What if Ardyn and Somnus were twins? Like, fraternal twins. Ardyn was older by only a few minutes, but didn’t want the throne. Just like my last AU, they have magic without the crystal, but this time around Ardyn kind of gives into the temptation of running off for a year when they turn 20 and exploring the world before he has to come back and step in as his father’s heir. Somnus encourages this, and in the dead of night he takes off.
Problem is that the gods, like in the last AU, were planning on gifting them the crystal and putting the same plan in action. Ardyn is the only one who can heal people, because that’s what he wanted to study with his magic. Somnus learned how to wield the elements instead. And as Ardyn runs around and see sick people, healing them without the tie to the crystal enabling the scourge to seep into his soul, it just starts floating around and binding to the gods instead of him.
So they’re a little cross with Ardyn for ruining their plans already. (Except Ifrit, who is not at all on board with sacrificing his favorite humans.)((The god of light was his favorite fellow god, until he decided to become mortal, after all.)) So they issue Somnus an ultimatum, to save their own hides; Find your brother so he can begin his work for the gods and heal the scourge away.
He’s like, bummer, Ardyn just wanted a year of freedom, but okay. So he starts trailing after his brother with Gilgamesh, (slowly mind you) and starts learning that, hey, Ardyn can already heal the scourge, and two, he knows that I’m looking for him the little shit. Because Ardyn doesn’t know about the god’s proclamation, and is just like, whoops, dad must be super cross with me for taking off if he’s sending my brother and Gil after me, and leaves little clues around spots he’s been indicating where he’s going next. Very obvious clues. Like, literally, he draws on a map at one point that says ‘X marks the spot’ with a huge X on it and a silly looking drawing of Gil and Somnus following a trail to the X.
Occasionally, they spend nights in the same town and never even realize it. Or at least Ardyn doesn’t. The more Somnus learns about his brother, the more he realizes the gods are kind of full of shit. And when he does catch sight of him, he distracts Gil and they go a different direction so they don’t ‘catch’ him. (Gil legit does the same thing though, and knows that Somnus does it too, but he’s amused, so he keeps quiet.)
Eventually Ifrit, seeing that Somnus is now doubting Bahamut, sees his chance. Even though he’s getting sick from the scourge as well, he’s willing to step down as a god to save humanity, and has almost convinced Shiva as well. (He’s been secretly trying to make his fellow gods see Humanity’s worth and how they barely need to watch over them.) Ramuh is already on his side, because he delights in humanity more than he lets on. Leviathan is up in the air constantly changing her mind, but he can’t fault her, its her nature. Titan is behind Bahamut, and set in his way.
Anyways, he appears to Somnus and reveals the false prophecy that Bahamut intends to enact on humanity. Which causes him and Gil to freak out, and honestly try to find Ardyn to warn him away from going home. At the same time, the Draconian grows impatient, and honestly a little corrupted from the scourge that’s been binding to him for months now, and sets literal demons after Ardyn to drag him back to what will be Insomnia, and chain his magic to the scourge by force if he has to.
So eventually, it’d turn into a race against time, with Somnus and Gilgamesh trying to catch up to Ardyn, who is seeing more and more of the infected daily and feels obligated to help. And it turns into him actually being on the run from his brother, because it’s not just fun and games anymore, people are dying and will die if he doesn’t help them. Eventually, though an odd parallel, it would turn into Somnus trying to save his brother, like how Noctis tried to save Luna.
…But I’d want it to have a happier end I think. (Heck, might as well go completely self indulgent and have weird time shenanigans happen because of Somnus’s desperation and magic, and he accidentally yanks Noctis and co into the past to help.)
*edit: Also since one of my head canons is the Noctis looks exactly like Somnus, hilarity ensues once Ardyn sees them together. “Uh….are we triplets or was I adopted?!”
Imagine Final Fantasy 