Connection? [ What an odd way to phrase it. ] You're a friend of hers, are you not? A fellow adventurer.
[ Not that that's what Aria told him. No, she told him nothing; all he knows is that which Ardbert told him at their introductiob. Still, perhaps he was once a member of the Scions, or an ex-member of the Crystal Braves, seeing as everyone seems to know him as more than simply 'Aria's friend'. ]
[ It's extremely tempting to push down on the brake pedal so that he can bury his face against the steering wheel, at least for a few moments.
Instead, Ardbert lets out a long sigh and eyes the ceiling of the car, taking a few moments to let the burst of irritation flow through him.
Nothing can ever be easy, can it? He really does need to have a conversation with Aria about this, not that he expects it to change anything. ]
I almost have to wonder what you two even talk about when you spend time together. [ Or was that the whole thing — they weren't talking, so much as doing other things? ] Yes, there's more to know. And I suppose it's for the best that we have a drive ahead of us, because it may take some time to explain.
[ Estinien blinks at Ardbert. Is an explanation such an arduous thing? Estinien doesn't know nor does he understand half of what the Scions are talking about at any one point and to date it hasn't impeded on his ability to help out as needed. He figured he knew what was pertinent, which is how he likes it. ]
If you do not wish to explain then don't. 'Twas only an idle curiosity.
[ Interesting though. He doesn't think he's seen anything from this man outside of quiet bemusement and a sort of resigned silence. He didn't know he did irritation too. Maybe that's simply the Aria effect. ]
If it becomes relevant I will get the information from Aria.
Is that so? Have you had much success in the past, getting information from Aria?
[ Ardbert can't help but shoot the words back, but truly, it's not that much of an imposition. He simply wonders how it is that his so-called other half can forge through life while also explaining so little. ]
Mayhap it's not that important for you, but it might be relevant to know at some point.
[ With how the Diadem can wring memories and feelings out of them, one could never been too certain.
Now that they've reached the highway and have the open road ahead of them, Ardbert's able to pick up speed, but he's also aiming to not slip-and-slide them off the road. He finds a good balance. ]
... Let's start here. When Aria and the others Scions were whisked away to another star, they went to the First. That's where I'm from.
[ Estinien breathes a laugh. He will never deny how difficult dealing with Aria with anything is. Still, he has foubd that they are always in sync when it counts. Communication then is never an issue.
But that is neither here nor there. Ardbert sees fit to share his story and so Estinien listens. He can't say he was expecting to hear that he's from the First. ]
Ah.
[ That explains how the others all know of him. It... doesn't quite explain the twins' dislike of him.
Hm. ]
I assume then that you did not always fight on the side of the Scions.
[ There is zero judgement in his voice, merely a simple statement. He hardly thinks Ardbert would be sharing the same bed as Aria if whatever bad blood there had been between them had not been squared away.
(The twins not withstanding. Estinien knows all too well how easily Alisaie can keep a grudge alive.) ]
[ It's a quick assumption that Estinien comes to, especially given that chances are he doesn't know all that much about what happened in Norvrandt. (So Ardbert assumes, anyway. Estinien doesn't seem the sort who concerns himself with much beyond the problems directly in front of him.)
It does make him wonder if he's picked up on how Alphinaud and Alisaie keep him at arm's length, and that's informing some of that conclusion.
Either way, Ardbert isn't about to shy away from the truth of it. It's probably for the best that Estinien finds out and draws his impressions from there. ]
... That's right. Before they even came to the First, I made an ill-planned trip to the Source alongside my allies. The Ascians had me convinced that the only way to save my home was by dooming yours. Of course, Aria and the Scions put a stop to that quite quickly.
[ But it's true that and Aria hardly come across as enemies. Quite the contrary, in fact.
With a quick glance toward the passenger's seat, he adds: ] Clearly, much has happened since then.
[ Ascians, of course. He should have known they'd have a hand in this tale. He thinks to ask about what changed his mind—while being laid out flat by Aria is certainly revelatory, it's usually not enough to change a determined mind--ask him how he knows—but the rest of what Ardbert said catches up with him first. ]
'Save your home'? Is this the same threat that the others faced during their time in the First? Is that how you came to work together?
[ The Scion way, he's found, to turn enemies into allies into friends. Though as to that, surely Alphinaud and Alisaie wouldn't treat Ardbert in such a manner if that was the case? He is pretty sure even Gaius received a warmer welcome and he unleashed Ultima weapon upon the realm.
—Of course. The time discrepancy. The twins have likely not made it to the end of the story that Ardbert is about to tell him. Why they don't just clear up this misapprehension is beyond him but Estinien is not about to stick his nose into it.
Still, he doesn't recall any mention of Ardbert in any recount of the Scions' time on the First. He must admit, he's intrigued now. ]
In a way, yes. They finished the work I started. [ In more ways than one.
Thus far, Estinien has been giving Ardbert his full attention with this tale. They still have quite a drive ahead of them, so while they could simply listen to whatever strange music the radio subjects them to, this is as a good a time as any to catch him up on all that happened. ]
I don't know how much you've read up on the nature of calamities, but they tend to happen when the star experiences an overabundance of one type of aspected aether. On the First, that happened with light... which was in large part my fault, as my companions and I brought too much light to the world through our deeds.
[ Their deeds as heroes, as Warriors of Light. As it turns out, there can be so much of a good thing that it upsets the balance. ]
This led to a calamity called the Flood of Light, which almost consumed the entire star. I was hoping to prevent that when I came to the Source. Instead, it was the remnants of the Scions' previous leader, Minfilia, who ushered me back there and halted the Flood.
[ Still following along? Ardbert shoots Estinien a brief glance, then sighs, the heaviness of all this settling over his shoulders. ]
By then, I was already dead... though for some reason I did not fade and return to the aetherial sea, as I should have. I was naught but a shade, wandering the wasteland of my home for nigh on a century. It was only after Aria arrived that I learned the reason why.
[ Estinien is silent for a long while after Ardbert pauses. Wandering as a shade for a century. A veritable hell; Estinien wonders how Ardbert is so even-keeled about things now. The Gods certainly know that if it were Estinien he would have lost it quite spectacularly only a handful of years in.
So Ardbert came to the Source to raise some hell and was soundly defeated and sent back to the First along with the Scions' former leader in order to avert a calamity that he himself was the—presumably unwilling—architect of.
[ Estinien doesn't reveal much about what he thinks of all this, not that he's an easy man to read in the first place. Perhaps for now he's simply processing it all and is withholding an opinion until he's heard the whole story. ]
... Well, it's not as if she knew what was happening either. But after a century, during which my awareness of my surroundings had begun to fray, I was suddenly wide awake again and drawn to her in a way I hadn't ever been in that time. More than that, she could hear me. Speak to me.
[ Even now, his voice is awed at the memory of it, as he slowly shakes his head to himself. ]
She let me know that she planned to save my home from the brink. At that point, I didn't believe her, all hope spent long ago...
[ But he's becoming distracted, reminiscing like this. ]
Ultimately, it was the shade of an Ancient who revealed to us why we had this connection. Aria and I are sundered shards broken off from the same Ancient soul.
[ How much that will mean to Estinien, he doesn't know, but he pauses there. ]
[ Sundered shards of the same soul. Estinien breathes a laugh, suddenly. ]
I suppose then that I wasn't all that far off when I called you an adventurer friend of Aria's.
[ So it was Aria who pulled him back from the edge. Even he can tell from the way he speaks of it that much of Ardbert's... rehabilitation, for lack of a better word, is linked to Aria. It seems she has a knack for that, saving lost causes, though in his case Estinien would lay most of that at Alphinaud’s feet. ]
Does that also make you a Warrior of Light? For your shard?
[ If so then it must ache, doubly so, to know that it was his own efforts to save his star that doomed it. He supposes falling to an Ascian scheme makes sense then. Certainly, Estinien is in no position to cast stones; Nidhogg possessed him for a reason, after all.
'Tis, perhaps, not so strange then that he got caught up in all this. A shard from the same soul as Aria, perhaps he was merely caught in the crossfire, so to speak, when she was summoned here. Didn’t they arrive at the same time?
...Except, he remembers, he recognized Estinien immediately. ]
[ Not all that far off? Estinien's right about that. At the most basic version of all that Ardbert has explained, him being an "adventurer friend" is truly all it is, and Estinien does strike him as someone who prefers to be straightforward with such things.
So he echoes that laugh with a brief chuckle of his own, and nods. ]
Aye, it does. Along with my companions, who were much to me as the Scions are to Aria. We were given Hydaelyn's blessing as well.
[ There are many comparisons to be drawn, but many ways in which their stories differed. Even if they're shards of the same original soul, that doesn't mean they're not their own people, but he doesn't think he needs to explain any of that to Estinien.
But yes, now to go back to the original question that brought about this whole explanation. He clears his throat and continues on. ]
In order to have the strength to defeat Emet-Selch, I managed to merge my soul with hers. From that point on, ever since she returned from the First, I have been partially present within her, catching bits and pieces of her experiences. That included you joining the Scions officially, meeting Vrtra, and so on.
[ And then came Diadem, splitting them back apart and giving him a body. Somehow. ]
[ So he is here because of Aria but through more direct causes. As ever he is right; all problems lead back to her.
Partially present within her.
Hmm, now that's a familiar story. ]
Then how is it you are here now? What mechanism separated you?
[ Would it then be possible for Nidhogg’s shade inside to live again once more as Ardbert does? And if so, would that be a boon or a curse? As long lived as Great Wyrms are, civilisations could rise and fall a thousand times over before their grief begins to wane. Estinien would not subject the people here to something like that. And… he would not want to fight Nidhogg again. No, there is no satisfaction to be found in that. ]
[ Ardbert sighs and shakes his head, his hands tightening around the steering wheel just slightly. They're well into the Fringes now, so it's simply a matter of deciding where to stop for their bout. ]
We woke up in the same medical tent in the scrapyard, but in different bodies. It's not as if there's anyone we can ask about where this body came from or how my soul was put into it, either.
[ Much like many things in Diadem, they simply have to accept it as some odd cosmic occurrence. Which doesn't sit well with him, but there hasn't been much that they can do about it either.
A pause, and then he shoots Estinien a wry smile. ]
So, if I happen to disappear at random one day, now you'll at least know why.
[ So much uncertainty. He might have wondered if the same thing that befell him in the diffusion zones could have happened to Ardbert, but Ardbert mentioned that his body appeared on arrival. He might disappear only once they have found a way back to their star, but equally the magic that holds his form might just cease to be. No doubt Aria is already looking into it, but Estinien might also ask among his acquaintances to see if they might have some familiarity with something like this. ]
Anywhere around here is fine as long as we fight far enough away from the roads.
[ Anticipation is starting to build now. The last fight he had—real fight and not just the scuffles he gets into with these brigands and so-called raiders—was with Aria. And Ardbert claims to also be a Warrior of Light, with all that it entails. It promises to be a good bout. ]
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[ Not that that's what Aria told him. No, she told him nothing; all he knows is that which Ardbert told him at their introductiob. Still, perhaps he was once a member of the Scions, or an ex-member of the Crystal Braves, seeing as everyone seems to know him as more than simply 'Aria's friend'. ]
Is there more to know?
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Instead, Ardbert lets out a long sigh and eyes the ceiling of the car, taking a few moments to let the burst of irritation flow through him.
Nothing can ever be easy, can it? He really does need to have a conversation with Aria about this, not that he expects it to change anything. ]
I almost have to wonder what you two even talk about when you spend time together. [ Or was that the whole thing — they weren't talking, so much as doing other things? ] Yes, there's more to know. And I suppose it's for the best that we have a drive ahead of us, because it may take some time to explain.
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If you do not wish to explain then don't. 'Twas only an idle curiosity.
[ Interesting though. He doesn't think he's seen anything from this man outside of quiet bemusement and a sort of resigned silence. He didn't know he did irritation too. Maybe that's simply the Aria effect. ]
If it becomes relevant I will get the information from Aria.
no subject
[ Ardbert can't help but shoot the words back, but truly, it's not that much of an imposition. He simply wonders how it is that his so-called other half can forge through life while also explaining so little. ]
Mayhap it's not that important for you, but it might be relevant to know at some point.
[ With how the Diadem can wring memories and feelings out of them, one could never been too certain.
Now that they've reached the highway and have the open road ahead of them, Ardbert's able to pick up speed, but he's also aiming to not slip-and-slide them off the road. He finds a good balance. ]
... Let's start here. When Aria and the others Scions were whisked away to another star, they went to the First. That's where I'm from.
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But that is neither here nor there. Ardbert sees fit to share his story and so Estinien listens. He can't say he was expecting to hear that he's from the First. ]
Ah.
[ That explains how the others all know of him. It... doesn't quite explain the twins' dislike of him.
Hm. ]
I assume then that you did not always fight on the side of the Scions.
[ There is zero judgement in his voice, merely a simple statement. He hardly thinks Ardbert would be sharing the same bed as Aria if whatever bad blood there had been between them had not been squared away.
(The twins not withstanding. Estinien knows all too well how easily Alisaie can keep a grudge alive.) ]
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It does make him wonder if he's picked up on how Alphinaud and Alisaie keep him at arm's length, and that's informing some of that conclusion.
Either way, Ardbert isn't about to shy away from the truth of it. It's probably for the best that Estinien finds out and draws his impressions from there. ]
... That's right. Before they even came to the First, I made an ill-planned trip to the Source alongside my allies. The Ascians had me convinced that the only way to save my home was by dooming yours. Of course, Aria and the Scions put a stop to that quite quickly.
[ But it's true that and Aria hardly come across as enemies. Quite the contrary, in fact.
With a quick glance toward the passenger's seat, he adds: ] Clearly, much has happened since then.
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[ Ascians, of course. He should have known they'd have a hand in this tale. He thinks to ask about what changed his mind—while being laid out flat by Aria is certainly revelatory, it's usually not enough to change a determined mind--ask him how he knows—but the rest of what Ardbert said catches up with him first. ]
'Save your home'? Is this the same threat that the others faced during their time in the First? Is that how you came to work together?
[ The Scion way, he's found, to turn enemies into allies into friends. Though as to that, surely Alphinaud and Alisaie wouldn't treat Ardbert in such a manner if that was the case? He is pretty sure even Gaius received a warmer welcome and he unleashed Ultima weapon upon the realm.
—Of course. The time discrepancy. The twins have likely not made it to the end of the story that Ardbert is about to tell him. Why they don't just clear up this misapprehension is beyond him but Estinien is not about to stick his nose into it.
Still, he doesn't recall any mention of Ardbert in any recount of the Scions' time on the First. He must admit, he's intrigued now. ]
no subject
Thus far, Estinien has been giving Ardbert his full attention with this tale. They still have quite a drive ahead of them, so while they could simply listen to whatever strange music the radio subjects them to, this is as a good a time as any to catch him up on all that happened. ]
I don't know how much you've read up on the nature of calamities, but they tend to happen when the star experiences an overabundance of one type of aspected aether. On the First, that happened with light... which was in large part my fault, as my companions and I brought too much light to the world through our deeds.
[ Their deeds as heroes, as Warriors of Light. As it turns out, there can be so much of a good thing that it upsets the balance. ]
This led to a calamity called the Flood of Light, which almost consumed the entire star. I was hoping to prevent that when I came to the Source. Instead, it was the remnants of the Scions' previous leader, Minfilia, who ushered me back there and halted the Flood.
[ Still following along? Ardbert shoots Estinien a brief glance, then sighs, the heaviness of all this settling over his shoulders. ]
By then, I was already dead... though for some reason I did not fade and return to the aetherial sea, as I should have. I was naught but a shade, wandering the wasteland of my home for nigh on a century. It was only after Aria arrived that I learned the reason why.
no subject
So Ardbert came to the Source to raise some hell and was soundly defeated and sent back to the First along with the Scions' former leader in order to avert a calamity that he himself was the—presumably unwilling—architect of.
Remarkably even-keeled. ]
And what did Aria reveal to you?
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... Well, it's not as if she knew what was happening either. But after a century, during which my awareness of my surroundings had begun to fray, I was suddenly wide awake again and drawn to her in a way I hadn't ever been in that time. More than that, she could hear me. Speak to me.
[ Even now, his voice is awed at the memory of it, as he slowly shakes his head to himself. ]
She let me know that she planned to save my home from the brink. At that point, I didn't believe her, all hope spent long ago...
[ But he's becoming distracted, reminiscing like this. ]
Ultimately, it was the shade of an Ancient who revealed to us why we had this connection. Aria and I are sundered shards broken off from the same Ancient soul.
[ How much that will mean to Estinien, he doesn't know, but he pauses there. ]
no subject
I suppose then that I wasn't all that far off when I called you an adventurer friend of Aria's.
[ So it was Aria who pulled him back from the edge. Even he can tell from the way he speaks of it that much of Ardbert's... rehabilitation, for lack of a better word, is linked to Aria. It seems she has a knack for that, saving lost causes, though in his case Estinien would lay most of that at Alphinaud’s feet. ]
Does that also make you a Warrior of Light? For your shard?
[ If so then it must ache, doubly so, to know that it was his own efforts to save his star that doomed it. He supposes falling to an Ascian scheme makes sense then. Certainly, Estinien is in no position to cast stones; Nidhogg possessed him for a reason, after all.
'Tis, perhaps, not so strange then that he got caught up in all this. A shard from the same soul as Aria, perhaps he was merely caught in the crossfire, so to speak, when she was summoned here. Didn’t they arrive at the same time?
...Except, he remembers, he recognized Estinien immediately. ]
How, exactly, do you know me then?
no subject
So he echoes that laugh with a brief chuckle of his own, and nods. ]
Aye, it does. Along with my companions, who were much to me as the Scions are to Aria. We were given Hydaelyn's blessing as well.
[ There are many comparisons to be drawn, but many ways in which their stories differed. Even if they're shards of the same original soul, that doesn't mean they're not their own people, but he doesn't think he needs to explain any of that to Estinien.
But yes, now to go back to the original question that brought about this whole explanation. He clears his throat and continues on. ]
In order to have the strength to defeat Emet-Selch, I managed to merge my soul with hers. From that point on, ever since she returned from the First, I have been partially present within her, catching bits and pieces of her experiences. That included you joining the Scions officially, meeting Vrtra, and so on.
[ And then came Diadem, splitting them back apart and giving him a body. Somehow. ]
no subject
Partially present within her.
Hmm, now that's a familiar story. ]
Then how is it you are here now? What mechanism separated you?
[ Would it then be possible for Nidhogg’s shade inside to live again once more as Ardbert does? And if so, would that be a boon or a curse? As long lived as Great Wyrms are, civilisations could rise and fall a thousand times over before their grief begins to wane. Estinien would not subject the people here to something like that. And… he would not want to fight Nidhogg again. No, there is no satisfaction to be found in that. ]
no subject
[ Ardbert sighs and shakes his head, his hands tightening around the steering wheel just slightly. They're well into the Fringes now, so it's simply a matter of deciding where to stop for their bout. ]
We woke up in the same medical tent in the scrapyard, but in different bodies. It's not as if there's anyone we can ask about where this body came from or how my soul was put into it, either.
[ Much like many things in Diadem, they simply have to accept it as some odd cosmic occurrence. Which doesn't sit well with him, but there hasn't been much that they can do about it either.
A pause, and then he shoots Estinien a wry smile. ]
So, if I happen to disappear at random one day, now you'll at least know why.
no subject
In that case, I'll be sure to go easy on you.
[ So much uncertainty. He might have wondered if the same thing that befell him in the diffusion zones could have happened to Ardbert, but Ardbert mentioned that his body appeared on arrival. He might disappear only once they have found a way back to their star, but equally the magic that holds his form might just cease to be. No doubt Aria is already looking into it, but Estinien might also ask among his acquaintances to see if they might have some familiarity with something like this. ]
Anywhere around here is fine as long as we fight far enough away from the roads.
[ Anticipation is starting to build now. The last fight he had—real fight and not just the scuffles he gets into with these brigands and so-called raiders—was with Aria. And Ardbert claims to also be a Warrior of Light, with all that it entails. It promises to be a good bout. ]