Lore:Darien Gautier

Darien Gautier
	Darien Gautier as captain of the Camlorn Guard
Born	2nd Era;
Appears in	ESO

Darien Gautier was a hero of the Daggerfall Covenant who discovered his true nature as Meridia's Golden Knight during the Planemeld. Brought into the world as a Light of Meridia through uncertain circumstances, Darien eventually became captain of the Camlorn Guard. He would later join up with the Fighters Guild and helped lead their forces during the coalition invasion of Coldharbour, disappearing in the Planar Vortex in a confrontation with Molag Bal. Darien soon returned to Tamriel during the Daedric War as Meridia's vessel, learning that he was no ordinary Breton and possessed many otherworldly powers. He helped defend Nirn from Nocturnal's plot, sacrificing himself to restore Dawnbreaker.^{[citation needed]}

BiographyEdit

Darien remembered very little of his childhood, considering it all a big blur. He is known to have had a Breton father, General Gautier, who was a high-ranking member of the Lion Guard and member of the Gautier noble family of Camlorn,^[1] but had no recollection of a mother. Darien would later discover that his mother was effectually Meridia, being brought into Tamriel as her vessel and last light.

Before the Planemeld begun, Darien began having strange premonitions of Dark Anchors and Daedra invading Tamriel, each one ending with a strange light guiding him to safety. In 2E 582, his nightmares became reality when the Dark Anchors started to fall and the Planemeld proper had started.^[2] Opting to keep his prophetic dreams secret, he helped keep the peace in the Daggerfall Covenant the best he could. He defended Camlorn from Faolchu and helped thwart the plans of Angof the Gravesinger's Bloodthorn Cult at Cath Bedraud, noticing that he was somehow unaffected by the poisonous mists that were unleashed.^[3]^[4] Darien assisted the Vestige in Rivenspire, particularly in liberating Northpoint, where a bright flash of light mysteriously killed bloodfiends attacking him.^[5] In Bangkorai he was also joining forces with both the Vestige, Gabrielle Benele, and the Mages Guild to protect Queen Arzhela from the Imperial plot.^[6]

The Light of Meridia is unleashed in the heart of the Planar Vortex

During the invasion of Coldharbour, Darien chose to join the Fighters Guild in their assault and would prove to be instrumental in the battle against Molag Grunda's forces in the Chasm. When the time came to assault the Planar Vortex directly and put an end the Planemeld, Darien fought alongside the Last Ayleid King to protect the Vestige, Vanus Galerion, and Gabrielle Benele while they trigged the complete destruction of the Planar Vortex by detonating the fabled Lights of Meridia within. When the battle was over, however, both King Dynar and Darien were apparent casualties of the explosion, with the latter having vanished altogether.^[7]

In spite of his demise, rumors of Darien's survival still persisted. While assisting the people of Orsinium, the Vestige found a strange note seemingly written by Darien himself, claiming to be trapped within the Colored Rooms.^[8] When this note was shown to Gabrielle, she speculated that Meridia somehow saved him from the blast and that he is still alive, as his body didn't return to Coldharbour with them like Dynar's.^[9] The Grand Prognosticator prophecized seeing a "golden knight" at the culmination of the Daedric War.^[10]

Gabrielle's theory would prove to be correct during the Daedric invasion of Summerset, where Darien finally returns to Nirn as a Knight of Meridia. He promised to serve Meridia as her champion and stop the plot of the Triad in exchange for his freedom, and would be given Dawnbreaker as a part of this deal. Unfortunately, the sword would quickly be stolen and corrupted by Nocturnal, while the Triad invaded Meridia's realm directly to incapacitate her, leaving Darien without orders and without a weapon. Nevertheless, he continued onward with his mission and climbed the Crystal Tower with the Vestige and the ex-Psijic Leythen in a last ditch effort to stop Nocturnal from claiming the Tower's Stone, Transparent Law. As they approached the top, Darien would come to understand his true identity as a Light of Meridia, and sacrificed his remaining energy to purify Dawnbreaker for the Vestige.^[11]

LegacyEdit

Darien's last words

Darien's sacrifice was not in vain as the Vestige used the purified Dawnbreaker to vanquish Nocturnal atop the Crystal Tower and end the Daedric War.^[11] After dissipating, Darien found that he had survived and appeared in the Colored Rooms once more, but this time was different. The light within him was fading fast and Darien thought himself beyond help, and so he used the last of his energy to send a final goodbye to the Vestige before, presumably, discorporating.^[12] Meridia would soon be reported to have been looking for a new knight who would not defy her, using her beacon.^[13] In spite of his letter, Gabrielle believed that Darien may still exist somewhere, and vowed to not give up on bringing him back for good.^[9] The Vestige's encounter with the mage Ylahizu the Magnificent saw the latter briefly summoning a vision of a lost spirit, wielding the Dawnbreaker and wearing the exact same armor as Darien.^[14]