Chapter Text
Eos was suffering; plagued by dark creatures that rose from the ground in the night, attacking all who crossed their path and spreading a horrific disease across the lands. A disease that was killing its people. This disease had become known as the 'Starscourge' and there was only one known cure. The crystal that protected the land of Lucis, previously known as Solheim, and a Ring it had forged, the power of which was harnessed by one man, and one man only; the crystal's chosen King. The King who had formed the Kingdom of Lucis under the direction of five of the Astrals; his work was under their blessing.
Only with the power of the Crystal, and the Ring could the Starscourge be purged. The King traveled across the country to heal his people, saving any and all that were brought to him by drawing the darkness of demons out of them, taking it all into himself. His only companions on his journey was his most trusted Shield, who had sworn his life to protect his King, and the Chocobos they traveled on. He was fine with this; his Kingdom was in the safe hands of his most trusted right-hand man. His own twin brother, whose love for his Kingdom was a perfect mirror of his own. Despite being 'young' in age in their 30's the brothers were hailed as just and fair rulers, kindness unsurpassed by any.
Perhaps that was why he was still awake late into the night, pouring over his research into these horrible daemons. He laid down his quill, reaching across the table to light a fresh candle as the previous one had almost withered away. Fire had so far been the only deterrent against these beasts, high walls and constant patrols doing little to ease the worries of the people. He gave a heavy sigh, leaning back in his chair and running a hand through his maroon hair in frustration. They had learned almost nothing of these creatures in the past few years; they had no idea how to purge them from the land. He leaned forward to shuffle through his papers, just one more time. Maybe this time he could-
"Majesty, you should be resting" He turned his gaze away to look up at the door as his Shield returned from yet another patrol.
"Spare me the pleasantries, Gilgamesh. It is only you and I" He said, turning back to his research.
"Ardyn, you're hardly going to be fit for travel without proper rest. We are due to return to the Kingdom as soon as we are able, and you won't be able without sleep"
"These monsters don't sleep, Gilgamesh. They merely hide away until darkness returns to Eos. Do we really have time to consider such a thing as sleep when people are disappearing?"
"How many times are we going to have this argument? You need sleep to be in top form to cure these people. There are people conducting the research based on our notes back home. So get to sleep, Ardyn" Gilgamesh folded his arms across his chest. Ardyn heaved another sigh, letting his papers fall down to turn to face him. Gilgamesh was a beast of a man; he stood easily at six foot seven, maybe more. Broad, firm muscles from years of vigorous training; a monster with a blade.
"I relent. This village has been settled as best as we can after all. They are more prepared to defend themselves, thanks to your direction"
"You speak too highly of me"
"Nonsense. Where would I be without you, Gilgamesh?"
"Probably still lost in Fociaugh Hollow" Gilgamesh smirked. Ardyn pouted playfully.
"You won't ever let me forget that, will you?" He muttered, pushing himself away from the table.
"Not as long as I live, your Majesty" He assured with an over-exaggerated bow to his King. When a harsh pounding sounded at the door, Gilgamesh straightened himself, his hand resting upon his sword nestled safely in its scabbard, ready to draw at any given moment. Ardyn moved away, stepping back across the room and drawing his own sword from thin air in a dazzling sparkle of red light.
"Help, please! Someone help!" Came a woman's voice from the other side of the door. Gilgamesh reached forward to tug it open, but was quickly catching the woman when she fell through the open door. Ardyn dismissed his weapon, rushing forwards to help Gilgamesh steady her.
Her front was covered in blood, oozing red and black from deep gashes across her torso. Her skin was deathly pale, turning grey and her veins staining black. Ardyn's brows knitted together in worry; her infection was already deep, it would be a fight to save her, if the wounds didn't kill her first.
"Gilgamesh, bring her inside"
"N-no... no, my son... my son!" She pleaded, bringing her hands up to cling desperately to Gilgamesh. "He can be saved, please, please" She continued, tugging desperately at Gilgamesh's armor. He looked to Ardyn, who looked hopelessly torn.
"Where is he...?" Ardyn asked.
"My wagon, I tried to save him, please..." She begged tearfully, holding on tighter when her knees gave out from under her. Gilgamesh eased her down carefully to sit against the wall inside their small residence.
"Bring him inside, Gilgamesh"
"Majesty-"
"We turn away no one" Ardyn knelt down next to the woman, reaching out to carefully lift her head and check her pulse. Her heart was struggling, the pulse fluttering under his fingers. "...I can't save you both" He mumbled. Her condition was dire, there was no chance of saving her by now. The infection had taken over, staining her eyes black and yellow. He was surprised there was even humanity left within her.
"Just... my son... Please..." Ardyn nodded faintly, looking up when Gilgamesh returned. Ardyn had expected a child; that was not what he faced now. He was probably in his twenties at most. The unconscious boy resembled his mother; blonde hair and pale, freckled skin. Trim figure and covered in blood. Ardyn stood and quickly cleared the table of papers and half-used candles, grabbing the nearest blanket to throw over it so that Gilgamesh could lay the boy down. There was a pained groan from the blonde as he was laid on his stomach to let Ardyn get to the horrible gash across his back.
He lifted his head to the sound of the woman choking on the thick black sludge rising up her throat. The infection was desperately taking hold of her; it wouldn't be long until she went mad with it. It had happened only once, and Ardyn was not wanting to see that again. "Gilgamesh..." He mumbled. The shield nodded faintly; he understood without needing to hear. She would not survive; she needed to be taken away from the village to avoid any mishaps.
"Please... It hurts... please... let his last memories of me... be of a mother that loved him... not this mess... please kill me" She begged, curling in on herself with a deep groan, one that didn't sound befitting of a woman; more like a pained daemon.
"Ardyn...?" Gilgamesh looked to him, but Ardyn couldn't lift his eyes from the boy for the moment. Gilgamesh could see him trembling, gripping the edge of the table tightly in his frustration. Ardyn grit his teeth... but there was nothing he could do. He walked around the table to kneel before the woman one last time, once more lifting her head to look at her.
"I will save your boy, I promise you. He will live to fulfill his life, to continue to grow into a fine man. I swear it" He assured her, using his thumbs to wash away the black tears that rolled from her eyes. Gilgamesh leaned down to gather her into his arms. His gaze had softened, but Ardyn could see the pain that lurked there because of what he was about to do to her; he hated this just as much as Gilgamesh did. "It will be over quickly" Ardyn said, rising to his feet to return to the table. He couldn't look back as he heard the door close behind them.
He reached forward to tear away the ruined shirt from the boy's back. A single deep gash ran from his left shoulder down to his right hip, gaping wide and showing muscle and fat underneath. The blood was stained with black, but the grey had not yet begun to dull his skin, nor had the black begun to travel through his veins. There was time; he could save the boy.
He carefully laid his hands on either side of the wound, a soft red glow enveloping them as the ring he wore on his right middle finger glowed white, drawing power from the Crystal. The black sludge that was bleeding from his wound began to bubble and move, sliding across pale skin to meet with Ardyn's hands. It climbed up onto his hands, sliding up his arms and under his sleeves like a living being. Ardyn took in a deep breath and held it as the ache began on his skin, tingling at first before developing into a sharp pain, like needles in his skin. He grit his teeth, lowering his head as his own eyes changed into the black and yellow that he had seen in the woman moments ago.
He let the breath out when he couldn't hold it any longer, panting until the pain dulled down into a tingle again. His eyes slowly returned to their normal color. When he looked back to the boy's wound, the blackness within it was gone; the scourge was purged from his small, pale body. He closed his eyes when a wave of dizziness came over him and he felt himself tipping to the side; but firm arms wrapped around him before he could fall.
"Ardyn... I think it's about time you slept" Gilgamesh said, pulling Ardyn's arm around his shoulder to hold him upright.
"I need to stitch the wound" Ardyn argued quietly, forcing his eyes to open again.
"I can manage that much, you've exhausted yourself these last few days. I'm going to get you into bed"
"No... let him take the bed, put me somewhere else" He insisted. Gilgamesh wanted to argue, but he knew it would be fruitless. He helped Ardyn move across the room to the nearest bench. He grabbed a fur blanket with his free hand to drape it across the bench before helping Ardyn to lay down on it. He lifted Ardyn's legs up onto the bench and left him for just a moment, returning to slide a pillow under his head and drape a blanket over him; Ardyn was already sleeping.
It was often hard for Gilgamesh to watch Ardyn taking in these demonic infections; they caused him pain, discomfort and pushed his limits to exhaustion. But his King was a selfless man; he had never once heard him complain about the pain. Perhaps that was why he had agreed to become his protector after Ardyn had saved his life. For now he returned to his current task of caring for the boy. He gathered a rag and a pail of water from the well behind the small house they were occupying and used them to clean the blood that was starting to dry on the boy's skin. The rag was ruined by the end of it, but the boy had not stirred. He gathered Ardyn's box of medical supplies and carefully stitched the wound closed. He would pause if the boy moved or moaned, but he remained asleep. Finally, he gathered him into his arms and took him to Ardyn's bed. There was nothing more he could do for either of them, but stand guard until the morning broke. Tomorrow, he would build a grave for the boy's fallen mother.
Gilgamesh was surprised at how attentive Ardyn was to the boy; Ardyn was always caring of his patients, but never had he fussed over one quite so much as the blonde, who after two days was still sleeping comfortably on Ardyn's bed. When Ardyn had woken well into the following afternoon, he had taken it upon himself to work his magic across the wound on the boy, the daemon-cleaning magic replaced with a more gentle healing magic; one he had only seen Ardyn use a few times in the past few years of following him; once on him after a particularly violent fight with some local wildlife. Ardyn much preferred to let wounds mend naturally and was content to let the boy rest, despite his constant mutterings about how scrawny and small he was and what kind of food he would be needing.
The wound across the boy's back was almost fully healed, now shallow enough that Ardyn had removed the stitches in place of some simple gauze and bandages. Every few hours he would return to the room to roll the boy from one side to his other so his limbs didn't get stiff.
All mention of returning home had been ignored. Ardyn was completely unwilling to leave the boy in someone else's care, even though this small village did have its own doctor. Gilgamesh had sent word of their delay back home to Somnus, assuring him that they were safe and well so the man wouldn't come looking for them. That wouldn't be a first.
So it was no surprise to Gilgamesh that as soon as the boy let out a groan, Ardyn was out of his chair and at the side of the bed to check his pulse and temperature; this time the fussing seemed to be rousing some consciousness out of the boy. "Gilgamesh, some water please" Ardyn ordered. Gilgamesh nodded, pushing away from the wall to go fulfill the order. Ardyn carefully brushed his fingers through blonde hair, moving it out of the boy's face just in time for violet-blue eyes to crack open. They closed again with a grumble, before trying again and finding success. "Good morning" Ardyn greeted softly. The boy blinked a few times, turning his head to look around the barely furnished room.
"Wh-where... am I?" He asked, bringing a hand up to cover a cough at the strain of his throat. That was when Gilgamesh returned with a glass of water, pressing it into the boy's hand but holding it steady while he eased himself up to drink from it.
"A small village west of the Kingdom. You were heavily wounded" Ardyn explained, sitting himself down on the edge of the bed. "You've been unconscious for a few days, you're going to need to rest to fully recover, but I've cured the worst of your ailments" He assured. "What is your name?" He asked. The boy looked between Ardyn and Gilgamesh for a few moments, confusion in his gaze.
"U-umm... I'm Prompto. And... and who are you?" He asked. Ardyn and Gilgamesh shared a look for just a moment before Ardyn looked back to Prompto.
"I am Ardyn, and this is my assistant, Gilgamesh. Where are you from?" Ardyn asked. They had not yet met anyone who didn't know who the King of this land was.
"O-oh, umm..." Prompto shifted himself a little to sit up, flinching a little when Ardyn reached forward to help him, but allowing the man to tuck pillows behind him to make his seating more comfortable. "I'm from overseas. Our land is ravaged with cold and famine... we stowed away on a fishing boat, hoping we might find a better life here but..." He stopped himself, looking around the room again. "Where's my mother?" He asked, a slight tone of panic taking hold of his voice.
"I need to know what happened to you" Ardyn said, not yet wanting to approach that subject.
"We were attacked. I dunno what that thing was but it was... it was like a giant statue or something? It just came out of the ground and scared the Spiracorn we had attached to the wagon. We... we couldn't get around it. I don't really remember much. Just... it had this... this huge sword. I remember pain across my back but nothing else... please, where is my mother?" He asked again desperately, looking between the two men.
Ardyn looked at Gilgamesh again; how were they supposed to explain it? Gilgamesh heaved a sigh, stepping up to stand at the end of the bed, arms folded across his chest. "Your mother got you here to us in time, but she was heavily wounded. We couldn't save her" He explained as softly as he could.
Prompto was shaking, his hands clenching tightly in the blankets as his gaze lowered to them. "B-but... she... I don't understand... I took the hit, she should be okay... I told her to go!" He screwed his eyes shut when the first tears dropped onto his hands, barely suppressing a hitched sniffle. Ardyn reached out to lay a hand over Prompto's.
"I'm sorry... but if you expected your mother to run and leave you there to die... A mother's love takes priority in those moments. You sitting here, alive, is all she pleaded for. She wanted you to remember her that way, as a mother who loved her child" He explained gently.
Prompto curled in on himself with a pained moan, drawing up his knees a little when the sniffles turned into full sobs and desperate tears. Ardyn shuffled closer quickly, drawing the man against his chest and letting him crumble there. He felt hands clench into the back of his jacket tightly, Prompto letting himself bury his face against Ardyn's shoulder and let it all out. They stayed like that until Prompto had nothing more to give, exhausted and emotionally drained.
"W-where... where is she?" He asked into Ardyn's shoulder.
"Gilgamesh laid her to rest peacefully. We can take you there, if you feel up to moving" Ardyn offered and he felt Prompto nod against his shoulder. Ardyn moved first, but held onto Prompto's arms as he slid himself to the edge of the bed, holding him steady when he tried to stand. Prompto's legs were shaking, features twisting in discomfort as he likely noted his own injury was still sore. Regardless, Ardyn slowly let go as he found his balance.
They followed Gilgamesh out the back of the house, towards the edge of a small garden. The soil was still upturned where Gilgamesh had buried her; the grave had been marked with a single stake, brilliant blue flowers tied to it in respect for the life she gave to save her own child. It was the best they could give her in this small village; there would be no headstone or anything to permanently memorialize her life, but to Prompto it was more than enough.
He knelt down on the dirt, digging his fingers in slightly. "M-mom... I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry" He cried, a few fresh tears falling into the dirt. "I love you mom... I love you so much. I won't let you down, I promise. I'll... I'll fulfill our dreams for us both. Just keep watching over me" He mumbled, falling silent and closing his eyes; he prayed to whatever force was out there to ensure his mother's safe passage to whatever came after death. He'd never even considered what that might be before.
He didn't know how long he knelt there, but his back was stiff and the ache was growing steadily worse. He lifted his head, looking around for the two men; but they weren't at his side. Turning around, he spotted them in the doorway to the house where they had retreated to give him privacy. He rose up on shaky legs with a little difficulty to walk back to the house. They both stopped talking to look to him.
"I... I wanted to thank you... for what you did for her" He mumbled, his limbs shaking from exertion. Ardyn stepped forward, shrugging his jacket off and wrapping it around Prompto's shoulders.
"It was the least we could do for her... come inside, you're much too thin to be standing out here in naught but your pants and some measly bandages" He ushered Prompto inside to the bed once more and Prompto didn't resist, letting himself be led and settled there.
"That thing that attacked us... it was unlike anything I've ever seen before. What was it?" Prompto asked, looking up at Ardyn as the maroon haired man settled the blankets back over him. He looked troubled by the question, and Prompto wondered if he should have even asked.
"A terrible beast that survives only in darkness. Not unlike the daemons in tales of old. Our land has been plagued by many of them in different forms. The one you encountered sounds like the beast we have called an 'Iron Giant'. These creatures seem to only know how to kill, but any who have escaped death have been plagued with a terrible disease. It overruns the body entirely, causing nothing but pain and suffering" Ardyn explained, dragging a stool closer to sit beside the bed.
"And my mother... died from that?" Prompto asked cautiously, but Ardyn was quick to shake his head.
"No, your mother's wounds are what took her life. The infection had not taken hold of her yet" He lied. He didn't need to cause the boy any further pain. "Gilgamesh, could you prepare some food? It's been a while since our guest has eaten" He asked. Gilgamesh bowed slightly, leaving them to talk.
"How am I alive...? If survivors get this disease... shouldn't I be dead too?" Prompto asked.
"Ah... I... I have been granted a special power by an ancient Crystal that guards this land. It allows me to purge the disease. It hadn't yet seeped into your veins, so I was able to rid you of it before it could take hold. Gilgamesh tended to your wound, but you've been unconscious for two days" Ardyn explained, receiving a small nod as Prompto processed everything he'd just learned. Perhaps leaving his country had been a bad idea after all, but a deep grumble from his stomach reminded him that they probably would have starved to death there. The sound of his stomach earned a small chuckle from Ardyn and caused a flush to form under Prompto's freckles.
"Sorry... it's uh... it's been a while" Prompto explained vaguely, but Ardyn merely nodded.
"We'll get some meat back on your bones and help you get settled here. I'm sure the people of this village would be more than happy for you to remain here"
"R-Really? Just like that? Even though I'm... an outsider?" Prompto asked in disbelief.
"Of course. We accept all in Lucis. I shall give you this home so you can tend to your mother's grave"
"But what about you?"
"I cannot stay long. As the only person able to rid people of this disease, I am needed across the lands. I cannot leave my people to fend for themselves" Ardyn explained. He watched the way Prompto's brows knitted together, before his eyes widened a little in realization, and Ardyn was suddenly very aware of his slip of the tongue.
"W-wait... YOUR people? A-are you...?" He gasped when he suddenly figured it out. "You're the Miracle King?! I've heard people talking about you all over the place! They say that you travel the country healing with just your touch like some kind of god! Is it true? Can you really do that?" He asked quickly. Ardyn lifted a hand to scratch the back of his head, giving a sort of lop-sided smile.
"Umm... well not quite. It's hardly a 'miracle'. My power is granted to me by the Crystal, it could have chosen anyone for such a task. Although I am honored to have been chosen of course, but tales of my travels far outweigh truth. I am merely trying to help my people. I am no less human than anyone else, certainly not a God of all things. That power belongs only to the Astrals" Ardyn explained. He hated it when people tried to hail him like a God; he was just a man, he didn't want that sort of attention.
"Man, it's no wonder I'm not dead if you're the one who took care of me. Damn. I guess it was pretty good luck that we happened across you" Prompto said, leaning back into his pillows, but he quickly sat up again. "Am I in your bed?!"
"Calm yourself, Prompto. You shouldn't move so suddenly, your injury is not completely healed yet. You need to rest for now" Ardyn insisted, standing up to push on Prompto's shoulders and gently ease him back down.
"Oh god I am, aren't I?"
"At my request, yes. And this is where you shall stay until you are healed, do you understand?"
"Y-yes. I feel okay though, I can move, really!"
"Nonsense. I have some matters to attend to anyway, you are causing no trouble staying where you are. Gilgamesh will bring you some food, then you should rest some more" Ardyn insisted, standing straight. "I'll have him find you some more appropriate clothing before we return home. I'm afraid I had to ruin your shirt, and I will be needing that jacket back eventually" He said as he crossed the room to the door.
"W-well you can ta-"
"Hold onto it for now. Rest easy, Prompto"