Quote Originally Posted by Jonnycbad View Post
I hope it's more complex than just the ole' predictable "evil clergy trope". I've played enough Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy X to grow weary of any powerful religious sect in an FF game. It was cool how FFT did it because it paralleled the Catholic church during the middle ages in some ways. They creatively took it to the next level though by making the church's story of the 13 holy stones and their zodiac braves story actually actually a bastardization myth wherein the stones were evil and the braves were actually demons. I could see FF14 already going down the FFT route given that "The 12", "Zodiac Braves", "Soul Stones", and "Zodiark" are all from the sameself game. I just hope it's a more complex story than a rehash of an evil Yevon/Glabados church, manipulated from behind the scenes by Lucavi/Ascians.
I am curious to find out what the relationship between the Archbishop and the Ascians is. It would seem they're playing him in a manner similar to how Lahabrea played Gaius, in which case they've offered him something and I'd like to know what that is. It's possible that he doesn't actually realise he's being manipulated though. There are still a fair few ways this could play out.

It's all reminding me of the situation in Jeuno in FFXI though and the eventual battle with Eald'narche. Hell I wouldn't even be surprised if we get a surprise plot twist that the Archbishop wasn't even the one calling the shots the whole time.