Quote Originally Posted by Rosenstrauch View Post
I find myself in the third position on this, in that I wholly believe the Exarch's heroic sacrifice against Elidibus should have been his actual demise. It would have been a fine enough sendoff to his character, and we could still have woken up the sleeping G'raha Tia at the Exarch's behest. Then G'raha Tia could have joined the Scions, perhaps fashioning the Exarch's half-filled soul crystal into a job stone, and the story going forward could have dealt with him trying to live up to the legacy his future self left for him instead of... awkwardly fanboying out over characters like Lyse, Matoya, and Estinien.
This is what I wanted to see happen. It wouldn't have changed much functionally - he could still be playing the same role in the story, and the only real difference would be that he talks about the Exarch as a person whose thoughts he knows very well, but still as a separate person and in the past tense. He would be entrusted with the Exarch's legacy but still primarily be his younger self.

Plus for the Exarch, I feel like he earned his death there, in a good way. He's waited so long and given so much, and now his work is done and he departs with a smile, encouraging us that it's not the end - go, wake him up. Take him on the adventure I dreamed of.