Esther Bright
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Former Grand Protector | |||
Personal Life
Esther was the Grand Protector before Leda Portia and succeeded the only Avian Grand Protector. After retiring, she followed her research regarding the Cultivator and the Ruin. It is likely that she is physically disabled, as she is only ever seen seated.
Esther is known for her dedication, not only for her research, but also her hobbies. She once attempted to catalogue all known bugs in the universe, publishing them in It's Not a Bug, It's a Creature. There is a plaque on a bench in the Protectorate Academy's garden that honors her.
Relationship to Asra Nox
Throughout the game, Esther is hinted to have connections to Asra Nox, the leader of the Occasus Cult.
While working as a Protector long ago, Esther found a little girl named Asra Nox, the sole survivor following the pillaging of her settlement by a diverse group of alien outlaws. Knowing that Asra had nothing left, Esther decided to take her under her wing. Esther, now the Grand Protector, found that Asra was flourishing under her care, though Esther could tell that a deep sadness still stirred within the young girl. Much later, Esther felt that life in the Protectorate was becoming too stressful for Asra, so she was brought along to aid Esther in her research of remote Ancient ruins. Esther discovered ancient writings about "an archaic force of unspeakable might" bent on destroying all life - the Ruin - and decided to share this knowledge with Asra, in hopes of channeling her brilliance towards stopping the Ruin. Instead, the knowledge, sparked by Asra's deep-seated hatred for aliens, led her to passionately believe that the Ruin was a 'cleansing force' that would destroy all 'inferior life' in the universe, leaving only humans. Esther's attempts to rectify this misunderstanding only angered Asra, leading to Asra's departure from Esther and the creation of the Occasus Cult, a human-supremacist group hell-bent on the release of the Ruin and the primary antagonists of the main story.
Encounters
Esther Bright is encountered at the Outpost. She is the first NPC that the player will meet who will introduce the story line for the six artifacts. The player initially picks up her signal via the ancient gateway on the planet that the player beams to when starting a new game. She is found in the Ark next to the Monolith Gate when the player eventually beams to the Outpost. She will guide the player in their retrieval of the six artifacts, in order to open the ark and battle the Ruin.
Codexes
Trivia
- Esther's name establishes the convention of characters allied to the player having a name related to some kind of positive concept, with her first name of Esther meaning "star" and her last name, Bright, obviously relating to the concept of light.
- Esther has a name drop in Wargroove as part of the ending to Nuru's arcade mode run, although while the canonicity of the arcade mode storylines is questionable, it does seem rather likely and plausible that Esther would remain in contact with the friends and allies she would make along the way, even after the player's victory over the Ruin.
- Esther is featured on the icon of the achievement titled "The Wanderer".
- One notable, if minor detail regarding Esther is that her scarf will change color each time the player encounters her.
- In It's Not a Bug, It's a Creature, the Orphanfly is called "The smallest and most pathetic bug I've ever seen", which is a harsh thing to have been written by Esther, a woman who raised an orphan. It's likely this was meant to be the opinion of the player when it is seen in the Collections Library or obtained as a placable object, and became an unfortunate oversight when the bugs' descriptions were reused for the codex and became Esther's words instead. She may have written the codex before she adopted Asra, or was not responsible for the Orphanfly's name to begin with.
Gallery
Esther Bright Concept Art
Esther Bright's profile
