An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 1/2
Fandom: Final Fantasy XV
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Cor Leonis/Nyx Ulric
Characters: Nyx Ulric, Cor Leonis
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Swearing, Threats of Violence, but its mostly nyx being dramatic, Galahdian Culture (Final Fantasy XV), Mild Blood, Aggression, Emotional Constipation, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Crush, NyxWeek2022, Chronic Pain, Cultural Differences
Series: Part 3 of NyxWeek2022
Summary:
Nyx loves a good storm, he really does. But the lead up? Not so much. Dealing with the pains of an incoming storm has always left him feeling on edge, but in Insomnia, relief is a lot harder to come by.
Summary: Nyx and his unit struggle to find shelter from an unnaturally relentless storm. They have wounded, and luckily find shelter in a hidden cave. The glaives bed down in soft moss for the night. Nyx takes watch. The cave watches back.
“We have to get to base NOW!” Libertus roared over the howling wind. He struggled through the scrubby underbrush, driving rain forcing the soft dirt into treacherous muck.
“I’m trying, asshole! You try wayfinding in this!” Nyx yelled, fighting the brush back to allow Libertus and their unit through. Nyx cursed their luck. They should have had time to retreat before this storm hit. Growing up in a rainforest governed by Ramuh and Coeurl spirits made sure they knew exactly how to estimate wind speed by sight. The dusty plains of Duscae only got rolling storms a few times a year- something was off. Like the storm was herding them to something.
They had to get shelter soon. The demolition job they did was rough- shrapnel and wayward magitek had ruined plans at every turn. Luche and Axis supported Tredd between them. Shrapnel had sliced by when his explosives went too early, not letting him get to minimum safe distance in time. The Glaives needed to get his injuries checked in drier conditions- they were not life threatening now, but could be if infection set in. Crowe and Pelna flanked the group- ensuring they were not being followed by magitek or beasts both.
Nyx surged on through the muck. Rocky outcroppings began to pop up more and more from the deluge. There had to be a cave or opening in one. He had to find shelter for his unit. They could not go much further.
There- a crack in the middle of a huge chunk of rock. It was as if the rock split from the ground up, halfway up the face, yawning open. Nyx paused, there was not enough seismic activity in the area for that to be possible. A sinkhole? Would they get stuck inside? What would have the strength to split rock from the ground up? The howling of the storm gave them little choice.
Nyx carefully entered the crevasse with lightning dancing in his hands, weapon and light source all the same. The crack opened into a full meandering cave. Water channeled through the rock had eaten a cave into the stone. Moss lined the walls and floor, drinking the beads of rain slowly trickling down. Large stalactites drooped down lazily from the ceiling, some forming large pillars to the floor. Nyx stopped to take in the view, urging the lightning to surge to see further. Libertus barged in, whistling at the view, and chuckling at the resulting echo. The others filed in after, shaking off the rain.
“Our comms won’t reach the main company in this rock. We stay here. Pelna, Nyx, and Axis- scout the cave. Crowe, help me with Tredd.” Luche barked into the gloom. The glaives snapped to action.
The cave twisted and turned in a few corners, but it was secure. No daemons or other things hiding in the corners. A freshwater stream sunk into an underground river in the side of the cavern- safe to drink with a quick flash boil of magic. Crowe cast a bit of magic, trying to dry the moss for a bed. The moss steamed.
Crowe frowned, and sent more magic towards it. The moss refused to burn, but dried into a plush fluff. Confusing, but good enough for her. Luche lowered Tredd onto the nest of moss. The redhead sunk into it gratefully, shedding his soaked armor and coat to check his bandages. Not bleeding anymore, but would need a proper cleaning soon. Crowe knelt next to the Furia, applying the last salve they had to his torn skin and rebandaging the wounds. Tredd sighed happily and flopped back onto his nest.
Crowe and Luche turned towards approaching footsteps.
“The cave is secure, water is uncontaminated and drinkable upon boiling. No sign of any life other than us and all this moss.” Nyx reported. Luche nodded to himself and motioned for Crowe to make beds for the others.
“Bed down until the morning?” Libertus asked, sinking onto a fluffy mound. Again, Luche nodded, seeming suddenly exhausted. Nyx noticed, and stepped forward.
“I’ll take first watch. Libs and I can switch in four hours.”
“No, you have been working hard enough, I can-” Luche’s response was cut off with a yelp as Libertus tugged the blonde down into the moss with him.
“Says the man running harder than all of us to keep us alive.” Libertus muttered, leaning on the squirming Lazarus. The other glaives grinned in the dark as the two glaives wrestled in the foliage.
Tredd looked up from his spot, trying to focus on the cave ceiling.
“Hey, guys.”
The wrestling match drowned him out.
“Guys.”
Luche squawked under the bulk of Libertus’s weight.
“Guys….Seriously.”
“Yes Tredd?” Nyx piped up, walking over to the redhead.
“Am I crazy, or are there stars on the cave ceiling?”
Everyone paused and looked up. Tredd was maybe crazy, but not delusional. Tiny greenish yellow points of light were indeed on the cave ceiling. How did they not notice sooner? Pelna cocked his head and drew a knife. With a flash of crystalline smoke he warped up and sunk his blade into the cave wall.
“What are they?” Nyx called.
“Tiny bioluminescent fungi. Taking pics now.”
Pelna warped down and showed the screen. Looked like an ordinary inky cap, but much smaller and much more glowy. Nyx hummed thoughtfully. Like something in a fairy tale. He settled against the cave wall near his unit into his watch. The others chatted quietly as they claimed nests of their own.
A mushroom started to glow softly above Tredd, lower on the cave wall. The redhead suddenly could not keep his eyes open and slumped down into his hollow in the moss. It pulsed gently in rhythm to the Furia's heart. The glaives continued on obliviously.
“Not the worst place we have crashed in. And hey! Pretty too. Not a bad ending to a particularly shitty day.” Libertus elbowed Luche. The blonde huffed, and turned to glance around as the commanding officer should. All were accounted for, Nyx had watch, and all was well until his gaze landed on Tredd. Luche cocked his head in confusion. There was no way he was out that fast. They were talking a minute ago. Libertus paused and followed his gaze. The Ostium rose and strode over to Tredd.
"Tredd? You ok?" No answer.
Libertus knelt and shook his shoulder gently. No response. Breathing normally. He laid a hand on the man's forehead- temperature was normal. A quick touch to the redhead's neck confirmed a steady pulse. His bandages were dry, not bleeding through. The other glaives watched in growing concern.
"Asleep. Guess he was more exhausted than we thought."
"Huh. Good. Might actually have some peace tonight. That firebrain never gives me any of that." Luche suddenly snickered.
Nyx raised an eyebrow, as did the others. Luche stretched indulgently in his hollow between libertus and Crowe, yawning massively. A mushroom began to flicker brighter above the blonde's head.
"You ok, Luche?" Crowe asked.
"Mhmm…out of the rain, in a pretty spot…with friends… S'comfy.. "
Crowe scootched over as the blonde slurred his words.
"Oh really? Are you feeling ok?"
"Yeah…feels…safe with you guys…" Luche sighed, snuggling up to Crowe. The mage paused and watched in dismay as the second in command of the kingsglaive fell slack against her. She shook him and had no response. Just soft breaths. She gently rolled him off of her and stood, looking at Libertus in dismay. Above the sleeping vice captain the mushroom glowed warmly to the beat of his heart.
“Anyone else mildly creeped out? Or is it just me?” Crowe stated, shifting closer to Libertus and Pelna.
“Just a tad.” Pelna breathed, waving Nyx over.
“So. Not that I’m not glad those two are getting some rest. But. Um. Neither of those two are light sleepers. This is creepy.” Libertus stated, glancing around. Tredd, Luche, and Axis were sleeping soundly. Wait. Axis?
“Arra!” Libertus started, spotting a dark ball next to Tredd. They rushed over, finding him curled up in a loose ball, deeply asleep.
The glaives paced. The cave was empty. Only the pacing of the conscious glaives and the soft trickling of water filled the air. More fungi illuminated the cave, creeping very close now.
Pelna plopped down next to Crowe. She checked Luche’s pulse- purposefully being a little rough to rouse him. Heartbeat was steady. Even when she tickled his neck- no response. Not even a twitch. Pelna sighed and tied his hair back. Drastic measures were needed. The Khara braced himself to take a hit and roared a battlecry next to the vice captain’s ear. It echoed across the rocky space but Luche still slept on. Spots of light popped up challengingly very close now.
Nyx had no idea what to do. They could not go out into the storm with three of their unit down with something. Libertus paced with him. Was it sickness? Poison? There was no way this was simple exhaustion. But what could they do?
Pelna flopped down next to Luche in frustration. He looked up at the cave ceiling and tried to remember what his mahir taught him about herbology and botany. Mosses were simple plants. Good for bandaging with some species, general marker species for the health of the water supply nearby. The mushrooms were an interesting point of thought, but probably not the cause. They had not ingested the fungi, nor had they breathed in any spores, that he could tell. Pretty through. Very pretty…Pelna sighed, snuggling into Luche. He just had to close his eyes for a moment. Just a few seconds. Then he could figure this out…
Nyx snarled as he watched Pelna slump into Luche’s side. Three left. Crowe pounced on the young glaive, shaking him viciously. Nothing. She lowered him back against Luche’s still form.
“What the ahtarii are we going to do here?” Libertus roared. Crowe threw her hands up, kneeling at the nestside of her brothers at arms.
“Keep moving. Don’t fall asleep. Something is wrong here.” Nyx ordered, quickly pacing the row of downed glaives. Libertus and Crowe nodded, standing and pacing as well. They eyed the shadows suspiciously, darting from the cave to their sleeping friends.
Crowe tripped on the slick cave floor, the remnants of a mushroom smearing under her boot. She crashed down between Tredd and Pelna. The springy moss enveloped her merrily. Soft lights winked down at them.
“You ok?” Libertus called.
“Yeah. Slippery. Watch your step.” Crowe tried to rise and paused to look at the cave walls. Her body relaxed against her will. She just needed a moment. That was it. Just a moment. They had been walking and fighting for the past 32 hours. She could have a moment.
Libertus roared and warped to her, catching her as she slumped to the ground.
“What the fires is this?!” He growled, checking and rechecking her pulse and breathing.
“Do I look like I know? Just keep moving. No stopping. And watch your step.” Nyx resumed his pacing with wild intent. Libertus cracked a potion over Crowe. The vial shattered into golden sparks and sunk into the still mage. No response. No damage healed because no damage was taken.
Libertus shot to his feet- or tried to. The glaive slid on the slick rock floor. Nyx’s shout was lost in his warp, tackling his hunting brother in a wild catch before he could fall all the way. They both ended up breathing hard on their knees facing a wall of comforting luminescent mushrooms. Libertus drooped suddenly- taking them both back into the soft moss.
“Wake up! Something is wrong! Libertus!” The man in question muttered something, wrapping a strong arm around Nyx’s waist and squishing him into the springy foliage.
Nyx snarled and looked desperately for the threat. The lights winked happily. He had to resist. Warmth radiating from his best friend. There had to be grave danger! It felt so good to be off his feet and laying down. He was the last one awake. The adrenaline fading to exhaustion. Can’t sleep. Nodding off, muscles relaxing, thoughts drifting…
Sunlight woke Nyx up. He blinked against the light, groggily sitting up. The rest of his unit packed in a pile against his back. They lay against the side of the massive rock from yesterday, but it was whole. No crack split the middle. No entrance. Luche grumbled and sat up, rubbing his eyes against the morning sun. He looked blearily at Nyx, who looked blearily back.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Fandom: Final Fantasy XV
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationship: Cor Leonis/Nyx Ulric
Characters: Nyx Ulric, Libertus Ostium, Pelna Khara, Crowe Altius, Luche Lazarus, Tredd Furia, Iris Amicitia,
Additional Tags: NyxWeek2022, Time Travel, The Long Night
Summary:
A magiteck mishap lands Nyx and six other glaives seven years in the future, in the middle of the Long Night. They think they know how to get home, but every step leads to more complications and revelations. TBC
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 2/2
Fandom: Final Fantasy XV
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Cor Leonis/Nyx Ulric
Characters: Nyx Ulric, Cor Leonis
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Swearing, Threats of Violence, but its mostly nyx being dramatic, Galahdian Culture (Final Fantasy XV), Mild Blood, Aggression, Emotional Constipation, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Crush, NyxWeek2022, Chronic Pain, Cultural Differences, Misunderstandings, hugging it out, Slow Burn, this burn is so slow its still just barely a kindling by the end because this is a multipart series, Canonical Character Death, Mentioned Titus Drautos | Glauca, (he's the dead one), (that's not a spoiler)
Series: Part 3 of NyxWeek2022
Summary:
Nyx loves a good storm, he really does. But the lead up? Not so much. Dealing with the pains of an incoming storm has always left him feeling on edge, but in Insomnia, relief is a lot harder to come by.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Summary:
It's been well over a decade since Galahd was ravaged in a merciless onslaught of mechanized soldiers and twisted magic, over a decade since Nyx and his people relocated to the heart of Lucis, and yet even so coming home to Insomnia still doesn't feel right.
Rather, it feels like something has wrapped its terrible claws around him, squeezing until it feels like he can't breathe, like his ribs might crack from the force of it.
It's all the metal and technology that causes the choking feeling, he thinks; it's the steel skyscrapers that sprout from the ground and dominate the skyline, and the sleek cars that go careening down the cracked asphalt streets, and the hundred thousand other modern and metal things that itch and burn and clash against the very core of who and what he is. What every Galahdian is.
[Written for Day 3 of Nyx Week 2022, for the prompt 'fae'.]
Nyx barely got any rest before he was put to work. Marshall Leonis brought him straight to the King’s bedroom where he was shown the little footage of the intruder the crownguard had been able to find.
There was very little to see, barely more than the outline of a person moving through a courtyard. The only thing it provided Nyx was an idea of how tall the intruder was, around 5’9. He turned his attention to the room itself, carefully tracking down the route the intruder took to infiltrate the room.
The intruder had come and left via a condemned servant’s passage, easy to spot now that it was open. The dust was moved but didn’t have any tracks despite it being the only way to have gotten in and out without alerting the guards. Nyx took half a step into the passage before raising his foot to look at the trace. In the thick dust was the clear outline of his boot, which meant that somehow, the intruder had used the passage without touching the floor.
Or the walls, which were covered by the same thick coat of dust.
Nyx entered the passage, scrunching his nose at the thick dust thrown up with every step, as he carefully looked for traces of someone passing through. He found nothing except dust and spiders. Up until he came across a single outline of a hand on the wall.
Nyx frowned at the very out of place mark, especially when the rest of the passage was untouched. It felt purposeful and Nyx’s gut had him moving to touch it before he was conscious of it.
The wall opened without a sound, revealing a stair leading downwards. The same instinct, one that Nyx was starting to recognize since Crowe pointed it out to him, that had made him open the door was now calling him down. So he did, slowly descending the stairs until it came to a stop, another handprint marking the door among plain walls. Nyx’s breath stopped when that door opened to reveal the last room he had expected to end up in.
The Crystal of Lucis stood in its housing, shedding light from within its confining and filling the room with magic. It was so strong that Nyx could taste it on his tongue, and it felt…. familiar. Not in the borrowed magic from the King way, rather in a more intimate way, one that buzzed in his bones.
He had taken a few steps closer before he noticed something else. By the base of the Crystal was the Ring, resting unattended on the stone floor. “What in Ramuh’s beard?” Nyx murmured as he went to pick it up. However, the moment he touched the cold Ring, the floor dropped beneath him and Nyx found himself standing in a sea of stars.
Looking at a very scarred, older image of himself. “Do you remember now?” That Nyx asked with a slight smile.
