Prompto Argentum (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
hashtag_chocobro) wrote2022-05-31 04:47 am
hashtag_chocobro) wrote2022-05-31 04:47 am
Around Duscae, Eos; Tuesday [05/31 FT].
"I still can't believe it," said Prompto, rubbing his eyes after another long night of picking at the communicator followed by a too-early, too bright morning, still with no news of the Regalia. "I mean, shouldn't the car have turned up by now?
"We should wait until Cindy's done asking around the local garages before we despair," Ignis offered, all but sighing into his can of Ebony.
"Let's not fool ourselves," Gladio shook his head. "The Empire has it."
"So where does that leave us?" Prompto asked, brow furrowed, because there they stood. No car. No way to contact anyone outside of Eos. Not a lot of money. No home. Blockades everywhere….
"Stranded," Ignis confirmed succinctly. "Awaiting word from Hammerhead."
"In the meantime," said Gladio, "we'll just have to hoof it. Maybe we should head south; see how the roads are on the way to the Cape, if we'll have a lot of Imperial interference or not.""
"Not much else we can do," Noctis muttered, in quiet, almost complaining, definitely exhausted consent.
But just as he said it, something caught Prompto's eye with a burst of excitement. Maybe even a little hope. "Look!" he called out, pointing with one hand as the other reached for Noct's shoulder to get his attention. "It's Umbra!"
Sure enough, sitting patiently a few feet away as if waiting for them to finish their conversation, was a slightly shaggy dog, with dark fur and bright, intelligent eyes. One of Lady Lunafreya's faithful companions, the one that frequently acted as messenger, especially between Luna and Noctis. But when Noctis moved toward the dog and the others followed, Umbra just kept moving away, a clear indication that he wanted to be followed. They chased after him, deeper into the woods surrounding the chocobo post, until they were a bit away from the crowds, and where a tall, pale woman with long dark hair and flowing robes suddenly stood waiting, where no one had been before.
"...Gentiana," Noctis greeted her with surprise.
"Hear me, O King of the Stone," she replied, her head bowed, eyes closed, voice soft and slightly lilted. "By the Stormsender's blessing will the path to the Stone be opened. The Oracle goes hence in her King's name."
"Luna," Noctis realized with urgency. "Where is she now?"
"The Eye of the Storm," Gentiana replied. "When the covenant is forged, the Oracle and the Ring shall await their King at the Walls of Water. Stray not from the path."
Noctis ducked his head, breathing out to interpret these cryptic words, and when he looked up again, like a wisp of air, Gentiana was already gone.
"What…" Prompto stammered, looking between Noctis and the space where Gentiana had only just seconds ago stood. "What was that all about?"
"She's a Messenger," Ignis explained. "A spirit faithful to the Oracle."
Prompto shook his head a little. Even with everything he'd experienced in Fandom, and even here back at Eos so far, he couldn't help but asking, "For real?"
"We're going well beyond real now, pal," Gladio offered with a grunt.
Noctis, meanwhile, had knelt down in front of Umbra, searching his collar for the small, slim book that he'd last seen back at the pitstop for Cindy on their way to Galdin Quay, the one in which he and Lunafreya had sent messages to each other ever since they they children. Desperately, eagerly, hopefully, with a knot of dread in his stomach, he flipped through the pages, looking for anything recent, anything new, that Luna might have added to it since that last time. And when he found it, he nearly gasped out, his hand hovering over the letters as if he was afraid they'd disappear.
My prayers are with you, Noctis.
Relief washing over him, he gave a soft smile, and then wrote back:
I received the blessing. Thank you, Luna.
"Let Luna know," he then told Umbra, as he tied the notebook back to his collar, "I'm okay, and she won't have to wait much longer. We'll be together soon."
Prompto turned away. What he wouldn't give for a way to say the same thing to Liz right then…and as he turned, he felt Ignis' hand on his shoulder. Light, but reassuring. A small squeeze. Not much, nothing more than that, but it was…something, and he looked up to catch his eye and remembered that he wasn't entirely alone in this.
"Lady Lunafreya," Ignis then said, his hand falling away from Prompto's shoulder to adjust his glasses as he turned toward Noctis, "has done well to keep the Ring from falling into enemy hands."
With that, the rumble of thunder pulled their attentions up, toward the previously cloudless sky now heavy with thick black clouds that had moved in while that spoke with Gentiana. The rain was soon to follow, eliciting a groan of complaint from Prompto. "Great," he said, "and now it's raining. Perfect."
"We have had remarkably good weather so far," Ignis noted, as if they scarcely complain when it had not rained on them more often.
But Noctis just shook his head. "This isn't a normal storm," he said. "Gentiana told me something else, gave me a vision, while we spoke. This is what she meant when she said the Stormsender. The Fulgarian is here."
"The Fulgarian?" asked Ignis, his interest peaked. "Ramuh. Another Astral."
"And no doubt another blessing," Gladio noted.
"Another day," Prompto sighed, "another deity."
And with that, they entered the storm.
Well, they moved toward it, anyway, following the intense bolts of lighting that were sent down from the heavens, concentrating in very specific spots around the area. Runes of Ramuh, petrified and twisted trees, of which there were three that they had to find, and, when Noctis laid his hand upon them, he felt the power of the Fulgarian surging through him like lightening. It wasn't easy; the lightning made it easy to locate the runes, but there were Nifs everywhere, almost as if they knew they'd be coming.
"If I'm understanding what Gentiana was saying," said Gladio, as they put to rest another set of Magitek soldiers they found lurking between the rocks on their way between Runes, "after Ramuh, we go see Leviathan, right?"
"Indeed," Ignis confirmed, as they started again through the brush and rain. "I daresay Lady Lunafreya seeks the Hydrean as we speak."
"Which means another rite, doesn't it?" asked Prompto, his voice going quiet. " And a heavier burden. I hope she can hold up."
And hopefully, they could hold up, too, as the last Rune lead the into another cave a Fociaugh Hollow.
"I've got a baaaaaad feeling about this place," said Prompto, as they descended into the darkness, guided by their lights.
"As if danger lurks around every corner," Ignis agreed smoothly.
"So avoid corners," Prompto snorted. "Got it!"
It turned out, however, that the corners were not what Prompto needed to avoid, but rather the massive naga that stirred deep within the depths of the cave, murmuring something about having lost her baby….and seeming to find Prompto a worthy substitution. The trauma of being so captured and captivated by a giant snake woman aside, they were able to defeat the creature…with more than a few lingering doubts and worries about that missing baby….in due time, and were able to continue forward to uncover the last Rune of the Fulgarian and unlock his power once and for all.
"That's it," Noctis said, once the glow from the strike of lightning as he placed his hand on the Rune subsided. "That power of the storm."
"...eh," said Prompto, with a shrug of his shoulder and a big of a grin. "After everything we went through with Titan, I expected more fire and brimstone."
"Some gods are friendlier than others, I guess," Gladio observed."
"But not all of them," Noctis reminded them, and a hand went to his chest. "Poor Luna…"
"Perhaps," Ignis suggested, "you'd better console her in person."
"Just a boat ride away!" sang Prompto, giving Noctis a nudge with his elbow, figuring, well…if he and Ignis couldn't exactly be with their significant others right now, at least someone would get to.
"Lose that scowl along the way," Gladio threw in, as they made their way back out of the cave and into the bright afternoon ahead of them, the storm clouds already cleared as if they'd never even been there at all.
And clear skies meant a clear view of the absolutely massive imperial ship that roared overhead, just as they had stepped out from the cave. "That might be even bigger than the last one we saw!" Gladio noted, with that somewhat terrified awe that would always accompany some of the Empire's more impressive tech.
"A floating fortress," Ignis began to explain, his own reaction one of more concern and dread, but any further explanation was cut off by the chirping of Noctis' phone. Noctis held up a hand to quiet them as he answered.
"Yeah?"
"Hey, Highness?" Cindy's usually cheerful and upbeat voice was tempered slightly by a bit of reluctance. "About your car…"
"Yeah?" Noctis prompted.
"Well," Cindy drew in a deep breath, "I found her. But she's at a base. Now, I can handle garage folk no problem. But sweet talkin' the Empire? That'll take some doing."
"Don't worry about it," Noctis assured her, his eyes following the fading form of the Imperial ship's massive size diminishing with distance. "We'll take care of it."
"You sure about that?"
"Yeah. Thanks for the heads up. Later." Noctis ended the call, slipping his phone back into his pocket, and turned ot the others. "I think I know what that flying fortress might be heading towards. If we don't move quick, there's a good chance it might be taking the Regalia all the way over to Niflheim."
"Well, then," said Ignis, "we'd best not waste any more time. Infiltrating an Imperial base and liberating a purloined vehicle? After all we've been through already...how hard can it be?"
[[ today's adventures TBC; it's a looooong day for the boyos! NFB. NFI except for the most failed of attempts to reach them, and ooc notes written in notebooks delivered by magical dogs welcome. Very heavily swiped and parsed down from Final Fantasy XV Chapter 5 - Dark Clouds ]]
"We should wait until Cindy's done asking around the local garages before we despair," Ignis offered, all but sighing into his can of Ebony.
"Let's not fool ourselves," Gladio shook his head. "The Empire has it."
"So where does that leave us?" Prompto asked, brow furrowed, because there they stood. No car. No way to contact anyone outside of Eos. Not a lot of money. No home. Blockades everywhere….
"Stranded," Ignis confirmed succinctly. "Awaiting word from Hammerhead."
"In the meantime," said Gladio, "we'll just have to hoof it. Maybe we should head south; see how the roads are on the way to the Cape, if we'll have a lot of Imperial interference or not.""
"Not much else we can do," Noctis muttered, in quiet, almost complaining, definitely exhausted consent.
But just as he said it, something caught Prompto's eye with a burst of excitement. Maybe even a little hope. "Look!" he called out, pointing with one hand as the other reached for Noct's shoulder to get his attention. "It's Umbra!"
Sure enough, sitting patiently a few feet away as if waiting for them to finish their conversation, was a slightly shaggy dog, with dark fur and bright, intelligent eyes. One of Lady Lunafreya's faithful companions, the one that frequently acted as messenger, especially between Luna and Noctis. But when Noctis moved toward the dog and the others followed, Umbra just kept moving away, a clear indication that he wanted to be followed. They chased after him, deeper into the woods surrounding the chocobo post, until they were a bit away from the crowds, and where a tall, pale woman with long dark hair and flowing robes suddenly stood waiting, where no one had been before.
"...Gentiana," Noctis greeted her with surprise.
"Hear me, O King of the Stone," she replied, her head bowed, eyes closed, voice soft and slightly lilted. "By the Stormsender's blessing will the path to the Stone be opened. The Oracle goes hence in her King's name."
"Luna," Noctis realized with urgency. "Where is she now?"
"The Eye of the Storm," Gentiana replied. "When the covenant is forged, the Oracle and the Ring shall await their King at the Walls of Water. Stray not from the path."
Noctis ducked his head, breathing out to interpret these cryptic words, and when he looked up again, like a wisp of air, Gentiana was already gone.
"What…" Prompto stammered, looking between Noctis and the space where Gentiana had only just seconds ago stood. "What was that all about?"
"She's a Messenger," Ignis explained. "A spirit faithful to the Oracle."
Prompto shook his head a little. Even with everything he'd experienced in Fandom, and even here back at Eos so far, he couldn't help but asking, "For real?"
"We're going well beyond real now, pal," Gladio offered with a grunt.
Noctis, meanwhile, had knelt down in front of Umbra, searching his collar for the small, slim book that he'd last seen back at the pitstop for Cindy on their way to Galdin Quay, the one in which he and Lunafreya had sent messages to each other ever since they they children. Desperately, eagerly, hopefully, with a knot of dread in his stomach, he flipped through the pages, looking for anything recent, anything new, that Luna might have added to it since that last time. And when he found it, he nearly gasped out, his hand hovering over the letters as if he was afraid they'd disappear.
My prayers are with you, Noctis.
Relief washing over him, he gave a soft smile, and then wrote back:
I received the blessing. Thank you, Luna.
"Let Luna know," he then told Umbra, as he tied the notebook back to his collar, "I'm okay, and she won't have to wait much longer. We'll be together soon."
Prompto turned away. What he wouldn't give for a way to say the same thing to Liz right then…and as he turned, he felt Ignis' hand on his shoulder. Light, but reassuring. A small squeeze. Not much, nothing more than that, but it was…something, and he looked up to catch his eye and remembered that he wasn't entirely alone in this.
"Lady Lunafreya," Ignis then said, his hand falling away from Prompto's shoulder to adjust his glasses as he turned toward Noctis, "has done well to keep the Ring from falling into enemy hands."
With that, the rumble of thunder pulled their attentions up, toward the previously cloudless sky now heavy with thick black clouds that had moved in while that spoke with Gentiana. The rain was soon to follow, eliciting a groan of complaint from Prompto. "Great," he said, "and now it's raining. Perfect."
"We have had remarkably good weather so far," Ignis noted, as if they scarcely complain when it had not rained on them more often.
But Noctis just shook his head. "This isn't a normal storm," he said. "Gentiana told me something else, gave me a vision, while we spoke. This is what she meant when she said the Stormsender. The Fulgarian is here."
"The Fulgarian?" asked Ignis, his interest peaked. "Ramuh. Another Astral."
"And no doubt another blessing," Gladio noted.
"Another day," Prompto sighed, "another deity."
And with that, they entered the storm.
Well, they moved toward it, anyway, following the intense bolts of lighting that were sent down from the heavens, concentrating in very specific spots around the area. Runes of Ramuh, petrified and twisted trees, of which there were three that they had to find, and, when Noctis laid his hand upon them, he felt the power of the Fulgarian surging through him like lightening. It wasn't easy; the lightning made it easy to locate the runes, but there were Nifs everywhere, almost as if they knew they'd be coming.
"If I'm understanding what Gentiana was saying," said Gladio, as they put to rest another set of Magitek soldiers they found lurking between the rocks on their way between Runes, "after Ramuh, we go see Leviathan, right?"
"Indeed," Ignis confirmed, as they started again through the brush and rain. "I daresay Lady Lunafreya seeks the Hydrean as we speak."
"Which means another rite, doesn't it?" asked Prompto, his voice going quiet. " And a heavier burden. I hope she can hold up."
And hopefully, they could hold up, too, as the last Rune lead the into another cave a Fociaugh Hollow.
"I've got a baaaaaad feeling about this place," said Prompto, as they descended into the darkness, guided by their lights.
"As if danger lurks around every corner," Ignis agreed smoothly.
"So avoid corners," Prompto snorted. "Got it!"
It turned out, however, that the corners were not what Prompto needed to avoid, but rather the massive naga that stirred deep within the depths of the cave, murmuring something about having lost her baby….and seeming to find Prompto a worthy substitution. The trauma of being so captured and captivated by a giant snake woman aside, they were able to defeat the creature…with more than a few lingering doubts and worries about that missing baby….in due time, and were able to continue forward to uncover the last Rune of the Fulgarian and unlock his power once and for all.
"That's it," Noctis said, once the glow from the strike of lightning as he placed his hand on the Rune subsided. "That power of the storm."
"...eh," said Prompto, with a shrug of his shoulder and a big of a grin. "After everything we went through with Titan, I expected more fire and brimstone."
"Some gods are friendlier than others, I guess," Gladio observed."
"But not all of them," Noctis reminded them, and a hand went to his chest. "Poor Luna…"
"Perhaps," Ignis suggested, "you'd better console her in person."
"Just a boat ride away!" sang Prompto, giving Noctis a nudge with his elbow, figuring, well…if he and Ignis couldn't exactly be with their significant others right now, at least someone would get to.
"Lose that scowl along the way," Gladio threw in, as they made their way back out of the cave and into the bright afternoon ahead of them, the storm clouds already cleared as if they'd never even been there at all.
And clear skies meant a clear view of the absolutely massive imperial ship that roared overhead, just as they had stepped out from the cave. "That might be even bigger than the last one we saw!" Gladio noted, with that somewhat terrified awe that would always accompany some of the Empire's more impressive tech.
"A floating fortress," Ignis began to explain, his own reaction one of more concern and dread, but any further explanation was cut off by the chirping of Noctis' phone. Noctis held up a hand to quiet them as he answered.
"Yeah?"
"Hey, Highness?" Cindy's usually cheerful and upbeat voice was tempered slightly by a bit of reluctance. "About your car…"
"Yeah?" Noctis prompted.
"Well," Cindy drew in a deep breath, "I found her. But she's at a base. Now, I can handle garage folk no problem. But sweet talkin' the Empire? That'll take some doing."
"Don't worry about it," Noctis assured her, his eyes following the fading form of the Imperial ship's massive size diminishing with distance. "We'll take care of it."
"You sure about that?"
"Yeah. Thanks for the heads up. Later." Noctis ended the call, slipping his phone back into his pocket, and turned ot the others. "I think I know what that flying fortress might be heading towards. If we don't move quick, there's a good chance it might be taking the Regalia all the way over to Niflheim."
"Well, then," said Ignis, "we'd best not waste any more time. Infiltrating an Imperial base and liberating a purloined vehicle? After all we've been through already...how hard can it be?"
[[ today's adventures TBC; it's a looooong day for the boyos! NFB. NFI except for the most failed of attempts to reach them, and ooc notes written in notebooks delivered by magical dogs welcome. Very heavily swiped and parsed down from Final Fantasy XV Chapter 5 - Dark Clouds ]]