#aro.fic

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OKAY SO HOW ABOUT FFXV ZESTIRIA AU? PART ONE: THE LORE BECAUSE I HAVE NO SELF-CONTROL

in which my friend said “shepherd prompto” and i went batshit insane on twitter and started rebuilding the entire ffxv lore and fusing it with zestiria lore

ALSO @chocobaes​ I JSUT REMEMBERED FRAN LIKES TALES OF ZESTIRIA SO HERE YOU GO

THIS IS ALL I HAVE FOR NOW BC THIS IS TOO LONG AND ILL SEE IF I COULD DUMP WHAT I HAVE FOR NOCT AND PROMPTO (bc this shit started with SHEPHERD PROMPTO) AND YEAH WOOO NOW WATCH THIS POP UP IN AO3 WITHIN THE NEXT FEW DAYS

note: i completely disregarded tales of berseria lore because i havent played it yet and i refuse to be spoiled. 

notex2: spoilers from final fantasy xv below! and maybe zestiria, too, but i can’t really tell which of them is toz spoilers.

notex3: this is also part one of part one: lore bc i missed a LOT of stuff here (read: ARMATIZATION, divine artefacts, the ring of the lucii and its use in this au, etc)

THE SIX GREAT LORDS, THE ASTRALS

- each astral is a seraph representing a certain element, known to be the most powerful to wield them. they are the most powerful of their kind to the point that they rule eos as gods.

titan, the archaean, the most powerful earth seraph

ramuh, the fulgarian, the most powerful and first lightning seraph

leviathan, the hydraean, the most powerful water seraph

shiva, the glacian, the most powerful and first ice seraph. she is also the first seraph to come down from the heavens since ifrit’s defeat to grace the human race and to forge divine contracts with them, allowing them control over ice and the power of purification. upon lucis’ founding, though, she settles down there, and she’s been the kings’ prime lord since then, covering the entirety of lucis with her blessing. humans come to know her as the lady of the lake, because instead of residing within her vessel, she takes residence in a small, man made lake at the heart of the citadel.

ifrit, the infernian, the most powerful fire seraph. while the one to give man fire, he’s also the first and only great lord to fall to malevolence. he’s the first dragon, the symbol of corruption and havoc, and is the one who brought malevolence to eos, turning humans and seraphim alike to hellions.

bahamut, the draconian, the only seraph of void. the most powerful of the astrals, he’s the one who seizes ifrit and, filled with compassion for ifrit because theres no way to return a dragon back to a seraph, banishes ifrit somewhere no human can find. the man who’ll become the first lucis caelum forged a contract with bahamut and became the first shepherd to make this possible.

LUCIS CAELUM BLOODLINE AND THE COUNTRY OF LUCIS

- after ifrit’s downfall, bahamut blessed the first shepherd and ushered him forth to an era of prosperity, and with him is a seraph whom bahamut also blessed with the ability to bestow the power of purification, becoming the oracle. together, with shiva’s blessing, they founded lucis, and the first shepherd ruled lucis with the oracle as his guide and the glacian as lucis’ protector

lucis caelum is a royal lineage of shepherds, blessed by the gods themselves

they founded lucis which became a country wherein seraphim and humans can live together in harmony, and because of this, the lucis caelum bloodline became royalty. the king/queen of lucis is always a shepherd. its part of their ascension

its always important that the crown prince has a powerful resonance before ascension, because to be a shepherd is to be able to communicate with the seraphim, the divine beings that cannot be seen by normal humans. the shepherd’s role is to be the bridge that will connect humans and seraphim together

lucis is a country of magic, mostly driven by seraphic artes. while the country is magically advanced because of this, they’re also mostly behind when it comes to technology. this proved to be the country’s weakness against niflheim.

they do have cars and stuff though. lucis in this au is also still lucis from the game, except people can talk to seraphim and is more magicky than from lucis in the game, especially insomnia.

seraphim and humans mingle together in this country. if you know tales of zestiria, this country is probably sorey and mikleo’s dream come true :-)

shiva is the lord of the land of lucis while also serving as the king’s prime lord. her domain protects lucis from niflheim, but as time goes by and the war got worse, the domain is forced to cover only insomnia, and this is when people all over lucis start losing resonance and get plagued by hellions. hunters are hired to kill these hellions, since no shepherd or squire is going to come to purify them.

THE ORACLE

- a seraph who had been with the first shepherd in his journey to defeat ifrit. after the great battle, bahamut blessed her with the powers of purification and powers divine, making her almost at the same level as the astrals. she’s the shepherd’s guide, helping them through tough decisions and guiding them away from the path of malevolence. she’s lunafreya nox fleuret, and she resides in lucis with her brother, ravus.

she and ravus are older than regis in this au lol

the fleurets have always been in lucis since the old times, and because of this, tenebrae never existed

she’s been with noctis since he was a wee baby, and has been watching over him, helping him make his resonance stronger so he could be a fine shepherd once he’s taken over the throne

she also helped prompto build his resonance, because any niflheim refugee has almost zero resonance, and that means not seeing practically half of lucis’ population

in a fit of desperation, she becomes noctis’ prime lord instead of shiva

luna is a seraph of fire (SHOUT OUT TO LAILAH MY BEST MUM), blessed with bahamut’s mark and the ability to wield the void element. upon becoming shepherd, noct wields the power of kings and the ability to warp. its bahamut’s blessing and his mark.

THE SHEPHERD, MALEVOLENCE, AND THE POWER OF PURIFICATION

- the shepherd system in this au is different from zestiria, though it still borrows elements from it

there is always only one shepherd at a time, even though multiple shepherds is possible in this au, because the shepherd will always be the king of lucis

however, because there’s only one shepherd, squires are enormous in number. they’re scattered all over lucis to spread shiva’s blessing, all the while helping local seraphim become lords of the land in towns and villages, keeping the country prosperous.

squires aren’t just randomly picked, though. to be a squire, one has to be naturally gifted with resonance and a mental fortitude that can withstand malevolence. in short, squires are trained soldiers and the best of the best.

as time went by and the war against niflheim continue on, though, squires and seraphim defending the country are either killed off or become corrupted by too much malevolence that simply mental fortitude can’t handle, and instead of keeping lucis safe, it gets razed over by hellions instead. squires were then called back to insomnia, and shiva’s blessing is maintained in the crown city since then.

kingsglaive are regis’ squires to fight the war

instead of the starscourge, malevolence is the big issue in this au. malevolence is different from the starscourge in that it preys on people’s strong emotions, twisting them to be so negative until it consumes the victim and they become a literal monster.

the idea of malevolence is so broad, though, because it doesn’t simply means bad and evil. those with good intentions can still be corrupted by malevolence and those who’d done nothing but evil can remain pure. it also affects everything: people, animals, plants, your underwear.

purification can destroy malevolence without killing its victim. except for a dragon, purification can bring back anyone and anything plagued by malevolence.

the power of purification can only be wielded by the shepherd, the seraphim they have a contract to, and their squires. the seraphim who bestows the power of purification cannot wield the power alone; they need a shepherd to act as their conduit. not all seraphim can bestow the power of purification, either, only those blessed by the astrals and the astrals themselves can. so far, only luna is the only seraph who is not an astral can bestow the power of purification.

the ability to wield a certain element cannot be achieved by making contracts with seraphim who wields that element like in tales of zestiria. to wield seraphic artes of a certain element, the shepherd must go through an astral’s trial to be given their mark, thus allowing them to wield the element (aka noct still has to go through every astral’s trial like in the game to be able to wield the other elements: fighting titan to be able to wield earth-based seraphic artes, running a marathon for ramuh to wield lightning-based seraphic artes, etc. now imagine leviathan destroying altissia bc she doesn’t want noct to be able to wield water. what a bitch)

as extension from the one above ^ it’s practically impossible to wield fire-based seraphic artes because, well, you know. ifrit’s a fucking dragon.

- random note that i have no idea where to put: while people without resonance can’t see seraphim, everyone can see hellions, regardless of resonance.

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Summary:

this is the might of the old wall.

BOOM, FUCK. here we fucking go. it’s 4 am, and i don’t wanna touch this chapter anymore. good night Bros

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Summary:

nothing is free in capitalism.

behold, the most out of context and useless summary ever (then again, all summaries are quotes taken from the chapter itself. lol).

sixth chapter and the second chapter of the kingsglaive section of de novo! the kingsglaive section ended up being (HOPEFULLY) three chapters ;;u;;

based on @chocobaes‘ fateswap au <3

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FFXV/ZESTIRIA AU, PART 2 OF PART ONE: THE LORE

its 4 am and i started doing this yesterday at 2 am and im tired and im sorry if some parts dont make sense i will fix them when i wake up later I PROMISE

continuation of this, and in part 2 is the stuff i forgot to mention in the first post: niflheim, armatization, royal arms, ring of the lucii, and a few notes about the seraphim in eos. id talk about the lord of calamity here, but 1) i cant write anymore, and 2) its pretty obvious that the lord of calamity is ardyn. do i even have to talk about him? this is a legit question. id like some answers so i’d know if i can finally move on to My Boys(tm)

if i forget something again, i swear to god ill just eat my foot

@chocobaes LOL I GUESS HAVE SOME MORE OF THIS

THE EMPIRE OF NIFLHEIM AND HELLIONS (AND MALEVOLENCE AGAIN)

- a country which seeks world domination, the empire of niflheim is a technologically advanced nation, using it as a means to conquer the world. not very long ago, though, theyve found a way to mix technology with hellions, creating monsters of their own. with magitek troopers, they seek to finally take over lucis once and for all

its like telling people something they already know (if i have to be honest, im amazed at how much of ffxv’s lore perfectly fits with zesty’s lore. theyre meant to be.)

hellions are the monsters born from malevolence. there are different kinds of hellions depending on what they originally were before malevolence tainted them. common and weak hellions are merely animals and inanimate objects. humans and seraphim hellions are definitely stronger and trickier to defeat, because usually, these types of hellions can think and sometimes are actually conscious of their surroundings.

seraphim hellions, though, are very dangerous. comparable to a caterpillar’s transition to a butterfly (although unfitting lol), a seraph turned hellion has stages of metamorphosis. stage one is being another common hellion. when left unpurified, they evolve to a dragon or lizard-like form. stage three is when it evolves to a drake, a miniature dragon. at this point, the hellion is now insanely powerful that while it still can be purified, it poses a considerable challenge to do so. once it gathers enough power, the drake makes its nest to become a full fledged dragon. once a seraph becomes a dragon, it cannot be purified, and the only way to truly defeat it is to kill it, which is practically impossible with its overwhelming power and malevolent domain.

however, a seraph’s transformation to a dragon isn’t only just in 4 slow stages. drown a seraph in so much malevolence, they can turn to a dragon on the spot. a seraph travelling alone and without a vessel is practically suicide.

seraphim hellions, specifically dragons, are very powerful but uncontrollable, so niflheim can only keep a few dragons in their arsenal. they mass produce human hellions to be processed as magitek troopers instead

(guess who’s still suffering from the same past that makes him so insecure about himself and his place in lucis and makes him really susceptible to malevolence and unfit as a squire to serve noctis but he really, really wants to prove his place and usefulness and right to be beside his prince and

crucibles are places so thick in malevolence. once used by the ancient civilisation of solheim, they’re a means to convert victims to hellions. crucibles work best with seraphim, but they can also be used with humans. crucibles are the best places to mass produce hellions, and it just so happens that most of these crucibles are scattered all throughout niflheim.

ARMATIZATION

- a shepherd’s true mark as king of lucis. wielding the astrals’ power as theirs, the shepherd themselves can reshape eos. those clouded by their lack of faith may view the power the shepherd holds as that of a monster, but the shepherd must remain steadfast in their duty and must not be swayed; their role as protector of eos goes beyond that of mortal understanding

in addition to being able to wield seraphic artes of a certain element, upon completing the astrals’ trials, the shepherd is also blessed with the ability to wield the astrals’ overwhelming power, literally reshaping the land with their mighty powers

unlike in zestiria, only the shepherd is capable of doing this, and this is practically the equivalent of summons in this au

although, instead of a purple glow in their eyes during a summon, for the whole duration the shepherd is using armatization, they take on a more ethereal form, their hair longer and a pale shade of blond, wearing clothes of white and gold. god-like, the faithful say. a monster, the nonbelievers say.

the first time noct uses it, raining down lightning on the entire imperial base they infiltrated, prompto cant look away and gladio practically has to wrench him away from the battlefield just so he wouldnt get fried while oggling his best friend

though there’s no limit to how many times the shepherd could use armatization, it takes a lot from them, so it’s not used as often

THE DIVINE ARTEFACTS, THE ROYAL ARMS OF LUCIS

- once wielded by past kings and queens of lucis and now hidden across the world, they are weapons of power that only the shepherd can wield. blessed with purifying powers, they are the proof of covenant between a shepherd and their seraphim.

the royal arms have two functions: serving as the physical contract that binds the prime lord and sub lords to their shepherd, and serving as weapons for the king of lucis to wield

unlike in the game, the royal arms dont drain the shepherd’s life force, and they are the shepherd’s main weapons

what’s unknown by most though is that anyone is actually capable of wielding the royal arms and the armiger---so long as theyre shepherds blessed by bahamut or his proxy (luna).

having been contracted to luna instead, noct’s first weapon in his armiger is the trident of the oracle. had he contracted with shiva, as it was really meant, it would’ve been the sword of the father.

THE RING OF THE LUCII

- a ring bestowed by the gods to kings of lucis, and since then, it has been passed down from king to king. though what it is for is unknown, the kings of lucis have guarded this ring for generations, waiting for the day the ring’s purpose is finally put to light

no one knows why bahamut gave this to them, but it’s important, like end game important

no spoilers :^)

SERAPHIM

- a race of divine beings meant to be protectors of eos, they have the ability to bend the elements to their will. they are spiritual beings unseen to those without resonance, and so, in old times, they are mostly regarded as mere legends. when lucis is founded by the first shepherd, the seraphim are beckoned to live with the humans, and so, from legends, they’ve become one with humans, living with them in harmony.

seraphim, by default, dont have physical bodies. humans with little to no resonance can pass through them, but someone who can perceive them with no problem can easily touch them as if they have a physical body

every seraph specialises in one element only, and instead of hair colour, one can tell the element a seraph wields by a unique colour that encircles their irises. for example: luna, a fire a seraph, has brilliant blue eyes ringed with a fiery red colour; shiva, an ice seraph, has golden eyes ringed with an electric blue colour (her default form in this au is her form as gentiana); so on and so forth

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Summary:

tenebrae's prince is freaking weird.

new chapter abound! based on @chocobaes‘ fateswap au! i dont know what to say to this chapter other than prompto is a gay nerd

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Summary:

now that he's the oracle, he likes to think he has more other means to keep the fire going.

BAM! here, take it. after one month, i finally got around to finishing this baby (the chapter at least). all i had to do was go MIA in twitter. damn. don’t be like me, kids.

as usual, this is based off @chocobaes‘ fateswap au! thanks for the patience yall! lotsa kisses (chu chu!!)

---also, whazzat? it’s part one of a series? unreal.

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Summary:

Prompto's smile is still bright and radiant, and it's worth it.

Always worth it.

a fic inspired by @chocobaes fateswap au, with chapter 3 up! what can i say abt this chapter? hell, pain, hell, pain, pain, pain ,apnaslksdf

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Noctis startles himself awake, and he finds he’s in an unfamiliar room, nicely tucked in and comfortable. The room is familiar in a way that he knows he’s still in Altissia, with the intricate golden carvings on the walls and the blue and white colour scheme, but he doesn’t know where exactly he is. As in, whose house is this?

He’s confused for a moment; he has trouble recalling what happened that could possibly end with him in this bed. His body is sore, he’s really hungry, and when he sits up, someone stirs on the side of his bed, muttering something about rowdy chocobos. It’s when Noctis turns and sees the familiar mop of blond hair that it clicks.

That’s right: Leviathan and her shitty trial; Prompto and Ardyn and how that son of a bitch almost killed him---

Noctis closes his eyes, and he releases a shaky breath. He then opens his eyes again, and slowly, he reaches out to Prompto, who’s fast asleep on the edge of his bed, his face buried in his arms. Seeing him asleep like this, beside Noctis all this time, brings a warmth to his chest that Noctis knows only Prompto can ever do, and he allows himself a fond smile as he puts his hand on top of Prompto’s head, his fingers combing through golden locks.

He doesn’t say anything as Prompto slowly stirs awake, still running his hand through Prompto’s hair, and when Prompto halfheartedly swats at his hand, he chuckles softly.

“Rise and shine,” Noctis says, and his small smile widens just a little when Prompto finally opens his eyes and blinks at him.

“...I---oh. Holy shit.” Prompto immediately sits up in his chair, and Noctis raises his brows at him. “You’re awake?”

“I think so,” Noctis says with a small frown. “What do you think?”

Prompto snorts, and he lightly punches Noctis’ shoulder. “Ha ha,” he says, smiling, then he yawns and rubs his eyes for a second. “Do you even know how long you were out?”

“Enlighten me.”

“Two days, smartass.”

Noctis gapes at him. “Oh.” And Prompto laughs.

“That’s fine,” Prompto tells him. “As long as you’re okay.” Prompto studies him, blue eyes trailing from his face then downwards, as if looking for something, and he has to admit, he likes the attention. Prompto looks up at his face again. “You’re not hurting anywhere, are you?”

“No,” he says. “Sore, yeah. But nothing else.” He smiles shyly at Prompto. “Thanks to you.”

Prompto blinks, then he shakes his head. “It’s nothin’,” he mutters, looking down, and Noctis can practically count the freckles that pepper across his face. It makes Noctis realise how close they’ve gotten the past few minutes. “I mean,” Prompto continues, “I wouldn’t really know what I’d do if something were to happen to you, you know?”

Noctis stops at that, and he watches the way Prompto frowns: how his brows furrow slightly and how his lips curl downwards, his lower lip jutting out a little. Prompto looks up at him, blinks, and then he flushes. Oh.

“You could, you know,” Prompto says, looking down again. “Say something, instead of staring at me like that.”

“Can I kiss you?” Noctis blurts out without really thinking, and Prompto widens his eyes at him. His ears turn red, too, and he laughs.

“You are so smooth,” Prompto says, even though he’s just as red as Noctis thinks he himself is. “That’s why I love you.”

Before Noctis can say anything---probably something equally cheesy or embarrassing, he hasn’t really decided yet---Prompto holds his face between his hands, and Noctis doesn’t miss the way his hands feel: rough and calloused, and very gentle.

Prompto kisses him.