FFXIV Shadowbringers Story Summary
Chapter 5: Warden of Light
The group arrives at Eulmore and they notice a strange occurrence. The people of Gatetown, the shantytown that surrounds the luxurious Eulmore, have fallen under a trance. Lord Vaughtry is using his unexplained power to control Sin Eaters to in turn control all of the people in and around Eulmore.
You discover the reason for this: Meol, the food that Eulmore serves to its people, is not just an average piece of bread. In fact, it’s made of Sin Eater, and slowly but surely the people of Eulmore are being turned into Sin Eaters so Lord Vaughtry can control them.
The group make their way into Eulmore proper to confront Lord Vaughtry but not before one final stand with Ran’jit. The group finally defeat Ran’jit once and for all and make it to Lord Vaughtry’s throne room.
Still feeling no remorse for what he has done, Lord Vaughtry flees and reveals that he himself is, in fact, the final Warden of Light, an unholy marriage of man and Sin Eater that was arranged by Emet-Selch long ago to help usher in the original Flood of Light on The First.
He uses his immeasurable power to rip the top of a mountaintop to serve as his new paradise that he will rebuild now that Eulmore has been ruined.
Mt. Guig and Confronting Lord Vaughtry
The group, using Ryne’s power, is able to help cure most of the citizens and asks for their help in finding a way to reach Lord Vaughtry’s new floating city.
While the wealthy people of Eulmore wronged many under the leadership of Lord Vaughtry, they accepted their part in being complicit in their lord’s horrible deeds and seek now to do what they can to earn the trust of everyone again and help bring Lord Vaughtry’s reign to an end. Now united, all of the people of Eulmore. Khoulsia, The Crystarium and Ahm Areng seek to figure out a way to end all of this once and for all.
Emet-Selch continues to be impressed with the hero’s progress and feels nostalgic seeing people working together for a common goal, as this was commonplace in his time. He misses his family, friends, and society that was free of war, pain, or disparity and he especially misses his city, Amaurot, the crown jewel of this Ascian civilization.
Emet-Selch makes a pitch to the hero. He believes that the hero is special and that if he/she can truly control the power of the Warden of Light it is possible he/she can survive the calamities that would occur during the rejoining process. Moreover, that the hero can stand as an equal with the Ascians in paradise. The hero mostly just brushes this idea off, though.
Before he goes, Emet-Selch ponders the nature of the Crystal Exarch, who to this point, is still mysterious and has yet to ever remove his cowl. Emet-Selch isn’t being coy. He truly doesn’t know what the deal is with the Crystal Exarch and how exactly he has the power to physically transport the Crystal Tower into The First and bring the Scions across worlds.
The group is back to figuring out their plan for reaching Lord Vaughtry. An airship is out of the question because of the Sin Eaters that are swarming to defend the final Warden of Light, so they devise a plan with the help of a prominent Eulmorian Talos expert, Chai-Nuzz. They will need to create a massive Talos that can actually grab hold of the floating city, and create a bridge that will allow the Scions to reach Lord Vaughtry.
Through the combined effort of nearly all of the allies that the hero has gained over this journey, they are able to build the massive Talos and the Scions head up to confront Lord Vaughtry in battle.
The group is ultimately successful but what everyone has feared has come to fruition: the player character cannot contain the light and is beginning to turn into a Warden of Light.
The Crystal Exarch Reveals Himself
However, the Crystal Exarch finally reveals the grand master plan that he has held in secrecy with Urianger all this time. He is actually G’raha Tia, the caretaker of the Crystal Tower that the player character worked with long ago in the Crystal Tower questline back during the A Realm Reborn saga.
G’raha Tia intends to absorb the burden of the light from the hero and the sacrifice himself by casting himself away into the rift and bringing all of the dangerous Light energy with him.
However, before he can complete this spell he is shot down by Emet-Selch. Emet-Selch is extremely disappointed that the hero of The Source is not as powerful as believed and was not able to control the Light on his own.
Emet-Selch considers this experiment of observing the potential of man to now be over and wants to continue with his original plan of allowing light to consume this world and rejoin it with The Source. Without G’raha Tia to cast the spell, the hero will eventually turn into a fearsome Warden of Light Sin Eater that will lead to the slow and painful destruction of The First.
Emet-Selch takes the wounded G’raha Tia with him and flees to his hideout in The Tempest, a deep trench at the bottom of the ocean far away from the light.
The hero passes out, and his/her fate is unknown.
