In Memories We Walked

“

Sidurgu is looking grim and dark as ever.

— In-game description

Steps

In the wake of the Dragonsong War, Ishgard enjoys a new era of peace and prosperity─an era that you were instrumental in bringing about through deeds great and small. Yet the brighter the light, the deeper the shadow. There is still a need for those willing to disregard norms and laws and serve a higher purpose. A justice for all, at any cost, no matter how steep.

For all your victories, for all your accomplishments, you cannot turn your mind from the failures. From the mistakes and missteps, and the lives forever extinguished. For those we have lost... For those we have lost...

Sidurgu and Rielle find you deep in thought at the Last Vigil, and as you speak of past events, the sound of breaking glass rings out from everywhere and nowhere. Your soul crystal has split in twain, and you now hold only one half. A young boy with long flowing hair and a somber demeanor reveals himself to you as the party responsible, having sought to harness the aether of nearby natural sources for his own ends. Apologizing profusely, Myste promises to return it to you...after he has used a portion to aid others. His purpose, he claims, is to free those touched by sadness and despair from their burdens. Sidurgu is incredulous, and rightfully so, for the boy is a liar, but you and Rielle are willing to go along with his plan. And so you go begin your search for people in need of succor in Foundation.

By the broken statue of Saint Valeroyant you observe a woman named Millie imploring a stonemason in vain to resume his work. After he leaves, you approach her and learn that she is the cousin of Ser Ignasse de Vesnaint, a knight of the Heavens' Ward whom you brought to justice along with his goodly brothers and their beloved archbishop. Sparing her that cruel truth, you listen as Millie tells you of her cousin's wish to restore the statue of Saint Valeroyant, and her desire to see it through in his honor. Alas, her cousin's reputation has become an impediment─predictably─and she lacks the necessary funds.

Myste knows you have found a poor unfortunate soul ere you speak. With a smile, he runs off to make the wrong things right.

Millie wants more than anything to see her cousin Ignasse again, but she knows she will not, for he walks in Halone's halls. Hearing this, Myste bids her think of him, of every moment and memory they shared, and to hold that image of him in her mind's eye...and then to go and wait for him in a quiet place. Hesitantly, she agrees, and you escort her to a garden to the south of the Tribunal in the Pillars.

Sidurgu, Rielle, and Myste soon join you in the garden, along with a most unexpected guest. Ser Ignasse de Vesnaint, honored knight of the Heavens' Ward, a man you know with the utmost certainty to be dead stands before you, alive and well. But surely such a thing cannot be possible? Millie is overjoyed to be reunited with her cousin, and they share a tender moment as he thanks her for her unwavering dedication to his dream. Regrettably, they dare not converse at length, for as a knight of the Heavens' Ward, he is at risk so long as he remains in Ishgard. Thus do your comrades depart for Falcon's Nest with Ser Ignasse.

Myste waits for you, alone, and tells you that the others have ventured out into the wastes of Coerthas. Time is of the essence, for the further they take Ignasse from Millie, the weaker he will become, the boy says.

The deception is lain bare. Ignasse was naught more than a simulacrum born of Millie's memories and your soul crystal's aether. As the memory fades, so too does the magick, and so the knight has been reduced to a swirling abyss. Deep within, you catch sight of a faint, flickering flame, and on the edge of hearing, a whisper speaks of secrets and sins and lies...

That which was taken has been reclaimed, but we are not yet whole. Myste has returned only a portion of your aether. Once more he entreats you for forgiveness, so desperately he desires it. Four more times must he do this. Four more times must he employ his powers to make broken men and women whole, so burdened by his deeds he is. Again you consent to the plan for...reasons. Sidurgu, defeated, bids you all return to Falcon's Nest to discuss your next step.

Sidurgu bemoans his lot as guardian of not one but two youths. Yet times are changing, and perhaps dark knights must change with them and seek new ways to follow their creed. Four more times must you humor the boy to reclaim the remainder of your aether. But, for now, Sid could do with a drink. Or a nap. Or one, and then the other.
- ※The next dark knight quest will be available from Sidurgu upon reaching level 63.