The Protégé

"You were right to fear the world..."

- The Academic

The Protégé is the faceless protagonist of Darkest Dungeon 2. It was their actions that brought the world to it's knees, and in the end, it will be their actions that save it.

Act 1: The calm before the Maelstrom
We know nothing of the the Protege's early life, apart from a general idea of their character. The Protégé was a savant of the Occult, and owned a home in the Valley where the game takes place. Eventually, the Protégé enrolls in a semester at the University, crossing paths with the Academic as student and teacher, a bond that would soon melt into a genuine respectful friendship. Together, the two would tour the kingdom, such as the farmlands that would become the Foetor or the docks of the Shroud. At school, the two would feed each other's enthusiasm for the dark arts, finding comfort in each other's company. That was, until...

Act 2: That damnable symbol, anger and hatred incarnate
It was the Protégé that found the Iron Crown, a symbol cemented in the oldest cultures of the world. They pressed the Academic to present their findings to the larger University and faculty, however the Academic chose caution and forbade his student from sharing their research, fearing it would be stolen or dismissed without the proper evidence. The two would spend the next few months studying day and night, the Protege's resentment towards their mentor building with each passing day. This would eventually fall apart, as the Great Library where the two researched was burned from an unknown source. Despite the Protege's grievances, the Academic found light to the situation to be free from the Crown's presence, until a specific letter found them...

Act 3: Minds focused to a fault
The two had gotten a letter from the Ancestor, inviting them to a small house on the Countryside of the Estate. With no other leads on the Iron Crown, the duo followed the directions on the invitation, finding themselves at an abode with the Ancestor himself alongside a throng of Occultists, Necromancers, and Dark Arts alike. The two stayed at the home, engaging in various dark rituals with the other members to the Ancestor's delight. However, while the Protégé became enthralled in the activities, the Academic continued to advise caution, and one disconcerting night he convinced the Protégé to block the door to their room with a dresser to protect themselves. The next day, the Ancestor had murdered the others and prostrate their bodies on the points of the Crown, a failed ritual to summon the full strength of the Crown for himself. While the display disgusted the Academic, it lit a corruptive fire in the Protégé that would ruinous for the world...

The Present: Our hopes ride with you
An undetermined amount of time between the events of Act 5 and now, the Protégé encounters a ghastly version of the Academic. He impresses the duty of restoring the world to the Protégé, providing the Protégé with the spark of hope required to do so. Haunted by their past, and exhausted by their future, the Protégé rides out into the world via the Stagecoach, bringing a small band of heroes to bring the Flame to the Mountain and repairing the world to how it once was.