Ardbert's Party vs the Scions Analysis

[VelKallor]

AST quests where a faction literally sent assassins?

One faction. A few small malcontents. Not the entire bloody NATION.

Or the countless times Matoya and Louisoix (both mentor characters and moral compasses) were said to disagree with their policies on major subjects?

Exactly how does two people disagreeing segue into an entire nations antagonism? it doesnt.

"Endless are the arguments of mages" - Lord of the Rings.

I actually think there was a fair bit of foreshadowing potential for Sharlayan to be antagonistic, and I do think it all got resolved a bit too... nicely? Un-dramatically? for how it had been set up. You had Fourchenault clearly keeping secrets, the Forum voting unanimously and suggesting some kind of cover-up or even mind control, which would suggest tempering. For all we knew in the lead-up, there could have been a primal in the heart of the city, or Hydaelyn's influence deliberately or accidentally influencing them to do "something" that would have been a hypothetical plot point.

and

It's incredibly disingenuous to claim they never have been antagonistic towards anyone.

Explained by Sharlayan emphasis on neutrality. They were isolationists by design. They were NOT tempered either, they were bound by a spell that forbade them from discussing certain topics..a spell they consented to.

There was even a cutscene to explain it. Sharlayan was NEVER antagonistic to anyone, they were isolationists dedicated to a specific ideal, and simply did not want to interact with outsiders.

"The problems of others are not our concern" - Minbari Grey Council, just before the Shadow War - Babylon 5

NOT the same thing.