Quote Originally Posted by CaesarCV View Post
Garleans, Ascians, and You!
I'm not a fan that they were actually created by a supernatural force to be Evil. It kind of weakens the faction in that regard.
I feel that there is a small nuance:

Solus says he created the empire to sow chaos, not be evil. And what better way to create chaos then to arm a desperate people with machina and instill in them a belief that might is right and the rest of the world are savages that need to be conquered? Once the war machine is up and running the Ascians would have to do little except making sure no one sues for peace.

Yet they go a step further anyway. They instill a belief that Eikons are a blight that need to be destroyed. Then the Ascians actively teach the beastribes how to summon said Eikons... essentially fanning the flames. The result is an ever growing conflict, and with that chaos. Ascian!Solus was probably kicking back with a beer and popcorn watching everything unfold (until Lahabrea got himself killed)