Broken Dragon

A Fire Emblem Fates (Revelations) Story

By: Hentasma-Chan

Prologue: The End of the Beginning

"I have to unite Hoshido and Nohr, I have absolutely no room for error…" Corrin sighed in discontent, sitting on the edge of his bed within his quarters. As a result of having to make an impossible choice, Corrin refused to opt to either side of the war effort. The image of both of his brothers pointing a sword to his throat etched itself into his ever growing weary mind as he thought about their next course of action. One week as passed since that incident and Corrin found he was in such deep thought that even the slightest touch on his shoulder from his loyal maid, Felicia, caused him to flinch in a fright. A cold sweat hit him as he turned, only to be relieved by the sight of a warm cup of tea on a crudely glued plate.

"Oh! Thanks Felicia, you startled me there," Corrin nervously chuckled, accepting the tea from the clumsy damsel. Felicia had a concerned frown on her face she remained next to him, watching over him as she had done for some time in the past. With a slight sip of the tea, Corrin found his face twitch from mild disgust, which was fairly normal for Felicia's tea. Contrary to the rough taste, he had grown accustomed to it as if it were customary of their family. Corrin's gaze turned up to Felicia's as he laid his cup back on its plate.

"Is there something that you need Felicia?" Corrin's thoughtful voice always seemed to have a calming effect on Felicia, allowing her nerves to subside a little bit.

"O-Oh no! It's nothing like that. I'm just very worried about, just as the others are," Felicia said with gentle shiver. Corrin quickly drank the rest of the tea, making a mild face of displeasure before handing it all back to her, smiling gratefully up at Felicia.

"Thank you for the tea Felicia. Rest assured that I will pull through this; I don't have much of a choice in the matter to begin with. As for what is to happen next, I'm going to need to consult with Gunter since he's way more qualified for battle tactics than I am," Corrin said, rising from his bedside with a good, long stretch. Felicia couldn't help but smile whenever Corrin showed his charisma, another calming reassurance that she held close to her heart. Upon them both leaving through his quarters doors, a gentle song could be heard none too far of from their position. Felicia decided it was a good idea to bow out, leaving Corrin alone to talk to the other key player in his struggle, Azura. As if on cue, Azura smiled during her song as Corrin came into view.

Azura never ceased to amaze Corrin with her angelic voice; each time he heard her vocational brilliance, his heart would flutter just a little more than the last time. As Azura finished her dance and held her final phrase as a note, she kept her eyes on Corrin's until all sound had left her throat. Corrin shot Azura and clapped; it was yet again another perfect performance.

"As elegant and beautiful as always, I swear I could listen to you sing all day," Corrin said causing Azura to smile faintly. Azura was never one to get embarrassed, even if a striking question would be presented to her. Her gaze then shifted from Corrin and out towards the entrance to his castle walls, her eyes and mouth growing very grim as she turned.

"I appreciate your kind words, Lord Corrin, but it isn't any more special than words from either a child or a militant. It is a joy that I am blessed to be able to partake in and if it gives happiness to those who listen, the better my song will feel to myself," Azura's gentle and elegant pattern of speech always charmed Corrin, just as her songs did. He couldn't truly explain it, but Corrin felt himself sharing a deeper bond with Azura, even though he had only known her for such a short time.

"I believed Lord Gunter was on a search for you no more than minutes ago, I suggest that you find him with haste; his face was that of one in a grand emergency. I would've directed him to you, but I didn't know where you would've been at the time," Azura said softly, pointing in the direction in which she saw him last.

"I guess he needs to discuss battle plans, alright, thank you Azura!" Corrin left her with these words as he ran off to find his concerned teacher of war. Knowing Gunter pretty well, Corrin immediately made his way to the front courtyard, where he often stood on guard. Sure enough, after five minutes of rushing along, Gunter was standing next to his steed, nervously tapping his foot upon the ground with his hand clenched to his spear. Gunter heard the sound of shuffling feet, immediately turning around to see Corrin sliding along the ground to his position.

"Ah there you are Lord Corrin. I have urgent news from Lilith that she wishes to bestow on us all. As safe as she knew this place to be, it seems that mysterious forces have been gathering around the camp, waiting to break through our walls at any moment. She's using all of her power to keep them at bay with a barrier, but it seems that she is going to be depleted of her power within the hour. I've done my best to keep my calm, however, the odds against us are far too dire for me to be at ease for even a second longer," Gunter said with an urgent, fierce face that was usually only seen during battle. Corrin immediately went into a mild panic, clenching his teeth angrily in response.

"Gods! It seems that this time of war isn't going to rest until they have accomplished my demise. We need to quickly inform Azura and Felicia this instant!" Corrin growled, immediately taking off like the wind. Gunter closed his eyes and shook his head, now carefully mounting his armored companion to prepare for battle.

"I fear there are far too few of us to handle this barrage…if only we had more time…" Gunter growled, giving his mount a little jolt to its side to head into a firm defensive position. Corrin was quickly able to gather up Azura since she was still in the stead of where he had met her earlier, while Felicia sure enough answered to their cries out for her. Hunting down Gunter's post, the three of them quickly converged on him with weapons in hand. Lilith began to flutter about, meeting up with the four of them to unite every member of the fortress that they had.

"I'm terrible sorry Lord Corrin, but I no longer have the strength to maintain the barrier. I feel that I have failed you in the highest degree…I brought you here so you would have a safe haven in which to rest but instead I might've just forfeited your life…please forgive me!" Lilith was sobbing as she flew up into Corrin's chest, shaking and trembling in fear as loud battle cries could be heard from outside the walls.

"Lilith, you have done all that you could have, and I am incredibly thankful for that. But I don't plan to die on a night such as this. Everyone! Prepare for battle! Know that your lives depend on thwarting this invasion!" Corrin shouted, causing them all to form a tight box formation while Lilith returned to her shrine. Both Felicia and Azura hung at least 10 feet back while Gunter and Corrin raised their weapons to arms. An eerie silence overtook the fort, as if they had all left them be for the evening. Corrin found himself wiping his nervous sweat from his brow repeatedly as he kept his Yato clenched in his hand. Then, in a sudden outburst, the doors were blown open, revealing easily 30 infiltrating units breaching their parameter. The enemy forces were very strange; they were very translucent, as if they were a mirage. They had a mysterious magenta hue to them, making them glow within the light of the moon. They wasted no time in tearing the fort apart, destroying all of the structures that Lilith had helped them erect to make their endeavor much easier.

"MAY THE LIVES O FALL THOSE WHO DARE INVADE OUR FORT TO BE FOFEIGHT BY MY HAND!" Gunter let out a powerful battle cry, reaching his arm out for Felicia to pair up with him on the front lines. Felicia put on a face of determination as she was literally lifted off the ground and seated behind him. His trusting stallion reared onto his hind legs, shouting out a cry of confidence before tearing off into the main enemy forces. Corrin and Azura stuck close to one another like glue as they made a dash for a smaller battalion of troops that broke down the west entrance. Confronting a platoon of five, Corrin swung his sword before him, glaring them down with grand ferocity.

"I WILL CUT YOU DOWN!" Corrin roared as the forces charged him. The opening two infiltrators were a sword and axe infantry, who both took wild swings at Corrin on encroach. Corrin managed to slide past the first swing of the swordsman, cutting him down in response with Yato while Azura stepped in to knock the axmen's swing away. As if choreographed, they exchanged places, allowinng Azura to slash and finish the swordsman while Corrin took off the head of the phantom axmen with one clean swing. Two wyvern units dove in to take a swing at Azura, only to be parried aside by Corrin's blade. Corrin made a large leap to cut down one of the wyvern as Azura prepared her song. Upon landing, Corrin felt his bodies lighten as he was surrounded by a blue aura, allowing him to leap up and strike the other down as well. Upon the enemy's deaths, the units simply vanished into thin air, as if they were nothing more than a hazy illusion.

Meanwhile on the distant end, Gunter and Felicia were finding the mass amount of enemy units to be more than just a handful. With powerful swings of Gunter's spear he was able to befall three at once, only allowing for him to defend immediately after. Felicia threw dagger after dagger into enemies as Gunter rode by, making them easy targets for Gunter to pick off and finish. All would be fine had there been nothing but normal weapon soldiers, but to their dismay there were several mages as well, desperately casting spells before Gunter to take down his mount. He had to yank on his mounts reigns with all of his might to avoid there power expulsions of magic, narrowly escaping each of them by the hair of his horses tail.

"Felicia, this may grow to be too much for me to handle…go and assist Lord Corrin! He is to be protected at all costs!" Gunter growled loudly, immediately taking off towards Corrin's position. Once he had grown close enough, he made a quick turn back towards the enemy forces, allowing Felicia to hop off onto the ground with minimal difficulty. Corrin held up Yato to block a downward strike from an axman, which now was putting its full strength to try and knock Corrin to the ground. Felicia immediately threw several daggers into where its neck was supposed to be, causing it to fall to its knees. Azura quickly spun in a circle, using the momentum to slash into the axmen, causing him to vanish.

"Lord Corrin! We have to help Lord Gunter! He's way out numbered and I fear he wishes to make this battle his grave!" Felicia cried, catching Azura's and Corrin's attention without fail. They all ran towards the massive horde of units that had now completely surrounded Gunter, leaving him to only defend to save his life. Gunter loud out a ghastly groan as the blade from an ax cut into his side, causing him to nearly lose his balance.

"DAMN DEMONS!" Gunter yelled, angrily stabbing through the axmen with his spear, immediately ripping it out and stabbing another enemy in its momentum. Despite Gunter's forceful thrusts, a mage managed to slip by his attention, blowing up the ground beneath his horse. His mount shrieked in agony before throwing Gunter off by force. Gunter tried to catch himself using his spear, but instead used it to steady his fall into the dirt with a thud. Using his spear as a crutch, he rose to his feet, already surrounded by the enemy. He clenched his side with a painful growl, his arms shaking with all their might to hold onto his shield and spear. Corrin and the rest watched in horror as strike after strike broke his guard, their blades cutting into him with each of his own attempts to retaliate.

"Felicia! You have to run and heal his wounds!" Corrin ordered, causing Felicia to dash to the outside of the surrounding ring. She immediately removed a rod from her side waving it towards Gunter's position as she summoned her energy. Felicia smiled at Gunter as he rose back to his feet from the healing support, but lost her attention span around her. An archer ran around the ring to her flank, immediately launching an arrow that dug right into her side. Felicia screamed out with pain she gripped onto her side, trying to wobble away. Corrin's eyes widened with a fiery rage building within them as he attempted to make it to Felicia's aid.

Azura followed Corrin closely, ready to sing to give Felicia the energy she needed to escape. Felicia's eyes grew dim and pained as she removed the arrow from her side, crying out for help. Corrin immediately covered her flank in an attempt to pulling her to her feet and move her on. Felicia caught sight of 4 archers lining up behind him, all of them aimed to kill as they were released. Felicia used what strength she had to shove Corrin off to the side, screaming as she took arrows to her stomach and chest. Corrin's eyes forced tears from their edges as he watched Felicia coughing and crying out for him, telling him to escape. His attention then turned towards Gunter's position, in which rang with a deathly growl, followed but a loud crash of heavy armor hitting the ground.

Corrin glared at every enemy before him, yelling fiercely as she he shifted his form into that of the dragon. He immediately began tearing into all of the enemies, wondering why he hadn't done better to protect those closest to his heart. He knew that turning into a dragon was dangerous around his allies, but with both Gunter and Felicia bleeding to death on the ground, there was nothing to hold him back from his terrifying rage. Azura bit her bottom lip as she assisted Corrin, trying to keep out his proximity as he ran wild with his ferocious emotions. Only roaring out in pain from a few blows, he tore the rest of the illusions in his sights limb from limb until all had vanished.

A sudden scream could be heard behind him, causing him to immediately throw his body around. Azura stood before him with a spear that had been stabbed through her stomach, her bodily toppling towards him as she hugged onto him for balance. He looked to an illusion with Azura's spear piercing its chest, causing it to disperse after claiming its victim. She reached down, barely able to tear it from her body before hugging onto Corrin for dear life.

"You…aren't…badly hurt…are you…?" Azura coughed, splotches of blood hitting his body like spitting rain. She stood back and fell to a knee, still coughing and gasping violently as Corrin shifted back to his normal form, now shivering in complete despair.

"AZURA! No! Please! You can't die! NOT LIKE THIS!" Corrin screamed as he held her to him, trying to warm her as he covered her wound with her own clothes. Corrin had already begrudgingly accepted the loss of both Felicia and Gunter, but he refused to believe that Azura would join them in death. Tears began to drown his face, each one dripping upon Azura's weakly smiling face as she looked up at him.

"It…was going…for your….stomach…I couldn't…I couldn't…let it…harm you…" Azura was cut off by a coughing fit, another splash of blood hitting Corrin's chest. Corrin began to cry out uncontrollably, as he held her close, brushing her hair.

"No…please…don't go…I don't want to be alone…my war has only just started…I can't let it end like this…!" Corrin sobbed, holding Azura up to his face so she could see him clearly through her quickly fading eyes.

"Do not accept this despair…although our time was incredibly brief…it was full of many fond memories that I am blessed to take with me…You share those memories with me…so hold them close…to your heart…" Azura's once beautiful and powerful voice had quickly grown weak and feeble as she desperately clung to life.

"What…do I do now…? I know that I must fight on…but…I can't do this alone! Azura, please, stay with me!" Corrin cried out once more, trying to keep her steady as she shiver and shook. She forced a smile on her wincing face, slowly reaching her arms around his neck to embrace him the best she could. She moved her lips up to his ear, humming gently.

"Fight on…and never look back…" Azura whispered before her body grew limp in Corrin's arms. Corrin held onto Azura's now lifeless body for dear life, growling and crying out of pure frustration as he started to rock her body back and fourth.

"I swear to you…I will fix this God forsaken war and I will never, EVER allow anyone to ever die for me again…I will die before I let that happen!" Corrin cried out, rain beginning to drip from the sky as his tears drained from his eyes. He stared blankly at the aftermath as he continued to gently rock Azura's body within his grasp, stroking her hair as if trying to slowly put her to rest. Branded both a traitor by all of the family he ever knew and losing all those who remained by his side, Corrin was at a complete loss of what was to come next. He knew that he couldn't mount attacks by himself, nor did he want to get anyone else involved. This paradoxical thinking began to swirl around in his head like a storm, trying to make sense of the madness that has become his very existence.

End Prologue; To Be Continued…