Quote Originally Posted by Anvaire View Post
Ultimately when it comes to the ascians they are villains because their method and resolve is horrendous. Their intentions though, I can't actually find something bad in the motivation behind them. They just want to restore the world to how it should have been. Effectively they just want to heal their people and although it is wrong, it is also understandable from their perspective.
Haven't you heard of the phrase "the road to hell is paved with good intentions"? I think that's quite apt for the ascians here. While their goals at one time may have been noble, at least to them, they have long since lost their way and now stand atop super-weapons while cackling.

At least to me, everything I learned about Amaurot in Shadowbringers told me that they were a society eventually headed to collapse, regardless of the Final Days. They were extremely arrogant and wielded the powers of creation as if they were gods. Of course they wouldn't view any new life as being worthy to exist. But what gives them the right to make that decision? Their society collapsed due to what seemed like to be its own making and Venat's rebellion even said that Zodiark was a temporary measure and the Final Days would happen again if they stayed the course.

We also don't know what it was like outside of Amaurot at the time. We do know that there were farm villagers though. Were they also perfect beings capable of creation magic and gifted with long lives? We also know there was death, Emet-Selch's Tales from the Shadows describes the Underworld and that all souls come back to it. I'm not sure that the old days were as "perfect" as the Amaurotians think it was. Azem certainly didn't think so if they refused the Convocation's help repeatedly and spent all of their time outside the city.