Application for songerein

[luciing]

Player: Jade
Age: 21+
Contact: PM, drinksteapots, Jade294#6977
Current Characters: n/a

Character: Somnus Lucis Caelum
Canon: Final Fantasy XV, post-canon.
Age: 2030-something years old.


Background Information: Wiki page.

Personality:
 » » » »  Intense, ruthlessness efficiency.

  In the past, Somnus would have done anything to fight the Starscourge and protect the people of the kingdom. His resolve to do so included taking extreme measures to see the blight contained. Somnus acted on what (he believed) was necessary-- including eventually turning against his brother. The clash between him and Ardyn ended up resulting in Somnus being crowned king, while his brother was rejected from the Crystal itself. As Ardyn became physically corrupted by the Scourge, Somnus branded him as a monster before the nobility. However, when he at last subdued Ardyn and the dawn broke, Somnus' emotions were all but curbed, and no satisfaction crossed his expression: all what had been done, had been done so out of necessity to tame the Scourge with what information was available about it at the time. As king, he drove the Scourge back with a pyrrhic victory, and he built the foundation of Lucis for two thousand years to come.

When Somnus received his calling upon taking the throne, it was only then that the truth of the prophecy was revealed to him. At that point it was too late, and his soul would be taken into the purgatory of the Ring of the Lucii as the first king. The true task of the Lucian line was to restore the light to their world and rid their world of the scourge, by way of sacrificing all of them to it: all the kings' souls, Ardyn as a source for the Scourge, and then finally that of the Chosen King, Noctis.

"When the Prophecy is fulfilled, all in thrall to Darkness shall know peace."
Somnus continued to follow his calling as he believed it was necessary to fulfill the prophecy of saving their world. That their family line would experience such tragedy and suffering throughout, all taxed by the price of the Ring to continue to support their kingdom and protect the Crystal, finally culminating in the end of their dynasty, was a hefty price... But compared to either all dying to the Scourge, the divine's plan did not seem as steep a payment.

Two thousand years later, Somnus nevertheless expressed sympathy for his brother's fate, as well as the suffering Ardyn had endured at both the Prophecy and his own hands. Adhering to duty, Somnus asked not for forgiveness (for who rightly could ever ask for such a thing when one continued down the cruel-but-necessary Prophecy's path), but understanding for this task. Ardyn denied him, something that Somnus humbly accepted.

"Go forth. Restore the Light... and free my brother from his curse."
Somnus sees fulfilling the prophecy as the only way Ardyn-- and the rest of their family-- may rest. His hope for saving their Star lies now with Noctis. 

 

» » » »  Patient. 

   The Founder King of Lucis has been existing as an avatar of power for over 2000 years. He is a specter that has watched and waited as the world passed into the modern era and war began to consume the planet. To those that seek to claim the Ring of the Lucii, he with the other Kings of Yore judge them of their worth.

"If thou dost wish to save the King, a sacrifice must be made."
In the world of Eos the divine power of the Crystal, shuttered through the kings and the Ring, has a heavy price to wield. Even to those who are of the Lucian line, using the Ring results in burns, scars, and takes a price upon one's lifespan.  For those not of Lucian royal blood seeking to claim the Ring, doing so may result in serious burns or death; this is simply how it works, as the gods specifically chose Somnus' line for Ring.  

"You call upon the wards of this world's future, mortal."// "We will grant you our light..."// "...the price for it will be your life."
It's not a question of being merciful or not, even had Somnus wanted to be. Those seeking power must know their risk, and the Ring's magic works in a terrifying manner. This is not to say Somnus doesn't pity those who attempt to use the Ring, as desperation is something he understands as a motive.  

While he cannot fault another for their attempt, he can admonish them for their reckless choice-- especially if they seek power for reasons not related to ensuring the world will be saved. There are consequences to power. Sometimes, that price is the wearer's life, for they cannot stand the Ring's power more than a night. For those unworthy, they burn for their attempt. It is cold, but he is not one to shirk reality for a more hopeful outlook. To those who are bestowed the power of the Lucii, he holds them in great esteem.

 
 
» » » »  Serious, hopeful, and a realist.   

Taken from his current canonpoint, the fulfillment of the prophecy of the Chosen King restoring the light to the world of Eos-- and freeing his brother-- is nearly at its end.  Despite all appearances, Somnus loves his family. He feels for both the suffering of his brother and his descendants; however, Somnus recognizes that there is something more important than all of them.  Eos is currently under the complete veil of the Scourge. There is no longer a sun, a day-night cycle, a dawn. All is enshrouded in darkness, and what people remain do so, crowded in small strongholds, fighting daily against the daemons. The desperate need of saving the world outweighs a whole dynasty or his sympathy for his brother.  He is aware that the price of Noctis' life will bring the dawn. Still knowing this,  Somnus encourages Noctis to march towards the throne room to save all.

"A king pushes onward always, accepting the consequences and never looking back."
Since the beginning, Somnus has done what he believes to be necessary. It had started out with what he believed would help their world and kingdom to push against the Scourge, and then it turned into following the prophecy and doing what was necessary to ensure the world has a future. Somnus always moves forward.  

 

» » » »  Emotionally disconnected, blunt.  

   After having lived so many years as essentially a spirit, Somnus may not be as chatty or openly opinionated as he once was. He does not explain himself, he does not believe a king needs to, and to show remorse or guilt would mean little when he cannot change the past-- nor would he. More often than not, he's stilted and stiff in conversation. To complicate matters, his tone is often lacking in emotion.  Yet by far the heaviest weight upon his mind is the suffering of his brother, how Somnus had clashed with him in the past, and the price Noctis will have to pay to ensure the dawn arrives. Nevertheless he marches onward towards that future, thus continuing to condemn his family to the prophecy.  While he cares for them, again: the world is far more important.  

 

Abilities & Inventory:
 

» » » » Armiger. This is the canon's equivalent of hammerspace. He stores a (generic, unnamed) spear, as well as the Blade of the Mystic within, although he can store other items within as well.  He is proficient in using these weapons, but should they break, he's down to brawl with his bare fists.
» » » »  Warping/warp-striking, phasing. Throwing his weapon, Somnus can warp along and towards the trail of his weapon. Phasing (basically dodging, but ~magically~) allows him to side-step attacks in a mystical fashion.
» » » »  Barrier-making. Somnus can construct a barrier made of magic about him.
» » Elemancy. Another facet of the magic he wields is the use of manipulating/conjuring elemental magics. Fire, lightning, and ice attacks are all part of his arsenal.
» » » »  Potion/elixir making. Somnus, using his power, can infuse drinks with magic to make restorative and curative properties.
» » » »  Sharing powers.  Somnus can imbue others with his magic, should he so choose.
» » » »  Mystic's Sigil aka a magic spell specific to him. Sigil wiki entry!The Mystic's is at the bottom. Basically, he creates a sort of mini/confined black gravity well to do damage and draw in enemies to a single point, where they can be more easily attacked.
» » » » Ghost/phantom apperance. Somnus appears as a phantom that's semi-translucent and bears an aura. In the game, it's shown that his armor can dissolve or manifest and Somnus' spirit can appear as he was when he was king. He can vanish/turn invisible in this form when needed. For the purposes of this game and CR, I'm going to say that by default he can be seen by others, even if they don't have, like, a 6th sense to see ghosts.
» » » » Lucii-form. Somnus can appear as (scaled down) 10ft armored statue. He can interchange between this form and his spirit form at will and manifest his armor as needed.

Suitability & Plans:
Somnus is a character who is stoic and grim. Within his canon and for most of his existence, he has only been used as entity of the Old Wall when called upon by another King to defend Lucis, or as a spirit within the Ring to judge those who dare attempt to use its power. That is to say, he has a very limited use outside of his canon purpose... which means that, basically, he exudes Major NPC energy, with a resting, severe face to boot. Both within canon and without, he's no more than a tool, a weapon at best. Beyond that, he's basically a 2spooky spirit king within the Ring given a few key, cryptic lines here and there, and telling the player/audience that they have to make a choice in sacrifice in order to save Noctis or The World.

I'd like to develop him past that, and to do that, he needs exposure-- primarily through interactions with others. Somnus is not a blade that's beyond malleable. At first, Somnus coming into a different world will have him strangely out of sorts (he's been in Ring jail for 2k years and then 10 years corrupted by the Scourge himself), but he will adapt. Somnus will participate in events and explore exercises in dreamotion energy, especially if it means that producing or refining this dreamotion energy will help him "wake up" and return to his Star. In regards for castmates, Somnus would rather none of his world appear within this realm-- so no worries on him being hung up on needing castmates with whom to interact.

While he is a difficult character with whom to interact because he is so stubborn and set on his path to the prophecy-- and doesn't speak too much-- I personally enjoy getting him involved in shenanigans that put him out of his comfort zone and challenge him. In other games, his development (slow as it is, for he is a very ancient and dead man) has been nothing but rewarding regardless of the positive or negative CR he develops. Somnus is a character who can play the mentor fairly well, and apparently his old-fashioned ways can be charming to other character-types too, lending to some interesting interactions. For instance, he gets along well splendid with foils or other royal types. I hope to find the same results in this game, too!

A key fact about Somnus, though, is that for all of his blah-blah-blah-do-what's-necessary-to-save-the-world thing he's got going on, he's doing so on the belief that the Draconian god of his world's prophecy is true-- for what hubris would it be, to challenge a god on their prophecy. For strictly canon purposes, it is true that the Draconian's prophecy saves the world entirely, thus restoring the Light to Eos at its most desperate, dark hour, as terrible as it is involving sacrifice. However, some insight into Somnus' character is revealed in an canon AU (which I'm not taking him from, but just relying on for an interesting character trait): in the AU, the Draconian instead decides to waste the world instead of saving it right at the end, and that gets Somnus to fight against the gods. In other words, he actually would do anything to save his world: in canon, he'd put the world above himself and his family; in the AU, he would risk fighting against the gods if they mean to destroy the world. A long-term goal, if such development can be achieved, would possibly involve Somnus exploring other options to save his Star.


Test Drive Sample: Sample

Questions: Any questions you might have.