Shadows of the First

Main Scenario Progress: 362 / 853 (42.4%)

Heavensward Progress: 121 / 138 (87.7%)

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As Alphinaud and many others know all too well, there is no rest for the righteous.

— In-game description

Rewards

Regardless of whether or not the Warriors of Darkness intend to kill Garuda, the fact remains that a primal summoning cannot be ignored, and should be prevented if at all possible. After some discussion, it is decided that you and Alphinaud will enter the Ixali homeland of Xelphatol by means of a mountain pass east of Camp Dragonhead. To see you to your destination with all haste, Lord Edmont will order a contingent of knights to secure the entrance and escort you as far as they are able. With the details settled, Alphinaud invites you to accompany him to Camp Dragonhead, where you may procure any additional supplies prior to departing for Xelphatol.

In Camp Dragonhead, you are informed that the House Fortemps knights took the initiative to launch an attack on the Ixali forces guarding the entrance to the mountain pass, rendering it safe well in advance of your arrival. The enemy's gate lies open, and you and Alphinaud need only walk through.

The knights salute as you approach and state that their scouts have observed increased activity around the First Mountain. Predicting heavy resistance, Alphinaud proposes that he and the knights feign a frontal assault, thereby drawing the defenders' attention so that you -- and any veteran colleagues you may wish to call upon -- can slip past their defenses and search for the site of the summoning ritual. If the gods are good, you will only have to deal with some few patrols, but if not, you may be forced to do battle with the Warriors of Darkness once more...
- ※Challenge Xelphatol with other players via the Duty Finder, or with a party of NPCs via Duty Support. Both systems are accessible from the main menu as well as the dungeon's entrance point.

In the shadow of the First Mountain, you confront the Ixali occultist overseeing the summoning ritual, and in a pitched battle manage to lay him low. Having put an end to the beastmen's ambitions, you prepare to return to Coerthas.

Alphinaud rushes to your side, ready to fight, unaware that the threat has passed. You duly inform him that your work is done, but before you can make good your escape, you find yourselves face to face with the Warriors of Darkness. Rather than engaging you in battle a second time, their leader proceeds to set out their reason for consorting with the Ascians.

He claims that he and his comrades hail from another world -- a reflection of the Source -- in which the power of Light is far greater than that of Dark. There, they easily bested their Ascian counterparts, only to discover that they had upset the primordial balance in so doing, triggering a flood of Light which now threatens to consume all that they sought to protect. If nothing is done, their world will soon give way to a void... as did the Thirteenth Reflection, when the Dark rose up unopposed. And so, to prevent this fate, they joined hands with the Ascians and came to the Source. Here, they intend to bring about another Umbral Calamity, for only through such unbridled destruction may the barriers between planes be broken down, and the First Reflection and the Source made one.

Incredulous, Alphinaud demands further answers, but the Warrior of Darkness will say no more, declaring in parting that he and his comrades will do whatever it takes to see your worlds rejoined.

To what ends must we labor for the sake of those we love? Is there any cause so noble that it may be used to justify any deed? Though he is shaken by their words, Alphinaud's resolve remains firm. Regardless of their reasons, the Warriors of Darkness cannot be allowed to achieve their goals. The sacrifice, the loss -- it ends here.