Mullen was born given the way Mullen doesn't like calling him Father from the very start, and by the way he talks to Feena about him. While this is only speculative, there is no concrete evidence to proove that Baal fathered him either, and in my oppinoun it is unlikely that Baal would take this risk to impregnate his wife to give birth to a son that would later slow down his military commitmants and to the search of Angelou artifcacts given that he would have more responsibilities to take care of.

If you want to reverse this edit you can, but I will research into this further so that we can prove for sure either way. Remember that Baal married Mullen's mother to gain secrets - so his search for the Spirit Stone had already started before he met Mullen's mother. The fact that he was still searching for Angelou artifacts when he married Mullen's mother also fits into him being adopted as Mullen became the General's aide. The timescale of this fits in much better had Mullen been adopted as it would have taken him at least 15 years to reach an age where he could probably join the Military, Mullen was 25 at the start of the game meaning that if Baal had fathered Mullen - he'd been searching for the spirit stone for 40 years? I really don't think that timescale fits.

The only part of the credit you gave me was for the part you didn't agree with, I actually went through this whole page and corrected the really bad grammar. It was obivously written by someone who didn't speak much english. I don't mean that in a bad way, of course, but I wanted to tidy it up so it looked easier to read and more professional. I have also aquired pages of the Grandia Encylopedia, and will be translating them soon, along with copies of the Grandia novels, so I should be able to find out some good information soon.

10:43 January 28th, 2014 (GMT)

-Mr.Curator

RE:Mullen's Father
Thank you for commenting about this. I realise that you made other edits and I am always very happy when people do make such improvements. While I check in to keep things running, I must confess that many grammatical issues (particularly on some of the older, more lengthy pages) have escaped my attention.

In regards to the edit in question, while I love a speculation or two, I do not believe that this Wiki is the place for them. In the case of a story such as this, where they drop such light hints about the background as it is, I think it is usually safe to assume that the simplest explanation is usually the correct one. Ockham's Razor and all that. Of course, if you do turn up some information that does suggest that Mullen is not the biological son of Baal, then that is absolutely fine. You can even source it, if you wish, with my blessing.

However, for the time being, I shall revert to the original fact. As with the game itself, it does not suggest either way. I will ensure I do not roll back any of your other alterations in the process.

NOTE - Since I cannot resist, I just wish to address a few of the points you made (please be aware that I do not mean to offend but I do, in fact, enjoy such discussions). Well, shall I start from the top? I believe Mullen's reluctance to address his father stems from the very strict discipline he holds himself to within his position. As he pointed out at the start, a Lieutenant was still present at the time. In that same way, Baal commands a lot of respect from Mullen and he clearly cares enough about his loyalty to him to attack other humanoid cultures in the process of acquiring this knowledge. I do not think the "inconvenience" of fathering a son should be a big issue as many important people have been documented to produce offspring and still go on to lead long and fulfilling lives. He may well have simply left Mullen with his Mother until he came of age, which would explain why he holds deep reverence for "the land [his] mother loved" and does not necessarily mean he had another father. In terms of the time scales you talk about, perhaps I am not understanding correctly but it seems as though you have calculated 40 years by adding together 15 and 25 - while I do not dispute this addition, it would appear to me that those 15 years of ageing to maturity would occur within Mullen's 25 years of life and not as a separate period. Regardless, I do not find the idea that Baal has spent a long time searching to be inconceivable as I would be less inclined to believe that the man would have built up such a large power and knowledge base so quickly. Given his character, I would say that Angelou was somewhat of an obsession for him. He must have spent many years building up his business - the Joule Foundation - which he then used to finance his private army - the Garlyle Forces. Perhaps it was always his drive to achieve the power of the Spirit Stone. Overall, I think my best point is the fact that he lacks the features - horns, pointy ears or tails - that would identify him as pure humanoid as opposed to part-humanoid.

-- Orc King   15:11, January 31, 2014 (UTC)

Baal's His Biological Father
Baal is Mullen's biological father. There is no evidence in the game's story dialogue to suggest otherwise. Also, it is not uncommon, in real life and in fiction, for a pure-blooded parent to have a complicated relationship with their mixed-race offspring.

The reason why Mullen had a distant relationship with his father is because Baal is a calculating sociopath whose ambition is to revive the cause of Angelou's collapse because of the power he would gain from Gaia. He manipulated his own wife, his own son, the Joule Foundation and his private army to achieve his goal of evolution.

Baal's greed and sociopathic nature is the catalyst for Gaia's revival. Even before he became a symbiote of Gaia, he was always that same avaricious individual. Even Liete confirmed it at the Ovarian Chamber if you remember that dialogue. She was aware of Baal's true nature.

- thepeaguy