Dec 09, 2016  There are secret doors at the end of many dungeons in Final Fantasy XV. When you first find them, you won’t be able to open them. When you approach the dungeon locked door, the game will only tell you it’s locked. It will probably drive you insane.

'There is nothing either good or bad,

but thinking makes it so.'

William Shakespeare.

PROLOGUE

When the world of Eos was formed, the Astrals were tasked to protect it from all threat, even if it came from themselves. They were Titan the god of earth, Ifrit the god of fire, Shiva the goddess of ice, Ramuh the storm god, Leviathan the goddess of the sea and Bahamut the god of steel, who ruled over all.

Humanity struggled during those early times, and Ifrit took pity on them. He admired their determination and inventiveness, so he gave them the secret of fire and became their patron deity.

Shiva, however, despised humans. She just saw pitiful, weak creatures that shivered in the cold and were devoured by the beasts of winter, lacking talons or fangs to defend themselves. She let Ifrit know of her disdain for such creatures, but the fire god didn't listen to her.

However, it was Ifrit's kindness to humankind which swayed Shiva's heart, who learned to love humans and, in turn, love Ifrit himself.

The civilization which rose under Ifrit's reign was later called Solheim, flourishing as they extended their influence on the land, and reached technological and scientific advances unparalleled ever since. In time, humans grew conceited and rose against their patron. Angered by their hubris, Ifrit struck them, intending to punish Humanity with total extinction.

Following their oath to protect Humanity, the other five Astrals battled Ifrit and his minions on what would be called 'The War of the Astrals', thousands of years before our story. Though the gods never fully revealed themselves to humans, they did so during the War, in the form of gigantic creatures, though Humanity only saw the great calamities sweeping Solheim: Tidal waves, earthquakes, relentless thunderstorms, blizzards and, on the peak of the conflict, a meteorite which was invoked. Titan avoided its collision with the land holding it on his shoulders, but the rippling wave would create great chasms and landmarks, still visible millennia later. After it, all technological and scientific advancements from Solheim were all but lost, and Humanity was set back to a pre-industrial era.

Ifrit was defeated by Bahamut himself, and laid to rest in Ravatogh Mountain, which would turn into a volcano by Ifrit's dormant body. The other Astrals also went to sleep, each one in a different place of the world, with Titan holding the Meteorite on his shoulders. All but Bahamut, who disappeared.

After the Meteorite's crash, a strange plague started spreading over the land which people called the Starscourge. The infection would make people averse to sunlight, they would forget their kin and friend and, in the end, their bodies would twist and transform into monsters or, as they would be called: Daemons, which thrived in darkness and died under the light of the sun.

As the Astrals went to sleep, they had seen the plague that came from the Meteorite, and they fashioned a sacred Crystal. Such device would serve as a way to communicate their will to humans, as an oath of protection against the Starscourge; and a Ring to be worn by a man handpicked by the gods, from whose bloodline a Chosen King would be born. That Chosen King would be the one to wield the Ring's powers in full and banish the Starscourge, ushering the start of a new era. It was decreed that the noble House of Lucis would be the ruling family, and that it's heir, Somnus Lucis Caelum, would be the First King. Lucis' capital, Insomnia, was built by him, and named in his honor. The God's blessings allowed him and all whom he shared his powers with, to conjure weapons from thin air and cast magic, in order to help protect the Kingdom and the Crystal.

Along with the Chosen King, among the maidens of the kingdom of Tenebrae, Bahamut chose the most virtuous of them and named her the Gods' Oracle, the one who would serve as the bridge between divinity and Mankind; he bestowed her with the power to alleviate the Starscourge among the afflicted ones, and her family, the Nox Fleuret, would rule Tenebrae. The title would pass from mother to daughter and, should an Oracle pass away without an heiress, the power would go to the next female in the family.

Thus began a period of waiting. During two thousand years, the line of the Lucis Caelum saw great kings and governors who would accomplish many heroic feats. At their side there was always an Oracle, carrying the duty of guiding the King of Lucis and travel the land to ease the suffering of those infected by the Starscourge. A magic Wall was erected, and it encompassed the entire Kingdim of Lucis.

However, the nation of Niflheim started coveting the Crystal and rose in arms against Lucis, starting a war which would last over a century. Niflheim, under the guide of the Aldercapt line, started to investigate Solheim's ancient magiteknology, wanting to reach the same prosperity the Crystal had bestowed to Lucis. Territory after territory was annexed during the following decades, with Lucis still sustaining the Wall, but leaving all other lands unprotected.

At some point during the last decades of the war, the nation of Niflheim suffered a great catastrophe: For reasons unknown, Shiva awakened from her sleep and the Niflheim army rose to meet her at Ghorovas Rift, outside Gralea, the empire's capital. Her corpse lain in the fields of that country, turning the climate icy cold. A great crisis hit the land, with the inhabitants blaming the ancient gods for their failing crops and dying animals. To worsen things, the Starscourge plague ravaged the outer provinces, turning them into no man's land, and being sealed off to contain the daemons within.

Niflheim intensified its attacks on Lucis, its magiteknology suddenly becoming more powerful than what Solheim had ever achieved, and it kept conquering more territories as their robotic soldiers swept the land like a blight.

As Niflheim grew in power and Lucis tried to contain it, the then King Mors the 112th had to scale down the Wall to invest more power on his soldiers, leaving all lands save the Crown City unprotected. Prince Regis traveled to the Protectorate of Accordo to negotiate a treaty to limit Niflheim's expansion with three companions. Cid Sophiar, who was Regis' personal mechanic; the youngest member of the Crownsguard, Cor Leonis; Clarus Amicitia, his bodyguard; and his friend Weskham, who suffered a serious injury and remained in Altissia after they signed the treaty. He would remain there for the next thirty years, managing a restaurant.

However, the war intensified and King Mors died unexpectedly. Regis, now king and in charge of the Ring of the Lucii, retreated the troops he stationed in Altissia and other lands, but he did not enlarge the Wall to cover again the lands outside Insomnia, despite him being younger and having more life energy than his father. This decision to keep the city sealed caused Cid to voice his protest against Regis' treatment of the outside world, and especially of the refugees who fled the Starscourge and the war; he left the city, cutting all ties with the royal family and Insomnia. Nevertheless, he settled in an abandoned gas station a few kilometers outside the city and founded a repair shop, the Hammerhead.

The two nations had reached a standstill, and thus the War was unofficially ended. The Empire functioned as a big and powerful nation outside the Wall of Lucis, while Lucis still thrived on its isolation. Refugees fleeing the Starscourge and the Empire's control kept arriving at its doors, seeking asylum, but finding none most on the time. The few privileged ones who could enter Insomnia faced racism, poverty and further isolation, for fear from the population that they were imperial spies, adding to the social tensions already boiling inside.

During those thirty years, Regis married and had a son, Noctis Lucis Caelum. Sadly, Queen Aulea died when the Prince was just an infant, and Regis saw himself having to raise a son all by his own, while tending to the war and his kingdom.

Noctis grew up to resent his father, whom he seldom saw, thinking that he didn't care about him. When he was eight, he convoy the young kid was traveling outside the city was attacked by a marilith, a half-woman, half-snake daemon. King Regis appeared and wounded the monster, driving it away.

King Regis couldn't go too far from the Crystal, and never for a long time, since it was his own life force the one sustaining the magic Wall. It was a great risk he took when saving his only son.

Noctis had suffered a severe wound which bound him to a wheelchair and would change his character from a bouncy, cheerful kid to a shy, pensive one. For days on end, the King sat at his bedside and took care of his son, and Noctis' affection for his father finally grew and took root. Once Noctis could move around, even on his wheelchair, Regis decided to send him to Tenebrae, still a friend state of Lucis, untouched by the Empire. There the Queen of Tenebrae and Oracle received them as honored guests, even if the visit was an incognito one. There Noctis met the princes: Ravus, the eldest son (12 years old), who looked down on the sickly young Lucis prince, and Lunafreya, the young princess (9 years old), heiress to the Oracle, who took nursing Noctis back to health as her personal duty, one she would take willing and cheerfully.

Noctis made a speedy recovery, if not physical, at least of mind and spirit. He and Luna became fast friends, due to the girl's warmth character and caring nature, and they would spend most of their time together, even sleeping in the same room.

When Noctis suffered the attack and lain at Death's door, the gods had spoken to Regis via the Crystal. Bahamut had made his choice: Noctis would be the Chosen King, the one who would vanquish darkness from the land and usher a new future. Regis was devastated. His first impulse was that of overprotecting his son, but the Crystal shown the King a future where Noctis had to make his journey and did so alone. He wielded the Ring of the Lucii with great ability, but there was something more aside from daemons, and that force played with Noctis' mind, eroding it until it broke down and he himself was lost to darkness.

That was why Regis took great pains on introducing his son to durable, strong friendships, so that his bonds would grow, not out of servitude, but out of love.

Lunafreya was the first of such bonds. Noctis grew much attached to her during their brief visit to Tenebrae, and he would listen attentively whenever the girl instructed him about Ancient History, the Lucis' royal line, the Oracles and the Six, and what her own mission as the future Oracle of the Chosen One.

Nevertheless, their stay in Tenebrae was a short one. While Tenebrae's royal family celebrated a gathering with their guests, the Empire invaded them. The Oracle was murdered trying to protect Ravus from the fearsome General Glauca, always clad in a magitek armor which covered his entire body. Regis, knowing that his powers were not strong enough while he sustained the Wall from afar, grabbed Noctis and Luna and tried to escape. Seeing that she would slow them down, Luna let go of Regis' hand and decided to stay, while the other two fled to safety.

The nation of Lucis was powerless to protest against Tenebrae's invasion, and it became another protectorate of the Empire, with the Oracle's children under the direct care of imperial generals. At 14, Luna was the youngest girl to reach the title of Oracle ever recorded, and it began her incessant travel through the land, always accompanied by her personal handmaid, Gentiana, and her two dogs: Umbra (male) and Pryna (female). Those companions were nothing but Messengers of the gods, tasked with the protection of the Oracle.

Luna's prayers would keep the Starscourge at bay, curing as many infirm as she could, but not erasing it completely. Her warmth and kindness made her win the populace's love, and so the empire guarded her from any harm, despite her status as a hostage.

Ravus, however, grew resentful of both King Regis, whom he blamed for his mother's death, and Noctis, whom he thought too feeble and weak-willed to wield the power of the Crystal.

In later years, King Regis would surround his son with reliable, strong companions. He had excellent judgment, but the strongest bond, perhaps, happened by chance in the form of a schoolmate.

When Noctis was twelve, he had a chance meeting with a boy who attended the same school as him. He was a quiet, overweight boy, only interested in electronic devices. His reserved character, however, wasn't the result of bullying; other kids were nice to him, but he was very aloof, only caring about his digital camera and the photos he took of anything he fancied. That boy's name was Prompto Argentum.

One day, on his way home from school, Prompto saw a white puppy trying to walk down the street, but limping from a wound on one of its hind legs. The child, who had a caring nature, dressed the wound with his own handkerchief but, seeing that the pup couldn't still walk, he took it home.

His parents weren't any concern when taking in homeless animals. They were always away on business trips and they kept a cold and distant relationship with their son. Since there wasn't anyone there to cook a proper meal either, Prompto sustained himself with junk food, hence his obesity.

The child gave the puppy a bath, fed it and tried to take a photo to post flyers in case the owner was looking for it, but the puppy spilled the plate of milk on him as soon as Prompto tried to take the picture.

For some days, he took care of the puppy he had come to name Chibi. The kid felt happy to finally have someone waiting for him at home, and he would hasten to his place every day, instead of dallying with his camera until sunset.

One day, however, Chibi was nowhere to be found. Prompto searched everywhere, and even went around the neighborhood screaming the name, but Chibi never appeared.

The days that followed were the most depressing ones in Prompto's short life. However, one day he found a handwritten letter on his mail. It smelled of perfume and it read as follows:

Dear Prompto,I hope this letter reaches you in good health. My name is Lunafreya Nox Fleuret. I believe you are the one who found my dog, Pryna. My heart was heavy with the thought of losing her, but we were happily reunited, thanks to you. You have my gratitude.I had sent Pryna to see Prince Noctis. You are friends with Noctis, aren't you? I heard he's usually too busy to play with his schoolmates, so I suppose you don't get to see him very often. Regardless, I hope you can continue to be a good friend to him.

Prompto couldn't read more of the letter. He was over his head with all that had happened, and with the knowledge that this girl he had never met counted on him for something. And no other than Lady Lunafreya Nox Fleuret! So he armed himself of courage, and decided that the next day he would go talk to Noctis.

The Prince would always spend recess on his own, in a corner of the school's courtyard where construction materials piled up and no kid would go to play. He was a solitary child who liked to spend time on his own, and he was tired of the constant interrogations of other girls about his servants or about the palace.

Prompto slowly approached him. In doing so, he tried to jump over a construction barrier, but he was too clumsy and fell face first on the ground. Noctis ran towards him and offered his hand, asking if he was all right. Prompto mistook the gesture and offered his camera instead, but Noctis laughed: 'Not that,' he said. And he helped Prompto to his feet. But the boy was very heavy and Noctis, without malice, said so as he helped him, never letting go of the kid. The bell signaled the end of recess, and Noctis said goodbye before the other could react.

The truth was that Noctis' words had struck something inside Prompto. He suddenly became self-aware of how he looked, and thought that he couldn't be Noctis' friend while he was so fat. So he took to asking his classmates for advice about running. He then went on a strict diet, taking a photo of himself every morning to see the progression, and always taking out Luna's letter from the special box he had stored it into every time his will to run faltered.

Fast-forward three years, Prompto was a thin, athletic young man about to enter High School. The first day of class, he approached Noctis and introduced himself as if it was the first time they saw each other, but Noctis smiled, recognizing the wristband Prompto always wore on his right wrist and said: 'Don't I know you?'

That's how their friendship began, and how Prompto started calling Noctis 'Noct', as every close friend would later do.

The next bond would be Noctis' Shield. At the age of eleven, the Prince would start his training as a weapon master. As future King, he would need to be able to wield the weapons summoned with the power of the Crystal, and thus he would have to train and master each discipline.

The one appointed for this task was Gladiolus Amicitia, the son of King Regis' Shield, Clarus Amicitia, and the next Shield for the future King. The lad was less than thrilled: Noctis slacked off often, he was haughty, slow to learn since he put next to no effort in it and, to Gladio's chagrin, he was a picky eater. Even if Gladio was some years ahead and his mentor, he had no actual power over the Prince, and Noctis only endured training to obey his father.

Gladio had a younger sister: Iris, who was five at the time. She would poke fun at Gladio each time her big brother came home, and would always ask endless questions about the Prince. She felt that childish fascination with royalty, and wouldn't let her brother alone about it. Gladio, however, thought of the Prince as a 'spineless brat who would never be King', and that he would never be the Shield to such a wimp.

One day Gladio was called to the Palace's entrance. Iris was there, demanding to see the Prince. He started telling his sister off, but she wouldn't budge (a strong will was a family trait). Their uncle, who worked as a butler, saw no problem with it and they took Iris to a room to wait for the Prince to be summoned.

Said room had an exit to a greenhouse garden. The child kept staring at the greenery, something she had only seen in the park and in photos, when a cat scurried between the plants, and out of sight. Iris, being so young, for a moment forgot about her appointment with the Prince, and went in pursuit of the cat.

For his part, on his way to the appointment, Noctis walked along a corridor with a direct access to the greenhouse garden. He sensed movement through the corner of his eye and he spied the cat and a little girl pursuing it. The maid accompanying him didn't notice, so he abruptly left her side and went running into the garden, yelling over his shoulder that he was going for a walk.

Iris kept following the cat, which entered a ventilation conduct, followed a narrow tunnel and went walking over the piping, always with Iris right behind him.

The tunnel opened to a slope just outside the Palace in a hidden area of the park. Iris ran, trying to follow the cat, but the animal quickly lost her among the trees. The sky was darkening with upcoming rain, and the artificial lights began to shine. At one point the girl tripped and fell rolling down a muddy slope. Knowing herself lost and with no way back to the palace, she sat down and cried.

Noctis knew about the tunnel, since it was a route he often took to get out of the Palace without the adults' supervision (something he had strictly forbidden), and he had an idea of how dangerous it could be for a little girl. Not knowing her name yet, he just called for her when he was out of the tunnel. During the time they had spent inside the tunnel, heavy clouds had gathered over the city and now it was raining heavily. The poor girl fell into his arms when they finally found each other, and Noctis asked for her name. Putting a finger to his lips when the girl was calmer, he told her that the exit to the park would be their little secret. She then became worried that her 'big bro' would be mad at her. The Prince asked again who her big brother's name, and was taken aback when he knew that it was Gladio.

Back at the Palace, Gladio was furious at Iris and yelled at her in front of the Prince, but the King's arrival cut the scolding short.

When Gladio confessed that it had been his sister the one to have caused such uproar at the Palace, Noctis said that it had been his fault, that it had been him the one to ask Iris to go outside with him to play. Gladio was pale with fury, but said nothing in front of the King. Regis, however, reminded the Prince that, as a child of royalty, he was in no position of leaving the Palace without permission, and that he might have put Iris in danger. For that, the Prince was grounded and sent to take a shower before going to bed.

That night, at the Amicitia's home, Gladio was relieving some stress with push-ups, when Iris confessed in tears that it had been her fault for chasing a kitty and getting lost. Gladio didn't believe her since he was already prejudiced against Noctis, but when Iris burst into tears, he saw that his sister was telling the truth.

The next day, Noctis was in his room, writing a project for his tutor as part of his grounding. Gladio, now softened towards the kid, suggested to go working out, since the training room was still inside the Palace's premises, and technically that wouldn't break the rules.

During that session, Gladio parried with ease Noctis' attacks and, as usual, he sent him face first to the floor. The kid was frustrated, as always, but that time he didn't call for a recess.

'You still have a long way to go,' said Gladio, going to sit at his side. 'But… you got guts. Iris told me the whole story.'

'What story?'

'The real one, where you covered up for her,' then Gladio bowed to him. 'Thank you.'

Noctis, being the timid kid that he was, just stuttered a weak 'You don't need to…', though Gladio didn't let him finish.

'But that doesn't mean I will go easy on you,' he said. 'You have a lot to learn before you're king.'

'Then teach me,' said Noctis, interested for the first time on his training.

Paint shop pro free download for mac. They resumed their drilling, and from that day on Gladio could see an improvement on his pupil's development. Not as fast as he would have liked, but the Prince took a liking to fighting.

Despite how confusing his behavior had been at first, Gladio soon understood the reasoning behind Noctis actions: As the Prince, his persona was all but sacred, yet Gladio had permission to physically punish him during training and many a session ended up with Noctis bruised and on the verge of tears, despite the training armor. On his eleven-year-old mind, Gladio was nothing but a brute with absolute power over him so when Iris, much younger and smaller than Noctis, seemed to incite Gladio's wrath, the Prince stepped forward and put himself as a shield for the little child. That was exactly the attitude Gladio expected in a future king.

What Noctis didn't know, and Gladio never said, though he knew the prince would find out with time, was that Iris was the most precious person in Gladio's life. Not once in his life did he ever thought about raising his hand against his little sister, and his bad temper had come from worriedness at the prospect of any harm coming to her. That natural protectiveness of the elder brother had been nurtured and fostered by their father, who always saw that the two siblings had a stronger bond between them than with him.

The last bond that was mentioned was the very first King Regis helped forging: It was that of Ignis Scientia. If Gladio would act in the future as his bodyguard, Ignis would be Noctis' personal retainer, something the young, bespectacled boy would take extremely seriously, even at his young age.

One of the abilities Ignis acquired over the years he spent taking care of the Prince was that of cooking. He practiced so much this art when he reached adulthood that he managed to make Noctis eat whatever he prepared, as long as it didn't contain carrots. One of Ignis' personal projects was to recreate a sweet Noctis remembered from his stay in Tenebrae, a pastry stuffed with cream and fruit jam, but it took a long time for poor Ignis to do so, because it was a process of trial an error, based on some vague recollections from the Prince.

When Noctis entered college, he moved to an apartment for him to learn how to live on his own. However, each time Ignis visited he was welcomed with rooms cluttered with trash and empty cups of instant noodles. On one of those days, he cleaned up the apartment and set up to prepare a healthy dinner for the two of them. When Noctis arrived that evening he was wasn't very pleased that Ignis had rearranged all his mangas and put some order on his bedroom, but he said nothing and sat down to have dinner.

After supper, Ignis served the sweets he had baked that morning. They were very good, as Noctis said, but not quite the thing.

Since the Prince was in the middle of his exams, Ignis went away right afterwards to give him time to study, but not before taking Noctis' shirt to sew a loose button, reminding him to close all the doors (balcony included), take out the trash, giving him a war report he had to read, and that if he couldn't prove himself capable of living alone he would be moved back to the Palace. Noctis just nodded like any kid would do with his mother, and Ignis went on his way.

The next day, Ignis, as secretary to the Council, attended a reunion where the King's advisors were discussing the Empire's increasing activity, with the empire's recent annexation of Galahd. Their distress was evident with reports of new, stronger imperial weapons being tested, and that Lucis' magic having been inhibited during battle.

After the meeting, Ignis ran into the King in one of the corridors. Regis asked about Noctis, and Ignis expressed his concerns about the Prince's diet and his abilities to live on his own. The King just chuckled Ignis' concerns away and thanked him for taking care of his son. Ignis made a reverence, but couldn't help noticing that the King had to walk with the help of a cane.

'Has the Wall taken such toll on Your Majesty?'

'It would appear so,' he smiled. 'Only the King can create the Wall and protect his people,' he said, looking through a nearby window to the city below. 'If something foul would befall me, the heir of Lucis must take the throne. But I'll end this war before that.'

Those words kept repeating on Ignis' mind that night and, stoic as he always was, he couldn't help feeling concerned about such cryptic assertion.

The next day, as Noctis and Prompto walked back home from their first day of exams, Prompto noticed a giant screen airing some news where the King was featured. It had been weeks since Noctis had seen his father and, though he knew that the Wall he had erected was speeding his aging and turning his hair white well before his fifties, he was aghast to see him having to walk with the help of a cane.

That night he returned home later than usual, having spent the evening at the arcades instead of studying. Ignis was at his home, with a new batch of pastries and a suitcase filled with war reports.

'You are late,' he said when Noctis entered the living room without saying a word. 'I thought your exams ended before noon.'

'I was at the arcade,' he surly said before plopping on the sofa.

'Did you study for tomorrow's test?'

'Why're you here?'

'I brought your uniform,' Ignis said, impassible before Noctis' sour mood. 'Have you read the report?'

'No.'

'I suspected as much,' he said, sitting at the dining table. 'It doesn't look like you have touched it.

'The war with the Empire might have ended 30 years ago,' he continued. 'But we cannot let our defenses down just yet. The news are being regulated, but we receive reports of local skirmishes from time to time.'

'I know,' grumbled Noctis as he lain on the sofa.

'Thanks to the King and Wall, though, Lucis has been able to enjoy peace for the last 150 years. As a king must sacrifice his strength to create the barrier, His Majesty has avoided the public eye to concentrate solely on the Wall. However, it seems as if though he has lost the ability to summon weapons. Are you listening?'

'Do we have to talk about this now?'

'If not then when? You are the successor to the throne and someday-'

'My dad's going to die?' Noctis raised his voice for the first time during the evening.

Ignis lowered his eyes.

'I didn't…'

'That's what you're saying!' Noctis sat down, furious. 'When my dad dies, I have to be the King!'

'Shouting won't change the truth-'

'Then I don't wanna hear your truth!'

After a few tense moments, Ignis, still with an impassible mien, stood up and took his suitcase.

'I see you won't listen to reason,' he said as he went to the door. 'But you ought to at least think it over.'

Out of frustration, Noctis grabbed one of the sofa's cushions and threw it across the room. For his part, Ignis, once in the car, and after having closed the vehicle's door a bit harder than normal, finally let out a deep sigh of exhaustion as he leaned over the steering wheel.

Patient as he was, Noctis' behavior escaped his understanding. Ignis had always been one for order and discipline, ever since he could remember. Decisions were easy to take for him, provided he had the necessary information, and duty wasn't a matter of feeling or not like carrying it out. One did it, and that was all. In Ignis' world there was no place for ambiguity.

That King Regis was going to die was a fact. A painful one, nonetheless, but it was inescapable, and one could only react to it. Emotions were logical in such situations, but it unnerved Ignis how Noctis let them carry him away. It was unbecoming of someone with so much responsibility on his shoulders, but Ignis could only do so much.

After a while, and when he could collect his thoughts, Ignis started the car and made his way back to the Palace.

The Prince spent the next afternoon with Prompto at the arcade. Normally quite good at videogames, Noctis wasn't having a good time getting constantly killed at his favorite machines. Even his friend noticed his frustration.

'What's wrong?' he asked. 'Did ya bomb the test?'

But before he could answer, someone approached them: a tall, big guy with sportswear and a gruff voice.

'Shouldn't you be in school?' the guy asked in a menacing tone.

Prompto jumped on his feet.

'We were just heading home!' he squeaked.

Noctis, however, wasn't scared of the man. He was surprised, instead, about seeing him in a place like that.

'Gladio?'

For some reason, his instructor had come searching for him. He said that Noctis had been skipping practice lately and that he could use an extra training lesson at the Amicitia's home.

Back at Gladio's family backyard, Noctis was having the same luck with his practice sword as he had with the videogames, and he stopped the practice.

'Hey, you can't give up already,' Gladio scolded him. 'The King's counting on you.'

'I KNOW!' Noctis screamed.

Seeing that something was amiss, Gladio sat down with him in the grass.

'I know,' the Prince murmured before finding his voice again. 'I know. I can't become king like this. But… I don't wanna think of my dad dying.'

Sometime later, during that same afternoon, Ignis had gone to the training room at the Palace to vent some of his frustration. Even if he had specialized himself on fighting with double daggers and spear, that afternoon he practiced fencing with a heavy sword, that he wielded with almost the same ease, if only to wear himself out more quickly.

As he exited the training room, he saw that someone was waiting for him.

'Noct's been slacking off lately,' Gladio said casually.

'Was he with you?'

'Earlier, yeah. If he tries to skip out of training again, bring him by.'

'Certainly,' Ignis said, but then he sighed. 'But… I never know what goes on in that head of his. I sometimes wonder if he ever understands his position.'

Gladio chuckled.

'Give him a little more credit than that.'

A few days later Ignis drove again to Noctis' home to check on him. The apartment was as clean as he had left it the last time, though something was amiss this time.

'Is something burning?' he murmured when he caught the smell.

Something had burnt, indeed. He found in the kitchen the remains of several failed attempts at cooking, among which there was an almost ruined pan. Noctis' class notes lain over the table, filled up with annotations and diagrams.

The Prince arrived at that moment. He said nothing when he saw Ignis, just averting his eyes, as if not wanting to say a thing, the echoes of their previous fight surely still ringing in his ears.

'Did you cook?' Ignis asked.

'Tried to,' the Prince said, still not looking at him.

A few seconds passed, and Noctis turned around.

'Hungry?' he said, as if nothing had happened, even if he sounded definitely a bit dispirited.

'Regrettably,' Ignis lamented. 'I didn't bring anything today.'

And so they ended up eating instant noodles, which went against every single one of Ignis' culinary and nutritional principles.

'Not bad, once in a while,' he commented, despite everything.

'So… which trash does a frying pan go in?'

'It's not trash yet. I'll bring the proper cleanser next time.'

'Thanks.'

Noctis kept eating, but Ignis had stopped, gazing at his cup.

'I spoke out of turn last time,' he said suddenly.

'Last time you almost had it.'

'You mean the sweets?'

'I could definitely go for some more,' Noctis mumbled. Ignis knew the Prince wasn't angry anymore. Too many things were being pushed his way, maybe more than what a young man like him could bear alone.

'Very well,' he simply said.

The remainder of the diner was spent in silence.

Thus was formed Noctis' retinue, three men who would guard him with their lives, if needed. Despite his royal blood, Noctis always treated them as equals, and the four young men formed unshakable bonds, stronger than blood.