Oracle (Final Fantasy XV)

The Oracle is a woman in the Final Fantasy XV Universe charged with maintaining the stability of Eos by cleansing the world and communing with its gods. Astrals are intelligent immortal deities that have their own agendas, and speak a unique language only understood by those touched by them; one of the Oracle's duties is to carry the words of the gods to the people and thus bridge humankind with the divine.
Oracles are said to be bestowed by the power of the planet and inherit their abilities through their family bloodline. The Oracle's prayers halt the Starscourge, a plague on the world that lengthens nights.
==Abilities==
The Oracle is a divinely-blessed woman from House Fleuret. In the , the Oracle is symbolically portrayed as a one-winged woman bestowing divine blessing on the warriors of the gods. This representation of the Oracle is also referred to in research logs by Verstael Besithia as a "goddess of light", further reinforcing her divine status.
The Oracle's key duties are to cure people ailed by the Starscourge and hold back the encroaching nights, bless havens so they will ward off daemons, seal away specific ferocious daemons (such as with the Fociaugh Hollow and the menace dungeons), and communing with the Astrals either directly or through a servant race called the Messengers. Her magical powers are marked with a shimmering golden light. According to Lunafreya's Play Arts box, the Oracle uses the Trident of the Oracle to commune with the Six. In Final Fantasy XV -The Dawn of the Future-, it is explained that the Crystal acts as two-way conduit to both let the slumbering Astrals gaze upon the world, and to transmit the gods' word to the Oracle. Use of the Oracle's abilities doesn't come without cost, as communing with the gods is detrimental to her physical health, potentially to the point of death.
An Oracle's training is eclectic; in addition to meditation, Oracles in the modern era learn singing and dancing, martial arts for self-defense, along with swimming and running. They must undergo isolation and fasting as part of their spiritual training, and visit statues of previous Oracles in ancient ruins across Eos.Final Fantasy XV -The Dawn of the Future-; 3rd part Once accepted into her role, the Oracle travels the land to selflessly ease the people's suffering, blessing havens and seal daemons in underground caves. Her final task is to forge covenants with the Astrals and aid the Crystal's Chosen fulfill the prophecy of the True King.
==Story==
According to legend the Astral Bahamut descended from the stars and picked the first Oracle from the land of Tenebrae. He bestowed the Oracle's powers upon her and gave her his trident. According to the Cosmogony, the first king of Lucis rose to protect her, and she accompanied him on his quest to forge covenants with the Astrals and banish the darkness that had spread across Eos. According to Final Fantasy XV: Official Works, the Astrals fell into slumber due to having overextended their powers during the Astral War, and thus it fell to the surviving humans to protect Eos with the powers the Astrals had granted them.
The Oracles of the Fleuret dynasty became the royal family of the kingdom of Tenebrae, and they remain very popular among the masses. Messengers are magical beings sent by Astrals to the Oracle to make the gods' will known to mankind through her. After the War of the Astrals and the king fighting back the scourge, the gods fell into a deep slumber to be awoken by the Oracle when the time of the Chosen King would be at hand.
Final Fantasy XV: Episode Ardyn – Prologue depicts a different version of the early days of Lucis than the Cosmogony does. The first Oracle is Aera Mirus Fleuret, the fiancée of Ardyn Lucis Caelum. She is the one to receive the vision from Bahamut through the Crystal as which of the Brothers Caelum the gods would choose to crown. Although it seems to be Ardyn, his younger brother Somnus stages a coup by declaring Ardyn a daemon due to him absorbing the scourge into his own body to cure others. Aera rushes between the dueling brothers and is killed by Somnus to a blow meant for Ardyn, and she dies in Ardyn's arms. Somnus executes Ardyn, but he has been rendered immortal. Final Fantasy XV -The Dawn of the Future- depicts statues of Oracles erected in old ruins, which training Oracles visit. A statue of Aera imparts the first Oracle's memories to Lunafreya Nox Fleuret, implying that the statues have a special purpose (perhaps similar to the statues of kings found in Insomnia).
Circa M.E. 358, the Aldercapt family, who govern Niflheim, set their sights on world domination, using the legacy of the ancient civilization of Solheim. Their two primary targets become the kingdoms of Lucis and Tenebrae, the latter led by the Oracle. Niflheim gained control of Tenebrae's territory, but did not invade Fenestala Manor where the Fleurets, the Oracle family, reside, due to the masses' faith in the Oracle. Thus Tenebrae retains some autonomy even as an imperial province.
Though the Oracles are known as the royalty of Tenebrae, one of the royal arms is the Trident of the Oracle, and one of the thirteen statues of the Old Wall in Insomnia represents a past king going by the name of "The Oracle" who wields a giant version of the trident (the statues in Insomnia are "coffins" for the souls of the past kings that animate at the behest of the currently reigning monarch.).
It appears that the Trident of the Oracle became a royal arm hundreds of years ago after daemons had emerged in Lucis, and an Oracle and a king joined forces to banish them. The two sealed some of the most ferocious daemons in hidden underground dungeons and forged a key to be handed down to an heir strong enough to one day free Lucis from the threat, as the seals were but a temporary containment. The king(s) erected monoliths in these secret dungeons as messages to the True King.
The dungeon in Steyliff Grove extols how the king and the Oracle of his time were in love, and how she protected both him and the world before being killed by a monster. The king took up her weapon and assumed the role of the Oracle until another from House Fleuret would be ready for the task. It is unknown if he actually gained the powers of an Oracle, as it has been said only women from House Fleuret can perform the role; his deciding to become the Oracle may have been more of a symbolic gesture to honor her memory. It seems ever since daemons returned to the world Oracles have sometimes used their powers to seal them underground, as Queen Sylva did to the daemon in Fociaugh Hollow when the local villages called out for her help.Almanac entry excerpt from Fociaugh Hollow: After a recent string of incidents involving a speaking serpent who absconded with several small children, nearby residents dared not approach the mouth of the cave. In their despair, the citizens called upon the aid of the former Oracle, Sylva Via Fleuret. After luring the snake-like daemon into the hollow, the Oracle trapped it inside.
Tenebrae was invaded by Niflheim when the Lucian royal family was visiting Fenestala manor in M.E. 744. As depicted in Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV, Niflheim's General Glauca killed Sylva Via Fleuret and the incident was covered up, the queen being reported to have perished in an accidental fire.Almanac entry excerpt from Tenebrae: Fenestala Manor alone remained the purview of House Fleuret until several years ago, when a fire broke out and claimed the life of the previous Oracle, Sylva Via Fleuret. Lunafreya Nox Fleuret, the princess of Tenebrae and Sylva's daughter, became the new Oracle four years later under the supervision of the empire. However, she had already been using her powers before this: in M.E. 745 Lunafreya entered a covenant with Shiva, who awoke as a giantess outside the imperial capital in Ghorovas Rift. At age sixteen, she became the youngest Oracle in history, and her status allows Tenebrae to remain somewhat autonomous under Niflheim's rule. As the Oracle, Lunafreya journeys the land to heal people and people travel long distances to be seen by her.
When Niflheim officials head to Lucis for a peace treaty signing in M.E. 756, Emperor Aldercapt takes Lunafreya with him. As part of the treaty, she is to marry Prince Noctis of Lucis, her childhood friend. In an interview broadcast over radio, Lunafreya promises to continue to work as an Oracle even though her duties would be temporarily halted for her upcoming wedding. The treaty-signing is a ruse for Niflheim to invade the Crown City, but Lunafreya has a chance to be with King Regis before he is killed. She takes the king's Ring of the Lucii to pass it on to Noctis, who is not in Insomnia when it is invaded. The news declare Lunafreya dead, and the world mourns for her. Her wedding dress is put on display in Altissia where people pay respects to her.
After the Crown City's fall, Hunter Dave is interviewed for radio where the interviewer asks if those on the road at dusk should seek refuge at a haven. Dave affirms, saying that the havens are "holding strong" despite the world having lost the Oracle's protection. He reminds that the havens lasted the four years the world was without an Oracle after Lady Sylva passed away, before Lunafreya took up the position.
Lunafreya knows that Noctis is the True King spoken of in prophecy. When he stayed in Tenebrae when he was eight years old, she had told him he is the Chosen. Lunafreya believes her mission is to guide Noctis to fulfill his destiny. Thus, after escaping Insomnia with the Ring of the Lucii, Lunafreya uses her powers as the Oracle to implore the Astrals to lend Noctis their strength. This drains her and she grows weak. As told in Dawn of the Future however, Lunafreya is oblivious that fulfilling the prophecy will kill Noctis.
Lunafreya's mission is opposed by her brother, Ravus Nox Fleuret, who doesn't have the powers of an Oracle despite being of the same bloodline, as only women inherit the position. He doesn't want to see Lunafreya sacrifice herself for Noctis, whom Ravus believes to be too weak to be the Chosen King. Ravus had asked for the Ring of the Lucii's powers for himself during the fall of Insomnia, but was rejected and lost his arm when he was burned by the power of the old kings. Being made the high commander of the Niflheim forces, Ravus is tasked with capturing Lunafreya, but he aides her escape Lucis instead.Ravus's letter in Ch.13: I shall send an escort. You and Gentiana will return to the manor. It is dangerous to remain in Lucis. She tries to convince Ravus that Noctis is the Chosen King, and he reluctantly comes around, but still leads the Niflheim forces to attack the Astrals whose communion with Lunafreya is weakening her.
When Lunafreya is in Altissia to rouse Leviathan, Noctis convinces First Secretary Camelia Claustra to allow Lunafreya to perform the ritual to awaken the sea goddess. Lunafreya makes a public appearance to let the populace know she is alive. When she rouses Leviathan the Astral takes offense and intimidates her. Lunafreya parries Leviathan's attacks with the Trident of the Oracle and summons the power of the old kings to empower Noctis, who forges a covenant with Leviathan. Lunafreya is killed by Chancellor Ardyn Izunia of Niflheim and she dies after passing on the Ring of the Lucii to Noctis, her body vanishing into light.
Lunafreya's "second" death shocks the world. Ravus is sentenced to death for high treason, and thus the Oracles' bloodline is extinguished. Without Lunafreya holding the Starscourge at bay, daylight begins to vanish from Eos more rapidly, until it is plunged into an eternal night. Ravus evades execution for a time, but falls prey to Ardyn masquerading as Noctis. When Ravus returns the Sword of the Father to the fake Noctis, he says "As Blood of the Oracle, I present you your father's glaive."
Noctis continues on his mission without Lunafreya's help, although he once hallucinates a vision of her, implying she is helping him from the beyond. Noctis sacrifices his life to purge Eos of the Starscourge, and Lunafreya's spirit helps him during his final confrontation. The world is saved as per the prophecy.
===Alternate ending===
Final Fantasy XV -The Dawn of the Future- depicts an alternate ending to the saga where Ardyn accumulates power too great for the True King to purge with the Ring of the Lucii and Bahamut decides to revive Lunafreya for a new mission: gather the darkness into her own body. Lunafreya learns that Noctis will die if he goes through with the ritual to purge the darkness, and is shocked. Operating under the belief that following her new calling will save Noctis, she sets out to kill Ardyn in Insomnia and absorb his darkness. Lunafreya's new power is to absorb the Scourge into her own body, but this is slowly twisting her into a daemon. However, as the Oracle's power is the only thing that makes her withstand the accumulating darkness, she realizes no one else could have been chosen for this mission.
After Lunafreya learns that Bahamut is using her for a sinister end, she rebels against her fate. In the end, Lunafreya, Ardyn, Noctis, the old kings and the other Astrals combine their forces to fell Bahamut in both the mortal plane and the beyond. The darkness is expelled from Lunafreya's body but she yer survives the ordeal. The Crystal absorbs the Scourge from Eos before shattering and the Astrals fade away.
==Gameplay==
In Final Fantasy XV: Comrades, The Oracle's Sigil enhances the wearer's curative powers. It refers to the The Oracle King.
Lunafreya was planned to be playable in Episode Lunafreya, but her DLC was cancelled and the story later released in the Dawn of the Future novel, instead.
==Gallery==
FFXV Genesis.png|The Oracle is depicted as an angel-winged woman in the painting of the prophecy.
Oracle-Ascension-Coin-Artwork-FFXV.png|Oracle Ascension Coin artwork.
The-Oracle-KGFFXV.png|The Oracle of the Old Wall in Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV.
The-Oracle-FFXV-Comrades.png|The Lucii of the Oracle in Final Fantasy XV: Comrades.
==Etymology==
==References==
pt-br:Oráculo (Final Fantasy XV)
en:Оракул (Final Fantasy XV)
Category:Final Fantasy XV