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lizzy-frizzle · 5 years ago

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I just had to write the first date, so here it is~!

The First Date

Lizzy shows up in Reunion, she’s wearing the armor she wore while fighting Bahamut.

[It’s probably my nicest outfit? She’s a warrior, she’ll probably wear something similar.]

The two agreed to meet at reunion, and then leave from there. Since Sadu is unable to use aetherytes to teleport, Lizzy decided they can take a nice flight on their yol’s together to go to New Gridania.

Lizzy shifts uncomfortably, sitting on a rather rude rock.

[Why don’t they have benches here?]

It’s about midday, Lizzy wanted to leave early so that when they arrived in the shroud the sun would still be up. She wanted to make sure that when they’re walking through the Black Shroud the sun is setting. That’s the most beautiful time of day in the shroud.

That’s when Sadu showed up at Reunion. She was dressed in a traditional dress that Lizzy was unfamiliar with. Lizzy could feel her heart stop, along with her breath. Sadu looked a little uncomfortable in the outfit, not used to dressing up. Lizzy felt tremendously awkward for showing up in battle gear now.

“Hey, Lizzy,” Sadu said, tugging at the edges of her dress in a futile attempt to make it feel more comfortable, “I asked the mol for help, and they put me in contact with your scions, who told me to ask a short woman, Tataru? For help.”

[Ah, Tataru, that explains it.]

“You look,” Lizzy floundered for the correct words, “breathtaking.”

Lizzy looked down at her outfit and started feeling a little embarrassed.

Sadu looks Lizzy up and down, “I like your coat! There’s uh, some blood on it.”

Lizzy nearly covers her face in shame, “Oh gods, I missed a spot. Sorry, I wore this outfit when we fought the Elder Primal Bahamut, I don’t know who’s blood this is...”

Sadu’s face becomes one of that of curiosity, “Bahamut?”

[Does she somehow not know?]

Lizzy starts, “Oh, uh, Bahamut was this giant dragon that nearly wiped out Eorzea, he was reawakened kinda when me and Alisaie were poking around some old places.”

Sadu’s eyes widen, “You did it alone?”

“Ah no, there were a couple other adventurer’s, I’m not that strong.”

“I’m honored you would think to wear such an outfit around me.” Sadu admits, “So, this Gridania place, shall we go?”

“Yea,” Lizzy says, then her energy starts returning, “Yes! Uh, it’ll be a little bit of a flight, but it shouldn’t take too long.”

~At Rhalgr’s Reach~

“Hey, I wanna check out something real quick,” Lizzy says running over to a counter with some people dressed in strange outfits.

Sadu just watches and gets as close as she’s willing.

Lizzy appears to be looking at some necklaces, there’s one with a cloth band and some sharp angles as the focal point of the necklace.

Lizzy sighs, and walks toward Sadu, “It’s too expense, but I really want the Diamond necklace.”

Sadu stops for a minute, [Too expensive? People don’t just hand things to her? How disrespectful.]

Lizzy goes over to another counter and starts looking at other wares.

Sadu approaches the counter, and points to the necklace, “I’ll fight you for this!”

Gelfradus looks shocked for a moment, “Uh, miss, I’m certain you could kick my ass, but that’s not how we trade here.” he stops for a moment, Sadu doesn’t stop glaring, “I notice you’re a friend of Miss Lizzy, so how about I give you this instead, it looks identical to what you want, but I won’t lose as much profit. In return you don’t turn my face into mashed popotos.”

Sadu takes the necklace, and looks at it, then looks at the necklace Lizzy wanted, “Very well.”

They look similar enough, at least from what Sadu can tell, “Can you put something on it?”

~At New Gridania~

Lizzy and Sadu hop off their yols just outside the south gate, Sadu shifts nervously. Lizzy notices, and reaches for Sadu’s hand.

“Hey, this is your first city right?”

Sadu tries to force herself to relax, and initially doesn’t take Lizzy’s hand.

“It’s ok,” Lizzy reassures Sadu, “If people see you holding the Fierce Warrior of Light’s hand, they won’t think twice about you.”

Lizzy punctuates this with a giant smile.

Sadu reluctantly takes her hand, “Ok.”

Lizzy can feel how tense Sadu is through her hand.

“Relax, I’m here with you, and no one is going to bite.”

Sadu doesn’t relax, but she does walk a little closer to Lizzy.

The two wander through the streets, Lizzy shows Sadu all the hotspots. She shows her where Lizzy first became an adventurer, the Grand Company where she’s trained numerous people in her squadron. Sadu challenged each one to a fight, and promptly won against each one that accepted the challenge. They then went to the conjurer’s guild, where Sadu met Lizzy’s first mentor, E-Sumi-Yan. He was very intimidated by Sadu’s aura. They stopped at the amphitheatre, and luckily there was a play in practice. They didn’t stay long cause Sadu kept wanting to fight people that looked at her weird.

They approached the markets, and Sadu gripped Lizzy’s arm. The loud noises were a bit too much, and the crowds were a bit too overwhelming, so Lizzy decided to skip that one. Lizzy was hoping to buy Sadu something there, but decided it would be better to forgo it.

The two left New Gridania, and started wandering through the central shroud.

The sun started casting warm shadows across the area. With oranges and yellows mixing into a pure warmth when they struck your face. It was a calming time, They walked while discussing random things from their childhood, adventure’s they’ve been on, creatures they killed. Sadu eased up tremendously while they walked, opening up a lot more than Lizzy expected.

Then they entered the south shroud and the whole atmosphere had changed. It got dark, and the area had a heaviness to it.

“Ah, Odin again.” Lizzy stated as a matter-of-fact.

Sadu looked at Lizzy, “Odin?”

“Oh right, Odin is a primal, it appears randomly occasionally. I should probably go kill it real quick.”

Sadu’s eyes flared to life, “Can I help?”

Lizzy stopped slightly shocked, then realized, [Oh, right, warrior. Of course she’d wanna fight Odin.]

“Sure, it’ll be fun!” Lizzy starts running towards the source of the disturbance, Sadu following close behind, staff already drawn.

When they get to Odin, it’s standing there terrorizing some adamantoises.

“Alright Sadu, be careful, his attacks can be vicious.” Lizzy puts her ninja crystal in her pocket and pulls out a different one. Her outfit switches to robes and she pulls a book out. A glowing faerie appears out of nowhere. “I’ll make sure you’re as safe as I can, though.”

She concentrates on her book and Sadu feels a presence around her, “Ok Sadu, would you like to lead?”

Sadu begins casting a spell, as she starts, Lizzy also starts reading from her book. They finish their casts at the same time, and Odin is struck by two attacks at once in a flash of black and red. Odin casts out several swords towards the two, and one strikes at Sadu’s leg, it however is reflected off.

[A shield then?] Sadu thinks, as she summons several stones from the Steppe and begins casting Falling Dusk.

Lizzy sees Sadu concentrating on her Khun Chuluu, and prepares a strong shield and places sacred soil down under her. Then begins to try and distract Odin to give her more time. Odin spawns more swords, nearly breaking through some of Lizzy’s shields on Sadu, and tearing through her own, cutting her arm. Sadu’s spell completes, and a small meteor lands on Odin. The wind from the blast throws numerous innocent creatures back, but Lizzy and Sadu both stand where they are, watching the smoke clear, and a very dead Odin lay on the ground, before having it’s aether returned into the lifestream.

“See?” Lizzy gasps and winces at the wound on her arm, “Easy.”

Sadu walks over and inspects the wound, she tears off a strip from her dress, [Sorry Tataru.] Sadu begins wrapping Lizzy’s arm with it.

Lizzy could’ve healed herself, but decided this was nicer. She switches back with her ninja crystal, and sees the bandage and injury still in tact, but she doesn’t mind all that much.

The sky clears, and they notice that night is nearly on them.

Lizzy looks at Sadu, “That was fun, let’s go back to Gridania though before more things try to take my attention.”

They begin the walk back, Lizzy can’t help but notice how amazing Sadu looks under the moonlight, with the fireflies wandering among them. [This is perfect. I want this forever.]

When they return to Gridania, Sadu appears more relaxed this time, they sit just outside the Adventurer’s guild, their legs hanging off the cliff, as fireworks go off in the distance. They have a perfect view.

Lizzy had arranged for the fireworks show. Gil well spent, to be honest.

As they sit on the cliff side, their hands resting in each other. Lizzy spots a bit of cloth tucked under Sadu’s dress.

“Hey, what’s that?” Lizzy instinctively asks.

Sadu looks at where Lizzy was pointing, and noticed the necklace band hanging out. “Oh, uh.” she takes it out, and shows Lizzy, “I saw you wanted this, and since you took me on a pretty cool date, I just figured I should get you something, you know?” She fidgets in her spot, and tries to play it off as no big deal.

Lizzy turns to allow Sadu to put it on her.

“Uh, what are you doing?” Sadu asks.

“Oh, I just, thought” Lizzy starts blushing, “Well, I thought you’d like to put it on me, if that’s ok?”

Sadu blushes, and nervously brings it over Lizzy’s head. Then quickly goes back to looking at anything besides Lizzy.

“Thank you, it’s perfect.” Lizzy looks at Sadu watching the fireworks, each time one goes off she flinches, but looks in awe.

Lizzy looks down at the necklace and notices some writing on the backside. As she reads it she smiles.

~Back at Reunion~

Sadu hops off her yol, and turns to Lizzy, “This was a really nice night,” she starts to rub her arm, “I was really nervous cause this was my first date.”

Lizzy feels a wave of relief over her, “It was my first date too, if I’m honest.”

They stand in an awkward silence for a moment.

Sadu begins to speak, “So uh, goodnight then I guess,” she turns slightly, “I’d like...” Sadu takes a deep breath, and tries to reassert herself, “I want another date. Next one I get to pick.” She gets a fierce look in her eyes.

Lizzy can’t stop herself from her motions, and moves to hug Sadu. This time she doesn’t get flipped. Sadu however misread the motion again, and went in and kissed Lizzy.

They stand for what seems like an eternity in each other’s embrace, and when they part they both become extremely awkward and anxious.

The silence hangs as they fidget uncomfortably.

“Um, t-thanks” Lizzy splutters.

Sadu, flustered, responds, “You’re welcome.” And then runs off towards the Dotharl Khaa.

Lizzy collapses on the ground when Sadu is out of sight. Sitting down, all she can manage is to touch her lips with her fingers.

[The next date!]

#ffxiv #Sadu x WoL #Sadu x Lizzy #my writing

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secret-engima · 6 years ago

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Couple Questions Anon: Hmm, when it comes to the memories of KoL, it's always sad things like quiet days. But must be something good there too?..I don’t want to believe that it was all about battles and becoming a king/queen. Bahamut would like to do so, but KoL was like "NO" because at least they remember what it feels to be human and continuous movie of negative feelings, blood and violence for a young mind? No, horrible idea. So they intervene and show Noctis Life (1/?)

Anonymous said: Couple Questions Anon: happy moments not of kings, but of people they are. Like the joy of adopting a new culture, unraveling the mysteries of antiquity, laugh of their brothers and sisters (both by blood and bond), awkward love and the happiness of having their baby in their hands for the first time (ooh, Noct always knew that Regis loves him, but never understood HOW MUCH) and more similar things. Maybe Noct has his favorites, whose memories he returns even with pleasure? (2/2)

Me: Finally got to this ask!!!!! hgfdhgfd sorry this took so long I am scatterbrained. Anyway-

I COULD turn this angsty by pointing out even happy memories could trigger quiet days, when he turns to tell someone a joke only to realize that someone he’s thinking of lived and died four hundred years ago and he never really knew them-

But we’re not gonna go into detail on that today. Today we do Fluff (and probably a little angst but I’ll try to keep it light).

-Nox saw their lifetimes okay, ALL their lifetimes, good and bad, joyful and horrible. And yes, he has memories he treasures more than others, ones he likes to cradle close sometimes to fend off the colder memories when the Memories of the Lucii are too close to the surface to suppress. At least this way he can focus on the happy ones.

-Some of his favorites are the Rogue’s and the Just’s. The two famous Queens. Not because they were Queens but just because- well their lives were INTERESTING. Rogue was a genius at politics and had a fox’s tongue and he can still hear (feel) her laughter in the air the times her Shield would catch her dancing in the rain on the Citadel roof just for the joy of feeling alive. He also revels in the memories of when she took to ghosting through shadows, knowing down to her bones that no one could see her, that she could learn any secret if only she was quiet and patient. The Just he enjoys the memories of because she was, by nature, a very calm person, and her calm is an anchor sometimes amid memories of the Fierce’s rage or the Conqueror’s bloodlust. She liked to garden, and sometimes Nox will go out to the garden and gently dig up weeds and nurture seedlings with her memories guiding his hands and her voice humming soft lullabies to her beloved plants in the shell of his ear.

-Sometimes he retreats to the Pious instead. The Pious was ... honestly a bit of a nerd. Who loved to study and was content in his libraries were it not for his duties, which he took very seriously. His Shield is also a joy to remember, one of the few female Shields and 1000% pure Sass and Inventor Genius. The two would spend hours sitting somewhere together, the Pious reading a text and his Shield working busily on some invention that would probably blow up in somebody’s (their) face(s). She was actually a major factor behind some of the greatest innovations of her era, that opened the gateway to Nox’s own modern lifestyle and he ... likes to watch it happen sometimes. To see the clunky prototypes of things he knows will be common in his era, and feel the Pious’s WONDER at his best friend’s brilliance and maybe-madness as she dreamed up things no one else had since the fall of Solheim. Nox thinks the Pious and his Shield would have been so proud by how much of a mark her brilliance left on the world. How many lives her inventions saved without her ever knowing.

-He has bits and pieces of favored memories from every lifetime. The Fierce’s chess games with his wife. The Wise’s tiny daughter sprawling on his lap in the middle of his work and babbling at him as he dropped everything to entertain her. But he tends to avoid certain kings. Like the Conqueror. Like Mors. Like Somnus. Like Regis (he cannot bear to watch the memories his father had of Noctis growing up, seeing himself and feeling his father’s pain and love and regret without Noctis having ever known- the only ones he ever lingered on were memories of Regis growing up with Aulea, the only time Nox ever truly saw his mother being through his father’s eyes, and his own birth and the love that swelled like a tide and made him feel like he could conquer the world just for a gummy smile.)

-By far though, his favorite lifetime to revisit in his head is the Wanderer’s. The man travelled everywhere, saw so many wonders and secrets and ... little moments. Things Nox knows are so precious, that remind him of the road trip. The Wanderer’s only constant companion was his Shield, a quiet, patient man who never understood the Wanderer’s insatiable wanderlust but indulged it anyway. The Wanderer was a musician and an explorer at heart, who loved to sing just to hear the valleys ring with it and saw each one of his people as something precious and strange and unique.

-Through the Wanderer’s eyes, Nox can see everything from the Rock of Ravatogh, unchanged over the centuries between them, to Lestallum, then just a tiny little village with dreams of greatness. He can feel instruments beneath his fingers and feel songs rumbling in his throat that no one but the Wanderer and his Shield ever heard.

-He can see the sunrise over a hundred places, in every season and weather and time. From Altissia in the drizzling spring rain to the very peak of Ravatogh in the cold of winter. He can tilt his head back and listen to the chatter of the animals of Vesperpool in the cool of dusk, kick his legs off the edge of the Haven and laugh at his Shield’s quiet fussing warnings to come closer to the center before a daemon came and tried to take his legs off or something.

-He can see the Wanderer’s Love for the first time, a quiet woman of common birth, with bright eyes and a wild spirit that took the Wanderer’s breath away from first sight. Who followed him without hesitation and just smiled mischievously when he asked about the elaborate braids hidden in her curls.

-Sometimes- sometimes he is sure that the Wanderer Knew. Even in life. Even before his memories were left within the Crystal for the day Nox came ... he Knew. He knew about Nox. Somehow, someway Nox will never fathom despite seeing the Wanderer’s life for himself. The Wanderer was a man of intuition and instinct, and there were times when he said or did things that felt ... directed. At Nox.

-There’s one moment in particular, when his Love asked the question his Shield had countless times before. “Why do you wander so much? Why do you never settle down?”

-The Wanderer had just laughed softly and wandered over to a nearby pool. The water had been so clear and still, Nox was able to see the Wanderer’s sad smile at his reflection, the twinkle in his blue eyes as he murmured, “Because I want this to be remembered. These people, these places. When the Darkness falls ... I want there to be memories of all that exists beneath the light.” And then, in a softer voice Nox could only barely hear even though the memories were like his own, “I want to be able to remember. That there’s more to life than being a king, and wearing a crown, and making the sacrifice. That there are things ... worth fighting for, changing for, defying the norm for.”

-”I want to always remember why.” Why I lived. Why I died.

-Why you died.

-And somehow those words had felt directed at Nox. Not Wanderer, not his Shield or his Love, not his reflection or some rhetorical entity. But Nox.

-And he is so very, very grateful for it. For an entire lifetime of seeing the world, meeting its people, breathing its air and laughing at its joys while the rain cried for its sorrows. It is those memories, not the ones of war and battle and the kings who sat on their thrones and did their duty, that made him love Eos. Love his people. Love the dawn. It was not the Fierce who gave him acceptance of his fate. It was not the Wise who gave him the courage to tell his brothers he loved them before the end. It was not the Conqueror who made him love the world fiercely enough to die for it.

-It was Nox’s brothers and that road trip, it was Luna...

-And it was the Wanderer.

#SE asks #anon asks #Secret Engima Rambles #Nox verse

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viridiansindria · 5 years ago

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So thoughts on the Eternal Anniversary Event now that I've finished Part 1 (Chapters 1-6)

Honestly pretty disappointed?

After all the hype, the truckload of Buddhist references, and the supposed Seox focus it just ends up as yet another Stardust Town story.

Stardust Town has never made sense, but by Bahamut did they succeed at making it make even less sense than before.

So Stardust Town is on the most prime real estate on an island that is located in a killer location trade wise. Because of that there's been all kinds of wars fought over it creating a ton of orphans who were then just left to rot on the side while people continued to war for the islands. Which eventually gives it a reputation as a place to dump orphans and unwanted children. Okay sure fine.

The powerful Magasin mafia family who are its current owners and have been for decades for whatever reason were unable to get the 'kids' to leave despite controlling the rest of the island either by force or coercion. Cue Tien and Feower who steadily become more and more bullshit until they're well- their current Eternal selves.

Instead of stopping as they're bleeding money and personnel in a futile effort that's never going to work and hasn't for decades they continue to poke the bears that could obliterate their entire organization in under a day. And only don't for the meme reason of "other criminal organizations are equally stupid and will for some reason also impale themselves upon the Eternals swords."

And the orphans and unwanted children of Stardust Town can't just leave and find and settle in new homes because the Magasin Family hates children so much that they'll chase them to the very end of the skies for a chance at murdering them.

To repeat;

While the lands of Stardust Town are valuable the Magasin Family owns and fully controls the rest of the equally valuable island Stardust Town is on

They have routinely failed to reclaim said land for whatever reason for years before Tien and Feower become Bullshit Strong

They are fully aware that Tien and Feower are bullshit strong and capable of taking on armies and by proxy them

They explicitly piss away money and personnel by dicking with Stardust Town and pissing off Feower and Tien who already have a preexisting grudge

Despite how much they supposedly want that land they would hunt down and kill all the children who leave it and continue to pester Tien and Feower

And other criminal organizations and mafia families with little to no connection with the Magasin are equally lacking in anything resembling brains and would also do this no matter how many criminal organizations Tien and Feower tag team to utter destruction

Mugen illustrates my feelings on this well

On the topic Mugen honestly disappointed me. He's basically just DBS Broly: really buff, super OP child in a man's body. I was expecting something more epic out of the Eternal event that they've been holding back for years until more of the playerbase had at least one, especially when it comes after and is supposed to be comparable to the amazing WMTSB trilogy.

Tfw you expect more lore on the SSB skin but instead all you get is

Its not all bad however, the Eternals interactions were all great, the GBF team seems to be taking a page out of Dragalia Lost and started using more minor animation to liven things up, and while in the long run its very minor/presumably a plot thread for his upcoming event SSR Danchou getting super upset at their deadbeat dad leaving them to go and help raise another kid briefly was nice.

Lecia also got to do something!!!! (of dubious usefulness but still) and appear in an event! Is this the start of the Year of Lecia/the Enforcers?

Walfrid is the (as far as I remember) the first Luminary Knight to appear in an event

Asha was there to say "Mama" in a sexy voice

Rei sets a new record for old Harvins being over 400 years old and was apparently Anre's old boss/caretaker and at least partially the inspiration behind his use might to make things right philosophy. She didn't do much but she used her time pretty well (and actually acknowledged some of the umm what of Stardust Town)

Seofon wasn't bullied at all for once (although he actually deserves it this time. Given the blow that would have killed Fif/injured Seox was the swordbeam he chose to deflect.)

Mugen at least looks cool and his battle theme (The Watershed of History) rocks even if it doesn't hit anywhere close to Zero, The Ultimate or Parade's Lust.

Nehan's design is great, he seems interesting and there's hope he'll be further expanded/more done with him given how Part One of the event ends and Seox's event SSR outfit.

Edit: Corrected some typos and the dupe Mugen pic.

#granblue fantasy #gbf #rufus plays gbf #seeds of redemption

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tarotdeckshuffle · 6 years ago

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Half Astral Series: Prompto

I think that this piece turned out very well! I hope you all enjoy! 😊

Taglist: @idiotflowerex, @laststory1013, @sayaoqueen, @jophinabean, @mysme-already

If you like what you read, please consider supporting me on Patreon or buying me a Ko-fi!

Prompto

In the city, the air was just starting to chill. The once colorful leaves laid dry on the ground, serenading passers-by with the sound of late fall. But here, far above the city, deep snow sat comfortably in its mountain home.

Prompto had brought you to a cabin in the clouds. He said that a friend’s family owned it, but all you cared about was that it would be a weekend alone for the two of you.

Days spent in the thin atmosphere seemed dreamlike. The silence of the mountain forest was cut by the sounds of your giggles as you learned to snowshoe and ski. The only thing more beautiful than the clear night sky was the pink blush across Prompto’s glowing face as he smiled at you.

Today, you had taken a snowmobile out to explore. Prompto knew about some “special place” he wanted you to see. You held onto him tightly as your motorized sled sped over the frozen landscape.

What your love had been so excited to show you was the sort of scene that inspired great paintings: a lake literally frozen in time. You didn’t think it possible, but everything about the massive feature was pure ice! What had once been water now sparkled in the sunlight. There was no snow on the surface, leaving it’s beautiful teal features exposed for all to admire. Even the waterfall looked frozen in time.

As the sun was high in the sky, you and Prompto found yourself stopping, once again, to admire the blue jewel of water before you.

Your sunshine took a deep breath, soaking in everything about the mountain, as he stared out over the ice. He began to say something, but what it was, you would never know.

If there was a god of mischief, they had gifted you with a wonderful idea!

Thwack!

Your cold hands still threw with amazing accuracy!

Prompto stood in shock as remnants of a snowball slid from his cap. You gasped to regain the breath your fits of laughter stole from you.

Your laughter also obscounded with your attention.

Before you knew what had happened, you were faced with the catastrophe of icy crystals sliding down your back from the snowball that hit you in the head.

And with the first casualty of your warmth, the snowball fight was on!

The two of you ran and slid through the white wonderland around you, throwing hastily formed snowballs like your life depended on it. Prompto had an amazing aim, but very little muscle to speak of, so his throws never went far. You had gotten the drop on him from above, heaving an armful of snow down on him.

Now, he sought revenge! You hid behind a drift as he advanced, unaware of your position. This would be the moment of truth!

“Come out, come out, wherever you are,” he sang, tossing and catching a snowball as he walked.

You peeped over the embankment, waiting for your opportunity. Suddenly, it struck!

Prompto was distracted by something in the trees to his left! Every muscle in your legs sprang to life, lifting you from your hiding place to face your darling adversary!

But the shot was never to be yours.

In a slowed moment, you watched as Prompto’s head turned to lock eyes with you. Before you had a chance to pitch, the snow around you came alive with magic!

A dozen perfectly formed orbs of cold magic hurtled towards your love with sublime accuracy.

Time resumed it’s running pace as you watched Prompto become bombarded in white. He fell to the ground as both of you stared at each other in shock.

“Not fair,” he cried indignantly.

“That wasn’t me!” You threw up your hands to prove innocence, hastily dropping the snowball in the process.

“Really? Then who was it?” Prompto was starting to brush himself off. You dashed over to help him to his feet.

Soon enough, he had his answer. You had just gotten him to his feet when you heard small giggles echo through the trees around you.

Prompto grabbed onto your arm, panic written across his face. “Is that a...a ghost,” he whimpered.

But you didn’t share in his fright. Your mouth contorted into an exaggerated frown as twelve scantily clad fairly like figures made their way out of the trees and rocks around you.

“For the last time, mom, would you PLEASE put some clothes on!”

The twelve fairies smiled as they converged into a blinding light. From the light emerged Gentiana.

The elusive woman strode towards you, her eyes half closed, looking at her feet. As she reached you, she looked up and placed one icey hand on your cheek.

“Greetings, darling.” She opened her eyes to gaze into yours. Her smile spoke tales of fondness, joy, and warmth that others who new the Glaceon would never know.

Knowing everything was in good fun, you smiled back at her. “Hello, mother.” You had missed her. Her cool touch felt welcoming on your skin. In your heart, you knew it had been far too long.

“MOTHER?!?” Prompto had returned to his senses, now crying out in confusion. He looked between the two of you, thoroughly distraught by what had just happened.

Giantiana turned towards him, a smile of warm recognition mixed with a hint of mischief graced her perfect face. “Hello, Prompto.” Her voice was distinct against the sounds of the forest, yet still soft on the ears.

And in a single moment, your darling sunflower lost all of his composure.

He started blubbering, pointing to places Shiva had hidden in her diamond dust form, then at Giantiana, then at you. The only distinguishable words were “Shiva,” “Giantiana,” and “mom”. His face turned redder by the second.

Finally, he stopped. His cheeks were crimson and his mouth hung open as he stared at you. Silence fell over the world.

Before you and your mother turned to each other and started giggling. Prompto looked exasperated in his confusion at the whole situation.

Finally, you regained your breath. With love filled words, you decided to straighten out the situation.

“Darling, there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you.” You paused to make sure he was listening. He nodded, open mouthed. You took a deep breath. “Meet my mother, Shiva.”

It took many explanations mixed with frantic moments trying to calm Prompto as he hyperventilated, before you were able to fully explain the situation. As per usual, your mother was little help: she stood by silently, nodding and smiling whenever the moment suited her.

Yes, Giantiana and Shiva were one in the same. And you?

You were a demi-god. Not by birth, but by blood adoption. You had been abandoned as a baby, too young to fend for yourself. Against the wishes of all other gods, Shiva took pity on you. She opted to adopt you and care for you as one of her own. When Bahamut threatened to destroy her newfound tiny mortal, she found ways to circumvent him.

All it took was a single drop of her blood.

She had fed you one drop of her blood, hoping with all of her godly might, that it would make you strong enough to stand against Bahamut’s rage and time’s fury.

And it worked.

You were now of her blood. You shared her powers and her grace. It allowed your life to continue seemingly without end and gave you the ability to move through time and space without a sound.

After a mere 300 years of living with your mother, you decided to venture out on your own. For the last century, you had been wandering through the eras and landscapes of Eos. You had seen empires rise and fall, families be born and tear apart, and watched the trials of love.

But this was different...

You had sent Prompto off, allowing Shiva a moment alone with you.

“Is he worth it?” She asked in a soft tone, watching your love walk away beside you.

You smiled. Your heart had always known the answer to that question but this was the first time you ever voiced it.

“Yes.”

Your mother looked into your eyes to test the truth of them. She smiled in satisfaction at the answer.

“Then you have my blessing.” Her dark hair disappeared into a flurry of crystalline snowflakes before you.

The sun made its way across the sky. Back in the cabin, you and Prompto snuggled by the fire to warm up. The time had passed in silence, with him simply staring into the flames.

“Why?” He suddenly blurted. He was warming his hands on a mug of hot chocolate.

“What?”

“Tell me why...this!” Chocolate spilled from his cup as he threw his hands up. HIs eyes looked fearful as he turned towards you.

“This?” “Why me? Why are you here? Am I just your...current toy? What am I to you? I mean, I can’t be much! Look at you! You’re part god! You practically ARE a god! I don’t getwhyyou’dbewithmeand…”

With a single finger to his pink lips, you hushed your love’s panic. You held it there for a long moment, until he exhaled and allowed himself to relax.

You removed your finger from his lips before giving yourself a moment to collect your thoughts. “I’m here because with you...with you everything is new again. With you, everything is beautiful and...filled with love.” You looked up to see him staring at you with a childlike awe. “With you, I don’t just see life, I EXPERIENCE it!” You searched his eyes, “Do you get that?”

He shook his head, but wore a warm smile. “No, but if it makes sense to you, that’s good enough for me.”

But his answer wasn’t good enough for you!

You grabbed his hand as you threw away the blanket over his lap. Your empty mugs lay discarded on the ground as you drug him to the front porch.

In the cold outside, the sun was setting. The sky was painted with brilliant hues against the dark clouds.

“Do you see that?” You asked blatantly, still holding onto Prompto, pointing towards the sky. He nodded in fearful shock.

“Ofcourseyoudohowdoyoumissthefigginsunset...Ok, but have you ever thought about WHY?” The words seemed to spill from your mouth.

“Why? Why the sun?” Prompto asked, not understanding.

“No! Why the sunset is so beautiful! Why the sunset is so special to lovers…” You felt victorious in your discovery in the right words.

“...no,” Prompto slowly began to shake his head.

You pointed back to the colorful scene. “Just look at it! You helped me to see why! Look at those colors! You see the pink on the clouds? And the orange closest to the ground? And how the blue looks a bit more purplish in some spots than in others? Well, it’s different! Different from yesterday’s sunset!”

You had to catch your breath from your last rant. Prompto slowly looked away from you to fix his gaze on the sunset.

“Yesterday’s sunset wasn’t as purplish and it had more orange to it! It’s like love! It’s different each day, it’s different depending on where you are or how cold it is and...and a ton of other factors! But it’s always beautiful!”

“Love is different everyday, too! Sometimes you’re mad at each other, sometimes you’re so in love you feel like you’re going to burst, sometimes you’re scared FOR the other person, but you are ALWAYS in love!” You paused, out of breath from this marathon of explanation. Prompto stood beside you in contemplative silence.

“Prom,” you paused for him to look at you. “I never knew that. Four hundred years and I never learned that. It took you to teach me that. And I love you for it...and so much more. I choose you, I want to be with you because...because you’ve taught me what love means.”

He stared into your eyes with a look of realization in his eyes.

The kiss you shared in that moment was one of the most sublime things you had ever encountered. It was one of the purest and oldest forms of love, one the gods themselves would envy. But in that moment, none were present to witness it. For it was just the two of you, wrapped up in passion under a watercolor sky.

Stars started to peek out from the blue sky before you were able to return to your senses.

“Do you get it now?” You whispered towards the sky, wrapped up in Prompto’s arms.

“I think so…” He began, staring out still.

“Let’s do this, watch sunsets together, from now on! Just you and me! Let’s never miss a sunset! Or.. or anything else!” He burst, gazing down at you. “I love you, [Y/N]! And I want to see everything you see and learn everything you do! From now on!”

His outburst caught you by surprise for a moment, before you committed it to a loving memory.

You smiled up at him. The future would come all to quickly, but for now, you would make the most of every moment.

“That sounds...perfect.”

#ffxv #prompto x reader #prompto #prompto argentum #shiva #fluff #gentiana #final fantasy #final fantasy xv #final fantasy 15

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friendshipcampaign · 6 years ago

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Session Recap 5/18/19: Stilled Waters

Ditto hung out with Erwyn and the twins for a little while, but eventually took her leave to give them some time to talk amongst themselves, parking herself under the large tree in the courtyard. A bit into their conversation, Bramble jolted upright and ran into the kitchen to ask Amaranth if she’d really wrestled Kriv (Erwyn having told her about it in a Sending), and if she had any tips. The tiefling bragged she had, and told Bramble she could give her a demonstration later. Bramble and Erwyn also discussed some of the struggles of wild magic, and she gave him a little advice on reigning in his surges as best he could, and he spoke with the girls about several other topics related to the party’s adventuring.

Coila emerged after a bit, looking far less stressed than the last time the party had seen her, and spoke with Ditto a little about the party’s travels -- though the gnome was reserved in saying all that much. After a bit she wandered over to Erwyn, who was glad to see her but similarly restrained in talking too much about some of the things they’d dealt with.

Undwyn was very surprised to see Kriv when he arrived at the blacksmith’s shop. He asked them how things were going in town and they said things were still settling down, but that Bramble and Rose seemed happy and Coila seemed nicer than her husband. They offered him some tea, as well as some hay for Volfred, and he picked up the greatsword he’d commissioned before. When he arrived back at the castle, he left his old stolen sword in a corner.

Those visiting Soreth had a lovely dinner at the castle -- meaning that Erwyn finally got to try one of Stelly’s famous pies, as he’d been been a deceased soul trapped in a ring when most of the group for their chance. Amaranth set a pie aside to bring back for Voski. As the sun drew low in the sky, they headed back to the stone circle. After a series of goodbyes, they were whisked back to Elessea’s throne room.

The Lady was waiting on her throne, lounging once more. As the group filed out of the room, Erwyn turned and thanked her for letting them make the trip before skittering off to his room. Amaranth barged into Voski’s room with the pie and filled her in on the trip, and Voski told her how she hadn’t seen much while the rest of the group was gone -- though she had heard some sort of faint humming from the other side of one of the courtyard walls near the sea.

Ditto and Kriv spent the evening messing around more with the Rhymer’s Ring in one of the castle courtyards. Ditto went first this time, testing what would happen if she intentionally messed up a spell by using the non-rhyme “Tenser’s Floating Dish” -- and immediately took psychic damage, as tons of small plates started throwing themselves at her. One cracked itself on her head, and Kriv doubled over laughing before using Lay on Hands on her. Kriv took the ring next and tried casting the rhyme “Divine Sight,” which caused him to see a tiny illusory image of Bahamut floating over his pendant, as well as the figure of a tiny defiant isopod above the symbol of Tsova on his shield.

The next morning, Ditto tracked down Russet and Gusset and asked them for some materials she needed for something she wanted to try, as well as where the best places to pick plants were. She gathered a few before heading towards the others’ rooms. She visited Amaranth first and asked if she wanted to play a game. The tiefling agreed. Next she went to fetch Kriv, who was more hesitant. He wanted to make sure that, since it was a gnome game, there were no explosions involved before he agreed. When they went to get Erwyn they learned it was one of the days where he was very exhausted. He also had to ask what “tag” was when Ditto described the game as being like it, but agreed to at least come along -- though he did bring a book.

When Ditto approached Voski’s room, her wind chimes made the sound of a slide whistle. The dragonborn asked Ditto some questions about the location she had scouted out for this event, but surprised everyone by agreeing to come along. She asked if Ditto was planning on inviting Astoria, which Ditto thought was a great idea -- though Astoria was somewhat confused when she was invited along.

Ditto lead them to a cove Russet and Gusset had told her about just outside the castle, where there a covered basket and materials to make garlands were waiting. She explained that each player would have five garlands to put on themselves, which the other players would try to steal. Each player would also have an egg filled with confetti that they could throw at others, allowing them to “steal” a garland from a distance, or to use as a distraction if someone went for theirs. Volfred agreed to referee for them. The party set to making their garlands -- though Kriv needed Ditto to show him how to make one, Voski took her time choosing auspicious color combinations, and Erwyn slowed after starting and looked a bit sad about it. Erwyn also ate some of the materials as he worked.

To start the game, Ditto tossed a garland in the air and everyone ran. Amaranth dashed to some rocks by the water, Voski towards the shore, Kriv towards the woods and Astoria after him (though she seemed confused), and Ditto to a different set of rocks than Amaranth. Erwyn was too tired to move far from the center, but dropped to the ground near a rock all the same.

Amaranth tried to get a better vantage point on the others, but was unable to spot anyone. Voski dropped one of her garlands on the beach, popped one of Auntie Eyren’s water-breathing lozenges in her mouth, and walked into the sea, completely submerging herself. Kriv was able to sneak up on Astoria and grabbed a garland off her waist. She went to grab one of Kriv’s garlands back and he threw his egg at her, but missed. Ditto ran towards Erwyn, but as she reached for him he snatched a garland off her wrist and kicked some sand in her direction to try to get her to go away.

“Oh, fighting dirty, are we?” Ditto asked, and snatched one of Erwyn’s garlands off him before running towards the shore.

Voski continued to hang out underwater.

Erwyn tried tossing his egg at Astoria but missed, prompting him to try crawling after it to retrieve it for future use. Amaranth ran into the trees after Kriv and grabbed a garland as she dashed past him, sticking her tongue out as she did. Ditto ran past Erwyn towards the group in the forest as Astoria tried and failed to grab a garland off of Kriv. The latter two stuck their tongues out at each other, taking a cue from Amaranth.

Reaching his egg, Erwyn grabbed it and lobbed it at Amaranth, hitting her successfully. She tossed one of her garlands at him, grinning, before trying to take one off Astoria herself and missing. Running towards Erwyn, Amaranth looked back at Astoria, shouting, “We still gotta sing later!”

Voski, who had been admiring some of the kelp just off the shore in the ocean, braided some strands together experimentally.

Ditto ran towards the group in the forest and threw her egg at Kriv, hitting him successfully. He tossed her one of his garlands. Astoria tried taking a garland from Amaranth and nabbed the one around her waist, excited about her first success.

“I do agree we should sing again later,” she said.

“We’ll see who survives this first!” Amaranth replied.

Erwyn, who was still low to the ground, launched himself upwards and managed to snatch the garland off Astoria’s wrist while she was still distracted by her success with Amaranth. He clipped Amaranth slightly on the way and knocked her over, before announcing, sounding surprised, that he’d gotten three of them.

With Erwyn the official victor, Amaranth started to go into the sea after Voski as Erwyn Messaged her, seeing if she was alright. She said she’d be right out and cast Freedom of Movement on herself to make an unencumbered entrance out of the water, her armor changed to reflect the inspiration she’d gathered from the kelp. She looked at the garland she’d left on the beach.

“Did you need gift wrap?” she asked.

“I sort of assumed it was a trap,” Erwyn said.

Ditto commented that Erwyn’s strategy of staying in one spot had been clever, and he replied that he’d been keeping in mind his hunting experience. She presented him with his prize -- a cool rock she’d found wrapped up in bit of wire and string to make a “medal” of sorts. Volfred walked up to Erwyn and gently set his head atop of the elf’s. Erwyn looked genuinely touched.

The party set up a fire to gather around on the beach. Amaranth was still in the water and was soon joined by Astoria, though she only remained near the shore and didn’t hop in herself, and the two of them started singing some shanties. As they tired, Voski played some of her own music. Eventually, she asked Astoria a little more about the sound like a breaking string she’d heard in the castle, asking if it sounded like a particular note. Astoria said it had, but she wasn’t sure which one.

Voski asked the group if they’d met any other bards before. They all said they hadn’t, really. She tried to explain a bit about arcane musical theory, and how bards like the Fossegrim at the market, who’d simply disguised a charm spell in a song, were a poor example of the craft. (“Any wizard with a pair of finger cymbals could pull that off,” she said dismissively.) A more bardic approach, according to some theories, involved choosing or writing songs to be “in tune” with the people around the player and drawing on the ambient magic in those reactions -- meaning it was less about control, and more about connections. She suggested it was possible that the sound of the string breaking could be indicative of some magic effect powered through song suddenly ending, and that it might have been load-bearing, given how empty the castle was as of late. As Voski talked, Amaranth fiddled with something in her pocket.

Erwyn mentioned that he kept thinking back to what Eddystone had said about anchors when the party was sailing to the Faewilds, and the fact that the word had also been mentioned in the Sylvan document he and Kriv had translated back in Soreth, which also mentioned some of the Ladies. Voski said that in her attempts to try to research the fae anchors, she hadn’t unearthed much of substance.

Erwyn expressed an interest in trying to find the Celestial counterpart Kevin had mentioned and suggested he try to use his portal sense to find them. The others were up for the idea. Astoria asked if there was anything they wanted her to watch out for the next time they were gone, and they told her they’d be interested in knowing about planar comings-and-goings, like the devil that had showed up. Voski asked if she’d heard anything from Lady Starling recently, and she said that she hadn’t.

As the conversation wrapped up, Voski heard a distant, low barking, along with some small high-pitched voices. She hushed the others, got up, and gestured for them to follow. She asked if Astoria had a call for Max and the drow whistled. The barking increased in volume, and she charged into the woods.

The party found the dog in a clearing, surrounded by some tiny sprites who were trying and failing to keep him from bounding towards Astoria and bowling her over. In Sylvan, they muttered about the dog being their “war beast.”

“I don’t think you’ll find that’s true,” Erwyn said to them in Sylvan, as Voski cast Comprehend Languages.

The sprites complained to Erwyn that everything had been so awful lately that they deserved to have this one nice thing. They went on to explain that the tide hadn’t been coming back, and he asked if they knew why. The sprites told him it was the fault of some monsters in a cave below the castle.

Voski turned to the others and wearily explained they were about to also solve the sprites’ problems.

“I was just going to say--” Erwyn said.

“What were you going to tell them, Erwyn?” she said.

Erwyn sheepishly admitted he did feel at least a little personally responsible for Max being lost. He asked the sprites to describe the monsters. The sprites said some of them were so deep they couldn’t go down there, but that the one nearest the surface was long and covered in armor made of shells, that would snatch you in its teeth and tie you up with reeds.

Voski continued to translated, annoyed.

The party discussed it amongst themselves and decided that they couldn’t know if the creatures were in the employ of the lady or not, which complicated things. Erwyn suggested they needed to ask for payment up front, and Voski pointed out he was the only one who could negotiate -- a concept which intimidated him. He tried to talk to the sprites, but wasn’t very successful in getting them to listen, though Voski tried to assist how she could. The party eventually agreed they would try to talk to Elm or Lichen and ask if the creature was there intentionally -- though Astoria stayed behind with her dog.

The party successfully found one of the two castle guards they were looking for, though as usual they could never be sure which because of their glamours. Voski handed them some braided kelp, which they solemnly tied to their belt. When the party asked what was under the castle, they were told to stay away from the creatures, and that the Lady had appointed them. They were told they shouldn’t ask about them, and that the Lady maintained they did not need the tide. The guard told the party they should have faith in her decisions, that it had been a long time since the tides came to the isle of Elessea, and that the sprites were fickle and would likely abandon about the issue in time.

On the way back to the sprites, the party discussed their options. Giving the sprites a replacement warbeast was proposed, though Voski pointed out that would probably endanger the sprites if it encouraged them to go after the creature. The conclusion they kept coming back to was that they might just have to take the dog, even if it angered the sprites.

“Remember those little gnomes that almost killed us?” Voski said.

“They weren’t gnomes,” Ditto interjected, insulted.

Back in the clearing, Erwyn tried explaining to the sprites what they’d learned. They weren’t having any of it, saying they didn’t want to do all the work required of them without the tides. Erwyn asked them how long it had been and they told him it was generations of sprites, starting around the time that the newest lady took her seat. When he explained that if they went up against the monster they would probably be defeated, the sprites said the waves would just roll up and restore them. He commented that if the party were to be killed, they would be gone forever, trying to explain why they were hesitant, but actually just ended up overwhelming the sprites with the concept of mortality, which was completely new to them.

Now fairly distraught and crying for the party, the sprites told the party to just take Max, so they could at least have him while they were still alive. Voski, however, who was the only other person able to translate their Sylvan due to her spells, told it to the rest of the party a little differently.

“So what’s happened here is he’s threatened to destroy them, and they’re all begging for forgiveness,” she said.

“It’s… it’s probably best if we get going back,” Erwyn said.

#session recap

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platonicone · 6 years ago

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Devotion - Story of the Oracle and her Shield

Chapter 1 - The New Omen

Fate, some embrace it, some abhor it, yet few truly understand it. The Oracle was a prisoner of a cruel fate, yet she bore it with a smile. Destined for hardship and heartache, she carried on her journey, from Insomnia to the Disc of Cauthess, to awaken Titan. It was there where everything changed. For better or worse none of us knew.

A colossal fist slammed on the ground, hurling debris in all directions. She had successfully dodged Titan’s attack, but it was flying debris that caught her. Small shrapnel-like rocks had lodged into her forearm and temple. She hissed in pain and removed them as a small stream of blood started to flow.

Before she could do anything else, Titan slammed down his enormous fist. She raised her trident out of reflex, temporarily halting Titan’s attack. It was Titan’s sheer power versus her defiance. The crushing force with which Titan was pushing his fist down would soon overpower her. She realized it and quickly erected a magical barrier deflecting the attack and buying her a few precious seconds.

“I am not your enemy. I seek your blessings for the King of Light, so he may fulfill his destiny and banish the darkness from this world,” said Lunafreya, clutching her trident.

“The power of the gods can only be claimed by those deemed worthy. Be it the Oracle or the King, they must prove their mettle,” an ethereal voice responded.

“If, for Noctis’ sake, I am required to fight, then I will fight, even with the Gods,” she said with a firm determination in her eyes even with blood dripping down from the side of her face.

Titan roared in response and unleashed the next set of attacks. Lunafreya dodged each of his attacks. She summoned the energy around her trident and unleashed a devastating attack on Titan. Not expecting such a powerful counterattack, Titan was dazed. Taking advantage of this opening, she continued sending a volley of attacks to gain an upper hand momentarily. This only angered Titan further.

Not to be outdone by a mortal, Titan stomped the ground, sending shockwaves all around and knocking Lunafreya off her feet. She flew back a few feet and landed with a thud on uneven ground. The impact of the fall had dislodged her trident from her grip and it landed farther from her.

She tried to get up but her body had given up and refused to move.

She had endured a great deal of physical trauma in the last few days and her body couldn’t cope with it. After barely escaping from the jaws of death during the fall of the Insomnia, she had traveled to Lestallum among the refugees after overcoming great adversities. Without rest or recovery, soon she marched on to awaken Titan. Physically, her body wasn’t trained to endure such hardship. Her body had long since given up; it was only her willpower that drove her.

Titan continued to stomp in rage, hurling debris in all directions. Once again, her mind told her to get up, but her body refused to obey. She crawled towards her trident, which remained painfully out of her reach. She tried to push herself up when a huge piece of boulder flew towards her and landed on her leg. She let out a piercing scream as the weight of the rock crushed her leg. She was sure it had broken her ankle.

With her trident out of reach, her leg trapped and her body unable to move, her ability to attack or defend was nullified. She had come to awaken Titan; she had not been expecting a fight with it. It took armies to bring down an Astral. To confront Titan and survive this long was a feat any warrior would be proud of. But this was the end. She had put up a good fight. One more attack from Titan would be fatal.

“Willpower alone is not enough to overcome the impending darkness. If you can’t pass my trial, what hope do you have of succeeding against the combined might of daemons, Starscourge, and the Usurper? Mayhap you or your king are not worthy to consort with the gods,” said Titan in rage.

“Let me end your misery, the slave of fate and destiny,” said Titan. With that, Titan coiled back his fist and, with all his might, charged towards the defenseless Oracle.

She had many visions about her future, but this, a premature death without fulfilling her calling, was not one of them. Her mind ran through all the possible scenarios and concluded there was no escaping this situation. She closed her eyes and thought of one person she loved the most: Noctis.

'No! This is not how it is supposed to end. My calling is to awaken all Astrals for Noctis. I cannot die here.’ Her mind tried to defy the odds. But looking at the reality of the situation, she couldn’t help but think, 'Could the Astrals have forsaken me? No, that can’t be. I must be steadfast in my faith, even when all hope is lost. Oh the gods above, please me!’

She saw the giant’s fist descending upon her and, with no means of defending herself, she instinctively closed her eyes, and waited for the fatal blow.

A few seconds went by but that fatal blow never came. With her heart still pounding like a drum, she opened her eyes wearily. She was greeted with a sight of Titan’s colossal fist hovering just a few feet above her with a sword-like weapon preventing its descent. She traced the sword with her eyes and looked at the owner, clad in all black, blocking Titan’s mighty attack.

“You all right?” Asked a cool and collective voice as he glanced back at her.

She nodded in response, which wasn’t missed by the stranger looking at her from the corner of his eyes.

“The good thing about a fight with a colossal enemy is that there are plenty of areas to strategically target,” he muttered to himself, as if remembering a lesson he had learned. With all his might, he swung his sword deflecting Titan’s fist. He immediately followed it up with two volleys of blizzard spells aimed right at Titan’s eyes.

Titan screamed in agony and retreated momentarily. This gave enough time to the stranger to lift the rock trapping Lunafreya’s leg.

“Thank you,” she said, as she pulled her leg out from beneath the rock.

“No time for formalities,” he stated, and proceed to cast a healing spell on her.

She closed her eyes as the feeling of rapture engulfed her whole body. For the time being, she forgot how much pain her body had to endure. She would love to be in the state forever if that were an option. But all good things must come to an end such is the cruel nature of life. As the effect of the spell wore off, the pain sensation returned, but with much lesser intensity.

“Take cover behind that boulder, I’ll fight this thing,” he said, just in time to block a renewed attack from Titan.

“No, I’ll fight with you,” she refused his offer. She tried to get up and walk towards her trident, but she stumbled on the first step, and fell to the ground. She noticed her ankle was badly damaged, and walking was excruciatingly painful.

“You’re in no shape to fight so just sit this one out,” he disagreed, while parrying Titan’s attack.

“This is my fight,” she said, as she crawled towards her trident with pertinacity.

“You will only end up getting hurt further,” he said, looking at her struggle as he dodged another attack.

“I don’t care if I get hurt. I only care about fulfilling my duty,” she replied quickly.

“You can’t fulfill your duty if you are dead, can you?” He asked sternly.

“If I don’t even try then how different is it than being dead?” She retorted.

He placed his hand on his forehead. “Whatever. You are stubborn,” he said, sounding annoyed.

“I am not stubborn. I am determined,” she said, with fury in her eyes, as she clutched her trident.

“Determined to die, that is,” he said under his breath, but Lunafreya heard it and gave him a look of contempt.

“Just stay out of my way,” he said, as he readied to charge at Titan.

“What a jerk,” she hissed under her breath, but he heard it. It was very unlike her to get angry at anyone, but here was a stranger who inserted himself in the middle of her covenant with the gods, and then have the audacity to tell her what to do.

“Look, you are hurt. You will only be a liability on the battlefield,” he said, trying to reason with her one last time. He took his eyes off Titan momentarily to look at the girl who was arguing with him in the middle of a battle. It was a costly mistake as the impact of Titan’s fist easily knocked him back a few feet.

“The Fallen has risen? How? He was erased. Matters not, for he shall fall again,” said Titan, angrily at the intruder.

Before the stranger could get back on his feet, Titan’s other hand was ready to pounce on him. Titan’s fist was barely inches away from his face when a translucent golden magic shield blocked his attack dead in its tracks.

“Not much of a liability now, am I?” She said with a hint of a smile.

He tried his best not to react to her comment, but instinctively a hint of a smile crept on his face.

“Well, then, let’s defeat this thing together. We can’t win by defending only,” he said, while getting up under the protection of her magical barrier. She quietly nodded in response. He extended his hand, and she grabbed it, and used it as a support to get back on her feet.

It was the first time she noticed the stranger closely. He wore a black leather bomber jacket over a white deep V-neck T-shirt which parts down the middle of his chest. He wore black pants, and white fur trim along the collar of his pants. A sash partially covers his right leg. He wore a lion-like pendant and a similar belt buckle. He had a distinctive scar which ran diagonally across the bridge of his nose. His unruly shoulder-length brown hair and a short boxed beard gave him a matured look. The way he was dressed was unlike anything she had seen before.

“My, my, what is he doing here?” Said a distant observer, removing his fancy hat. “Him being back is, dare I say, a bad Omen,” said Ardyn, before breaking into a hysterical laugh at his joke. “What an interesting twist in the tale. Bahamut, what are you scheming now?”

On the ground below, the warrior launched himself towards Titan, expertly dodging all the incoming attacks. Lunafreya could tell he was a seasoned warrior.

He hacked and slashed at Titan with great agility. She too joined in by unleashing bolts of magic towards Titan. For the first time in this fight, it felt as if they had an upper hand.

Their victory was short-lived, as Titan swept his colossal hand swatting both of them. That attack caused them tremendous damage. Before they could recover, Titan stomped on the ground, causing a shockwave to knock them off their feet. Titan followed it up by forming a fist and targeting Lunafreya with it.

Because of her ankle injury, she struggled to get back on her feet quickly. She was about to be crushed by an incoming attack when the warrior in black covered her, and took the brunt of the attack. He falls away grimacing in pain.

Titan targeted him next, as he lay on the ground defenseless, still recuperating from the last attack. Just as Titan’s attack was about to land on him, a magical barrier protected him once again.

“This magical barrier of yours is very helpful. How long does it last?” He asked while getting back on his feet.

“I don’t know. 10 seconds maybe?” She said unsure.

“Hmm,” he thought for a second, and continued, “that should be enough.”

“Enough for wha-” Her sentence was cut off as Titan’s attacked knocked Lunafreya off her feet once more. Another pounding of the fist next to her, sent debris hurling towards her, reopening her wounds.

He saw a stream of blood gushing down from Lunafreaya’s hand and head. He looked at Titan with rage-filled in his eyes and ran towards Titan launching different spells all over him. Some hit Titan on his face, some on his hands, and some on his chest. As he got closer to Titan, he slashed him with his sword, creating sparks on each impact.

Instead of defending or even attacking him, Titan launched another attack targeted at Lunafreya again. He rushed back and covered her just in time to protect her, but once again they both were knocked down to the ground. Lunafreya erected her barrier to buy them some precious time.

While lying next to her, he noticed the blood had entirely covered one side of her face. “You’re hurt,” he said, with a hint of concern in his voice.

“I’ll live,” she assured, with a faint smile.

She uttered some spell and healed him, which took him by surprise.

“You should heal yourself first,” he stated the obvious.

“No, you took the brunt of the attack multiple times for me, and you are hurt too, so I should heal you first,” she argued.

“God! You are so stubborn,” he said, putting his hand on his forehead. “Here,” he gestured towards here, casting another healing spell. While it did not stop the bleeding entirely, it eased her pain.

“Next time, heal yourself first,” he said, as he got back on his feet.

Their fight commenced. The dance of attack and defense carried on for a few minutes, with momentum swinging back and forth multiple times during this battle.

Instead of him attacking from close quarters and Lunafreya supporting from the back line, they adopted a new strategy where they fought back to back. It was a lot more efficient than their previous strategy, as now one barrier can protect both parties. They both took turns attacking, so others could get enough rest in between. It surprised them how well they fought together.

“My name is Lunafreya,” she suddenly said, realizing she had not introduced herself to the stranger.

“Squall Leonhart,” he said, without shifting his focus from Titan.

“Have we met before?” Lunafreya asked the stranger.

“No,” he said definitively, before adding, “but you look familiar for some reason.”

“Strange, I feel the same,” she confessed, parrying the attack.

“We need to get an upper hand in this battle. At this rate, we will run out of stamina and all our spells soon,” he remains focused on the task, while sidestepping Titan’s fist.

“What do you suggest?” She asked.

“I don’t know enough about this thing to draw any conclusion. What do you know about this giant?” He inquired.

“Well, this is an Archaean called Titan. The legend says that when the meteor fell on Eos, Titan intercepted it, and has been carrying it on his back for eons,” she said, as she erected her protecting barrier.

“I don’t need a history lesson right now. Just give me any information I can use to defeat it,” he said, getting agitated.

“I don’t know of such information. I was not planning to defeat it,” she said sheepishly.

“You were fighting against it, but had no plan of defeating it?” He said partly surprised and partly frustrated, as he deflected another attack.

“I wasn’t planning to fight with-” she said before he cut her off mid-sentence, “what was the thing you said about Titan carrying something on his back?”

“It’s a meteor this Astral has been carrying for eons. He is protecting this planet by not letting the meteor hit the ground, or so the legend says,” she repeated, her ‘history lesson,’ annoyed at being cut off mid-sentence earlier.

“That’s it!” He said, as his eyes lit up.

“What?” She asked, unsure of what he meant.

“Attack him on his back where the meteor is being held,” he instructed.

“No, that is reckless, I will not do that,” she defied.

“God! Why are you so stubborn?” He complained.

“We don’t know what kind of chaos it could unleash if that meteor hits the ground,” she replied still in shock at his preposterous idea.

“He won’t let it fall at any cost,” he argued back.

“How can you be so sure?” She asked with a reservation.

“Because ever since the fight started, he has used only one hand to attack. His other hand is always supporting the meteor,” he explained the rationale behind his plan. “And if he is carrying it for eons, then chances are, he will try to hold it up at all cost.”

“It is too risky,” she doubted, while wiping her face off the blood.

He turned around, grabbed her hand, and looked straight into her eyes. “Just trust me on this one.”

His commanding tone left no room for argument. She nodded in silent agreement.

He ran towards Titan drawing his attention, while Lunafreya prepared her attack. She said a silent prayer before letting out her attack, hitting the spot where the meteor was lodged in Titan’s back.

Titan let out a deafening roared in response. Titan was furious but, before he could counterattack, Lunafreya attacked again. As the weight of the meteor shifted on his back, Titan immediately focused on readjusting it.

With Titan distracted, Squall let out a volley of blizzardga freezing the entire Titan.

“It’s time to end this,” he declared. His heart was pounding, his focus laser-sharp, as adrenaline ran through his body. It was time for his limit break.

He ran towards Titan with unmatched speed, slicing him with his gunblade multiple times, causing massive damage with each hit. He stepped back and raised his weapon over his head to summon a large aura of energy around it. He charged the energy until it formed a pillar extending into the sky. With a mighty force, he brought down his gunblade and the pillar of energy with it, destroying anything within its path causing an exorbitant amount of damage to Titan.

“Finish it,” he instructed her.

She swung her trusty trident and unleashed a massive amount of energy aim at the heart of Titan. The frozen Titan appeared to shatter into million spectral pieces in the surrounding atmosphere.

Squall looked at Lunafreya, asking for her silent approval to check if it was over. Her face was expressionless, as she was unsure of what would happen next.

Within seconds, the spectral pieces dissipate, and Titan was revealed once again. Titan adjusted the meteor on his back and sat back in a dormant position.

“Mayhap I misjudged your strength,” Titan said in a humbler tone.

She stepped forward confidently with a trident in her hand. “Will you forge a covenant now?”

“Yes. But, I shall first test your king’s strength, before I surrender my power unto him,” said the ethereal voice in a divine language.

“I have full faith that he shall pass your trial. Thank you, for your kindness,” she said, bending her knee and bowing down her head slightly. She was still graceful as always, although she could barely stand.

“Is it over?” He inquired from a distance.

She nodded with a charming smile.

“I hear by form a covenant with thy soul,” echoed the ethereal voice, as gold lights emanated from its body, some of which coalesced around Lunafreaya. The energy circulated around Lunafreya for a few seconds, before lifting her off her feet, and suspending her a few feet in the air. The surrounding energy suddenly imploded on her. As her body absorbed the massive amount of energy, she screamed in pain and collapsed on the ground.

Squall caught her just in time, as her head was about to hit the ground. He cradled her in his arms, as she seemed to be in a deep slumber. Was she exhausted or unconscious? He didn’t know. He quickly checked her pulse. He let out a sigh of relief, when he detected a normal pattern of the pulse.

It was the first time he noticed how beautiful she looked. Something about her felt so familiar to him. A sudden jolt of a headache had him clutching his head in agony. It was as if a distant memory was trying to resurface from the depths of his mind. He vaguely remembered holding a girl in a coma, tenderly in his arms. He caressed her face, but everything was a blur. He could not recall who she was or how she looked. He clutched his head in agony as the memory faded.

A warrior without a past and an Oracle without a future, united in a cruel game of fate.

“Bravo! What a spectacle that was. This was as good as last time, if not better,” Ardyn said, from a distance, eating popcorn in his lounge chair. “Now that my dear friend Squall is back, perhaps it’s time for a rematch with the Astrals. What say you, Bahamut?” He broke into a burst of maniacal laughter, as a dark aura started oozing from him.

Earlier That Day

Gentiana opened her eyes and quickly realized where she was. She was in the beyond, in Bahamut’s domain.

“I know that you can sense him too,” said the ethereal voice of Bahamut.

“Bahamut, what is Squall doing here? How did he–” Gentiana’s curiosity was cut short by Bahamut.

“Do not finagle, Shiva. I had trapped him in the beyond, it is impossible to escape from there without divine intervention,” howled Bahamut in rage.

“Are you accusing me of helping him escape from your prison?”

“I merely suggest the likeliest possibility, as you are the only one among all the Astrals who is fond of that traitor.”

“Let me assure you, I had no role in this,” she said sternly. “I have learned my lesson from last time,” she said with her eyes cast down in a humble tone.

“Have you?” Bahamut asked. “How about you prove it to me?” He challenged.

“What must I do to prove my loyalty?” She asked.

“Do that which you failed to do the last time,” he offered.

“What!”

“Yes, kill him and all that you lost shall be restored to you.”

“You can’t be serious!” Gentiana said, appalled at the proposal.

“Should you kill him, that which is most precious to you will be restored. I want to see the old cold-blooded Shiva back.” He tempted Gentiana with an offer she couldn’t refuse.

“Then I shall do what I must,” Gentiana said coldly.

“I like this attitude, but let’s not get too hasty,” he said with a sudden shift in tone.

“What do you have in mind?” She asked hesitantly.

“Gain his trust and use it to your advantage. Assign him to be the shield for Lunafreya, and guide them through the trials. Bring him to Altissia, to the very location where he betrayed us, and slay him there.”

“What purpose does this serve?”

“My purpose is not your concern,” he said commandingly.

“Maybe so, but is Lunafreya not your concern? Wouldn’t she be hurt by his presence?”

After a long pause, Bahamut finally responded, “I don’t determine fate, I simply enforce it. They are slaves of destiny and duty; they will tear each other apart. Such is their providence.”

“How many times must history repeat itself?”

After an outstretched silence, Bahamut spoke again, “History is only important to those who remember it. He remembers none of it: not of his old world, the Omen, or even his history with Eos. His memory is like a puzzle with missing pieces, and you are forbidden to assist him. He must not learn of his past.”

“You intend to leave him in his ignorance. To what end?”

“Learning about events from the past would corrupt his redemption. Should you tell him, you will suffer the consequences,” Bahamut said in a menacing tone.

“Understood,” Gentiana said with an icy stare.

'Everyone from his old world perished and were reborn on Eos, but he remembers none of them. Moreover, he has no recollection of the events that transpired during the Omen. I wonder if he will even remember me. Can fate be more unkind?’ Gentiana thought grimly.

“He awaits you at Garden of Fenestala Manor,” said the Bladekeeper, breaking Gentiana out of her thoughts.

She glanced at the Draconian before leaving the ethereal realm of the beyond.

“Please forgive me, Eos,” said Bahamut, once he was alone.

Author's notes

Since characters from a different world e.g. FFXIV and Serah (Terra wars) can pop in and leave without altering the overall narrative of the game, I thought why not do something similar for Luna. Unfortunately, we don't learn a lot about the heroine of this story in FFXV, which ironically gives freedom to fill up those gaps as per our imagination. So I picked Squall (Leon) Leonhart (FFVIII)/(KH)/Dissidia to serve as her Shield (I have a good plot reason to pick him.) However, the challenge is to bring Squall into this lore (and take him out at Altissia) while leaving the main FFXV story intact, to the point that not a single dialogue from the game should be changed for any characters involved.

Please leave a comment if you've enjoyed the story so far. It would be very encouraging to hear your feedback. Thanks :)

2 notes · View notes

robininthelabyrinth · 7 years ago

Text

Fic: Nocturne (25/30) - Ao3 Link

Fandom: Final Fantasy XV Pairings: Mostly Gen

Summary: In which Cor Leonis loses his temper, accidentally acquires a kid, and tries to single-handedly dismantle the Lucian immigration system – and that’s before he and his lawyers find out about this Prophecy business. If the Astrals think Cor’s going to let his kid’s best friend die without a fight, they’ve gotten the wrong cheetah ‘taur.

(a young adult novel set in @kickingshoes’ ‘taur AU)

—————————————————————————————— ——————————————————————————————

It's not like Noctis is an expert at this whole hero business, except maybe in video games (where he kicks hindquarter like nobody's business), but he's pretty sure accepting the bad guy's invitation to a party is, like, a bad idea? Or something?

"We've thought of that," Dad tells Noctis when he brings it up. "But we don't see how we can avoid a full-fledged siege of the Rock otherwise – and a siege we will more than likely lose, and lose badly, since Niflheim is both closer and has greater forces than we. So, in lieu of any better options, we go to have fritters, roast meat, and fruitcake with the enemy."

"Fruitcake with a fruitcake," Noctis says.

“Be nice, Noctis,” his mother says, drifting through the room. "Regis, do you think Noctis can wear his traveling clothes, or are those not formal enough? I want something sturdy, in the event of disaster, but good enough to pass as appropriately formal..."

"Perhaps the dark blue travel outfit, instead of the black?" Dad suggests. "It's a little less used, but still thoroughly broken in..."

Noctis throws his hands up into the air. "What do we care? The only person we'll be impressing is Creepy McCreepytaur!"

Noctis' parents look at him with injured "you're not getting it" expressions that quickly shift into "well maybe he’ll understand when he's older" ones that are even more annoying.

Cor, who's sitting on the floor near the fire with Prompto, snorts, though, because he's cool. He gets it.

"Don't worry, Noctis," he says, running a brush through Prompto's silky fur. Prompto likes it when Cor does it for him, rather than just doing it himself; Noctis isn't sure if that's a canidaetaur thing, a laziness thing, or a Prompto thing. Either way, he's totally going to go over to demand some brushing as well, even though he'll probably get bored of it after two minutes. "No matter what you wear, we'll be there to back you up. With an army."

"Quite literally, in fact," Uncle Clarus puts in. "We're fully expecting an ambush, and we're bringing all the forces we can spare from Insomnia's defense. We'll all be there, hanging back in the event you need us."

"Even Gladio and Iggy and Prom, right?" Noctis says eagerly.

That gets frowns from the adults. "Noctis," Dad starts, "I don't think that that's –"

"They helped me with all the other Covenants!" Noctis argues. "Maybe they're necessary!"

"We are fulfilling the Prophecy in a non-traditional manner," Iggy volunteers from where he and Gladio are playing checkers. Luna, Iggy's usual opponent, isn't there, since she's off packing in her quarters (picking her clothing, more likely), so Gladio has volunteered himself and is losing amiably. "Our presence may be necessary. You don’t know for sure, and why take the risk of not bringing us?"

"You're children," Aunt Cyrella points out, but she sounds thoughtful. "And it will undoubtedly be quite dangerous. Though you've been in dangerous situations before..."

That's a good sign!

"I'm fairly sure I don't like the idea of sending children – any children – up against the Accursed," Uncle Clarus says, frowning. "Much less ones he already has reason to know of."

Less good.

"You know, while we're at it, I don't like that we have to kill this Accursed Izunia fellow," Scientia says from where she's nose-deep in some book. "We're a nation of law, by Bahamut's scales; we ought to try him by jury, just like anyone else."

"Oh, come now, Scientia, really," Aunt Cyrella objects. "Please remember that we're talking about a person who is, as far as we can tell, quite literally the incarnation of the Starscourge."

"Doesn't matter," Ms. Scientia says firmly. "The Lucian charter doesn't qualify between individuals, no matter their crimes or, er, composition: all sentient beings get a trial by twelve of their peers. And you can't say he's not sentient, not with all the trouble he's caused."

"But really, under the circumstances, Scientia..."

"Oh, I'm not saying we can do it," she concedes. "Just that it would be nice if we could do it legally."

"I don't know where we could even hold him for long enough for a proper trial," Cor says thoughtfully.

"I've given in already, Leonis; there’s no need to rub it in further."

"Hey, no, I'm agreeing with you," he protests. "It would be preferable if we could, but I don't think we can. Besides, the battlefield has its own laws."

"Hmmm. True enough, I suppose."

"Well, I still think the very idea is absolutely ridiculous," Aunt Cyrella huffs. "The fact that you're both still concerned with the rights of –"

"I think the blue will do quite well," Noctis' mom decides before Cor and Scientia's hackles can go up any further. Her voice is calm and gentle and also somehow manages to interrupt everyone's conversations with no effort whatsoever, pulling everyone's attention to her instead of to their tiff. "What do you think, Noctis?"

Noctis groans.

"I don't think he cares," Gladio translates. "Did we ever make a decision on whether we're coming or not? Because if we're not allowed to come, we're just gonna try to stow away. Cor will help."

"He will not," Dad says, giving Cor a hard look.

Cor shrugs noncommittally.

He totally will.

"Cor!"

"I didn't say anything."

"Oh, yes, but you 'didn't say anything' in a way that speaks volumes. Don't think I don't know -"

"This entire discussion is irrelevant," Mom says with a sigh. "We've seen that the Accursed has his ways to get into the city regardless, and if he launches another attack on Insomnia while we're abroad there won't be anything we can do. So we may as well bring the children – it's the Inferniad holiday, after all, which is meant to be celebrated by bringing families together. Not to mention that we aren't exactly leaving anyone at home to watch them, except perhaps for Cyrella's mother..."

"She's watching Iris," Aunt Cyrella says. "That's all she agreed to do. You try to push three boys on her, she'll lead a palace revolt."

"Successfully, too," Uncle Clarus mutters, his fur going flat. He's always been a bit afraid of his mother-in-law, which has constantly been a source of hilarity to Noctis and Gladio because Grandma Romulea happens to be very sweet and so near-sighted as to be half blind even with her frankly enormous glasses.

"So we're going?" Iggy asks eagerly.

"Not to the party itself," Mom says. "You're not invited."

"But otherwise yes," Scientia says. "Consider it a contract."

Iggy breaks out into a momentary grin, then gets control of himself again. "Thank you for this opportunity," he says politely.

"You may assist by wrestling Noctis into his traveling clothing," Dad says wryly. "He needs to try it on before we go."

"Nooooooo -"

"You have to."

"I can do it myself! Don't sic my friends on me!"

And that, as far as Noctis can tell, is that, and next thing he knows they're on their way to the Rock of Ravatogh for the world's most screwed up Inferniad party ever.

They go in an airship, at least – a small one, with Aranea driving and being more awkward than he might've believed possible after having known her for a few weeks as a Crownsguard. Apparently she has a totally different approach to Noctis' Dad and Luna's Mom than she has to regular people - far, far more respectful and awestricken.

Like, Noctis can't blame her, but it's super annoying.

Luna grabbed Noctis to sit by her, and made sure her other side was right next to the wall, which probably means that she and Ravus still haven't made up. Luna's mom looks all pinched up about it, too.

Ugh, Noctis is glad he doesn't have siblings. They sound like way more trouble than they're worth.

When they get close to the Rock of Ravatogh – bare of snow and unseasonably warm as always, no matter the weather - Noctis looks out the window and abruptly realizes exactly why his parents and all the other adults agreed to this whole ridiculous thing.

There's an army already there.

MTs, all of them, standing in rows and rows, unmoving tin soldiers with glowing red eyes – just deadly.

There's a lot of them.

A lot of them.

Noctis thought the Crownsguard and Kingsglaive force that's following behind them at a far distance was impressive, but it's not anywhere near as impressive as this.

All the MTs are just standing there, out in the open, unmoving, and their army is encircling, as far as Noctis can tell, the only pathway up the mountain. Trying to get past them...

Yeah, okay. That would be impossible.

It'd definitely be impossible to do it before Niflheim called for backup from its massive airship fleet.

Its slightly-smaller-than-previously airship fleet, thanks to Aranea.

Aranea lands their airship without any of the MTs taking a step in their direction, although their heads all creepily rotate to focus on them.

All together, all at once.

Creepy.

"Good luck," Aranea says, and she sounds pretty doubtful about their chances. "I'll wait here until I see you safely up."

"They might fire on you once we disembark," Luna's mom says.

"I have shields for a reason, your Ladyship," Aranea says. "I don't think they'll let me stay more than a few minutes, but those minutes I can, I'll be here."

Luna's mom smiles at her and puts a hand on Aranea's lower back, just lightly. "You're a good one, Commodore," she says, and when she lifts her hand away, it's glowing a little.

Aranea looks dumbfounded for a second, and then extremely honored. "Yes, my Lady," she says, looking even more awestruck than before.

That must be the Oracle's Blessing.

(Big deal. Luna can do it too.)

They get off the ship.

Once the MTs see that all six of them are there – Dad and Mom and Noctis and Luna and Ravus and their mom – they abruptly move, choppy uneven movements like the creepy quasi-robots they are. The ones of them in the front turn to the side in a single uniform movement, opening up a narrow path between them, just large enough for one or two ‘taurs to pass through, just barely, and the back rows march in a turning style to stand side-by-side to continue the walls of that path all the way up the side of the mountain.

Up and up and up the mountain.

It's like watching dominos, except instead of falling they're rearranging themselves into a different pattern with perfect precision.

So, so, so creepy.

"I'm glad I brought my cane," Dad sighs. He has an old wound in one of his forelegs – he has a knee brace that he wears for it, more and more often, and he's been using his cane to get around. It's a nice cane – it goes up to his chest in height so that he can lean against it, like a staff, and it's very pretty – but Noctis worries. He knows that the Ring drains the King's health, but surely it shouldn't be doing it so fast..?

If his Dad's ill health is part of the Prophecy, Noctis is going to be super mad at someone.

Probably Bahamut.

"We'll go slowly," Mom says firmly. "There's nothing wrong with being fashionably late. Sylvia, if you would..?"

Luna's mom takes Dad's arm – her hands glowing again, this time focused more on healing him so as to make the climb easier – and they all start going up the mountain.

Per Mom's instructions, Luna goes next, and then Noctis, and then Ravus, and finally Mom, covering their tails.

It's pretty slow going. Worse, with MTs on both sides watching them go, it's hard to even really enjoy it – they're basically stuck in single file, twisting and twining their way up the mountain path, and they can't even really talk to each other or anything to make it less boring.

Ugh, Noctis really hopes this isn't actually a trap. Or, if it is, that Cor and Uncle Clarus have some really awesome plan to get them all out of it.

The MT path ends up diverging from the actual pathway and going up some sheer rock, forcing them to follow that path instead, and that's even harder on Noctis' dad, making his breath come faster and his limp worse. If Noctis didn't hate this Accursed guy on principle already, he definitely does now.

And then they finally get to a cave, and inside that cave is –

Oooooh shit.

"Is that a Lucian tomb?" Luna's mom murmurs. "It resembles the one in Succarpe."

"It is," Regis confirms. "The Tomb of the Fierce – the last of the Royal Arms that Noctis requires."

"Indeed it is!" an extremely obnoxious voice purrs from the side. There's a leopard 'taur there, half in shadow, half out, his eyes hidden by the shade of his hat but the whiteness of his teeth entirely evident as he smiles. "Please, come inside – I insist! You should feel entirely free to collect your little...trinket."

"Chancellor Izunia," Dad says icily.

"A pleasure," Mom says. "As ever."

She sounds amused and a little fond.

Noctis' Mom has the weirdest sense of humor.

The Chancellor pulls off his hat and holds it to his upper torso, still grinning. "Your Majesties do me great honor in accepting my little invitation. I've set us up a nice picnic further in – please, do follow me."

He waves casually at the MTs, causing them to start marching back down the mountain, and then the Chancellor turns his back on them – he's got to be immortal or something, because literally any of the adults could probably get him right between the shoulder-blades without even trying, and he seems utterly indifferent to the idea – and saunters in.

Literally saunters.

The rest of them all follow slowly, the adults looking suspicious (well, except Mom, who mostly looks interested in the cave walls and not unlike she's on one of her visits to the general populace, calm and collected as always), but nothing happens when they walk in. The Chancellor even walks right by the tomb as if it's unimportant.

Noctis hesitates when they get close, looking up at his parents.

"Go ahead, Noctis," Dad says, his eyes still fixed firmly on the Chancellor.

Noctis tries to absorb the Mace as quickly and quietly as possible. Well, as quickly and quietly as is possible when the weapon turns all glowy, rises up into the air, and stabs him in the upper chest.

At least it's not accompanied by an orchestral score or anything. That would be weird.

Even if Noctis has played enough video games that he can very vividly imagine how it would go.

Still, it's kind of a relief to have it. He has all thirteen of them, now – Luna's mom gave him the Trident earlier (he gave the real one back at once, of course), and he's had a copy of Dad's sword since forever. He kind of expected it to be a bit more of a moment, some sort of gold star "here! you've done it! you've got them all!" but honestly that might just be the gamer in him. This is real life, not a game.

He shakes his head and quickly catches up to the others. The Chancellor is leading them deeper inside, to a big cavern where there is, in fact, a series of blankets and picnic baskets laid out in a circular fashion, surrounding the nine-pronged candlabras traditional to the Inferniad.

"How nice it is for us to all be together, on this of all days," the Chancellor says cheerily. His voice feels slimy. "Now, first things first – who among us will light the candles?"

"Chancellor Izunia –" Luna's mom starts, sounding very stiff.

"Please, please! Call me Ardyn," the Chancellor – Ardyn – says. "We're all friends here, are we not?"

"It's very easy to be friends when you have an army outside the door," Mom says, her cheerful and sincere good mood making even Ardyn's intimidating creepiness seem a little less scary. "Wouldn't you say?"

"I do find that it helps," Ardyn agrees, smirking conspiratorially with her. The smirk is noticeably less fake than all the other expressions he's had on so far, less rehearsed and fake, but that's probably because he likes Noctis' Mom. Everyone that Mom likes likes her back, it's like her superpower or something. "But then, that's why I expect that you brought your own, wouldn't you say?"

Dad and Luna's mom stiffen - Noctis is pretty sure Ardyn wasn't supposed to know about their army - but Noctis' mom is entirely unperturbed. "It would be rude not to meet courtesy with courtesy," she says cheerfully. "And we do so try not to be rude. Etiquette is so easily forgotten these days."

"Well said, well said," Ardyn says, looking vastly amused.

"Is there any chance we can get to the point of these discussions?" Ravus growls. He growls very well for an ungulaetaur.

Ardyn tsks.

"So impatient," he says. "The follies of youth! But youth, of course, represents the future. And on that note, why shouldn't we have our dashing prince and lovely princess light the candles, as the youngest of our little company? I believe that's the tradition."

"Very well," Dad says slowly after a few moments. "Luna, Noctis, go ahead."

Noctis looks at Luna. She doesn't look particularly happy about it, but she's straightening her back in a way that suggests that she's going to do it.

And, well, if Luna's going to do it, then obviously Noctis will as well.

So they head into the center of the circle to the candles, while the adults all settle down in a loose semi-circle around them, and they light the candles together, reciting the traditional Inferniad blessings.

"How lovely it is," Ardyn says when they finish. "Ah, youth and beauty – and they make such a lovely couple indeed."

Noctis, who'd taken Luna's hand in his for the candle lighting, immediately drops it. "Couple?!"

Ardyn chuckles. "I see the prince is not yet old enough to properly appreciate the bounty that has been placed before him."

"It's not that," Noctis says, wrinkling his nose at the thought of Luna being called a 'bounty', whatever that meant. He's pretty sure Ardyn doesn't mean like a bounty hunter. "We wouldn't be a couple anyway. Luna likes girls!"

(Pity, too - Noctis would totally have married her and Prompto both if he could.)

Still, Noctis' announcement gets the smug, self-satisfied look off of Ardyn's face, if only for a moment while he blinks at them.

"And has a girlfriend already," Luna adds, her voice a little waspish. She reaches out to take Noctis' hand again in order to guide him over to the blankets to sit down. "Assuming my input is at all relevant here, of course."

"Hardly the fairytale match you thought it would be, Ardyn?" Mom says wryly. "But then – we haven't really done any of this the way you thought it would be, have we?"

"Indeed," Ardyn says, but the smug look is back on his face. "I must say, it's positively heartwarming, really, to see all of you working together on the duties of the Chosen King – the Prophecy of Bahamut is so cruel, wouldn't you say, your Majesty? After all, if it all goes the way the Astrals intend, you'll be giving up both husband and son to their destines as Kings of Lucis."

"We have no intention of giving up anything," Luna's mom says. "There is always light, even in the midst of darkness, and where there is light, there is hope."

"Such charming philosophy," Ardyn says, then settles back, looking them over. "Charming, yes – quite charming. Six of you here, six Astrals above and below, and yet between the two groups, it is we mere mortals who are chosen to pay the price for the Astrals's folly."

"That is still better than encouraging it," Dad says. He inclines his head to the cave entrance. "Or do you deny that you invited the Starscourge to Niflheim, so that it might grow stronger?"

"You misunderstand me entirely," Ardyn says, hand over his upper heart, clearly insincere. "I wish for nothing more than to see your lines united so as to see the Prophecy properly fulfilled – Chosen King and Oracle, come together at last to defeat the darkness!"

"I suppose that would be important to you, wouldn't it?" Mom says musingly. "After all, you yourself sprang from such a union."

Ardyn's face goes utterly flat, all humor disappearing. He clearly wasn't expecting that.

Mom pours herself a cup of tea from a thermos she pulled the picnic basket, all casual and awesome.

"The line of the Oracle and the line of Lucis do not often unite," she says, still causal as if she's commenting on the weather. "And almost never through arranged marriages, the way you implied would be appropriate for Noctis and Lunafreya – almost never, that is, except for once, centuries ago, a handful of generations after the world was turned and the fight against the Starscourge began in earnest. A near cousin of the Oracle was a lion 'taur, through some well-placed marriages, and so able to meet the already established Lucian standard of only marrying lions. And so they married, and had two sons."

She studies a silent Ardyn.

"Isn't that right?" she asks.

"It is," he says. His voice has lost that nauseatingly intimate tone he'd been using up until now; it's very flat. "Tell me, what exactly is it that you think you've found?"

"Izunia," she says instead. "What a strange surname for you to take – that of the younger brother that took the throne of Lucis instead of you."

"The throne of –" Dad says sharply, even as Luna's mom stiffens.

Noctis looks around. He's not sure he understands.

If Ardyn is centuries old, and he was once in line for the throne of Lucis – a line that has been unbroken from the very beginning, when Bahamut blessed them with the Ring and the Crystal – then that means...

"You're a Lucis Caelum," Luna's mother says blankly.

"And a Nox Fleuret," Ardyn says, his eyes glittering. "If one believes my ancestry to be true."

"It is true," Mom says quietly. "Genetic drift was always a possibility, even if no one knew about it back then. Two lions could have a leopard for a son – even an eldest son."

"And yet the throne went to the second son," Ardyn says. "A second son, with a different mother, as leonine as the first, but he was born a lion. And thereafter the line of the Lucii and the Nox Fleurets diverged thereafter forevermore."

"But –" Noctis says, still unsure. "But that means you're..."

"Oh yes, my young Chosen King," Ardyn says, and smiles. It's not a nice smile. "That makes you and I family. But then, isn't the Inferniad traditionally celebrated by families coming together?"

"What happened?" Luna asks, her eyes wide. "If you were Lucis Caelum and Nox Fleuret both...? How did you – why did you..?"

Ardyn laughs. "Let me tell you a story," he says. "It is about a young King-to-be – a young healer, by virtue of his mother's side – who traveled throughout the land to fight the Starscourge, using his abilities to pull the plague from the bodies of his subjects into his own so as to free them from their burden. And yet, when he returned home, his family and his subjects all declared that he was too corrupted to take the throne that was rightfully his – they declared, further, that he had no right to the throne, his true heritage made questionable by simple virtue of the spots on his back – the spots of a leopard, rather than the clean lines of the lion - and because of this, they had him executed. But the Starscourge he had absorbed – the countless daemons he took into himself, rather than let them afflict his land and his people – oh, it would not permit him to die so easily. He did not die. Instead they chased him out, and wiped his name from history."

He turns his eyes to Mom, arching his eyebrows. "Or at least, so I'd thought. It appears a whisper of that story survived, deep within the archives of Lucis."

"The Starscourge corrupts," Luna's mom says with a frown. "To take the daemons into yourself, rather than to purge them – your judgment would have been tainted, your reason unbalanced. That would be why you were denied the throne, not your heritage or your spots."

"They would never have turned on me if not for that," Ardyn hisses, suddenly fierce. "The line of the Lucii, so obsessed with remaining pure – it could not tolerate something different. Anything different!"

"You're mad," Mom observes, her voice neutral – all amusement gone. If anything, she sounds regretful. "Perhaps you were only angry, once, but now you have become consumed – by the Starscourge, and by your hatred."

"Perhaps," he says. "Perhaps. But really, who can blame me?"

He rises to his paws, and so do the rest of them. Noctis doesn't like the way Ardyn's face has gone twisted with anger and the remnants of condescending humor. It makes him seem much more dangerous than the condescending asshole he was just moments before.

He steps back as Ardyn steps forward.

"But now, this time, this time it will be different," Ardyn says, his voice low and his eyes fixed on Noctis. "Now I will face the Chosen King himself – younger than I'd thought, perhaps, but no matter. I will face the Chosen of the Astrals, the Chosen of Prophecy, in the full bloom of his power and might, he who received all the inheritance that should have been mine, and I will show the Astrals who condemned me to my fate the ruinous folly of their ways, of their cruelty –"

There's a muted sound of an explosion, and the room shakes, causing them all to stagger.

"What's happening?" Dad shouts.

Noctis looks at Ardyn, assuming it's his fault, but no – he looks as surprised as any of them.

Another explosion – not in the room, Noctis realizes, but on the mountaintop above them. And then another, and another

"It's a Niflheim bombing run!" Luna's mom exclaims. She’s more familiar with them than most, being from Tenebrae.

"Well, those certainly aren't our people doing it," Mom says, grabbing onto Dad to help him keep his balance as the cavern quakes and ominous cracks begin to run up the walls. "They know we're here - and anyway, we wouldn't use up the bombs like that."

"They've turned on me," Ardyn says poisonously, realizing. "Niflheim – they've turned on me - they're trying to take out two birds with one stone –"

He turns his face back to where Noctis is standing, towards the back of the cavern with Luna.

"It's too soon," Ardyn says, and his voice has gone horribly raspy. "You have not fulfilled your quest yet. You cannot die, Chosen King, not yet, not until your mission is done – I will have my revenge done properly –"

His face is different all of a sudden, his eyes yellow lights in a pit of blackness, with filth the color of tar spilling down his cheeks and out of his mouth, his skin gone grey like a corpse – the corruption inside revealed –

A giant rock falls from the ceiling right next to Luna, making her scream, making Noctis look up and realize just how much the ceiling of the cavern is fragmenting.

"Luna!" Ravus shouts. He charges forward, knocking both Luna and Noctis back just as the ceiling begins to collapse, and the three of them tumble down together, falling backwards – backwards through where the wall of the cavern used to be – backwards and down, going down through some newly-revealed fissure in the wall, tumbling onto some slippery slide where their paws and hooves can get no grip.

Sliding down and down and away, into the center of the volcano.

"Noctis!" someone shouts after them, frantic, and through the echoes Noctis can't tell if it was one of his parents – or if it was Ardyn, seeing his revenge slip away from him.

#final fantasy xv #noctis lucis caelum #ardyn izunia #lunafreya nox fleuret #ravus nox fleuret #regis lucis caelum #aulea lucis caelum #sylva nox fleuret #aranea highwind #cor leonis #clarus amicitia #cyrella amicitia #apollonia scientia #ignis scientia #prompto argentum #gladiolus amicitia #nocturne #my fic

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deaegratia · 7 years ago

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A walk on knight’s bread

During her stay there, Nenela learned to love Gridania. The sounds of the wind rustling through the trees, the many different people that lived there in (what seemed like) perfect harmony… The kind conjurers at Stillglade Fane, who helped her so much in her studies. The birds and the waterwheels and of course the kind Mother Miounne, who always had a kettle on to welcome back adventurers from the forest with a cup of tea and a treat. She loved it, and yet… It wasn’t her home. A time came when the conjurers guild had taught her all they could. Gridania would be fine without her. No, Ul’dah was where she was needed most. So she packed her bags, said her goodbyes, and followed the lumber line down south.

When she first made her way to the Shroud, it had been a relaxing carriage ride. On foot, however, the journey took quite a bit longer. Every day was another challenge. Don’t anger the antelopes. Try to avoid catching the attention of bandits. Most importantly, don’t get lost. Though Bahamut’s flames had razed down many of the trees, there were still plenty of places where the wood was like a labyrinth to her. Finally, after a week or so, the scenery began to change. No more trees, but vast stretches of dry land. Thanalan. How she’d missed this.

Highbridge had not existed for very long. Though it was build over a chasm that looked like it had been there for centuries, it was in fact only after the Calamity five years ago that the ground had split open and the bridge had been built. Its people were willing to give her a place to stay for the night, but not for free. If the adventurer wanted to stay, she’d have to do her part in defending the village from the Qirqin as well. Nenela didn’t waste a second and agreed to help them. After all, wasn’t this what adventurers did? To protect, to ease their pain. Surely she could help the Brass Blades stationed there to take on a few oversized rats.

A few, they’d told her. She’d believed them, right until she saw the hordes of beastmen arriving. No wonder the Blades were unable to prevent the villagers from getting kidnapped time and time again. There were so many, and they just kept coming. Nenela was struggling to even keep track of them.

Wind, earth, water, none of it was enough to defeat them. Strike one down with a rock, another would pop up as yet another attempted to pick her up and carry her off to gods-knows-where. She’d hoped the Blades would offer more help, but as their number dwindled, they decided to cut their losses and abandon their post. And still the villagers would continue to cry out. She fought desperately, but a single Lalafell just wasn’t enough. Exhausted, she fell to the ground, barely even struggling as the bandits took her away. She’d been so close to home… It seemed fate had other plans.

Nenela didn’t know how long it had been since she passed out, but it had definitely been a while. The cave she was in was not like any other place she’d seen before. Judging by the temperature, she was still in Thanalan, but where? As her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, she noticed she was not alone. A group of a dozen people or so surrounded her, their hands bound and their faces solemn. Some were crying, others simply looked down in quiet acceptance of their fate.

“The lizards claim they will soon bring us before Ifrit for tempering. All of us are as good as dead…”

The girl looked up as that sudden proclamation echoed through the cave. In her groggy state, she had trouble understanding it, nor could she determine who had said it in the first place.

Ifrit… She’d heard that name before. ‘This place is hotter than Ifrit’s arse,’ or similar phrases about things being extremely warm. Nenela always thought it was simply something people said, not something that actually existed. And tempering? What was that supposed to mean? It sounded like something a goldsmith would do.

Lizards, however… Nenela knew very well what they meant by that. Amalj’aa. Though she had never actually seen any in the flesh, she knew who they were. Beastmen. They’d plunder and kidnap and – her eyes widened as her mind finally connected the dots – they worshipped Ifrit, the Lord of the Inferno. Of course Qirqin wouldn’t simply kidnap anyone for no reason. They’d sold her and the other stolen villagers to the lizards. Tempering… was that simply a fancy word for kill?

She didn’t have long to think about that, as not long after that a few Amalj’aa entered, bringing in more prisoners. Big strong beasts, more muscle than bone, darker than the darkest coals and adorned with all manner of beads and jewelry. Lizards was too friendly of a word to describe them. They were monsters. The prisoners, on the other hand, were a much more welcome sight. Judging by their uniforms, they were Flame Soldiers. But then she looked at their faces. They were terrified as well. Perhaps it had been too much to hope they would be able to help her.

And then there were those three… A Miqo’te, and two Elezen. Adventurers? More experienced than her, if she had to make a guess. Instantly she felt a bit less embarrassed about getting captured. If people like them had gotten caught, no wonder she hadn’t stood a chance. Right now though, they were asleep. After the beastmen had left, she made her way over to the trio. Remembering her lessons at Stillglade Fane, Nenela deduced the lizards must have cast some kind of sleeping spell on them. A gentle (but firm) slap would likely be enough to wake them up.

The Elezen man bolted upright. “YesmomImgettingupIpromis- Oh.” It took him a second to realize he was not, in fact at home, but in the middle of an Amalj’aa stronghold. The Miqo’te girl slapped the back of his head in a playful manner. “David. Idiot,” she insulted him, though Nenela wasn’t sure if she meant it. The Elezen, on the other hand, woke up in such an elegant manner it was almost as if she had simply woken up from a nap instead of a magically induced slumber. “…Well. That could have gone better, but it seems we are still alive, so I’d call that a success.”

It was only then that they noticed the young Lalafell that had woken them. They introduced themselves as David, Amh, and Furiosa. They were kind enough, but they did not seem very willing to answer Nenela’s questions. How they had gotten here? “As you can see, most likely through that entrance over there. Though I would not be able to confirm it for you, on account of being asleep at the time,” said Furiosa. “Dumb luck, I guess?” said David. “Thancred late,” Amh said, frowning. Well, that was no use at all.

They sat there for a while, until an Amalj’aa broke the silence. “Rejoice, heathens, for your worthless lives shall soon have meaning!” It was time.

To think they were standing in front of a god. It wasn’t what Nenela had imagined at all. When she imagined the gods, they were kind and benevolent. Slightly different in their morals, perhaps, on account of having existed for eternity, but not too unlike the spoken races. But this… The Lord of the Inferno truly was the element of fire personified. Sharp claws, massive horns, and the smell. Like smoke and ash and burning flesh. Her eyes watered and she had trouble breathing. No, she told herself. If I am going to die, I will do so with dignity. There will be no crying today.

“O mighty Ifrit! We bring before You ignorant savages who know not Your godhead! If it please You, Lord, scorch their heathen souls with Your cleansing flame, and mark them as Your own!”

To serve a god that was not your own. To obey his will until the end of your days. Somehow, to Nenela, that sounded like a fate worse than death. In that moment, all she could do is pray. The gods had protected her once before. Surely they could intervene again? Had she not always been faithful? She ignored the tears stinging in her eyes. Please, I beg of you. Do not let him take me.

As she stood there trembling, she heard her fellow prisoners begin to chant. “Oh mighty Ifrit… My one true god… “ The girl waited for her turn, expecting searing heat that would burn her mind away forever, yet all that came was a gentle breeze, not unlike someone blowing on their soup, waiting for it to cool down. Except in this case, she was the soup, and instead of being set aflame she remained cool? She was too terrified to realize that metaphor was not making any sense.

The man, David, tapped her on her shoulder. “Hey… You said your name was Nenela, right?” The girl looked up and nodded. Neither he nor his companions seemed to show any signs of this weird tempering. “Lemme guess. You’ve been having visions, haven’t you?” Nenela wasn’t sure how he knew that, or how that was relevant, but she nodded again. Behind them, Ifrit was raging on and on about how their souls had been tainted and how they would burn for all eternity, but David remained focused and to the point. “Alright, listen Nelly. I’m gonna count to three. You’re gonna grab your cane, and you’re going to heal. I know it’s scary, but you’re gonna keep your eyes on me and you’re just going to do it. Can you promise me that?” She wanted to object, that they were facing a god, that he shouldn’t trust her to keep him alive because ohGodshesgonnaenduplikethatguyintheDeepcroft, and that her name was not Nelly, but in that instant, she realized she didn’t have much of a choice. A final nod, and he quickly ruffled her hair. “Don’t worry kiddo. This’ll be a walk on knight’s bread, I swear.” “What does that even mean?” “Oh, y’know… I’ll tell you when we get out of this alive!”

“Pray forgive my lateness!”

The blonde Hyur who had come running in along with members of the Bloodsworn was late indeed, for Ifrit had already been slain. He was about to congratulate the Scion adventurers on their first primal victory, when he did a double take. One, two… Four of them? He could have sworn there had only been three last time he checked.

“Too late,” grinned Amh, collecting her arrows to put them back In her quiver. Furiosa simply quirked an eyebrow as she wiped the ash from her daggers. David turned around, holding an unconscious Lalafell in his arms. “Say… You wouldn’t happen to have any Phoenix Downs with you, do you?” Thancred scrambled around in his pockets and handed a crumpled feather to the gladiator. “I see the festivities will have to wait, then. Come, let us retreat to more agreeable surrounds. Camp Drybone, shall we say?”

Part three of Tales from the Desert, this time for ‘Nenela fights her first primal”. Though you could also say ‘Nenela gets her butt kicked and never learns what the hell ‘a walk on knight’s bread’ means and then sort of accidentally becomes a Scion?”

David belongs to @thevantass

Amh belongs to @thewanderersminuet

Furiosa belongs to @alternis

#Tales from the Desert

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maydaymadier · 4 years ago

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the last time I talked about ‘all the pieces clicking together’ type shit in my dnd game was Fannar Is A Stepdad Now, Virtue Naming Edition. And now we’re back with OH MY GOD YOU WERE PLANNING THIS FROM THE BEGINNING?

So this is a game that we started back in fall 2018. Fannar (he/they) is a devil’s tongue tiefling, archfey warlock of Auril. Basically, he’s a tiefling that was raised by the elven royal family, not knowing he was a tiefling bc powerful semi-transmutive illusion magic and never being told of the fact that he was the tiefling heir exchanged for the elven heir as part of the peace terms of a conflict with a neighboring tiefling nation.

Early on in the campaign (level 8-ish), after a brief detour through the Nine Hells, we have to deal with Nana Frosty-ears (Fannar’s childhood governess) showing up and grabbing him by the ear to take him back to The Frozen North to deal with Kovald, the elven half of the trade he was a part of, who had recently discovered the trade himself, and much like Fannar did back in the day started lashing out in the ‘let’s take over a kingdom way.’ While sailing up to The Frozen North we had to stop due to some dangerous fog and laid anchor on a little island. Some exploring reveals a wizard tower full of puzzles! One asks for the opposite of “Those who rule over others are doomed to fall by my blade.” Fannar pieces together that probably means ‘kingslayer’ and blurts out “Peacebringer” on a hunch and is right, revealing the door up to the wizard’s study.

Fannar uses this opportunity to ask a powerful wizard about a magic item Auril tasked him with finding, the arcstone. The wizard, Zoraster Diggs, is able to give a little bit of info, mostly that there are multiple, each tied to a different plane. The exact location of the one I’m probably looking for is unknown, like most of the arcstones. We help Zoraster’s friend so he’ll clear the fog and grant us safe passage and promise to send him any cool shit we find. We carry on, kill Kovald, save Fannar’s shitty dad (which he has some very conflicted feelings about saving him), meet the first of the dragonmonks, the green dragonmonk Lord Plagueis (he’s a lich btw), kill him with a little assist from Sun Wukong (we freed him from under the mountain and this might have caused a little war in the Feywild, woops), and Fannar stays behind to wrap up some shit back at home and is gone for a few weeks.

Fast forward, we have to find Dolorous Guard because it’s been missing for 200 years, it just was completely carved out from the earth and none of the inhabitants’ souls have ever made their way to their respective afterlives, there’s a city’s worth of souls unaccounted for. Our ranger-cleric, Isorropia, is the daughter of Hades and is a sort of grim reaper type with a particular focus on properly killing the undead and generally making sure death works the way it’s supposed to. So Hades tasks her with getting to the bottom of Dolorous Guard. Turns out, it’s in the Shadowfell after a fight with the vampire lord, Lord Valentine, and his allies brought a group of paladins and other heroes under the banner of Bahamut, one of which being our sorcerer O’s however-many-great grandfather, went south and O’s ancestor used a Divine Intervention to move the city into the Shadowfell to prevent mass collateral damage.

We eventually infiltrate the keep of Lord Valentine, defeat him and Lady Valentine, the black dragonmonk (she’s a drider btw, for funsies), and several other nasty bad guys. After defeating them we find a strange magic device keeping Dolorous Guard in the Shadowfell. It’s not until after we’ve returned the city to the Prime Material Plane and split the party to capture the black dragonmonk that Fannar realizes the strange planar magic rock, was the Feywild arcstone he’s been looking for all game and rushes to teleport back to Dolorous Guard as fast as possible, burning Plane Shift spells to get there. Fannar encounters the black and green dragonmonks trying to take the arcstone. Fannar barrels in, tries to wrestle it out of his hands. Ends up coming to an agreement with the dragonmonks that they can take the extra planar binding magics that’ve been bonded to it and I’ll get to keep the arcstone, the magic item. The dragonmonks are trying to unleash Tiamat. I agree to the terms.

We’re then shot over to Horakhty to help a rebellion against the Pharaoh, led by his sister Jinatak. While traversing the desert on watch one night, Fannar is unceremoniously plucked from the Prime Material Plane into Auril’s lair. Isorropia comes chasing after him. Auril is here to conscript Fannar into the Feywild war (it’s unclear if she knows he’s kind of responsible for it). Fannar promises that him and the party will come help as soon as they’re done with this whole rebellion thing and promises some guards that he can lend her in the meantime. Immediately after is when Isorropia comes in. She hates Auril’s vibe and is generally distrustful of how deferential and respectful Fannar is being towards her as someone who is generally irreverent towards authority.

While working with the rebellion we meet the head of Kolbak’s (capitol of The Frozen North) thieves guild and we end up popping back up to Kolbak to exchange information and provide a half-hearted warning to Fannar’s father and brother. It’s tense but during this time, we find out that in the past, the royal family would give their second-born to Auril to get the kingdom safely through the winter. King Vidar (Fannar’s father) ended the agreement once he became king because he had to see his younger brother be given up to the archfey.

We finally take down the Pharaoh, not after finally encountering the blue dragonmonk and our bard Norman’s evil wizard sister Nora. Jinatak explicitly asked us not to kill her brother, unfortunately Dratini, our fighter, really likes killing things. But after the dust clears Auril alerts Fannar that now that their business is done they all need to come to the Feywild now. Fannar gathers everyone up and without warning, they all reappear in Auril’s lair.

Isorropia STILL hates Auril’s vibe, Auril has not passed the vibecheck. She takes particular issue with how Auril treats Fannar and how entitled she feels to his and the party’s time and service. Fannar ends up explaining to Thrain, our druid, that he made his warlock pact to save his life while he was on the verge of death and is convinced that breaking his pact will undo the healing she did all those years ago and will insta-kill him (permadeath, not unconscious), and as such, is trying not to do anything that would break it. Even if the original terms of his pact was just ‘spread my influence,’ that term is vague enough anything she asks him to do could fit under that.

Auril sends the party on a mission to go fight some of the Unseelie and Feywild forces since the Seelie court in Vanaheim hasn’t quite been sold on getting involved. We set out and end up meeting our good old buddy Sun Wukong! But then an extra freaky doesn’t-die giant shows up and we have to deal with that. Once we perma-kill it (it’s absorbed into the Feywild itself) we have to figure out how to return to Vanaheim as fast as possible because there’s some weird time dilation stuff going on where it only took us 5 hours to get there but it’s actually 5 days away from the city. We just say fuck it and decide to teleport in the morning since we’re low on spells.

But when we do get back.

Auril gives the party what she promised in exchange for doing this first mission. Those who asked for things are mostly satisfied, except for Isorropia who asked an archfey for information and got a riddle. Rope is so pissed by this and how Auril is generally treating her friend that she’s chewing her out so much she casts Silence on just her.

As the party is leaving, Auril freezes time so that she can speak to Fannar without Queen Titania hearing them. During this conversation, well, conversation is putting it generously. Let’s call it a monologue. She reveals to Fannar that she’s been puppeteering and orchestrating his entire life to shape him into her personal kingslayer. He’s never had any free will. Goes so far as to play on the raw nerves of his upbringing. She pulls out the arcstone and a mysterious dagger and fuses them together, tells him that this blade can tear out aspects of a thing’s soul and bond them to the wielder, it can stab the immortality out of something, and tasks me with killing both Sun Wukong and Queen Titania. She breaks the time freeze before he can get a word in but at this point he knows she probably has some access to his surface thoughts and thinks directly at her, the dagger oh so present in his bag, tells her that if she thinks a warlock with no free will is some bold concept, it’s not, do you think he’s ever had his own will? Been his own person? No, but he knows his place, and will do as he’s told, for now.

ANYWAY I’VE BEEN LOSING MY MIND FOR THE PAST 36 HOURS BECAUSE THE PEACEBRINGER PUZZLE WAS LITERALLY 3 YEARS AGO, LONG BEFORE THE FEYWILD WAR PROPERLY KICKED OFF, LONG BEFORE THE SHADOWFELL, LONG BEFORE THE REVELATION THAT AURIL HAS ROOTS IN FANNAR’S FAMILY, ALL OF THAT.

#my post #tal plays dnd #dnd #campaign: the cool patrol #fannar morthos freyr #sorry this is so long i was lost in the sauce of explaining a dnd campaign

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charliedoesfanarts · 7 years ago

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IDK why, but I have been plagued with the thoughts of this AU on and off for three months so it is now time for other people to deal with this too. I can’t even play the game, what the hell am I doing???

Basics So, the idea is that each of the Astrals have a “Herald” within Noctis’ group. This does include an OC whos plot info will be at the very bottom so it is easy to skip. Slight mentionings in Luna’s portion but with no real detail The Astrals can see inside of people's “Souls” and chose a Herald based upon their role to Noctis, personality, and history. Noctis is still the summoner, with ties to all of the Astrals and able to have them lend him their powers. However, it is noted that these summons are easier and more powerful when their respective Herald is around. The Herald list is this: Noctis - Bahumat. He does not get any “benefits” from this until the final battle, but it could be considered that his connection to Magic and the crystal is the blessing. Gladiolus - Titan. The steadfast protector, Titan has granted him additional strength and endurance. Jokingly, he has noted that he has not felt any difference. Ignis - Ramuh. The intelligent advisor, Ignis has noted he feels a bit more quick on his feet after Noctis had completed his trial. Lunafreya - Shiva. She had become Shiva’s Herald long before the events of the game. The two have a closer relationship than any of the other Heralds. Prompto - Ifrit. The last to become a Herald proper, Ifrit chooses Prompto after Bahumat helps Noctis defeat him and Ardyn. OC - Leviathan. She becomes the Herald of Leviathan during the events in Altissia.They bond over a growing hatred of the situation. Each of the Astrals give the Herald access to a specific type of magic, and some abilities associated with their given element. The Heralds only have a limited amount of mana, exceptions being Luna and Noctis whos blessed bloodlines allow them their own personal mana reserve. The more intune a Herald is with their Astral, the stronger they are and the stronger Noctis’ summon is.