Characters / Final Fantasy XV - Empire of Niflheim

aka: Final Fantasy XV Ardyn Izunia

This page details the characters affiliated with the Empire of Niflheim, the main antagonist faction of Final Fantasy XV.

Main Index | Main Party Members | Guest Party Members | Kingdom of Lucis | Other Allies | Empire of Niflheim | Astrals and other creatures / beings

Any spoilers regarding Kingsglaive and all spoilers for Ardyn Izunia's folder are unmarked.

Empire of Niflheim

Location: Eos

Capital City: Gralea

A technologically-advanced nation to the west. At the beginning of XV, much of Eos has been brought under Niflheim's control, with Lucis remaining unconquered due to its Crystal.

---

In General

• 0% Approval Rating: Niflheim is extremely unpopular with the countries they've conquered. From the look of things though, they manage to convince Ravus that Lucis was responsible for his mother's death, and the citizens of Lucis that they're there to liberate them and bring equality to the people. They even allow Accordo to "retain" its own government and Tenebrae some autonomy, though by the time Kingsglaive happens, all of Tenebrae is conquered and Queen Sylva is murdered; in return, they only "ask" for their forces to be allowed entry and freedom of movement in cities (which is constantly abused) and set up some road blocks to find the group. They do impose crushing taxes on their "citizens" which ostensibly goes toward their military machine.
• Animal Motifs: Niflheim's emblem◊ features two dragons—one gold, one black—facing each other.
• The Empire: Of the quintessential expansionist variety.
• Faceless Mooks: The Former All-Purpose Model Magitek troops wear armored helmets that cover their faces.
• Fantasy Counterpart Culture: Niflheim greatly resembles Imperial Germany, with its strong army, militaristic tendencies and technology level. Bonus points for the emperor's chief official being titled "chancellor".
• Grim Up North: Or rather, "Grim Up West"; the land that makes up the Empire's core was a vast desert before their slaying of Shiva, turning nearly the entire continent into an Arctic wasteland. It's jarring to say the least, in that there is literally a paper-thin border where the land is evenly split between a desert and an icy hell.
• Kill the God: They are gunning for Astrals as part of Ardyn's plan.
• Light Is Not Good: Niflheim higher-ups tend to wear white with red and gold, especially Aldercapt himself. Notably in Kingsglaive, Aldercapt's council is wearing predominantly white with white cloaks for emphasis.
• Magic Versus Science: Downplayed Trope. The Kingdom of Lucis' use of their king's magic is played against the Empire of Niflheim's Magitek.
• Magitek: The bread and butter of their armed forces. Magitek is later revealed to be powered by siphoning miasma from daemons and in order to fuel the Imperial war machine, specimens must regularly be collected by skilled daemon hunters like Aranea.
• Meaningful Name: Niflheim means "mist world" in Old Norse; in Norse Mythology, Niflheim was The Underworld.
• Mythology Gag: The name of the Empire is one to Nibelheim from Final Fantasy VII. The Magitek, overall makeup and look of the Empire also resembles Gestahl's Empire from Final Fantasy VI.
• Standard Sci-Fi Army: In addition to their Magitek armor, most of their foot soldiers are made up of androids.
• Take Over the World: With the conquest of Insomnia, Niflheim has accomplished this.
• Unwitting Pawn: The entire Empire was nothing more than a tool for Ardyn to play with in his plan. They were simply the most powerful military force at the time, so he slowly corrupted it from within and used it for his own ends.
• What Measure Is a Mook?: Ardyn reveals that the Magitek troops are mix of human, daemons and machines who are still at their infant stage when they are being cut down by the heroes. He doesn't question that the Empire are throwing them in a war and are the source of their problem but he just wanted to harass Noctis however he could.

Leadership

Ardyn Izunia (UNMARKED SPOILERS)

Chancellor Ardyn Izunia

Voiced by: Keiji Fujiwara (Japanese), Darin De Paul (English)^{Foreign VAs}Arnaud Léonard (EU French), Jo van Nelsen (German), Alexander Kovrizhnykh (Russian)

Appears in: Final Fantasy XV | Episode Prompto | Episode Ignis | Comrades | Episode Ardyn | Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV | Episode Ardyn: Prologue

"I'm an impatient traveler, ready to turn ship. (...) A man of no consequence."

The Big Bad of the game, Chancellor of Niflheim and a driving force behind the development of their Magitek weaponry that has allowed them to become so powerful. He is also the one who came up with the idea of the peace treaty between Lucis and Niflheim, a ploy to invade Insomnia and steal the Crystal of Lucis. Throughout the game Ardyn comes before Noctis and his group offering aid on his own terms, even after his true role in the Empire becomes known. While the boys often have little choice but to accept Ardyn's help, they know he's playing with them and has more devious motives behind his jovial and friendly facade.

The truth of the matter is far more surprising than any of them could expect - Ardyn's true identity is Ardyn Lucis Caelum, brother of Lucis' Founder King Somnus. 2000 years ago when the Starscourge ravaged the land, Ardyn healed people of the malady by taking it into himself, slowly turning him into a monster. Rejected by the Astrals and the Crystal for his corruption, Ardyn was struck down by Somnus and imprisoned on the island of Angelgard, as he had become an immortal that could not be killed. When Niflheim freed Ardyn as part of their study of daemons, Ardyn eventually learned that he had originally been chosen by the Crystal to be the Founder King, until Somnus betrayed and usurped him and the Astrals allowed him to ascend the throne instead.

Furious over the betrayal of his brother and the gods, Ardyn committed himself to a path of darkness with a single-minded goal at the end — the destruction of Somnus' legacy and all that had been built upon it, including the death of the True King, Noctis.

---

• Agent Peacock: The most flamboyant and camp male out of the main cast, and the most dangerous.
• All According to Plan: Everything he does is planned for in advance.
• Ambiguously Human: Due to his absorbing so many daemons into himself, he's become effectively immortal, and—despite retaining the appearance and shape of one—no longer human.
• And I Must Scream: Spent two thousand plus years chained up in Angelgard.
• An Offer You Can't Refuse:
  • Ardyn offers one to Regis, because if he does refuse, it would mean Niflheim would use every resource it has at its disposal to take down Lucis. To avoid this, Regis hesitantly agrees to the terms laid out by Niflheim.
  • Is given one by Bahamut at the end of the Episode Ardyn DLC: Submit to his destiny as the 'Bringer of Darkness' that is ultimately slain by the True King, or be cast into unending darkness for eternity.
• Arch-Enemy: He's a nemesis to all Lucian royalty, but he takes special pleasure in making Noctis's life as much of a living hell as possible. Noct very much returns the sentiment in kind.
• Ascended Extra: He actually wasn't even present in the original concept for Versus XIII to begin with. He was later conceptualized in 2010 as The Dragon to Aldercapt's Big Bad, but over the course of the switch from Versus XIII to XV and its development cycle he was promoted to the game's Big Bad.
• Ax-Crazy: Completely, and utterly insane. In a lot of ways, he's similar to Kefka Palazzo in this regard.
• Badass Boast: Makes several over the course of the game, but the best goes to referencing his Unexplained Recovery after Shiva insta-kills him.
  "For a moment I felt death's chill wind, such is the might of the Gods. But then, I remembered I'm immortal. Such is my blessing, and curse."
• The Bad Guy Wins:
  • Along with Aldercapt, Kingsglaive shows how he helped Aldercapt invade Lucis and steal its Power Crystal from Insomnia.
  • Ardyn wished for the end of the line of Lucis. He got his wish, as the last of the line commits a Heroic Sacrifice to destroy him.
  • However, this is ultimately subverted in Episode Ardyn, where it is revealed Ardyn's fall from grace was arranged by the Astrals from the beginning, and he's coerced by Bahamut into antagonizing Noctis in order to fulfill their prophecy. Though Ardyn is tided over by the knowledge the line of Lucis will come to an end, it is made very clear that he's not happy being the Astrals' pawn.
• Bad Samaritan: In the "Omen" trailer, Luna's dog Pryna can be seen guiding Noctis throughout his journey alone, but towards the end, it is revealed to not be Pryna, but a burnt black dog disguised as her, who had led Noctis astray and deceived him into falling into depravity. This is likely to be an allusion to Ardyn in the game, pretending to be a benevolent and helpful man, offering advice and guiding the group on their journey, while manipulating them for his own machinations, even confessing to Noctis that he has no intention of killing him as a mortal... because he wants him to rise as the True King.
• Battle Aura: Glows red in the final battle against Noctis.
• Best Served Cold: He's waited centuries to reap his revenge upon the world.
• Beware the Silly Ones: At first glance, Ardyn gives off the impression of a man with a whimsical and oddball sense of humor, even calling himself " a man of no consequence"... which is exactly what he wants people to think. His playable self in Episode Ardyn, in particular, shows just how powerful Ardyn can be when he drops the Troll act. The episode has him fight his way through hundreds of Royal Guards and their robot guardians, taking on King Regis in his prime, and then going one-on-one with Somnus, the Founder King himself and coming out on top in all three fights. Had it not been for the literal divine intervention of Bahamut, Ardyn would've had his vengeance right then and there.
• BFS: His signature weapon, the Rakshasa Blade, is almost as tall as he is. The Mutant Rakshasa Blade that Noctis and Gladio can wield after completing Episode Ardyn is even classified as a greatsword.
• Big Bad: The main antagonist of the game. Every major conflict is the result of his meticulous planning.
  • In Kingsglaive, he manipulates Lucis into accepting a peace treaty with Niflheim, which leads to the destruction of Insomnia.
  • In XV, he ultimately plans to exact revenge against the Astrals and the Lucian bloodline for rejecting him.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: He presents himself as a "man of no consequence" and someone who is very amicable to the good guys, but he's actually working for Niflheim and was involved in the destruction of Insomnia.
• Black Sheep: Of the Lucis family line due to being cast out as a daemon after absorbing them into himself. His brother orchestrated the smear campaign against him even before Ardyn revealed himself to be a daemon.
• Blatant Lies: Every time he meets Noctis and his friends, he utters one of these to try and seem inconsequential; they know damn well that he's hiding something.
• Blow You Away: His Dark Tornado attack, which is Exactly What It Says on the Tin. Ardyn creates a tornado of dark energy that damages all enemies caught in the area of effect.
• Brainwashed and Crazy: Of a very rare and unusual self-inflicted variety. Each time he deamonfies someone, he absorbs all their memories. With each absorption, his mind and personality becomes more twisted - when Verstael first found him, he was deeply depressed and broken, but by experimenting with his powers, he became certifiably giddy and completely insane. He more or less realizes the impact his powers have on his mind, but he's so overcome with hate and vengeance that he just doesn't care.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: As the chancellor of Niflheim he does have his quirks and is somewhat eccentric in contrast to Glauca and Aldercapt, who are more austere and devoid of this trait.
• Cain and Abel: Played with, with Ardyn and his brother Somnus. Somnus and not Ardyn was appointed king by the Gods to produce a dynasty that would eventually end with the True King, to this end Somnus was given the mission by the Astrals to seal his brother away. For his part Somnus loved Ardyn but was also jealous and resentful, and began to demonize his brother to help himself come to terms with what must be done. Ardyn then dedicated the rest of his life to destroying his brother's descendants for revenge.
• Casting a Shadow: As the embodiment of the Starscourge, Ardyn has powerful dark magic at his disposal.
• The Chessmaster: Almost everything that happens in the game happens because Ardyn makes it happen. He was the one who taught Verstael how to make Magitek Troopers, he's the one who convinced Aldercapt to invade Insomnia and take the Crystal, and then he masterminded the peace treaty and marriage of Noctis and Luna. During XV he spends most of his time commanding the Imperials on various tasks, but occasionally drops in on Noctis and the group to point them in a particular direction. Considering he's has 2000 years to mull over his revenge scheme, he's probably taken some time to decide how he wants it all to go down.
• The Chosen One: Ultimately subverted. Ardyn was meant to be the first King, chosen by the Astrals to end the Starscourge. However, a combination of his brother's evil machinations and Ardyn's methods of healing rendered him so tainted that they shunned him and didn't allow his ascension. Episode Ardyn eventually reveals that he was never meant to be the First King to begin with. His destiny was always to be the Immortal Accursed, a bringer of 'limitless shadow' that would ultimately be destroyed by the True King - Noctis.
• Co-Dragons: To Aldercapt, alongside General Glauca; he deals with the political side of Niflheim, while Glauca heads the military side. However, it's revealed that Ardyn is using Aldercapt for his own means.
• Color-Coded Wizardry: Noctis's Lucian powers, like Warp Strike and the Armiger, manifest as blue; Ardyn's manifest as red.
• Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: His Kingsglaive likeness is based on actor Edward Saxby, though Darin De Paul voices him instead.
• Complete Immortality: Until Noctis destroys him, he is truly immortal. On the physical side, absorbing daemons has left him more of a human-shaped mass of darkness than an actual human: he doesn't age, and grievous injuries simply cause this form to become slightly less stable for a moment. He even manages to survive the goddess of death and the embodiment of cold freezing and shattering him. Meanwhile, on the spiritual side, Dawn of the Future reveals that when the Crystal rejected Ardyn after he touched it in Episode Ardyn: Prologue, his soul inadvertently got trapped in the Astral realm, which rendered him immortal as he — like Bahamut — existed in both realms.
• Con Man: He cons everyone (including Noctis and his friends, Luna, Regis) to get what he wants: revenge on the Lucian bloodline founded by his brother.
• Cool Car: An evil nutjob he may be, he nonetheless takes great pride in his red Vixen muscle car.
• Cosmic Plaything: Episode Ardyn reveals the Six always intended him for him to become the Immortal Accursed, spread the Starscourge, and die at Noctis' hands. After Bahamut reveals this, Ardyn can either accept his fate or be dragged kicking and screaming into it.
• Creepy Souvenir: He manages to combine this with Battle Trophy and Desecrating the Dead. He has replicas of the lifeless bodies of Lunafreya, King Regis, Nyx Ulric, and Emperor Aldercapt chained up in the throne room to taunt Noctis one last time. The Scenario Ultimania even states that he would kill time during the missing ten years by "playing with them".
• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: For the first...70% of the game or so, he presents himself as very chummy and even more creepy and annoying, but not anyone remotely threatening - even referring to himself as a "man of no consequence". Turns out he's not only playing everyone like a fiddle, he's also vastly more powerful than anyone else Noctis's crew will encounter on their journey. As he's a member of the Lucian royal line, this is pretty much a given. The fact that he's an immortal with millions of daemons inside him tops it off nicely.
• Cursed with Awesome: His condition as a humanoid Daemon is pretty horrifying, but it's also granted him incredible powers and immortality with no real downside save a vulnerability to sunlight, and simply covering up with a coat and a hat is enough to stave off the worst of it apparently. In Episode Ardyn, Verstael considers Ardyn's condition to be straight up "Awesome", comparing him to the gods themselves. It also turns out his condition by itself didn't even alter his personality all that much either; even after fully transforming into a manifestation of the Starscourge and being imprisoned in darkness for 2000 years he's still mostly the same man he was before his transformation. It's only when he's convinced to embark on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge by Verstael and Ifrit and he starts absorbing human memories en mass that his personality darkens to its current Troll state.
• Dark Is Evil: His black overcoat, deep voice, yellow eyes and violet hair is enough to tip anyone off that he is not a good guy. The source of his power and immortality is also darkness itself - that is, millions of daemons stirring inside him.
• Deader than Dead: Noctis manages to successfully kill the immortal Ardyn. But just to make sure it sticks, Noct summons the spirits of past Lucian kings in the afterlife to tear the Daemons into tiny pieces.
• Deadpan Snarker: While not overtly snarky, there is still a razor sharp wit to nearly every word he says.
  "I'm worried about your friends. They've fallen and they can't get up."
• Death by Irony: Ardyn achieves his goal of ending the Lucian bloodline, but it wasn't by his hands that ended it. Instead, it comes about by Noctis himself doing it, all for the sake of making sure that Ardyn is Killed Off for Real.
• Death Seeker: Not only does he want the line of Lucian kings to end, but he also wants to die at the hands of Noctis, the True King, sacrificing himself to destroy Ardyn once and for all. He makes numerous subtle but clear declarations that his death is just as much of his desire as his revenge is. The most prominent evidence being when Bahamut threatens him that if he dares to defy his calling, then he will never die and suffer in darkness for eternity, and Ardyn goes from being infuriated to instantly despondent, fueling the decision he made to just bow down to his fate. In fact, EVEN when he refuses out of spite, in the Dawn of the Future, when Bahamut wants to destroy all of Eos, Ardyn refuses to ally against Bahamut because he knows he'll die along with the planet anyway.
• Despair Event Horizon: Even with the death of the woman he loved and his brother's betrayal, Ardyn tried to hold on by reaching for the Crystal and pleading for the gods to believe in him to stop it. Instead the Crystal violently sends his body flying, informing him even the gods have abandoned him. Episode Ardyn then proceeds to one-up that and reveal that it was always his destiny to be the villain of the game, causing him to break even further.
• Deuteragonist: Upgrades to this in the Dawn of the Future novel, since, not only is his story heavily tied to the backstory, after he and Noct make peace, he's the one who kills Bahamut in the Astral Realm (while Noct kills Bahamut in the physical realm).
• Didn't See That Coming:
  • In Episode Ignis, he's visibly surprised and perhaps even worried when Ignis pulls out the Ring of the Lucii and puts it on.
  • In Episode Ardyn, he attempts to dramatically summon Ifrit to lay waste to Insomnia. Cue Ifrit not only ignoring him, but appearing several seconds later in a completely different part of town. He totally steals his thunder.
• Don't You Dare Pity Me!: Luna offering solace to him is the only time in the game where Ardyn loses his composure, drops his Faux Affably Evil persona and slaps Luna in his rage.
• Dragon Ascendant: He serves as Aldercapt's associate in Kingsglaive. However, it's revealed that Ardyn is the game's true villain who wants to see the end of the Lucian bloodline.
• Dragon with an Agenda: While Aldercapt has explicitly ordered all his forces to kill Noctis's group on sight, Ardyn doesn't seem to be of the same opinion and would rather have Noctis ascend to the Lucian throne to further his unknown objectives. It also hints that he might be something other than human.
  "Noct, killing you as a mortal king would bring me scant satisfaction. Claim the Crystal's power. Arise as its champion."
• The Dreaded: His entire existence was more or less erased from history's books, but to the very few who know of "the Adagium", his mere presence puts all of Lucis's Royal Guards on edge. Hell, Regis personally vows to take him on in case he's too much for the soldiers.
• Driven to Villainy: In his youth, Ardyn was a gentle and benevolent healer of the people. The absolutely brutal mistreatment he suffered at the hands of Somnus drove him to seek to exterminate them.
• Dub Personality Change: Japanese Ardyn's personality is a slightly childish, whimsical, and quirky man closer to Kefka's character and whose speech is much more straightforward. The English localization turned Ardyn into a suave, flamboyant, Wicked Cultured man who speaks in Purple Prose, and whose acting shows him as a much more mysterious man than his Japanese counterpart.
• Duel Boss: Claiming that Noctis's friends have no place in the final battle, "a battle of kings", Ardyn takes out the party save for Noctis and confronts him with his own Armiger set.
• Dying as Yourself: In Dawn of the Future, his last moments after bringing down Bahamut's soul are spent as the man he was when Aera's soul is implied to come and take him to his rest instead of the Omnicidal Maniac he spent the game and the majority of the novel being.
• Empathic Healer: He was once a kind healer who would cure people of the Starscourge by absorbing it into his own body.
• Empty Promise: The peace treaty he offered was just a ruse by the Empire to get in and take Lucis's Crystal; there was never any intention of peace.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Even at his worst stages, Ardyn does hold a genuine love for Aera. Despite hallucinating her being the cause for his hellish centuries of confinement, he couldn't bring himself to kill her, and it was seeing Somnus murder her that made him finally completely snap. Even then, when he meets a hallucination of Aera created by Bahamut, he almost seems pleased to see her again and genuinely tries to reach out to her before realizing it was not the real Aera. If anything, his murder of Luna seems to be out a desire to get revenge on Aera's death. Dawn of the Future ultimately confirms this: As he dies, he asks for Aera to stay with him always.
• Everyone Has Standards: In Episode Ardyn, he is horrified when Verstael reveals that he has taken Ifrit's sleeping body, with the aim of having Ardyn deliberately infect an Astral with the Starscourge. However, it doesn't take much convincing for Ardyn to agree to this. And then he can either be disgusted or outright defiant when Bahamut tells him to his face that all the suffering he has endured and inflicted was pre-planned by the Astrals for their own purposes.
• Evil Counterpart: To Noctis, both being members of the Lucian royal line who were chosen as the King of Light. Ardyn absorbed the Starscourge into himself, becoming immortal and was denied ascension by the Astrals as a result, while Noctis sacrifices his life to destroy the Starscourge, and is rewarded with eternal happiness with Luna in the afterlife. Like Noctis, Ardyn too was in love with the Oracle of his time and was forced to watch her die before his eyes. Even his skill tree is one to Noct's, being named "Descension" in contrast to "Ascension".
• Evil Is Hammy: Ardyn is intensely smug, drawling, and overdramatic. It's part of his Troll tendencies.
• Evil Is Not a Toy: Chief Besithia freed him from his prison on Angelgard with the hopes that he'd aid the Niflheim Empire in its expansion efforts to seek revenge on Lucis. While this does end up playing out this way for at least a couple decades, when Ardyn ultimately plays his true hand he annihilates Niflheim as well.
• Evil Is Petty: Hangs up an illusion of Nyx Ulric's corpse, among the others there, in his stolen throne room, likely for being a lowly commoner who proved worthy of the ring and power of the Kings of Lucis.
• Evil Has a Bad Sense of Humor: One of Ardyn's defining character traits is that he has a strongly developed sense of humor. However, he expresses it by being a Troll who mocks, humiliates, and toys with others for his own, personal amusement.
• Evil Prince: He is a member of the Lucis Caelum dynasty and is willing to damn the entire world just to get revenge on his brother's descendants.
• Evil Sounds Deep: While he nuances it with a suave tone, Ardyn has a very deep and sinister voice. Even when taking Noctis' appearance and voice to fool Ravus, he sounds far more menacing than the real deal.
• Evil Uncle: He's Regis & Noct's great uncle from many generations past. Ardyn himself is all too happy to invoke this trope during his fight with Regis during Episode Ardyn, mostly to taunt the younger Regis.
  Regis: "Hear me, Adagium! On my honor as King, I will vanquish you!"
  Ardyn: "Oh, dear. What an awful thing to say to your own flesh and blood!"
• Evil Wears Black: Subverted. While he wears an outfit that's mostly dark grey and is the Big Bad, his clothing is generally lighter than that of the heroes (who wear all black) and it hints at him being related to the Lucis Caelum line which has black as traditionally associated color rather than being a villain.
• Exact Words: He technically wasn't lying to Noct and Co. when he said his surname was Izunia. He just neglected to mention his formal name was Lucis Caelum.
• Extremity Extremist: Not initially in his own Episode, where he fights with wild, swinging, punches back when he was recovering. But in Episode Ignis, where he is fought as a boss, his unarmed fighting style consist of kicks while reserving his hands for shooting out a blast of energy.
• Face–Heel Turn: He went from a benign healer to a vengeful immortal who wants to destroy Lucis.
• Fallen Hero: Ardyn was once a beloved healer, but after being branded as a daemon himself and betrayed by his own brother, he became a vengeful immortal who wants to destroy Lucis.
• Faux Affably Evil: He acts pretty chummy with Noct and Co., despite being on the enemy's side. During the sacking of Insomnia, he expresses genuine regret at the destruction of such a beautiful city. However, once he tips his hand and reveals his true motives of plunging the world into eternal darkness and sadistically destroying the Lucian lineage, even Niflheim's deplorable deeds end up paling in comparison.
• Fedora of Asskicking: Sports a stylish fedora, though he doesn't actually wear it when kicking ass.
• Final Boss: He's the last boss Noctis encounters in Final Fantasy XV and the final chronological enemy of the Final Fantasy XV sub-series as a whole.
• The Friend Nobody Likes: The only person who really ever takes a genuine shine to him is Verstael. The rest of the Imperials are wary of him, Aranea straight up defects because of him, and Noct and his party especially dislike him no matter how chummy he tries to be.
• Freudian Excuse: A pretty understandable and tragic Freudian Excuse at that as he was once a kind, noble healer who sacrificed his very soul to aid the people by assimilating an untold number of daemons into himself. However, he ended up being betrayed by his own brother, having the love of his life killed by that very same brother and being rejected by the Crystal as impure, resulting in him becoming a villain.
• Game Face: After Gladio slices his neck and Prompto shoots him in the back of the head, Ardyn simply gets up, shows his true face, and walks away.
• Gender-Blender Name: Ardyn is a name that is given in real life, but it's almost always a female name.
• Good Night, Sweet Prince: Delivers a variation of this to Noctis when he's defeated, knowing that Noctis will soon be joining him. Bonus points for this being the "last" time Noctis will ever sleep, in the physical plane anyway.
  Ardyn: I will await you... in the beyond.
• Go Mad from the Revelation: In the ending for Episode Ardyn, he learns from Bahamut that everything he was led to believe was a lie. As per the whims of the gods, Somnus was always meant to become the chosen king, while Ardyn himself was meant to become the Immortal Accursed. His healing powers were given expressly for the purpose of turning him into a Daemon, and it is his fate to die at Somnus's descendant Noctis' hands. With no way to escape his fate and only feelings of hate and revenge remaining, Ardyn is left a broken man and decides he may as well enjoy being the villain the gods want him to be.
• Go Out with a Smile: After he is defeated in the physical world, he goes out with a smile, waiting for Noctis to join him in the beyond.
• Graceful Loser: In the alternate ending to Episode Ignis he takes his defeat at Ignis's hands and the ruination of his plans rather well. This is likely because it proved that his fate can be broken, though he does claim he will have his revenge someday and the end credits show he's still alive in some form.
• Guest-Star Party Member: He joins Noctis and co. for a brief time. They'e none too happy about that. He also uses an illusion on Noctis in Chapter 11, wherein he switches appearances with Prompto. And then he fights alongside you while appearing to be Prompto the entire time.
• Hand Blast: One of his attacks in his boss fights is a sweeping laser beam fired from his finger in a similar manner to an attack used by the Deathclaw daemons.
• Hazy-Feel Turn: Dawn of the Future sees him switch sides... largely because he wants revenge on Bahamut for all the shit he's pulled.
• Healing Factor: Episode Ardyn indicates he's harmed by sunlight just like regular Daemons, however the sheer level of Starscourge in his body is so powerful that his Daemon cells regenerate faster than they're destroyed, allowing him to walk around in sunlight without issues unlike regular Daemons. He still apparently finds sunlight painful, which may be why he wears a hat. He also has very powerful Regenerating Health in gameplay.
• Heartbroken Badass: Ultimately this is the main reason he became a monster. Not only was he betrayed by his brother after taking the Starscourge into his body, but that same brother killed the woman he loved. There were multiple factors at play, but her death pushed him over the edge. Her death is what haunts him afterward.
• Heel–Face Turn: In the Dawn of the Future novel, where he, Noctis, Lunafreya and Aranaea give one big fat Screw Destiny to Bahamut when they learn his overall plans.
• Heroic Willpower: Just a tiny amount of starscourge seems to be enough to turn an ordinary human into a murder-crazed mindless beast. Ardyn was able to absorb massive amounts of it to heal others, and managed to keep it in check up until he was betrayed and his fiancé killed; even then, he still keeps hold of his sanity until he turns to the Astrals for answers and was rejected by the crystal.
• Hero of Another Story: There's little doubt that he was a good and kind man at some earlier point in his life. His life's story, and what turned him into the spiteful villain we see in XV, is explored in his titular DLC episode.
• Hidden Agenda Villain: We never truly learn of Ardyn’s true identity, his motives or history until near the end of the story.
• Hidden Depths:
  • Despite literally being a man out of time, Ardyn seems to have developed quite a fondness for automobiles. He adores his red muscle car, and at multiple points in the story expresses admiration for the Regalia. When he rests at a bench in Episode Ardyn, his choice of reading material is a car magazine, which apparently features the same muscle car he'll later own on the cover!
  • While he absolutely abhores the Lucian Caelum bloodline, surprisingly it doesn't seem to extend to hating the kingdom of Lucis itself. In fact, it seems that he actually still has some fondness towards his home, and sincerely wants to at least sit on the throne of Lucis and finally become King, regardless of how twisted the sentiment is. He seems to sincerely lament that Insomnia would fall to ruins as Niflheim attacks it, and smiles as he sits on the throne of Insomnia. During the time he is in, the worst that he did was just having the entire city infested by Daemons and Magitek. He could have easily just obliterated all the remnants of Insomnia just to spite Noctis, leaving only the Citadel, but instead he straight up proudly calls Insomnia as the crown city of his kingdom and he rains down meteors in hardly any significant places. He even goes as far as to immediately stomp on the throne of Lucis when Noctis calls him a "jester" and stops speaking for a moment, almost sounding as if he was holding back tons of rage when he does speak again, clearly infuriated at not being acknowledged as a legitimate king of Lucis.
• Historical Villain Upgrade: He was remembered as a monster, when, in reality, he was a healer who willingly took on Starscourge in order to heal others of it.
• History Repeats: Turns out that Ardyn got the idea of killing Luna in front of Noct from his own experiences. His betrothed, Aera, died shielding him from his brother, Somnus.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: After Noctis returns from the time he spent inside of the Crystal which Ardyn helped put him in, he fights him in a climactic duel to the death, which ends with Noctis killing him. Subverted since this is clearly what he wants from the beginning, both to die and render the entire line of Lucis extinct.
• Humanoid Abomination: As a Final Fantasy villain, he's actually rather unique in that he doesn't transform into a monstrous visage during his final confrontation, but retains his human shape throughout the entire story. That said, he's anything but human; he's pretty much the most horrific villain in the series aside from Exdeath once you get under the skin. His entire body and soul is essentially made up of millions of daemons. His insides are nothing but a black, viscous ooze that eventually reforms into his human shape after taking damage.
• Humans Are the Real Monsters: Episode Ardyn indicates that the reason he's such a rampant asshole isn't because of all the Daemons inside him, but rather because of all the human memories he absorbed from stealing others' lifeforces in the process of regaining his strength and spreading the Starscourge; it's all the humanity he's absorbed that's given him his current asshole personality. In fact he was actually still a relatively decent bloke when he was just a mass of Daemons.
• I Cannot Self-Terminate: Zig-zagged. He never outright states this, but this is part of his evil plan - Noctis is one of the few who can actually end his life for good.
• Immortality Immorality: While in the beginning, the daemon's absorption was a trade-off for healing people, he reached immortality by doing it out of spite and planned on destroying the world.
• I Need You Stronger: Ardyn's toying with Noctis since he wants him to get the power of the Crystal, as only then would killing him bring the chancellor's satisfaction.
• I Shall Taunt You: He often uses intimidation, threats and taunting to weaken his opponents.
• Knight of Cerebus: The moment he murders Luna is when things slowly begin to go downhill.
• Kudzu Plot: In-universe and as an odd one. The Starscourge couldn't be destroyed by normal means, so the Astrals had to do it in the most roundabout way possible. ^ExplanationStep one, Ardyn was to become a healer and take in the Starscourge. Step two, the astrals would give a false prophecy that Ardyn would became the first king. Step three, Ardyn would become a host of all the Starscourge and become an immortal demon with half his soul trapped in the spiritual realm that Bahamut resides in. Step four, Argyn's brother would betray him and seal him away for 2,000 years. Step five, the spirits of the kings of Lucis would gain enough strength to destroy the Starscourge. Step six, Ardyn would be set free and given the false prophecy. Step seven, Ardyn would ALMOST be allowed to fulfill his revenge. Step eight, Ardyn would learn the true prophecy that he would be the host of the darkness and that he must be defeated by the True King. Step nine, the True King must go around and collect all the spiritual energy that the kings of Lucis have gathered over 2,000 years. Step ten, Ardyn had to go mad absorbing people's memories, so that he would unleash the darkness in said madness. Step eleven, in desparation, the True King had to accept the power of the Ring of Lucii. Step twelve, the True King had to absorb the power of the crystal. Step thirteen, Ardyn would unlease the darkness on the world. Step fourteen, Ardyn would have be defeated in battle by the True King. Step fifteen, the True King would have to sacrifice his life using the spiritual power of the Kings of Lucia and the Ring of Lucii to destroy the starscourge infesting Ardyn's soul, thus eliminating it forever. The only person actually aware of this plan was Ardyn, but he's so crazy by the end of the story that he doesn't even understand what's happening anymore.
• Laughably Evil: A more subdued take on the trope than usual, but regardless, Ardyn is responsible for some of the best lines in the game.
• Laughing Mad: The ending of Episode Ardyn sees him engage in this as he begins plunging the world into eternal darkness.
• Large and in Charge: His official height has been given as 6'2", and he's the Chancellor of Niflheim.
• Large Ham: He dresses flamboyantly while speaking and behaving in an overly dramatic manner.
• Leitmotif: "Ardyn's theme" plays in many scenes where he spotlights. The first time the player hears it is with string and wind instruments and it has a bouncy beat, but there's a definite undercurrent of danger to it, befitting Ardyn. Starting when he reveals his immortality to Noctis, a second arrangement begins to be used as well, a much more sinister version with heavy piano and organ beats that sounds like a funeral march. The Episode Prompto DLC includes a violin and piano version, and Episode Ignis has a version that's much heavier on the organ and adds an ominous background chorus of male vocals. Royal Edition adds a third version to the base game, used when he raises the Wall around Insomnia during the trek to the Citadel in the end-game, which is much more frantic and fast-paced to fit with Ardyn razing the city around Noctis as it plays.
• Leeroy Jenkins: Surprisingly, before he played the below trope, he was actually rather reckless and Hot-Blooded. During his attack on Insomnia in Episode Ardyn, he rushes through all their forces and heads straight for the Citadel to get Regis to summon his brother and kill them both. Much to Verstael's exasperation, his only role during that attack was to infiltrate the city and destroy a few shield generators so his forces can invade. After Bahamut breaks him, Ardyn becomes a far more patient and methodical man.
• Long Game: As an immortal, he has waited thousands of years for the True King so he could exact his revenge on the Lucis dynasty, and when it was time to strike Ardyn seized power in Niflheim using his knowledge of daemons to extend the power of the Magitek Infantry.
• Luke, I Am Your Father: Towards the end of the game he reveals to Noctis that he's actually another member of the Lucis Caelum line, albeit one much further back than Noctis. Episode Ignis further reveals that his younger brother is Noctis's ancestor.
• The Mad Hatter: Ardyn is not only completely aware he is insane and why that is so: he revels in his corruption.
• The Man in Front of the Man: He initially appears as Aldercapt's second-in-command and ambassador to Lucis. In actuality, he's the one playing all of Niflheim like fiddles, manipulating them into doing his bidding.
• Manipulative Bastard: Ardyn is the puppet master behind the curtain, pulling the strings of all the characters in the game. His manipulativeness is evident throughout the game and Kingsglaive, such as negotiating the peace treaty between Niflheim and Lucis, the destruction of Insomnia, as well as tricking Noctis into pushing Prompto off the train and entering its Power Crystal and initiating the Long Night.
• Married to the Job: As seen in Episode Ardyn: Prologue, he worked so hard to heal his people that his fiancée has to sneak out of the castle just to see him.
  Aera: It wasn't easy, you know. Fleeing the castle and coming all the way here to see you. A word of thanks is in order!
  Ardyn: I am ineffably grateful, Aera. And I hope you, too, are grateful for those who so kindly escorted you here.
  Aera: Grateful for spending time with me than a certain fiancé of mine...
  Ardyn: Do forgive me.
  Aera: Hmph!
• Master of Illusion: His powers seem to include generating illusions, including the ability to disguise himself as others. He switches appearances with Prompto in Chapter 11, with the end result being that Noctis knocks Prompto off the train during an Imperial attack. In one of the new cutscenes added to Chapter 13 by the post-game patch, he also kills Ravus while disguised as Noctis. Just before the final battle, he also has the illusory corpses of several major figures from Noctis' journey strung up in the Insomnian throne room just to freak Noctis out.
• Meaningful Name:
  • Ardyn is derived from the Latin ardēns ("ardent/passionate"), which perfectly describes his personality—both in his desire to save people as a healer 2000 years ago, and his subsequent hatred towards his treacherous brother's bloodline; it can also mean "burning/fiery", which is appropriate given his partnership with Ifrit.
  • Izunia is derived from iizuna, the Japanese name for the species of weasel, which befits his deceptive nature post-betrayal.
  • His true name, Ardyn Lucis Caelum, becomes quite fitting when you consider his status as a Satanic Archetype.
  • His sword is named the "Rakshasa Blade"; in Hindu and Buddhist mythology, rakshasa were evil, man-eating demons who were powerful warriors and sorcerers, and were also masters of illusion capable of assuming different forms. They were also brethren to the benevolent yaksha (Somnus/the Mystic is known as the "Yaksha King" in the Japanese version).
• Messianic Archetype: He was once a healer who helped those who were hurt by the Daemons in the Starscourge, but got branded as a daemon himself as healing people came at the cost of taking in the darkness into his own being. As seen in Episode Ardyn, his original appearance 2000 years ago is also nearly identical to classical depictions of Jesus. It has even been revealed that Ardyn was 33 years old at the time of his imprisonment, the same age Jesus was crucified. In even more blatant imagery, one of the endings to Episode Ardyn has Bahamut chain Ardyn up in a Crucified Hero Shot, while an image of Aera (implied to be created by Bahamut) uses the Trident of the Oracle to stab him.
• Mirror Boss: Ardyn's final boss fight is similar to fighting Noctis himself, seeing how he uses the same Armiger moveset and Warp Strike abilities as the Lucian royalty.
• Monument of Humiliation and Defeat: After initiating the Long Night, Ardyn takes up permanent residence in Insomnia.
• Morton's Fork: The ending of Episode Ardyn. He can either accept his fate as the Immortal Accursed, spread the Starscourge, and die at Noctis' hands, or reject his fate, try to destroy Eos, and die at Noctis' hands.
• Multi-Melee Master: He wields copies of all of Noctis's royal arms sans Luna's trident and Regis's sword.
• Mythology Gag: He wears a black wing ornament◊ on his left arm as a reference to Sephiroth's unique wing.
• Narcissist: He's rather in love with himself and loves to point that out in Prompto's photos of him, much to everyone's discomfort.
• Nice Guy: Before he went off the deep end, Ardyn was a gentle, noble healer who would happily help others in need.
• Nightmare Face: His real face has yellow eyes, pale skin, black ooze running down his eyes and mouth, black sockets and looks like he's two steps removed from Resident Evil.
• The Night That Never Ends: By killing Luna, he enacts the Starscourge, which runs rampant for 10 years before Noctis and his party return to Insomnia to put a stop to his madness.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Ardyn experienced this trope in one of the worst ways imaginable. His decision to benevolently heal mankind with powers given by the gods by absorbing the daemons of the Scarscourge into himself got him shunned by mankind and the gods alike, revoked of his birthright and family title, robbed of a peaceful death by being granted immortality, and barred him from the afterlife.
• No Sense of Personal Space: When staying at the caravan with him, he reaches down to Prompto and tries to grab his chin, which makes him uncomfortable.
• Not in This for Your Revolution: In Episode Ardyn, Verstael tries to recruit him to join Nifelhim's war against Lucis. Ardyn more or less tells Verstael where to shove it. It's only after daemonifying Ifrit and learning the truth does he finally team up with him, but even then he's more focused on his vengeance than Verstael's plan. This trope even carries over into gameplay. After destroying three of the Wall Amplifiers, Ardyn tells Verstael that he's going straight to the castle to kill King Regis, much to the dismay of Verstael as that wasn't in the plan. After this, the game gives you the option to either continue destroying the Wall Amplifiers or just go straight to the boss fight with Regis.
• Obviously Evil: He has a deep and sinister voice, a Nightmare Face, a black overcoat and violet hair to boot. Despite his outwardly affable demeanor, Noctis and co. immediately peg him as untrustworthy.
• Offscreen Teleportation: There are a couple of occasions where he walks out of sight and then impossibly vanishes into thin air, such as on the train in Chapter 11 and in the beginning of Episode Prompto. Eventually justified during the final battle of the game which reveals that he is of the Lucis Caelum bloodline, and possesses the same teleportation ability as Noctis.
• One-Man Army: In Episode Ardyn, he singlehandedly carves his way through Insomnia's elite forces and greatest inner defenses, up to defeating Regis, and then Somnus at full power mano-a-mano, something even the Diamond Weapons couldn't even manage. And he was apparently confident enough to be willing to take on the entire Old Wall, as well. He likely would've won right then and there if Bahamut hadn't stopped him.
• One-Winged Angel: Averted; Ardyn is the only Big Bad in the main series who doesn't transform for the final battle; he does power up for a second battle after the initial one, but it isn't a physical transformation. One of his outfits, however (the one he wears in Kingsglaive and when facing Noctis before the Crystal, which prominently features one "feathered" arm), may be something of a Visual Pun that references this term, especially if you extend it to his fedora being a stand-in for a halo.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: When he reveals his true colors and motives to Noctis in Chapter 13, Ardyn drops his typical smug humor and is all business, while showing hints of the rage and despair he's been bottling up all this time.
• Orcus on His Throne: He spent 10 years occupying the throne of Lucis, just sitting there and waiting for Noctis as all hell broke loose around the world. In an especially sick and twisted case of the trope, he decorated the throne room with the corpses of Luna, Nyx, Regis and Aldercapt. Justified in that he didn't have to do anything by that point except wait for Noctis to come get him.
• Parts Unknown: It isn't made clear as to where he's from. Until he reveals that he's a healer from Lucis.
• Pay Evil unto Evil: Ardyn's fiancée was killed by his brother; in retaliation, he murders the fiancée of his brother's descendant.
• Perpetual Smiler: His interactions with the group are just so nonchalant and friendly, especially when he’s with Noctis, who he has taken an unhealthy interest in. It all makes sense when you realize his true goals and identity.
• Physical God: The Starscourge has made Ardyn into a super powerful immortal. In Episode Ardyn Verstael outright claims that Ardyn's power makes him like a god.
• The Power of Hate: What ultimately drives Ardyn is his utter hatred of how he was treated by his brother, the people of Lucis, and even the Gods themselves, after he sacrificed so much to heal the sick.
  Gladiolus: Spite's all that's kept him going.
  Prompto: Talk about a grudge.
• Plague Master: He's the one spreading the Starscourge, the disease that instead of killing its victims, turns them into daemons instead. Ironic given that millennia ago he was the one trying to cure it.
• Promoted to Playable: Is the playable protagonist of his own Episode.
• Rank Scales with Asskicking: He is a chancellor who has a lot of fight in him, and was made chancellor in the first place because of his power and contributions to Niflheim's magitek research.
• Really 700 Years Old: He is the brother of the the Founder King of Lucis, who ruled over two thousand years ago.
• Red Baron: He's known as the "Immortal Accursed" among the Astrals, and "Adagium" to the Caelum dynasty.
• Refuge in Audacity: Regis and his court are stunned when the imperial chancellor himself shows up in Insomnia alone without any guards whatsoever to offer terms for "peace" that are so obviously bullshit he's basically just taunting them all. He pulls it off and ultimately gets everything he wanted.
• Revenge: His motivation is gaining revenge against the world that turned its back on him and his younger brother's line who usurped him. Episode Ignis reveals that he specifically wants revenge on the Crystal itself for casting him aside as the True King. He wants Noct to gain the Crystal's power so he can crush the champion the Crystal selected in his place. He does eventually make peace with Somnus when things regarding the true purpose behind the Lucian Bloodline and Bahamut start coming into focus.
• Revenge by Proxy: His grudge is centered on his younger brother Somnus, but Somnus is obviously long dead and beyond his reach. Therefore, he intends to exact his revenge on Somnus' descendants and kingdom.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Before he became a charismatic manipulator and schemer, he was extremely bitter about his lot in life - to the point where he might even count as Hot-Blooded, eager to exact his revenge as quickly and brutally as possible. His titular Episode Ardyn showcases his transformation from this into Manipulative Chessmaster.
• Royal Blood: The reveal of his last name shows that he is a member of the Lucian royal family, specifically the Founder King's brother, making him a distant great-uncle to Noctis and Regis. The blood relation is confirmed during the final battle when he uses Warpstrikes and the Armiger Arsenal, abilities that are exclusive to the Lucis Caelum dynasty.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: In the past Ardyn chose to cure the Starscourge by absorbing it into himself, while his Knight Templar brother preferred to round up everyone, regardless of them being infected or not, and burn them alive.
• Rule of Symbolism:
  • Ardyn wears grey and black in contrast to his Niflheim subordinates' white and gold. This is because he's actually from Lucis.
  • In Episode Ardyn: Prologue, he wears white in contrast to his brother Somnus's black.
• Sacrificial Lamb: His ultimate Astral appointed role, he was never meant to be King and was given the power to heal the Starscourge by the Gods solely so he would become the font of all darkness in the land for the True King to destroy and free the world from the blight forever.
• Sad Clown: A villainous variant. Behind the smug trolling and mocking jokes, there is just a bitter, hateful, sad man who is waiting to die.
• Sadist: Takes great pleasure in psychologically torturing Noctis and his loved ones.
• Sanity Slippage: His soft-spoken, gentle, kind personality in the flashbacks of Episode Ardyn are a far cry from the insane mocking Troll he is in the present. It is explained that, as Ardyn began deliberately spreading the Starscourge and absorbed the memories of his victims, he slowly began to lose his mind, which fueled his already-present negative emotions, until he became the man you meet in the base game.
• Satanic Archetype: Once a healer, Ardyn was marginalized by the Astrals and denied ascension, turning him down the path toward becoming a vengeful, hate-filled immortal who sought to bring down the very gods. Yes, Ardyn is both a Messianic Archetype and this trope.
• Screw Destiny: In Episode Ardyn, Ardyn can do this to Bahamut when its revealed that he was never meant to become the Founder King and was instead meant to spread Daemons across Eos as part of the plan to eliminate the Starscourge. Bahamut does warn him what will happen if he does decide to resist his fate — and makes good on that promise. In Dawn of the Future, this is what kickstarts the diverging point for the novel.
• Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: Keep talking to him in Cleigne and he'll reveal that his title of Chancellor actually gives him no authority whatsoever to command the Niflheim military, "but what I lack in authority, I make up for in friends."
• Sealed Evil in a Can: Episode Ardyn shows that Ardyn had been sealed away for 2000 years in a hidden prison, before being unearthed by a young Verstael Besithia.
• Sharp-Dressed Man: Ardyn might dress flamboyantly, but he dresses well.
• Shipper on Deck: He seems to be quite supportive of the idea of Noct and Luna getting together, being the one to suggest that they marry. Of course, this could also be a front, considering his proposal coincidentally gives Niflheim the opening they needed to attack Insomnia. Not to mention he kills the bride-to-be halfway through the game.
• Sibling Yin-Yang: With his younger brother Somnus, pre-betrayal. Ardyn was an idealist who sought to heal all infected with the Starscourge whereas Somnus was a realist who gathered anyone with even the slightest sign of infection and burned them all alive]]. Even so, they got along well until Somnus killed him for the throne.
• Sinister Scythe: Wields a gigantic one made of energy in Verse 2 of Episode Ignis. In his DLC episode he can summon multiple smaller scythes to form a sawblade-like aura around him.
• Sins of Our Fathers: He wants to torment Noctis and make him suffer for the sins his distant ancestor Somnus committed against him.
• Sissy Villain: He acts somewhat effeminate and flamboyant, but his feminine behaviour doesn't make him any less threatening or dangerous.
• Slasher Smile: Gives off a particularly disturbing one in Episode Ignis, if you unlock the secret boss fight against him.
• The Sociopath: By the time the main game rolls around, he's lost any capacity for compassion, empathy, or remorse, and seeks to burn Eos to the ground just to spite Somnus.
• Start of Darkness: Episode Ardyn - Prologue chronicles his. He was once a kind-hearted healer with a fiancee, until his younger brother Somnus screwed him out of the throne of Lucis, killed said fiancee in the process of attempting to murder him, and imprisoned him for 2000 years.
• Storm of Blades: As he has his own Armiger, this is a given. He also makes use of this while destroying the Crystal chamber in the alternate verse in Episode Ignis, summoning dozens of blades with his version of Armiger in order to do so. One wonders if he might possess every weapon of every Lucian royal in that arsenal, as the fight reveals he has a scythe, among other weapons, that Noctis cannot obtain.
• Summon Magic: Ardyn can summon Ifrit the Infernian as a result of forming a Covenant with him. Ardyn made Ifrit even more subservient by infecting him with the Starscourge. In gameplay this is reflected in the different way Ardyn summoning Ifrit works compared to Noctis summoning his Astral partners. While Noctis is only able to summon the Astrals for a single Limit Break attack when he is in dire circumstances, Ardyn is able to summon Ifrit at will and keep him on the battlefield as a party member in his own right.
• Sympathy for the Devil: As horrible as Ardyn is, as you learn the full extent of his backstory, it becomes clear he was a good man who was Driven to Villainy by an incredibly awful Trauma Conga Line. Now long past the Despair Event Horizon, Ardyn has become a scourge of humanity and seeks to drag everyone down into the darkness with him. Noctis spends most of the game hating Ardyn, and for very good reasons, but even he seems to pity him a bit in his final moments.
• Thanatos Gambit: Even after his defeat, he apparently intended to linger in the spirit realm and strike down Noctis one last time before he could banish the night. It doesn't work, as his spirit is immediately overwhelmed and obliterated by the combined efforts of Luna and the Lucian Kings.
• Then Let Me Be Evil: Upon his release two thousand years after his brother stole his throne, Ardyn looks upon Lucis, a kingdom built by a usurper on a foundation of lies and betrayals, and decides to become the monster Somnus accused him of being. Somnus even lampshades this when he sees Ardyn's infection. This becomes even more evident when it's revealed the Astrals set him up from the very beginning to be Noctis' nemesis. Ardyn doesn't take it well initially when Bahamut tells him, but eventually decides to fully immerse himself in his designated role.
  Somnus: He's become the monster I made him out to be...
• This Is Unforgivable!: States this in Episode Ardyn after being forced to relive the memory of the death of his fiancée.
  Ardyn: I'll never forgive you... Somnus...
• To Create a Playground for Evil: One of his goals is to create a world of darkness where Daemons roam free to terrorize whoever remains.
• Trademark Favorite Drink: Episode Ardyn shows him to have a bit of a fondness for cold-brewed canned Ebony. His personal quarters at Verstael's facility also have several bottles of wine settled on the table.
• Tragic Villain: Ardyn has a damn good reason to hate the Kingdom of Lucis and want to see it destroyed and the line of Lucian Kings exterminated. Namely that it was all founded by his brother, who stole the throne from Ardyn, killed his lover and imprisoned him on Angelgard for 2000 years; when Ardyn gets freed, Somnus has undergone a Historical Hero Upgrade and is remembered as the Founder King who saved humanity from the Starscourge, while Ardyn has become an Unperson and had his name and role omitted from history. Episode Ardyn elevates this to the level of Greek tragedy by revealing that this was all set up by Bahamut from the very beginning so Ardyn would become the sacrificial villain necessary for the gods' hero, the King of Light, to ascend and fulfill the destiny the gods had planned out.
• Treachery Is a Special Kind of Evil: In a really unusual twist, Ardyn is a victim of this. His brother stole the throne from him, cast him out of the family, and had his name stricken from history, and when Ardyn reached out to the Crystal for aid in their duel, the Astrals rejected him because of his corruption from the Starscourge.
• Troll: Ardyn's mean, dark sense of humor is one of his defining traits.
  • Aside from causing the Long Night and ending the line of Lucian kings, Ardyn's main goal in the game is making Noctis suffer, through mind games, hurting the people he loves, or just acting extremely annoying and creepy. He even occasionally helps out Noctis and the group, just to mess with their heads some more and make them wonder what he's up to.
  • In Kingsglaive, he is very mocking and condescending towards Regis in every line of dialogue he has, and refers to Noctis getting married as "one more small, trivial thing [he] forgot to mention."
  • Chapter 13 is infamous in the fanbase for being a long, difficult, frustrating dungeon. And it is full of Ardyn constantly mocking Noctis over the intercom.
  • As Noctis is being dragged into the Crystal for his empowerment, Ardyn tells him that he'll "keep his friends company" while he's gone. When the group shows up immediately after, Ardyn just walks away, smirking; his comment was just one more dig at getting under Noctis' skin.
  • On the train he uses his powers to make Prompto take on his appearance, tricking Noctis into attacking him. He then takes it a step further by impersonating Prompto and manipulating Noctis further, while copying Prompto's speech patterns and helping him fight Imperials. When Noctis sees him afterward, Ardyn quips "I think I've earned the right to call you 'Noct' now", and he will do so repeatedly through the rest of the game.
  • In Episode Ignis, he briefly disguises himself as Gladiolus when approaching Ignis and Ravus. The two are in no state to fight and Ardyn has several troops that capture them outright a moment later; he was just trying to have fun, and is disappointed when Ravus immediately sees through the deception and calls him out on it. And then once the two are subdued, Ardyn makes them watch as he kneels over an unconscious Noctis and casually brandishes a dagger over him, thinking aloud if he should just kill him now.
    • In the same scene, Ardyn even trolls a Magitek Trooper, putting his hat on it and patting it into place as he walks past.
  • In Episode Ardyn, one of his gameplay mechanics involves...destroying town decorations celebrating Founder's Day. Balloons, banners, signs - and he does it all with a glee and campy one-liner.
• Unperson: If you take some time to examine one of the murals in the Citadel right before the final battle, Noctis will note that there is a conspicuous empty space in the picture and that Ardyn should be depicted there. When Somnus formally founded the Kingdom of Lucis, he erased Ardyn from history. Episode Ardyn reveals that he is referred to by the Lucians as Adagium, which is Latin for 'Ignore.'
• Villains Out Shopping: Literally — in his DLC episode the player can browse hat stands around Lucis and buy new ones for him to wear. In place of Noctis and his friends camping out, Ardyn's "save points" are benches, where he takes a time-out from destroying Lucis and cutting down the royal guard to casually flip through a magazine and drink a canned beverage.
• Villain Protagonist: He's the Big Bad of XV, and the main character of his DLC episode.
• Villain Respect:
  • In the spirit realm, he bows to Noctis one last time before the latter unleashes the Lucii on him.
  • After Noctis defeats him in single combat in Dawn of the Future, he declares that while he will never forgive Ardyn for what he's done, he is still part of the world he swore to protect and is willing to work together with him in order to stop Bahamut. Ardyn remarks that Noctis has come a long way since then.
    Ardyn: How very regal you've become. A true king, indeed.
• Villainous Breakdown: Experiences it towards the end of the Final Boss fight. Struggling to even swing his sword at Noct, Ardyn drops all pretenses of arrogance or pride and just rants angrily at him. Episode Ardyn reveals he already underwent this a long time ago after finding out his true destiny as a sacrificial lamb for the gods. He is left a crying wreck, pleading desperately for Aera and Somnus to tell him the truth of whether they knew of this or not. Receiving no answer, he declares nothing matters anymore but his hatred and desire for revenge.
• Villain's Dying Grace: In Dawn of the Future, he performs the ritual of Providence in Noctis's place, sacrificing himself to destroy Bahamut in the spirit realm.
• Voluntary Shapeshifting: One of Ardyn's key powers is shapeshifting and casting powerful illusions. Throughout the saga, he has shapeshifted into Prompto, Gladio, Noctis, and likely many more. During his attack on Insomnia in Episode Ardyn, he steals the appearance and identity of Crownsguard soldier Mars Sapientia, and retains it the whole way through - though he still has his original appearance from the player's perspective. This is why Regis doesn't recognize him as the Adagium some 30 years later when he formally introduces himself and his "treaty."
• Walking Spoiler: The Reveal of who he really is and his true connection to Noctis happens very close to the end of the game, and turns everything you knew about Ardyn on its head. For that matter his entire backstory is one massive spoiler that is impossible to divulge without mentioning his secret.
• Wham Line: Just after Noctis has reached the Crystal, and it's apparently absorbing him, Ardyn drops in to quietly explain his origins. He then reveals that his true name is Ardyn Lucis Caelum.
• Wide-Eyed Idealist: How he was 2000 years ago, along with Good Cannot Comprehend Evil; Dawn of the Future reveals that he saw the Starscourge as just a "simple illness", rather than the horrible transforming-living-beings-into-monsters plague that it really is. As a result, he refused to entertain any other method of combating it rather than healing victims, despite the fact that the scourge was claiming victims faster than he could cure them staring him in the face.
• Who Wants to Live Forever?: Being barred from the afterlife has taken its toll on him, and one of his goals is to finally be able to lay down and die.
• Would Hit a Girl: Fatally stabs Luna.
• Xanatos Gambit: If he dies, that's because Noctis completed his ascension, which requires a Heroic Sacrifice, and he gets to rest in peace. If he kills Noctis, he is unstoppable and will rule forever, which he is perfectly fine with as well. No matter what happens, he get what he wants the most—the end of the line of Lucis, himself included. Episode Ardyn reveals that this wasn't even his Xanatos Gambit to begin with. It was all set up by Bahamut and the Astrals so that Ardyn and Noctis can have their final confrontation.
• You Can't Fight Fate: Episode Ardyn shows that ultimately his whole fate was crafted by Bahamut from the beginning, and in the end he was nothing more than an unwitting victim of fate and the gods, preordained to serve as the sacrificial villain required for the King of Light to ascend and destroy the Starscourge. Even if he chooses to try to defy his fate at the end of the episode, he still ends up doing exactly what Bahamut wanted him to.

Iedolas Aldercapt

Emperor Iedolas Aldercapt

Voiced by: Shōzō Iizuka (Japanese); Bob Joles (English, XV), David Gant (English, Kingsglaive)

Appears in: Final Fantasy XV | Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV

"So glorious... my Crystal..."

Emperor of Niflheim and one of the game's central antagonists, Aldercapt is keenly interested in gaining control of the Lucian Crystal... and is willing to do virtually anything to get it, up to and including ordering the deaths of Regis and Noctis, making overtures of peace as a pretense to enter Insomnia for invasion and even drawing a weapon right on Regis at the treaty-signing ceremony.

---

• 0% Approval Rating: Pretty much the entire world's reaction to his policies, to no one's surprise.
• Ax-Crazy: He's completely insane by the point the party encounters him. Also counts as Driven to Madness.
• Back from the Dead: With his dying breath, Aldercapt asserts that he'll rise again as the ruler of the world. Whether he can actually revive himself remains to be seen, but as he was a raving monster at that point, it seems unlikely.
• The Bad Guy Wins: Kingsglaive shows how he invaded Lucis, destroyed Insomnia and stole the Lucian Crystal.
• Big Bad Wannabe: He drives the plot of Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV for the most part, sending infiltrators and feigning a peace treaty to bring down Lucis. By XV, however, it's made apparent that his plans, while beneficial to his empire's expansion, are all orchestrated by the real antagonist, Ardyn Izunia, who easily takes advantage of all the resources given to him.
• Big Red Devil: When he's become the daemon Foras he has this sort of look.
• Blade Below the Shoulder: As a daemon, he has a pair of sharp spikes coming from each arm which he uses to attack.
• Body Horror: Gets turned into one of the daemons, a rambling freak of nature, by the Starscourge.
• The Chessmaster: Aldercapt sets up the peace treaty signing to attack Insomnia, orders the deaths of Regis and Noctis and successfully steals the Lucian Crystal.
• Cold Ham: Stern, yet fond of heavy-handed speeches, Aldercapt devours just as much scenery as the suaver and eccentric Ardyn in every appearance he makes. And that's not even getting started with his verbal spar against Regis during the treaty-signing ceremony.
  Aldercapt: A curious old law I still permit in the Outlands. A thief who escapes his captor can no longer be held to account for his crime.
  Regis: A warning to the victim? Never show weakness, lest you forgo the hand of Justice.
  Aldercapt: Oh no, good king. Far from it. It is a warning to the hand of Justice itself: never to loose its grip.
  [Explosions are heard outside of the Citadel, signaling the start of hostilities]
• Demoted to Extra: While an important antagonist in Kingsglaive, Aldercapt is hardly present in the game proper, with the focus being on Ardyn. Also counts in a meta-sense; in the original concept for Versus XIII, Aldercapt was the planned Big Bad while Ardyn was primarily The Dragon.
• Determinator: Aldercapt doesn't let anything slow down his pursuit of world domination. Even after becoming Foras, he seems to embrace being a daemon, attacking Noctis directly for the Ring of the Lucii with his newfound power. And if his last words are anything to go by, somehow he expects to bounce back from both his own death and the destruction of Niflheim.
• Diabolical Mastermind: He orchestrated the peace treaty signing as a means to invade Lucis and gain absolute power.
• The Emperor: A combination of the ruthless supremacist, military dictator and conqueror varieties.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: A tyrannical despot responsible for the deaths of many he may be, but he has enough of a heart to ensure that his granddaughter is safe and sound.
• Evil Counterpart: To Regis, both being rulers of their respective countries; while Regis is a popular ruler of his country who wants to bring peace, Aldercapt is an emperor bent on world conquest.
• Evil Laugh: Normally he's pretty restrained, but he'll chuckle while fighting Noctis as Foras, hinting at his true identity.
• Evil Old Folks: Very much so; it was his orders to kill Regis and Noctis that led to the murder of Luna's mother Sylva.
• Evil Sounds Deep: His Japanese voice is deep and gravelly.
• Freudian Excuse: It's mentioned in the loading screens that Iedolas Aldercapt was once The Good King and beloved by his people, but was greatly affected by the Lucis-Niflheim War, which turned him into the power-hungry despot we see. The Dawn of the Future further reveals that his wife died in childbirth and his only son was killed in the war, which left him vulnerable to Ardyn's manipulations.
• Generic Doomsday Villain: Averted; although we never really find out exactly why he's so hellbent on taking over the world in the game, the official guide reveals that the goal of the Aldercapt dynasty is to recreate the ancient Solheim Empire under their rule.
• Implacable Man: During chapter 13 where he stalks Noctis throughout the level as the daemon Foras.
• Ink-Suit Actor: David Gant provides the English voice acting, 3D model and motion capture for Aldercapt in Kingsglaive.
• Killed Offscreen: Ardyn takes over during the main game and the emperor is never seen again, with his capital completely deserted. You do, however, find his clothes lying on his throne, and you encounter him as a daemon not too long after. To drive it home further, Ardyn keeps a fake copy of his desecrated body alongside Regis, Nyx and Luna in the Citadel just to taunt Noctis's party in the final chapter.
• Last Words:
  • As Foras, he has these, but given the context, that he's in his capital that has been slaughtered by daemons, implying likewise to the rest of the empire, it comes across as more pathetic than anything.
    Aldercapt: The empire shall span... all the lands... By the Crystal's light... we shall flourish... I shall arise... as ruler... of the world!
  • As revealed in The Dawn of the Future, as a human:
    "Sol...heim... The sun of Solheim will rise again..."
• Light Is Not Good: His outfit resembles a Pope in white and gold, but has a much more villainous nature. He's even referred to in-game as "His Radiance".
• Manipulative Bastard: Aldercapt's manipulativeness is evident in the game and Kingsglaive. For example, he launches the assault on Tenebrae that results in Queen Sylva's murder. He also organizes a peace treaty signing between Niflheim and Lucis so he can steal the Lucian Crystal and have his forces attack Insomnia.
• Meaningful Name: Iedolas is derived from the Latin word idola ("idols", as in objects that are worshipped as embodiments of gods), which in turn comes from the Greek eidolon ("phantoms"), befitting his eerie quality and white clothing, as well as the game's overall theme of death.
• Mercy Kill: Noctis sees putting him down as this. Despite all the horrible things Emperor Aldercapt has done to him, Noctis doesn't think he deserves to wander around as an insane daemon.
• Nerves of Steel: Though he loosens up when pretending to be amicable with Regis on the day preceding the treaty-signing, Aldercapt is an overall unflappable character. Not even having dozens of swords leveled at him or watching Insomnia get sacked so much as changes his frown.
• Not Quite Dead: Aldercapt appears to have been Killed Offscreen at some point, with Ardyn taking over his role. The party encounters him as the daemon Foras, still quite 'alive' in a sense, near the end of Chapter 13. In the newly released patch 1.06, it shows him with the "vanishing sickness", completely consumed by his greed for the ring; he scoffs at Ravus' speech, calling himself the "one true King" because he has the crystal. Interestingly, he also asserts that he will rise again as he dies.
• One-Winged Angel: He transforms into a daemon known as Foras sometime before the party arrives in his dungeon.
• Obviously Evil: Aldercapt has a deep voice, an aged face, gray eyes and hair, and has red and white robes.
• Orcus on His Throne: Of sorts; he's still somewhat politically active, though more often than not he's content to leave the frontline stuff and day-to-day administration of his empire to his Number Two, Ardyn.
• Passive Aggressive Combat: Engages in a small verbal spar with Regis on how to deal with "thieves" as they're about to sign the peace treaty.
• Recurring Boss: Aldercapt is encountered twice as Foras in Chapter XIII: once by Noctis alone, and later by the party.
• Unwitting Pawn: Ardyn has him wrapped around his finger. The heroes don't even meet him. As a human, anyway.
• Villain Decay: In Kingsglaive, the Emperor comes across as a cunning and genuinely dangerous foe. By the time we see him in the regular game, his manipulation of daemons and resulting infection by the Starscourge has left him a frail and delusional shell obsessed with the Crystal and Ring of the Lucii even before he actually transforms into a daemon himself.
• Villain Teleportation: In his boss fight he can vanish and reappear in a cloud of black smoke.
• Violence is the Only Option: The peace treaty with Lucis over the last crystal ends with Aldercapt pulling a handgun on Regis and triggering a full invasion of the kingdom.
• Voice of the Legion: As Foras, when he speaks it sounds like a number of people speaking at once.
• White Hair, Black Heart: Aldercapt has white hair and is a tyrannical expansionist who shamelessly backstabs and ravages Lucis.
• Winged Humanoid: Again, as Foras.

Military Commanders

Glauca

General Glauca

Voiced by: Kōichi Yamadera (Japanese), Adrian Bouchet (English)

Appears in: Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV

"You are far too clever to have ever believed in this 'peace'."

A mysterious armored knight who leads the Imperial Magitek automatons into battle, Glauca is the supreme commander of Niflheim's military and one of the main antagonists of the film. An imposing man of few words who lets his prowess in battle speak for itself.

Twelve years prior to the movie's events, he led the attack on Tenebrae to try and assassinate king Regis and his son, Noctis. He failed but still murdered Queen Sylva, ensuring Tenebrae's annexation to Niflheim.

During the film's climax, it is revealed that Glauca is but a front for the treacherous commander of the Kingsglaive, Titus Drautos; ready to serve anyone for reclaiming the freedom of his homeland.

---

• BFS: The only weapon he wields is a massive broadsword, and it's enough for him to rack up a large bodycount in the movie.
• Broken Faceplate: Half his helmet gets destroyed during his fight with Nyx, indicating that his armor's regnerative abilities have reached their limit.
• Broken Pedestal: All of the respect Nyx Ulric has for Drautos is shattered once the latter's true identity is revealed. When asked why he would still serve Niflheim even after the atrocities they committed, Drautos answers that he'd do anything to regain freedom for his hometown, even if it meant betraying Lucis. It's from this moment that Nyx realizes that Drautos is the short-sighted one, not him.
• Co-Dragons: To Aldercapt, alongside Ardyn; he heads Niflheim's military side, while Ardyn deals with the political side.
• Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: Glauca/Drautos's overall design, along with his backstory of his homeland being invaded by The Empire, him becoming one of said Empire's highest generals and murdering the heroes' king, parallel Judge Gabranth. However, unlike Gabranth — who at least has a moral code and eventually turns to the heroes' side — Glauca possesses no redeeming qualities whatsoever and remains a villain to the very end.
• Demoted to Extra: Or more specifically, Moved To A Movie. Shortly after XV was revealed in 2013, Glauca was planned to be a major antagonist in the game. Instead, his role while major, was entirely relegated to Kingsglaive and he's nowhere to be seen in XV except for flashbacks. There is absolutely no mention of Glauca in the game proper, and since Ravus has taken the rank of High Commander, it is assumed Drautos perished during his final battle with Nyx.
• Due to the Dead: Stands in silence after he kills Regis, incidentally allowing Nyx and Luna to escape the Citadel.
• Evil Sounds Deep: A side-effect of donning his helmet. Once it's broken, his voice returns to normal.
• Faux Affably Evil: He keeps an austere, honor-bound attitude with a sleight of politeness, something that contrasts with the atrocities he remorselessly pulls over the course of the story.
• Fighting for a Homeland: Even after he's revealed to be Drautos, he still insists to Nyx that his main motivation for fighting is for his hometown; Lucis and Niflheim can burn for all he cares, staying true to his own catchphrase.
  "Lucis. Niflheim. It isn't who we fight for that matters, only what. We fight for our homes. That is where our allegiance lies."
• Fights Like a Normal: While undercover as a member of the Kingsglaive, it stands to reason that Drautos fought without using his Power Armor. The fact that he managed to be promoted to Commander in spite of this speaks volumes of his combat prowess.
• Four-Star Badass: He's not the supreme commander of the Imperial army for nothing; he's significantly stronger than every opponent he comes across, and none of them ever last long enough to inflict significant damage on him.
• Gold Makes Everything Shiny: In the E3 2013 trailer he wears a golden suit of armor◊, though this is ultimately scrapped altogether for the version we know in Kingsglaive.
• The Heavy: Of Kingsglaive. Aldercapt and Ardyn drive the conflict, but Glauca poses the greatest physical threat to the heroes.
• Hero Killer: Regis makes a point of telling Clarus that there's literally no escape once the former senses Glauca's arrival into the fray. Glauca slays both of them not long after and indirectly causes Nyx's demise at the end of the movie.
• Hypocrite: Drautos holds a grudge against King Regis for betraying the Kingsglaive and their hometowns, all while fighting on behalf of the same empire that conquered his home in the first place. It becomes even more hypocritical when you consider that he betrays the Kingsglaive members loyal to the king. It seems that betrayal is only bad when Drautos doesn't benefit from it.
• Implacable Man: Seriously, the amount of punishment he takes throughout the movie is absurd^note He gets blasted silly several times by Regis and Nyx, gets run over by a car twice, falls from a great height without his jet boots, and even takes a stories-tall sword swing head on, and he's been thwarted several times in his attempts to complete his objectives. Yet through all this, not once does he falter.
• Instant Armor: He can cover himself with his Power Armor when he's in a pinch, which is exactly what he does when Libertus tries to run him over while he's still posing as the Kingsglaive commander everyone knew up until The Reveal. This is implied to be one of the suit's many abilities.
• In the Back: As a Mythology Gag to Sephiroth murdering Aerith in Final Fantasy VII, Glauca knocks Regis into facing away from him, then brutally runs the king through from the back, with Glauca still facing the opposite way.
• The Kingslayer: He attempts to kill Regis and Noctis during the prologue as part of Niflheim's surprise attack on Tenebrae, and murders Queen Sylva along the way. Twelve years later, he comes back to try and slay Regis once again. This time, he succeeds.
• Knight of Cerebus: Aldercapt and Ardyn are a serious threat to Lucis, but are hammy enough to bring some levity to their scenes. Glauca is an entirely different beast; not only is he devoid of any quirky traits but once he shows up and starts fighting, the body count rises exponentially.
• Large and in Charge: He is the supreme commander of Niflheim's military and is a large muscular figure.
• Lightning Bruiser: Due to how his armor functions, he's insanely fast, hits hard and takes extreme punishment while still being able to recover quickly.
• Long Game: Given he's infiltrated Lucis and was the commander of the Kingsglaive since some time after the assassination attempt on Tenebrae, he had about twelve years to prepare for the weakening of Lucis's defenses, instead of immediately trying to kill Regis, still at his prime.
• Meaningful Name: Glauca is derived from Glaucus, a Greek name meaning "grayish-blue" or "bluish-green", and "glimmering".
• Mole in Charge: Successfully infiltrates and is promoted to Commander of Lucis's elite Kingsglaive, masterminding the weakening of the kingdom's defenses along the way.
• One-Hit Polykill: Swiftly takes out four members of the Lucian High Council in one strike, while lunging at Regis and Clarus.
• Pedestrian Crushes Car: Libertus tries to run him over while Drautos is unarmoured, but the general activates his armor and predictably flips the car with ease. Later, Glauca attempts to intercept Libertus and Luna by standing in front of them and stopping their Audi right in its tracks; this is less successful, as they drag him along for quite a distance before the statue of the Mystic knocks him away from the car.
• Power Armor: His armor suit bolsters his physical abilities beyond what is humanly possible, allowing him to leap across great distances and lunge quickly at his opponents. It also has built-in jet boots that cushion his landings following a long-distance jump. Because it's forged with Niflheim's state-of-the-art liquid metal technology, not only it's incredibly resilient, but also capable of regenerating itself, as demonstrated when Regis unsuccessfully tries to fry Glauca with lightning.
• Rage Helm: His helmet is shaped to resemble a snarling demon, adding to his intimidating stature.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: He gives a poignant one to Regis during their battle before killing him:
  "Behold the king of Lucis, who hoarded tranquility within his precious walls. Where is your tranquility now, King? Here is your peace, by steel's swift descent!"
• Secret Identity: Of Drautos, commander of the Kingsglaive.
• Something Only They Would Say: Glauca's recitation of the Kingsglaive's Faction Motto "For hearth and home" over the radio clues Libertus in to the fact that the treacherous glaives are being led by a familiar face.
• Tin Tyrant: Square Enix definitely went ballistic with this one; Glauca dons a heavy suit of magitek armor, one that's very detailed and ornate.
• Tron Lines: Parts of the joints between his armor plating glow magenta whenever he uses his Power Armor's abilities.
• Uncertain Doom: The last we see of him is being defeated by a stab to the chest, courtesy of Nyx, though he was still breathing by the time the scene pans out. Within the game, Ravus is promoted to Supreme Commander, meaning Glauca either died or is left unaccounted for following Insomnia's sacking. Noctis and co. do, however, retrieve Nyx's kukris from a Daemon in the Insomnia Ruins ten years later, implying Glauca became one.
• Villain Has a Point: Played With, then subverted. As Drautos, he points out to Nyx that his strength relies on the king and that he is nothing without him. He is proven right when Regis is killed later on; Nyx is unable to defeat Glauca without relying on the Ring of the Lucii, which ultimately kills him. However, you have to take into account that A. Drautos himself was using Power Armor, rather than just relying on his own abilities and B. He had a Niflheim fleet and Daemons helping him out. Drautos chewed Nyx out for relying on outside forces, but Drautos himself is no different.
• Villain Respect: He bows and raises his sword in salute to Regis before fighting him.
• Would Hit a Girl: Queen Sylva is a victim of this, tragically.
• Would Hurt a Child: He was sent to Tenebrae to assassinate both Regis and his son Noctis, in order to end the Caelum dynasty.

Ravus Nox Fleuret

Prince/Lord Ravus Nox Fleuret

Voiced by: Yūichi Nakamura (Japanese), Trevor Devall (English)^{Foreign VAs}Bruno Choël (EU French), Marios Gavrilis (German)
Young Ravus Voiced by: Zachary Gordon (English)

Appears in: Final Fantasy XV | Episode Ignis | Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV

"Heir to a crown befitting no other. Witness his splendor and glory. All hail the Chosen King."

The elder brother of Luna and a former prince of Tenebrae. An officer in Niflheim's army, he was promoted to High Commander following the invasion of Insomnia.

---

• Aesop Amnesia: Even as Ravus watched his sister die because of her power, he didn't realize that all Eosian magic comes with a price. A subversion of the trope occurs later; Ravus explicitly doesn't want anything to do with the ring that mutilated him.
• An Arm and a Leg: He loses his left arm after being burned by the Ring of the Lucii. While he gets an artificial one made of Magitek, it still reminds him of the humiliation he suffered, and has to accept that Noctis will become the True King, even if Ravus thinks the latter is unworthy.
• Artificial Limbs: He has a metal Magitek arm made to replace the one he lost. Ardyn infects him with the Starscourge using the arm as a catalyst.
• Back-to-Back Badasses: Despite his dislike for anyone willingly serving Lucian royalty, he and Ignis make for quite the badass team and fight shoulder-to-shoulder for a short while.
• BFS: As a boss he can do a Blasting Zone esque attack.
• Big Brother Instinct: He genuinely loves his sister, and is devastated by the fact that Luna's duty as an Oracle is taking its toll on her body, with him only able but to encourage her to see her mission through.
• Came Back Wrong: Originally Killed Offscreen in Gralea, Ardyn finds it in good taste to infect his corpse with the Starscourge by using his Magitek infused prosthesis, turning Ravus into a daemon begging to be killed and siccing him on Noctis's party as a "stroll down memory lane".
• Combat Tentacles: In his daemon form, many of his special attacks are done through shadowy tentacles.
• Cool Sword: He wields a saber named Alba Leonis in battle. The Flavor Text reveals that it was personally bestowed on him by Aldercapt.
• Demoted to Extra: In the original Versus XIII concept, he was initially planned to be a major antagonist, seen confronting Noctis in the Crystal Chamber in the earliest trailers. Likewise, Kingsglaive also kind of hyped him up to have a major role down the road. But come the game proper, his overall role is small, and ultimately suffers a terrible Killed Offscreen fate. It took until Episode Ignis for him to get some needed screentime and characterization.
• Elemental Punch: His magitek arm can be super charged with electricity for his Last Rites technique.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: His only true soft spot is for Luna. Even with direct orders to capture her he refuses to even entertain the idea, instead hiding Luna from Imperial capture while she is in Lucis forging Covenants with Titan and Ramuh. When her work becomes too dangerous, he provides her and Gentiana an escort back to Tenebrae.
• Eye Colour Change: In Kingsglaive, both of Ravus' eyes are grey/blue, but when he is encountered in XV, his left eye has turned a dark purple. This is likely a side-effect of the magitek prosthetic that replaced his left arm, given the reveal that magitek is powered by daemons.
• Face–Heel Turn: After Tenebrae fell, he ended up joining Niflheim as an army officer.
• Fallen Princess: Male example; much like Luna, he lost his royal status upon Tenebrae's annexation into Niflheim.
• Foil: To Noctis, both being princes who lost their homes and family to Niflheim. While Noct fights against the Empire, Ravus serves them; Noct hates Niflheim for invading his homeland, while Ravus hates Lucis for abandoning Tenebrae.
• Forced to Watch: He is forced to watch Glauca run his mother through with his sword during the opening of Kingsglaive.
• Guest-Star Party Member: Of Episode Ignis.
• Heel–Face Door-Slam: Patch 1.06 Chapter 13 Verse 2 shows his death: Ravus finally comes around to trusting his sister's judgement that Noct is the True King, and betrays the Empire. He survives the attack from Aldercapt's daemons and miraculously seems to encounter Noct. He returns Noct's father's sword and professes his newfound belief in him, only for "Noct" to turn out to be Ardyn, who uses the sword to slice off Ravus's arm and murder him. Even death isn't enough to grant him peace, as Ardyn later resurrects him as a daemon to find the heroes.
• Hot-Blooded: Despite his militaristic stoicism, Ravus is extremely emotional and impulsive. Nearly everything he does throughout the saga is done on impulse: Blaming Regis for Tenebrae's fall, snatching the Ring and losing his arm in the process, taking his rage out on poor Ignis for Luna's death, and even his Heel–Face Turn against the Emperor and Ardyn.
• Humble Pie: Ravus believed because of his Oracle lineage he would be be eligible to wield the power of the Ring of the Lucii and become the King of Light from prophecy. Of course, losing his arm after it rejected him leaves him in a perilous position where he must watch Luna sacrifice herself to aid Noctis in becoming the True King.
• I Cannot Self-Terminate: The last we ever see of him, he has mutated into a grotesque daemon and is begging to be killed.
• Killed Offscreen: Initially. He's sentenced to death by the Empire after Leviathan goes berserk and wrecks the city of Altissia. Noctis later finds his body in the ruins of Zegnautus Keep in Gralea, his metal arm still clutching King Regis's sword. Of course, this is discounting Ardyn cruelly bringing his corpse back to life as a daemon. But after Patch 1.06, Chapter 13 Verse 2 reveals that he is killed by Ardyn.
• Lightning Bruiser: In his boss fight he is extremely strong, tough and fast altogether; if you're not careful, he can force your entire party into critical health with a single attack.
  • Even more so in Episode Ignis, where he's not corrupted by the Starscourge. The man is all about pure speed and hitting just as hard.
• Locked into Strangeness: His hair is the same shade of blond as Luna's in Kingsglaive, but platinum in the game proper—apparently putting on the Ring of the Lucii didn't just cost him an arm.
• Man on Fire: His left arm is severely burned when the Ring of the Lucii rejects him.
• Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: The party speculates whether Ravus's power is due to his Magitek arm or perhaps his Oracle lineage, but never come to a concrete conclusion.
• Meaningful Name: Ravus is a Latin word meaning "gray" and "to delight/enchant".
• Misplaced Retribution: He blames Lucis for his mother's death and his homeland's subjugation, when it was Niflheim who was responsible for both.
• Missing Mom: As with Luna, his mother Queen Sylva died during Niflheim's invasion of Tenebrae.
• Oh, Crap!: His reaction when he gets burned by the Ring of the Lucii in Kingsglaive.
• Plot-Triggering Death: Watching his mother die in front of him and pleading with Regis to help him only to be ignored, kicks off his future in the Imperial army as a staff officer.
• Purple Prose: He has a tendency to speak rather floridly, both in Japanese and in the English subtitles.
• Rank Up: He becomes the high commander of the Niflheim military after the fall of Insomnia, which was almost certainly in response to the death of the previous Supreme Commander, General Glauca.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Delivers the above quote to Noct while confronting the party at Aracheole Stronghold.
• Red Right Hand: As a daemon the left half of his body has become hideously mutated: a new daemonic arm replaces his metal one and his chest pulsates with malformed flesh.
• Revenge: His and Luna's mother was killed during Niflheim's invasion of Tenebrae, and he desperately begged Regis to help them (the two countries were allies), to no avail. The Lucian army withdrew, and Tenebrae fell shortly afterward. He has lived as an Imperial subject ever since, looking for a chance to take his revenge.
• Revenge by Proxy: Noctis had nothing to do with Tenebrae's betrayal, but Ravus wants to kill him anyway so his revenge on Regis will be complete.
• Screw Destiny: Ravus is unaware of just how important it is that Luna fulfil her role and die, so he does his level best to keep her from "throwing her life away", as he sees it. Even after he's forced to accept the Astrals' plan, he dies with no real understanding of what Ardyn is planning and why.
• Shadow Archetype: He's how Noct would have turned out if Lucis and Tenebrae's positions were reversed, if he didn't have his True Companions, and if he had chosen to serve Niflheim instead of fighting it.
• Shock and Awe: His specialty is using electricity generated from his magitek enhancements for Spellblades and an Elemental Punch.
• Skewed Priorities: He supports Tenebrae's actual conquerors over the traitors who should have helped Tenebrae but didn't.
• Spell Blade: He can imbue his blade with electricity to power up his attacks.
• Sphere of Destruction: He has one for an attack as a boss, and it will easily reduce the entire party to critical health if they are in range.
• Super-Strength: Both his Oracle lineage and Magitek prosthetic give him unnatural strength, allowing him to easily out-muscle the far larger Gladio with one arm and a far smaller sword.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Very begrudgingly temporarily teams up with Ignis during the events in Altissia so they can reach the altar and save Noct and Luna.
• Unknown Rival: He met Noctis all of once before circumstances beyond either of their control set Ravus on the path to hating the Caelum bloodline and all it represents.
• Used to Be a Sweet Kid: His younger self is seen warmly welcoming Regis and Noctis to Tenebrae. And then Niflheim invades.
• You Are in Command Now: He ends up as the Supreme Commander of the Niflheim military after Insomnia's destruction.
• You Can't Fight Fate: He insists this to Luna, refusing to carry the Ring of the Lucii to Noctis in her place.
• You Have Failed Me: Niflheim decides Ravus has failed them because his strategy was foiled by a literal god. Patch 1.06 Chapter 13 Verse 2, shows he was killed because he finally pulled a Heel–Face Turn on Aldercapt.

Loqi Tummelt

Loqi Tummelt

Voiced by: Takashi Ohara (Japanese), Jason Spisak (English)

Appears in: Final Fantasy XV

"Glory to Niflheim!"

A Magitek Armor pilot obsessed with glory and fame, thinking that being the one to kill Cor Leonis "the Immortal" will finally give him recognition.

---

• Ascended Extra: From a minor Recurring Boss to becoming the main villain of the Assassin's Festival event.
• Blue Blood: He refers to his family as "House Tummelt", hinting at this.
• Bolivian Army Ending: The last Aranea sees of him in the Dawn of the Future novel is him suited up in his Magitek Armor about to charge into battle against a horde of daemons in Gralea while screaming "Glory to the Niflheim Empire!"
• Even Evil Has Standards: Even he is horrified by Ardyn unleashing Daemons on Gralea, as revealed in Dawn of the Future. He also entrusts Sol to Aranea's care, and is implied to sacrifice himself covering her escape.
• Meaningful Name: He is named after Loki, the Norse God of Mischief. His surname, Tummelt, is also very close to "tumult," which means chaos and confusion.
• Humongous Mecha: He pilots a Magitek Armor known as the MA-X Cuirass into battle.
• Recurring Boss: The party fights him once early on in the main game, but he manages to escape and lives to challenge them another time alongside Caligo as a Dual Boss.
• Revenge: His motivation for crashing the Assassin's Festival is to get Noctis and Company back for defeating him.
• Unexplained Recovery: It is not made clear how he survived the first encounter, as he was surrounded by enemies and his mecha exploded upon defeat; he even whispered some final words.
• Unknown Rival: He fancies himself as Cor's rival, but Cor doesn't spare him a second thought.

Caligo Ulldor

Caligo Ulldor

Voiced by: Itaru Yamamoto (Japanese), Rick Zieff (English)

Appears in: Final Fantasy XV | Episode Ignis

Fort Vaullerey's commander, and none too happy about Aranea Highwind showing him up at every chance.

---

• Arc Villain: Serves as the main villain of the first chapter of Episode Ignis.
• Demoted to Extra: Was hinted to have a much bigger role in the "Dawn" trailer. He's barely a blip in the final game. Episode Ignis brings him back as the scenario villain of chapter 1.
• Fat Bastard: Understated since it's hard to tell under his bulky armor, but he has a notable double-chin. The evil part comes from working for a fascist empire.
• Humongous Mecha: He pilots a Magitek Armor known as the MA-X Dux into battle.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Ravus stabs him through the back to prevent him from escaping to try to steal the Ring of the Lucii.
• In the Back: Ravus kills him in this manner.
• It's Personal: In Episode Ignis, he recognizes Ignis from his near abduction at Fort Vaullerey and targets him for some payback.
• Kick the Dog: Caligo's murder of Jared Hester, an elderly civilian, for refusing to answer his questions. The murder of a civilian warrants enough bad publicity that Niflheim actually tries to cover up the events surrounding the death, claiming Jared attacked Caligo and the latter killed him in self-defense. In Episode Ignis, he brings up the murder to taunt Ignis, claiming Jared begged for his life.
• Macross Missile Massacre: One of his mech's main attacks is to launch clusters of missiles which have a Delayed Explosion after landing.
• Meaningful Name: Caligo is a Latin word meaning "mist" or "cloud".
• Middle-Management Mook: Ravus leads the army as High Commander and Caligo is higher in the pecking order than standard troops. Despite his role in the military, it's implied he has less authority than Aranea, a mercenary.
• Optional Boss: You never encounter him again in the main game after he escapes capture, unless you choose to fight him in a Side Quest. He returns in Episode Ignis.
• The Resenter: Caligo bears a deep grudge against Aranea, who receives a lot of praise and authority despite being a mercenary. He also bears one against Ravus for making commands of him despite being an outsider.
• Unexplained Recovery: He's a similar case with Loqi; in the main game he completely disappears unless the player tracks him down and kills him during an Optional Boss in a Side Quest.
  • In Episode Ignis, he is Killed Off for Real when Ignis beats him in another fight and Ravus runs him through with his sword.
• Villain: Exit, Stage Left: Attempts this in the end of his boss fight in Episode Ignis. Ravus has other ideas.
• Would Hurt a Child: He is first seen in the Dawn trailers manhandling Young Luna.
• Wrong Genre Savvy: Despite Ravus flat out telling him that having anyone but the Lucian bloodline use the Ring of the Lucii is basically a death sentence, using his experience as his basis, Caligo still tries to take it for himself during the Niflheim assault on Altissia.
• You Rebel Scum!: After his boss fight in Episode Ignis he stumbles out of the remains of his mecha and calls Ignis a wretch. It's his last words.

Others

Verstael Besithia

Chief Researcher Verstael Besithia

Voiced by: Jin Urayama (Japanese), Noriaki Sugiyama (Japanese, young), Steve Blum (English)

Appears in: Final Fantasy XV | Episode Prompto | Episode Ardyn

"The Oracle holds the key for the King. She could unlock many secrets... nay, High Commander?"

The head researcher and inventor of Niflheim's Magitek weaponry and automatons.

---

• Admiring the Abomination: In Episode Ardyn he is very impressed by Ardyn's nature as a humanoid Daemon, and considers his powers to be god-like.
• Advertised Extra: He appears in only one scene, despite the trailers suggesting that he had as much relevance as the other supporting characters. A side-effect of the shift from Versus XIII to XV. He gets quite a bit more screen time in Episode Prompto and Episode Ardyn.
• Arc Villain: He's the main antagonist of Episode Prompto.
• Archnemesis Dad: For Prompto, technically, since all MTs are Verstael's "sons" in that they're clones of himself and Prompto is one of them. Though Prompto only finds this out shortly before they meet for the first time, ends up killing him in self-defense, then destroys him in his Immortalis invention.
• Big Bad Wannabe: He believed becoming Immortalis would allow him to ascend to a level above both gods and men. In the end, he is killed not by some grand army or some supernatural force, but by Prompto simply shooting a single machine gun turret at him. In one of the collectible notes he even notes how the prototype for Immortalis turned out to not be as powerful as he'd hoped, being slightly weaker than the Diamond Weapons from Kingsglaive, but he felt he was running out of time and figured he could always transfer his mind into a stronger body later on.
• Body Horror: He is infected by the Starscourge in Episode Prompto. After his body is killed, he transfers his consciousness into a giant wormlike machine called Immortalis.
• Brain Uploading: He apparently figured out a way to retain his personality through the daemonification process, then used it as a method to transfer his consciousness into a giant robot body in order to become a god-like being.
• Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: Both Professor Hojo and Verstael are the Mad Scientists of their factions who play a significant role in their respective games' backstory: Hojo used Jenova's cells to create Shinra's elite force SOLDIER, while Verstael freed Ardyn from Angelgard, which led to him using the Starscourge to create Niflheim's Magitek army. They also have no qualms about using their own kin as test subjects (Hojo with his son Sephiroth, Verstael with his clone/"son" Prompto). Unlike Hojo, who was amoral from the get-go, Verstael started out as a Well-Intentioned Extremist who wanted to reduce casualties before his descent into villainy. Both of them eventually corrupt themselves with their experiments and become major boss fights, though Hojo's takes place in the main game unlike Verstael's. However, both of their sons turn out differently, with Sephiroth becoming the Big Bad of his game while Prompto becomes one of his game's main heroes.
• The Corrupter: The first third of Episode Ardyn shows that Verstael managed to convince a reluctant Ardyn to seek revenge on Somnus by targeting his descendants and the kingdom he built. Not that Ardyn needed much prodding, but still...
• Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: Episode Ardyn shows that it was him, and not Ardyn, who was responsible for kidnapping Ifrit. His soldiers and technology were also responsible for killing Shiva when she came around to try and save Ifrit. With that record of success his belief that he could overthrow the gods in Episode Prompto does make a little more sense.
• Evil Brit: Like most of Niflheim's high command, he has a British accent.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Subverted. Though he mentions in his notes how he never thought he'd stoop to using humans as test subjects, let alone children, he decides to go along with it anyway, seeing the moves as necessary sacrifices.
• Evil Counterpart: To Cid, as an old Gadgeteer Genius on the villains' side. Helped immensely by the fact that his robes and armor heavily resemble those of the antagonistic Doctor Cid from Final Fantasy XII.
• Evil Old Folks: He's really focused on his experiments with the Daemons, something that sickens Aranea, who practically does grunt work for his research.
• Evil Sounds Deep: Has a very deep voice and it was even more pronounced when he was young. In his old age it gained more of a rasp, though it's still very deep.
• Gadgeteer Genius: He is the one who created the Magitek androids that serve as one of the armies of Mooks for the Empire.
• Godhood Seeker: His goal in transforming into Immortalis is to become an existence "beyond divinity".
• He Who Fights Monsters: When Verstael's research into Magitek Troopers began, it was for the "Deathless Project" in an attempt to prevent more of their men from dying, and stolidly so at that. Once Ardyn got involved and "helped" him with his daemon research, he began experimenting on humans, infants and even cloned himself before violently converting said clones into daemons. By the time things roll up towards the Insomnia invasion, he writes off the deaths that occurred during the supposed death of Shiva as justifiable losses and has turned into a full-blown Mad Scientist.
• I Was Quite a Looker: The DLC reveals that the newer generation of Magitek Troopers, including Prompto, are cloned from his DNA. A newspaper from 25 years ago shows him younger and with hair, looking about 50 years old. Episode Ardyn shows that in his youth, Verstael did indeed look pretty much like Prompto with white hair.
• Jumping Off the Slippery Slope: He started off as a noble man who wanted to reduce Niflheim casualties in war and use the Empire's expansion to make a peaceful world. To achieve this goal, he used daemons in his experiments, and, when that wasn't as successful as he hoped, gradually moved on to using humans, infants, and finally infant clones of himself for the sake of effectiveness. By the time Prompto encounters him, Verstael has gone completely insane and just wants to become a god.
• Killed Off for Real: After Prompto kills Verstael's real body in Episode Prompto, he and Aranea then team up to destroy the Immortalis while Verstael's mind is inside of it, ending his threat for good.
• Luke, I Am Your Father: According to the Complete Guide and Episode Prompto, he's the biological father of Prompto. As well as all the Magitek Troopers you fight, since they're cloned from his DNA.
• Mad Scientist: This is his role within the Niflheim Empire, and as Episode Ardyn shows, he's held this position for several decades. Unlike most examples of this trope, he's not referred to as "Professor" or "Dr." but rather with the title "Chief".
• Man of Wealth and Taste: In his youth, he enjoyed the finer things in life: Fine dining, wine, and Bach, to Ardyn's displeasure and disinterest.
• Mission Control: During the bulk of Episode Ardyn, he is Ardyn's logistical support as he launches a two-man assault on Insomnia.
• Motive Decay: He originally wanted to use his experiments to make a peaceful world, but he went insane as he used more and more extreme methods. When Prompto finally encounters him, he's long discarded any hopes for a peaceful world, and just wants to use his research to become a god and wreak destruction across the world.
• Obviously Evil: His voice is a menacing rasp, and the only smiles he seems to be capable of giving are evil smirks.
• Offing the Offspring: His first reaction to seeing Prompto is to try to kill him. Though it seemed a deliberate attempt to provoke Prompto into killing him so his soul could merge with the Immortalis.
• One-Winged Angel: His consiousness is uploaded to a giant robotic worm meant to give him godlike power.
• Professor Guinea Pig: He refers to his transformation into Immortalis as his final experiment conducted on himself.
• Sanity Slippage: A Well-Intentioned Extremist that ultimately went off the deep end once Ardyn encouraged him to drop ethical restraints in his research.
• The Starscream: Episode Prompto shows he wants to exploit the Crystal and Take Over the World himself, instead of letting the Emperor do it.
• Strong Family Resemblance: In Episode Ardyn he looks exactly like Prompto barring his military hair cut. Of course Prompto is his clone rather then his trueborn son.
• The Unfettered: His research notes show his slow progression into madness, which involves him gradually casting off his moral scruples about experimentation on humans, then children, for the sake of achieving his goals.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Episode Ardyn shows that several decades ago, Verstael was the one who released Ardyn from his 2000 year old prison, to use him as a weapon against Insomnia, seemingly without fully appreciating that Sealed Evil in a Can Is Not A Toy.
• Villainous Friendship: A one-sided one with Ardyn. Verstael leaves behind a recording thanking him and saying he has his eternal gratitude for all the help he gave him. Unfortunately for Verstael, he's just another in a long line of Unwitting Pawns.
• Vocal Dissonance: At least, in the English version of Episode Ardyn; despite being the spitting image of Prompto (or rather...Prompto was the spitting image of him) in his younger days, Verstael's voice was incredibly deep and downright sinister. In the Japanese version, his voice is significantly lighter, as appropriate for a man thirty years younger.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: He wanted to prevent Niflheim from suffering casualties on the field against Lucis and the lands they were taking over, and thus began his Magitek Trooper research. Things didn't go pleasantly from there.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: He is never seen again after his sole appearance, and his final fate is left unknown in the main story. He appears in the Episode Prompto DLC as the main villain and final boss.
• White Hair, Black Heart: He is white-haired, and has no qualms whatsoever in treating humans, his own son included, as mere test subjects.
  • In Episode Ardyn his younger self still has white hair even though he only looks to be around adult Prompto's age.

Solara Antiquum

Solara "Sol" Antiquum

A young girl entrusted to Loqi's care by Emperor Aldercapt. Ten years later, she is one of the Hunters in the World of Ruin fighting to keep the daemons at bay.

---

• Deuteragonist: The other main character during Lunafreya's segment of Dawn of the Future.
• Girls with Guns: Packs a small arsenal with her when traveling on the road to deal with daemons. Her preferred weapon is a shotgun.
• Happily Adopted: With her family dead, Aranea raises her to adulthood.
• Heroic Bastard: She's the illegitimate granddaughter of Emperor Aldercapt, with her full name being Solara Aldercapt Antiquum.
• Hero Stole My Bike: She runs into Lunafreya when the latter, having been newly resurrected in the World of Ruin, is running from a daemon and jumps into Sol's sidecar while it was on the move, then throws out the bags of canned food in it to make room for her. Sol is understandably not happy she just lost a load of supplies to a stranger.
• I Call It "Vera": She named her motorcycle Regina.
• Intergenerational Friendship: She's a teenager who strikes up a friendship with the 30-something Noct and Luna. Especially good when it comes to the former, as, since she's the current heir to Niflheim's throne, it would be good for inter-kingdom relations.
• Meaningful Name: Her name is Latin for "ancient sun," even more fitting as her grandfather dreamed of resurrecting the old Empire of Solheim.
• Naytheist: As an adult, she is skeptical of those who place their faith in the gods and more broadly, is disillusioned with people who believe in saviors in general, such as the citizens of Niflheim who believed the Empire would always protect them. Her dislike of the gods further intensifies when she sees how Lunafreya using her Astral-granted daemonic powers is slowly corrupting and destroying her body.