Lunafreya Nox Fleuret

a character from a game

Lunafreya Nox Fleuret, also known simply as Luna, is the main heroine in Final Fantasy XV and one of the two main characters in Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV.

A former princess of Tenebrae, she is currently a captive of the Niflheim empire. Able to talk to the gods, Luna is the youngest Oracle in history. Despite it being under Niflheim's control, Tenebrae has some autonomy thanks to her. She is the younger sister of Ravus Nox Fleuret and Noctis's betrothed. Luna is the daughter of the Queen of Tenebrae, Sylva Nox Fleuret.

Her character is one of the three main pillars of the story, representing the bond between the heroine and the people of the world. Even if she and Noctis are romantically involved, their relationship is depicted as complex and complicated but not one of a "generic love story", their bond is said to be a basic plot element similar to the bond between Noctis and his friends and Noctis and his father. Luna is said to be the presence that supports Noctis for him to fulfill his destiny, and to be "the type of heroine you want to meet but can't quite reach."

Appearance
Luna has long blond hair styled in side-swept bangs with a double braid headband and the rest twisted and pinned up. She has blue eyes and a white dress embossed with flower patterns and embellished with silver studs. She wears a necklace with a pendant of a star inside a crescent moon. The primary differences between her and the character of Stella seen in earlier material are a rounder face, down-turned almond eyes and a smaller nose. She wields a double-sided trident.

As a child, Luna wore a white dress with a ruffled hem and a zipper at the back. Her hair was shorter and she had bangs.

Personality
Luna has been described as a strong-willed woman who talks about her hopes and dreams and acts on her own initiative. She acts courageous, and remains unfazed even when surrounded by soldiers pointing guns at her, demonstrating her resolve as an Oracle, as she focuses on the future to come and tries to prevent the world from plunging into complete darkness.

Luna and Noctis have a complicated relationship. They're from different kingdoms and are childhood friends, but are being made to marry to bring their kingdoms together. Luna loves Noctis who doesn't have the confidence to respond, although he thinks highly of her. She is said to be the presence that supports Noctis for him to fulfill his destiny and according to Ardyn Izunia, she holds King Regis in the highest regard.

Abilities
Luna is an Oracle who prevents the "Plague of the Stars" from advancing via her powers. The plague lengthens the nights and Luna is preventing the world of Eos from plunging into darkness. She is said to have the power to commune with the gods. She is also capable to summon her trident in combat in a similar way Noctis does with his arsenal, while Noctis' aura is blue Luna's is yellow. She is a magic user as she is seen casting a seemingly powerful spell against Leviathan.

Story
Lunafreya and her older brother Ravus were once royalty of Tenebrae and were close allies with the Royal Family of Lucis. She and Noctis are childhood friends, having made a promise to each other as children, and the memories they shared have been cherished by both. The two spent time together following Noctis's near-death experience with a Marilith, when Luna kept him company while he was recuperating.

At some point before the main events of Final Fantasy XV and Kingsglaive Final Fantasy XV Lunafreya, Ravus and their mother, the Queen of Tenebrae Sylva, welcomed King Regis and Noctis as they visited Tenebrae from a long journey to seek healing for Noctis' near-death experience. On the same day, Niflheim invaded Tenebrae and killed many officials of the Royal Family of Tenebrae, including her mother. Whilst running away from Niflheim forces with Regis and Noctis, Luna chose to stay behind and ever since then, Luna and Ravus had no choice but to surrender Tenebrae to Niflheim's control. Luna was held in captivity, so it is implied she had a rough childhood.

In her teenage years, Luna's pet dog Pryna went missing, though she later returned bound with a handkerchief that read "Prompto". Luna's attendant Gentiana suggested that they discover Prompto's identity. She sent Prompto a letter thanking him for saving Pryna and for being a friend to Noctis; Prompto assumed from the letter that Luna wanted him to talk to Noctis, which started Prompto on the road to becoming friends with Noctis.

Twelve years after the invasion of Tenebrae, the Niflheim Empire offers peace terms to Lucis; as part of these terms Luna is to be betrothed to Noctis. The terms are accepted and the wedding planned to be held in Altissia, and King Regis sends one of his Kingsglaive, Crowe Altius to bring Luna to Insomnia. The plan goes awry when Luna is caught leaving by Ravus and a squad of soldiers, and they force her to return to her room. Luna ends up arriving in Insomnia anyway when Iedolas Aldercapt brings her with him, and she is removed from Niflheim custody and escorted to the Citadel by Nyx Ulric, where she greets Regis warmly, though Noctis and his friends have already departed to Altissia. At the party before the eve of the signing, Luna engages Nyx in conversation and learns that the Kingsglaive soldier sent to escort her was killed. She expresses remorse, and receives a hairpin from Nyx that had been intended for Crowe to give to her. Later that night she is confronted by General Glauca, who asks her if she really thought that the peace treaty was real.

Glauca imprisons Luna on a fleet of airships outside the borders of Insomnia. The Kingsglaive arrive to rescue her, but Luna's kidnapping is revealed to have been a trap for the Kingsglaive; many of their body are traitors and both they and an Ultros concealed on the ship that Luna was imprisoned on slaughter the loyal members save Nyx, who escorts Luna to safety on a hijacked airship after escaping the Ultros. At the same time, the Imperials turn on the Lucians and steal the sacred crystal. Luna insists on returning to the Citadel, where they find Regis in combat with Glauca. Glauca removes the Ring of the Lucii from Regis and Ravus, who remained behind in order to take his revenge on Regis, puts it on, but is horrifically burned when the Ring rejects him. Nyx, Luna, and Regis escape down an elevator; Regis gives the Ring to Luna to give to Noctis and he erects a Protect barrier between him and Luna, ordering Nyx to get her to safety. Luna can only watch helplessly as Glauca kills Regis.

As Nyx and Luna fled the city in a car, Niflheim soon find them and send forces to stop them. After an attack by monsters, Nyx realizes that Luna's hairpin is being used as a tracer and he uses it to distract the enemy forces from Lunafreya. When he looses his grip on it, Lunafreya throws it into an airship engine, causing the controlled monsters to storm the ship, destroy the engine and bring it down. They arrive at a rendezvous point to meet with Kingsglaive leader Titus Drautos, but are instead accosted by one of the traitorous Kingsglaive, Luche Lazarus. Unable to escape, Luna reluctantly tricks Lazarus into putting on the Ring in order to gain its power, and she takes it from his burning corpse. Drautos arrives, but another former Kingsglaive member, Libertus Ostium, rams him with a car, forcing Drautos to reveal himself as Glauca. Nyx orders Libertus to get Luna out of the city, briefly donning the Ring and successfully gaining access to its power, and he remains behind to battle Glauca. Libertus eventually manages to escape the city, and he parts ways with Luna on the outskirts, promising her that she and Noctis will be welcome in his hometown and they will find Nyx and him waiting for them. Luna blends in with the refugees and heads for Altissia.

En route to his destination, Noctis is shocked to learn that he, his father the king, and his betrothed, are believed dead. In truth, Luna escaped during Iedolas Aldercapt's conquest of Lucis, and takes refuge in Altissia, Accordo's capital city, where she and Noctis were to be wed. Accompanied by her attendant Gentiana, she is confronted by Niflheim troops, but she brushes away a gun barrel pointed at her.

There is also a black dog, Umbra, that is said to protect Luna, similar to Gentiana. She also has a dog with white fur named Pryna.

Creation and development
Lunafreya first appeared in the Tokyo Game Show 2014 trailer, where glimmering motes surround her, likely alluding to the nature of souls.

Luna replaces Stella Nox Fleuret, the game's previous major female character during its time as Final Fantasy Versus XIII. The overhaul of her character was due to changes in the game's plot that featured Stella in a different role in the story than what is planned for Luna.

The decision of the change happened when the development team come up with the idea of making one single game and immediately realizing how reduced the role of Stella was in the original setting, so they decided to expand her role further and make her a more active character, changing her identity and role in the process. Within the overall theme of "journey," the developers also needed to decide the position a heroine should take, and thought that rather than having a passive heroine who needs to be saved, a more determined heroine who actively engages with the events in the story would suit better, and to play that role they thought they needed a different character.

Luna was designed by Yusuke Naora, the art director of Final Fantasy XV, who aimed to have Luna's design exude an indomitable will. The way her eye and lip make up is applied was altered, and her hairstyle was made to look like it would need the assistance of a handmaiden to reflect her nobility. To achieve the desired look, Naora worked with a professional hair and makeup stylist. They deliberately left some dispersion and variability at the tips of her hair to avoid her looking "too prim", as imperfections would give her a more relatable charm.

The likeness of Russian model Sonya Maltceva is used to portray Lunafreya and motion capture for the character is provided by Amanda Piery in Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV. Her look has been slightly altered ever since she was unveiled.

Voice
Luna is voiced by Rina Kitagawa in the Japanese versions of Final Fantasy XV and Brotherhood, and by Amy Shiels in the English version of XV.

In the Japanese version of Kingsglaive, she is voiced by Shiori Kutsuna; in English, she is voiced by Lena Headey as an adult, and Liliana Chomsky as a child.

Gallery

 * Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV

Etymology
This may play on her role as the oracle keeping the darkness of the night at bay, being the light that illuminates the darkness of the night.