Daggerquills at Chess

„Oho! I see the welcoming committee has gathered." Ardyn stepped forward with his arms spread wide. „Come to slay the Adagium, have you?"

Somnus called forth the Blade of the Mystic, though it was likely just the soul of the weapon, seeing how the original was still stored in Noct's armiger. „Today shall mark the end of our dispute, brother," Somnus declared.

A wicked grin spread across Ardyn's face. In a flash, he too, had summoned his sword. „And here I was, thinking we would never come to an agreement ever again."

„Not this again," Noctis muttered.

Beyond the Lucii, in the far, far distance, he could make out several of the Astrals, and the Bladekeeper Bahamut among them, fighting beneath a bright ball of golden light. Ramuh and Leviathan were suspiciously absent.

„For Eos' sake, Somnus, let it go!" Noctis shouted. „Bahamut is about to destroy the friggin' world! If anything, you should be fighting to stop him, not us!"

„The Bladekeeper's rage was quelled by the other Astrals once before. I have faith that they will do so again," Somnus replied.

„Back then, he did not have the Crystal to draw energy from," Aera argued. „Please, both of you: Cease this madness! I cannot bear to watch you fight over and over again."

Somnus raised his sword high. „Stand with me, Lucii! With the power of the Chosen, we shall strike as one and vanquish this fiend!"

One by one, the Lucii called upon their Royal Arms and their armours slowly materialised around them. Helmets, chest and shoulder plates with oddly draconic features like scales, webbing or horns, formed out of light, seemingly granting the Kings and Queens of Yore a physical form.

Albeit faint at first, Noctis quickly became aware of the magic running through the Ring of the Lucii. The white stone set into the Ring on his hand shone with a soft glow. It was not just draining the Crystal's magic to perform Somnus' stunt, it was draining Noct's magic along with it. He could feel its bite, like needles slowly pushed deeper into his flesh. Anger burned hot in his veins.

„No. No, no, no!" Noctis ripped the Ring off his finger, breaking the flow of magical energy. The half-formed armours of the Lucii shattered. „No, Somnus! I told you not to drag me into your gods-damn feud."

„The deed must be done!" Somnus demanded.

„Let him try!" Ardyn shouted, his tone of voice unusually harsh. „He shall have the defeat he seeks!"

„No, I'm not going to support you in your stupid quest for revenge, either!" Noctis told him and received angry looks from both brothers in return. „If you have to do this, do it without me. Better yet, don't do it at all! One of you is dead, the other is immortal. Fighting isn't gonna fix this!"

„Is there no peaceful way for you to settle your differences?" Luna asked.

„A game of chess," Aera contemplated aloud. „Back in the day, you used to resolve your disputes with a game of chess. Is that no longer possible?"

Somnus exchanged a thoughtful look with Ardyn. „The winner decides the fate of the loser, then?"

„How about this?" Ardyn responded. „The loser remains in the Astral realm, never to bother the living again."

Somnus nodded in agreement.

„You're not seriously considering a game of chess?" Noctis asked, hoping he had misheard. „We haven't got time for this."

„Don't worry," Ardyn replied. „It shan't take long." He dismissed his sword to summon a chess board and a foldable camping table, the latter of which looked suspiciously like a part of Gladio's camping equipment. „We will set a time."

While Ardyn began to arrange the pieces on the board – the white ones for him, the black ones for Somnus – Noctis took out his smart phone and opened the alarm app. „Okay, so how long do you want to play?"

„No need to bother. I brought a timer of my own." Next to the chess board, Ardyn set down an hourglass.

„You're so ancient," Noctis remarked.

„I believe the word you were looking for was old-school."

Noctis shook his head. „No, it wasn't."

Two camping chairs completed the set-up for the impromptu chess session, and Somnus sat down opposite of Ardyn with his arms crossed. To see the two brothers this close without one's blade sticking out the back of the other added to Noctis' unease. As if the sheer number of Lucii watching them, or the fight between the Astrals in the background were not making him anxious already.

When Ardyn and Somnus locked eyes, the hatred and bitterness between them became nearly palpable.

Somnus gestured towards the pieces. „The eldest goes first."

Ardyn glanced past his opponent as he made his first move. „Are you not nervous, knowing that all of your children are watching? I wonder how many of them know of your crimes."

„Go ahead, tell them. I stand by my actions, regretful as they were." Somnus reached out his hand to move a pawn, but hesitated. „B7 to B6, if you please."

„Are you sure?" Smirking, Ardyn set the piece for him.

„Aera, be my witness that he does not cheat."

Nodding, she stepped up to the chess board to watch them.

„Oh, now you trust her?" Ardyn asked and moved another one of his pawns.

„Who claims I ever stopped trusting her? G7 to G5."

„She told you that the gods had chosen me to ascend the throne, did she not? You never were one to disobey the gods, so you must have thought she had been lying to you."

„I never would have twisted the gods' words," Aera said.

„I know," Somnus replied and gestured to another chess piece.

With every argument that passed between them, another move was made. Noctis could tell they were both very experienced players. There was no hesitation in their decisions which piece to set where.

„Although I was tempted to think otherwise for a time, ultimately, I knew you would not betray your calling," Somnus continued. „Not even for your betrothed. I came to understand that you had not been shown the entire truth by the Crystal."

„Is that so? Pray tell, What was the entire truth, in your opinion?" Ardyn asked.

„I received a vision from the gods, a warning, of the future beyond your ascension," Somnus explained. „The darkness you had gathered would have corrupted the Crystal over time, and eventually, our very Star, pushing mankind to the brink of extinction. The choices before me were few; Either I had to stop the scourge myself, stop your pilgrimages, sacrifice my brother, or the entire world. Our lands had been suffering, and by the gods, you know I've tried to stop you. I've tried to find another way."

Ardyn's expression hardened. „Spare me your arguments. I am not here to forgive you. Not for what you did to the populace, to Aera, or to me."

„Rook captures pawn on A4." On Somnus' instruction, Ardyn reluctantly executed the move. „As I told you before, I do not ask for your forgiveness, I merely ask for your understanding."

„If you truly regretted your actions, you could have released me from my prison instead of spreading lies and scratching my name off the pages of history." As he spoke, Ardyn captured one of Somnus' pawns using one of his bishops. There was now an even number of black and white pieces to either side of the board.

Somnus' brows creased in anger. „Do you think I enjoyed this? Do you think it was easy for me? If there was any shred left of the empathetic man you once were, you would understand what a burden it was, to live with the things I did. I would have undone any of my actions, had it not meant putting the entire Kingdom at risk. Or the very future. The gods' prophecy could not be denied. My line had to continue for 2000 years, just for you! Just to end your curse!"

„Oh, what selfless deed, to save the monster you created!" Leaning back in his chair, Ardyn put on a devilish grin. Once more, the black ichor of the scourge ran down his face like tears, giving him that sickly, almost daemonic appearance. „Unfortunately, I will not give up my curse willingly. Darkness is in every fibre of my being."

Noctis put a hand to his face. No, no it was not. It was just the side Ardyn chose to show whenever he was antagonised. Either Somnus had not understood that yet, or he was bringing it out on purpose. Either way, it did not help their case in the slightest.

The longer they continued, the less Noctis could stand to watch them argue. Seeing the sand run down the hourglass was even worse, only topped by the Astrals' fight in the background.

„I'm not that familiar with chess. Is one of them winning yet?" he asked Luna.

She shook her head, though her eyes remained focused on the game. „It's still too early to tell."

He ground his teeth. What would a victory achieve, anyway? There was no way for either of them to force the other to actually stay put in the Astral realm – and if there was, they would not be playing chess instead. Noctis threw back his head and let out an annoyed groan.

Just then, when Luna shot him a curious glance, a thought struck him. Two, in fact. One was the realisation that Somnus' vision must have been granted by Bahamut, just like that dream Noctis had about Luna turning into a daemon. And the other …

„Hey, Luna, do you know that saying about playing chess with a daggerquill?"

„I don't think so. How does it go?"

„No matter how good you are, you can't win against a daggerquill at chess. It'll just knock over the pieces and fly off."

„So the morale of the saying is that the game is pointless?" she asked.

Noctis channelled his anger to guide his feet. „I just decided that I'm gonna be that daggerquill." With determination, he walked up to the trio from the founding era.

Confused, Aera stepped aside, and Noctis seized the opportunity to slam his hands down on the board to topple all the pieces.

Still with the scourge streaming down his eyes, Ardyn shot him an irritated look.

„Are you out of your mind?" Somnus asked, glaring at him. „Didn't you just say you wanted to stay out of our feud?"

„Shut it, Somnus," Noctis replied, as annoyed as he was angry with them. It helped that both brothers were sitting in front of him, so he could tower over them for once. „This time, you listen to me. Both of you; Listen! If you won't stop this pointless argument, then I will!" He straightened, took a breath, and when he continued, he just let the words flow freely.

„I am sick and tired of your feud. One of you thinks he can continue it with reason, the other one continues it because he can't help himself, and you're both wrong. Both of you did inexcusable things, just one of you did them eons years ago, and the other decades ago. And yes, I still think what Somnus did was worse, but bottom line is, both of you had your reasons, and one of them – the biggest one – is that you were set up. Who gave Ardyn his healing powers? Bahamut. Who gave you that vision, Somnus? Bahamut. Who put the Stone and Ring into the hands of my family in the first place? That jerk-face of a dragon! My dad and every one before him sacrificed their lives to fight some ominous threat Bahamut had put there in the first place."

„The threat is real," Somnus tried to argue with him. „The Crystal's rejection of the Accursed proved it."

„I was chosen," Ardyn argued. „It could have cleansed me just the same." Dark and purple fumes rose from Ardyn's clenched fists.

To break the brothers' eye contact before things escalated, Noctis reached across the table and grabbed a white and black chess piece each. He tried to get the kings, but in his hurry he might have picked a queen or bishop instead. Not that it mattered much for the point he wanted to make. „Ardyn was used. Just like you were, Somnus. Just like the Oracles, and everyone else who ever got into contact with the Draconian. You have never been the players in this game."

He set both pieces down in the middle of the board and cleared the space around them with a sweep of his hand. „This! This is all you ever were. Two pieces on a board, and Bahamut was playing you off against each other."

An uncomfortable silence settled between the brothers. The signs of the scourge faded from Ardyn as he calmed back down, and Noctis chose to adapt a calmer tone of voice as well. „The reason we are here, why Luna, Ardyn and I are here, is that we made it off that board. This cycle of sacrifice and suffering? It has to stop. Now."

Chuckling to himself, Ardyn stood up from the table. „I see, I taught my nephew even better than I had expected."

Somnus, too, rose from his spot. „Your nephew? I swear, I will not tolerate your influence on my …"

„If you don't shut up right now, I will punch you both," Noctis announced. Not that he could punch the spirit of a dead person, but by the gods, he would try.

Behind him, Luna chuckled. Her light-hearted laughter relieved the tension in an instant.

Noctis turned around to her. „What is it?"

„Sorry, it's just … You reminded me of my brother for a moment."

„Ah, no offence, but … That's not a compliment to me."

His gaze was drawn to the battle in the distance. Bahamut had grabbed one of Shiva's multiple apparitions and a crash resounded through the Astral realm as he slammed her down into the ground, shattering the fragile body of the Glacian into ice with his force.

For a moment, the battle between the Astrals drew the attention of all present, including the spirits of the Lucii.

With a sweeping gesture, Ardyn turned back to Somnus. „Now then, what do you say, brother? Will you join our fight?"

Somewhat reluctantly, the Founder King nodded at Noctis. „For the sake of my family," he agreed. „The power of the Lucii shall be yours. Though know that we can assist you only once, and only briefly. Call upon us when the right moment is nigh, and we will strike as one, together."

„Thank you," Noctis replied, not out of politeness, but just because he was glad to have finally gotten through that thick skull of his.

Somnus turned and left, and one by one, the spirits of the Lucii that had formed a living wall between them and the Astrals faded away. Only one of them lingered. It was Regis, looking back at Noctis with a smile and a, signalling him how proud he was of his son.

Noctis' heart ached for a split second when he, too, disappeared.

„Let us hurry," Luna suggested.

Leaving the scene of the impromptu chess game behind, Noctis and Luna began to walk towards the Astrals, yet Ardyn stopped look back over his shoulder. Aera and Carbuncle were not following them.

„We will see each other again," Aera said, as she too, faded away. „My prayers are with you."

Happy Christmas, y'all!