It's not about whether we choose to side with the White Mantle or Shining Blade, or which one is right or wrong, good or evil. I don't care about that. It's about the White Mantle being believable in this scenario as actual people and not brainless zombies.
When people do evil, they do it for a reason. They don't just do it because they are evil. In GI Joe, Captain Planet, "insert bad morning cartoon here" the bad guys do that, but that's because the writers who produce those are bad and the audience doesn't care, they just wanna see the hero blow stuff up.
When Shiro killed the emperor, he did it because he was manipulated into thinking he would be betrayed, not because he wanted to kill the emperor. When the White Mantle beat up farmers and steal their trade goods, or stop the player character when he tries to travel through Kryta, they do it, err, because Lynsey wants us to see them as bad guys who need an ass kicking?
You don't have to write zombies to write an enemy. The White Mantle risk their lives to do what they do, they aren't all just going to do that because they are evil.
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