I had thought, perhaps foolishly, that we would return to Ishgard with answers.
With purpose.
With something resembling hope.
Instead… we returned to a city on the brink of tearing itself apart.
Foundation was already in turmoil when we arrived—voices raised in anger, fear spreading like wildfire through the streets. The divide between knight and commoner, believer and skeptic… it had widened into something dangerous. Something volatile.
And then came the heretics.
They did not creep in from the shadows this time—they surged forward, emboldened, desperate, as if driven by something greater than themselves. The city that once stood so proud now trembled under the weight of its own unrest, its people turning not only against their enemies… but against one another.
It is a strange thing, to watch a war unfold not at the gates—but within them.
Steel met steel in the streets of Ishgard. Not against dragons—but against fellow men.
And through it all… the truth lingered just out of reach. Close enough to feel, yet hidden behind layers of doctrine and fear.
We fought where we could. Held the line where it threatened to break. But it quickly became clear—this was no simple uprising.
This was something far more deliberate.
Far more controlled.
The Temple Knights moved swiftly. Too swiftly.
Before we could even begin to steady the chaos, they struck—not at the heretics… but at one of their own.
Ser Aymeric.
Seized under accusation of heresy.
The charge alone would have been laughable… had it not been so calculated.
So convenient.
They hide behind righteousness, behind the very faith they claim to protect. But there is rot here—deep and festering. And for the first time, it is no longer content to remain hidden.
They would silence him.
Of that, I have no doubt.
And so we prepare.
There is no time for hesitation. No room for careful politics or measured words. Whatever truth lies buried within Ishgard’s walls… it will not be revealed through patience alone.
We will carve a path to it.
Through stone.
Through steel.
Through anyone who dares stand in the way.
The Vault rises above the city—unyielding, sanctified, untouchable.
But not today.
Today… we climb.
And at the top, one way or another…
This ends.
—T’sava Embervine
