Quote Originally Posted by Enkidoh View Post
-snip
My memory was a bit foggy - in the scene in question Zenos states verbatim that his spies have informed him the Domans named Shinryu. I'd still question how that information traveled as quickly as it did, though... then again, the Garleans are pretty big into tech, and even Eorzeans have Linkpearls (basically cell phones), though that's easy to forget when Minfilia isn't calling with new orders every 5 minutes.

As for Zenos looking forward to this war so he can face us in battle... it's reasonable enough. We're a beacon of hope for Eorzeans, but I'm honestly very surprised the Garleans don't flee in terror when they realize who they're up against. Since he's stated to revel in combat it makes sense that Zenos wouldn't (and would in fact seek us out to push his limits) - even though we're (in)famous for going through just about everything that stands in our way.

Yotsuyu... I think it's a little too early to really make a proper judgment call (this arguably applies to all the characters, even the seemingly one-dimensional Zenos). While she is stated and shown to be cruel and ruthless, her bio on the official site states she believes herself to be the "hero of [her] own story," suggesting there's a motivation behind her callousness beyond sadism for its own sake. What that is I could not venture to guess, though.

Fordola, though... well, because of her unique circumstances, she is the villain I am most interested in. She is where things get morally complex, not the "power-hungry tyrants hiding behind environmental health concerns" we get from the Garleans. Long story short: while it might be a shithole of a home, Imperial Ala Mhigo is her home, for better or worse. Liberating Ala Mhigo isn't terribly different from her perspective to Garlemald's conquest of Ala Mhigo is to Lyse (and most everyone outside the Empire), which may be why she appears to be Lyse's rival. Not to mention how the Empire (and Zenos in particular) treats conquered peoples... while it's easy to conclude she will defect when things start getting serious, I remain unconvinced. It depends on where her true loyalties lie, and I'm anxious to find out either way.

As for Zenos using incarnate summoning... well, it could be interesting, esp. if he incarnate summons a more powerful Susano-o (i.e. using his full name, Takehaya Susano-o no Mikoto), but the vast majority of Garleans cannot manipulate aether, and I have a hard time believing they'd pull the same cat out of the bag a third time. What Zenos' endgame is (assuming he has one) is anyone's guess, but that combined with the Garleans' atheism makes it a tough sell.