Quote Originally Posted by Jyera View Post
They were duped, but they were also the ones choosing what they did with that lie. To me it would be kind of like saying the truth of the Dragonsong War was a weak twist because Ishgardians spent a thousand years acting on a very fundamental lie engraved into the foundation of their society.
One important distinction between Garlemald's war and Ishgard's is that the former's war is OFFENSIVE while the latter is DEFENSIVE. The Garleans have the option to stop anytime they want; if they were to use their invasion forces to instead shore up their own defenses and to police the territories they've already conquered, they'd be practically invulnerable. The fact that they press ever onward, ignoring the mounting evidence that their incursions are causing more problems than they're solving, makes them quite unsympathetic.

In the case of Ishgard, they COULDN'T stop. Beyond the first century of conflict, the Great Lie ceased to matter. Knowing the truth would not quell Nidhogg's rage or stop his assault. While it was used at the beginning to cement the power of the Church and the noble houses, in later years the secret was kept because its revelation would have been a crippling blow to the morale of Ishgard, who wearily continued their struggle bolstered by the belief that they were innocent victims suffering under the torment of an ancient and evil monster. This makes them - even the ones safeguarding the lie - much more sympathetic.