Slightly tangential, but I promise it ties back. Castrum Abania was full to the brim with references to the Magitek Research Facility in FFVI down to the bosses and seeing people that were enhanced by some process I still don't entirely understand.
Fordola agreed to this procedure even though it's still experimental after which she mercilessly kills her own people just to make sure that her enemies die. This is another FFVI allusion from when Kefka poisons the water source of Doma Castle to ensure an empyreal victory knowing that his actions would not only kill the Domans but also his own men. While there are definitely distinctions between the two, I do suspect that we're seeing the beginnings of this game's version of Kefka, and we're definitely not done with her. Kefka was also locked away for his crimes only later to be let go and he then went on to destroy the entire planet.
