The Dravanians

[Cilia]

A few problems:

-The dragons would probably just fly away from something like Black Rose.

-Dragons aren't attached to particular mortals. They are largely apathetic to the conflicts of man, and as such rarely intervene (Midgardsormr's unexpected rescue at Silvertear being the first, last, and only instance thus far).

-The Dravanian Horde (or at least Nidhogg's brood) could have wiped out Ishgard any time he wanted. Nidhogg's goal wasn't to destroy Ishgard, it was to make them suffer.

-We can't count on Midgardsormr for aid, as he used the last of his barely-recovered energy to break out and save the Warrior of Light when Omega trapped and tried to kill them in an attempt to awaken their latent power.

[Lium]

A few problems:

-The dragons would probably just fly away from something like Black Rose.

-Dragons aren't attached to particular mortals. They are largely apathetic to the conflicts of man, and as such rarely intervene (Midgardsormr's unexpected rescue at Silvertear being the first, last, and only instance thus far).

-The Dravanian Horde (or at least Nidhogg's brood) could have wiped out Ishgard any time he wanted. Nidhogg's goal wasn't to destroy Ishgard, it was to make them suffer.

-We can't count on Midgardsormr for aid, as he used the last of his barely-recovered energy to break out and save the Warrior of Light when Omega trapped and tried to kill them in an attempt to awaken their latent power.

True on all accounts. But the Exarch's future looked so bleak, I feel like this would call the dragons to action because they themselves would be threatened. Wasn't it implied that after Black Rose was deployed, the land itself started killing all life? Something to do with the aether being removed from everything.

And yeah, I know Midgardsormr used the last of his strength to free the WoL from Omega, but I didn't know that was permanent. I just thought he needed to go back to sleep for a long while.

[Nalien]

But the Exarch's future looked so bleak, I feel like this would call the dragons to action because they themselves would be threatened.

IDK, I imagine they'd just escape to the one place that hasn't been corrupted by Black Rose; Space! If you didn't read that as Tim Curry putting on a glorious Russian accent, we can't be friends. Sorry.

But yeah, they do have a history of "Welp, this planet is doomed, lets fly around space for a bit".

[Cilia]

True on all accounts. But the Exarch's future looked so bleak, I feel like this would call the dragons to action because they themselves would be threatened. Wasn't it implied that after Black Rose was deployed, the land itself started killing all life? Something to do with the aether being removed from everything.

And yeah, I know Midgardsormr used the last of his strength to free the WoL from Omega, but I didn't know that was permanent. I just thought he needed to go back to sleep for a long while.

It's not so much as the land started killing things, the land itself died - i.e. crops wouldn't grow, plants died out, etc. Black Rose works by halting the circulation of aether; apply that to the land and you get something like the Burn or the Empty. (Not necessarily a bleak white wasteland, but definitely unable to support life.)

Midgardsormr's efforts have probably earned him a permanent rest for the remainder of the game's life, or until he's needed to fill a narrative purpose again. He's not dead, but he won't be able to intervene in events for the foreseeable future.