(Disclaimer: It is true that Kiran's gender is ambiguous, but I will choose to write them as female. Now then, sit back and relax. We won't disappoint.)
Once upon a time, in the prosperous land of Askr, Anna Shihonka, the commander of the Askrian army was having quite a rough day to say the least. Morale was low, the people were worried, and she couldn't make a cent off of her line of merchandise. In the end, she decided to simply sit and the dinner table with her lord and lady. It was an awkwardly quiet meal, so Anna did her best to strike a conversation.
"So umm... So Sharena, how has your mother been?" She innocently asked. The princess paused a second. "Oh, she's fine. I still send her letters saying how I missed her and stuff." The two of them struggled to think of anything else to say. Veronica's forces were kicking ten shades out of theirs, and good news was far and few between.
Alfonse put his fork down and sighed. "Heroes are strong. But unfortunately that strength is being used against us. Our men are losing hope in victory, and rightfully so." Anna and Sharena could only frown at the bleak realism Alfonse was known for in situations like this.
Sharena faked a smile. "It's nothing to beat yourself up over. If anyone could've done any better, it'd be you." But she quickly realized her attempt to cheer her brother up had the exact opposite effect. He just stared down at his plate, no doubt thinking about Zacharias.
Anna knew that if Sharena couldn't brighten the mood, that she probably couldn't do much either. Losing her appetite, she quietly walked away from the table. Later in her quarters, she tried turning a coin in her hand to take her mind off everything, but it didn't really seem to do much. But to her credit, it was a very shiny coin. "I gotta hand it to that Barth guy. He may be dumb as a brick and easily scammed, but he does have a love for the finer things." She said to herself.
Just then, a soldier walked in and saluted. "Commander." Anna got off her bed and stretched. "Have a report for me?" The soldier held out some odd device. It was small, and was obviously built to be carried in one hand. It looked like the world's smallest cannon, but had a handle that the user was clearly meant to hold it with. It was painted a glossy white and gold, the colors of Askr. "Yes and no." the soldier replied, "We found this in the basement. No one on staff recalled seeing it, so we thought you might be able to identify it."
Anna turned it in her hand. She had never seen anything like this. And despite being in the basement for who knows how long, it still looked new and pristine. "Hmm... I've actually never seen this thing either. I'll hold onto it for now. You all go back to your posts." The soldier just nodded and left. Once alone again, Anna continued to study the strange thing. She didn't know why, but she felt like it was important.
After waking up the next day, she couldn't help but wonder about the device. It's true that she was never much of an expert on the oddities of the world when such oddities never yielded an immediate profit, or were useful in some way, but this thing seems like a sign. A sign for what? She couldn't say. But this had to mean something. "...But how?" She thought aloud.
She went to the castle library in the hopes of finding out what this thing could be. But unsurprisingly her mind shut down from boredom after hours of looking through the sea of words. She was so lost in it all that she failed to hear Prince Alfonse walking up to her. "Commander Anna...?" Anna jumped from surprise, and instinctively threw the book she was reading in the prince's direction. Luckily for her, it phased him about as much as a pillow. "O-oh, Alfonse. I didn't hear you come in." Alfonse just bent over and collected the book that was now on the floor.
"I must admit, the last place I'd expect to find you was here. What exactly are you doing?" Anna knew that she had some explaining to do, on account of how telling the prince she just had a feeling would probably prompt either laughter or a puzzled glare, but she explained anyway. She showed him the strange object. "I wanna try and find out what this is. But my search is going... well, not good."
Prince Alfonse took the device and inspected it just like Anna before her. But after a minute, his eyes glew with recognition. "Heh. Haven't seen anything like this since childhood." Anna raised an eyebrow, "Seriously? You actually know what it could be?" She was embarrassed with the fact she could have saved all that time if she just asked him.
He handed it back to her. "Well yes, actually. But I'm sure it's just a coincidence." Now he has her curious. "Well, don't leave me waiting in suspense. Tell me!" He sat her down and leaned against the wall. "When me and Sharena were little, I was obsessed with adventure books. And one day I stumbled across a very peculiar book. I needed mother to clarify some of the more confusing points, but it went something like this: according to the myth, there is a race of spirits that watch over our world's affairs. The author gave them the name 'the overseers'." Anna chuckled a bit. "Creative guy." Alfonse ignored her and continued his story. "The overseers, he proclaimed, act as silent guardians. When a catastrophe is emerging, they can influence the actions of certain people to avert the crisis. Typically gravitating around one individual deeply rooted in the problem at hand." Anna then raised her hand as if she was in primary school. "But what does any of this have to do with this tiny cannon thing?" Alfonse continued his story. "Yes. It's said that there is a device that can summon one of the overseers. A weapon of their own making: Breidablik. If one were to come into possession of it, you could undergo a ritual to them physical form in our world, and with it, the ability to summon heroes from other worlds just like Embla. But it's just an old wives tale. I doubt it's real."
Anna's mind was flooded with the possibilities this opened up if it was to be believed. Alfonse turned towards the door. "I know what you're thinking. Normally I wouldn't approve of putting faith in old legends, but if you truly think this could help, why not let the dream live a little?" Anna stood back up and saluted. "Thanks, Alfonse!" He nodded and walked off.
Through sheer trial and error, (mostly just error), Anna managed to track down the book Alfonse was talking about. Apparently it was written by some guy named "Anankos". Skimming through it, Anna managed to find what Anankos theorized to be the secret phrase, but there's one issue: it's written in English. Normally that'd be fine, but when describing the ritual he expressly states the words must be changed in the ancient tongue, which only royalty know. But it didn't take Anna too long to think of just the girl for the job.
Tracking down Sharena, the red haired commander explained her plan. To the surprise of no one, Sharena's eyes lit up on the spot and she proceeded to go off on an overly excited rant. But somewhere in the cluster of fangirling, Anna managed to hear what she needed to and was about to get up and gather the materials for the ritual, when the two of them heard some horns blare. But not just any horns. It was a signal the Askrians used.
"Shoot! The emblians are launching a direct attack!?" The two got to their feet as Alfonse ran up to them. "We can't let them take the castle. Anna, Sharena and i will go out to the front lines and fight. You stay here and guard the place." Anna let out a nervous laugh, but forced a smile all the same. "You can count on me!" The two blue bloods looked at each other, ready for what was to come, and then ran off. Anna knew she was running out of time.
Finding a secluded place in the castle, she prepared herself for what she was about to do. She got everything in place and began the chant, praying this would work. "I llac ot uoy, s'ohw s'tirips eurt, ot thgif siht raw htiw em. Raeh ym eciov, dna ekam ruoy eciohc, dael su lla ot yrotciv." Her heart was beating fast. They needed this to turn the tides for them. Then Breidablik started glowing as it drifted into the air. Glowing brighter and brighter until the room was filled with the warm blue light.
When the light faded, she looked at the ground. Did she do it...? She found herself agape in awe to discover a figure now lying there next to Breidablik. They wore a white cloak, making it impossible to see their eyes, but as they slowly got up she saw she was successful.
It was a woman that was slightly shorter than her. Her blue locks flowing from her hood. Her skin was pale, and her clothes were white and blue with dashes of gold. She was clearly dazed and confused, even though her hidden face would normally make it hard to tell. Anna helped her up as she looked around, not just at the world around her, but herself. "Where...?" The woman's voice was barely audible. Almost a whisper. But Anna was just glad she actually pulled it off. "Welcome to Askr... Kiran." She was a bit surprised she said that name. She didn't even know where it came from, but the reaction the woman gave implied that her name was indeed 'Kiran'. Anna chuckled and guided her new friend by the hand. She'd have a lot of explaining to do. To everyone.