Quote Originally Posted by Cilia View Post
You do have the option of offering Elidibus a compromise during 5.3's MSQ; should you do so, he simply rebuffs you by stating your willingness to compromise means your ideals are flawed. You can't make a compromise - tread a middle ground - with someone unwilling to do the same.

Similarly, Azem's decision to remain neutral in the conflict, while noble on paper, is a flawed ideal identical to the Sharlayans' own neutrality. "To ignore the plight of those one might conceivably save is not wisdom, it is indolence," as Louisoix said. By remaining neutral in the conflict s/he doomed the world to the Sundering; it's debatable whether or not the world would have been Sundered with or without action on Azem's part, but the point is they did nothing to stop it one way or the other. (This is assuming Azem remained neutral post-summonings; the only thing we know for sure is that they weren't on board with the summonings to begin with, most likely due to their role giving them greater faith in the capabilities of ordinary people. How they reacted once the summons were carried out remains unknown.)

It's nice to believe otherwise, but sometimes you have to take a side. When it comes to that... place all your bets on the one you think is right.
I expressed myself wrong. When I said "pulling an Azem" I meant "taking a third option", and that could mean staying neutral (or whatever Azem did, it is true we do not truly know that part) or try finding another path that benefits both sides.

However, to be fair with Elidibus, he is a primal. You cannot reason with a primal, they are defined by the will that forms them. Elidibus does not even remember why he fights, but he knows he has a duty, and his very nature compels him to carry it out even if it costs him his life. But in the end we do manage to reach out to him, even if it is just before he is absorbed into the Crystal Tower.

There is this thing, however, speaking of Elidibus and having discussed the topic of the Ascians' tempering, that prickles my curiosity. It is often said that the only sure way to free someone from tempering is through death. Lahabrea's soul was eaten by King Thordan, so I will not take him into account, but though we used white auracite against the other two Unsundered, it was not in the way we did with Igeyorhm and Nabriales. The Crystal Tower absorbs Elidibus' essence but we do not blast it away, and the auracite is used to stay Emet in place and he actually breaks free. They both disperse into ambient aether, and Emet's soul seems to be chilling in the Lifestream because he can answer Azem's crystal call. Does that mean that the Unsundered, while out of the scene, have been untempered through their corporeal death? That could be certainly interesting. Opinions on this?