#coming to know the dragons' brand of loyalty/honor/kinship for him was interesting for how much it resembles the other

[myrfing]

gourd question 11

THANK YOU (waving as I'm sent down the heavensward dark ride)

11. Were they more sympathetic to the dragons, Ishgardians, neither or both? 

oh god, the dragons. The Spires hunkered down in the Dravanian hinterlands throughout the winter &, I forget if this was from a leve or a FATE, but there are indications that there is literature and graffiti circulating around in that area that is sympathetic to the dragons. He starts off being extremely baffled at Ishgard's...for lack of a better word extreme dehumanization of dragons and their revisionism. He never got the full picture until the trip in HW though. on top of that, Yulie of the Spires was a dark knight and whilllee she wasn't from nor did she operate exclusively in Ishgard, and while a drk's struggles aren't necessarily tied to the dragonsong war at all, her master was ishgardian and her contempt of the citystate & it of her was not veiled LMFAOO. He also holds a strong disdain for Ishgard's millitarism and found them very similar to garlean imperials, which of course he has his whole thing about.

It's to the extent that he would have "defected" (never quite saw himself as Of Ishgard) from Ishgard's efforts in the war if he hadn't 1. felt like he owed it to Haurchefant and Alphinaud/Tataru to not like, feed his people to the wolves; and 2nd, he has trouble viewing people as a monolith unless they declare themselves of allegiance to a certain banner...and when he meets the people of the Brume, and before that the prisoners at the outposts, he sees how vastly different "being Ishgardian" is for each person. it is not that he felt sorry for them, but that he just couldn't disregard the reality of their lives.

BUT UHH third is that, because of Ysayle, he got the opportunity to converse with the dragons. if it were not for Vidofnir and for the fact Nidhogg's intent was to prolong the conflict, things stillll could've gone very differently. not that there was any way to "do it clean" as it were (and as ysayle learned), but if nidhogg's intent was to soley wipe out the high houses, the clergy, the ward, and the pope, and reclaim Ratatoskr's eye, he probably still would have thrown in his lot with him after the dialogue with hraesvelgr and would've left estinien to go get cooked alone LOL. that also meant he was willing to betray house fortemps for this. he was very quiet about all of this and estinien did not know at alllll because he would have hated him. in fact he still doesn't know LMFAOOOOO.

he never quite feels at home in ishgard even when edmont is like You are like son to me 2. he didn't say shit