Quote Originally Posted by LineageRazor View Post
Is anyone in this thread arguing that Zodiark is an ebul blood god? It's been a long, long time since I've seen someone assume Zodiark's evil. For my part, even before Zodiark was revealed to be a Primal, I was of the opinion that we just knew too little about the guy to say one way or another. We knew the ASCIANS were evil - or, at least, performing evil acts, and doing it in Zodiark's name - but it was unclear whether Zodiark sanctioned their activities, or was even aware of what they were doing.

Even after the big reveal, the story has gone out of its way, it seems, to avoid portraying Zodiark's character in any way, shape, or form. We've heard why and how the Convocation summoned him, we've heard what he did, and we've heard the sacrifices the Convocation continued to make to give him power, but we know nothing of Zodiark's agency in all of this. The fact that all of the Convocation were Tempered by him seems to indicate that he has SOME kind of will (since Tempering is basically an unresistable imposition of will), but not all actions taken by the Tempered are necessarily direct commands from their god.
I always had doubts that Zodiark would be "evil". Besides the too-evident-cliché, I specifically had in mind FFXII's Zodiark, whose bio states that he was the only esper created by the Occuria that did not revolted against them, but because they feared his power, they bound him and kept him eternally in an infant form. All of this has been properly portrayed, Elidibus being a child who volunteered to become His heart included. FFXII's Zodiark is also referred as the Keeper of Precepts, and with enough aether we do know Zodiark can weave the laws of creation anew. And it is curious, the story of the Ivalician espers, because the one who rebelled against the Occuria was Ultima, the Holy-elemental esper, and the one who never took part in anything, perhaps because he was an infant, was Zodiark, the Dark-elemental esper.

Whatever the case, becoming the Heart of an elder primal such as Hydaelyn and Zodiark might be the same principle as what Ysayle, Zenos and Yotsuyu did. Zenos says that with full control of the Echo, one can bend a primal to their will, and he demonstrates with Shinryu. Of course, Hydaelyn and Zodiark are way more powerful, but I would say that with Elidibus as His core, Zodiark would have hardly any bad intention. Venat... well, we do not know much about her. She is a complicated character in FFXII and I suspect it will be the same here, but if Hydaelyn's command is "banish the darkness", I have to wonder if that will not put Her at odds with us, fully acknowledged Warrior of Darkness by Elidibus-Heart-of-Zodiark himself.