ehh... most ls's leave other ls's alone on Rabanastre, unless the go out looking for trouble. Esp. since at least as of now, there is very little to do in game that actually forces competition, such as open world NM's. But at any rate, any shell that considers themselves elite, should welcome a merger as it brings more competition and more talent to the server. Meaning you get more people to recruit into your shell AND you have more people to try to out do in order to be the best. So really, I don't see how a merger should ruffle the 'elite shell' feathers...

My little social/event shell is just stoked to have new faces and more people to play with on the server, as are most other shells/shell leaders I've talked to so far. Especially since the smaller shells tend to work together more etc. However, if worried, you could always make a 'mule' character and take a peak on over on Rabanastre and see if the overall vibe is okay during your playtimes etc.