Let’s start with a timeline piece from the Ultimania:

Ancient History

Ancient civilisation of Solheim flourishes - Solheim, prospers in machine technology like Airships and Magitek Armor

The Six watch over everything

The Astral War breaks out due to Ifrit’s betrayal

Solheim falls

Humans are given special powers, granted to them by the gods. - These power included, “King” with the power to summon weapons, Oracle with the power to heal. - The Oracle is also granted power also commune with the Gods, serving as liaison between Gods and mankind.

2000 Years Ago

Before falling into eternal slumber, the Six bequeathed unto man the star’s Crystal and Ring of Light. The king at the time founds Lucis. - The Six create the Ring of Light. And grants the king the Crystal, which he was to guard at all costs.

12 Statues built in Lucis. - Each of the 12 is to serve as a coffin to hold the soul of a dead king. The successive kings, from these coffins, await the emergence of the Crystal’s Chosen king. Also, these kings will serve as a magical barrier (Knights of the Round) to protect the Kingdom.

The plague is suppressed through the efforts of the Lucian King.

2000 - 755 Years Ago

The world stabilises and new nations are founded. - Tenebrae where the Oracle’s family lives, the commercially prosperous parliament of Accordo, the Empire of Niflheim ruled by the Aldercapt family who try to reconstruct the ancient technology of Solheim.

See the fully fleshed out timeline here. It’s in more details than the above.

And yes it does say "Knights of the Round" 「 第一魔法障壁 ( ナイツ オブ ラウンド ) 」 even though there are only 12. And the barrier it is referring to is the Old Wall, not the magical barrier Wall protecting over Insomnia.

I’ve added a few of my own translations in the ancient era timeline piece above. 

Translations do vary slightly due to cultural differences. But the premise remains the same.

Ardyn Part 1.2

Eos' history implies there were other kings with the power to summon weapons. The Lucis were founded unknown years later. Ardyn Lucis Caelum is such a king, acknowledged by the Gods, he was given the Crystal and the Ring of Light, soon dubbed Ring of Lucii.

"12 Statues built in Lucis." We've seen a few of them in the Kingsglaive movie. And we've seen all 12 + Regis in Lucis/Astral form in the game. I think the 12 coffins do not represent the kings of Lucis but 11 kings of all around the world and former Solheim. (Implied that the nation of Lucis = Solheim before it fell. We've experienced Solheim dungeons first hand on Lucis before: Steyliff Grove, Costlemark Tower and Pitioss Ruins.)

The 12 coffins had an exception. One statue represented the Oracle as it held the Trident of the Oracle. We've seen her in the movie and in the game. The guide explicitly states the coffins house the souls of dead kings. So it can't actually be something like it holds the souls of dead Oracles. (It would've been ideal if it did state that one statue was for the Oracle. Would explain why Luna was kinda there in the Beyond too unless that was just Ardyn hallucinating.)

We know the souls of dead kings enter the Ring. The statues may have been a legend to tell the citizens of Insomnia. But it does look like Kings of old can temporarily enter those protective statues of them.

Ardyn Part 1.5

Keep in mind there were only 11 Royal Tombs built. There were no tombs for the Trident and Sword of the Father.

Assuming one statue is supposed to represent Ardyn, the remaining 10 honour the kings and queens (star and shield). They're foreign kings; their weapon descriptions may allude to such. They all just feel like they're from different cultures or regions:

A king performed great feats of arms, expanded his realm, and made his people prosper. This was his halberd.(Conqueror)

A queen spurned the public eye and took to the shadows. This was her shuriken. (Rogue)

A king was built like a mountain, towering over all others. This was his greatsword. (Tall)

A king was quick like the wind and went where no man had gone before. These were his blades. (Wanderer)

A king rose to protect the world with the Oracle. This was his sword. (Mystic)

They just strike me as if they were kings or leaders of a group at the time before Lucis and were given the power to summon weapons. Each befitting their title. No weapon states "Lucis King/King of Lucis" either.

The story could go in a way of the kings all sharing a comradery over time. But Ardyn will trick and kill them, for their power is needed to eradicate the Starscourge.

Ardyn was Chosen. He had the power of the Crystal and the Ring. He would use their souls. This may be the first time a king initiated the Power of Light (Noctis vs Leviathan in XV), absorbing each of their weapon and soul into the ring.

Ardyn Part 2

A piece from the Ultimania:

The Power of Kings ——The mighty ability bestowed to modern kings. The power of newer kings is derived from the spirits of the line of kings. Essentially, this refers to the Royal Arms (the Armiger) of the ancient kings enshrined in the Royal Tombs scattered throughout the world. Most of the Royal Tombs are located within Lucis, but they are occasionally, if rarely, found constructed in foreign lands. Weapons favoured by those of the royal line house special abilities, and they once also had the function of sealing out daemons in the vicinity of the tombs. Still yet, if the combined Power of Kings and the Crystal are unleashed, they should exhibit power enough to eradicate even the scourge eroding the planet.

The power of the kings at the time was not enough. Around that period could be when Ardyn became corrupt. He had absorbed too many Deamons. The Crystal or Bahamut deemed him no longer worthy. Perhaps it could have gone like: Ardyn was explained about the plan to accumulate Kings with Power of Kings, and how many generations it would have to take. Ardyn wanted to accelerate the process by slaying and absorbing those with power already present. This very action was his downfall.

The jealous king who is likely related by blood took this opportunity and shamed Ardyn's despicable act to the public. Ardyn was stripped of his weapons and ring, he was powerless. His execution followed.

Who knows, maybe his execution was at the Stone Prison, chained up and left to rot.

Just giving that island more relevancy as to why Noctis miraculously appears in that specific location 10 years later. And in the loading screen after Noct leaves you can see a crystal-like rock spire with what rods that resemble Bahamut's swords. Nothing is explained but maybe it's like a warp for the Crystal. My guess is Ardyn’s powers were sealed by those rods and his powers of Light were being sapped out, returning to the Crystal, which formed the spire above the Stone Prison. Unfortunately, we have no way of ever knowing unless a dlc explains it.

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Up to par with Bahamut’s swords size wise I’d say.

Strange Crystalite strings?

To add to the above theory, Ardyn could have had entered the Crystal before. But the Crystal's Light harmed him because of all the Deamons inside of him. He started to reject the Crystal as well and was thrown out. Based on his quote "Unharmed by the Light. Chosen King, indeed." and "Come back soon." was as if he knew it would take a while to absorb the Crystal's Light.

Knowing he could not use the Crystal's Light, he sought for a different method which led to the absorbing the power of other Kings.

Ardyn Part 2.5

As for why Ardyn can still use the Power of Kings. It’s probably because nobody knew, including himself, that he became immortal. He “died”. Maybe with his body rotting and starving. But the scourge resurrected him along with the Power of Kings, whether intentional or not. He then escapes. It could be a weird mutation caused by the Crystal’s Light. No other daemon was ever immortal. For a virus that eats light, it wouldn’t be surprising the ones within Ardyn mutated into something more advanced. 

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I've seen theories of Ardyn suffering from a split-personality. But it's not that cartoonish split-personality where you are completely different this one time and back the other time. Ardyn's a lot more realistic. He gets evil but has still a good side. He gets good but still has an evil side. One overpowers the other every now and then, but it's still Ardyn; one individual.

The Deamons absorbed and formed inside of Ardyn shouldn't be sentient. It's technically not the Daemons that are absorbed, it's the scourge; the virus itself. It's a parasite, they do not have sentience and act only on instinct. In this case, the scourge's instinct may have been something like to eat light and disseminate; infect others.

Ardyn has always been in control. The only time I can think he let the scourge take him over completely was the ending of XV. He was at peace and all that was left was eradicating the exposed Starscourge.

Ardyn Part 3

Ardyn's place then got stolen by the jealous king, including his royal arm and his place in the KotR.

There was one specific Royal Arm that was quite intriguing to me: The Sword of the Wise.

A king built a mighty wall and protected the realm. This was his sword. 

Could this be Ardyn's sword? The wall it is referring to can not be Insomnia's wall, which erected only at the year M.E. 606 (150 years ago). And yet all 12 statues were built 2000 years ago which already had their Royal Arms (+ Orcale's Trident) replicated onto them. The Kingsglaive movie shows the first statue with this exact sword briefly before it focuses mostly on the king wielding Sword of the Mystic (the one that follows Nyx the most.)

I believe when the Wise was bestowed upon the power of King to summon weaponry, he did not solely fight the daemons. He used that power for summoning building material. (Noct has a fishing rod, Gladio a shield, neither are really weapons, so it's not limited to that). The Wise built a mighty wall quite literally. He perfected the warp-strike by doing this. (The Sword of the Wise has several warp-strike attributes in-game.) The wielder was then dubbed the "Wise" because of this.

His sword got upgraded blessed by the Divine. All the Royal Arms have a similar design to them. One of such is having angelic wing aesthetics attached to them. 

The Gods acknowledged this and chose him for his peculiar act and achievement. He was given the Crystal and the Ring of Light. The Crystal has chosen this King to purge the Sarscourge.

That could be why the first statue had a design with 12 wings. The only statue with wings and chosen king. A Warrior of Light healing and saving people. He was Chosen King and brought other Kings of Power together.

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The jealous king who was the closest relative to the Chosen took his place, however. He may not have been necessarily malicious but he was jealous. (In chap 13 cutscene, Ardyn mentions the jealous king not yet chosen.) Perhaps the relative had an opportunity to be chosen soon as well. Unfortunately for him, that ended up never happening. 

He was gifted power of kings but not blessed with a title. He was jealous of the Wise and other kings from other lands. But, he had the chance to inherit the Crystal’s power because of his relation to the Wise. However, such reasoning is unasked for. Or so that’s how I imagine the story of the jealous king.

Also, in the final battle against Ardyn, the first weapon he uses is the Sword of the Wise. Though, that could be just because it's the first Royal Arm. But at the final phase, Noct is left with only his Father's sword for a while. And Ardyn can only use Sword of the Wise until the final barrage. Perhaps that could serve as a little connection why they only had that specific weapon after they were fatigued from using the Crystal Armiger.

(Not sure what to call the "Super Armiger", Power of light, Light Armiger, Complete Armiger, Crystal Armiger, etc.)

Ardyn Extra: 13th Statue

And regarding the Sword of the Father, Ardyn did not once use it. However, you can see it in phase 2 albeit in Crystal/Light form. Which could be either a design flaw or it's just part of the Light Armiger now because Regis had become the 13th Knight. Same goes for the Trident not being seen. And we know that you don't need to have the weapon physically to use the complete Armiger as shown by the Leviathan battle.

As for why Regis got to be the 13th knight instead of any other Lucis King. It could be because they preserved the 13th spot specifically for the Chosen King's father or mother. There was never a 13th statue built. The kings of old knew of the day when there would be enough souls of kings absorbed. The Crystal would decide and gauge so. The Crystal then chooses a king who would have to fight the Accursed and sacrifice his own, ridding the star of its scourge. Who else would suit the role of the 13th knight other than this chosen king's very own parent?

I believe Noctis was chosen simply because it was time. He would become the King of Kings. Regis was the last king of Lucis needed. He knew of this and mourned for the fate of his son. Which gave him the reason to raise Noctis not as king, but as a father.

Inspired by: -The Dawn Trailer which could imply the Old Kings told Regis. -The Omen Trailer's ending when Regis talks to Bahamut via the Crystal. -Regis Lucis Caelum CXIII (loading screen) stating he spent the next 15 years nurturing Noctis not as the future king, but as his beloved son.

From the Ultimania: Regis was told Noctis is the Chosen King by old kings of Lucis 15 years ago. (Noct was 5 years oldthen.)

Including Noctis, there were 114 Kings of Lucis. I suspect that all other dead kings' souls are not in control when their souls are absorbed. It can't be the last 13 either. It has to be first kings as they are called the "Old Wall" or "Original Wall" in Japanese. The souls and power of successive Lucis Kings become part of them and divided among them.

In Kingsglaive, when Nyx called forth the Kings of Lucis, they did not care for Insomnia. You'd think if it were the last 13 kings they would at least mind its fate. Regis' father specifically scaled back the Wall to only protect the Captial: Insomnia. But the old kings only fight for the future which is the theme.

I'd like to add that Nyx and Noctis both called them Kings of Lucis. I'd say these Ancient Kings of past times becoming part of the Ring of Light are technically Kings of Lucis in the truest sense, even if they weren’t born after Lucis was found. Perhaps when all kings came together in Lucis, the kingdom was temporarily shared amongst them and not just Ardyn. 

The Lucian King then founds the Kingdom of Lucis.

The daemon plague started from a meteor shower ifrit (impliedly) brought down. It wouldn't be odd for Kings of Power to settle near an active one and investigate the meteorite Titan caught. Still burning at that. They could not get rid of it.

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Official art of Titan catching the meteorite. He held it since Ancient Era which is way before the 2000 years ago, Ardyn’s era.

Perhaps Ardyn invented a new magic that absorbs daemons into him. Inspired by how one's own weapons can be summoned once they claim it. And believing the light of the Crystal could purify it. Ardyn would then live up to the name of the Wise again. But alas that's how he got corrupted.

However, that same act of Ardyn's may exactly that what made the Crystal realize its current power was not enough. Which led to the act of absorbing other kings of Lucis' nurtured powers.

From the Ultimania: 

Obtaining the Power of Kings is also a duty assigned to a king. As he acquires the power within the various Royal Tombs, Noctis’s fighting ability also dramatically increases.

Perhaps successive kings have to clear the tombs as if they were trials, hence most of them being built inside dungeons and other dangerous places like a volcano. (Reminder that Costlemark is not a Royal Tomb, Deamons stole the Sword of the Tall from its tomb.)

Modern kings absorb the strength of past kings, that strength returns to the Ring as ruled by their Lucis bloodline, and then possibly multiplying its essence. I can only imagine this is how the Providence can surpass the Six as stated by Bahamut.

I think absorbing all of the Crystal's Light into the ring, which had to take 10 years, was required to deliver Providence. Perhaps a Ring of Light waxed full of Light, allowed the Knights of the Round to manifest for a short time. This is the "Providence". The Glaives of Rulers past = Power. But they are dead. Crystal's Light = Manifestation, a temporary resurrection of all the power nurtured over 113 kings. Together, it brought power greater than the Six to purify the Starscourge.

Ardyn Part 4

Two descriptions of two Royal Arms could debunk my ancient kings of the same generation theory:

A king rose to protect the world with the Oracle. This was his sword. (Mystic).

A king ruled the realm according to divine law and worked hand in hand with the Oracle. This was his staff. (Pious).

However, I do not think it's entirely debunked yet. We can think of both Mystic and Pious had their own relationships with the Oracle. Mystic and Pious could be father-son or brotherly rivals (more likely). Nothing alludes to the kings all being of similar age and vice versa.

We've had a similar FF story before where two of our heroes are crushing on one girl. I think Mystic won in this scenario but they both get murdered so it don't really matter now. Just from their descriptions, I feel like Pious was flamboyant or overly religious douche, but still righteous.

And then Mystic was the main hero. We see him the most Kingsglaive. And the camera follows Mystic's sword first in the ending cutscene when they were summoned in the "Beyond". You see Pious is right behind Mystic. Mystic's tomb is also located in an unusual but also an honourable spot: at the Archaean, right in front of the meteorite. His ambitions sound bigger too by protecting the world, instead of just ruling the realm like Pious.

The Trident is also nearby, top right between Pious and Mystic.

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For some reason, Mystic is the only one who descends from above rather than from the ground like all the others during the summoning scene. And the camera follows his sword first during the Beyond scene before showing all the KotR. I guess he was just an amazing hero.

There should only be one Oracle at a time. Ardyn can’t be the first Oracle either. His power of "healing" the scourge is his own version of it but still similar by absorbing. And the Cosmogony refers to the first Oracle as she.

If we go by the theory of the King on the Cosmogony book truly being Ardyn, then we see an Oracle right in the corner too. Which many believe to be Gentiana since her eyes are closed and holds a bouqet of sylleblossoms (fictional flowers) which are based on gentiana flowers.

However, there was a cutscene in chapter 4 that shows a page of the Cosmogony with both the Oracle and Gentiana present. On that same illustration, you see the chosen king, and five other Messengers/Angels besides Gentiana. Two of them being Pryna and Umbra. The remaining three look like humans.

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Ardyn Extra: Cosmogony's false history

A page from the Cosmogony:

The Oracle (found at Wiz Chocobo Post): In the distant past, Bahamut, the Draconian, descended to the mortal realm and graced the people of Tenebrae. From among them, he handpicked a pious maiden and bestowed upon her the power of the Stars and his trident. Using these gifts for the good of all, she became the first Oracle - she who joins heaven and earth.

However, this can not be. According to the Ultimania, an Oracle was chosen since the Ancient Era. Tenebrae was only founded in the "2000-755 Years Ago" era, governed by the Fleuret Oracle family when the world stabilized thanks to the efforts of King and Oracle.

The Cosmogony tells Legends concerning the origins/structure of Eos A book that speaks of the legends of the Six and the Oracle. In addition to the original, it has been republished in various forms, such as an annotated version and a picture book for children, and is familiar to many people living in Eos.

I do not think the Cosmogony we read in the game is a false publication. Rather, it is the author who wrote a false legend. Whoever that was, there is no way of knowing. Could be Bahamut, or maybe the Fleuret family. The tale of the Accursed is nowhere known except for Ardyn himself and the Gods.

They practically wrote Ardyn out of history. Preventing the world from finding out the Gods were fighting with -and responsible for such an impure Chosen King.

Ardyn Part 5

From the Cosmogony: "It is said that, in the beginning, the six fought side by side with mankind."

From Ignis: "Legend has it the King once stood alongside the Six in the battle to banish the darkness."

Either way, the beginning the Cosmogony is referring to is most likely the Ancient Era when Ifrit betrayed the other Gods and released the Starscourge (not create). It laid the old civilization Solheim to waste. And we've seen in-game what the aftermath of the Astral War was like around the Disc of Cauthess (Titan's area, meteorite, and all those impossible arching rock formations).

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And Taelpar Crag (A giant ravine or rift in the earth starting from down near Lestallum to... Well, quite far and deep.)

The meteor the Titan caught wasn't the only meteor, but it can be assumed that it was the most destructive one. It is said it broke pieces too when it was caught. There are small craters around it as you can see. But there are other areas a meteor fell too.

Lestallum is built on a crater. Which may be a larger piece that fell off theone Titan caught.

Altissia is built on a water crater.

Gralea is built on a crater in the desert.

Except for Tenebrae, everything else used to be pure desert but it’s now covered in snow by a perpetual snowstorm thanks to Shiva.

If the Astrals fought with mankind once, it must have been during the Astral War (Ancient Era). But Ignis' quote doesn't necessarily have to refer to the same era. He could be referring to the 2000 years ago era. A king at that time stood beside the Gods against darkness. He was then found worthy by the Gods and given the Ring and the Crystal. He founds Lucis. He was the Chosen King to save Eos from the Starscourge. The Gods went to sleep soon after.

"The Six bring the ring of light, King of men at the time founds kingdom of Lucis".

The quote implies that Ardyn has always been king or at least a leader of a group that had to fend for themselves. The Gods deduced him a worthy king and bestow upon him the Ring of Light and the Star/Planet's Crystal.

The Ultimania does use 6 Gods, which in English localisation translates to "The Six"

"六神 が 光耀 の 指輪 を 作り 、 星 が 生み出し た クリスタル とともに ルシス の 王 に 授け 、 王家 に クリスタル の 守護 を 命じ た 。"

So did Ifrit join in for the Ring's creation? Wouldn't really make sense if he's not fond of humankind. Then the Ring of Light had to be created a time before Ifrit's betrayal.

A stretched out idea of mine is that the Astrals had always tested humans with trials, but one day they decided they should stop it and leave humankind alone. Ifrit wasn't fond of that. FFXV's Ifrit also reminds me of an Ancient/Tribal Warrior with his top naked body, large sword, long hair, and gold jewelry on his wrists, ankles, bicep, and crown, and even two on his horns. A God of war has no desire in bidding farewell to the battlefield. And thus betrayed the other Gods by drawing in a foreign object; a meteoroid. He may or may not have known about the parasitic virus; the Starscourge. I am leaning towards incidental effect.

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Also, the left side of Ifrit’s body is “scorched”. It could have happened during the Ring’s creation -when it yet had to become a human sized ring- and he wanted the Crystal’s power for himself but it denied him. 

Or it was simply just Shiva’s magical ice during the Astral War.

It could be pretty cool to have all the Six except for Ifrit come and join Ardyn's fight against Deamons in human form via Messenger hosts while still able to be summoned as Astrals. But they went to sleep shortly after finding a king worthy of the Ring and protecting the Crystal. So it would have to be before that. Though, I'd imagine Bahamut is the only one not truly asleep with him being in the Crystal and all. Has "seen many deaths". So he knows what's going on.

Nearing the end of Ardyn's past story is where the Gods went to sleep. The ending is his banishment and execution.

One little detail that could be implemented is that Ardyn's Armiger, over the course of his story, transitions from blue to purple to red the more daemons he absorbs.

Ardyn Part 6

Ardyn became Accursed from the countless absorbing of Deamons. The Crystal deemed him no longer pure, Bahamut finds him no longer worthy, and his own brethren betray him. Ardyn's story could very well be similar to Jesus Christ.

Had a brotherhood, communes with godly figures, healing people, getting betrayed, "crucified". Now that reminds me, did Ardyn tie Prompto in a crucified state for a reason other than just a twisted look?

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Probably just the contraption.

I feel like Ardyn and Noctis' stories are complete parallels. Noctis' brothers stood by him no matter what while Ardyn got betrayed. Noctis' dad tries to save his son. We don't know who Ardyn's father is, or if he even is relevant in any way since the first Chosen King; Ardyn founded Lucis.

But it could still be symbolic seeing how those closest to Noctis never left his side. Going off Ardyn = Jesus-ish, then maybe Bahamut could be a fatherly figure in the sense of God. Obviously, Bahamut would never be anything like a father but just a Godly figure. It's not like Jesus' God was much of a typical fatherly figure either.

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Reminder, that Lucis is that entire continent, not just Insomnia. When Solheim had fallen, it wasn’t really Solheim anymore. So a king at the time named it Lucis. The 12 statues built are located in Insomnia. If you’ve watched Kingsglaive then you may have noticed they’re just all over the place.

Built in something that could be an old church. Can’t make out which king this is supposed to be Those are not wings but just flairs like you see on the back of the wall and at the bottom. The picture comes from the Kingsglaive Art Book Program. Perhaps it was an old scrapped concept of having more than 12 statues, as it doesn’t even mention 12 statues for the description. 

The closest one to it is the statue with the Trident which has a similar helmet.

Built just standing there. Everything else built around it comes from a king’s decision of the modern era.

Ardyn Extra: Wall

The magical barrier wall we see above Insomnia did not come from the Chosen King.

 A little bit from the Ultimania timeline:

M.E. 606 (150 years ago) - King of Lucis erects a magic wall around the kingdom. 

M.E. 722 - Ardyn joins Niflheim and introduces Magitek technology.

M.E. 729 - King Mors dies, Regis is coronated King.

M.E. 736 - Noctis is born, Luna (4).

That's only 150 years ago.

Going by the history, we learn that the power of Kings has existed before the Lucis were founded. Maybe people who have a special affinity with magic like the Kingsglaive from the movie are descendants of these unknown kings. That could be what Ardyn was doing for over the 2000 years he was absent and borrowing different names. Killing anyone with any affinity to magic abilities, while waiting for when the Crystal was ready to choose. Magic never existed on Eos before the gift of King and Oracle. Ardyn's spite could span to even their descendants. Leaving no trace of a King's power behind for the new era after the Starscourge. (I mean, why did Crowe from Kingsglaive have to die just like that and so mysteriously. Only Ardyn can use magic from the Empire's side.)

Ardyn killing off the Empire could make sense in the way of him not wanting to leave information behind of ancient Solheim technology. It was as if Ardyn wanted to erase the past and let the people start anew once the Starscourge has been eliminated.

Ardyn Extra: Kingsglaive

An alternative setting for the other kings of power gathering concept is that just like the Oracle, there is only one King with the power of kings a generation.

The Chosen King set out to travel the world fighting daemons and saving those in need. Along the way of travelling to these foreign lands, he finds potential in certain men, women, and even youngsters. They follow the king on his journey.

Each and every one of them, they have come to admire the king’s wisdom and power. They had become brethren and sistren. Their faith unwavering, the king had once more realized a new method of using the Power of Kings. Living up to the name of the Wise, indeed.

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Noctis is the Crystal’s Chosen. Lunafreya is Oracle, who will be throwing her life away by awakening the Gods for this prince whom Ravus deems unworthy. Ravus can’t accept that. He doesn’t want to lose her as well. (Also he’s 16. Teenage angst stuff happens.)

Ravus hears about the power of the Ring of Lucii. Joins the Imperial Army for the goal of taking the ring for himself.

M.E. 756 -  (Kingsglaive) He finally got it, the power he desired, but it didn’t go as planned and he lost an arm in the progress. His plans to save his sister failed. The siblings separated as Luna ran off with the Ring.

Luna’s been preparing covenants for Noctis. Ravus wants to stop his sister and prevent her from sacrificing her life. He has become High Commander and is given full control of the Imperial Army. The attack on the Archaean was likely led by Ravus. The High Commander and his army is given credit for slaying Titan.

Ravus writes Lunafreya letters but she’s just been neglecting them.

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In the timespan between the second and last letter, Ravus confronted Noctis in chapter 4. It’s when you get the Regalia back and summon Ramuh for the first time. Ravus tells Noctis he does not know of the consequences for the Astral’s power. (Toll on Luna’s body as she awakens Astrals.) And then Noct accused him out on hunting Luna which ticked him off as shown in the scene. (Because Ravus has been trying to save his sister the entire time.)

Ravus was ready to kill Noctis in that scene: “Should the Chosen fall, that too is fate.” At this point in time, Noctis would most likely have died if Ardyn didn’t show up.

Ardyn then informed Noct he took the army away. Ravus and Ardyn definitely had some scheming behind the backs of the Empire. Ravus didn’t even say anything against Ardyn about taking the army away from the chocobros’ backs.

But then again, Ardyn is above Ravus in the hierarchy. Ravus got promoted to Glauca’s position as shown in a cutscene in chapter 3: Vertael promoted Ravus to High Commander and let him take control of the entire Imperial Army.

Loqi, Caligo and Aranea (and Ravus) were most likely Captains.

And I guess left is above right if Verstael could just promote soldiers like that.

Everyone is in Altissia. Ravus is the one who in charge for the attack on Leviathan according to the cutscene of him and Ardyn in chapter 9. In that same cutscene, Ravus denies Ardyn’s question if he has spoken to Lunafreya. Ravus’ long pause may imply he was just lying to Ardyn.

Convo with the secretary.

I have seen people thinking the sibling cutscene above took place in Tenebrae because you see it when you are in Tenebrae in chapter 12 by talking to Maria.

They have spoken in Altissia (and in Tenebrae). By that time, Ravus had already convinced himself he could not change his sister’s mind and just wishes happiness for Lunafreya.

This scene takes place before the Altissia scene but we see it last. It’s some time after Ramuh’s covenant when Ravus sent an escort to return Luna home to Tenbrae as implied by letter 1. 

However, it will have to be either Ravus or Ardyn who had brought her back. No Niflheim soldier would escort Lunafreya back safely as the Ring of Lucii is in her possession while the Empire is specifically witch hunting her for that reason. Aranea could be a plausible escort too.

In short: All Ravus tried to do was keep his sister safe.

The conversation in Tenebrae had convinced him of Lunafreya’s conviction and will for Noctis.

“if only... If only I could... Hear his voice once more.... If we could laugh together as we did as children...”

Impelled by her words, Ravus got his sister to Altissia so she could meet her betrothed. 

The scene in Altissia where he so endearingly wished for Luna to see Noctis and deliver the Ring personally makes a lot more sense with that mind.

Letter 3 was probably sent around this time after he sent Luna away on a ship.

He brought extra forces specifically to fight the Hydraean.

Update: Apparently it wasn’t Noctis who sent a gift. The message on the flower translates “Noct, thank you!” with Iris’ messy writing at the time (7yrs old). Below before the arrow says “I got a ‘thank you’” And the page on the left is speculated to be Noctis(12) writing Luna the story of him meeting Iris for the first time. 

Thanks to moonlight-at-dawn for pointing that out in this post!

It’s still cute. Or rather, I personally find this cuter the way he writes little things to her.

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I wish we could see more. I wanna know the story behind the cheerleading Cactuar and hearts on the left page.

A few exchanges I had in mind:

A royal barber suggests Noctis should get a haircut but he likes it long. Writes to Luna about it with a sticker attached resembling a typical shounen spiky-hair hero. (Event as kids.)

Noctis shares his hobby for fishing and his first catch. You get to respond with dialogue options. (Event as mid-late teens.)

In XV, there was a random kid in Tenebrae that tells you Luna really liked cool stickers. The Lovers’ Notebook (as it’s called in your key items) may have been a sticker book initially.

Noctis is the only one who calls Lunafreya by her short name. I thought that was cute little detail. Except Regis says "Dearest Luna" in the ending too. (But in the Japanese dub Regis addresses "Lunafrena" fully instead.)

Luna's gameplay will be mostly just solo but occasionally joined by Pryna and Umbra. Maybe even Ravus. We get to play and see how Luna learns about her duty (and basically throwing her life away for the world's future at such young age.) Perhaps even include Luna's canon/non-canon abuse and why they did it.

You'd think Gentiana or Pryna/Umbra would protect her. But then again, she still got murdered by Ardyn. It was as if the Gods wanted it to happen so Noctis wouldn't have to leave her, or so they can reunite in the "after life".

Update: I did a short fanfic on the supposed child abuse here ⇀ 

A piece from the Ultimania:

M.E. 732 Gentiana settled with the Fleuret family when Luna was born.

M.E. 744 Luna (12) meets Noctis (8). Ravus is 16. Luna's mother killed.

M.E. 745 Shiva awakens in the Ghorovas Rift, attacks Imperial Territory, gets killed. + Shiva told Luna (13) about covenants.   

M.E. 748 Luna (16) made the first covenant with a God, becomes the youngest Oracle in history.

All of those events up to when Luna (24) learns of her arranged engagement can be put into the game. It'd be the perfect spot to end her gameplay, just before she was about to head out and leave Tenebrae as seen in Kingsglaive.

Later, we see cutscenes how Luna awakens Titan and Ramuh. Technically, she only provided covenants for 4 out of the 6. Assuming the first arranged covenant was Shiva. Bahamut was always awake and chilling in the Crystal. Ifrit was with Ardyn.

About Shiva getting "killed". The whole point may have been Shiva trying to commune with Luna and teach her about the covenants. Luna's character biography states at 13 years old - Luna learned about covenants from Shiva.

I don't think Shiva really died. Even her corpse's body language we see in the game is of her in a sassy pose being like whatever.

Her job was done, retreated and left a body behind. The body is most likely the reason why over half of Niflheim is stuck in a perpetual snowstorm.

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The whole thing about the Empire killing Gods was just a propaganda to convince people of their might. They had the Crystal, Insomnia had fallen. Everybody could see Shiva's body if they go to Ghorovas Rift. Titan's earthquakes have stopped. There was nothing that proved these big statements wrong. Citizens of Lucis have no reason to not believe but cower to the Empire's might.

Astrals don't really die permanently. There is a small detail in the Ifrit fight if you let Shiva's dialogue burn out. She will say something along the lines of letting Ifrit turn to ash again. Implying Ifrit already died once before, likely during the Astral War.

Ardyn Gameplay in the Present

You play as Ardyn and chase him around playfully. Deamons and Magitek axemen only chase Iedolas and Verstael. This is the first time you play as Ardyn in the present. And it’s right after you played his past story’s finale too.

At one point you'll show him your abilities as a Lucian King. Iedolas will use the Wallbreaker Wave that strips their magic away (like what happened to Noctis.) But Ardyn still has plenty full of other tricks like his Daemon abilities. You'll notice how much more laid back and lazy the playstyle with him has become compared to past Ardyn.

Ultimately, it will end up with Verstael killing Iedolas thinking he was Ardyn, and a dude in a new Magitek suit (Prompto) killing Verstael. The two dead will be turned into Daemons. Having people around with knowledge of Solheim's ancient Magitek technology would be a nuisance.

According to the Ultimania, Ardyn finds Noctis' misery his own happiness. When the Empire presented a marriage between Noctis and Lunafreya as part of a treaty agreement with the Kingdom of Lucis, it was arranged to make Noctis inherit the power of Kings.

Noctis in Gralea

You won't go through Zegnautus Keep. Instead, you go through the daemons and haywire Magitek infantrymen infested city with your car. The Zegnautus is no longer docked to the elevator that takes you directly up there. And going by air will risk getting shot down as the Imperial dropship you are pilotting is in no way mobile enough.

You drive at a fast pace while avoiding and running over your enemies (no humans though). Ignis will assist with a few attacks if he can, and guide you through with strategy. Aranea will assist in attacks if she is in the party. Noctis can defend if needed. There can be unique link strike combos in car making it more worth having Aranea tagged along gameplay wise.

Noctis has yet to taste the true power of kings. Ardyn's goal right now should be to drive Noctis into a corner and force him to use it. You crash the car and Ignis gets hurt, he can't help you in combat right now. You have to fight the barrage of enemies alone or with Aranea. It's like a last man's standing situation.

It will be too much and Noctis will use the Trident to call forth the power of past kings. It's like a prayer. And when he closes his eyes while holding the Trident vertically straight in front of him, you'll see Luna holding the Trident opposite of Noctis with light flowing around them. (Based on Luna during the Leviathan battle in XV.) When Noctis opens his eyes again, he will just miss the last glimpse of her. The lights of all Royal Arms gather around Noctis and destroys the enemies at ease.

You help Ignis up. If Aranea is in your party she will go with Ignis and help him out. Or an ideal solution is that Noctis could put up a small wall like Regis did for Nyx and Luna in the movie but that may be outside of Noctis' current capabilities.

Noct flies up to where the rest of the enemy forces are. This will be an air battle of Noctis vs. Empire ships and flying Deamons. The Empire ships are on autopilot and attack you automatically. Your goal is to enter the Zegnautus but you can't with all the Magitek lasers, missiles, and other hazards. You'll have to fight.

Some scenery of Gralea before it was overrun and destroyed.

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These may help you visualize Gralea’s landscape and their forces.

In chapter 13 you could find a document on the Zegnautus about a Wallbreaker Wave Test Report. One of those documents hint that they used it on their encounter with Shiva and anticipate that it weakens them. Meaning it's not completely proven.

This tech was what locked Noctis' Lucian magic away. And yet the Ring of Lucii(Light) was still potent. Both the Ring and the power of Kings were gifted by the Gods. The "Wallbreaker Wave" is not perfect.

After learning Ravus’ story, I don’t think the Empire even wanted to have anything to do with the Astrals. All the Emperor wanted was for Niflheim to prosper. And to do that, he needed the Crystal’s power, which could only be drawn via the corresponding Ring of Lucii.

The whole slaying Gods thing just came out starting as a rumor you hear during the train ride. Ravus only tried to kill the Astrals because he thought that would prevent Noctis from fulfilling his calling so Lunafreya wouldn’t have to continue.

Gentiana & Shiva

Gentiana is not Shiva, at least not directly. The Ultimania has a section telling Gentiana who lives with the Nox Fleuret family is one of the 24 Angels and deeply connected to Luna. (Angels = Japanese name for the Messengers. Apostle is also an option.)

A page hat can be found at Taelpar Resting Area  titled:

The Hexatheon and Their Divine Host -  It is said that, in the beginning, the six fought side by side with mankind. Even so, the deities themselves seldom appeared before mortals, and instead sent loyal servants to convey their divine will to the Oracle. These servants are known as Messengers, and they number 24.

The Divine Host could be referring to the Oracle. But the Oracle already has a separate chapter. This is the only page about Messengers, so it's more likely the Divine Host referred to in the title are the Messengers/Angels.

Neither the Gods or Angels die. If you fight Ifrit, Shiva has dialogue at the end about Ifrit already having died before. 

In an early cutscene with kid Luna and Noctis, you'll see the Cosmogony book opened. Here you see the Chosen King, the Oracle, and about 6 Angels present. One being Gentiana and the two being Luna's dogs matured. I don't believe Pryna completely died. We have seen Pryna as a puppy before. The Gods and Angels reincarnate forevermore.

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Do I think Shiva really got killed? No.The timeline in the Ultimania is written from an in-game lore point of view, just as many things are in a timeline chart. Not a player lore view. 

An example: Luna being taught how covenants work at 13 years old (11 years ago) isn't written in the timeline but is in her character biography because nobody else in their world knows about that.

Even Gentiana's little section in the Ultimania is written like an interview for in-game people as she tells everyone she visited Tenebrae when Luna was born and stayed close by her in the shadows ever since. Which also hints at her being omnipresent in a way.

Note that Gentiana’s interview translation does not match her English manner of speech simply because it’s completely different in Japanese. Fan translators don’t do fancy English-Japanese localization. We would need experts who do that as a paid profession if you want it perfect. 

Did you know in Japanese, she refers to Noctis as just Noctis and not by King of Kings? She never calls Noctis’ name in English.

Yet another important bit not included in the Timeline chart but is in Ardyn's character biography (which unfortunately does not contain any information prior to joining Niflheim 34 years ago.) 

“11 years ago: Suppressed Shiva in Groves Valley” (Japanese name for Ghorovas Rift.)

There’s also in-game: Ardyn's uninterrupted dialogue to Gentiana/Shiva in chapter 12 was "The face you wore the day you died" 

Or "The same beautiful face you wore when you got killed." in Japanese.

It’s weird. That contradicts with "suppressed", doesn't it? Maybe he wasn't referring to 11 years ago but something 2000 years ago. Either way, there is no way of knowing really.

Maybe Ardyn gets ticked off whenever someone seems to know things of his past when they shouldn't. Like when Luna said to Ardyn: "When the prophecy is fulfilled, all in thrall to darkness shall know peace." He was clearly not fond of that and backhanded her. He regained his composure shortly after, though. Luna's story could show how she learns or puzzles out about Ardyn's tale.

From here on out, every unique cutscene from XV should remain exclusive to XV.

Gladio

Gladiolus, sworn loyalty and shield for the king. Gets injured at one point; unable to walk, possibly permanent. Won't be joining you to Altissia and goes missing. But you'll reunite and questions get answered. He could have replacement Magitek legs from the thighs down.

Gladio's dlc features him fighting Gilgamesh. I expected it would be Ravus because when he talks about Ravus it's like he knows things other people didn't. It happened once in Tenebrae too if you talk to him. Or like in Ravus' death, Gladio gave this soldier an honourable speech. I thought all Gladio's scars were caused by Ravus, but I guess it's Gilgamesh. But it could make sense since Gladio got downed easily by Ravus in chapter 4 which hurt his pride - as implied by the chocobros' conversation that follows after but Gladio isn't talkative at all - and gave him reason to head out solo after hearing about a strong swordsman (Gilgamesh). And then also the death of his family's butler Jared to add.

Ignis

I can see Ignis being the best spy and intel collector. You'll reunite with Ignis before going to Altissia and he has found valuable information regarding Prompto's whereabouts and Niflhiem's chancellor. Something about Ardyn's name popping up in old royal tomb documents (based on Dark Eos when you talk to adult Talcott in Hammerhead). Ignis loses vision permanently.

Realistically, as a sequel game, Ardyn's secret identity doesn't have to be a plot twist reveal again. And in this game you should already know a bit about Ardyn's past via the dream fragments.

Prompto

Prompto will be taken by the enemy and taken full control of by Verstael (His biological father according to the Ultimania.) Just to give that dad more role since he was basically completely written out of XV aside from some documents you can find. Noct will have to fight Prompto later in the story. Prompto will have an armoury of weapons just like Noctis and he can't take it away from Prompto. Prompto will have an arsenal of guns and machinery. A Magitek suit is enhancing the magic output of Prompto at the cost of his own life. (As Lucis magic does seem to really eat at the user.)

Prompto would be literally everything Niflheim would have wished for as an ideal weapon against the Lucis family.

The chocobros' incidents are based on what they liked the most:

Gladiolus - outdoors activity

Ignis - crystal clear vision

Prompto - being accepted

Dave & Cor can be requited around the same time as they likely know each other. In XV, we hear several times that Cor is busy working with the Hunters protecting people.

Iris wants to go with you after Gladio is missing. She would want to find him but it's dangerous alone and nobody would allow her to go with. Noctis is the only person who she could go with and Noct wouldn't be able to stop her.

Aranea will be with you the most after losing all your chocobros. She's chill and will put Noct out of his moping.

By the time you go to Altissia, everyone has their own thing to do. But at least you’ll reunite with Ignis the chapter before departing.

With obtained fragments related to Ardyn, Noctis will dream of long ago; the story of the first chosen king, Ardyn Lucis Caelum. We get to see and explore Ardyn's time before he became accursed and got tied up to die (as seen in the official Artbook). His gameplay should be nearly identical to Noct. Having their stories parallel with one another is the ideal exposition.

When Noctis wakes up he won't remember any of these dreams perfectly. But he may recall a little like asking himself if Luna appeared in his dream. Or find Ardyn familiar when he first meets him.

Ardyn and Luna's sections are nowhere near as open as Noctis' in the sense of the area to explore being limited/smaller. You can still just goof around and explore and find little extras.

Concepts Part 2

Dangerous driving when Noctis is solo. Remember how dangerously fast Noctis was driving in the Omen trailer?

We could even go further and have the cast we got to know become party members: -Aranea who is obviously a tribute to the Dragoon class. Unlocked after some quests and new fast travel method via her ship but comes with a fee. -Cor: Samurai class will join you too. -Iris: a weaker Fighter class. Does stuns/staggers/breaks, throws Moogles and heals the party with your stock potions. -Heck, even Dave the hunter could come in as the machine/gun guy who uses a firearm, grenades, and a combat knife.

However, their bond won't be as special as the brothers were to Noctis. The party should still be limited to 4 primary members. You can call them up while some of them have requirements. Like going to where they live/reside at the time of the story. But for example, Aranea can be called from anywhere outside since she has a ship.

Umbra is a random party member who will assist when Noctis fights alone. He could perhaps even go in his human-shadow form that cut out as confirmed by the character designer. Umbra disappears from your party once you go to rest. But will stick with you longer in certain story quests.

By the time you head for Altissia, everyone will stay behind because they have their own things to do. -Aranea does her own thing. -Dave does his own thing; stays at hq. -Iris staying safe. -Cor keeping Cape Caem safe.

Concepts Part 3

Each party member has their own skill like Noctis' fishing and Prompto's photography. Because of this setting, you'll definitely miss photos and camping/cooking the most. But there is a solution for those.

When Prompto is no longer in your party, the photo gallery when resting will still come. And instead, it will be called "Memories". You'll lack filters, which return if you have Prompto in your party. I feel like this is a needed function because there could have been some nice Pitioss photos for example.

Cooking is still a thing. With Ignis you have a bigger and delicious looking menu. But without him, it will just be the simple effortless stuff Noctis can do alone. But Iris can cook as heard in a dialogue in XV. She isn't on Ignis' level, but more recipes will be opened up. Same for other members. Each has their own specialties and recipes they can cook only. If Ignis is in the party, their specialties will have boosted stats.

Camping shouldn't be too different. Other than maybe a cutscene showing a harder time building the tent without Gladio. (Probably should have a separate tent, possibly pink to avoid some controversy nonsense.)

The story of a brotherhood is to be sacrificed. But they aren't strangers since Noctis and the chocobros have known each other for years before the start of the game. The bonding in battles and the experiencing hardships together. The lack thereof will affect this story greatly.

As for the levelling system, it should be tied to Noctis. It's not like the level gap was ever more than 1 or 2 between Noctis and the chocobros in XV (unless you're a horrible person). And the guest party members in XV always matched yours too anyway. You can change party equipment and the ascension for party members will have to be revamped a little.