Quote Originally Posted by Rosenstrauch View Post
They weren't a cult of evil conformists who reacted to any display of individuality with murder or brainwashing. And yes, I have seen that take before and it's as ludicrous as it sounds.
Minus the extreme punishment, one of the few Amaurotine sidequests from which we can grasp their culture has us being told off for daring to wear something other than the communal robes.

http://garlandtools.org/db/#quest/69130

I must say, little one...those garments you're wearing. They are your own original concepts, I take it? Clearly they must be, given their rather...singular flamboyance.
I would never dream of stifling a fledgling creator's creativity, but to parade about in your cultivated individuality is hardly praiseworthy.
An Amaurotine of character shares their creations with the community─they do not hoard them for their use alone. To delight in disparity is a mark of the morally deficient.
Disparity engenders feelings of want and resentment, which degrade the bonds of fellowship. Thus do we encourage creators to share and share alike, else we risk kindling the embers of covetousness and violence that ever smolder in the hearts of all.
Therefore I must implore you, little one, to cast aside your original trappings and don the communal robes, that you might acquit yourself as an equal among many. In so doing, you will be afforded greater respect and autonomy.
It sounds more like "everyone will regard you as incredibly rude and/or an idiot if you don't follow the social rules" than "we will actively punish you for not complying", but there is definitely societal pressure to conform in appearance even if they are free to express themselves in other ways.


Quote Originally Posted by Rosenstrauch View Post
I beg your pardon? Only a single individual was ever known to have been sacrificed to summon Zodiark: Elidibus, and he was a willing volunteer. The two sacrifices afterwards, also done with volunteers, were for the sake of stopping the apocalypse and restoring life to the world. And the only things we know about the third planned sacrifice is that the Convocation was going to offer up a portion of the life Zodiark restored in order to bring back the aforementioned volunteers. That is a far cry from genocide, and we don't even know if they were going to look for volunteers or not since the whole plan was cut off by Hydaelyn attacking Zodiark.
I don't have the quote to reference now, but I'm pretty sure the first mass sacrifice was to provide the aether to summon Zodiark so he could halt the Final Days, and presumably Elidibus was a key part of whatever ritual was carried out to summon him.

It's also worth noting that although the original plan was for "a portion" of life to be sacrificed back to Zodiark, Emet's rant at the Capitol prior to entering the Amaurot dungeon seems to indicate that the current plan is to sacrifice everyone who is left after the final calamity.