The sun was high in the blue skies. Its warm rays washed upon the Askr palace, its golden accents sparkling in the light.
Kiran stood in the palace garden. The roses swayed gently in the breeze. Roses of all different colours sat elegantly on their spinned perches, showing off their colours to the world as if they knew that their beauty surpassed all others in the area. They towered high over the ground below them casting shadows over the barren dirt.
Kiran's white and gold robe ruffled in the breeze.
The petals floated off gently.
Petal by petal, all the flowers grew naked, the colour draining from each of the thorny stalks. Nothing but brittle brown stalks remained.
Suddenly, a girls scream rang out in the silence.
And for a moment everything went still.
A young girl laid dead on the ground right in front of them.
A yell echoed through their head. "My sister is dead because of you."
"Everything I know is gone… Because of you"
Screams rang out from all around Kiran as the blood pooled by their feet.
"Hey!" Kiran jumped, suddenly snapping back into reality at the touch of their shoulder.
They turned to see a energetic girl clinging to their shoulder.
"Didn't you hear me? I said it was time for dinner." She chuckled, "Lost in thought as usual I guess." Her long golden ponytail swayed as she moved.
"I guess I was." Kiran said. They glanced back at the roses, brimming full of vibrant blooms.
"Well come on then," Sharena said joyfully, "because we have lots of food that isn't going to eat itself." she chuckled slightly.
Kiran nodded, not showing nearly as much excitement at Sharena.
"You know, it's not like you to not enjoy the message about food." she said looking at them, "are you okay?"
"Yeah," Kiran said a bit distracted. "I've just got a lot on my mind right now." They followed Sharena toward the castle.
Kiran was once a foreigner to this land and was summoned to aid Askr 6 years ago. Appearing shortly after the war had began, Kiran turned the tides for Askr when they came. Being able to summon warriors from other realms to aid in their cause. The Heroes fought so willing with them to protect the kingdom. Everything was going well until the kingdom suffered a massive invasion from yet another neighboring kingdom. This attack heavily damaged the kingdoms main section of farming. It was sudden and brutal, depriving the kingdom of vital resources.
Since then food really wasn't abundant, in fact, it had become scarcer while they attempt to mend the once fertile land that now is a scorched ruin. But even wary of their resources, people tried not to dwell to heavily on the fact.
They entered the dining hall to see everyone settled in and ready to eat. There wasn't an over abundance of food, but enough to at least satisfy everyone. Sharena sat in the empty spot next to her brother, Alphonse, and Kiran sat on her other side. One of the head commanders named Anna sat on Alphonse's other side, followed by another commander; a man by the name of Xander. Anna was friendly and approachable looking while Xander was definitely far more intimidating.
Three people came in carrying the rest of the groups food. These were the personal servants of Alphonse, Sharena and Anna; being Jakob, Matthew and Felicia respectively. They smiled a tired smile out of respect for their masters. After putting the food down, each of the three went to stand by their masters; waiting to wait on whatever they may need. They did not eat any of the food present on the table. They all looked tired and a bit pale. A stark contrast to everyone at the table who where energetic and happy.
"Update on today's events." Alphonse said looking at Anna.
"The battle went well, we drove the enemies back and didn't suffer any fatalities." she took a bite of food before continuing. Alphonse frowned at this. "We also recovered yet another summoning shard. We have five now, so we are ready to summon."
Kiran's face saddened. Though they did their best to not show any kind of grief about the matter.
"I heard after the mission another fight broke out in the Dens again." Xander announced. "What was the outcome of it?"
"Nothing too major," Anna said, "Some came out with some bumps and scratches but no one was killed this time."
"Such brutes." Xander sighed. "The second fight this week isn't it? Constantly battling with each other."
"I'm not sure what the cause of this fight was. But it was started by one of the usual offenders." Anna said with a sigh.
"Well, it's a good thing no one was too badly hurt today," Chrom, another person at the table stated. He sounded relieved.
"As long as the battle today was won, that's all that matters." Alphonse stated rather harshly.
Sharena looked down at her plate with slight disgust.
Alphonse noticed this, but chose not to respond to it.
People nodded in agreement and continued their meal. The rest of the meal was just filled with passive conversation. Nothing really interesting.
Each person present at the table is someone of royal importance. Alphonse and Sharena are the royals of the kingdom of Askr. Alphonse, as the elder of the two siblings, is responsible to running the kingdom. His sister does what she can to help him.
Anna is a commander that had been around long before Kiran made their first appearance. She is a kind person, but knows when to put her foot down.
Xander is the crown prince of the distant kingdom of Nohr. One of the first Heroes to join Askr in this world and has made his name known among the heroes for his ability to command and take lead. He plans to do all he can to bring victory to the kingdom he know serves.
Chrom is the prince of the kingdom of Ylisse. He was also the leader of a group in his world called the Shepherds, the elite force of his army. He is easy to get along with and is overall a kind person, determined to end the war for the people of Askr.
Kiran excused themself as soon as they were done eating, leaving everyone else to finish their meal.
They returned back to the rose garden. It was a place they often went to because it was quiet and peaceful. They sat down on one of the benches and just watched the sky.
The thought of a new summon weighed on their mind as they zoned off watching the clouds.
Sharena came back out again, Matthew following just behind her, and sat next to Kiran, this time not startling them. She turned to Matthew, "You may fulfill you other duties now." Her voice is very kind and non-threatening
He nodded and went on his way.
Sharena sat quietly for a minute before turning to Kiran.
"I heard we will be doing the summoning after everyone finishes eating and has a chance to digest a bit."
Kiran just sighed.
"It's not what I want either you know," she said looking at them. "But it's what my brother wants."
"We already have so many people." Kiran said looking back at her. "Having more people may make our physical strength higher, but that does nothing if we can't feed anyone."
"I know we are barely," with extra emphasis on the word barely, "managing to feed the heroes we have. But Alphonse doesn't always look at it that way."
"There just so many people. Everyone's just ready for this war to end. So that we can move on and live a peaceful life."
"What makes me sad," Sharena said looking back at the sky, "Is that some people may never get that chance. Some may never be able to experience the joys of a peaceful life after this war."
"The more we bring, the faster the war may end, but the more they suffer. It's not like they have a choice."
"No one has the choice. We are all stuck to continue this war." She turned to look at the roses behind them.
Many where big and beautiful. Others where just beginning to bloom. Some, have lived there time and have began to wilt. They were not made to last forever, and eventually they won't be able to hold on. Their petals shrivel and fall, leaving nothing but a barren center. A remanence of what they used to be.
"Well." Sharena said standing up. "I hear my brother calling. So let's go get this done with."
All of the royals gathered by the summoning stone, including Alphonse, Sharena, Xander and Chrom.
They connected the 5 summoning shards to create a full summoning jewel and inserted into the round opening of the ancient summoning stone. Kiran backed up a decent distance and sighed. They raised up their ancient relic resembling a pistol, called the Breidablik, and took aim at the jewel. They fired the weapon and suddenly the summoning stone bursts into a fantastic flash of light. Once the light dissipated, the jewel was gone, but instead a man and his horse stood in front of the stone.
He seemed a bit dazed at first but quickly regained focus and looked at Kiran.
"Hello! I'm Stahl, a member of the Shepherds." He said with a smile. He was a nice guy, friendly all around and easy to get along with. He wore armour of green and silver, optimized for horse based combat. A sword was sheathed at his side.
He looked around at the people gathered around and then spotted Chrom. "Hey Chrom!" He said attempting to approach his leader. He was immediately pulled back by the nearby palace guards.
"Wait, but he knows me!"
Chrom just stood silently.
"Well," One of the guards said looking in the direction of the lords, "what should we do with him?"
Stahl looked around confused.
There was a quiet conversation among the royals.
"Your decision?" the guard asked.
Chrom hesitated for a moment and looked at Xander.
Xander looked at him, his expression cold and uncaring.
Chrom looked back at the guard and just shook his head, not saying a word. His face was grim, as if he didn't want to make this decision.
Immediately one of the guards seized the reins of Stahl's horse. And another very forcefully grabbed onto his arm.
The spectating group turned to leave and head back inside.
"Wait! Chrom!" Stahl called, confused and alarmed.
Chrom looked back, but only for a moment, before continuing on his way.
Everyone but Alphonse, Stahl and the guards have gone.
"Where am I going?" Stahl looked at Alphonse. He had a reason to be alarmed, as this was no pleasant treatment being hauled away so forcefully.
"To the Dens. I believe some some of your other friends are there already." Alphonse said trying to sound reassuring. "It's just the place you will stay for the moment. Nothing more. Just until we get a living quarters set up."
Stahl just watched Alphonse as he was being dragged away.
Alphonse turned to walk away. Just a few steps forward he turned back to Stahl.
"Oh yeah," He said with a friendly smile,
"Welcome to Askr"