*Spoilers* Anyone feel joining Emet would have been better

[Rulakir]

Black-masked Ascians.

They never did enough with those, in fact, aside from the SMN quests I don't recall seeing another black-masked Ascian past ARR?

[MikkoAkure]

They also got Varis to drink the kool-aid and convinced him to continue conquering the world and fire off Calamities back-to-back so that we can be a "united single race".

All of Ilsabard was under Garlean control as well as most of Othard for a time so it could be said that most of the world was under the Ascians. Eorzea by comparison to the rest of the 3 great continents is a primitive backwater full of bickering city-states that didn't even have standing armies until 5 years ago. It's just that all the interesting stuff happens here and also where all the ancient world-shattering artifacts just happen to be buried.

[Cilia]

They never did enough with those, in fact, aside from the SMN quests I don't recall seeing another black-masked Ascian past ARR?

They're mentioned to have been the ones stirring up trouble during Elidibus' arc in 5.2/5.3.

Also this is more of a mystery than war story compared to WoW, so they don't use an overt army and act through proxies (Allag, Garlemald, Eulmore, etc).

[Rulakir]

Good point(s). Given the dominance and success of the nations Emet designed there would've been little need for any sort of 'Cult of the Damned'. I'd still like to know how the black-masks were found/recruited.

[Rannie]

Eh I'm really thinking along the lines of after the sundering when the memory of the unsundered world (even if most of the memory had faded) was still remembered somewhat. They had a perfect opportunity to do what they could to sway the people to their side and allow for the rejoining to happen of their own free will. Also, do everything they could to protect them until they had become unsundered.

The United single race as Varis "drank the kool-aid for" has been proven correct and that they were one at one point as well as the promises of Immortality to a certain degree as well as a certain point of view. Instead they allowed the people to forget. Allowed Hydaelyn to do her propaganda with her chosen Warriors of Light and then screwed over one of the Shards by Igeyohrm causing it to become the void. A perfect opportunity on their part all wasted when they chose the destructive path.

[Cilia]

The Ascians managed to convince a good number of players their cause and costs were worthy; I don't see why it would be any less effective in-universe.

There were faint memories of the World Unsundered ("Age of Gods"), but it's been approximately 12,000 years since then. Even for the handful of surviving unsundered Ancients, that's implied to be an incredibly long time.

[MikkoAkure]

The United single race as Varis "drank the kool-aid for" has been proven correct and that they were one at one point as well as the promises of Immortality to a certain degree as well as a certain point of view. Instead they allowed the people to forget. Allowed Hydaelyn to do her propaganda with her chosen Warriors of Light and then screwed over one of the Shards by Igeyohrm causing it to become the void. A perfect opportunity on their part all wasted when they chose the destructive path.

As evidenced by Shadowbringers, not everyone can have the potential to awake to the Echo which means not everyone is a partial soul reincarnated from an Ancient, only a slim minority are. Which means his plan would see the destruction of most everybody possibly including Varis himself.

[Cilia]

As evidenced by Shadowbringers, not everyone can have the potential to awake to the Echo which means not everyone is a partial soul reincarnated from an Ancient, only a slim minority are. Which means his plan would see the destruction of most everybody possibly including Varis himself.

It actually would kill everybody because it's a two-step plan of complete Rejoining then sacrifice mortals to Zodiark.

[Rulakir]

Well, Emet says: "The inhabitants of these fourteen fragments were feeble, frail, and foolish. Oblivious to their imperfection, ignorant of their past. Malformed creatures thrashing blindly about. Pitiful. Disturbing. Depressing."

It doesn't sound like the state of the sundered at that time was such that the unsundered thought they could work with them. Plus, I'm sure they were still in shock at what happened.

As for the rest, my interpretation was different. Emet also says (to the WoL): "Should you survive the remaining calamities, you will become our equal. A complete existence in a complete world." There's never any mention of sacrificing the rejoined souls, only the "remaining inhabitants" to specifically "resurrect our brethren who died to bring Zodiark into existence." Killing all of the rejoined Ancients wouldn't make sense.

There's also several points throughout ShB where it's heavily implied having the Echo isn't necessary to be a sundered Ancient. At Qitana Ravel Emet comments, "No one could remember it. Not really. Just fragments and fleeting memories of an achingly familiar world..." Both Ryne and Alisaie mention feeling sadness at Amaurot and after Elidibus' star shower, respectively. Emet also says, of G'raha, "Quite an accomplishment for one of his 'incomplete' nature." G'raha mentions his soul being denser after we 'rejoin' him on the Source as well.

[Absimiliard]

The reality of the situation is that even with Meteion removed the world is still doomed. It will die as a direct result of the people dwelling on it. They've already damaged it almost beyond the point of recovery in the comparatively short time their little civilizations have thrashed around. All getting rid of Meteion did was delay it some more. Better to die whole - die as yourself - than die as some broken thing.