[SPOILERS] Stormblood Ending

[Kallera]

While it's easy to succumb to blind hatred, the beauty of humanity is our ability to rise above that. The MSQ gives us no options and implies we do hate the Garleans - or at least the XIIth Legion - but given what we've seen them do it's hard not to. Even so, we can remember and acknowledge that they are people too...

Why? To what purpose, when there is nothing that changes for our mercy? We are still the executioner of Eorzea's will.

I'm just sick of it. Sick of the catchphrases and justifications. I find it truly hard to care anymore for either side.

[Cilia]

Why? To what purpose, when there is nothing that changes for our mercy? We are still the executioner of Eorzea's will.

I'm just sick of it. Sick of the catchphrases and justifications. I find it truly hard to care anymore for either side.

What it comes down to is...

As long as people are counting on you to bring another tomorrow, nihilism is an indulgence you cannot afford. And damn their ideology, catchphrases, and platitudes - you're fighting because it's what you believe is right.

... that's how I see it, anyway.

[Theodric]

I, too, heavily dislike how biased the Warrior of Light is in regards to Eorzea. Canonically they're not even from the region in question. It's not just a problem with the Warrior of Light either but many of the Scions, too - who again aren't even from Eorzea originally themselves. Othard's portion of Stormblood was very refreshing because we finally saw the story move away from Eorzea and had to navigate around issues and factions that were specifically tied to Othard itself. Operating within Hingashi, too, was very interesting because it boasts a similar isolationist policy to Ishgard before 4.0 yet at present it does not seek to allow the Eorzeans to swoop in and push for reform and fully open borders.

Which, I might add, I hope never changes. One needs only look at all the problems that have arisen in the real world as a result of such a flawed policy. Yet that's a discussion for elsewhere, I suppose. Or better not opened up to begin with.

I do hope that we see the Warrior of Light - and the Scions - start questioning the futility of war, though. As well as accepting some of the blame for not seeking a more diplomatic solution. They already know there are reasonable Garleans in the form of Regula and Baut. I hope we see some elements of the Eorzean Alliance go too far in their treatment of captured Garleans. It'd certainly help make things appear less one sided.

[EdwinLi]

-----.

I think how Bias and how limited the WoL protection from Primals may be one of the topics covered in the upcoming 4.X era storyline. The WoL is only one person after all and he or she can only protect areas from Primals if the WoL is in that area. However, the protection WoL provides being a Primal Killer is very limited. The WoL has been fortunate that Primals so far only pop up one at a time and not all at once in all regions because if all Primals suddenly pop up at once with WoL only able to kill them one at a time a good amount of places ae going to burn by the time WoL arrives to the area.

Unless a army of WoL can be created to cover a vast amount of regions and multiple areas at the same time things don't look so well for the World and all WoL does is just covering up leaks at this point.

[Kallera]

What it comes down to is...

As long as people are counting on you to bring another tomorrow, nihilism is an indulgence you cannot afford. And damn their ideology, catchphrases, and platitudes - you're fighting because it's what you believe is right.

... that's how I see it, anyway.

What I believe is right?

[WhiteArchmage]

Operating within Hingashi, too, was very interesting because it boasts a similar isolationist policy to Ishgard before 4.0 yet at present it does not seek to allow the Eorzeans to swoop in and push for reform and fully open borders.

The reasoning for Eorzea's relationship with Ishgard and Hingashi are very different, though. They reached out to Ishgard as an ally against the Garleans and Ishgard said no, only for them to ask for the Alliance's aid on the Dravanian's attacks afterwards; not to mention the rampant corruption and political instability in Ishgard during 3.x. Hingashi is a foreign port whose only ties to Eorzea (for now) are trade with the East Aldenard Trading Company.

Until we know more from Hingashi, it's safe to say they're very different nations with very different needs.

[Cilia]

The needs of others are boundless, but the Warrior of Light's (and Scions') ability to help others is finite. To rag on them for not helping everyone, everywhere, is unfair criticism. We help the people we see and save as many lives as we can - at the end of the day, that's the best we can do and all anyone can reasonably ask of us.

In the case of Stormblood, a diplomatic solution was denied to us by the maniacs named Ilberd and Zenos. One was a fanatical Ala Mhigan who went so far as to kill his own soldiers and summon a primal sustained by vengeance to get back at Garlemald and force the Alliance to fight his war for him; the other was a battle-crazed Colonel Kilgore who didn't even care about the lives of his own men, slaughtered soldiers who had surrendered and were trying to flee, and actively instigated rebellions through excessive cruelty so he could fight them. A diplomatic solution was simply not on the table here.

[EdwinLi]

----.

It is no doubt people will not blame the WoL and Scion's for there limited protection but the thing put into question will most likely the limit on how far that Protection can reach.

The WoL can't be in multiple places at once and if multiple Primals were to appear at once the WoL will have to choose which area to protect but leave the other area at the mercy of the other primal until he or she defeat the current Primal.

This will certainly put into question finding actual long term solution to the Primal threat since in 4.0 we are learning there are other means to summon a Primal other than blind worshipping and desire to intentionally summon the Primal.

Scion and Alliance have greatly depended on the WoL to solve the Primal threat currently but now at this point the story appears to be moving towards finding a more long term permenant solution to the Primal Threat while questioning the Scion and Alliance great dependency on putting all Primal issues on WoL without bothering to find a actual long term solution to defeating Primals that does not require depending on the WoL.

[Cilia]

The solution to ending the primal threat is to make peace with the beast tribes. Their primary reason for summoning their gods is fear - if we understand where those fears are coming from we can do our best to allay those fears, reducing the likelihood of a summoning. Granted it is impossible to guarantee primals will never be a problem, but do not forget that it is the Ascians who teach summoning rites - with the exception of Susano'o, every primal has to our knowledge been summoned with Ascian instruction. They are the root cause of the problem.

If multiple primals are summoned and we have to prioritize one over another, go after the one likely to claim a greater number of lives first. In our line of "work" we can't always save everyone. Don't forget that.

The Garleans now have the ability to create Resonant anyway, though I don't know if they require someone already possessed of the Echo to do so. It's rather a moot point.

Our goal in Ishgard was never to force social or political reforms on the nation - only to put an end to the war. The social and political reforms in Ishgard were a consequence of our actions, not our objective. As it stands we have no reason to do anything of the sort in Hingashi, despite the SAM 60 - 70 quest repeatedly telling us the government of the nation is corrupt and decadent.

[EdwinLi]

----

I know all that but I am talking more about what we are seeing for the possible future storyline.

As of now the introduction to Susano and Lakshami being summoned without Ascian involvement may be leading up to the main issue that will need to be addressed no matter what being "what truely cause the summoning of a Primal". The information we know so far has been limited to only past experience being "fear driving Beast tribes to summon Primals" and "Asicans".

We have never really dived into the true origins of Primal Summoning from a time before the Ascian even bothered "teaching" other to use it.

Then there is the long term of Primal threat to once the Ascians are defeated and "peace" has been obtained with current Beast tribes. If 4.0 is hinting that Primals can be summoned by accident without anyone teaching them how to summon the Primal nor directly teaching them the existance of Primals this could lead to something much more. Probably leading up to the origins of Primal Summoning and a lot of more information missed out because the Scion and WoL assumed up to now what they know about Primal Summoning so far was everything. However, the Primal Threat is most likely going to continue even after the Ascian/Zodiark Arc since Yoshi-P said he has plans for a sequel storyline once the current Ascian/Zodiark Storyline is over.