Shadow Walk with Me

Experience: 0
Gil: 2,579
Previous quest: Shadowbringers
To Have Loved and Lost
The Soul of Temperance
Courage Born of Fear
A Tearful Reunion
Next quest: Safekeeping
Patch: 5.0

“

Glynard is overjoyed to welcome the conquering hero's return.

— In-game description

Steps

The Cardinal Virtues are no more, for you and the bounty hunters of the Wandering Stairs have successfully laid them to rest. After imploring you to share the details of your adventures, Glynard proposes calling together the patrons and celebrating your grand accomplishments. However, the libations will have to wait, for Cyella would reward your labors with a singular tale─that of the true villain responsible for so much of the realm's misery, who yet lingers in this world...

Who is Cyella to speak of long-forgotten heroes and villains? What is her part in all of this. It is a fair question to ask, and so she explains that she was the one who gathered the Virtue-hunters together, and marked you as potential ally. She alone understood what was needed to see this century-spanning tale of tragedy and betrayal to an end. But like many tales, it demands to be told in full.

Kholusia was where Ardbert's fellowship was born─where he first met Lamitt, and thereafter Branden, Renda-Rae, and Nyelbert. But despite the legends speaking only of five warriors, there was a sixth. You yourself know this, having walked in the memories of the Virtues. Cylva was her name─an elven woman rather skilled in the ways of war and of subterfuge, for she was in truth the villain responsible for so much of their suffering...

In Amh Araeng, Ardbert and his comrades first met Nyelbert, a desperate mage on a quest to find a relic so infused with power that it threatened to warp the Lifestream itself. Together they slew the beast which carried it, and for a moment Nyelbert held the key to his friend's salvation in his hand. But when forced to choose between the life of one and the lives of others, he cast aside his heart's desire for the greater good, and a Warrior of Light was born. Little did they know this was all in accordance with the betrayer Cylva's plans...

In Rak'tika, Renda-Rae seized the opportunity to avenge the deaths of dear friends by slaying the notorious mark responsible. She attempted to do this alone, out of fear for her new companions, from who she had hidden her past. In the end, however, they learned of her intentions, and arrived in time to save her life and assist her in finishing off the beast. Thus were the bonds between the fledgling heroes strengthened, and a new Warrior of Light born, furthering the betrayer Cylva's plans...

In Il Mheg, Branden returned to the Kingdom of Voeburt, his homeland, and with the aid of his comrades righted a terrible wrong. The court mage, Tadric, who for years had tormented the smallfolk and coveted the throne was exposed and brought to justice. But as he lay dying, he cursed Branden's liege lady, the princess Sauldia, forcing the disgraced knight to grant her the mercy of death. By this act was a new Warrior of Light born, and the betrayer Cylva that much closer to achieving her ultimate goal.

In Kholusia, Lamitt brought to bear the powerful magick she had harnessed in the ruins of Ronka, and with it saved the lives of countless dwarves whose fates had been sealed by a terrible affliction. For her selfless act was she forever banished from her home, as punishment for violating the sacred traditions of her community. From yet another sacrifice was born another Warrior of Light, leading the betrayer Cylva to make preparations for the final stage of her plan...

At Laxan Loft, you arrive ahead of Cyella, leaving you to think on the curious tales she has imparted to you thus far. When she does eventually arrive, she does so clad in the armor of a warrior, and in the ensuing vision of her past you confirm that she was Cylva, the Shadowkeeper, sixth member of Ardbert's party and the traitor in their midst. After the vision fades, she goes on to reveal that she is of the Thirteenth, another shard that long ago fell to Darkness, and in so doing set the First on the path to a mirrored fate, from which its countless souls could only be saved, she believed, through the most drastic of measures. She labored in secret to groom young adventurers that they might become Warriors of Light, thus shifting the balance of the world and priming it for a Rejoining. However, in failing at the last, she instead set the stage for the Flood of Light. For a century her essence lingered, a shade seemingly trapped in a purgatory of her own making. However, when she learned of her fallen comrades' rebirth as Virtues, she set about making plans for their destruction by gathering brave souls to hunt the simulacra with the aid of the chosen hero that would one day arrive: you. Now that her comrades have been lain to rest, she yearned to consign her soul to oblivion and sought death at your hand, but your response drove her to consider what other ways she might atone for her terrible deeds...

For now, Cyella has decided to remain at the Crystarium in Glynard's service. There she will labor to spread the truth of her comrades and the sacrifices that defined them, in the hopes that one day they will be recognized and celebrated by all as the heroes they were once more. And though your own story is far from finished, she prays that your legacy endures as well for generations to come.

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