The Tale of the Dark Knight (DRK Spoilers)

[Kaiser-Ace]

I'd also love the return of our shadow in future quests primarily because it would probably be very, very personal and introspective again instead of the story ultimately be about somebody else (like literally every other storyline in this game). Can't think of a how or why our shadow would return, though.

Shadow: I am thou, thou art I. The time has come. Open the door, and call forth what is withen.

WoL: Per....so.....na.

[Rannie]

/snip

The way it's flowing is inconsistent with it going from him to us. yes it starts off with the soul gem glowing then you glow after you hear the "Is this it? Is this all that awaits? No... No more. Enough" and then you proceed to see the energy flowing from you into "fray" and continue to hear the exact same words spoken by your dark half when he's about to come out of the "body" in Our Answer ie "Open your eyes. Look. Do you see now? Do you see?" next the journal says the voice you are hearing is a "familiar" one you would know Fray's voice so in turn you wouldn't be familiar with it. However you can be familiar with your own voice yet not know it is your own hearing it outside of yourself (like watching or listening to yourself over the phone or a recording they can sound very different) Secondly your dark shadow straight up tells you that you knew that fray was dead and didn't care because you had the stone the sword and just wanted a teacher really badly (thus denying all yourself and not even being able to hear the voice when fray wasn't around).

Shadow: I am thou, thou art I. The time has come. Open the door, and call forth what is withen.

WoL: Per....so.....na.

don't forget the whole unbuttoning of the school uniform jacket

[Allyrion]

The way it's flowing is inconsistent with it going from him to us. yes it starts off with the soul gem glowing then you glow after you hear the "Is this it? Is this all that awaits? No... No more. Enough" and then you proceed to see the energy flowing from you into "fray" and continue to hear the exact same words spoken by your dark half when he's about to come out of the "body" in Our Answer ie "Open your eyes. Look. Do you see now? Do you see?" next the journal says the voice you are hearing is a "familiar" one you would know Fray's voice so in turn you wouldn't be familiar with it. However you can be familiar with your own voice yet not know it is your own hearing it outside of yourself (like watching or listening to yourself over the phone or a recording they can sound very different) Secondly your dark shadow straight up tells you that you knew that fray was dead and didn't care because you had the stone the sword and just wanted a teacher really badly (thus denying all yourself and not even being able to hear the voice when fray wasn't around).

I felt the "Is this it? Is this all that awaits? No... No more. Enough" was Fray, everything after was the PC's Fray. Which isn't really inconsistent with the journal or the him echoing the later part.
Even if it was all Fray, I don't think the Dark Mist flowing between us and Fray's corpse really proves anything.

Even if it did, the whole process started as soon as you picked up the Soulstone.
That whole thing could've happened in your head, just like how they accused you of talking to Fray's corpse (which, again, I really don't think they meant zombie).
An altered perception means you can't trust what you see.

[Dererk]

I'd also love the return of our shadow in future quests primarily because it would probably be very, very personal and introspective again instead of the story ultimately be about somebody else (like literally every other storyline in this game). Can't think of a how or why our shadow would return, though.

I I could see that being the DRK story in the next expansion.

By not just mastering the Darkness but becoming one with it. Maybe the last ability in it will be something like full possession.

I would love to have a reason to Marco We are one. With an ability.

[Kaiser-Ace]

I felt the "Is this it? Is this all that awaits? No... No more. Enough" was Fray, everything after was the PC's Fray. Which isn't really inconsistent with the journal or the him echoing the later part.
Even if it was all Fray, I don't think the Dark Mist flowing between us and Fray's corpse really proves anything.

Even if it did, the whole process started as soon as you picked up the Soulstone.
That whole thing could've happened in your head, just like how they accused you of talking to Fray's corpse (which, again, I really don't think they meant zombie).
An altered perception means you can't trust what you see.

That's the same kinda mind bs that went on in CoD Black Ops where "Reznov" was just a hallucination this whole time and had been dead for years by the time the story ended.

[shinros]

Most of "Fray's" appearances are ambiguous, but at the very least s/he is physically there during the 50 quest. There's no way you could have gotten to Whitebrim Front and beat up the soldiers, then arrived with the healer knight; the soldiers also gasp in terror when "Fray" glares at them, and the knight gasps when "Fray" leaves Fray's body and physically manifests as your shadow.

All the other appearances are ambiguous. Take them however you wish.

I'd also love the return of our shadow in future quests primarily because it would probably be very, very personal and introspective again instead of the story ultimately be about somebody else (like literally every other storyline in this game). Can't think of a how or why our shadow would return, though.

Same I would love for our dark side to chip in for future job quests.

[Allyrion]

Eh, I loved the Fray part of the story but I would really like to meet the DRKs as secret society.
I know they're all about the individuals (so I guess that's why they mostly act on their own), but I'm sure they have some sort of brotherhood hierarchy and organization.

I don't want it to be a story about someone else, but I want to delve more into the what it means to be a DRK.
It should be a personal story, but just about learning what it means to be this Job.

All the other stories are about another NPC and then at the end, they're like, "Oh, thanks for the help. Here's a new skill."
Some are less so. And the Fray one is practically the opposite, since you're learning from yourself.

How DRKs function within Ishgard society. I mean, Sidurgu and most class/job quests are just too personal for that NPC.
Fray, I wouldn't say it was too personal because it was really needed for the WoL. But I'd like if the Jobs were less about the people and more about what it means to hold the tag of that Job.

[Grayve]

I was under the impression that it was just Sid and the WoL left. There are no other Dark Knights. But I might have missed something in the quests.

[Ehr]

I was under the impression that it was just Sid and the WoL left. There are no other Dark Knights. But I might have missed something in the quests.

That's what I thought too. Pretty sure Fray's and Sid's master was the first Dark Knight, so that would mean that Sid and the WoL are the only ones left.

[Cilia]

How DRKs function in Ishgardian society is simple - as the job description says, we're lawless vigilantes who excise the corrupt parts of the Ishgardian theocracy by any means necessary. To be a dark knight is to suffer - you're persecuted for what you do, for what you are, but nobody else will take up your burden and right the wrongs you do because of that persecution. If you succumb to the darkness, you could very well become what you fight and end up on the end of another dark knight's blade. Dark knights have no illusions about what they do - they're criminals and murderers, but they commit the crimes and kill the people they do for the greater good.

To be a dark knight is to walk a very, very fine line between a merciless guardian and a common criminal.

Anyway, dark knights don't need an organization (Brotherhood of Darkness anyone?) because having a hierarchy or something like that undercuts one of the central ideas of being a dark knight - enforcing your own justice. If we answered to someone higher up, we'd just be taking their orders, not following our hearts. Having a central organization also implies having an emblem that would make you instantly recognizable to your enemies, something no dark knight needs to deal with.

Along with Sidurgu, are we the last dark knights?

Mmmmmmmmmaybe... any vigilante can pick up a big-ass sword and call themselves a dark knight, but without the void arts we wield they're not a dark knight proper. That said, even if the dark knights of Ishgard are almost nonexistent, there could be dark knights (or something like them) in future places.