Since Kilieit covered the lore book info, I figured I'd post the DRK lore we get from the questline. Granted, it's not a ton. But I am putting the info behind spoiler tags because does contain some spoilers from the DRK storyline.
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DRK Lore
Lodestone Wrote:The pious Ishgardian clergy guide the flock, and the devout knights protect the weak. Yet even the holiest of men succumb to the darkest of temptations. None dare to administer justice to those sacrosanct elite residing outside the reach of the law. Who, then, defends the feeble from the transgressions of those meant to guide and protect them?
A valiant few take up arms to defend the downtrodden, and not even the holy priests and knights can escape their judgment. Pariahs in their own land, they are known by many as “dark knights.†These sentinels bear no shields declaring their allegiance. Instead, their greatswords act as beacons to guide the meek through darkness.
Fray Wrote:Say a man─a venerable, untouchable man─harms a child in unspeakable ways. He strides through the Hoplon, secure in the knowledge that he is beyond punishment. But for one who cuts down that vile beast as he flaunts his freedom, who knows how many others will suffer?
Such was the dilemma faced by a goodly knight long ago. He knew that he would be stripped of his titles and denounced for the deed. The threshold we refuse to cross is a line we draw for ourselves. We fear the consequences, and people suffer for our indecision. Everyone who held that crystal came to conquer that fear, and became who they wanted to be. That knight was the first. Will you be the next?
Fray Wrote:We dark knights don’t care one whit for prestige or pedigree. We are free to follow our hearts─to defend the weak and punish the guilty as we see fit. The law of the land? The authority of a name? These are tools cowards use to escape harm. We have no need of shields figurative or literal.
Sidurgu Wrote:Given the circumstances under which you embarked upon this path, I fear you do not yet understand what it means to be a dark knight. The first of us bared steel against one of the clergy─this is true. He sacrificed everything he once held dear in the name of justice. So must all who would walk in his footsteps. Mayhap you think this will earn you the love of the common man. You are wrong. To many, you will forever be a criminal─a fiend who sows chaos and discord. These people will listen to the lies of our enemies. They will do their utmost to cast you out─or worse.
Sidurgu Wrote:I…I swore an oath. To protect her. That’s what we dark knights do… All that anger, all that rage…born of a fervent desire to protect that which we hold most dear.
Fray Wrote:Not so fast. We need to talk about what’s happening to you─what’s growing within you, before you get carried away. There’s a darkness within us all─nothing dangerous, mind. In fact, it’s quite healthy. But the crystal changes you─gives you the power to channel it. Do it without proper training, however, and…well…it might hurt. Now, bear in mind that while the darkness gives you strength, that strength comes at cost. That is but one sacrifice, though─and justice demands many.
Fray Wrote:Now, should things turn violent─as I expect they shall─you may need to tap into your darkside to survive. It’s not unlike drawing upon your own aether to weave magic. Fear, pain, rage─that which lies in the deepest depths of our soul makes for a potent fuel. But be warned: burn too much too quickly, and you risk being consumed.
Fray Wrote:Ah, yes, the voice. The one you heard when you first touched the crystal. An excellent question, but a difficult one to answer. Some say it is a beacon, guiding the dark knight to her true calling. Whose is it, you ask? Only you can discover that, for each knight must hearken to a different voice. As you grow more accustomed to drawing upon your darkside, you will come to hear it more clearly. …I should mention that, in some instances, the voice is said to be that of another─one whom the dark knight is fated to seek out. If that is the case, you may have a long journey ahead of you…
Fray Wrote:A dark knight accepts that she cannot save everyone─that sometimes, she is fortunate just to save herself. Sacrifice, Sounsyy, is to renounce that which binds you. To recognize that which matters─and forsake all that does not.
Sidurgu Wrote:The first Ishgardians to encounter Au Ra saw Dravanians. We had fled Garlemald’s armies only to come to a land where we were mistaken for another nation’s mortal enemy. They bared steel and came to kill us…but we did not die so easily. We spared them and sent them on their way…and how do you think they repaid our kindness? With fire and blood! With death for every man, woman, and child!
…I was about Rielle’s age when I came to Ishgard. My parents, they… they said we would find a better life here. When the Temple Knights we had shown mercy returned, they let us choose the order in which we would die. That would be their mercy to us, they declared.
I watched my parents kneel in the dirt. “Look away,†they said. But I could not. At last, when it was my turn, I knelt and prepared to follow them into death. I closed my eyes…but when I opened them, a man in black stood before me, hand outstretched. And so I took it. “Defend the meek.†“Punish the wicked.†…Mayhap it was all but a convenient excuse to indulge in vengeance. She deserves better than me. But there is no one else…