Thread: Artoirel is... (4.5 spoilers)

Originally Posted by AmemeAmeklin

Yeah, poor Francel...I think he's like a mix of grieving and just flat out angry with either or both Haurchefant and us for what happened. Most recently he showed up in the short stories where he was murdering some defenseless flowers when he realized how Haurchefant had probably died.

I think that's not the fairest description of how that story went. That was the start of it, but even by the end he seemed a little more at peace.

His normal dialogue (at the cabin near Skyfire Locks) changes a few times, and it's also worth talking to his assistant Stephannot.

Immediately after Haurchefant's death:

FRANCEL
They said you were there with him. At the end. Tell me...tell me it was...
Forgive me, I haven't the words.

After the credits for Heavensward (during which we first see the grave, and the WoL places the shield there), he visits it regularly. (video)

The side story seems to be set around this point, and I would guess prior to the scene that plays out for us there: "Hello again, old friend," he says as he kneels at the grave - then turns to us and says "...it doesn't get any easier, does it."

At this point his normal dialogue has also changed:

FRANCEL
He was rather fond of those cliffs, you know. On a clear day, they offer a fantastic view of the city.
The way he would look at it, with a smile that wasn't quite, and eyes that held the whole of the world...
I would give anything to know what he felt in those moments.

And again post-Dragonsong (and up to now):

FRANCEL
The strength to carry on comes not from ourselves, but from that which we hold dear. From those we failed and those we will not.
And so, in that darkest hour, you won. The fates smiled on you. And, perhaps, so did he...
...I try, I truly do. It's what he would want. But sometimes it's just so damn hard...

STEPHANNOT
(You needn't worry. Though not often, he nevertheless smiles more frequently. The bitterness begins to fade, and he finds it easier to remember better times.)