#i'm claiming plegia under death of the author at this point

[iturbide]

IntSy did better than I expected for the Pelgia banner event. Could have been a lot better, but I usually set the bar for them pretty low, so they did ok. But the fact we didn't get a Robin or Henry alt on this banner is criminal.

The fact that we are once again left with only Tharja on a Plegian-focused banner, supposedly as their “guide” since she’s a “native” when let’s not forget that A) Henry, Mustafa, Gangrel, and Aversa are, too; B) Robin’s canonically Plegian, you can’t get around that Validar is their dad; and C) you have the literal Fell Dragon on hand for the epitome of irony.  Frankly I would have much preferred to have Robin and Henry feature in new Plegian attire rather than getting all these alts from unrelated games (which is not to say that I don’t love Raph, because I do, a lot).

In general, though, I agree.  I appreciated the fact that we went in with an assumption that this was going to be a bad thing and it ended up being wrong, to the point that the characters had a chance to enjoy themselves in a Plegian festival at the end.  But I also have to say that I really, really don’t like the message that IntSys ended up sending: that the only way for Plegians to be redeemable is to forfeit their faith in Grima. 

It’s admittedly not as blatant in Heroes as it was in the supports between M!Robin and Gangrel in Awakening, but I still find it deeply suspect that they went this route.  For comparison:

Robin: You once worshipped Grima, correct? As a member of the Grimleal?  Gangrel: Pah, those wrinkled old warts with their dusty tomes? I was Grimleal in name only. Course, it was the faith of the realm, so I knew most of its rituals.  Robin: Religion can be a powerful tool for uniting people behind a single cause. I wager Aversa used it to convince your subjects to take up arms?  Gangrel: ...Perhaps. But in the end, I'd say she used me as much as anyone.  Robin: And what did the people of Plegia really think of the faith?  Gangrel: Think? Ha! They DIDN'T think! Between my iron-fisted rule and Aversa's inquisitions, they had no choice about it. ...But as I said, it was a cruel time.  Robin: Your people were cowed by your political might, but the temples offered solace...  Gangrel: Ah, yes. The solace of the damned.  Robin: Thank you, Gangrel.  Gangrel: Hmm? What for?  Robin: We can't help the people of Plegia if we don't understand their situation. Our cause is simple—to save this world and all the people in it. And that includes the poor wretches of Plegia who remain in the thrall of Grima.

Basically, Awakening says that even though Grima worship is the “faith of the realm” by Gangrel’s own words, the people that worship the Fell Dragon don’t have a choice in the matter and are finally reduced to “wretches in the thrall of Grima,” effectively saying they need to be saved from mistaken faith.  And then we have this paralogue:

Katarina: The Plegians must not be plotting to resurrect the Fell Dragon after all.  They just worship it in earnest... [...] As we were investigating, I overheard a fair few conversations between Plegians at the festival.  Everyone spoke with some regret, even in light of the festival.  The Fell Dragon reminds them of past wars, and regret over those slain.  They speak of a fallen Exalt...when I heard they worshiped the Fell Dragon, I imagined them as a malign people, but now I don’t think so.  They are no different from me, in truth of fact.  I, too, have done wrong in the past.  But you and Marth, you supported me -- and it allowed me to change.  Do you think the people of Plegia will get that same chance? Kris: Don’t worry, Katarina.  Even if one commits a crime, there are limitless opportunities for redemption.  Wouldn’t you agree? Katarina: Yes...you’re right.

So it’s definitely nice that they admit the Plegians aren’t malicious in their intent, they’re just having a festival for their divine.  But I’m deeply troubled by this implication that the Fell Dragon reminds people of crimes they’ve committed, as though saying that their faith drove them to commit these acts and they now question it.  And then it ties this idea of redemption in, implying that leaving the faith is the path to redemption because the faith is what led them to do evil.  This completely ignores the fact that it wasn’t the Grimleal faith that led to the war, it was Gangrel, who didn’t actually follow the faith at all, just paid lip service to it and then forced the Plegian people into conflict with Ylisse for his own selfish purposes.  Blaming the Grimleal faith for what happened is outrageous to me -- but what’s so insidious to me is the fact that they write this coming from Plegians.

They couldn’t just write Plegians enjoying themselves at a festival dedicated to their faith and having our agents learn about the real faith instead of the zealotry that Validar pushed in his cult.  Oh, no, they had to make the Plegians questioning the merits of their faith to show that they’re good people.  That’s unbelievably shitty.