I think there was plenty in HW, particularly in the Job quests that seemed to imply that Darkness wasn't inherently evil. Hell, DRK players are apparently literally channelling darkness.

I think however that if not Zodiark, then the Ascians at least, don't fully represent the darkness in balance. I would actually argue that you could point to the Archbishop and this path as being heavily leaning towards the Light since his intention seemed to be enforcing order and peace through force upon the world and purging anything that didn't sit right. I think at the end of the day the issue we will face will be one of balance but that what the Ascians want isn't balance but just darkness.

This is what I think the WoD is mistaking. I suspect he sees the goals of the Ascians to be finding balance and at least the core black robed Ascians don't seem to be interested so much in balance as the death of the Light. While I don't think we will necessarily be outright allies in the end with the WoD, I do seeing them becoming a kind of associate representing the other side of the balance spectrum.