A Test of Wιll

A Test of Wιll

Quest giver

Estinien

Location

Ultima Thule (X:9.9, Y:17.6)

Quest line

Endwalker Main Scenario Quests

Level

89

Experience

 508,200

Gil

 1,123

Previous quest

On Burdεned ωings

Next quest

Roads Pαved││Sacri┣ice

Patch

6.0

“

The bereaved dragon has fallen silent, leaving Estinien to sigh with frustration.

— In-game description

Steps

• Speak with Alphinaud.
• Speak with Al End.
• Speak with Alphinaud.
• Touch the wind confluence and await the others at the designated location.

Dialogue

Estinien:

• They want only to brood in silence. To be left alone with their grief until time itself comes to an end.
• The sole reward for senseless bloodshed. A pain I understand...and wish that I did not.
• What fools we were...
• But now isn't the time for such thoughts.
• The others will want to hear what we've learned. Come.

Alphinaud:

• Were you able to establish any meaningful contact with the dragons?
• I see... They wish to escape what they perceive to be a cycle of conflict.
• Thank you, Player. Estinien.
• As for our part, I believe we are more acutely aware of our confines than before...
• We started by traversing the perimeter of the island, to see if there might be a path leading off of it. Sadly, there was nothing to be found.

Estinien:

• There's no small amount of debris floating about. Could there be enough to serve as a bridge to lead us elsewhere?

Alphinaud:

• I considered that, and so I tried throwing a stone onto a potential platform to judge its integrity...
• But it never reached its mark. As it crossed an invisible threshold just beyond the boundaries of this island, it vanished, only to reappear above me, and fall at my feet. I would not be too quick to presume that what we see outside this space is as it appears.

Alisaie:

• Which is why I returned to the Ragnarok, and asked the Loporrits to search for a potential path.
• However, the ship's instruments failed to provide conclusive data on the surrounding area. Until we know more, I think it too risky to attempt flying to another island.

G'raha Tia:

• What Meteion told us before─that emotions dictate reality here─might be the key. But I'm not entirely sure what emotion might manifest a bridge to lead us to safety.

Estinien:

• So what you're saying is, we've no way forward.

Y'shtola:

• At present, aye. If it is indeed emotion that governs this island, perhaps it is not Meteion's, but the dragons' that holds us here.
• They tire of conflict, and have chosen a path of oblivion to escape it.
• Or rather, they have chosen no path at all. Meaning there is no way for the dragons, or anyone here on this island, to advance.

G'raha Tia:

• A sound theory, disheartening though it may be.

Alphinaud:

• If that is the case, what recourse do we have? They are not like to be persuaded to help us.
• Their reasoning is built on a history of turmoil and strife. Without irrefutable proof the future is not as bleak as they believe it to be...

Y'shtola:

• Mayhap persuasion is not the answer.
• Meteion meant to unmake us then and there on the Ragnarok, and she would have succeeded if not for Thancred's determination.
• She conceded it was strong enough to overpower the despair that otherwise rules Ultima Thule, and reshape it to a degree. Perhaps it can be done again in like manner─by overpowering the prevailing emotions.

Urianger:

• 'Twas Ultima Thule's architect, Meteion herself, against whom Thancred did pit himself in a clash of wills. Though I marked no leader among them, as such, I did chance to encounter a dragon possessed of despair far more potent than most. Potent enough, mayhap, to dictate the course for others─and thus, their domain, to follow.
• He spoke but few words, carefully chosen, their tone and timber alone threatening to rend my heart in twain. Challenging his desire to remain may allow us to alter the island upon which we stand.
• Alas, I fear my vaunted rhetoric availed me naught against his calcifying heart. But mayhap one of you will fare better...?
• Then I shall guide thee. Al End, they call him, in the dragon tongue. Thou wilt find him nearby, eyes fixed upon the water.

Alisaie:

• Well, what have we to lose? Let's get going.

Urianger:

• He remaineth as he was when I first approached. Entombed in melancholy.

Alphinaud:

• I see... Perhaps I could─

Estinien:

• I'll handle this.
• So. Waiting to die like all the others, are you?

Al End:

• Aye. Our pride is crushed, and our souls corrupted. The winds are stilled, and the heavens offer no comfort.
• There is nothing left for our kind. Our long lives a curse as we await the end. Still as stone we shall become...

Estinien:

• So you say, yet your kind has found a new beginning on our star.
• One of you braved the expanse, bearing with him a clutch of eggs. They and their children now rule our skies, their song heard by all.

Al End:

• Our kin...on another star?
• And yet...upon thee do I smell the blood of my brethren.
• Were they drawn into discord and war on their new home?

Estinien:

• They were. They suffered much, and repaid their suffering in kind.

Al End:

• It mattereth not whither we fly.
• Ever will a sanguine ocean await us. Ever will retribution's wheel turn.
• And so, on the last of my pride as a dragon, I break free of this wheel.
• I renounce conflict! Exile myself from the other, never again to be touched by the flames of hatred!

Estinien:

• Had your brethren made the selfsame choice, my family might still be alive.
• Yet lasting peace does not come to those who simply retreat from conflict.
• No, you must be willing to confront it. To stare into the face of your foe...and see yourself in him.
• Only then can you break the cycle of torment and tragedy. This lesson, a dear friend taught me at the risk of his life.
• There is no nobility in your “penance.” You wallow in self-pity.
• And after everything we've endured, we will not let you stop us!

Alphinaud:

• Estinien!

Estinien:

• Stay back!
• I see... Theirs is the emotion that bars our way.
• The rest is up to you.

Alisaie:

• No... Not Estinien too...

G'raha Tia:

• There's a wind...

Alphinaud:

• He's opened the way for us...
• Sacrificed himself to remake this place, like Thancred did...

Alisaie:

• Oh, Alphinaud...

Alphinaud:

• Come...let us follow the wind. It will not lead us astray. He would not.
• Look there! The wind...
• This is Estinien's doing. I'm sure of it. We should ride its flow, and see where it leads.
• He...he did it. He found a way forward for us.
• The dragons remain trapped within a prison of their own making, lamenting the horrors of war. Yet Estinien knew them better than most.
• He was a man of honor and a dear friend, willing to fight to the very end for what he believed was right...

Alisaie:

• And he's still fighting, Alphinaud. Just like Thancred.
• Their sacrifices are why we can survive here. Why we still have a chance to stop her.
• Even in spirit, they're unwilling to give in to despair, and we mustn't either.

Y'shtola:

• Alisaie is right. We must press on. For their sake...