Bannerfall SMP AU where bf!Scott is the same as Empires 1!Scott
Except before the events of Empires.
He's told to give a fake story of being drafted, and explicitly forbidden to tell anyone that he's the prince of Rivendell. He claims to be half elf but in reality is just full elf only half one kind of elf and half another type. Everything else is true, his mother passed some time ago, his father passes not long after he arrives in the Blue Kingdom. His older sister, Lauren, is made Queen of Rivendell (starblings my beloved).
Obviously whatever happens in the rest of Bannerfall will affect how this could go, but I can see bf!Scott sacrificing his magic to save the kingdom.
Then embracing knight combat, maybe staying in Bannerfall for a while until Lauren spontaneously dies of some illness or maybe in some huge event that leads Scott to have to return home and rebuild Rivendell from the ground up. He shouldn't have magic anymore so it makes his sudden development of ice magic all the more terrifying, and the complete lack of control even worse because objectively, he should know how to control it. Gem trying to give advice is just things Scott had heard before and knows.
What if he relates a lot more with Katie, having an older sibling who was destined for greatness and being the younger who is kind of ignored. Maybe he sees Nom's efforts so much more because he's observed it in Lauren and never resented her for being the elder of the two. Maybe he relates to Cherri (and can never admit it) for being forced to leave their home kingdoms, and though he can't relate completely he can imagine and understand her position because he has a similar background.
And when Xornoth (who disappeared when Scott was really little and never got to know) returns, Scott is first thinking of Lauren, but also of Nom and Katie and hoping maybe this can be a happy reunion, and then of the many other (npcs) people whose families were split by the Blue and Red and who hated each other for it.
What about when Aeor speaks to him? What if he thinks of the Creaking King's words each time they entered the dungeon, or of the Mage God. Maybe when he's self isolating, he's wishing Mae or Graecie was there, because they always knew how to help him calm down, from the very beginning despite not knowing him that well.
Maybe Jimmy reminds him of Cam, maybe Gem reminds him of Mae, maybe little things everyone does reminds him of people who live so far away he can't ever visit because a king cannot be away for so long. Maybe Katherine smiles like Shan. Maybe Joel rolls his eyes like Graecie. Maybe Fwhip teases(ragebaits) like Nom.
Do you think his afterlife would be something different? Maybe not the blue kingdom, Rivendell is still his home. But maybe it's not just Xornoth and Jimmy, maybe Graecie (as an elf and therefore would still be alive) is there, maybe Lauren is still alive and is Queen (he never wanted to be King), maybe he meets the king consort, Bobby, who he never did meet as he was sent to Bannerfall before they were married and didn't come back until after they were killed.
Maybe the Prince and eventual King of Rivendell was once a simple flower mage, who just wanted to go home, but when the option seemingly was sealed off, he made the most of his new home. Only for him to be stripped away from it and thrust into a position of power far more permanent than his past experience in it, losing not only the last member of his blood family, but also the entire family he made in the home he didn't think he'd have to leave.
And more canon divergently,
What if in his self exile, Scott ran to Bannerfall? In hopes that the mages there would be able to help him get his ice magic under control like they once helped him harness his light and nature magic.
What if we get to see someone (pick your duo, Owain, Nom, Graecie, etc.) fight Xornoth for Scott and despite everything still win? What if we have 4C taunt Aeor and loophole Scott out of his forced destiny?
Or even more canon divergently / possible ending of Bannerfall,
If Nom (and probably Mae) dies / 4c is left alone, he goes with Scott to Rivendell because slimes have similar lifespans to elves (canon check?). Scott has a rogue bff who backs him up at every moment and also probably gets Fwhip to hate him on sight. 4c in Empires Season 1 anyone?
