Quote Originally Posted by HulveinBlitz View Post
they'd need to come up with an amazing reason to why she's not dead.
All witnesses were silenced, and the public believes the Sultana has simply fallen ill. This suggests they either intend to force the Sultana to do their bidding like a good puppet (requiring her to live through the poisoning but perhaps be frail/incapable of resisting) or they may intend to replace her with a look alike. (which would not require her to survive, and is highly likely). Either could be used to move the player to action, and Raubahn to lead civil war for ul'dah's reclamation, ushering in a new age for the jewel of the desert in the image of Nanamo's dream.

She is likely very much dead. But we're dealing with a world in which death is just an inconvenience to be overcome, and a little hope never hurt anyone.

Another common trope in Final Fantasy is the need for Royal Blood to activate some form of super weapon, this would need her to still be around so that the monetarists could become supreme rulers and remain unchallenged by their enemies.