Without hesitation, my new "friends" in the Astral Ward put me to work in this strange, millennia-spanning war against the Kryptis. I'm still adjusting to the revelation of this information (just as I'm fighting the urge to call in a fleet of airships and get the whole ordeal resolved). But...I'm choosing to trust the ward. For now, at least. Got a lot of new faces to track, and Zojja seems tense in my presence. We haven't spoken since her injuries in Maguuma—I didn't know she'd left the confines of Rata Sum since returning there to heal—but I expect that'll be a heavy conversation. Plus, I suppose it might complicate things if Logan were to fly up with a bunch of Pact or Seraph.
Everyone was busy tracking down Dagda and Isgarren—the other two missing "wizards," the latter being the leader of this organization—so I met up with Frode at one of the Astral Ward's outposts to see how I could help. He informed me of one of their more hands-on divisions: the Rift Hunters. Led by a man named Rian, they've been tasked with tracking down and opening Kryptis rifts to challenge the demons hiding inside while the rest of the Astral Ward searches for their missing. Rian taught me how to use the Heart of the Obscure—the device that Zojja gave me in the battle prior that we used to close rifts at the Beacon of Ages. Apparently, it was crafted by a kodan wizard named Waiting Sorrow who has since left the Astral Ward (on somewhat precarious terms, I hear). Whenever I channel the device's power, strange waves of emotion seem to guide me forward. Though I can't easily describe why, I feel a strong connection to it already.
Frode also introduced me to one of his right-hand soldiers, a brassy asura named Uenno, who assisted in my training. She sent me to one of the ward's medical tents, where I was tested for possession (spending any time in Nayos seems to arouse suspicion, and honestly, rightfully so). That...voice in my head urged me to keep my mouth shut, and given her aid in helping me escape Cerus, I did. Whoever she is, the motivations of Peitha escape me, but I am just as much a stranger to the Astral Ward as I am her. So long as I don't start clawing my eyes out or speaking in tongues, I'll keep her under my helm, as dangerous as she may turn out to be. After all, she's done nothing to harm me thus far (which further piques my curiosity as to her motives). My mind is a bit bronzed after everything I've endured over the years, and should I play the right hand, maybe I can gather more intel on Cerus and the Kryptis.
After attuning my comms device to the Astral Ward's local fluctuations (further separating me from contacting my allies at home), I aided Rian in quelling some of the Kryptis and sealing rifts before Zojja and Mabon called me back to camp: Dagda had been found, and things aren't looking good. I'm headed out to meet my new allies in the sprawling, fractured islands of the archipelago to find her.
***
These particular fractals, as they've been described to me, are a complete marvel; they've been used by Isgarren and the wizards for centuries to test the many possibilities that the future may contain in an attempt to predict future threats. When Isgarren's magic was fractured by the end of the dragon cycle, these tiny realities were ripped from the Mists and manifested here above Tyria. They're not entirely dissimilar from the fractals monitored by Dessa, from what I can tell—Dessa's naturally occurring in the Mists and these deliberately formed—but the inhabitants that live within these are flesh and bone. They're outside of the Mists. They're alive, and I can't imagine the fear they're experiencing. The Astral Ward are doing what they can to contain the local threats, but I'm not sure if anyone really knows what to do with the inhabitants. All I know is that their fear is potent to the Kryptis. They're being hunted, and keeping those inhabitants safe should be one of the ward's leading priorities.
Thankfully, though, Zojja and the others were able to pinpoint Dagda's location on one of these fractals—an abandoned observatory fixed inside of one of the floating islands. Frode and Uenno guarded the entrance while Zojja and I ventured inside. A small group, so as to not overwhelm Dagda under the worst of circ*mstances. Before we reached the wizard, Ceri, one of Dagda's apprentices, ambushed us inside of the cave. She was...gone. The entirety of her being possessed by a Kryptis. With no hope of quelling the beast inside her, death was Ceri's mercy. Zojja took a moment to mourn before we pushed forward, clearly affected by the loss of "found family," as she called it. She has an entire life here: new friends, a mentor. I'm the stranger looking in.
***
We found Dagda, a jotun from another era of Tyrian history, inside of the observatory. Or as Zojja described her, the Wizard of the Celestial. My presence immediately put Dagda on the defensive. She snarled in fear, claiming I was there to kill her as I had "so many others." Apparently my reputation as the champion of an Elder Dragon preceded me. To her, I was as unpredictable as Drakkar or Kralkatorrik's Branded. Hostile and unfeeling. That's all she saw, and I...I've never been met with that kind of hostility before.
Dagda was clearly struggling against something or someone, and my arrival exacerbated her rage. Zojja attempted to frame my involvement as benevolent, but talking things out clearly wasn't going to work as she fought back against whatever voice lingered her in[sic] own mind. Zojja cast a barrier over the arena to trap her inside, where I attempted to expel whichever threat was occupying Dagda's mind. She fought back with the power of the cosmos itself, summoning all manner of otherworldly entities throughout a drawn-out fight.
After a brutal fight against not one, but an entire hive of demons (led by someone named Vanda, Peitha teased in my ear), Dagda came to her senses. Despite being cleansed and my role in freeing her from possession, her disposition toward me was unchanged. Zojja tried to convince Dagda that I am an ally and not some unpredictable force of nature, to no avail. Not only does the ward need to earn my trust, but I need theirs.
Lyhr had mentioned that the Astral Ward had been watching me as they watched all magical anomalies. At best this was out of curiosity, but at worst it was out of fear. I suppose I'd be afraid of me, too, if I was a passive observer. I've helped kill dragons—a god. But all of this does raise the question: Why didn't they intervene? Did they ever consider ending me for the greater good of Tyria?
