Wait a minute...is this a plot-hole (Austerities of Wind and Main Scenario-related)?

[Kaiser-Ace]

Unless ascians planned this all along but they don't seem to be the kind of guy to make long plans, they wait for opportunities to weaken Hydaelyn and jump on it whenever it happens, just the same way Nabriales thought he saw an opening and failed.

Uh, the Ascians have been at this since the Third Astral Era and maybe even earlier. One does not simply mess around for 15k+ years and not have a long term goal in mind. The Ascians plan is thousands of years in the making which is what makes it so hard to grasp and escape. As Eldibeus said, if we knew what he did perhaps we'd be able to see eye to eye.

Oh and Nebriales failed because he went off script. Ya know, went rouge, awol, etc, etc. He wasn't following the plan that's been laid out so well and worked on for so long that none can escape it's momentum. So he payed the price for being a maverick. To which Lahabrea was neither surprised nor upset about and Eldibeus was only mildly concerned that we were able to kill the unkillable. But even then it seemed trivial to him and more of a curiosity than a threat or worry.

[Anonymoose]

One does not simply mess around for 15k+ years and not have a long term goal in mind. <...> Oh and Nebriales failed because he went off script.

The millenia in the making Ascian agenda doesn't seem very specific (so far). Chaos - Rejoining - Zodiark. That's not a plan, that's a goal. It's more like guidelines, really. Their manipulation is intricate, don't get me wrong, but they tend to just show up and exploit pre-existing tension until discord erupts into chaos. The closest thing to forethought we've seen is Lahabrea hiding the Heart of Sabik in the Ultima Weapon, and we now know that Lahabrea cannot be 100% trusted to be on Team Ascian Council in the first place. Not only is he working closely with Elidibus (who claims not to technically be our enemy and, unlike the others, just wants this planet back on the "right track," the same sentiment expressed by Lahabrea in the Praetorium), but he's so obsessed with primals and merging their power with man that even Elidibus thinks its overshadowing his loyalty to Zodiark.

I'm very suspicious of this whole "put the world back on the right path" thing, too. Only the two suspected Ascian rogues (Lahabrea / Elidibus) have made that claim. Nabriales only spoke of wanting to return everything to perfect Darkness, and that doesn't sound like what Elidibus and Lahabrea had in mind (unless, of course, we're just being manipulated again. Because ... Ascians.) I suspect plans within plans, schemes within schemes. You ever notice that every time an Ascian says anything other than, "Hey, Lahabrea's right!" he steps in and redirects the conversation towards what is obviously the best course of action?