soulshard: (ffxiv_05032020_092108_427)
"softly moaning in a ditch" aka ardbert ([personal profile] soulshard) wrote2025-07-17 11:13 am
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info (diadem)

ardbert hylfyst; ffxiv
HEIGHT 5'9 | 175cm BUILD Burly. HAIR Brown. EYES Blue. AGE 31 (or is it 130+?) CANON FFXIV, end of 6.0. MISC Carries an axe. VEHICLE Jeep.


CHARACTER INFO


ABOUTArdbert has been through a great deal. While he is the Warrior of Light's counterpart from a different reflection, he went down a different path. One that very nearly led to the destruction of his world, driving him to desperation in his attempts to save it, only to fail and end up as little more than a drifting shade, doomed to a purgatory where he could only wander the lingering remnants of his homeland yet do nothing to aid it.

Until the Warrior of Light and her friends show up, a bond is formed, and all is put to rights — only for Ardbert to discover along the way that he and the Warrior of Light once shared a soul, explaining their effortless connection to each other.

In repentance of the mistakes he made and the blood he spilled, Ardbert remains at the Warrior of Light's side throughout her journey, joining his strength to hers in the final fight against the Ascian, Emet-Selch. From there, he is rejoined to her soul, resting within it, finally at peace.

He is someone who only ever wanted to do good and help others, only to have it spiral out of his control, leading to tragedy after tragedy in the process. While he once was without hope, he has since regained it, and now that he's been granted a body of his own again, he also has a new lease on life.

VISUALArdbert is literally just the default character creator option as far as his appearance goes. He doesn't have much in the way of defining features. He's a hume, which is the race in Final Fantasy XIV that's just a regular-ass human (as opposed to elves, bunny people, cat people, etc).

The only truly notable thing is that because he occupies a tank role and swings an axe around, he is quite built and muscular, something that will stand out about his overall build. Given that he isn't all that tall (5'9"), he could be called a bit stocky as a result. Oh, and he does have chinstrap-style facial hair.

Ultimately, though, the overall vibe someone gets when meeting him is that he's shockingly average. ( Reference. )

AURALReference, voiced by Joe Dempsie. He has an English accent and his word choice is a bit antiquated, along with using some maybe unexpected terms like "aye," "anyroad," "fulms" instead of feet, "moon" instead of month, etc. The Ye Olde vibe is definitely there, although he also is on the more casual side compared to some other FFXIV characters.

Ardbert tends to speak with a sort of genuine earnestness, though that spirited nature of his can also apply to when he's angry or incensed about something. He feels strongly in general and that comes through in how he talks.

BEHAVIORALFriendly, genuine, and steadfast. Usually not overly exuberant, though might become so if he ends up on a favorite topic (ask him about amaro). While he is definitely a heroic type, he's also laidback enough that he doesn't exactly fill the typical image of a vaunted warrior. Don't worry about all the titles he's earned; it's not like they matter here anyway.

Underneath that front, there is an undercurrent of melancholy and a certain reserved nature to him — as if he's used to being held apart from others. This might take some time to notice, however.

He can be boisterous when in the mood, and loves a good fight or a good drink. Maybe even both at the same time. Extremely dependable; a good person to have at your back.


SKILLS & ABILITIES


WARRIORArdbert is an accomplished martial combatant trained in the ways of the Warrior, which is one of the "jobs" that someone in his universe can take on and learn to be effective in battle. This means that he wields an axe and fills the role of a tank in fights, wherein he tries to gain the attention of enemies, drawing their ire to him and then using abilities to resist their damage and fend them off (while others do more intense damage, or provide healing).

Being a Warrior means relying on brute force and using strength and steel to cut down enemies. However, another aspect to the Warrior class is relying on one's "inner beast" and going into a semi-berserk state to boost damage done and become even more of an unyielding force of nature on the battlefield. While this is not something that Ardbert is specifically shown to do, it's safe to assume that he goes into this state when necessary.

His abilities can be broken down into offensive attacks, damage mitigation (for himself and others in his party), buffing his own strength, rarely being able to go fully invulnerable, and stunning enemies.

BLESSING OF LIGHTArdbert is the recipient of the Blessing of Light from the mother goddess Hydaelyn (steward of the Source and its reflections, including the First, which is where Ardbert is from). This confers to him a number of abilities.

The Echo: As Minfilia explains it, "the Echo allows you to pass through the walls of a man's soul, and hear the resonations of his past." What this means is that those with this gift are sometimes able to catch a glimpse of someone else's past. This is always someone they are in close physical proximity with, and it's usually not something that the user can trigger or control. It just happens. I'll use this sparingly in-game, mainly just when I think that the addition of a brief memory share might be useful for progressing a thread or for CR-building purposes.

The Echo also allows for an implicit understanding of all languages. The caveat to this is that the entity speaking the language must have a soul. Finally, there is some level of seeing the essence of a person's soul that one can do when they have the Echo. Frankly, this isn't touched on much in Ardbert's case, so I don't intend to do too much with it (and if I do, it will be with the other player's permission).

Immune to Tempering: The other big benefit of Hydaelyn's blessing is having an immunity to the influence of primals, who are usually able to "temper" anyone who comes close enough to them, turning them into their thrall. This was, until recently, a completely incurable state. Anyone tempered would become a mindless thrall to the primal's will, essentially an extension of that will, but Ardbert is immune to this effect. It also means that he can't be charmed or manipulated by anything magic/aether-related.

Warrior of Light: There is an implication that anyone who is a Warrior of Light (blessed by Hydaelyn) has a sort of natural aptitude for picking up new skills. In theory, they can also take on multiple combat jobs, but Ardbert is only ever shown to be a Marauder or Warrior. I'll simply translate this as him being a quick study when it comes to new skillsets (like driving a car, for instance).

MISCGood with Animals: Ardbert is shown to have a special bond with his amaro, Seto, which came in part because he grew up as a farm boy of sorts, tending to animals with his grandfather. He is very much a horse girl and has a way with getting animals to trust him, along with knowing how to care for them.

Adventurer: Ardbert traveled all of the First as an adventurer from age eighteen all the way up to his death at thirty-one, so he definitely knows how to rough it and get by in the wilderness. This isn't actively shown all that much in his flashbacks, but it's safe to assume he has decent survival and navigation skills as a result.