I can’t believe we’re gonna be playing it in less than 48h Q____Q
I can’t wait to actually PLAY with Ardyn rather than just looking at him, to put on him all and every hat (let there be moogle and chocobo hats AND a tiny top hat PLS PLS PLS), to do parkour all through Insomnia, to team up with Ifrit, to see again Aera and Somnus, to fight Regis, to get ALL THE FEELSSSS
I better stock up on tissues lol I’m REALLY going to need them
Also I have to say that, after Episode Ardyn Prologue came out, I felt I had to remake the document of my theory. I’m re-writing it, but I’m not sure if I’ll have it ready before Episode Ardyn happens (I’ll play as soon as it launches), so maybe I’ll just share some thoughts of it before the DLC >.<
I didn’t share all of my Ep. Ardyn Prologue thoughts now that I think of it... And in Twitter I did so later on, mostly through retweets and some comments. On TW I won’t be able to do so with Ep. Ardyn little after I finish it apart from tweeting nonsensical screaming (I want to wait some time so that I won’t spoil anyone about the DLC), so I guess I’ll do it here under a “read more” and then share it on TW .
As Ardyn would say... “Your heart’s desire, so close now!”
It just a theory that’s been in the back of my mind now and I decided to post it.
You may call me crazy, but the more I think about it, could it be possible that the Gentiana that appears in Prompto’s photos isn’t actually Gentiana but Ardyn posing as Gentiana? Thinking about it, it wouldn’t be anything to difficult for Ardyn to pull off.
It makes enough sense regarding how he seems to have solid insight and knowledge as to where the chocobros’ are and what they’re up to. Personally I’ve always wandered how he was able to keep such close track on they’re progress and everything they were up to.
There’s a bit of dialogue between the chocobros that is sometimes triggered when a Gentiana appears in the back ground of a picture which I’ve always found interesting:
So the joke about the many layer of clothing Ardyn wears has been around for some time now.
The other day I was thinking about it and it came to my mind that maybe all those layers are some sort of protection.
I’ll explain myself. So Ardyn is cursed and is almost, if not completely, a deamon. And apparently deamons are weak in the sun light. So maybe his body, after all those years, have become something similar to deamon!ravus one.
What would make him incredibly sensitive to light.
But because he is really powerful he manages to deal with it in some areas of his body such as his face and hands, but prefers to leave covered any other parts that are not necesary to not waste energy.
So in conclusion Ardyn wears all those clothes to protect his cursed body from the sun light.
Okay so, first of all: this is a post about a theory that’s been on my mind for a long time (I’ve talked about it before, and posted a bit of my thoughts on TW and I think here too) but that I hadn’t been able to finish writing as much completely as I wanted... and I know that it probably makes zero sense to upload my theory now, when Episode Ardyn has just come up online minutes ago where I live... but still, I like my theory and I had fun with it, so, well, there it goes!
Also: as I’m writing this the DLC is downloading and I want to avoid any risk of spoilers, so as soon as I upload this post I’ll retreat to play and just emerge to social media once I finish it.
May you all have a good time playing Episode Ardyn! <3
It’s no secret that Ardyn Izunia, Chancellor of Niflheim, oldest king of Lucis and former savior of those afflicted by the Starscourge, is the most powerful being of Eos. Not even the Astrals, the gods of Eos, can defeat him.
Such power, however, leaves many questions. And while some of them had been answered, there are still others that remain a mystery.
The main question is… why is Ardyn, and only him, able to absorb the Starscourge? It’s stated in the Official Works book that this is a “unique ability” of Ardyn, even though it says his clan had been given power by the gods, so… we can assume two things: either this ability isn’t god-given, or that if it was god-given there had to be a reason why only Ardyn could use it.
In the case that it was god-given (and since no one else had been given said ability), I think there’s a possibility that Ardyn would have been used as a container for the Starscourge unbeknownst to him, probably ordained by the prophecy, and that he didn’t know until he broke free of Angelgard. In theory, having a living “container” for the Starscourge, while very cruel, would’ve made things easier… except it all went wrong.
In the case that it wasn’t god-given, it’s either a special characteristic of Ardyn’s organism, or he somehow acquired it.
Another possibility (although less possible) could be, in the case that Ardyn was alive already by the time Solheim was still there, that he would’ve been experimented on. Given the fact that Ardyn seems to know a lot not only about daemons, but also about machinery from Solheim, and that Niflheim apparently advanced a lot in their experiments when he started “helping them” (for example developing the Wallbreaker Wave, a technology that can inhibit all the magic from the line of Lucis and enfeeble Astrals), I wouldn’t entirely rule out that possibility. Or that Ardyn had some contact with this kind of technology.
Any of the cases above could give reason as to why Ardyn can absorb the Starscourge, so let’s talk a bit about the rest of his abilities…
It’s easy to pinpoint the origin of the majority of Ardyn’s abilities, to categorize them as abilities that come from the Starscourge (like “shadowstepping”, infecting others with the Starscourge) or from the gods (the Armiger, and probably his “regular” healing abilities —that can either come from the gods or be a blessing of the Crystal—).
However… apart from being able to absorb the Starscourge, there’s something that Ardyn shouldn’t be able to perform, but that he can: summon the same kind of Wall that Regis maintained… without using the Ring of the Lucii.
Now, this is something weird and interesting, because the Starscourge can’t grant him that power, and neither can the Astrals. Only a king of Lucis can do this, using the Ring of the Lucii, which is what harnesses and channels the power of the Crystal. An extension of the Crystal.
And, while for some time I thought Ardyn may be able to copy abilities (and still, that’s a possible power of his), there’s no way he could’ve copied the Wall of the Citadel, since the effort of nearly all of the Astrals is needed to bring it down to grant access to Noctis and the others.
So, then… how can Ardyn do this?
Well… another thing that’s no secret, is all of the religious symbology of Final Fantasy XV (specially Christianity), and more specifically, surrounding Ardyn. From his way of dressing in the past and his artworks (a clear allegory to Jesus), his powers and role (the savior that travels healing others and teaching them), to his relationship with others and his destiny (Abel and Cain come to mind with him and his brother for example, and then there’s the fact that he’s fated to die in the end so that the world can be saved), and even one of his hobbies (wine), it’s clear what Square-Enix was aiming for with him.
Now… remember Episode Ignis? That fight in the “Verse 2”, in which you play as Ignis against Ardyn in the Keep of Zegnautus? There’s a moment in which Ardyn basically “mocks” Bahamut’s stance, making the weapons look like wings on his back.
And then, remember when Square-Enix answered in that Q&A video a question about his relationship with Bahamut? They basically said it was a secret, and laughed.
Well… Where am I going with this?
I think that Ardyn is of divine origin, which would go along with the Christian themes of the game.
My thoughts are that Ardyn’s either son of Bahamut, or that he could’ve been “born” from the Crystal. Being a son of Bahamut would further enhance that comparison between God and Jesus, but then again, he has powers that don’t really fit with Bahamut nor any other Astral, nor with the Starscourge. Another idea that’s been in my mind for a long time is that Ardyn could’ve either been born or become a Messenger, as well, but since we know so very little about the Messengers, so it’s much in the air.
Maybe I’m correct about something or maybe I’m not, but regardless of it, I had fun with the theory all along which is what matters (even if it pains me that I couldn’t bring myself to finish writing it properly, as early and detailed as I wanted —the original one, before Episode Ardyn: Prologue, was 5 pages long before even reaching half of the document, and I’d compiled there all the info I could about the Starscourge for example—), and if it’s not correct then I can always make an AU of it (?).
