From @tumblingxelian's tags
#Hey so um.. What the fuck?
The tale of Edda Pureheart is a sad one indeed.
Around level 15 in the Main Story Quests of FFXIV, you start doing dungeons. Outside the first two of these, you'll see several groups of adventurers. One of those groups consists of Paiyo Reiyo, the Lalafell Thaumaturge you see in the video above, Liavinne Painefort, an Elezen archer, Avere Bravearm, a Hyur Gladiator, and Edda Pureheart, a Hyur Conjurer and also Averes betrothed.
Hailing from a poor village, Edda and Avere left at about sixteen years of age, hoping to make a life for themselves as adventurers. Unfortunately, luck was not on their side, and Avere made for a questionable party leader, quickly taking on jobs that were far beyond their skill level, possibly in an attempt to emulate the hero that would become known as the Warrior of Light, who had recently become a rising star in the Adventurers Guild. Their first major mission, into Sastasha, ended in humiliating failure, and Edda became the target of blame for her party, with them declaring that her healing magic wasn't up to the task. Even taking the precaution of buying extra potions was met with scorn and mockery. Their second mission, into the cultist filled Tam-Tara Deepcroft, ended in disaster, as Avere ran ahead despite Eddas warnings, drew the attention of too many enemies, and was slain.
In the aftermath, at Carline Canopy, the Adventurers Guilds base of operations in Gridania, the Warrior of Light witnessed Paiyo and Liavinne heaping all the blame for Avere's death on Edda, taking no responsibility for their own part in it, or Avere's own guilt, before abandoning her there. Edda was left alone, with nothing but Averes head, all that she'd been able to recover. Some time later, in Ul'dah, Edda would meet the Warrior and finally speak with them, speaking of how Avere had been inspired by them, and how she planned to return home to bury him, train, and resume her adventuring career.
This was the last the Warrior would hear of her for some time, taking place at level 20. Over the next 30 levels, the Warrior would grow in fame, gaining the title that everyone would know them by from then on. During that time, both the Warrior of Light and Liavenne would join the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, an order dedicated to trying to bring peace among the divided nations of Eorzea, although Liavennes time with them would be brief, the Elezen losing her life in the Imperial attack on the groups headquarters.
At level 50, the Warrior would encounter Paiyo Reiyo in Ul'dah, deeply confused and concerned. He'd received a letter from Edda, inviting him to her wedding... to Avere. And that the wedding would be in Tam-Tara Deepcroft, the place where Paiyo knows Avere died. The letter also claimed that Liavenne had already agreed to attend, and Paiyo had been hoping to find her and learn what this was all about. The Warrior revealing that Liavenne was dead, and had been for some time only increases his confusion.
They soon discover that Liavennes grave has been ransacked and her body missing, and Paiyo races off to Tam-Tara... and is intercepted by Edda, who escorts him in.
Edda had never returned home, and never buried Averes head. Having acquired an unusual tome during her brief adventuring career, she began studying it, and soon experimented with the void magics within. The girls sanity, stretched to breaking point already, quickly snapped under the strain. She summoned voidsent from the thirteenth, binding them to bodies, including Liavennes, and then Averes, whose remains transformed into a hideous winged beast, although she planned to transfer the creature she now believed to be Avere to the Warriors body, so he could be just like the adventurer he always admired.
Despite this though, the creatures were no match for the Warrior of Light, who destroyed the defiled corpses and banished the voidsent within from the realm. Confused and scared, Edda backed away, tripping over the candles around her 'wedding circle' and fell to her death, smiling all the way down.
Afterwards, Paiyo and the Warrior reflected on Eddas tragedy, and Paiyo stated his intentions to return home and retire from adventuring, feeling he'd done too much harm already... And then he saw Edda, standing a short distance away...
Eddas ghost could occasionally be seen briefly around the three hub cities, before disappearing. And for a time, it seemed that would be the last of Edda Pureheart...
