The Understudy

Chaos reigned in the hall where the signing of the agreement should have taken place. The battle which had broken out so abruptly between the Crownsguard and the imperial units had left nothing but blood, corpses and devastation. Only King Regis and General Glauca were left, still fighting fiercely. Ravus stepped over a dead Kingsglaive as he approached them.
Regis' end was near.
The king defended himself with a magical shield, but Glauca was smashing it faster than it regenerated.
"You already have the crystal. What else do you want to take?" Regis demanded to know. What a pathetic, cowardly king he was.

As predicted, Glauca broke through the shield. His blade severed the Ring of the Lucii from the king's hand.
The bloodstained jewel rolled towards Ravus. He lifted it from the ground and held it in front of his eyes.
The power contained in this small, insignificant-looking accessory had always fascinated him.

"The Ring of the Lucii," he said, turning to Regis, who was struggling to stay on his feet. "I lost my mother, my country, my birthright. Niflheim was the only life I had left. But all that was for this. The ring is mine now."

How long had he waited for this moment. Ravus' conviction was unwavering. With the power of the Lucii, he would dispel the darkness and save his sister. He slipped the ring onto the ring finger of his left hand, and from the corner of his eye still noticed Glauca raising his sword at him, just before time stopped around him.

"Hear me, Lucian kings of yore," he announced. "I am Ravus Nox Fleuret, and none is more worthy than I!"

The space in front of him ripped open and Ravus found himself in another dimension of stars and nebulae. A gigantic, heavily armoured figure appeared in the light, blades fanning out like giant wings behind it.
In awe, Ravus held his breath. He had expected to summon the old kings and knew of the rumours concerning the Bladekeeper's whereabouts, but coming face to face with Bahamut himself surpassed all of his aspirations. Among the Astrals, there was no greater power than the god of iron and war.
Ravus suppressed his awe and quickly regained his composure. The fact that Bahamut answered in person proved that he had been chosen. With his head held high, Ravus stepped forward.

"Thy call hast been answered, Ravus Nox Fleuret," the echoing voice of the god thundered. "Prove to me that thee hast earned the title of the True King, and thee shalt obtain the power to banish the darkness from this star forever."

After all Ravus had been through, the god actually demanded more of him.
"I have the ring in my possession. I am here," Ravus argues. "What more must I do?"

"Destroyeth the first chosen True King and the darkness that draws him from his path," Bahamut replied. "Through me, thee shalt be granted access to the power of the crystal and kings of yore, which thee shalt need to vanquish the defiers of fate. Know, however, that all will be in vain shouldst the first chosen True King fulfil his destiny."

A fiery determination burned in Ravus' heart. He had nothing left to lose but his sister, and he would do anything to prevent her from giving her life in the fight against the darkness. The ring of the Lucii burned on his finger. Ravus felt the power of the ancient kings biting through his skin into his flesh, but it did not hurt him. He stretched out his arm and suddenly held his sword in his hand.
In a flash of light, Bahamut disappeared and the other dimension faded around him. Ravus found himself back in the citadel, and time moved on from one instant to the next. Instinctively, Ravus used his newfound strength to repel Glauca's still incoming attack. With surprising ease, he flung the general back.

"I am Ravus Nox Fleuret," he repeated to himself, lost in thought. "Supreme Commander of the Imperial Army and True King of Lucis."
He only noticed King Regis fleeing the hall in passing, and suddenly his thoughts returned to the present. "Glauca, after him!" he ordered.

The general scrambled to his feet and ran towards the lift, where a Kingsglaive and Luna disappeared alongside Regis. "Luna?" Ravus called out in surprise. "Wait!"

#-#-#

When Luna arrived at Longwythe Rest, the events of the previous night still governed her emotions. Even though she knew exactly what road lay ahead and what to do next, the events in Insomnia were not easily processed and forgotten. Noctis' beautiful home lay in ruins. The townspeople who had at least escaped with their lives, had been forced to leave their homes behind, and often been separated from their families. Luna had escaped from the city limits among the refugees all the way to Leide, and had so far remained blissfully undetected. Even so, she gave comfort wherever she could to ease the people's emotional pain. Her compassion knew no bounds, for the war knew no winners.

Hope drove her on, for there was always reason to hope. Noctis had been spared from the invasion thanks to the efforts of Regis and Ardyn - even though the two had never worked together - and would be under protection for a while longer due to the news of his death. The fact that the Ring of the Lucii had accepted Ravus as its new bearer was an unexpected twist of fate, but Ardyn had prepared her for anything to become possible once his rebellion against Bahamut took effect, and chances were Ravus might still relent.

In the end, however, it was all up to Noctis. Luna's task was merely to pave the way for him. Ultimately, only he had the possibility to gather the Hexatheon around him, and it was his decision against whom he used it.

Ever since she had spoken to the chancellor for the first time, she had thought much and often about his words. Her own life and Noctis' appeared to be a small sacrifice in order to rid the world of the Starscourge once and for all. On the other hand, she wanted to see Noctis live, and the thought of people knowing true independence and peace for the first time without Bahamut's influence was equally enticing. But could the people manage on their own to find a cure for the Starscourge before the miasma eclipsed the sun?
Regardless of Noctis' decision, Luna was ready to support him.
She opened the red notebook in her hands.

We have left Insomnia a while ago. I can't wait to see you again. Ardyn is a royal pain in the neck.

Noctis' remark amused her a little in these difficult times.
"And I'm looking forward to seeing you too," she said softly as she closed the book again and gave it back to Umbra.

A middle-aged woman left one of the motel rooms and approached her.
"Lady Lunafreya, is it really you? I prayed that you might escape the city alive."

Luna held the woman's pleading hands.
"I thank you very much, but I am currently travelling in secret. The imperial military is still searching for me."

"I am so sorry Lady Lunafreya, I really do not wish to impose myself on you, but ..."

"What troubles you?"

"It is my husband. I fear for him, and I had hoped you might ask the gods to take mercy on him."

Luna suppressed the urge to sigh as best she could. She urgently needed to travel on to the Archaean, but she had never been able to ignore a plea for help. "Please do not worry. I will help you."

The woman opened the door to her motel room for her, where a man of about the same age lay on the bed. He was unconscious, yet restlessly moving in his sleep. Luna would have expected to find someone who needed a doctor more urgently than divine assistance, as many had been wounded in the battle for Insomnia. This man, however, showed obvious symptoms of the scourge.

Luna knelt by his bedside and took one of the man's hands between hers. His fingers tightened around her palm as if grasping his last resort in his sleep. She closed her eyes and turned her thoughts to the gods. A familiar warmth entered her hands.

„Blessed stars of life and light, deliver us from ..."

The warmth faded. Something was not right. An unpleasant coldness seeped into her fingertips. When she opened her eyes, she saw the darkness disappear from the man and merge into her hands. Individual veins stood out darkly under her skin.

"It's a miracle," the woman next to her uttered in a breath.

The man's firm grip loosened and his breathing grew calm. Luna, on the other hand, suddenly felt uncomfortable. As she stood up, she rubbed her hands, which still felt numb and cold.

"Oh, thank you so much, Lady Lunafreya," the woman said. "We are forever in your debt."

"I am sorry, but I must urgently continue on my way." Luna excused herself and quickly left the motel.

Gentiana was already waiting for her outside. Before Luna had even found the words to speak to her, the shadows within her hands had disappeared.
"There is not much time left," Gentiana said. "The Bladekeeper has chosen another vessel for the darkness."


What could be more tragic than uncle fighting nephew, or brother fighting brother? Have a brother fight his sister, of course.
Luna becoming Ardyn's replacement is already part of the "Dawn of the Future" novel, and I find that Ravus, given his obsession with the prophecy, makes perfect sense as a replacement for Noctis. He also seems like the kind of person who might be easily manipulated, which serves Bahamut well.
(By the way, Bahamut speaks a weird kind of half-hearted Shakespearean English ... Let me know if you prefer normal English instead and I'll replace it.)

Please bear in mind that I have seen only clips of the Kingsglaive movie, but not all of it.
As for canon divergence, (or non-divergence), I would not put it beyond Nyx to have found a way to defeat Glauca even without the ring.