The Reasoning behind The Sundering? (*6.0 Endwalker Spoilers*)

[Ayche]

Let's not get sidetracked here. One side had respect for life, the other did not.
Let's not both-sides that fact here.

[Kordarion]

Let's not get sidetracked here. One side had respect for life, the other did not.
Let's not both-sides that fact here.

Which side is it that you think had respect for life? Because I've seen pro-hydaelyn and pro-zodiark/ancients people both claim their side has respect for life.

[Ayche]

Which side is it that you think had respect for life? Because I've seen pro-hydaelyn and pro-zodiark/ancients people both claim their side has respect for life.

You know, one side was not going to genocide about all of the natural world for their cousin's lost soul.

[Kordarion]

You know, one side was not going to genocide about all of the natural world for their cousin's lost soul.

I agree, the ancients routinely made, altered and removed species based on their changing whims and arbitrary definition of natural order. I was just curious because while I took your statement as the ancients didn't have the greatest respect for life I didn't want to be presumptuous.

[Lersayil]

You know, one side was not going to genocide about all of the natural world for their cousin's lost soul.

I am both baffled and amused by this statement. It applies so much to both sides, I'm honestly not sure which one you mean. If its intentional you have my genuine admiration.

[RyuDragnier]

But perhaps more importantly, how was Venat even able to enact the sundering. Wouldn't it have required immense strength? It was not clear how many followers she had. Could there be more behind this?

Considering the missing body parts on Zodiark during the fight with Fandaniel, it's very likely that the Sundering was 13 slices with surgical precision, each one aiming for a weak point in Zodiark's design along with an exact amount of souls. This was likely possible because of the difference between concepts. Zodiark was created merely to control the flow of aether around the planet and save it, without the idea of battle in mind. Hydaelyn was likely created with the idea of battle and thus had the knowledge and skill to perform the Sundering without issues, especially considering that an AZEM was the heart of her.

Not quite. Azem 'defected' and the seat was left empty before the Convocation had reached a decision on Zodiark. Venat's followers tried to send word out to Azem, but received no response. The real question is: where is Azem during all this?

This is likely going to deal with the overarching plot of the next big multi-expansion story arc, considering the devs themselves stated that the 6.x patches are going to be leading into the next arc. So either we find out this expansion, or we don't and it's going to be the focal point of the next one.