An excellen summary Ben!
As usual, I think it's a bit of them all. Belintar's power propably is limited by the borders of his Holycountry. No doubt he would have been happy to have a friendly nation forged at his northen border, just for the trade, and also defence.
I don't knw if Belintar precieved the Empire as a clear and present danger yet, but surely having a bufferstate wouldn't hurt. So I'm not sure he actually helped Sartar, but at least he wouldn't have tried to hinder his former subject.
Sartar, on the other hand, propably didn't know what he was doing in the beginnning. He propably just tried to work his way around the "curse" that keeps the Larnsti inside Heortland, and after he succeeded and found himself exiled, had to figure out what to do.
I think his nonviolent magical splendor wasn't calculated to bring about a kingdom, but rather that was what kind of a man he was. After wondering around Dragon Pass, he learned (or had revelations) about the obscure prophecies of the Quivini, and decided to forge a kingdom out of the tribes.
He was Larnsti, afterall, and could see the potential of the Quivini, if they had some leadership. There was also that interesting prophecy of the King of Dragon Pass to take up...
Apothesis followed quite naturally, when the most critical work for the kingdom was done, and his magic was up to the task.
Sartar was very learned about state of the Pass, having travelled through and through it, and talked to people from kings to stickpickers. As the leader of the Quivini, and indeed High King of Dragonpass, he could see the threat of the Empire quite clearly.
From then on, both when alive and later as the Flame, Sartar tried to stem the Red Tide of the Empire.
That's my take on it, at the moment. Using occams razor, and making the least assumptions of precognition and such.
-Adept
I think I think... Therefore I think I am.
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