The WoL, Fray, and Dark Knights, knowing what we know now. [ShB Spoilers]

So, with the revelation of our character's legacy, a lot of the Dark Knight storyline is finally starting to make more sense. As we know, the Dark Knight job is about opening the soul up to Darkness - to what we know now is the energy of creation, of growth, and of activity. It is also associated with negativity and pain, but that almost seems to be an Eorzean contrivance rather than something that is inherent to darkness itself. Regardless, when we first seek out a mentor for the Dark Knight quests, we find a corpse in the Brume, a Steel Greatsword, and a Soul Crystal. Dismayed, we pick up the Soul Crystal, only to find that the corpse wasn't a corpse, but indeed still a living, breathing person - Fray Myste.

If you've completed the Dark Knight storyline, you know what comes next. Fray teaches us, becomes our mentor, and then attempts to subsume our life, to become us in a very real way, because she is us. She is the very embodiment of our soul's desires. Hell, she even is a Conjurer - someone who can HEAL - despite being a Dark Knight mentor. Why? So that you can learn how to be a Dark Knight without having to worry about being harmed while doing so.

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Come now, you knew Fray was dead from the beginning, but you didn't care! You had a sword and a soul crystal. But what you wanted was a mentor. A mentor with the gifts and the knowledge. A dark knight who could guide you on the path─who you could aspire to become.

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Sidurgu does say that he's heard of things happening like this before, so it's not unheard of. But it was always a little mysterious - and while Fray may just be a figment of our imaginations, as others below have said, could there be another explanation? I might have an idea:

Fray, Myste, and their various powers and abilities? They're simply the nascent abilities of the Warrior of Light's Ascian soul given form by the connection to dark energy that the Dark Knight soul stone provides. Simply by desiring a mentor, the half-complete Ascian soul that we possess, amplified by the power of dozens of Dark Knights before us, gave us the power to conjure those memories into a Dark Knight mentor that could act where we knew we could not. We are using creation magicks without even thinking about it. While our inexperience with creation magicks allowed our creation to nearly run amok and turn against us, our willpower eventually allowed us to reign it in.

The same holds true with Myste. The further we delved into the darkness, the more our regrets and our pain took hold in our heart. The more we wanted to make amends. And the Soul Crystal provided an opportunity, though the strain of creating so many simulacra through Myste caused it to shatter for a time.

We are not just "a dark knight" in this universe. We are an (incomplete) Ascian Dark Knight. That gives us abilities that most Dark Knights cannot even think about - I don't think most Dark Knights could pull off Living Shadow, for instance. While this can make our abilities more potent, it also makes us quite dangerous - our raw and untamed tapping of the darkness in our hearts means that our ability to use creation magicks is also raw and untamed. Once I started putting the pieces together, this makes me think that this particular bit of Warrior of Light lore has been in the cards for a long, long time.

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Originally Posted by FaerieAura

losng story short

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I don't know if this was the plan of SE from the begining, but it's definitely makes sense to me. More than that it can explain how WoL didn't die in all of his adventures, fights with the Primals and how exactly when we need to find something/someone we always find it - because we want to. We want to live an adventurous life, we want to stay alive in the battles with the Gods, we want/need to find something/someone. Thus being said, our "raw" and "untammed" "Ascian" power can still be in check as long, as we can continue adventuring and not get bored. Soooo.... Yeah... Haruhi Sudzumia v. 2.0

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Originally Posted by Rakshazi

I don't know if this was the plan of SE from the begining, but it's definitely makes sense to me. More than that it can explain how WoL didn't die in all of his adventures, fights with the Primals and how exactly when we need to find something/someone we always find it - because we want to. We want to live an adventurous life, we want to stay alive in the battles with the Gods, we want/need to find something/someone. Thus being said, our "raw" and "untammed" "Ascian" power can still be in check as long, as we can continue adventuring and not get bored. Soooo.... Yeah... Haruhi Sudzumia v. 2.0

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The only reason that I get the feeling that this may have been in the cards for awhile is that the scenario writer for the Dark Knight quests was also the writer for the main scenario for Shadowbringers. If nothing else, it's quite possible that she had this particular endgame in mind for awhile, and had at least floated the possibility out there for a long-term reveal for the Warrior of Light.

I don't personally view my character as an "adventure seeking death knight" so much as someone who is tired of losing people close to her and who wants to stop it from happening, no matter the cost, which is why she sought out the power of the Dark Knight when she did. But obviously that strays into personal headcanon territory :) Regardless, our ability to master multiple forms of combat, creation, and even gathering without so much as breaking a sweat or causing a strain on our aetherial capacity is extraordinary, and points to our soul being beyond that of most peoples' capabilities.

I was under the impression that Fray was all in your head. No one else but you can see them and when they talk, it comes out your mouth.

In regards to Myste, he was born from the aether in the soulstone, not your own aether.

I’m not sure if either of these match up with what we know about ascian creation powers. Especially since we’re told by one in a sidequest that we have no power of creation at all.

Right. 'Fray' was just Esteem, your 'dark side' given a voice (specifically your bottled-up resentment and frustration at being constantly used by others, especially the betrayal at the Ul'dah banquet), with the actual Fray being dead all along - the level 30-50 quests made it clear it was you mouthing off to various npcs where you thought Fray was speaking (and that they even insinuated you were dragging Fray's corpse around with you). It even hints that the battle against Esteem (where your dark side finally dropped the pretense of 'Fray' and showed their true colours) was again all just in your head.

The real Fray really did lose his Trial by Combat in the Tribunal before you showed up, and was never alive during any of the cutscenes involving 'him'. It was all in your head.

I found (and have already misplaced) a link to a translation of the Japanese DRK quests the other day. It's only the English version that puts Fray "all in your head" and speaking with your voice to others. He's visible and separate to you in the Japanese version - which makes a lot more sense for a few points, like Drillemont promising our 'friend' will get a proper burial, and later on the fact that Sidurgu and Rielle can interact with Myste.

Yeah. I read the ARR quests as Fray being dead all along and the whole thing was just in our heads.

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Originally Posted by Iscah

I found (and have already misplaced) a link to a translation of the Japanese DRK quests the other day. It's only the English version that puts Fray "all in your head" and speaking with your voice to others. He's visible and separate to you in the Japanese version - which makes a lot more sense for a few points, like Drillemont promising our 'friend' will get a proper burial, and later on the fact that Sidurgu and Rielle can interact with Myste.

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I was also under the impression that the fight with Fray leaves multiple knights injured - before your arrival on the scene. It's quite clear to me that whatever Fray is, it is far more than a mere figment of your imagination at that point.

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I’m not sure if either of these match up with what we know about ascian creation powers. Especially since we’re told by one in a sidequest that we have no power of creation at all.

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Keep in mind that my theory is that we don't necessarily have creation power when we are not actively being tied to darkness. By touching the Dark Knight soulstone, seeking out a mentor for being a Dark Knight, and opening ourselves up to the darkness within our souls, we tap into the creation energies that our ancestors once had control over, and in turn, give rise to Frey, who becomes stronger and stronger the more powerful we grow in our own control over the Darkness. It's a bit like a Sorcerer from a D&D universe - if they're still unaware of their powers and told to throw a fireball at a rabbit, they'd probably struggle. However, if a dragon was charging at them and they were placed in a situation where they had to make a fireball or face death, the nascent energy and power they already had would be more likely to manifest. The possession of the Dark Knight soulstone and the likely state of mind that the Warrior of Light is in when seeking out Frey (generally speaking, it occurs sometime after the Banquet in Ul'dah but before the main scenario of Heavensward is complete, which is a TERRIBLE time for the WoL) means that it's... a time when someone like Frey to cut through the bullshit and teach her how to fight without care for the consequences is JUST what she needs. So she makes her. Without thinking about it.

I also think Myste's powers, given their near identical nature to creation magicks - the ability to call forth nearly anything the heart desires, and in the case of the Warrior of Light, the memories of loved ones and fallen enemies in order to apologize and make amends - would also be a strong argument that at least something is going on here. Not 100%, but something to think about :)

Fray in the lvl 30 - 50 quests is most definetly not "in your head". It is mentioned in the lvl 50 quest that you were rumored to be doing something with a body (that's why they are even trying to bring you in to Whitebrim) and in the cutscene before the lvl 50 fight, you can see "Fray's" body slump down to the ground and your own Darkside walk out of it. What seems to have happened is that your Darkside possessed Fray's body and was using it to interact with you.

Later in the lvl 70 fight, we see Fray/your Darkside again, only this time, it's not possessing anyone. Not only do we see it, but Sidurgu sees it too. The same thing goes for Myste.

I've never been of the thought that Fray (our Esteem) was all in our mind. I always saw that it was due to our overwhelming anger (and pushing back of said anger) of the situations that befell us that caused the soul crystal to react and separate us from that part of ourselves. The visual clues during the initial quest as well always led me to believe that with the fact that you can see that something is going from your body to the limp body of the real Fray.

Then there was the fact that yes while Sid said it wasn't normal for something like that to happen, he mentioned that there were some stories of where it occurred.

Add into that, pre stormblood, our characters where the complete stoic type, never allowing for a lot of the emotions they may feel to come out. Yes there are times where we showed some but never the full extent of it. Like our character being extremely annoyed at the fetch quests that we had to do before summoning Titan. In the end the bloody banquet was pretty much the straw that broke the camels back and then add in the Soul Crystal for the Dark Knighr job was adding fuel to the proverbial fire.

I think fray did have some sort of physical form, considering he is attacked and can heal you in duties, but the quest dialogue does imply that his outbursts are actually coming from you, which is kind of confusing

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Originally Posted by shinkin

I think fray did have some sort of physical form, considering he is attacked and can heal you in duties, but the quest dialogue does imply that his outbursts are actually coming from you, which is kind of confusing

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For the majority of the 30-50 Drk story, whether Fray was actually there or not is deliberately left vague and left to headcanon. The only time they are actually confirmed present in physical form is in the lvl50 quest, where they are possesing the real Fray's dead body and then drop ot to show their true form.

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Originally Posted by Iscah

I found (and have already misplaced) a link to a translation of the Japanese DRK quests the other day. It's only the English version that puts Fray "all in your head" and speaking with your voice to others. He's visible and separate to you in the Japanese version - which makes a lot more sense for a few points, like Drillemont promising our 'friend' will get a proper burial, and later on the fact that Sidurgu and Rielle can interact with Myste.

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Here are two links to Japanese translation of the level 45 quest (“Declaration of Blood”) and the level 50 quest (“Our Answer”). JP definitely does not insinuate that we are the only ones who can see Fray/Esteem, but that others could as well (the level 45 quest has one of the NPCs acknowledge Fray/Esteem as maybe someone that fought Leviathan with us, and the level 50 quest has NPCs making a direct reference to us “fighting with that madman”).

The JP version of these quests are definitely far more deeper than the English ones made them out to be (English is still deep and still good, but I much prefer the JP ones). As the translator said, Your Darkside/Fray/Esteem comes off as a very sorrowful character who is genuinely hurting—and that just resonated better with me.

Declaration of Blood
Our Answer

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Originally Posted by MrThinker

For the majority of the 30-50 Drk story, whether Fray was actually there or not is deliberately left vague and left to headcanon. The only time they are actually confirmed present in physical form is in the lvl50 quest, where they are possesing the real Fray's dead body and then drop ot to show their true form.

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In the JP version, the level 45 quest openly acknowledges Fray’s/Esteem’s presence. So the interpretation/headcanon one seems to be an English localization thing. I’m not sure about French or German, though.

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Originally Posted by HyoMinPark

Here are two links to Japanese translation of the level 45 quest (“Declaration of Blood”) and the level 50 quest (“Our Answer”). JP definitely does not insinuate that we are the only ones who can see Fray/Esteem, but that others could as well (the level 45 quest has one of the NPCs acknowledge Fray/Esteem as maybe someone that fought Leviathan with us, and the level 50 quest has NPCs making a direct reference to us “fighting with that madman”).

The JP version of these quests are definitely far more deeper than the English ones made them out to be (English is still deep and still good, but I much prefer the JP ones). As the translator said, Your Darkside/Fray/Esteem comes off as a very sorrowful character who is genuinely hurting—and that just resonated better with me.

Declaration of Blood
Our Answer



In the JP version, the level 45 quest openly acknowledges Fray’s/Esteem’s presence. So the interpretation/headcanon one seems to be an English localization thing. I’m not sure about French or German, though.

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Omg reading the jp translations of the 45 quest makes me want to cry again... I'm scared now that if I read the 50 translation I WILL cry again like I did when I finished said quest and crying at work is not good...

God... I prefer the Japanese dialogue over the English version. Though I do like some of the things that Fray says in English, the Japanese versions feels more sorrowful with depth.

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Originally Posted by HyoMinPark

Declaration of Blood
Our Answer

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Well, I'm glad to know now that "Esteem" is just a product of the English localization. I hated that character from the start.

I mean... Fray is a character in both the English and Japanese localization. The same thing goes for Myste. Both of them are parts of your, the Wol's, consciousness and are part of how you deal with being the WoL in the Dark Knight quests. What is different is how the WoL and Fray relate to each other in the Japaneses localization vs the English localization.

I have to say that I am glad they changed how Fray talks in the English localization. In the Japanese localization, Fray wants something from you just as much as everyone else does; he's just a better emotional manipulator then most people and so happens to be a part of you. I found Japanses Fray as annoying and whinny as everyone else in the DRK quests and would have enjoyed the DRK quests a lot less if he hadn't been changed for the English version.

English Fray, meanwhile, is as annoyed with everyone asking things from you as you are. He comes off at the start being much more on your side, which makes the "betrayal" during the lvl 50 quest work a lot better. What English Fray wants is less something else from you and is more annoyed that you aren't doing things for yourself. It's a subtle difference, but it completely changes how I view the character. It doesn't hurt either that making fun of "fetch quests" is something the English Speaking Gaming community has been making fun of for decades either.

All that said, due to the nature of the DRK quests both interpretations of Fray work. Or rather, they don't work either. I know that for my character, the events of the DRK quests never happened because my character simply didn't have the kind of reaction to being the WoL that the DRK quests need to assume the WoL has to being the WoL. The DRK quests work great if you assume the WoL is bothered or having issues being the WoL. The plot of the DRK quests falls apart when your WoL doesn't fit their story.

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Originally Posted by VirusChris

God... I prefer the Japanese dialogue over the English version. Though I do like some of the things that Fray says in English, the Japanese versions feels more sorrowful with depth.

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I admit, I kind of liked Frey's line "Everything up to now has been your story…" FFXIV spends very little time giving the WoL character development so the twist that this was our story the whole time was kind of neat.

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Originally Posted by Rosenstrauch

Well, I'm glad to know now that "Esteem" is just a product of the English localization. I hated that character from the start.

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I'm not sure I understand what you're saying. "Esteem" is still your character - they're just less edgy in the Japanese and more sorrowful/emotional. But they're still considered your "shade" or your "dark side". They are the part of you who, as they said, couldn't be a hero. Who just wants to be another adventurer.


As for the poster who found Japanese Fray annoying, I respectfully disagree. They wants you to realize that each time you selflessly help others, while it makes you a hero, it also costs you at the same time. They want you to accept that it's okay to not always be a stoic hero, and just smile and nod. They want you to acknowledge your own negative emotions, because ignoring them causes you suffering that steadily accumulates. Like a snowball effect. Simple psychology. I think it would fit any person, because everyone has those kinds of negative thoughts, regardless of how much they want to embrace "being good" or "being a hero". No one is that pure to not have the stray thoughts like the ones voiced about the Merchant in the 45 quest.

They're angry with others, but also angry with you for staying silent.

At least, that's the interpretation I got from it.

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Originally Posted by HyoMinPark

I'm not sure I understand what you're saying. "Esteem" is still your character - they're just less edgy in the Japanese and more sorrowful/emotional. But they're still considered your "shade" or your "dark side". They are the part of you who, as they said, couldn't be a hero. Who just wants to be another adventurer..

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I mean that I found Esteem's whole "crass egotistical edgelord who may or may not exist" deal to be so awful that it ruined the story line for me. I also didn't appreciate the game's attempt to portray my character as a psychopath via Fray shouting that merchant down over him being rightfully angry with me for soaking his goods in Qiqirn blood. Knowing that the Japanese version is nothing like that is a relief.

Rightfully angry is not what I would say of the merchant who begged the WoL to go save said merchandise for him because he did not even hire any type if guard to go with him . So rightfully angry that he demanded that said WoL compensate him for HALF the value of said stolen property after all the fighting the WoL had to do just to get said merchandise back and could have died while retrieving it. That's not being rightfully angry that's being an ungrateful douche.

And I wouldn't call it saving the merchant's goods if I chose to soak the merchant's goods in blood because I think it's funny or something. At least in the Japanese script, it's clear that it's not my fault the goods are tarnished, and not to such a ludicrous extent.

Edit: Seriously. If I were to help somebody for free, and then either intentionally or accidentally ruined something of theirs (like breaking a television or taking a crap on their carpet), not only would I not be surprised or outraged over them getting angry, I would fully expect to have to compensate them for it. Especially if they're not a friend or family member. I also don't see how throwing a temper tantrum over that, like Fray (actually yourself?) did, is supposed to make him look cool or express my "innermost thoughts".

I always read it as our darkness reanimating a corpse with the will of our darkness, but some scenes really were iffy.

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Originally Posted by Rosenstrauch

I mean that I found Esteem's whole "crass egotistical edgelord who may or may not exist" deal to be so awful that it ruined the story line for me. I also didn't appreciate the game's attempt to portray my character as a psychopath via Fray shouting that merchant down over him being rightfully angry with me for soaking his goods in Qiqirn blood. Knowing that the Japanese version is nothing like that is a relief.

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What proof is there that we knowingly soaked his goods in blood?

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Originally Posted by Edax

What proof is there that we knowingly soaked his goods in blood?

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It's implied. The merchant's goods, iirc, were contained in a large crate, and the player is under no obligation to fight the Qiqirn present while close to that crate. That, coupled with FF14's typical bloodless carnage, leaves me to believe that we weren't brutalizing those Qiqirn so thoroughly that they were gushing blood in high pressure streams or exploding into chunks or anything like that. Which leaves me with only two possibilities: Either we intentionally soaked the merchant's goods when we retrieved them, or we absentmindedly did so (example: By removing them from the crate with blood soaked gauntlets).

Either way, we fucked up. At least in the English script. In the Japanese script, the merchant is complaining about the Qiqirn dirtying his goods, and then tries to fleece us. If that had happened, I could understand the outrage Fray expresses on our behalf.

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Originally Posted by Rosenstrauch

It's implied. The merchant's goods, iirc, were contained in a large crate, and the player is under no obligation to fight the Qiqirn present while close to that crate. That, coupled with FF14's typical bloodless carnage, leaves me to believe that we weren't brutalizing those Qiqirn so thoroughly that they were gushing blood in high pressure streams or exploding into chunks or anything like that. Which leaves me with only two possibilities: Either we intentionally soaked the merchant's goods when we retrieved them, or we absentmindedly did so (example: By removing them from the crate with blood soaked gauntlets).

Either way, we fucked up. At least in the English script. In the Japanese script, the merchant is complaining about the Qiqirn dirtying his goods, and then tries to fleece us. If that had happened, I could understand the outrage Fray expresses on our behalf.

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The merchant still demanded that we kill on his behalf and complained that his goods loss value because of those kills. He never had a leg to stand on.

Or a qiqirn while bleeding fell over or staggered over onto said crate and died while bleeding out and the WoL was too preoccupied to move them off while fighting a crap ton of others that where swarming about. Nope the merchant has absolutely no idea what had happened and made an assumption that it just HAD to be all the WoL fault. Hell even we can't say it was the fault of the WoL. Btw what are you expecting the WoL to do step up to them and go "pardon me I'm here to fight you for that crate but before we do let's move off some distance as to not bloody them, shall we?"

My read of that whole situation was that the merchant was indeed being at least slightly unreasonable in demanding compensation from us for dirtying his goods, but the way we exploded upon him in anger (in the English version; in Japanese, it was Fray who yelled at him) was basically going from 0 to 100 immediately.

In the 80 quest, the merchant did apologize for that. I kind of wish we could also have apologized for how we yelled at him while in the middle of our mental break.

Which is kind of the disturbing thing about the DRK questlines, in that apart from 50-60, all of it is due to the WoL having some sort of emotional breakdown multiple times. Being so guilty or angry that we literally manifest part of our aether into a separate being is probably not healthy.

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Originally Posted by YianKutku

My read of that whole situation was that the merchant was indeed being at least slightly unreasonable in demanding compensation from us for dirtying his goods, but the way we exploded upon him in anger (in the English version; in Japanese, it was Fray who yelled at him) was basically going from 0 to 100 immediately.

In the 80 quest, the merchant did apologize for that. I kind of wish we could also have apologized for how we yelled at him while in the middle of our mental break.

Which is kind of the disturbing thing about the DRK questlines, in that apart from 50-60, all of it is due to the WoL having some sort of emotional breakdown multiple times. Being so guilty or angry that we literally manifest part of our aether into a separate being is probably not healthy.

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At the same time, the merchant never offered compensation. He was demanding payment from the person he was begging for charity. That's beyond rude, it's almost extortion.

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Originally Posted by YianKutku

Which is kind of the disturbing thing about the DRK questlines, in that apart from 50-60, all of it is due to the WoL having some sort of emotional breakdown multiple times. Being so guilty or angry that we literally manifest part of our aether into a separate being is probably not healthy.

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To be fair, look at what our character goes through. Multiple Wars and the loss of multiple friends. Look at how many people we have also killed or had a hand in killing. Yeah, a lot deserve it. Yeah, many were "kill them or they'll kill us", but there was also a lot of collateral damage: innocent lives lost that weren't lives of our enemies. Such an emotional breakdown is entirely plausible for anyone with a conscience, and the mind will do whatever it needs to do to try and find serenity. So I think it all makes sense. I know all of this would weigh heavily on Hyomin, at least.

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Originally Posted by YianKutku

My read of that whole situation was that the merchant was indeed being at least slightly unreasonable in demanding compensation from us for dirtying his goods, but the way we exploded upon him in anger (in the English version; in Japanese, it was Fray who yelled at him) was basically going from 0 to 100 immediately.

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In the English version it was Fray who yelled at him in our voice, which caused our character to give Fray a "wtf?" look.

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Originally Posted by HyoMinPark

To be fair, look at what our character goes through. Multiple Wars and the loss of multiple friends. Look at how many people we have also killed or had a hand in killing. Yeah, a lot deserve it. Yeah, many were "kill them or they'll kill us", but there was also a lot of collateral damage: innocent lives lost that weren't lives of our enemies. Such an emotional breakdown is entirely plausible for anyone with a conscience, and the mind will do whatever it needs to do to try and find serenity. So I think it all makes sense. I know all of this would weigh heavily on Hyomin, at least.

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Eorzea apparently has no therapists, so the WoL decided to make their own. That this therapist told them to kill more people is possibly a warning sign.

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Originally Posted by YianKutku

Eorzea apparently has no therapists, so the WoL decided to make their own. That this therapist told them to kill more people is possibly a warning sign.

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Now I cant get an image of our WoL on a couch one of their legs propped up with their arm over their forehead with Fray in slacks and a button up shirt while still wearing the helmet sitting in a chair, holding a pen and pad saying , "Now, [Player Name], tell me about your mother."

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Originally Posted by Rannie

Now I cant get an image of our WoL on a couch one of their legs propped up with their arm over their forehead with Fray in slacks and a button up shirt while still wearing the helmet sitting in a chair, holding a pen and pad saying , "Now, [Player Name], tell me about your mother."

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http://lifeinaggro.com/images/comics...ia20171119.png

Not to forget our characters battle with the corrupted light. That was terrifying to look at and i am pretty sure it was more terrifying for them getting torn apart from the inside. If that didnt leave a lasting impact then i dont know..

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Originally Posted by HyoMinPark

To be fair, look at what our character goes through. Multiple Wars and the loss of multiple friends. Look at how many people we have also killed or had a hand in killing. Yeah, a lot deserve it. Yeah, many were "kill them or they'll kill us", but there was also a lot of collateral damage: innocent lives lost that weren't lives of our enemies. Such an emotional breakdown is entirely plausible for anyone with a conscience, and the mind will do whatever it needs to do to try and find serenity. So I think it all makes sense. I know all of this would weigh heavily on Hyomin, at least.

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Well, on the subject of collateral damage, I think it's important to point out that the collateral damage has never been at the WoL's hand. The WoL has never been the sort to pursue solutions that allow innocents to get caught in the crossfire. Certainly our enemies have no such qualms - and perhaps certain allies. The only "blame" we can accept for the deaths of these innocents was that we weren't capable of saving everyone. The Superman problem - he's incredibly powerful, but he can't be everywhere at once.

Note that I don't include technical innocents, like unwilling Garlean conscripts or Tempered individuals. The WoL understands that it may be necessary to use lethal force against such people to protect their own life, or those of others. (Certainly, though, those lost lives could contribute toward their angst.) But situations like, "Hey, let's blow up this bridge! Sure, a few citizens will lose their lives, but just think of the casualties among the enemy army!" Those aren't choices the WoL ever makes. All actions the WoL is shown taking part in, neither the WoL or their allies are shown as responsible for non-combatant deaths.

Worth noting that if you

read the quest log entry of the level 80 DRK quest as a DRK, you get extra text than if you read it as any other job. The second paragraph even tells you this when it says to "hold the crystal close that we may enjoy these moments together. Or put it away and pretend I was never a part of it. That I was never here." If you continue to read as a DRK, you get extra bits added in from Fray, while reading it as a non-DRK just presents you with the typical journal entry. Turns out our "little trick" doesn't count, but maybe that's just Fray being tsundere.

I think it's worth noting that the soulstones tend to work as conduits to the deeds of past bearers. Sig makes a lot of reference that the path of the Dark Knight involves holding on to unchecked emotion to push your limits. Given that, in the English version, Fray commends you on being absolutely covered in amal'jaa blood after a fight, I just assumed the DRK style was to hack things apart in a rage driven by pain and despair and then draw power from the blood you're spilling everywhere.

My point being - the WoL in the DRK quests probly isn't struggling in the quests because of their past experiences alone. Contact with the Dark Knight soulstone is probly also flooding them with raw emotion. Traumatic enough to at least disassociate their dark desires as a separate entity. Then Myste comes to confirm that's a power the abyss can give you.