Shadowed Pasts

Sidequest1 Icon.png Lv. 90   Shadowed Pasts
Quest

Journal detail hr1 07.png Acquisition
Radiant Scout: Radz-at-Han - Dharma (x:4.9, y:12)

Map33 Icon.pngClosest Aetheryte: Radz-at-Han Aetheryte Plaza → Meghaduta

Journal detail hr1 08.png Requirements
071201.png90Buried MemoryMainquest1 Icon.png Buried Memory (Level 90)

Spacer2.png Any Disciple of War or Magic (excluding limited jobs) (Level 90)

Journal detail hr1 03.png Rewards

1,734
Gil
Edit Shadowed Pasts's Miscellaneous Reward
Journal detail hr1 04.png Description
Something has this Radiant scout unnerved.
Journal detail hr1 01.png Objectives
  • Speak with the Radiant scout.
  • Search for the wayward hecteyes. 0/4
  • Speak with the sullen-eyed voidsent.
Journal detail hr1 02.png Unlocks Quests
071221.png90Shadowed Pasts Once MoreSidequest1 Icon.png Shadowed Pasts Once More (Level 90)

  • Something has this Radiant scout unnerved.
  • The Radiant scout explains to you that he recently happened upon a voidsent while out on patrol. The beast was strangely docile, however, and against his better judgment, he chose to capture rather than slay it. Hearing of your recent foray into the void, he hopes your expertise can prove useful in discerning what the voidsent may be plotting. To that end, he asks you to accompany him to the Hall of the Radiant Host.
  • Having died shortly after your arrival at the court of Troia, the sullen-eyed voidsent fled to the Source seeking sanctuary from the void's vicious cycle of undeath. However, it was not fully recovered before making the journey, causing it to split into several lesser voidsent. It asks that you search Radz-at-Han for its missing kin. In exchange, they will share with you knowledge of the void.
  • You travel about the city and find four wayward hecteyes, each of which recounts a grim tale of the Thirteenth and the denizens of the void. The voidsent will no doubt be glad to be reunited, and the Radiant scout relieved to know the streets are safe.
  • The sullen-eyed voidsent thanks you for gathering its kindred voidsent, and makes ready to reunite with them...but something is amiss. It would seem there are yet more pieces of itself that have yet to be found. Should the hecteyes sense more wayward voidsent, it hopes you will answer its call for help once more.

Ah, Master Forename, you couldn't have appeared at a better time!


You see, while out patrolling the city, I chanced to sight a voidsent.


I immediately chased it down with the intent of eliminating it, but something about it struck me as odd. For one, it made no move to defend itself, but simply sat there, er...jiggling. Which is why, against my better judgment, I decided to capture it instead.


Having traveled to the void, I daresay you have considerable knowledge of its denizens. If you have a moment, might I trouble you for your opinion on the creature's unusual behavior?


I'm truly grateful! Now, if you would follow me, the creature is being held in the Hall of the Radiant Host.
Quest Accepted
System
The voidsent glowers in your direction, but says nothing.
Player7 Icon.png Cutscene start.

Here it is.


Surprisingly docile, even when I captured it. And there have been no reports of attacks prior to that.


Even so, it's the nature of voidsent to prey on people for their aether. Perhaps it bides its time, waiting to carry out some manner of scheme...
You! I remember you. Yes, you were at Troia. Please, you must help me!
What will you say?
What do you need help with? You were at the castle?
Oho, you do understand me!
Indeed I was, but I've since fled here.

I understand the mortal tongue well enough, but I don't have a mouth to produce the sounds. It's been a struggle to convey my thoughts.


But not anymore! You can help me, yes you can!
You can converse with the voidsent? Amazing! Could you ask it why it came here?

When you and yours stormed the castle, I was caught up in the fighting and died.


In time I returned, but I tire of fighting. So I fled, using the gate to your world.


Having just been reborn, however, my essence hadn't fully bound together yet. And so, when I emerged from the gate, it was as several sundered selves.


Frightened and confused, they scattered. Following their trail led me here, my diminutive size allowing me to remain largely unseen.


But by the same token, I can do little more than sneak about. Each of us was weak and powerless. That's why we consumed one another in the first place. Together we were strong. I want you to help me find all of me, so that I can be whole again.
What will you say?
You wish to strike a bargain, then? What did you intend to do in this world?
Yes, I would. To be whole again and live in this world, I would strike a thousand bargains!
Why, live here, of course. I've always wanted to.

I─we─still remember the past, you see. Still remember when we were mortals.


We long to have that life again. But we need your help, starting by reuniting us. We won't try to devour anyone even when we're whole, I swear!


You wish to learn more about the void, yes? There is much we can teach you about those who rule its domains. About their past.


Find the others, and they'll tell you all they know. No eating, no tricks. Do we have a bargain?

So it crossed over to our world to escape conflict, and now searches for...the rest of itself?


I understand voidsent are quite reliable when it comes to fulfilling a pact. And I daresay having one as an ally would benefit our research into their world...


Very well. If you would be so kind as to search for its kin, I will consult my superiors on how best to deal with them.

By that, I take it we have a bargain. Good, good.


I sense four others close by. When you find them, you need only point them in this direction. Once they sense my presence, I can guide them the rest of the way.
My thanks again for your help. If you could see the other voidsent back here, I will tend to the rest.
Like me, the others have an interest in the lives of mortals. They are bound to be here, in this city.

What's that? I asked you to search for me...in exchange for knowledge about powerful voidsent?


I was still wanting to see this and that, but I suppose a deal is a deal...
Player7 Icon.png Cutscene start.
Those men over there. Soldiers, are they not? We used to have soldiers in our world, too. There were lots of them during the Contramemoria.
Ah, back from Weaver's Warding, are you? I hear you fought well against the voidsent that slipped through.
Come now, I merely did my duty. Haven't we all sworn to protect our nation, no matter the cost?

“Protect our nation.” How familiar, those words. Where was it that I heard them...?


Ah, yes. It was the early days of the Contramemoria. The enemy had conjured a terrible eidolon that laid siege to a fortress.


The garrison was made up of ordinary soldiers. Men and women with no remarkable abilities. But led by their valiant commander, they fought bravely and desperately.


They had to last until the memoriate arrived, the commander told them. Needed to hold out no matter the cost.


A memoriate did eventually arrive. But not soon enough for the soldiers.


Having struck down the eidolon, the memoriate and his servant searched the castle for survivors. They found only the dead.


But just when they had given up all hope, a faint groaning reached their ears. They rushed over to the sound, and cleared away debris...


...To find a lone survivor: the garrison commander.


Instead of joy, however, the sight of the man filled them with anger.
Your soldiers are slaughtered to a man, yet there's barely a scratch on you! What's the meaning of this!?
The eidolon was savage, but mindless. It was a simple thing to hide myself beneath fallen debris.
Hide!? As commander, you had a duty to your men! You were supposed to put their lives before your own!

Spare me! My duty was to ensure the fortress stood─and it did!


Besides, my death would've achieved nothing, honor be damned! No, I'm sworn to protect our nation, and to do that I must live! It isn't my fate to fall here!
It isn't your fate, you say?
Is... Is he...?

Merely unconscious. Come, let us bury the soldiers...and their commander with them.


Fate shall decide what becomes of him. Whether he lives or dies.
Very well, my lord.

Funeral rites were later held for the fallen. But solemn tears quickly gave way to horrified screams as a body emerged from the earth─the commander.


“I can't die. I must live,” the man is said to have declared.


The people thought him a demon. A disheveled horror, muttering curses as he wandered off to regions unknown.


Scarmiglione, they called him. A name befitting his newfound grisly visage. A name befitting a monster.


We thought we buried him deep. But a mortal's desire to live is not to be understimated.


You're a mortal, so I expect you understand that desire.


Well, that concludes my tale. I had best rejoin my selves. If you'll excuse me...
Player7 Icon.png Cutscene end.

So this is where mortals consume aether.


Dreading loneliness more than hunger... How very like me. If you don't mind, though, I'd like to observe the mortals a while longer.
Player7 Icon.png Cutscene start.
The food here is simply sublime! Why, I feel stronger with every bite, as if the Mrga Themselves were granting me Their blessing!
The food is tasty, that's true enough. But no food is so sublime as to be a substitute for proper training, my friend.

Stronger with every bite, every feed...


For my part of the bargain, I will tell you about how we voidsent become strong. Simply put, it depends on the quality and quantity of aether we harbor.


When the world was consumed by Darkness, the heroes known as memoriates arose as powerful voidsent.


In contrast, the vast majority of mortals, powerless and unremarkable as they were, became ordinary voidsent. Like me.


There were exceptions, of course. But one in particular, I'll never forget.


Scarmiglione... Never had I seen a voidsent so craven. Even when pushed to the brink of starvation, he would prey only on those weaker than himself.


He subsisted on scant leavings, and lived in constant fear and hunger.


In the face of danger, of voidsent stronger than himself, fleeing was the only option.


But a day came when he found his way barred.
Knight in Black
How pitiful...
S-Such overwhelming aether... Who is this!?
Knight in Black
You fled instead of facing your foe. Why?
Why? I'm too weak, why else? I would have been devoured.
Knight in Black
So had you enough strength, you would have stood your ground? ...Very well, then.

Wh-What's happening!?


Yesss. I feel it... The power, ssswelling within me!
Knight in Black
Lo, your foe returns.
Hissssss... What have you done to me?
Knight in Black
I granted you but a sliver of aether. 'Twas with the power you already possessed that you defeated your foe.
I possessed such power...?
Knight in Black

Fear had clouded your eyes. Blinded you to the strength you had attained feeding on the weak.


If you would free yourself from fear, then join me. You shall have a greater cause to live for and know true power.

Curious how, in a world without death, the fear of it could be the key to great strength.


The knight recognized this─recognized the voidsent's potential. And thus did he take him into his service.


Determined as he is to live, it wouldn't surprise me if he were still somewhere out there.


He'd be even more powerful now, I expect, from all the devouring he would have done since. Unlike your world, eating actually makes you stronger in ours.


Well, I must be going now. The others are waiting.
Player7 Icon.png Cutscene end.

My other self grows lonely, you say?


My apologies. It was my intent to seek out the others, but I was distracted by the bickering pair of mortals yonder. My goodness, but there's been some colorful language!
Player7 Icon.png Cutscene start.
To hells with your father! You shouldn't need his permission just to leave the godsdamned house!
Please, mind your language! What would Father say if he were to hear you?
Ugh, it's always “Father this, Father that” with you! I'm sick of it! You're your own woman now─bloody act like one for a change!

Colorful language, yes? Not from the girl, though. Oh no, she appears to be quite well bred.


I just hope she's happier than a girl I knew long, long ago...


That girl was born into a family of thugs who suddenly found themselves nobility.


She was raised as a noblewoman, and had servants tending to her every need. But in the end, she was merely a beautiful bird kept in a gilded cage.


Wanting her to be a proper lady, her parents presided over all aspects of her life. They decided everything for her, telling her what to say and do.


Chafing from the fetters of her restrictive life, she solicited her handmaiden's aid and stole outside the manor, where she enjoyed a moment of bliss unbeknownst to her parents. Or so she thought...


It was not long before her father dragged her back to her room, barring the door and windows, denying her even the simple pleasure of an afternoon breeze.


Even a bird in a cage may chirp freely, but she wasn't even suffered to give voice to her desires.


But she wouldn't be deterred. Having once tasted sweet freedom, she yearned for more. And one day, she succeeded in sneaking out of the manor a second time.
You're late. I was beginning to think you wouldn't come.
If you're expecting your friends, I'm afraid they're not coming.
F-Father!? How did you─? What do you mean...they're not coming?
I had known that some miscreants were cavorting in these parts, but to think that they'd dare try to consort with my daughter... Well, you needn't worry about them anymore. They're food for the fishes now.
<gasp> How could you do this, Father!? Why must you torment me so!?

Know your place, girl! You are a means for our family to gain influence, and I won't have you sullying yourself with riffraff!


You will not leave your chambers save with my permission, nor will you disobey me again. If you do so, there will be severe consequences. Am I understood?


I said, am I understood!?
...To hell.
What did you say?
I said, go to hell!
Aaarrrgggh!

Oh, to think that it could be so exhilarating to speak my mind! To do as I please!


No more living in a cage. From this moment on, I am free! Free as the wind!

The young woman struck out on her own, and in her travels discovered her true calling─not in the halls of lords and ladies, but on the battlefield.


She became a force of nature, famed for her striking beauty which belied a terrible savagery.


And with this new life she also claimed a new name─Barbariccia.


Indeed, she found her freedom, but did she also find happiness, I wonder...?


I suppose I'll never know. Nor does it matter, for the world that once was is no more.


Oh, but goodness me. I had better rejoin the others.
Player7 Icon.png Cutscene end.

Ah, what a refreshing breeze.


I'm to return to the others? Bah, they should come here!
Player7 Icon.png Cutscene start.

Would you look at this beautiful, boundless sky? Mortals take to the air from here, do they not? Would that I had wings to soar among the clouds myself...


But we voidsent are not wont to roam, you see. The mightiest among us carve out domains, while the rest labor to stay in their good graces.


Now, the master of a domain seldom ventures outside, for it is in one's territory that one is strongest.


For some, however, such confinement proved trying. As was the case for a certain voidsent I knew.


I speak of the free-spirited terror, Barbariccia. When she first established her domain, she whiled away the days waiting for her minions to bring her prey.


The aether amassed from these offerings were devoted to the singular pleasure of caring for her silky, flowing locks. But the resources of her domain were not without their limits.


It was only when none remained to oppose her that she realized: she was a prisoner in her own domain. And unless she broke free, she would inevitably wither away, alone.


Not knowing what to do, she had fallen into the depths of despair...when the hand of salvation came to pull her out.
Barbariccia
At this rate, my precious hair will frazzle and fray. Had I only the strength to leave my domain...
Knight in Black
If strength is your desire, that is easily granted.
Barbariccia

Who are you!?


Ahhh! So much power, surging through me!
Knight in Black
And what will you do with it? What is it you desire?
Barbariccia
What I desire... What I desire is...
Knight in Black
You would move your very domain? Impressive.
Barbariccia
That I can do such a thing... What have you done to me?
Knight in Black
I granted you aether, nothing more. It was your will that made it possible.
Barbariccia
My will...
Knight in Black
Even so, no matter where you should go, there is naught but Darkness. What could your destination possibly be?
Barbariccia
Destination? I have no need of such. I wish but to be free, like the wind.

In a world that has met its end, rare indeed is the soul who desires freedom so ardently that she could will her very domain to move.


Recognizing this quality, the knight would grant her more power─and a place of command in his mighty army.


A story worthy of our bargain, I trust. I might've had more to tell had I not fallen off her domain.


It seems you mortals also have a fondness for flying. I'd certainly like to try riding one of these airships of yours...


But perhaps another time. My other selves will be a blubbering mess if I don't hurry and rejoin them.
Player7 Icon.png Cutscene end.
System
You have found the last of the voidsent. Time to head back to the Hall of the Radiant Host.
The voidsent are all present and accounted for. So long as they remain here, we needn't worry about panic among the townsfolk.
Player7 Icon.png Cutscene start.

Thank you so much for finding me.


I hope the knowledge I had to share was worthy of our agreement.
What will you say?
More than worthy, I'd say. They told me of Scarmiglione and Barbariccia. How did you come to know the archfiends?

My other selves lived quite disparate lives both as mortals and voidsent. Though I suppose it is rather fortuitous that they crossed paths with such powerful voidsent.


But more importantly, what they could offer was worthy of our bargain. For that, I am glad.


All that remains now is for us to rejoin and become whole again.


...Huh? Is...is this not all of me?


There can be no other explanation. There is still more of me lost out there somewhere.


But I don't sense them. Where could they have gone?

You mean there's more of them wandering about!? By the Sisters...


<sigh> At the very least, if what you say is true, they pose no threat to the people.


Until the others can be found, we will keep these five under our care.
Should I sense the others nearby, I hope we can count on you to find them too.
Player7 Icon.png Cutscene end.
Quest Completed
You needn't worry about these voidsent. Not a one shall escape my sight.
Would you tell us of tour recent ventures when you next return? I promise to make it worth your while.
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