Quote Originally Posted by Rulakir View Post
I am more putting myself in their shoes. I cannot fathom having to go through an apocalypse that involves creatures of nightmare slaughtering people in the streets. Much like the end of ShB, I can't imagine half our society being willing to sacrifice itself for the other half either. I feel like them coming together en masse during a crisis like that doesn't get enough recognition and, honestly, after the past two years of polarization (at least in the US), I feel it should. I know if someone came up to me and said that I wasn't handling my trauma or grief the way they thought I should, I would tell them where they could shove their opinion. :P If someone said they could bring back my deceased loved ones, you bet I'd be interested in what they had to say.

I observed a range of emotion in the Ancients, a willingness to do whatever it takes, and an unprecedented unification. I would've liked to have seen what they were capable of given a fighting chance. I'm sure some of them would've freaked out, just like people in the real world freaked out more than others about the pandemic, but enough would've come together as we've already seen. I also think that if "The land was blighted, the waters poisoned, and even the wind had ceased to blow." I would wish for the 'good old days' as well. Plus, even if they did get their "perfect paradise" back, the experiences of the Final Days would be seared into them forever. I sincerely doubt their society would've been able to go back to any semblance of normalcy.
I would be unable to even entertain the thought of bringing back people I loved, because it would mean I'd still be rooted to the past, nothing more than a fool who can't move on with their life. You live, you love, you lose, these are things everybody has to deal with. To deny loss is to deny the growth that comes with it, to deny change.

As for the Ancients, they seemed to believe (or at least it's what Emet and the Ascians were pushing) that once they returned everyone everything would go back to normal. They didn't want their society to change, and after cheating death like that once, you know they'd do it again and again with each threat that popped up. They would not learn from the pain and loss.