When are we supposed to stop fighting?

[Brinne]

People on the Source are far more susceptible to dynamis than the Ancients ever were, this is why they so easily succumb to it.

Ah, yes, when the Ancients succumb to the Final Days, it's a result of their personal failings and weaknesses. However, when the Sundered do, they can't help it because of biological happenstance that isn't their fault, which is why the Scions also all immediately exploded in Thavnair as well. Wait a second...

Even then, Matsya managed to stave it off with mantras and seeing hope completely saved him.

Yes, an outside force completely beyond his control appearing to save him, well, saved him. He bought himself a few minutes of time, but still became overwhelmed by the situation and would have succumbed as an individual, mantras and all - a point made in the game by Alisaie, who discusses that what one person can endure can break another, and there's no moral judgment attached to that. It's largely based on happenstance and luck. It's unfortunate for the Ancients that they weren't, frankly, lucky enough that Midgardsormr didn't arrive during their time so that his brood could have come to their dramatic rescue like they did for the Thavnairians.

[Lieri]

During Island Sanctuary release, the players will be able to choose wheter to continue the adventure or stop being WoL and become a farmer. If you choose the later you will have a different expansion to buy later on. The first one will be FFXIV Sanctuary : Back To Nature in which the heart system will be implemented. Once an NPC heart is fully red, you will be able to marry them.

[Necrotica]

During Island Sanctuary release, the players will be able to choose wheter to continue the adventure or stop being WoL and become a farmer. If you choose the later you will have a different expansion to buy later on. The first one will be FFXIV Sanctuary : Back To Nature in which the heart system will be implemented. Once an NPC heart is fully red, you will be able to marry them.

Dibs on Karen.

[EaraGrace]

"Seeing hope" is a poetic way to say "saved by a third party out of the blue." It is a pity that--judging by her own recollection--Venat didn't see fit to extend that sort of "hope" to her people as she strolled past them being attacked, if that is what it takes to make sure people don't succumb to despair.

And yet the people of Palakas Stand did not rally themselves only when Vrtra arrived, they found their own strength.

Simply put I think many are missing the key message here; the issue isn’t that the Ancients or the Sundered were inherently stronger, but that one possessed the means to create an easy solution to their problems that would in turn damn them, while the other is forced to contend with life’s miseries without the easy out. The Sundered are forced to contend with morality, with the inevitability of the end, and in turn come to grapple with despair and meaning in a way the Ancients just couldn’t. Which again, it doesn’t mean their superior at all, they’re just like the Ancients in the vast majority of ways. It’s the mistake of the Ascians to believe that one side need be more worthy to exist.

[Cleretic]

"Seeing hope" is a poetic way to say "saved by a third party out of the blue." It is a pity that--judging by her own recollection--Venat didn't see fit to extend that sort of "hope" to her people as she strolled past them being attacked, if that is what it takes to make sure people don't succumb to despair.

...you realize that scene wasn't literal, right? Or did you think that Emet-Selch and Hythlodaeus walked down a street with no care for a man being eaten beside them, and that both the first two sacrifices and the Sundering took place over a single seven minute period?

Judging by the fact she's pretty roughed-up herself, Venat probably wasn't exactly waiting out the End of Days in safety.

[Lyth]

There's more to spirituality than religion. There are many ways to come to terms with questions surrounding why we exist, or how to cope with suffering. In Thavnair, the common folk understand this through the sermons of their old gods, which is why Matsya starts the recitation. Has some Amaurotian scholar abstractly contemplated the philosophy around pain and loss? Possibly, but it seems less likely in a society that refuses to openly acknowledge their existence. Unfortunately, it seems like Amaurot was ultimately forced to confront the issue all at once.

I don't think that there's any shame in relying on each other for help. That's part of being human. Sometimes, part of being a hero is simply standing your ground and holding out until reinforcements arrive. We've been there before, many a time. Matsuya is neither a warrior nor a mage. The point of his journey is to show that even the humblest among us can show great courage in the face of adversity and impossible odds. And that's why the scene resonated with so many people.

Just as a side reference, it's worth noting that in various Vedic traditions, Matsya is a fish avatar that saves humanity from the flood. Yet more interplay of Greco-Roman and Vedic philosophy, much like Aether and Akasha.

...

'I mentioned before that there was a member of the Convocation who opposed Zodiark's summoning and defected. One whose office was left vacant. Defectors having been deemed unworthy of commemoration, no crystal exists for the individual in question. Or shouldn't exist, at any rate - and wouldn't, had a friend not created one in secret.'

So here's the thing. Azem was branded as a traitor. We did not part on good terms. Not only did they remove the seat from existence, they refused to record it in their memories. And when you consider how much stock the Amaurotians placed on their stored memories ('Remember us... Remember that we once lived.') it's easy to see that purging someone from their history was a truly damning thing indeed. How ironic it is, then, that Azem is the one now tasked to remember them.

'As you say, the phenomena observed in the two calamities may both be attributed to dynamis. Of note is the difference in its effect. In the first Final Days, it warped creation magicks. In the second, it warped the people themselves. The key variable, I suspect, is the aetheric density of the men in each age. As you know, aether, in essence, negates dynamis. Harboring high concentrations of aether, we ancients cannot readily manipulate dynamis - nor be manipulated by it. Therefore, rather than ourselves, the calamity affected our magicks.'

And there you have it. Meteion cannot mind-control the Amaurotians into using creation magic against their will using dynamis. She actually can't do anything against them directly. Her ability to affect the Amaurotians is entirely dependent on warping the creations that they've created into blasphemies. In the absence of creation magic, she's powerless to affect them. It was ultimately their dependence on creation magic that unfortunately lead to their downfall.

[Veloran]

There's more to spirituality than religion. There are many ways to come to terms with questions surrounding why we exist, or how to cope with suffering. In Thavnair, the common folk understand this through the sermons of their old gods, which is why Matsya starts the recitation. Has some Amaurotian scholar abstractly contemplated the philosophy around pain and loss? Possibly, but it seems less likely in a society that refuses to openly acknowledge their existence.

Amaurotine spirituality was centered around the idea that all life was in essence the blood of the star, and that their people should dedicate their lives to the improvement of the star before returning to it to be reincarnated. A random and unknown calamity destroying all life and the star itself simply isn't compatible with that ideology, the Ancients, dedicated to the star, had no excuses to justify suffering and loss leading to the star's own death. They couldn't just say "life is suffering to forge you into a stronger person", because they understood the cycle of life and reincarnation, and that no matter what hardships or achievements you have in life ultimately you are simply reborn anew with all of those experiences lost. Obviously they did contemplate the meaning of life and the notions of pain and loss, and their overall conclusion was that such things were justified by their purpose in life. The problem is that when stripped of their purpose through the oncoming death of everything and the excision of most of their people from the cycle of life, they naturally refused such an outcome. To say they should readily have rationalized utterly meaningless death is frankly nonsensical.

So here's the thing. Azem was branded as a traitor.

Nothing in that statement says Azem was branded a traitor. Rather they simply didn't record memories of Azem (the person), because they didn't think a defector was worth commemorating. By the by, the Ascians did actually have all fourteen seats filled back when we saw them all in 2.X.

is entirely dependent on warping the creations that they've created into blasphemies.

The Final Days didn't warp their creations into Blasphemes. Rather Terminus Beasts were created through their magic being forcibly usurped and the concepts being siphoned from their minds against their will. The quote you posted is nothing but speculation of how it might work, and note that it's not saying that it afflicted their creations, but rather their magicks themselves.

[Necrotica]

And there you have it. Meteion cannot mind-control the Amaurotians into using creation magic against their will using dynamis. She actually can't do anything against them directly. Her ability to affect the Amaurotians is entirely dependent on warping the creations that they've created into blasphemies. In the absence of creation magic, she's powerless to affect them. It was ultimately their dependence on creation magic that unfortunately lead to their downfall.

You are wrong. We watched an Ancient summon a creature against his will during that final days cutscene. He is huddled over in terror as his magic goes off outside of his control.

[Lyth]

'By your bemused expression, I gather you find it odd that your elders can fail in so simple an application of creation magicks? It is more common than you realize, little one. In this instance, a gaggle of children was passing by as I held the image of the robes in my mind's eye. Simply by becoming aware of their presence was the form influenced and the final product changed. All things considered, it could have been worse. Just the other day, I was attempting to conceive a white haired lion, when all of a sudden this exquisite eagle alighted on the nearby railing, giving me quite the shock - and dramatically altering my initial concept!'

You saw exactly what was described by the in-game lore text: a summoner losing control of the form of their summon. In fact, you don't even need dynamis for this to happen. Imagine, then, what happens when you're terrified and desperately try to pull out something to save yourself, the only way you know how.

I don't think that the philosophy of 'doing your best for the planet' was at odds with the death and destruction the Final Days brought. What it was at odds with was the second part that follows, which you omitted:
'To return to the star whence we came is a privilege afforded to we who have so loved and nurtured it. A choice embraced by those who have lived their lives to the fullest, in service to our world. And when they depart upon this journey, it is beautiful. Always.'

We don't encounter pain, suffering, and death out of choice, or because they have some deeper meaning. Life finds a way to force them on us, no matter how fortunate we are, and no amount of escapism can change that immutable truth. It doesn't matter what your beliefs or higher purpose is, so long as you have the courage and strength to take that next step forward.

[KizuyaKatogami]

And yet the people of Palakas Stand did not rally themselves only when Vrtra arrived, they found their own strength.

Simply put I think many are missing the key message here; the issue isn’t that the Ancients or the Sundered were inherently stronger, but that one possessed the means to create an easy solution to their problems that would in turn damn them, while the other is forced to contend with life’s miseries without the easy out. The Sundered are forced to contend with morality, with the inevitability of the end, and in turn come to grapple with despair and meaning in a way the Ancients just couldn’t. Which again, it doesn’t mean their superior at all, they’re just like the Ancients in the vast majority of ways. It’s the mistake of the Ascians to believe that one side need be more worthy to exist.

This is where i’m confused. How exactly is Zodiark an easy solution? It required people sacrificing themselves for other to even create him. How exactly is that an easy solution compared to….the sundered having everything handed to them. From a goddess looking out for them in no way different than Zodiark tbh, to having time travel just thrown into their hands(an ancient had to sacrifice himself to make this possible by the way in case you forgot) and the spaceship we take was done again….via a higher up being. The only thing you can really argue the sundered triumphed in were the ultima thule sequences, but they were able to come back, the ancients weren’t. The ancients had to content with the full force of the final days.They were barely able to handle the towers and the final days hitting some of the city states and thavnair/garlemald. The ancient final days was a world wide threat. The only difference being that the sundered final days actually resulted in peoples souls completely snuffed out with no hopes of reincarnation.