A recap of...
Final Fantasy Xiv Heavensward
Heavensward takes place on Hydaelyn, a fictional planet with diverse Earth-like climates, focused on the isolationist Holy See of Ishgard, in the snowy mountains of Coerthas. Ishgard is the northernmost part of the primary gameplay region, Eorzea. The three Eorzean Alliance nations—Gridania, Limsa Lominsa, and Ul'dah—and the Garlean Empire also appear. The Ascians, immortal servants of the dark god Zodiark, continue their machinations. Flight permits players to explore the dragon homeland of Dravania and islands floating above the Abalathia's Spine mountains. In Dravania, the abandoned and ruined Sharlayan colony has become Idyllshire, a free, democratic city founded by goblins.
Heavensward's primary conflict concerns the millennial Dragonsong War between Ishgard and Nidhogg's draconic horde. Ishgardian orthodoxy claims Halone, their goddess, commanded King Thordan build a city in Abalathia's Spine. This angered the great wyrm Nidhogg, who confronted Thordan and his knights twelve. Though he and several knights were slain, Thordan's son Haldrath took up his father's spear, carving out Nidhogg's eye. Nidhogg fled, his eye becoming an Ishgardian relic, granting its volatile power to a line of Azure Dragoons. Nidhogg has since continuously besieged Ishgard and her people. The Ishgardian Archdiocese, currently led by Archbishop Thordan VII, promulgates these claims as holy doctrine.
The unending war makes Ishgard isolationist in both policy and everyday demeanor; they withdrew from the first Eorzean Alliance and ignored the second, preoccupied with the Dragonsong War. It also manifests in their fanatical devotion to Halone and persecution of "heretics"—those who support dragons. Just prior to Heavensward, Nidhogg awakens, calling his brood to active invasion once again. The player's character, the Warrior of Light, befriends Haurchefaunt Greystone of House Fortemps for foiling a heretic plot, as well as Ser Aymeric, Lord Commander of the Temple Knights, after defending against a Dravanian assault. After being betrayed during a coup in Ul'dah, the Warrior seeks asylum from the charge of regicide alongside Alphinaud and Tataru, the only other Scions to safely escape. Nidhogg's roar prompts changes to both factions in the war; Aymeric and Count Edmont of House Fortemps open Ishgard to foreign assistance against the dragons, while Lady Iceheart grows her band of heretics seeking reconciliation. Estinien, the current Azure Dragoon, returns to hunt down Nidhogg.
After the bloody banquet in Ul'dah, Haurchefaunt persuades his father, Count Edmont Fortemps, to offer asylum to the remaining Scions. The Warrior assists Edmont's sons in nearby territories. They briefly encounter Lady Iceheart, who regrets the innocent deaths in her recent assault. Returning to Ishgard, the Warrior finds Alphinaud and Tataru accused of heresy by the Heavens' Ward, Archbishop Thordan VII's honor guard. Requesting trial by combat, Tataru chooses the Warrior as her champion, and they secure victory alongside Alphinaud. Thordan personally apologizes, and privately reveals to the Warrior that he is milking the Ascians for information, intending to double-cross them.
Raubahn is imprisoned, awaiting execution for the Sultana's poisoning, but the Scions free him. They defeat the Crystal Braves in so doing, but their leader Ilberd escapes. They learn from Lolorito that the Sultana lives: he subverted Adeledji's plot, swapping the intended poison for a sleep draught. This crippled the Royalists, stopped Nanamo's abdication, slew his main rival, and consolidated his power; he claims he would have freed the Scions if they had surrendered, but they remain missing and Ilberd became a liability. Lolorito gives the antidote to Raubahn, who reluctantly spares him and aids Nanamo in returning to rule.
Alphinaud and the Warrior decide to entreat Iceheart to seek peace with Nidhogg. Estinien assists, but vows to slay Nidhogg if he refuses. Iceheart reveals she also has the Echo, which showed her the truth of the war. Born Ysayle, she took the name Iceheart after communing with Saint Shiva, who brokered two centuries of peace between man and dragon through her tragic romance with Nidhogg's brother, Hraesvelgr. Ysayle agrees to cease her extremist methods for peace and help them find Hraesvelgr. After defeating the primal Ravana and slaying Nidhogg's consort, the group eventually finds Hraesvelgr, who reveals the "Shiva" Ysayle communes with is just a primal she created.
Hraesvelgr speaks of Midgardsormr's arrival on the star. Of his seven children, Hraesvelgr, Ratatoskr, and Nidhogg settled in Eorzea. Nidhogg distrusted mortals after ancient Allag slew Bahamut and imprisoned Tiamat. Shiva had Hraesvelgr devour her, so their souls would be linked forever. The ensuing peace ended when King Thordan I and his knights murdered Ratatoskr, consuming her eyes for power. Nidhogg, in his fury, slew King Thordan, swearing undying vengeance on his descendants. Hraesvelgr rejects peace, judging Nidhogg's cause just. Bereft of alternatives, Estinien and the Warrior storm Nidhogg's abode, the Aery, where they slay him and take his remaining eye. The Warrior learns that this eye is in fact Hraesvelgr's: Haldrath gouged out both of Nidhogg's eyes, only one of which became the Azure Dragoons' source of power, and Hraesvelgr saved Nidhogg's life by giving him one of his own eyes.
After the Warrior returns Hraesvelgr's eye to him, Ysayle leaves to dissuade her followers, and the Warrior returns to Ishgard to share the truth. However, the Archbishop and church leaders already know, and imprison Aymeric for attempting to reveal it. Lucia and the Temple Knights rescue him. The Warrior and Haurchefaunt try to arrest Thordan, but Haurchefaunt is killed shielding the Warrior from a Heavens' Ward ambush. Swearing vengeance, the Warrior and Alphinaud pursue Thodan, who has left for Azys Lla, an ancient Allagan floating colony. Cid and the Enterprise help defeat the primal Bismarck, who held the only known key to Azys Lla, only for the Ascian Igeyorhm to steal it. Blocked by Azys Lla's protection field, the Scions turn back and rescue Y'shtola, trapped in the Lifestream during the escape from Ul'dah. She directs them to her mentor Matoya. With her aid, the Warrior of Light, Cid, Y'shtola, Alphinaud and Estinien breach Azys Lla's barrier.
The Garlean Empire's new flagship followed the Warrior of Light in hopes of looting Allagan technology, opening fire on the Enterprise. Ysayle, having acquired Hraesvelgr's aid, intervenes, sacrificing herself so the Enterprise can land safely on Azys Lla. There lie imprisoned both the Warring Triad, a trio of powerful ancient primals, and Tiamat. Thordan intends to absorb the Triad's power and conquer Eorzea. The Warrior converses with Tiamat and Midgardsormr, who restores Hydaelyn's blessing. The Warrior defeats Igeyorhm and Lahabrea, killing the former. Thordan arrives, absorbing Nidhogg's other eye and the weakened Lahabrea, and with their aether transforms into King Thordan, a primal powered by a millennium of Ishgardian prayer. Despite their combined power, Thordan and the Heavens' Ward are defeated and slain by the Warrior.
Estinien, relieved, prepares to seal away Nidhogg's eyes, but Nidhogg's still-lingering spirit exploits this lapse and possesses him, reforming his body and escaping. The Warrior's group returns to Ishgard, where Midgardsormr warns that Nidhogg will return to resume the war. As Thordan's illegitimate son, Aymeric becomes acting ruler, and Ishgard rejoins the Alliance. In a post-credits scene, the Ascians' losses lead Elidibus to recruit the "Warriors of Darkness".
Heavensward's primary conflict concerns the millennial Dragonsong War between Ishgard and Nidhogg's draconic horde. Ishgardian orthodoxy claims Halone, their goddess, commanded King Thordan build a city in Abalathia's Spine. This angered the great wyrm Nidhogg, who confronted Thordan and his knights twelve. Though he and several knights were slain, Thordan's son Haldrath took up his father's spear, carving out Nidhogg's eye. Nidhogg fled, his eye becoming an Ishgardian relic, granting its volatile power to a line of Azure Dragoons. Nidhogg has since continuously besieged Ishgard and her people. The Ishgardian Archdiocese, currently led by Archbishop Thordan VII, promulgates these claims as holy doctrine.
The unending war makes Ishgard isolationist in both policy and everyday demeanor; they withdrew from the first Eorzean Alliance and ignored the second, preoccupied with the Dragonsong War. It also manifests in their fanatical devotion to Halone and persecution of "heretics"—those who support dragons. Just prior to Heavensward, Nidhogg awakens, calling his brood to active invasion once again. The player's character, the Warrior of Light, befriends Haurchefaunt Greystone of House Fortemps for foiling a heretic plot, as well as Ser Aymeric, Lord Commander of the Temple Knights, after defending against a Dravanian assault. After being betrayed during a coup in Ul'dah, the Warrior seeks asylum from the charge of regicide alongside Alphinaud and Tataru, the only other Scions to safely escape. Nidhogg's roar prompts changes to both factions in the war; Aymeric and Count Edmont of House Fortemps open Ishgard to foreign assistance against the dragons, while Lady Iceheart grows her band of heretics seeking reconciliation. Estinien, the current Azure Dragoon, returns to hunt down Nidhogg.
After the bloody banquet in Ul'dah, Haurchefaunt persuades his father, Count Edmont Fortemps, to offer asylum to the remaining Scions. The Warrior assists Edmont's sons in nearby territories. They briefly encounter Lady Iceheart, who regrets the innocent deaths in her recent assault. Returning to Ishgard, the Warrior finds Alphinaud and Tataru accused of heresy by the Heavens' Ward, Archbishop Thordan VII's honor guard. Requesting trial by combat, Tataru chooses the Warrior as her champion, and they secure victory alongside Alphinaud. Thordan personally apologizes, and privately reveals to the Warrior that he is milking the Ascians for information, intending to double-cross them.
Raubahn is imprisoned, awaiting execution for the Sultana's poisoning, but the Scions free him. They defeat the Crystal Braves in so doing, but their leader Ilberd escapes. They learn from Lolorito that the Sultana lives: he subverted Adeledji's plot, swapping the intended poison for a sleep draught. This crippled the Royalists, stopped Nanamo's abdication, slew his main rival, and consolidated his power; he claims he would have freed the Scions if they had surrendered, but they remain missing and Ilberd became a liability. Lolorito gives the antidote to Raubahn, who reluctantly spares him and aids Nanamo in returning to rule.
Alphinaud and the Warrior decide to entreat Iceheart to seek peace with Nidhogg. Estinien assists, but vows to slay Nidhogg if he refuses. Iceheart reveals she also has the Echo, which showed her the truth of the war. Born Ysayle, she took the name Iceheart after communing with Saint Shiva, who brokered two centuries of peace between man and dragon through her tragic romance with Nidhogg's brother, Hraesvelgr. Ysayle agrees to cease her extremist methods for peace and help them find Hraesvelgr. After defeating the primal Ravana and slaying Nidhogg's consort, the group eventually finds Hraesvelgr, who reveals the "Shiva" Ysayle communes with is just a primal she created.
Hraesvelgr speaks of Midgardsormr's arrival on the star. Of his seven children, Hraesvelgr, Ratatoskr, and Nidhogg settled in Eorzea. Nidhogg distrusted mortals after ancient Allag slew Bahamut and imprisoned Tiamat. Shiva had Hraesvelgr devour her, so their souls would be linked forever. The ensuing peace ended when King Thordan I and his knights murdered Ratatoskr, consuming her eyes for power. Nidhogg, in his fury, slew King Thordan, swearing undying vengeance on his descendants. Hraesvelgr rejects peace, judging Nidhogg's cause just. Bereft of alternatives, Estinien and the Warrior storm Nidhogg's abode, the Aery, where they slay him and take his remaining eye. The Warrior learns that this eye is in fact Hraesvelgr's: Haldrath gouged out both of Nidhogg's eyes, only one of which became the Azure Dragoons' source of power, and Hraesvelgr saved Nidhogg's life by giving him one of his own eyes.
After the Warrior returns Hraesvelgr's eye to him, Ysayle leaves to dissuade her followers, and the Warrior returns to Ishgard to share the truth. However, the Archbishop and church leaders already know, and imprison Aymeric for attempting to reveal it. Lucia and the Temple Knights rescue him. The Warrior and Haurchefaunt try to arrest Thordan, but Haurchefaunt is killed shielding the Warrior from a Heavens' Ward ambush. Swearing vengeance, the Warrior and Alphinaud pursue Thodan, who has left for Azys Lla, an ancient Allagan floating colony. Cid and the Enterprise help defeat the primal Bismarck, who held the only known key to Azys Lla, only for the Ascian Igeyorhm to steal it. Blocked by Azys Lla's protection field, the Scions turn back and rescue Y'shtola, trapped in the Lifestream during the escape from Ul'dah. She directs them to her mentor Matoya. With her aid, the Warrior of Light, Cid, Y'shtola, Alphinaud and Estinien breach Azys Lla's barrier.
The Garlean Empire's new flagship followed the Warrior of Light in hopes of looting Allagan technology, opening fire on the Enterprise. Ysayle, having acquired Hraesvelgr's aid, intervenes, sacrificing herself so the Enterprise can land safely on Azys Lla. There lie imprisoned both the Warring Triad, a trio of powerful ancient primals, and Tiamat. Thordan intends to absorb the Triad's power and conquer Eorzea. The Warrior converses with Tiamat and Midgardsormr, who restores Hydaelyn's blessing. The Warrior defeats Igeyorhm and Lahabrea, killing the former. Thordan arrives, absorbing Nidhogg's other eye and the weakened Lahabrea, and with their aether transforms into King Thordan, a primal powered by a millennium of Ishgardian prayer. Despite their combined power, Thordan and the Heavens' Ward are defeated and slain by the Warrior.
Estinien, relieved, prepares to seal away Nidhogg's eyes, but Nidhogg's still-lingering spirit exploits this lapse and possesses him, reforming his body and escaping. The Warrior's group returns to Ishgard, where Midgardsormr warns that Nidhogg will return to resume the war. As Thordan's illegitimate son, Aymeric becomes acting ruler, and Ishgard rejoins the Alliance. In a post-credits scene, the Ascians' losses lead Elidibus to recruit the "Warriors of Darkness".
