Wow. Done. Definitely a rough draft, but I had to start somewhere. (And yes, I know this epilogue is shit. As much as I would like to blame the stress of final exams, I'm pretty sure I just lost my edge at the last minute.) If you hated something, tell me so I can fix it. If you liked something, tell me so I'll leave it alone. I'll be going on hiatus for a while before I begin the second draft—or maybe I'll get antsy and just start on the next novelization. Either way, thanks for reading, and check back in a few months.

Epilogue

It took eight hours for a complete stand-down of both forces, though it would take even longer for Ivalice to return to what it once was. Ashe and Lamont ascended to their respective thrones and grew further and further away from their comrades, though they maintained their relationship with one another as Dalmasca's cessation proceeded and sustained goodwill meetings continued. Rabanastre recovered, as did Archadia's reputation, but nothing would ever be the same, and it would take generations to forget the violence that had shaken the world in those years.

Lamont's first months on the throne proved less daunting than they had at first seemed, as he had no shortage of allies and advisors to see him through the wreckage of his country's comeback. However, with Basch and Noah permanently switched, it became clear that Basch would die under the wrong name, and that there could never be a grave marked with his true name, so Monty had Noah buried beside Drace. Much of his reign would be unpopular domestically but respected abroad, but Basch aided him through it all, and at times the emperor nearly forgot that Noah had ever left him.

Vaan kept watch on the Strahl, travelling the world with Penelo at his side—to keep him out of trouble, no doubt. A fair amount of pirating took place, which went largely ignored by the authorities, thanks to the generosity of certain heads of state, but even this eventually bored Vaan, and it was only a few years before Ashelia inducted him into the Order of Dalmascan Knights.

This relieved Penelo at first, as she no longer felt the need to keep such a watchful eye on her brother, but she lost her taste for globetrotting without Vaan, and soon found herself restless, missing Monty while she lived in Rabanastre and missing Vaan while she visited Archades. She and Monty exchanged letters almost weekly for six years before finally getting married, allowing her the privilege of far more frequent trips between the two cities. Their children would know Basch as their uncle, as would Ashelia's.

And as for Ashelia, she oversaw the restoration of Dalmasca for an entire year before being coronated, much to the joy of her people. Migelo hosted the fete, of course. However, once she officially took the throne, the bids for her hand in marriage began to pour in—Emperor Margrace offering her her choice of his sons, Marquis Ondore looking to match her with various former Resistance members, the people of Landis hoping to make an ally, the people of Nabradia eagerly encouraging her to take her second husband from among the ranks of her first, the people of Dalmasca seeking independence through a pure-blooded marriage, and the people of Archadia absolutely zealous in their attempts at setting her up with poor, exasperated Monty.

Amid the gossip and rumors stood Vaan and Penelo, well on their way to becoming skypirates of surpassing notoriety themselves. One sunny day they entered the aerodome with the hopes of pillaging the newly rebuilt Nabudis, only to find that the Strahl had been stolen right out from under them. That very night, the queen was kidnapped, and a month later Dalmasca received a new king. "Rasler" had been left deep within Raithwall's tomb, atop the pedestal that once held the Midlight Shard, and upon exiting the tomb, Balthier had quite plainly stated that Ashe would be in need of a new ring, casually slipping one on her finger as he said so, but it had been her idea to elope that very day, free of the public pomp that had smothered her first wedding.

Fran quickly earned the title of "Pirate Queen" among the inhabitants of Balfonheim, and maintained a steady and mutually beneficial relationship with Lamont and his successors until at last returning to Eruyt. From that point on, increasing numbers of Viera ventured out of the Golmore Jungle. Balthier gave her fifty years and then some, and though for the most part he settled into royal life, he often took the Strahl out for uproarious joyrides with Vaan and occasionally Penelo, and continued to kidnap Ashe at his own leisure, not that she ever minded.

But peace settled over Ivalice eventually, and the world no longer had need for heroes, and thus the heroes took the rest they had earned. The distance between them grew greater as time and necessity dictated, but the public was still awed in the rare instances when the king took a holiday to the infamous port of Balfonheim, or the empress went running through Rabanastre's slums with a royal knight, or when, at formal events, the queen would occasionally dance with the emperor's bodyguard. And once in a while, their lives would again converge over some innocuous matter, and after the diplomats had retired to their rooms or the party guests had stumbled drunkenly back home, the group would gather and recount old times, and although living the tales had tried them terribly, telling of them years later brought only the affection of shared laughter.