A Winter's Dream

2026-09-18T22:43:22Z

Sirocco: Added more Optional Dialogues.

{{Quest infobox
| title = A Winter's Dream
| description = Tataru has a favor to ask of you.
| image = a winter's dream1.png
| quest-giver = Tataru
| related-npcs = Alphinaud; Estinien
| cutscene-npcs =
| location = The Rising Stones
| location-x = 6.1
| location-y = 6.0
| type = main scenario
| journal-section = Main Scenario
| journal-category = Post-Dawntrail Main Scenario Quests II
| journal-genre = Winter's Prelude Quests
| event =
| sortkey = 415
| organization =
| class =
| job =
| category =
| level = 100
| quest-sync =
| req-quest =
| req-items =
| requirements = Any Disciple of War or Magic (excluding limited jobs)
| exp = 0
| gil = 1455
| reward-opt1 = 1 Heavens' Eye Materia XI
| reward-opt2 = 1 Savage Aim Materia XI
| reward-opt3 = 1 Savage Might Materia XI
| reputation-reward =
| unlocks = uc Unending Codex: Ysayle
| prev-quest = Trail to the Heavens (Quest)
| next-quest = A Rush of Cold Wind
| patch = 7.56
| id-edb = c8aab21c609
| id-gt = 71011
| msq-index = 993
}}
==Steps==
*Search for [[Estinien]] at the designated location in [[Ishgard]].
*Speak with [[Tataru]] in the [[Rising Stones]].
*Speak with [[Tataru]].
*Speak with [[Alphinaud]].

==Journal==
*Tataru has a favor to ask of you.
*In the wake of Halmarut's revelation of the Solstice, you and your fellow Scions have gathered to deliberate a course of action. During a recess in the discussions, Tataru tasks you with finding the ever-elusive Estinien. Apparently, the dragoon was recently sighted in Ishgard, and thus do you make your way to the aetheryte plaza in Foundation, there to lie in wait.
*Tataru's intelligence proves sound, with Estinien soon making an appearance at the aetheryte plaza. You duly inform him of events in Tural and Alexandria, and he agrees to make his way to the Rising Stones to learn more of the situation at hand.
*Having thanked you for bringing Estinien back, Tataru says that she will catch him up on events before the Scions reconvene. In the meantime, she bids you wait in Dawn's Respite.
*As the Scions discuss potential means to reach the Fourth, G'raha Tia proposes that you picture Calyx and Halmarut in your mind's eye, as you did with Zero when you conjured the golden path to the Thirteenth. You do as bid, and Ethos and Azem's crystal begin to resonate, forming a portal before you. As you approach it, you see visions of a snow-swept land along with a woman resembling Ysayle, and hear an unknown voice calling out before all goes dark.

*You awaken to find yourself on an icy island in an unfamiliar sky. To compound your surprise, Alphinaud and Estinien are with you, the pair having seemingly been caught up in the teleportation spell.
※In the event that you leave the area, you may return from Dawn's Respite in the Rising Stones.

*While you cannot be sure, your surrounds appear to match the ice-locked Fourth as described by Calyx. With neither he nor Halmarut anywhere to be seen, however, you must get your bearings in this strange new world by yourselves.

==Related NPCs==
{{Related NPCs}}
==Dialogue==
{{Dialogue|<nowiki>
===Accepting the quest===
Tataru: Have you had enough rest, [Forename]? Good. Everyone appears to have settled in, so I think we're ready to resume our discussion...
Tataru: Before that, though, I have a favor to ask of you. It's about Estinien.
Tataru: According to a certain lord commander, our missing friend was but recently sighted in Ishgard.
Tataru: This may be the best chance we have to catch him! Please, [Forename]─won't you head to the Holy See and track him down?
Tataru: Thank you! If you lie in wait at the aetheryte plaza, I'm hopeful you'll spot him before long.
-quest accepted

-optional start
Tataru: While I don't expect Estinien to elude us this time, I feel much better knowing you're on the job, [Forename]!
-optional end

===Search for Estinien at the designated location in Ishgard.===

-cutscene start
Estinien: [Forename]... If I didn't know better, I would think this a coincidence.
Estinien: What brings you back to Eorzea? Is all well in Tural?
Estinien: So the real Sphene awakened, after which this Calyx reared his head... You've been busy.
Estinien: As have the new Dawnservants. They continue to do their old man proud, it seems.
Estinien: Given all that had come to pass, it would only be natural for Tuliyollal and Alexandria to remain at odds.
Estinien: But instead they have embraced each other. And it is thanks to those who desired and labored for a brighter future.
Estinien: An eye for an eye. A life for a life. Such is the cycle of vengeance.
Estinien: It took Ishgard a thousand years to break free from it.
Estinien: Had the rift between man and wyrm been mended sooner, how different life might have been.
Estinien: For me and my family. For Aymeric and the archbishop. And for Ysayle too...
Estinien: Pay me no heed. 'Twas idle musing, nothing more.
Estinien: I've just been to visit Hraesvelgr, to share news of Azdaja. Mayhap a bout of nostalgia came over me.

Question: What will you say?

> So that's why you were missing.
Estinien: Missing? Let's not be melodramatic. I was “difficult to reach” at worst.
> Where's your linkpearl?
Estinien: My linkpearl? Somewhere in my pack, I expect. I haven't handled it since I put it away.
---

Estinien: At any rate, I'll make for the Rising Stones. You can tell me all about our new dilemma there.
-cutscene end

===Speak with Tataru in the Rising Stones.===
-optional start
Estinien: Tataru is being rather prickly. What could she be upset about?
-optional end

Tataru: There you are! Thank you so much for finding Estinien!

Estinien: Hmph, you needn't fuss over me as if I were a lost child.

Tataru: While we had faith that you were safe and well, without ''any'' response, we couldn't help but worry. In future, please make an effort to stay in contact!
Tataru: Now then, I shall take a moment to catch Estinien up on events, after which we will reconvene to discuss the Solstice.
Tataru: Please wait in Dawn's Respite until then!

-voiced cutscene start
Alphinaud: Now that Estinien has joined us, let us again discuss how we should proceed in the face of the Solstice.
Alphinaud:According to Halmarut, it is the fate that awaits should the reflections be allowed to merge of their own accord─an act of healing dictated by the laws of nature.
Alphinaud:Should that come to pass, all creation will be merged into a single whole, and the star restored to a state long before the birth of mankind.
Alphinaud:'Tis a calamitous event that no one could survive. Not even a vestige of civilization would remain.

Alisaie: To prevent this, the Winterers intend to initiate Rejoinings...

Alphinaud: Thereby preempting the Solstice and sparing one world, at least, from annihilation.

Alisaie: Considering the alternative, there is an argument to be made for the Winterers' approach.
Alisaie: But my entire being reels at the thought of it...

Krile: I-If I may...
Krile: I have been considering what I should do─what I ''want'' to do. In the course of which I thought back to our experiences in Tural.
Krile: It occurred to me that, right now, perhaps we do not feel so differently to how the Alexandrians once did.
Krile: For generations, they had no conception of an end. Of death.
Krile: When that blissful ignorance was shattered, they struggled to confront their mortality and drowned in despair.

Thancred: You believe our present situation is similar?

''Krile nods.''

Krile: Though it took time, the people of Alexandria learned to overcome their fear.
Krile: Through their memories and their queen, they learned that, though death comes for us all, in many ways we live on.
Krile: With this knowledge came acceptance, and they were able to embrace a new way of life.
Krile: Before aught else, might we not seek to learn as well?

Urianger: We, too, have experiences from which we may take similar lessons.
Urianger: For the Promises, the rite of succession was as much an educational journey as it was physical.
Urianger: With inquisitive minds did they acquire knowledge that broadened their perspectives. Thus were they shaped into the worthy Vows they did become.

Thancred: Having watched over them from start to finish, we know well the importance of getting one's bearings before choosing a direction.
Thancred: And as it stands, we know precious little about the Solstice and the Winterers both.

Alphinaud: Indeed, you have the right of it. We ought to learn all we can, the better to decide our own course.

Estinien: But where to begin? Do we even know where the Winterers are?

''The player recalls Calyx's parting words.''

Calyx: Halmarut and I will soon cross the rift to observe the enactment of another Winterer's plan.
Calyx: Our destination is the Fourth.

''The player explains to the others what Calyx told them.''

Alisaie: He told you just like that!? What's he playing at?

Thancred: While I wouldn't be surprised if it was a trap, if the Fourth was specifically chosen from among all worlds, it may nevertheless be worth paying it a visit.

Urianger: How to reach it is the question. For aside from the gate unto the Ninth, we have no ready means to traverse worlds.
Urianger: 'Twas only by virtue of the Crystal Exarch's magicks that we did arrive in the First.
Urianger: While the portal unto the Thirteenth was the fruit of long years of research. The same method is not like to avail us with a reflection unknown.

Y'shtola: It is as you say, I'm afraid.
Y'shtola: Your recent crossing to the void... Do you have any idea how it happened?

Question: What will you say?
> I was worrying about Zero, and the next thing I knew...
> There were these shimmering lights...
---

G'raha Tia: 'Twas Emet-Selch who created Azem's crystal.
G'raha Tia: It is imbued with an incantation of Azem's invention─a magick to summon forth allies.
G'raha Tia: And though the origins of Ethos remain unclear, we know for a fact that it has the power to open paths to other places.
G'raha Tia: In the instant before you vanished, both crystal and key shone brightly, as if resonating with each other.
G'raha Tia: This interaction strongly suggests that, when invoked together, the relics allow the bearer to travel to the person in their mind's eye.

Krile: So {{alternatives|f=she|m=he}} managed what Preservation sought to achieve with the actuator purely by chance? That's amazing!

Y'shtola: By chance...or perhaps...

''The player recalls the voice from Ethos.''

x@Ethos: Hold fast to what you must, and face your fate without fear.
x@Ethos: Though the world be sundered and our souls set adrift, where you walk, my dearest friend, fate shall surely follow.

G'raha Tia: What say you, my friend? Shall we give it a try?
G'raha Tia: You needn't try to picture the Fourth─only Halmarut and Calyx.

''The player pictures Calyx and Halmarut. Several previous voiced lines of them play. After picturing them, Both crystals start glowing in their hands and form a portal.

Visna@???: Why... Why─

''While stepping through, the player sees flashes of Coerthas and Ysayle. They wake up on a frozen floating island, followed by Alphinaud and Estinien falling from the portal. It then shrinks.''

Alphinaud: What happened?
Alphinaud: What is this place?
Alphinaud: Were we...were we caught up in the incantation?

Estinien: No sooner did light encase you than I felt some force pulling me.
Estinien: The next thing I knew, I was here, with you and Alphinaud.

Alphinaud: I see no others. Is it only the three of us?
Alphinaud: How curious... We were all beside you. Why was no one else transported?

Question: What will you say?

> I had a vision of snow-swept fields ...

Alphinaud: I see... Yet that doesn't explain why only Estinien and I are here.

Estinien: Perhaps thoughts of a frozen world called to mind our journey through Coerthas.

> I had a vision of a woman who looked like Ysayle ...

Alphinaud: A woman who looked like Ysayle...

Estinien: Whoever that may have been, it would explain why Alphinaud and I were dragged along.

> Perhaps I was just in that sort of mood ...?

Alphinaud: I...see?

Estinien: Something made our friend think of us, I suspect. Perhaps thoughts of a frozen world called to mind our journey through Coerthas.
---

Estinien: So, what now? We appear to be marooned here.

Alphinaud: Strange. Normally, wind-aspected crystals would be required to levitate such an isle.
Alphinaud: Yet they are bleached white. Overexposed to ice, 'twould seem.
Alphinaud: Calyx said the Fourth is a world locked in ice.
Alphinaud: From what I can see, I daresay we have arrived.

-cutscene end
-optional start
Estinien: Lest you worry, it suits me just fine to be here. Far better than being left behind in some long-winded meeting.
Aenor: I-It's really you, yes? N-Not some ghost come to haunt me for my wicked thoughts?
G'raha Tia: Though it appears you can come and go freely, traversing the rift is never a simple affair. Pray exercise all due caution.
Ephemie: You are returned! While we had faith that all was well, without knowing for certain, we could not help being anxious.
Krile: So this is Ethos's power... I wonder, when my ancestors invoked it to flee the Source, did they also abruptly disappear from sight?
Clemence: To think that you can travel between reflections just like that! It's amazing!
Urianger: My friend... Dare I hope the incantation was a success, and thou wert transported to the Fourth?
Hoary Boulder: Gods, that was a shock! Just when we thought you were gone, we noticed Alphinaud and Estinien had disappeared as well!
Coultenet: Ethos, was it? 'Tis as extraordinary a relic as the tales had suggested.
Tataru: [Forename], I'm glad you're safe! But, where are Alphinaud and Estinien?
Thancred: ...So that is the way of it. Alas, it seems this time I'm to be one of the restless waiting.
Ocher Boulder: Glad to hear the invocation was successful. Though I presume you have matters well in hand, we shall nonetheless remain for a while, just in case you require our assistance.
Y'shtola: ...You've returned temporarily to assure us, then. Very well. We shall await further word with bated breath.
Alisaie: [Forename], did you return alone? Alphinaud and Estinien disappeared as well...
-optional end

===Speak with Alphinaud.===

Alphinaud: Hmm... I see no signs of Calyx or Halmarut.
Alphinaud: Mayhap they are hiding, or simply not nearby. But without their insights, we shall have to get our bearings for ourselves.
Alphinaud: Take heart, my friend. As before, we will find our way through this. One step at a time, through ice and snow.
-quest complete
</nowiki>}}
==Video Archive==
{{quest video archive|id=dwWjNa0uPoc}}

Talk:A Winter's Dream

2026-09-18T22:34:04Z

Sirocco: /* Optional Dialogues */ new section

== Optional Dialogues ==

There are actually more optional dialogues for this quest. Before speaking to Alphinaud on the Unmoored Isle and end the quest, you can return to the Rising Stone and speak to everyone else. [[User:Sirocco|Sirocco]] ([[User talk:Sirocco|talk]]) 22:34, 18 September 2026 (UTC)

Final Fantasy XIV Online Wiki - User contributions [en]

A Winter's Dream

Talk:A Winter's Dream