Tag: Ardyn

Another AU I was thinking about to music.

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?!” 

Just an AU I’m playing around with.

So I’m sitting here listening to music and thought of an idea for an Ardyn focused AU. Don’t get me wrong, I love him as a villain, but also, I want to see him just break the prophecy before it started.

Like, just imagine for a moment the reason the royal family has magic is because they’re related to the gods, but chose to walk a mortal life. But as time went on, the reason they had magic was lost. That long before Ardyn was born, the knowledge was lost to them. The gods remember though.

Then the scourge is introduced, and people in Ardyn’s time start getting sick. The gods could have eradicated it themselves, but at the cost of also becoming mortal and losing their magic. Why should they do that though? It would take time, but eventually, they could restore one of the blood line of Lucis to godhood and let them end the scourge by giving up their godhood and magic for good this time. The brothers would serve for this. One would be king, while the other would fall into the scourge.

So they put a plan into action. They appear to the Lucis Caelums and give them the crystal, something that will slowly start siphoning the magic from each successor of the line and storing it until the one they deem ‘the king of light’ is born. They tell them it is the soul of their world and that it must be guarded by the Lucis Caelums, that their magic is divine and was the best fit to over see it’s safety. Which of course they readily agree. The rite to tie the crystal to their line is planned for the next day, and each member will offer themselves up to the crystal to be judged on who will be it’s first protector.

But like, alright, through time shenanigans, imagine that young Ardyn goes to bed that night and dreams of thousands of years. He sees everything. The rise and fall of himself. His brother being tricked by the draconian into ‘killing’ him. Years of isolation in the prison on Angelgard. Getting free and walking into a world where the people have forgotten him. Learning early on that isolation was better than watching people he grew attached to die while he still lived. Hearing the plans the god had for his family. Growing hopelessly entrapped by the chains of the ‘prophecy’ and trying to change it. Being beaten into submission by the gods through the passage of years. The gods won’t let him die until he accepts that he’d to die on their terms. And when he accepts it, Noctis is born.

This part of the dream is the most vivid. Imagine him seeing Noctis, seeing that he has the face of brother, and his chest hurts. But he plays the roll of the villain and gets lost in the thought that soon, it’ll finally be over. He’ll die finally. He’ll have peace and…

Then he wakes, and he screams. He screams and cries, and REFUSES. With his heart beat in his ears, he runs to the crystal. He knows the truth. That it’s a shackle to the god’s will. His magic has always been HIS, and is not tied to the crystal. Not yet. He hasn’t received the order from the crystal, the gods really, to heal the people and allow the scourge to infect him down to his very soul. He knows what he is, and the crystal is at it’s weakest then. The only magic that has touched it has been from the gods that made it. 

His brother and father run through the door the moment he places his hands on the surface of the crystal. And upon touching it, he’s in the Draconian’s realm, standing before a god. And he screams at him, accuses him, and firmly states that he refuses to let his family be used. The Daconian’s roars and an argument for the ages ensues. But the god doesn’t have a leg to stand on. 

And before the Draconian can make a physical move, to stop him from foiling their plan, he’s back outside the crystal and forcing all his magic into it’s surface, splitting and cracking it apart with his fury. As it cracks, magic rips through the air. Flashes of the future, projected from Ardyn’s mind, echo around him and his family. And when it breaks apart, he collapses. It shatters, and when it does, it rips the magic from the gods, and kills the scourge before it can even really get a foot hold in the world. 

:o how about if ardyn’s (sorry if you dont write for this chara !) had a past lover and one of the chocobro’s s/o looks exactly like them?

omg. I love this. I want to write this as a drabble. (I’m horrible at drabbles but here we goooo!)

The six could be cruel.

Ardyn knew this. But until now he didn’t know just how cruel they could be. When they made him immortal, doomed to walk this plane of existence for the rest of his days, he thought that had been the pinnacle of their cruelty. No. Bringing them back was the cruelest thing by far. And seeing them love another was even worse. 

He stood watching from a distance, close enough to hear them laugh. They were sitting at the edge of the haven, their lance in their lap, and feet dangling over the edge of the rocks. Behind them, the boy was training with his shield. The adviser was preparing them all a meal. And the blonde gunner was fiddling with his camera. But after his general observation, his eye’s focus was on the person watching the darkness, with their back to fire. Always watching, just like before…He wondered if it was just their face they possessed or if they held some memories of their past life? Did they know what came from the dark?

It had been so long ago he had loved them. And though age had somewhat stolen away the memories of their visage, he was certain it was indeed them. With dark brown hair as wild as his, that shone like a raven’s feathers in the light.

A tanned face, wide brown eyes, high cheek bones, delicate nose, and smallish mouth. Features so beautiful and a body that appeared so fragile yet was so strong, how could it be anything but them? Features that six themselves must have picked out. 

Or that’s what they said. Back in the day, when he was king and they were the oracle, their looks had both been held in high regard. Shallow. Their people had been shallow and fell in love with their faces, not knowing how hurt either of them had been by their ascension as the first king and oracle. If he was being honest, they exaggerated their strength. The person he had loved had been weak behind closed doors, and they’d often go to sleep crying into his arms. And he…well, never mind his own shortcomings. 

Anything they had was certainly not from six though. The six only took what they wanted, and gave no regard to the wishes of the mortals they took from. Even their gifts took their price. When they took death from him, they also took them. They left pain in death’s place. Eternal life, because his soul was sullied. Eternal loneliness, because they were pure. And now? He must be damned, to see that face again, and know that they couldn’t be the same person. They only looked like them…Or so he told himself.

He had his doubts. He’d been watching them all for days. Especially them. They sounded the same as before, with a lilting voice much like his own. They fought in the same way, with grace, strength, and nimbleness that few could match. The only thing different was that they fought with a lance instead of the trident now. Tiny little mannerisms, like touching their nose when thinking, tilting their head when annoyed, always looking into the air when daydreaming…They were all the same. It made him think that it was possible they were a reincarnation. 

Almost. 

Part of him hated them for forgetting if it was true. Even if it wasn’t, he hated them all the same. Because how dare they be born with that visage. A reminder of what he lost. How dare they love another. How dare the six mock him one last time, pitting someone who looked like them, that gave him such hope that it might be them, against him. 

He watched on, his face growing distorted and angry. They in turn stared unwavering into the darkness and, he pretended, meeting his gaze. He knew by now that they were a steadfast guard, their attention not easily taken from the task at hand. He loathed to admit that their sense of duty was the same as before too, but it was true. His Oracle had been as attentive as this person to what they thought was their burden. And yet…

When one of the four approached them, they willing turned from their duty to face them, accepting the love and affection offered them. They turned their back on the dark. Something that made his heart clench uncomfortably. They let the man take them by the waist, hold them close and press his lips to theirs. They even smiled with the same adoration on their face that had once been only for him.

He had enough for the night. 

He’d watch over them from the dark until he could bear no more. And when the starscourge came this time, he’d take them. He’d take them and never let them go. Even if it turned out they only looked like his lost love, he would be content until the boy rose up as a king and killed him. Even then, he’d find a way to take them with him, even if it meant cutting their life short. And he’d kill the one they thought they loved if he dared try to stand between them. 

He watched them with both love and hate in his eyes, and then turned and left.

~

When their lover walked back to what he was doing, they turned back to the darkness at the sudden rush of emotions they felt coming from behind them. A strange gust of wind pulled at them, as if calling them into the darkness. But then it was gone, and they felt…

Loss.