- The Crystal Exarch welcomes you back to the Crystarium.
- Having listened intently to your experiences with the Leveilleur twins, the Exarch reveals the existence of powerful beings known as Lightwardens, whose destruction he believes is necessary to save the First and avert the Eighth Umbral Calamity. Soon after, your discussion is interrupted by a breathless Captain Lyna, who reports that a nearby town─Holminster Switch─has come under attack by a swarm of sin eaters. The Exarch quickly issues commands, and requests that you assist in the settlement's defense.
- After you agree to lend your aid, the Exarch urges you to make swift preparations, and meet him at the crossroads north of the Accensor Gate.
- You rendezvous with the Exarch outside the Crystarium, and he gives you directions to the Northern Staging Point. Time is of the essence.
- You arrive at the woods on the outskirts of town, where Captain Lyna briefs you on the situation. Considering the number of sin eaters involved, it seems likely that a Lightwarden leads the attack. Make preparations to enter Holminster Switch and slay the abomination!
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- ※Speak with your companion NPCs outside the instance entrance if you wish to enlist them for this duty.
- ※Use the Duty Finder if you wish to complete the instance alongside fellow players.
- You battle your way through the besieged town and put down the Lightwarden raging at its center. At this, the remaining eaters scatter to the winds, leaving you free to withdraw to the Northern Staging Point.
- The Exarch stands firm as the defeated Warden dissolves into aether, his gaze fixed upon you as you absorb the energy it releases without apparent ill effect. Moments later, the blazing sky dims, night descends, and the Crystarium's exultant steward praises you to the now-starry heavens.
- Returned to the staging point with the remaining villagers, you have a moment to appreciate the sight of Lakeland beneath a night sky. The Exarch once more exults in your victory, but it seems that you have won only the first battle of many in the war against the sin eaters.
 Voiced cutscene start.
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And so you return.
Have you gained a better understanding of the crisis now faced by the First?
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"Better" is not the word I would use.
Some lands may have been spared the Flood, but the survivors live only to suffer. There seems no end to the horrors inflicted by the sin eaters.
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Indeed. Those abominations are a calamity in their own right. And I can well imagine how hopeless the task of eradicating them must seem to you.
But after countless battles and untold sacrifice, we have identified a potential weakness.
Sin eaters are drawn to serve the strongest of their kind─a class of creature we call "Lightwardens." And from what we have been able to ascertain, only a handful of these entities exist.
Just as an ant colony will perish in the absence of its queen, we believe that the death of a Lightwarden will cause the lesser creatures within its sphere of influence to disperse. |
I have a feeling Eulmore might have something to say about any concerted action we take against these monsters.
Vauthry's command over the sin eaters is integral to Eulmoran society. In seeming to guarantee his people's safety, it guarantees their obedience.
He will not take kindly to us depriving him of such useful allies. |
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Agreed. Thus we will need to occupy or otherwise divert his forces whilst we proceed with the business of eliminating the Wardens.
Until we have done so, all other considerations must be set aside if we are to forestall the Eighth Umbral Calamity.
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What will you say?
| Are you sure that eliminating the Wardens will be enough?
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I'm not sure I follow...
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Your uncertainty is understandable, given the circumstances. Perhaps a more detailed explanation is in order. To begin at the beginning, then...
In the ancient past, a single star was divided into fourteen worlds.
This is the Source─your home. These others are the thirteen shards, in whose number we find the First.
Though physically separate, they retain a connection to each other, and with the Source especially.
Now, let us assume that a given element in one of the shards attains abnormal ascendancy.
Just as water will flow from the highest point to the lowest, the excess energy will begin trickling into the Source...
And such an influx of aether will of course exert a palpable influence.
If the element in question were fire, then drought and wild fires might ensue. If it were ice, one might expect the weather to turn bitterly cold.
As aether continues to pour in, such phenomena will become more and more extreme, until eventually, a single untimely event triggers a disaster which "cracks" the barrier dividing the two worlds.
What was once a trickle now becomes a deluge, sweeping the shard along to be rejoined with the Source.
At the same time, the element which held sway in the shard is unleashed in full, its energies amplifying the original disaster to truly catastrophic proportions.
An earthquake thus magnified might strike with enough force to shatter continents; a tidal wave might swell to a size capable of drowning entire nations.
These devastating events as what we refer to as "Umbral Calamities".
Seven times has a calamity befallen the Source; seven times has a shard been absorbed.
At present, the Light-drowned realm of the First stands perilously close to meeting the conditions for a Rejoining.
It is the sin eaters who are to blame for the Light's continued dominance.
In addition to attracting their lesser kin, the Lightwardens I mentioned earlier radiate aether, saturating every corner of their territory with Light.
Even here in the Flood-spared region of Norvrandt, their influence is strong enough to banish night from the sky.
Thus, if we are to restore balance to the First and head off a potential calamity, it is imperative that we put each and every Lightwarden to the sword. |
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We've been doing our best to take the fight to the enemy ever since we first heard the Exarch's explanation.
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Though we have yet to claim any meaningful victories, if truth be told.
Apart from being confoundingly elusive, the Lightwardens possess a troublesome quality which compelled us to delay our plans until such time as you arrived.
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Forgive the interruption, my lord, but Holminster Switch is requesting reinforcements!
They say the sin eaters are attacking in force, and the village could soon be overrun.
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Alert the guard. We should be prepared in case the fighting reaches the Crystarium.
You have command of our forces in the field, Captain, but hold off on entering the town until I arrive. That goes for Alphinaud and Alisaie as well.
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Pray, lend us your strength. Such a fight will provide you with far greater insight than any explanation I could offer.
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| Voiced cutscene end.
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Holminster Switch is in the north of Lakeland, so we had best make haste with our preparations.
In fact, meet me outside the Crystarium at the crossroads northwest of the Accensor Gate, and I shall lead you there myself.
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All set? If we follow this road north, we will arrive at the Northern Staging Point.
The village itself lies not far beyond. Quickly, now!
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The Exarch asked that we wait, and so we waited...
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You're here! We are heading in together, yes?
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Your assistance is appreciated.
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| Cutscene start.
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Holminster Switch is past these gates and through the woods. 'Tis not exactly a near neighbor to the Crystarium, but as we occupy the same region, we have built up something of a cooperative relationship.
What can we expect inside, Captain?
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The town is beset by a swarm unlike any we have seen in recent years. We did our best to evacuate the villagers, but as many as half remain...
Judging by the number of eaters present, we have good reason to believe that a Lightwarden leads the attack.
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How convenient. It seems we'll have our chance to slay a Warden sooner than we expected.
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<snort> One does not simply “slay a Warden.” Has no one told you what happens if you defeat one of those fiends?
They hold more Light inside them than all of their underlings put together.
It can be struck down, aye, but its essence won't dissipate like the weaker kind. Vile aether will billow outwards and envelop the nearest living being─a reckless young swordswoman, perhaps─and turn her into a brand-new Warden. |
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Ah, well you can leave that particular quandary to us. I must ask that the guard stand down and allow us to engage this leader of eaters alone.
Concentrate on the survivors─we must save every life we can.
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But what if─!?
...Understood, my lord. As captain of the guard, however, I will not watch you brave such danger without an escort from our ranks. I insist that I go with you.
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Very well. Then our Warden-slaying party shall include myself, the Leveilleurs, Captain Lyna, and last but not least...
A formidable group indeed.
Into Holminster we go! Once we reach the Lightwarden, do not hold back─we strike to kill! |
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Command of this sortie is yours. Though I am not as spry as I once was, I hope my long years of experience will serve you in some capacity.
I can wield spells to heal or harm, or even fashion an arcane shield and sword should we have need of a defensive wall. Simply say the word.
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Destroy a Lightwarden for good...? Hmph. If it is possible now, then why not before? Whatever the Exarch believes, I will force a retreat if I deem it necessary.
I did not become captain of the guard by being meek. Or weak.
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I can't help but wonder if the scale of this raid is related to the “recruiting” the eaters were doing in Amh Araeng.
Not that it matters. After all the combat I saw there, I'm more than ready to test my magicks against one of these greater abominations!
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As you may have deduced, the “troublesome quality” of the Wardens which I endeavored to raise earlier was this confounded capacity for spontaneous rebirth...
...But the Exarch seems confident he has matters in hand, so I shall trust that we may slay our foe without fear of the aetheric aftermath. My restorative spells are at your disposal.
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| Voiced cutscene start.
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It's releasing its aether. Fall back!
We cannot let it touch us. Quickly, my lord, we must withdraw!
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That will not be necessary, Captain.
...Though I appreciate your concern. The eternal Light of these creatures has confounded us for nigh on a hundred years. For each we have put down, another has risen up in its place, born of the selfsame aether relinquished by its predecessor.
But now we have a way to contain that corruption.
The blessing of Light! And the hero who wields it now stands before you!
Behold! The monster's power is broken! And the world twisted by its touch returns to its rightful form! |
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The sunless sea...
The Warrior of Darkness has come!
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Is that...what I think it is?
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The night sky, as it should be.
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Who are you people?
You killed a Warden, then bathed in its aether as if it were a spring shower, and now the sky...? The legends are true!
My lord...? |
How many years have I waited for this moment...
For the one possessed of Her blessing. For you.
You have vanquished the Lightwarden of Lakeland, and for the first time in a century darkness has returned to the mantle of night.
Without the ever-present Light to sustain them, the sin eaters will have no choice but to retreat.
...Yet our victory is far from complete.
Though darkness has fallen here, the other Wardens yet bask beneath burning skies, feasting upon what little life remains.
Even should it cost me all I have, I would see each and every one of them slain, that this world might be spared from oblivion!
Not only for the First, but for the Source as well! Save one and we save the other! But...be that as it may...I concede it was wrong of me to summon you to this fight against your will.
I swear on my life, I will one day atone for that deed. But for the present...
I beg you stay and see this fight to its conclusion. Cast down the Wardens, and restore Darkness to the First! |
What will you say?
| I will be the Warrior that you need.
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It sounds like a glorious adventure!
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It seems I've no choice but to fight.
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On behalf of the First, I offer you my deepest thanks.
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I understand there is much at stake here, Exarch, but why do you risk yourself so readily? It must have been a dangerous drain on your aether to summon even one person across the rift.
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I do it for my people, of course─to give the Crystarium the tomorrow it deserves.
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That is true now, yes─but the city had yet to be built when you first called forth the Crystal Tower.
I'm simply curious to know what prompted you to commit yourself so completely to this particular course.
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There are...things which we can ill afford to lose.
And...I sensed from the first that I had a part to play in preserving them.
Forgive me. I fear the events of the day may have taken their toll.
Despite appearances, I am an old man─one burdened with many...difficult memories, some too painful to recall. |
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Well, then I'm sorry for pressing you. It's a family failing, I'm afraid.
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Hmph. One which has served us well, more often than not. Needless to say, we will continue to fight at your side until the last sin eater is defeated.
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Come then, my Warriors of Darkness─let us gather the surviving villagers, and make our way back to the Crystarium.
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| Voiced cutscene end.
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Without that constant glare, Lakeland seems an entirely different place...
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It's over, yes? I might need a moment...
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It's as if the sky itself had disappeared into the heavens... If I didn't have wounded to tend to, I'd never stop staring...
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How quickly you have justified my faith in you...
So many lives saved, and the sky itself heralds your success. A single victory in a larger struggle, perhaps, but a momentous one nonetheless!
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Acquisition
Closest Aetheryte: The Crystarium → The Dossal Gate, Crystarium Gatekeep
Requirements
Rewards
Description
Objectives
Unlocks Quests
