Blessed Audience
Had Cindy not asked them to make a delivery for her at Longwythe Rest, Ignis might have driven through all the way to the coast. However, Noctis had not been able to refuse her request, and so they made another stop before Galdin Quay. Longwythe Rest was even smaller than Hammerhead and, apart from a fast food restaurant, had only one motel to offer. While the owner of the motel unloaded Cindy's delivery from the trunk of the Regalia, Noctis stretched his legs, pacing up and down along the road.
He had just turned back from the Chocobo rental post when he spotted a black dog running towards him. Umbra, Luna's faithful messenger had appeared, quite literally, out of nowhere. As usual, the canine found him everywhere and always, even in the most unusual places and at the worst times. Noctis remembered one time he had been soaking in the bathtub, behind the locked door of his bathroom when he had turned his head and Umbra just suddenly sat in the middle of the room. How that worked, he would never understand, but it probably had to do with the divine powers of a messenger. It was just a bit weird, considering that Umbra had both the looks and the personality of an ordinary dog.
"Good boy." Noctis knelt in front of the messenger and pet Umbra in greeting before he reached for the red notebook bound to the dog's back with a green strap.
"A message from Luna?" Ignis asked, standing a few steps away. "Huh. The ability of that dog to find you never ceases to amaze me."
His remark caught Ardyn's attention. "What does the bride-to-be write?", he wondered aloud and promptly walked up to Noctis to glance over his shoulder.
It was the last thing the Niff Chancellor needed to know. Noctis pressed the notebook to his chest and shot him a glare. "Dude, you ever heard of postal privacy?"
With a lightly offended expression, Ardyn backed away, but Noctis still made sure he was not looking before he opened the book and flicked to the latest entry.
The time has come to leave Tenebrae. Give my regards to the Chancellor of Niflheim when you meet him.
"The hell?", Noct muttered under breath.
#-#-#
"Lady Lunafreya," Ardyn exclaimed as he strode into her lavishly furnished room at the long-since refurbished Festala Manor. "Correct me if I am mistaken, but I think this meeting was long overdue."
Luna got up from the recliner to face him. The sight of the Chancellor filled her with a fleeting, but equally deep and intangible feeling of dread. The first time she had seen him had been the day Niflheim invaded her home, her mother died amidst flames and blood, and bitterness and hatred had changed her brother forever. She remembered with great clarity how the Chancellor had been standing there, at the sidelines, watching with an emotionless expression as she and Ravus had been taken away by the Empire. Since then, she always felt as if a great disaster was imminent as soon as someone told her that the man was somewhere in the same area or building.
"What can I do for you, Chancellor?" she asked, trying her best to show some politeness without stepping closer.
He strode aimlessly through her room, taking in the decoration with curious looks, although he might as well be nothing more than a predator feigning disinterest. "I was hoping you could help me with the prophecy regarding the True King of Lucis." He absentmindedly stroked the petals of the flowers in the vase by the entrance, not sparing her a glance. "The Cosmogony speaks much of the King and the darkness, but what role does the Oracle play in it?"
"It is the Oracle's calling to help the True King obtain the strength he needs to dispel the darkness," Luna replied with conviction. "In his name, she asks for the support of the gods."
"And what if she had to give her life for that as well?" he asked further.
"Then that is also part of her calling."
When the Chancellor turned back to her, one of the flowers had turned black and withered.
Her unease grew, but she was determined not to let herself be intimidated.
"What if I were to tell you that none of the sacrifices your so-called calling demands need be made to rid this Star of the Starscourge?"
"I am not sure what you are implying."
"Is it not so that the gods, or, should I say, the overgrown lizard hiding behind the Crystal in Lucis, conceived a grand plan for humanity? You should know already that Bahamut is the playwright and director in this drama. The Starscourge, on the other hand, is no invention of the gods, and we have to thank Minister Besithia for his most successful research on it. You see, unlike the divine, the scourge is scientifically explainable and, furthermore, very likely treatable. If Bahamut would allow it, mankind could help itself instead of praying, waiting, hoping for the gods to take pity on them."
"I'm sorry, but," Luna started and took a moment to keep her composure. "How would you know of the gods' plans for mankind, and specifically, the Draconian's schemes? For ages, no one has been able to commune with Bahamut. Not even the line of the Oracles."
A sly smile spread across his face. "Ah, but you see, Bahamut came to me. I know, I do not seem like much, but to him, I am of great importance."
Through the mirror in the corner of her eye, Luna noticed the High Messenger, Gentiana, standing behind her. As usual, her familiar had appeared without a sound.
Somehow, the Chancellor's smirk grew even wider. "If it isn't the High Messenger. I had hoped you would join this meeting."
"Lady Lunafreya. Great caution is advised," Gentiana warned her. "This man is trying to lead you away from the right path."
"Oh, am I?" The Chancellor's tone suddenly shifted from amused to bitter and upset. "Who decides what the right path is?" His outburst lasted no more than a second or two before he regained his composure. For the most part, anyway. He laughed softly. Desperate, in a way.
For the first time since Luna knew the High Messenger, Gentiana took a step past her, and there could be only one reason for it. The Chancellor truly was much more dangerous than he appeared to be.
"The Frostbearer wishes you to know that this man is the Accursed, bringer of the Starscourge," Gentiana said, addressing the Oracle without looking at her.
Shocked by this revelation, Luna drew in a sharp breath. So, this sense of dread she had felt … Could it have been the darkness? The scourge?
"At long last, someone is speaking straight." Paying no attention to Luna and Gentiana, Ardyn shrugged, walked past them and dropped onto the bench. "And now that that's finally out," he said with a sigh of contentment, "Let us talk about why the people of Niflheim have grown weary of the gods, and what Bahamut is doing to the bloodlines of the Oracle and the King. After all, you should know better than anyone that their magic was not just simply a gift of the Crystal. The Sacred Stone has no will of its own."
On one hand, Lunafreya wanted to throw him out for his blasphemy, but on the other hand, he offered her a chance, perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, to glimpse into the motivations of the man destined to bring ruin to the world. If nothing else, he spoke of her and Noctis' fate, and his mention of a possible alternative to combat the scourge sounded equally intriguing.
"Lady Lunafreya," Gentiana admonished her again, but Luna signalled her not to intervene as she sat down opposite of Ardyn. "Please. I want to hear what he has to say."
"You have nothing to fear from me," Ardyn assured her. "I long only to bring mischief upon the one who has imposed the role of mischief-maker upon me."
It was the prelude to a conversation that went on for several hours.
On that afternoon, Ardyn told her everything he had learnt from Bahamut about his grand plan to cleanse Eos of the Starscourge. He spoke of a vision, in which he had seen ten years of utter darkness, daemons and suffering he was to bring about. It was all meant to culminate in his demise, as well as the end of the Lucis Caelum bloodline, which had been promised to him as a liberating act of vengeance. Ardyn laid out for her coherently how any suffering that had befallen the Oracles, Kings and even the land of Lucis could be traced back to Bahamut's influence. The Crystal was the literal offending object in every war. The magic of the Lucii the early death of every King. The sacrifices demanded by the Oracles to cure the scourge their every end.
When Luna asked just how Ardyn expected the world to be freed of the Starscourge without divine assistance, he revealed that the Minister's research into the use of daemonic energy had incidentally opened up ways to treat the disease with medicine and science. However, Emperor Aldercapt and Minister Besithia were more than unwilling to pursue these possibilities, and Ardyn himself was not a man of science.
Luna had to admit that the Chancellor knew how to captivate with his words. She understood the connections and saw the possibilities. Gentiana said nothing to this, but remained by her side, silent and attentive.
Eventually, Luna turned to the High Messenger. "Do you think it could actually be possible to defy fate?"
"To choose one's own path is to face great uncertainty," she replied.
"I know that. I just want to know if it is possible at all."
"Those who defy fate will inevitably incur the wrath of the Draconian. His judgement knows no mercy."
"So there is no way past Bahamut," Luna concluded. "Only through him."
Ardyn clasped his hands behind his head and leaned back. "So it is."
"What about the other Astrals?", she asked Gentiana.
"Some are indifferent to the Bladekeeper's view of mankind, whereas others have opposed it. Yet the aftermath of the Great War has left them too exhausted to act, and although the path the Draconian has chosen for men may be one of suffering, he still aims to protect Eos."
"From men, to be precise," Ardyn added.
"You are not fit to interpret the words of the gods", the High Messenger admonished him.
"Please, save me your speeches. I have heard them all before."
Luna thought on what Gentiana had said for a moment or two. She had never revealed so much about the Draconian before, but then again, neither had she asked as much about him, either. Gentiana never lied, and so she concluded that there was at least some truth to the Accursed's words.
"You came to offer me knowledge, but what do you hope to gain from me knowing all this?", she asked him. "Do you expect me not to lend my aid to the True King of Lucis?"
"Not at all," he replied, sounding perfectly calm. "In fact, please do lend him your aid. I was merely hoping you could put in a good word or two for mankind the next time you commune with the gods, so that they might offer their strength to the King even when that strength is directed against Bahamut."
"If the prophecy comes to pass, you will perish," Luna realised.
"Not unless Bahamut perishes first, of course." Ardyn rose from the bench and turned to leave. "In the end, however, it is your decision whether to follow your calling or not. I merely offer advice."
Luna stood up as well. "You mentioned that you believed in the gods a long time ago. What made you lose your faith?"
He stopped in his tracks, just in front of the door, but did not turn back. "A little of everything, I suppose", he replied, scratching his head. "For example, every single time they twisted the dagger they stabbed in my back."
A bizarre feeling of hope took root in Luna's heart. She had always imagined the prophesied darkness to be some sort of abstract entity, a monster, or worse. To think that it was merely a man made her wish for a different ending to the prophecy. Even though she herself was ready and willing to give her life for others, no one should have to suffer.
"You are not the monster the prophecy speaks of", she said eventually.
Ardyn lazily waved a hand on his way out. "It only goes to show how little you know me."
#-#-#
We left Insomnia a while ago. Can't wait to see you again. The Chancellor's is a royal pain in the neck.
Once his reply had been written, Noctis shut the book and tucked it under the strap on Umbra's back. Like hell he would give Ardyn the satisfaction of knowing that Luna had mentioned him. The Chancellor did not need another reason to walk around looking so smug.
Still, Noctis could not fathom why Luna would be so well disposed towards a Niflheim politician. This was going to be another thing he had to ask her about as soon as they met in person.
This chapter exists solely to make it clear that Ardyn and Luna are on the same page regarding Bahamut's plans. In the "Dawn of the future" novel, Gentiana reveals this information to Luna, but I don't see why Ardyn should keep it from her, seeing how "close" the Empire and Tenebrae are.