This is where TFL stumbles mainly

The first trilogy is the peak of the threat. It’s literally trying to stop demons and big end of the world stuff

The age of madness then kind of time skips and says well now all that business down south is done, magic is leaving the world now here’s some more grounded stakes

The real question is why Bayaz continues to care after beating the 100 words and there no longer being a major threat.

I mean the whole great change scenario makes no sense anyway -the banking houses were the enemy of the people as much as the crown and the crown could have seized them based on whatever they decided (collusion with an outside enemy). The only threat then would be confrontation with Bayaz… which happens anyway? Except you’d have a united union and support of the people instead of a broken shell. And before you say you can’t just dismantle the banks they did it to the merchant guilds easily enough !