Revelations from Patch 3.56

[Hinoto-no-Ryuji]

To be fair, Ala Mhigo brought Garlemald's wrath upon itself

Wait, what? How? All that happened was collapse due to internal politics totally unrelated to Garlemald, who then took advantage of the chaos to conquer the city and establish a foothold. It was a shrewd move on Garlemald's part, to be sure, but it's not like Ala Mhigo did anything to antagonize the Empire, other than physically exist between it and Eorzea.

I'm saying it feels contrived for Eorzea to be the aggressor now and striking back when in reality they shouldn't stand a chance given all we know about Garlemald as a whole.

We haven't struck yet, and I thought the game made it pretty clear that we were playing right into Zenos' hand. Give it time. I know 2.55 set the expectation that we'd end Heavensward in open war with Garlemald, but that's clearly not the case, and I think judging the portrayal of war with a massive empire (a difficult thing to navigate as it is in a game like this) before that war has begun is premature.

One more thing I do not get.

Nidhogg is dead, and his soul gone
The soldiers were praying for Rhalgr.
The eyes do not have nidhoggs soul, and are just reserves of aether.
Why did Ilberd get shinryu?

How is this Shinryu any resemblance of Rhalgr?

It's called Shinryu by the Domans - that doesn't mean anything other than that's what those witnesses immediately associated it with.

But to answer the question: Draconic aether, and a direct invocation of a draconic primal by the summoner when dictating form. I thought the game was pretty clear on the matter. Honestly, I thought it was a neat new angle of Primal summoning lore, a look at what happens when desperate, erratic dying prayers are harnessed, rather than specific focused ones. I guess it's something you either buy or you don't.