Quote Originally Posted by MeteorShan View Post
Zoraal Ja is arguably the worst written villain in the entirety of FFXIV, his reasoning for the point where his character gets to as one of main villains is stretching things to the extreme and isn't plausible. But that's a different writing issue and not the point of my OP.

Prior to the trial he literally walks away from group, this is in line with his character so he can get ahead of everyone in an attempt to win the contest. His motivation for wanting to win the rite of succession is to plunge Tural into war so that the population can experience the horrors of it and become stronger as a people after suffering through it. Having Valigarmanda laying carnage across Urqopacha and beyond completely fits this motivation. When he suddenly does a u-turn and reappears, even Sareel Ja is shaking his head in disbelief at what he's doing.
I'll give you the 99 trial which did seem more forced but Zoraal Ja joining did make sense in the 93 trial. He wanted to prove himself, as another poster outlined. And having Valigarmanda lay carnage wouldn't fit with his ideals because he wanted people to stop fighting by experiencing the reality of war, not just suffering in general.