Chapter 1: Far from Home
Outlands near Hammerhead
"How did it all become this? Why was Insomnia attacked? Why did my father die? Everything was fine before that damn treaty was supposed to be signed, but no...my father and the council were stabbed in the back by the Imperial Army from Niflheim led by some psycho!" I said in my thoughts. It's only been about nine hours since I escaped the Crown City's destruction. I was forced to go down a escape door that led me to outside the City, with no way back in. I remember seeing my father fighting near the door before it closed and told me to go and hide somewhere far away so that they won't find me. I looked up at the night sky and sat down next to an abandoned house. As I looked up at the sky, I started to remember the good times I had with my Dad, my brother Noctis, and my friends in the Crown City. The memories of all of them played in my head and then I started to remember a song that I used to listen to back home with both Dad and Noctis whenever we had a bad day. I looked at my bag and took out my phone and turned on my music app to find the song. "Come on, please work." I said. After a minute, I found the song and began playing it.
"When the night has come. And the land is dark. And the moon is the only light we'll see. No I won't be afraid, no I won't be afraid. Just as long as you stand, stand by me. So darlin', darlin', stand by me, oh stand by me. Stand by me, stand by me. If the sky that we look upon. Should tumble and fall. Or the mountain should crumble to the sea. I won't cry, I won't cry, no I won't shed a tear. Just as long as you stand, stand by me. Oh darlin', darlin', stand by me, oh stand by me. Stand by me, stand by me. Darlin', darlin', stand by me. Stand by me, stand by me. Whenever you're in trouble won't you stand by me, oh stand by me. Oh stand, stand by me. Darlin', darlin', stand by me, oh stand by me. Oh stand, stand by me, stand by me." I sang. I stood up, grabbed my bag, and walked inside the house to find a room to sleep for the night. After looking around the house, I found a room with a clean bed and stayed there for the night. Before I drifted off to sleep, I looked out the window and saw the moon shine bright in the night sky. In my mind, I knew that it must be Dad watching over me hoping that I'm ok. I lightly smiled at the moon and saw something glowing in my bag. I reached for my bag, opened it up, and found my Dad's ring inside and watched the crystal on it glow. As I stared at it, I began to remember Dad telling me about the ring.
Home- 10 years ago
"You see Skylar, this ring has been passed down the Lucis line for many generations. It was made by a family member of the first king who discovered the Crystal and its power. With the Crystal and Ring's power connected, the spirits of the past Kings will guide the new King to a brighter future." said Dad. I looked at the Ring on his finger and stared at the tiny crystal on it curiously. "So you can talk to them from the Ring?" I asked him curiously. He lightly chuckled at the question and then nodded his head yes to the question. "How do they hear you?" I asked. Before he said a word, we heard a door open and saw a member of the Kingsglaive, Nyx Ulric, walk into the room. "Pardon me your Majesty, but Prince Noctis has requested that you would come to watch him train with Libertus." said Nyx. "Certainly Nyx, I shall be on my way." said Dad. Nyx bowed to him and walked out of the room. As I watched him leave, Dad stood up from his chair and grabbed his cane, ready to leave as well and it made me feel a little sad. He turned back at me and saw the sad look on my face. "You can come too Sky, you know that your brother would never forget about you." he said as he extended his hand to me. I smiled happily, took his hand, and we both left to watch Noctis train.
Back to the Present
I silently stared at the Ring as the Crystal's light shine at my blue eyes. "Kings of Lucis, if you can hear me, please tell my brother that I'm safe and that he must find me before the Imperial Army does. I know that once I find him, I must give the Ring to him because he is the Chosen King, but why did you choose him? I'm not ready to lose him too ever since Dad told me about my brother's fate is with this Ring. Why him? Why couldn't you choose me or someone else instead of him?! The people of Lucis want to see him carry on my Dad's legacy, not killing himself on the throne for our kingdoms future!" I said as I fought back some tears. I closed my eyes and wiped a tear off my face and all of a sudden the Ring started to glow like crazy! I dropped it onto the bed and I fell to the floor and crawled back to a wall. "There is no reason to fear young Princess." said a voice as the Ring's light began to form a person. "Who are you?" I asked. The person began to walk upto me slowly and knelt down to me, revealing a face that looked just like my Dad's face. "I am the First King of Lucis." he said. I looked at him in complete shock. "You heard my voice in the Ring?" I asked. "I did and so did the all the other Kings, including your Father." said the First King. "M-my Dad heard me?" I said. He smiled and nodded his head yes. "His spirit is on its way to find your brother to let him know that you miss him." he said. I lightly smiled at him. "Thank you." I said.
"And about the Ring and Crystal, the prophecy that your Father told you and your brother about, it was all a lie." said the First King. I looked at him all shocked and surprised. "What?! H-how is this possible? How could this prophecy be a lie?!" I asked. Before he opened his mouth, he started to glow and slowly fade into the Crystal on the Ring. "W-wait! Come back! I need to know the truth!" I said worriedly. "I'll tell you more once when you reunite with your brother. Knowing him, he would want to know what happened in the City when he left." he said as he faded away. I got back onto the bed and held the Ring in my hands seeing the light of the Crystal fade. I layed down silently and put the Ring in my bag to keep it safe. "Noct where are you?" I said quietly. I finally closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep for the night.
The next morning- Galdin Quay with Noctis and his friends
The sun had risen over the waters of the resort area and the sounds of the waves hitting the shore at low tide woke up the young Prince from his sleep. He rubbed his eyes lightly and sat up on the bed, seeing two of his friends, Prompto and Gladio, already up and looking at him. "Heya, morning." said Prompto. Noctis smiled lightly and stood up from the bed, walking to near the table in the room. "Where's Specs?" Noctis asked. "Should be back any minute now." said Gladio. A few seconds later, the door opened and their friend Ignis walked through the door holding a newspaper in his hand and looking at Noctis with a concerned look on his face. "What's that look for?" said Noctis. Ignis closed his eyes and handed the newspaper to Gladio. "It's in all in the papers." said Ignis. "What is?" Noctis asked. "Insomnia...falls." said Prompto as he walked upto Gladio. Noctis looked at them all concerned and slightly mad. "What? This your idea of a joke?" said Noctis in a concerned tone. "I need you to calm down so I can explain." said Ignis. "I'm as calm as I'm gonna get!" said Noctis in a slight angered tone. "There was an attack, the imperial army has taken the Crown City." said Ignis. "As treaty room tempers flared, blasts lit the night sky. When the smoke about the Citadel had cleared, the king was found...dead." Gladio read aloud. Noctis was shocked when Gladio read that and started to become emotionally torn. "No, wait, hold on...what about Skylar? What happened to her? Where is she?" Noctis asked concernedly. "After finding the King, people began their search of the king's daughter, but only to find someone that worked for the king and told them that Princess Skylar has escaped the city unharmed and emotionally traumatized of what happened back at the Crown City." Gladio read aloud. Noctis breathed a tiny sigh of relief knowing now that I made it out unharmed.
"We had no way of knowing." said Ignis. "What? Knowing what?" said Noctis. "That the signing was last night, that Insomnia- ." said Ignis. "But the wedding! Altissia!" said Noctis. "I know, that was the plan. Yet the reports of the invasion are all the same. How could every headline in the kingdom be wrong?" said Ignis. "...Lies." said Noctis as he sat down on one of the chairs in the room. "...If only Skylar was around here, she would tell us what happened right?" said Prompto. "Yeah...but here's the problem, where is she hiding? She's never been outside the city before, unless...she's trying to find Cor." said Gladio. "And that means we go back to Insomnia." said Prompto. "Might not be safe for us there." said Ignis. "Might not be safe for us here." said Prompto. Gladio sighed and looked at Noctis. "Turn back and find Sky?" Gladio asked. Noctis looked down to the floor, blinked his eyes, and looked back up to his friends. "Yeah." said Noctis.
Ten minutes later, they got into the Regalia and started heading back to the Insomnian border. During the first three minutes of the ride, Noctis took out his phone and saw a picture of me, him, and Dad together when we were younger. "Don't worry Sky, I'll find you. I promise." said Noctis in his thoughts. He put his phone away and looked up seeing the road ahead. "I hope that everyone's okay..." said Prompto in a sad tone. Noctis sighed and looked at Prompto. "Lotta good hoping's gonna do." said Noctis. "You mustn't lose faith." said Ignis. "Really? Can faith stop a fleet of imperial dreadnoughts?" said Noctis. "Give it a rest." said Gladio. "My old man had plenty of faith- ." said Noctis. "Enough." said Gladio calmly. "The empire lied. They betrayed us." said Prompto. "Conjecture gets us nowhere. We're searching for truth." said Ignis. "All you'll find are lies-like that ceasefire." said Noctis. As they were near a half mile to the border, they saw imperial dreadnoughts flying in the rainy sky. "Look at the size of those things." said Gladio. "Imperial dreadnoughts, they transport soldiers- namely, the magitek infantry. "The robots?" Gladio asked. "Mass-produced humanoid weapons of warfare, to be more precise." said Ignis. "Doesn't look like they'll be signing that peace treaty." said Prompto. "What if they were hunting down Sky? If they already know that she's alive...then what?" Prompto asked. "They would have to get through me if they want her. I'll kill them if they get their hands on her." said Noctis in a protective tone.
As they were close, Prompto saw something suspicious. "Up ahead!" he said. Ignis stopped the car and they saw what Prompto saw. "They set up an inspection point." said Ignis. "If the road's blocked ahead, then we find a way around." said Gladio. They drove to the left side of the area on a path behind that part of the border, parked the car, and fought some of the troops to get to the hill over looking Insomnia. As they made, they saw parts of the city in smoke. "As to ceasefire discussions between the two nations, all provisional terms have been suspended in light of recent developments. Moreover, in the wake of the news of King Regis's death and Princess Skylar's escape, we've now received word that Crown Prince Noctis and the Oracle Lunafreya have also been pronounced dead." said the newscaster on Prompto's phone. "Keep it on!" said Gladio. Prompto was scared of what he had just heard and he dropped his phone onto the ground. "Don't bother!" said Noctis in an angry tone. Ignis knelt down and gave Prompto back his phone. Noctis took out his phone and began to call someone, but the others looked up and saw imperial dreadnoughts fly above them heading to the City. "H-hello? Cor?" said Noctis. "So, you made it." said Cor. "The hell's going on?" Noctis asked. "Where are you?" Cor asked. "Outside the City, with no way back in." said Noctis. "Makes sense." said Cor. ""Makes sense?" Are you serious? What about any of this makes sense!? The news just told me I'm dead- along with my Father and Luna." said Noctis as he clutched his right hand into a fist angrily. "Listen. I'm heading out to Hammerhead. About the king...it's true." said Cor. Noctis's eyes widened in shock and he looked back at the City. "If you're looking for the whole truth, you know where to find me. Get moving." said Cor. Noctis stayed silent for a few seconds and then took a deep breath. "Right." said Noctis. He hung up the phone and looked out at the City. "What did the marshal...have to say?" Ignis asked. "Said he'd be in Hammerhead." Noctis replied. "And the king?" Gladio asked. Noctis silently put his head down and closed his eyes, letting Gladio know that the king's death was true. They looked out to city seeing the somber rainy sky take over the city as the smoke still had risen.
They walked back to the Regalia and drove off to Hammerhead to find Cor. "Don't suppose that the Crownsguard is still active." said Gladio. "Wouldn't count on it, not with the marshal out here." said Ignis. "I wonder how things are in the city..." said Prompto. "There should be reports before long." said Ignis. "Yeah, something this big can't go ignored." said Gladio. "And what about us? What do we do?" Prompto asked. "We make for Hammerhead now, and figure the rest out later." said Gladio. "Hopefully he found Skylar before someone else did." said Prompto. "I'm sure that he did find her and took her to a safe location." said Ignis. Silence began to gloom through the car for a few minutes and then Gladio saw a message on his phone. "Got a message from my sister: she's with refugees bound for Lestallum." said Gladio. "Well, at least Iris is okay." said Prompto. "Yeah. Doesn't sound like everyone else was so lucky, though." said Gladio. "We must make haste. Noct won't be dead forever." said Ignis. "No going back- everything's forward." said Prompto. ""No going back." Let's go." said Noctis. They got to the Hammerhead Outpost and caught up with Cindy for a couple minutes and then went to meet with her grandfather, Cid, in his garage.
"The Crystal and the king's ring- what they been after all along..." said Cid. The four boys felt upset and betrayed after he said that. "They played my father for a fool and nearly put my sister in harm's way." said Noctis in a sad tone. Cid tried to comfort him as much as he could, but it wasn't enough that he could do. After that they left the Outpost to go to the Tomb of the Wise after hearing that Cor was there waiting for them. They made to the Tomb and walked inside, seeing Cor standing in the room. "Marshal." said Ignis. "At last, Your Highness." said Cor. "Yeah, wanna tell me what I'm here for?" said Noctis. "The power of kings, passed from the old to the new through the bonding of souls. One such soul lies before you. To claim your forebear's power is your birthright and duty as king." said Cor. "My duty as king of what?" said Noctis in an angered tone. "Now is not the time to question your calling." said Cor. Noctis scoffed in anger. "A king is sworn to protect his people." said Cor. "And yet he chose to protect one prince and one princess. Was that his calling? Forsake the masses to spare his own kids?" said Noctis. "How long will you two remain the protected? The king entrusted the role of protector to you and her." said Cor. ""Entrusted" it to us? Then why didn't he tell me that? Why did he stand there smiling as I left? Why- why did he lie to me?" said Noctis in a upset tone. "That day, he didn't want you to remember him as the king. In what time you had left, he wanted to be your father. He always had faith in you and Skylar, that when the time came, you both would ascend for the sake of your people." said Cor. "Guess he left me no choice." said Noctis calmly. He looked down at the weapon and reached his hand out to it. The weapon glew white, flew in mid-air, and flew into Noctis's soul. "The power of kings goes with you, Your Majesty." said Cor.
The five men walked out of the tomb together and stayed outside the door, looking at the sky seeing the sun shining with a few tiny clouds passing by. "That's not the only power your forebears left you. Your journey's just begun. Another tomb lies close by. I suggest you head there next. There are tombs scattered across the land. All on dangerous ground. I'll go with you for the time being. Not only to help, but get a measure of your strength." said Cor. "So how many of these "powers" are there?" Noctis asked. "There are thirteen known royal arms, each enshrined at a royal tomb, though we know the location of only a few. I've enlisted the help of the Hunters. They comb the land in search of the lost tombs." said Cor. "Where's the one nearby you mentioned?" Noctis asked. "Keycatrich Trench. We know there to be a crypt deep inside the tunnels." said Cor as they began walking to the Regalia. "And Noctis...I found Skylar." said Cor. Noctis looked at him shocked and grew a little smile on his face. "You did? Where was she?" he asked. "She was in an abandoned house last night, cautious of what was around her in the area. When I saw her walk out of that house this morning, I called her name and she instantly saw me and ran upto me asking where you were. I took her to the Prairie Outpost and put her under Monica's care until you arrive to take her on your journey." said Cor. "Does she remember what happened back at the Crown City?" Ignis asked. "She told me everything she saw as we made our way to the outpost. I could tell in her eyes and her voice that she was completely traumatized, especially when the king found a secret door to help her escape." said Cor. "She's a tough kid, I'm sure she'll be back to her old self in time." said Gladio. They made it to the Regalia and began to open the doors.
"Hey Noct, you're still carrying Sky's locket right?" said Prompto. As soon he heard the word "locket", he looked at the top left pocket of his jacket, opened it up, and took out a gold heart-shaped locket necklace and held it in his left hand. "It means everything to you and her huh?" Prompto asked as the group looked at it. "This was Skylar's gift from my mother before she was born, but after Sky came to the world...my mother had passed right in front of her and my father. He opened the locket and saw a tiny picture of her and a little message to Sky, saying that she will always be with her in her heart." said Noctis. "Your mother was a kind and loving woman and a beautiful queen. I still can't believe it has been 17 years since she had passed. She would've loved to see her daughter grow up into a fine young woman following in her footsteps and you all grown up to be a fine king, Your Majesty." said Cor. "Thanks Cor." said Noctis sincerely. Noctis sat in the passenger's seat, put on his seat belt, and looked down at the locket again. He opened it and saw the picture of our mother inside, making him lightly smile to himself. Ignis started the car and the boys headed on their way to Keycatrich Trench.
Thank you for reading Chapter 1 of the series! I tried to keep it close to the game as much as I possibly could, but hopefully this worked out pretty well. About Skylar, she is the sister of Noctis in this story, she is three years younger than him making her 17 years old as Noct is 20 years old, and she has a special connection to the Crystal and the Ring of Lucii that will be further explained down the road later in the story.
Next time, Chapter 2: Sibling Reunion. While under Monica's care, Skylar learns from Cor that her brother is on his way to see her, but is ready to tell him what happened back home when he was gone?