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Something I’ve wanted to write for a while is an analysis of a debated topic when it comes to the Heavens’ Ward: whether or not they were tempered, and how much agency they actually had over their actions. The answer to the first question is fairly straightforward: yes, it’s been confirmed in at least two interviews, was heavily implied in Heavensward proper, and later stated in the Endwalker role quests. The second is a bit more nuanced, due to the general lack of information on the Ward, but it’s safe to say that they were not able to disobey Thordan, regardless of their thoughts on his plans.
(Obligatory spoiler warning for 3.0 and beyond under the cut.)
I. MSQ EVIDENCE
One complaint I’ve seen when the topic of tempering is brought up is that the MSQ never makes it clear that the Ward are tempered. This can probably be chalked up to the Ward’s (unfortunately) reduced role in the final cut of Heavensward, but there is still enough textual evidence to suggest that they are tempered, primarily through this exchange after the Vault:
Aymeric: During the battle within the Vault, the Heavens' Ward demonstrated strange and unnatural abilities.
Lucia: Aye, the manner in which Ser Zephirin struck down Lord Haurchefant was unlike anything I've ever seen before.
Aymeric: The spectacle called to mind King Thordan and his knights twelve as they are depicted in scripture ─ holy powers and all…
Alphinaud: Mere fabrications… which have become objects of faith… instilled with the belief of countless devoted souls…
Alphinaud: Seven hells!
Aymeric: If Lady Iceheart can use her own body as a vessel for summoning, I see no reason why others could not…
Lucia: Are the Heavens' Ward truly so reckless?
─ (quest: The Sins of Antiquity)
A direct comparison is drawn here between Ysayle’s summoning of Shiva and the Ward’s summoning of King Thordan’s knights. It makes sense ─ at this point in the MSQ, Shiva and King Thordan are probably the most similar primals we have faced, with the exception of Good King Moggle Mog, who is also compared to Shiva in 2.4:
Minfilia: Shiva was real ─ a living, breathing woman ─ of that there can be no doubt. In this respect, she differs from every other figure to have been summoned, each of whom was worshipped as a god.
Minfilia: …The sole exception being Good King Moggle Mog XII ─ the myth made manifest in response to the fervent supplications of the Mogglesguard.
─ (quest: For the Greater Good)
Unlike other primals, which are the manifestations of their summoners’ gods, Shiva and King Thordan’s religious/spiritual significance to the heretics and Halonic Ishgardians respectively are as a sort of patron saint/martyr figure. Shiva fell in love with Hraesvelgr and was eaten by him, King Thordan died valiantly in battle against Nidhogg after the wyrm betrayed him (according to the Holy See, at least). They are the pinnacle of what each faction believes in: Shiva wanting harmony with the dragons, no matter the cost, and King Thordan wanting complete and utter victory over them. These two primals are revered for similar reasons, and despite differences in the fuel used for the summoning (crystals vs Nidhogg’s eye), both their summoners use their bodies as a vessel for the primal, which is unheard of.
Moenbryda: Iceheart did what? And… you're certain about that, are you? Dravanians are skilled with glamours, after all…
Moenbryda: Look ─ if you say that's what you saw, I believe you. It's just that I've never heard of a primal being summoned like that before.
─ (quest: The Instruments of Our Deliverance)
There is one key difference, though: unlike Ysayle, the Ward do not have the Echo. Neither does Thordan, for that matter, but his schemes to summon King Thordan stemmed from the self-righteous belief that he was Doing What’s Right for Ishgard, and in turn being tempered would likely feed his ego and help him justify it to himself, creating a vicious cycle.
Now, this doesn’t automatically mean that the Ward have been tempered. Like we saw with Ifrit and Garuda, primals have to make a conscious effort to enthrall new subjects… usually. Remember how I mentioned Good King Moggle Mog as the other primal most similar to Shiva and King Thordan? When you are first asked to slay him, you are privy to this exchange:
Kuplo Kopp: I assure you, the Mogglesguard only want to protect the forest from outsiders. But ever since the return of Good King Moggle Mog XII ─ may his boundless grace fill our hearts with love ─ they've started to get a little carried away, kupo. Verging on a lot, in fact…
Yda: Like the sylphs who summoned Ramuh, you mean?
Papalymo: Hmm. We cannot discount the possibility that this… entity is influencing the moogles in a manner similar to that of a primal.
─ (quest: Hail to the King, Kupo)
This is the most similar example to the phenomenon surrounding King Thordan and the Ward. However, Kuplo Kopp states that the Mogglesguard had a change in temperament only after Good King Moggle Mog was initially summoned. On the other hand, the Ward have had their primal powers well before King Thordan was summoned for the first time, as Zephirin transforms in a cutscene in the level 51 quest Alphinaud’s Way while talking to Thordan. There’s a possible explanation for this as well: unlike Thordan, the Mogglesguard did not have any help from Ascians with their summoning.
So it’s at the very least suggested by the MSQ that the Ward, in the process of becoming the incarnations of the Knights Twelve, have been tempered. But there’s one other questline that the Ward are (posthumously) prominent in that we can take a look at.
II. THE CASTER ROLE QUESTS
If you’ve never done the Endwalker caster role quests, here’s a quick TL;DR of what pertains to the Ward: a blasphemy resembling a dragon (Profane Fafnir) is spotted in Coerthas, spreading despair particularly among those who have been unable to reconcile their faith with the truth of the Dragonsong War. The person who turned into Fafnir is revealed to be a failed attempt by high-ranking clergy members to resummon King Thordan and his knights in Azys Lla. Instead of the primal, they get a man resembling Zephirin (“Vaindreau,” who named himself after Zephirin’s predecessor), who possesses the memories of each fallen member of the Ward, causing him great confusion and distress. After finding the Soleil and crashing it outside Dragonhead, Vaindreau (ironically) wakes up in Ser Vaindreau’s Grace in Ishgard, finds out the archbishop is dead, and stumbles outside, where he succumbs to despair and turns into Fafnir. Aymeric and the WoL eventually lure Fafnir into battle and kill it, putting the souls of the Ward to rest. There’s some other stuff pertaining to Ishgardian politics that I left out, but I hope this isn’t too confusing.
Now, obviously there’s a lot of Ward information to talk about here. The first is that they are referred to as those who became primals in the journal, but we already knew this (and by process of deduction can assume they are tempered):
Aymeric posits that the summoning ritual may have succeeded despite the lack of aether. However, what resulted was not the fearsome primal and his guard you once faced and felled, but a single, otherwise ordinary man driven by the desire to protect the archbishop.
─ (quest: Only Justice, Only Vengeance)
Based on what is known of primals, the man's confusion can be attributed to the mixture of memories he inherited from the multiple individuals who had transformed into King Thordan and his knights twelve. Though the Heavens' Ward took up arms against him and his allies, Aymeric laments their terrible fate, and expresses his fear that other Ishgardians who have become disillusioned with the church may succumb to despair and turn as Vaindreau and the clergymen did.
─ (quest: Wills Unending, Faith Unbending)
But Aymeric takes this a step further by calling them tempered in all but name:
Aymeric: Finally, it is over... Thus ends the tale of the Heavens' Ward. Let it not be forgotten. 'Twas wrong of them to conceal the truth of our nation's founding. To abet the archbishop in his machinations. Yet in peering into their hearts, one thing became clear: they too had succumbed to primal manipulation. They too were victims. Flawed men, aye, and not without sin...but Ishgardians brave and true. As we all aspire to be.
─ (quest: Ever March Heavensward)
Victims of primal manipulation… Where have we heard that before?
Vaindreau also repeatedly expresses a single-minded desire to protect and serve the archbishop, both before and after transforming into Fafnir. His first words after the failed summoning attempt are about finding Thordan, and the catalyst for him turning into a blasphemy is being told that Thordan’s dead. Before this, he’s… well, not normal, as he’s trying to reconcile the memories of twelve different men with who he is, but he’s also not turning into a depression-fuelled beast upon learning that he no longer has a purpose. It would make sense that Thordan’s tempering manipulated the loyalty of his knights, to ensure that they couldn’t turn against him, which explains Vaindreau’s behaviour as the carrier of these tempered memories.
Speaking of which, we get a small peek into the heads of some of the Ward, most notably Zephirin, and his memories actually serve to emphasize this point. For those unfamiliar, Zephirin was expected to become lord commander, but the job was given to Aymeric instead while Zephirin was made archimandrite. Vaindreau references that here:
Vaindreau: A lowborn runt… whose every effort went unrewarded. Whose very name disqualified him from ever leading the Temple Knights. But His Eminence raised me up. Granted me a place at his side…
Vaindreau: From that day forth, I pledged my sword to his service. Pledged my very being. My life to be offered up in defense of his.
─ (quest: Wills Unending, Faith Unbending)
While the first line appears to be Zephirin’s memories of becoming archimandrite, the second line is a return to that same fanatical devotion that Vaindreau exhibits, devotion usually only seen among tempered victims. That’s not to say that this behaviour only exists among the tempered (Ishgard has its fair share of non-tempered zealous priests, after all), but combined with everything else I don’t think its a coincidence.
III. THE EFFECT OF TEMPERING
I mentioned at the beginning of this that there were two interviews in which the Ward is confirmed to have been tempered. I’ve seen this pointed at as being a “retcon” of sorts because the MSQ doesn’t outright state that they’re tempered, but really, what else would have happened to a group of Echo-less men that summoned a primal? The interviews just serve to confirm what we already know, as well as shed some light on the exact nature of the Ward’s tempering and how it affects them.
The first interview is this Dengeki Online article from September 2015, translated to English by Tumblr user haillenarte, which contains miscellaneous information on the Vault and its enemies, but, more importantly, is the first time the Ward’s bios were ever discussed. Grinnaux’s in particular states:
As a trueborn son of House Dzemael, Grinnaux became known as one of his House’s most talented knights. He boasts unparalleled skill in the arts of war, but his history is peppered with conflicts resulting from his disagreeable personality. Nevertheless, Archbishop Thordan VII appointed Ser Grinnaux to the Heavens’ Ward based on combat capability alone — reasoning that if the man were tempered to obey instructions, his unruly behavior would not pose an issue.
This interview does little beyond confirm what was already suggested by the game’s text (that the Ward were tempered) but it also states that the Ward were unable to disobey Thordan as a side effect of said tempering. This makes sense, given both the Mogglesguard’s similar behaviour with regard to Good King Moggle Mog and Vaindreau’s devotion to Thordan even after his death.
The second is this 4Gamer Q&A article from August 2021 with Banri Oda (the main writer of Heavensward), in which one of the questions is about the Ward’s tempering:
When exactly did the Heavens' Ward become enthralled? Ser Zephirin designated those with exceptional abilities as members when he became the archimandrite. Was he tempered at this point?
After former Heavens' Ward archimandrite, Ser Vaindreau de Rouchemande “retired”, Zephirin was chosen as archimandrite and was allowed to designate the new members of the Heavens’ Ward. The knights were turned when all twelve were granted an audience with the archbishop for the first time.
Keep in mind that becoming tempered does not necessarily mean that the individual loses all their memories and characteristics. The archbishop, in particular, could not risk the populace becoming suspicious of his actions, so he didn’t “fully cook” the knights of the Heavens' Ward into mindless tempered, opting to keep them at a “rare” state instead. Thus they were not puppets that did nothing but repeat words of worship, but he nevertheless ensured that they would obey his orders and never betray him. This is the difference between him and the other primals like Ifrit, who prefer their tempered “well done”.
We have a lot more information to work with here. The cooking metaphor is really great, as one argument I’ve seen with regards to the Ward (especially before this interview was released) was that they couldn’t have been tempered since they all seem to retain their senses of self and individual personalities. The tempering being more subtle accounts for this. (If you’ve ever played Elden Ring, it seems similar to Miquella’s charm, where the people under said charm are aware of it but feel obliged to serve him, even if they disliked him prior to being charmed, until it’s broken).
With this knowledge, we know that they couldn’t leave even if they wanted to. One of them (Haumeric) at the very least considered it, according to his EE1 entry:
Although he once considered resignation, he eventually decided, after reflecting on his past experiences within the clergy, that he could not forsake his position within the Heavens’ Ward, as it would afford him opportunities to entreat the archbishop directly.
The description of Zephirin’s sword, Shattered Heart, reveals that he had similar sentiments, as he felt like he had to abandon his own morals in order to serve Thordan. (These descriptions were translated from a community broadcast by Tumblr user haillenarte.)
In days past, Ser Zephirin was rightly called the Just for being one of Ishgard's most noble and virtuous knights. However, after assuming the role of Very Reverend Archimandrite of the Heavens’ Ward, he was forced to set aside his own ideas of justice — for disobeying the Archbishop's justice would have been tantamount to disobeying the Fury's own. The blade bequeathed to him upon his appointment as the new archimandrite was named the Shattered Heart as a reminder that his own heart was forever broken.
IV. MORALS (OR LACK THEREOF)
This leads me to discuss another common take about the Ward, which is that even if they were tempered they can’t have been great people beforehand if they still signed off on what Thordan was doing. I honestly think this is because of which members we’re exposed to before the Reactor, as Grinnaux, Paulecrain, and Charibert are all confirmed assholes and people hate Zephirin for Haurchefant shaped reasons. I guess Adelphel can be counted among them, but unlike the other four his personality isn’t really shown on screen.
Grinnaux, Paulecrain, and Charibert are noted to be strange choices for the Ward in the first place, as rather than appoint his new guard himself (as is normal), Thordan instead asked Zephirin to select members based on martial prowess rather than character. So normally, a man who’s rumoured to have beaten knights under his command to death, a man who assaulted a noble lady, and a man who loves his job that is Literally Just Torture would not be considered for the archbishop’s honour guard. But what about the rest of their brothers?
Vellguine and Hermenost were part of the Ward under the original Vaindreau’s tenure, so likely to be chosen for their morals and virtue. Vellguine was both Vaindreau and Zephirin’s second-in-command (and initially expected to be the next archimandrite, but he declined the position). Hermenost was a monk before becoming a member of the Ward, and was deeply pious.
Ignasse possibly served under Vaindreau as well, if you read his EE1 entry through the lens of his admiration of Vellguine coming from working with him. Unlike the other two, neither EE1 nor the short story What Remains of a Knight mention him, so its equally as likely he was one of Zephirin’s recruits. Regardless, when you meet his cousin Millie in the Dark Knight quests she speaks of him fondly, calling him a “man of the Fury.” I’m aware that she’s a biased source, but this also tracks with his EE1 entry that paints him as a religiously devoted man. The sort of person who would have been appointed to the Ward under normal circumstances.
Haumeric was a priest who graduated from the Scholasticate as part of the Trinity, and before becoming part of the Ward, campaigned for judicial reforms (such as abolishing the trial by combat). He abhorred conflict, but recognized that it was necessary at times, and as mentioned above he considered resigning at one point. Also, he hated Charibert, which has to count for something.
Adelphel and Janlenoux are sort of a package deal in the sense that they’re two of the youngest members of the Ward, knew each other as Durendaire knights before joining, and fight together during the Singularity Reactor. Adelphel was a fuckboy minor noble, and Janlenoux was the son of a knight who enjoyed cooking. There’s not much to be said on their morals since we don’t get that sort of information from their lorebook entries, but Adelphel is rumoured to sleep around and even has an admirer show up in the Hildibrand quests, of all places (as do Zephirin and Charibert). On a sliding scale of Haumeric to Charibert, though, being Ishgardian Lady Eye Candy and possibly breaking your vow of celibacy isn’t the worst thing in the world.
Guerrique was a knight who served under Zephirin when he was a Temple Knight commander and is almost definitely one of the more questionable recruits. He’s an alcoholic with a habit of annoying his fellow knights while he’s drunk, but he’s also strong enough to have exploded a wyvern’s head with a swing of his axe, so he’s a good enough fit for the current Ward. Not exactly a paragon of virtue, but he’s also not quite at the level of burning the previous archimandrite alive at Thordan’s request.
Noudenet was a recent Scholasticate graduate who was asked to join the Ward after being noticed for his aetheric research. He’s characterized as sort of a magic snob who made fun of Haumeric’s conjury for not being flashy enough while respecting Charibert and Hermenost for their abilities. The closest we get to information on his personality beyond this is in his EE1 quote, which reads: “Spare me your moral platitudes. I shall defer to the judgement of the Fury.” It’s very vague, but my best guess is he doesn’t care what other people think of his research. And given this is Ishgard, where growing the wrong type of gyshal greens can get you branded a heretic, I… honestly don’t blame him.
I didn’t mean to save Zephirin for last, it kind of just happened, but it feels like he’s the member I most often see people desperately trying to claim as having been horrible before being tempered. Again, for Haurchefant shaped reasons. It’s frustrating because it feels like all other signs point in the opposite direction: that he was genuinely a good person before becoming archimandrite. As mentioned above, he named his sword Shattered Heart because he found serving Thordan and aiding in his schemes heartbreaking. His EE1 quote suggests that he justified this by telling himself that their actions would be vindicated by history. He’s described as noble and virtuous, a man of integrity and skill. He didn’t care that people judged him for using a greatsword (a weapon usually used by dark knights) when he became a knight because he knew that the path he walked was righteous. His title was literally the Just!
V. CONCLUSION
I feel like part of why this frustrates me so much is because if we write the entire Ward off as irredeemable prior to tempering, we ignore the tragedy of what Thordan did when he tempered them and led them into a harebrained scheme to summon a primal. They were (mostly) normal men who had no say over their circumstances! They couldn’t say no, even if they wanted to!
I’m not really sure how to end off here. I initially wrote this because I wanted to dispel some myths about the Ward I kept coming across in the wild, and now I’m 3.6k words of meta deep, so lol. I genuinely don’t care if people dislike the Ward, or find them boring, or whatever, and I don’t expect to change anyone’s mind about them, but I’m tired of people making up reasons to hate them. It’s fine to just say you dislike Zephirin cause he speared Haurchefant, but please stop acting like he canonically kicks puppies or whatever to justify it! Your local Ward fans will thank you!
“average person eats 3 spiders a year” factoid actualy just statistical error. average person eats 0 spiders per year. Spiders Georg, who lives in cave & eats over 10,000 each day, is an outlier adn should not have been counted
#Helios was declawed by his former owners so he doesn't just slap things he dislikes like most cats#he really only feels confident in hissing at them#Especially because a lot of the thing he doesn't like are bugs and those are sharp sometimes :(#Selene has figured this out and now when she hears him hiss she sprints over the kill the fuck out of the bug#Helios has learned she will do this so he'll hiss at stuff louder and louder until she hears him#A nervous old man and his emotional support homicidal maniac
tags by @gallusrostromegalus
I couldn't reblog without the tags because the context is hilarious
A Nervous Old Man (right) and his Emotional Support Violence Machine (Left)
Yes, he is more than twice her size.
Yes, he is five times her age.
Yes, he cries like a big baby until she kills Unacceptable Scary Things (earwigs) for him.
ellievsbear
baratheonpilled
blakekathryn
kaledo-art
prguitarman
turnnoffyourmind
theartofmadeline
