Royal Arms
They were on their way to the Prairie Outpost when an unfamiliar melody cut through the silence in the Regalia. It took Noctis a moment to realise that it was Ardyn's mobile ringing.
"Excuse me, but I have to take this," he said. "Would you mind pulling over for a moment?"
"As a matter of fact, I would," Ignis replied. "If you really intend to help us, it shouldn't be a problem if we listen in."
"As you wish." Ardyn flipped open his mobile and held it up, but kept an unusually great distance between the speaker and his ear.
"Where on Eos have you gone gallivanting off to?" a man's voice shouted at him from the other end of the line. "I've been trying to get you on the phone for hours."
"My sincerest apologies. It must have been set to silent," Ardyn replied calmly and brought the mobile up to his ear. Noctis sat closely enough behind him to understand the unfamiliar voice even when the man was not shouting.
"You say that every time. I swear, if I don't find the key to immortality soon, you'll take me to an early grave. Ardyn, we have a situtation in Insomnia."
"What kind of situation are we talking about?"
"Ravus has the Ring of the Lucii in his possession, and now calls himself True King of Lucis. He had the Crystal brought back to Insomnia before I could take it into custody at Zegnautus Keep. We would send Glauca to deal with him, but the General has fallen in the battle for the Crown City. Worse still, half of our infantry thinks Ravus has become the new High Commander due to him being next in line, and I can't revoke the command rights on the magitek troops under his control. I need you in Insomnia to knock some sense back into him."
"Is that so? I must say that sounds pretty dangerous." Ardyn's voice was positively dripping with disrespect.
"I thought we both agreed that Niflheim needed the Crystal. We have already used up our strongest units fighting Insomnia's forces. I wouldn't call upon you to take action if I had the resources to handle Ravus myself. Now go and do something."
"Not in that tone of voice, Verstael," Ardyn replied firmly. "Besides, even I am powerless in the face of divine intervention. But don't you worry, I have a plan of my own to reclaim Insomnia."
"What sort of plan would that be?"
"Sorry, I haven't got the time to talk. I'll call you back, all right?"
"Don't you dare hang up on me, Ardyn!"
Ardyn hung up, and Noctis felt a sense of malicious pleasure at the fact that Ardyn was being equally disrespectful to his superiors in Niflheim.
"Who was that?" Prompto wanted to know.
"An old acquaintance of mine, trying to pull my strings. Minister Verstael Besithia, head of magiteknological research," Ardyn replied. "It looks like the Crystal is still - or rather, again, - in Insomnia. Commander Ravus Nox Fleuret has crowned himself the new King of Lucis."
"By what right?" Gladio asked.
"He has dad's ring," Noctis answered for the Chancellor.
"Impossible," Ignis said. "Only members of the royal family can wear the ring."
Ardyn leaned against the passenger window and propped his head up in one hand. "It appears that someone has changed the rules of the game," he said thoughtfully.
The Prairie Outpost consisted of a few run-down farmhouses usually serving as a hub for the local hunters. On this particular day, however, refugees from Insomnia had gathered about the area. They appeared to be resting on their journey to one of the towns in Leide or Duscae, even though the outpost provided neither bed nor breakfast and was equipped with only a single floodlight to keep out daemons at night. The marshal was nowhere to be seen.
Noctis and his companions decided to ask around for any members of the Crownsguard. In the meantime, Ardyn was to remain with the Regalia, since there was a risk that higher ranking members of the Crownsguard knew of his affiliation with Niflheim, and trying to explain the what, why and how was simply not worth the trouble.
"While you're out on foot, you should have a chat with the refugees," Ardyn advised Noctis as they disembarked. "Or at least listen to them. It will give you a feel for the problems of the common folk, and you might just glean a surprising amount of information."
"Yes, uncle," Noctis replied, annoyed.
"Please don't call me that."
It did not take long for them to find a survivor of the Crownsguard. Monica Elshett informed them that Gladio's sister Iris had been escorted safely out of the city and was on her way to Lestallum. The marshal was waiting for them at the Royal Tomb nearby. Apart from them, most of the other members of the Crownsguard had fallen in the battle for the city. The more Noctis heard about what had happened in Insomnia, the more his unease grew. Was there anything left of his home?
Just before they left the outpost for the Royal Tomb, Noctis beckoned the Chancellor to follow them. The next time he turned around, however, it was Monica accompanying them.
"Was there anything else?" Noctis asked.
She blinked in puzzlement.
"That's not Monica," Ignis stated dryly.
Monica smiled and lifted a non-existent hat in greeting. The air shimmered in the way it did on a hot summer day, and Noctis saw Ardyn behind the illusion.
"What the !?" Prompto uttered, perplexed.
"Just a precaution, in case the head of the Crownsguard recognises my face."
"Only as long as the shimmer lasted did he hear Ardyn and Monica speaking together. After that, only Monica.
Noctis crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I get it. So that's why father hadn't recognised you. Are there any other tricks we should know about?"
"I fear you'll have so submit a request for clearance first if you desire any more confidential information."
Ignis walked on, but cast a critical glance back at Ardyn. "A sloppy illusion. I would recognise your gait anywhere."
"In that case, you will be surprised to see how many people are fooled by it."
"If you don't want your cover blown, you best shut up," Gladio advised him.
The Royal Tomb came into view by the time they reached the top of the hill. Ancient stonework formed a half circular plateau and a simple, flat building with a curved roof that could only be accessed through an underground passage in the middle of the structure. The time-worn statue of a shrouded figure adorned the entrance. In front of it stood Cor, waiting for Noctis and his retinue.
Noctis had only seen the Royal Tombs in pictures thus far and found the actual monument to be … a lot less awe-inspiring than he had imagined, actually. Given the age of the tomb and its less than scenic view at the edge of Leide's rocky wasteland, he was not entirely certain what he had expected, either.
"You didn't have to accompany them here, Monica," Cor addressed Ardyn. "I expect the boys to look after themselves. Go back to the outpost."
"Yeah, stop babysitting us," Gladio said as he walked past her – well, him.
As Noctis approached the marshal, Cor entered the passageway to the inside of the tomb.
"Come."
With the exception of Ardyn, Noctis and his companions followed him into the burial chamber and gathered around the effigy of the Lucian king "the Wise" in the middle of the room. The statue sat atop a stone table and held an intricately decorated sword, as was to be expected. According to Lucian history, every ruler of yore had been buried with his or her signature blade, so that future kings or queens might claim the souls of these sacred weapons to strengthen their armiger. In this procedure, the original arm stayed with its owner to remain available even to the next ruler after the current. It was a respectful way to inherit a weapon, too, since it kept the current ruler, namely Noctis, from breaking, losing or giving away a former king's Royal Arm. Of course, he had never lost a weapon, but it was always better to be safe than sorry.
"I'm sure you've heard about Regis' death," Cor said as he stepped closer to the effigy. "As for that ... it is true."
"I had feared as much."
"I'm surprised at how well you're taking the news."
"There has been much for me to process since Insomnia fell," Noctis replied. "Besides, I am far more in control of my emotions than you think."
A smile tugged at the corners of Cor's mouth. "I'd like to believe it. Noctis, your father prepared you for this day. He believed you would fulfil your destiny. Now it is time for you to claim the arms of the old kings."
Noctis extended his hand over the hilt of the sword. A spectral copy of the weapon rose, pierced through his chest and became part of Noctis' arsenal. The spectral blade left a tingle where it had touched him. Normal weapons he absorbed into the armiger felt different. He summoned the spectral form of the blade for a moment and watched it hover around him.
"There are 13 Royal Arms known to us, each of which is kept in a Royal Tomb," Cor explained. "Not all of them are as easily accessible as this one. We only know the location of a few of them, though. I have enlisted the hunters to comb the land in search of the lost tombs."
"14," Noctis said as a thought struck him. "There are 14 weapons. I know where there might be another one."
If he surprised Cor with this, the marshal did not let on. "All the better," he said, "there is another tomb near here, at Keycatrich Trench. I suggest you head there next. You will need this to get in." He handed a large, ornamented key to Noctis.
"What will you do in the meantime?" he asked.
Cor turned to leave and Noctis followed him outside. "I'm keeping an eye on the Niffs," he replied. "It looks like they're setting up a blockade west of here."
Next to one of the pillars marking the way to the tomb, Monica paced up and down.
Cor's voice took on a stern tone. "What are you still doing here?"
"I have something to discuss with the prince."
The marshal eyed her sceptically. Ardyn's false identity obviously did not convince him. Admittedly, it would have surprised Noctis had Cor not grown suspicious. He was a legend among the Crownsguard for a reason.
Noctis strode past him, trying to distract him a little. "Keycatrich Trench, right? Leave it to us."
Cor's gaze shifted back to him. "Take care of yourselves. I don't want to lose another king." With those words, he left Noctis and his companions to continue travelling on their own.
Noctis approached the Not-Monica, but kept an eye on Cor to make sure he was out of hearing range before he started talking.
"Say, Ardyn, what makes a Royal Arm?"
"Why do you think I'd know the answer to that?"
"Because you're Lucian royalty of old."
"You're thinking of me as a King of Yore? Good gracious, I'm afraid I do not deserve such flattery! Certainly, being chosen and rejected by the Crystal is not enough to warrant that title."
Seeing and hearing Monica speak, but with Ardyn's exaggerated intonation, facial expressions and gestures was immensely disconcerting. Noctis was more than glad when Cor had finally vanished from their sight and Ardyn dropped the illusion, reappearing in his usual, somewhat unkempt glory.
"But you know what I'm getting at?" Noctis kept asking.
"Of course I do. You have just obtained a Royal Arm and now you want to know if it might be possible to use my beloved blade to empower the magic of your armiger." The smug smile faded from his face and there was a moment of thoughtful silence between them. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to let you try. After all, sharing is caring, as they say, and it might save us some time roaming the lands for lost arms." From his armiger, Ardyn summoned the red longsword Noctis had seen in his memory. Unlike the magic of Noctis and his father, which glowed white to blueish, Ardyn's had a distinct red hue to it.
Prompto stared at the blade in astonishment. "So you really are a Lucis Caelum!"
"Is this the Blade of the Mystic?" Ignis asked.
"This is one half of a pair, the Rakshasa Blade." He presented the sword to Noctis so he could try to draw an image. "Consider it a gift of goodwill."
For a moment Noctis wondered about the name, but concluded that it had to be the sword's original name, just as his favourite weapon was called the "Engine Blade", but would most likely go down in history as the "Sword of the Chosen". This train of thought led him to wonder what Ardyn's title as a King of Yore might have been, had the Founder King not erased all mention of him from the annals of history save for the tale of the monstrous "Adagium". Knowing what had happened between them, however, Somnus would probably have let him be known as "The Usurper" or some similar derogatory name. The more he thought about it, the less respect Noctis could muster for the Founder King.
He raised his hand over Ardyn's sword and called it to him. To his surprise, a spectral copy of it came loose and entered into Noctis' arsenal as a second, sacred blade. The magic it was imbued with felt no different to that of the Sword of the Wise.
Gladio raised an eyebrow. "That was easy."
"Isn't that cheating, actually?" Prompto asked.
"All's fair in war," Ardyn replied, sending the original back into his armiger.
"You don't happen to be carrying any more Royal Arms for me to borrow, do you?" Noctis asked.
"You are slacking off again," Gladio reprimanded him.
Ardyn chuckled and spread his arms. Around him, in addition to his own sword, the images of five other weapons appeared, including the Sword of the Wise that Noctis had obtained earlier. "Over the last few decades, I have … paid my respects to some of my brother's descendants, at least those whose final resting places were discovered by the minister, but I believe I cannot hand the souls of these arms over to you."
He picked a sword seemingly at random and held it out to the prince. Looking back, Noctis should have realised right away that Ardyn might have spent some time collecting Royal Arms just as he was doing now or as Regis had done before him. The only difference was that Noctis had much easier access to the known tombs.
There would have been an outcry in all of Lucis had word spread of Niflheim breaking and entering these sacred grounds.
Noctis attempted to take the sword Ardyn offered to him, but his hand passed through its immaterial form. The weapon proved to be equally unresponsive to his call.
"Looks like I'll have to visit some tombs after all."
Ardyn smiled in a way that did not bode well. "I don't mind. I'm still looking for the memorial of my late brother myself, and one can never have too many arms in one's armiger."
Ardyn has too many abilities to keep track of. Perhaps I'll relieve him of some.
I can't make sense of why Ardyn would have the exact same set of weapons as Regis in the DLC, because he does not have the key,
and I have not yet seen him shadowstep through a solid door. The only weapons he might have are those which are not locked behind a door, or which could be obtained by Niflheim with force without causing much of an outcry within Lucis.
It's also not like he needs all of those arms. There are at least another 100 regular swords in his armiger, judging by some of his attacks.
Update 2022-09-22: Now that I've paid some more attention to the cutscene, I've noticed that Noctis is taking the actual weapon with him, not just an image. Honestly, though, can anyone explain to me, how Noctis, Regis and Ardyn can have the same Royal Arms in their armiger when the first person to take a Royal Arm takes the original with him? It's not like Regis could have brought them back after his death. and Ardyn didn't have access to most tombs, at least not before the Long Night. I'm leaving this chapter as-is because it makes more sense to me like that. It's canon divergence, anyway.