Quote Originally Posted by UAnchovy View Post
They need a more compelling narrative in order to convince idealists to defend the people of Ishgard?
Remember that those comments are coming from two individuals at the 1000 year old tail of a war that has defined their country since long before either was born - for one, continuing the war with as many advantages as are possible because there is ultimately no stopping the war (thus far anyway) is par for the course and certainly influences his beliefs, and for the other a good and noble cause is worth fighting for but so is seeking peace to end the suffering if it's possible, and continuing a war when peace is the most possible it has been in centuries is perhaps unthinkable...and thus influences his comments.

As for the founders...I think you're on to something regarding how much of what is seen/believed now was changed over the course of time, but I think it's worth considering that those who betrayed the peace after 200 years did so to seek power against those that were at the time not their enemy (I'd have to double check, but the Ascians may have had a small influencing hand in that belief...a nudge in the wrong direction if you will), so going the extra step beyond what was necessary to start a ruse if it would ultimately benefit them (and a nation fueled by fervor against an enemy would be a benefit) is certainly not unthinkable. Also, while logic might dictate that reducing the chance of the ruse being discovered to the smallest chance possible is the "correct" course this is meant to take place in an organic world where the characters don't always choose based solely on the most logical choice...especially if said logical choice didn't come with additional potential benefits in their eyes.

On dragons - they might actually be the most reliable when it comes to memories, believe it or not. They don't perceive time quite the same way...their "history is yet part of [their] present" in a way we can't comprehend. It does mean that they are influenced by emotional bias (potentially) to a far greater degree, but it also means that their memories of events are perhaps greater than any creature alive (at least for the Firstborn, like Nidhogg).