Silmeria: Welcome! Dragon Chronicles: The Sworn Blade is my personal project. This tale will expand into three books and this will be one of the longest stories that I have written since I've started on this site over ten years ago. So, I ask that you bear with me on the launching of the first book: The Sworn Blade. Thanks for reading or continuously reading.

Disclaimer: I claim no rights to Yu-gi-oh!

Chapter One: Prologue: The Star of Orion

The Laws and Traditions of the Ascein People were as a divine as the Gods and Goddess of Orion and to break them meant certain death. It didn't matter if the law was but a simple one. If one took the opportunity to break it then it was in the Gods and Goddess right to smite them down. Yuugi Motou of Illyrian Village understood that rulebreakers were dealt a harsh punishment, but his fragile heart couldn't stand the thought of burning his Master Yoshinori's remains and pouring them into Helios River as such tradition dictated. He couldn't bear the smell of burning flesh despite knowing that his master's soul had rejoined the Gods and Goddess three winter nights ago. Why could no one understand that this mangled, disease-ridden flesh was all that he had left? That if he could close his eyes he could remember Yoshinori's deep, rumble laugh that seemed to echo off the deep, rooted trees that surrounded their village? If he took a deep breath, he could smell the sage and sandalwood that was buried deep in Yoshinori's robes? The man's wrinkled skin that was always stained with ink and hands that were callused because of the sword and bow he wielded as a Knight of Illyrian?

Could no one understand his grief?

Yuugi took a deep, shuddering breath allowing the piercing cold winds to jolt him from his degenerative thoughts. He had his time to grieve. He had more than hours in the passing days to come to the realization that not all creatures -human or Other-were kind and granted mercy. He would not be burying his beloved master if the people were sincere and kind. If the Gods and Goddess of their Holy Star granted him his desire to see his master back to the land of the living then Yuugi would deem the world kind and just. But, praying heeded no results and neither would sacrificing. The Elder would not allow it. He would burn along his master if he was caught committing such heinous crimes.

Behind him and unaware of his thoughts, the villagers' whispers bounced across the forest trees and the still air: wondering if and when Yuugi would see Yoshinori down the Helios River. Fortunately, their whispers were silenced by the wave of a wrinkled, tan hand and narrowed sapphire eyes drenched in grief.

"Young One!" Rebecca Hawkins, Elder to Illyrian Village, called out swiftly. "You must light the fire and be done with the task! The night draws near and the hour grows still. Be done with it and the let the Gods take his flesh!"

Yuugi swallowed at the harsh command, his grip tightening on the torch. It was an old relic of the village made of white oak and doused in the Helios River a startling sixty times before the Gods deemed it pure enough to use to burn the dead and merge them with the land. Yuugi wanted nothing more than to toss it back into the river and let the Gods take it back. But, like the villagers that stood at his back, he, too, was a holder of tradition. He, too, was frightened of the Gods and Goddesses wraith. And, it was that same fear that forced his feet forward toward the flame held in the Priestess' hands who stared at him with pity in her deep green eyes.

"Our Laws and Traditions are the Words of the Goddesses." the High Priestess murmured as she held the Blue Flame towards his torch. "With his Burning, they remain Sacred and Just."

Yuugi made no reply, merely holding the torch and lighting it with a tight, small frown that he made to sure to disguise as grief rather than the anger he felt towards the Gods. He made to move towards the pyre when the High Priestess stopped him again, her voice hushed and tinged in grief.

"He requested that you would be made to light the pyre." the High Priestess, Asuka Tenjoin, murmured. "He spoke it with his last strength. He was aware that the request would cause you boundless grief, but Yuugi-Lord Motou-he would have no other send him off to the Higher Realms." Asuka stared into his eyes with a strength that the Priestess of Osiris could claim to possess. "He would want no other."

At the revelation, Yuugi's throat tightened and his eyes stung with unshed tears. In their village, when one requested the holder of the torch during their sending it meant that the departed thought of the holder as Family. As a loved one. It meant that Yoshimori loved him beyond imagining and for him to find out now of all places? Yuugi wanted to fall to his knees and scream into the cold, wet snow that sat beneath their feet. He wanted to rage at the Gods for taking his remaining family away from him. Why? What did he do to deserve such torture? Such profound trials?

"Do not fall." Asuka pleaded as if she could sense his anger and sadness. "You will march forward and send him off with your head held high and with pride." Asuka gripped his arm and urged him forward, all too aware of their small audience and the increased whispers. "Go."

"Aye." Yuugi gripped the torch, the scorching heat an all too real reminder as he stepped toward the unlit pyre and stared at the wrapped body and couldn't help the swallow at the smell. The winter cold did nothing to stay the stench of death.

"I love you," Yuugi whispered, holding the torch towards the pyre. "Merge with duin a dór, post with i Gods at vedui."

"I love you," Yuugi repeated, stepping away as the pyre lit into a brilliant blue burst of flames that drifted into the darkening skies. Behind him, the chanting of prayers began to rise: speaking of Gods and Forgiveness. Of Courage and Triumph.

Of Love.

It was then, as the skies darkened and the stars emerged that Yuugi allowed his tears to slide down his cheeks and into the snow and his sobs to echo into cold, still air. He didn't care for the looks of disapproval as his sobs drowned out the prayers. He didn't care as Asuka rushed forward and held his shoulders in her tight, gloved grip, quietly scolding him for interrupted prayer and tradition and that he would be punished if he didn't quiet his grief.

He didn't care at all.

The hour chimed midnight as the last of Yoshimori's body and the pyre turned to ash and the last of Yuugi's tears dried. He watched with a dull gaze as Elder Hawkins gathered his former master's ashes and placed them in a small, black bag boring the crest of the Yoshimori Family - A Sword and a Wolf.

"You are not done." Elder Hawkins uttered, her voice weathered by time and the cold as she passed him the thick bag. "Pray and Guide him down the Helios and be done with it." Rebecca grasped his hand in her own. "We have no more time for grief, child. You must understand."

"Of course." Yuugi murmured, gently gathering the bag of ashes into his gloved hands turning away from Elder Hawkin's own grief. She understood his pain and understood it well, but as Elder of Illyrian Village, she was obligated to guide her people with logic first and love last as a leader should and Yuugi understood it. After all, they would arrive again and attempt to erase them from their Goddesses Gaze.

"You..." Yuugi shivered underneath his fur coat as a burst of wind swept over them as if the Goddess urged to never speak of it. Of them. "You received a feather? From the High Lord?"

"Indeed." Rebecca sniffed, her shrewd gaze searching the small wooded area before landing on Yuugi once more. "Ceslan has sent the Shadowed Ones to our doorstep again and the High Lord has urged us to raise the barrier-"

"Again?" Yuugi shivered at the thought. "You would raise it again? After Master Yoshimori?" Yuugi tightened the grip on the bag of ashes. "Elder-"

"We will not question our Lord." Rebecca cut in swiftly before softening her gaze-her words. "You are young and wild, little one. You will understand that sacrifice..." Rebecca huffed, her small, but strong shoulders slumping. "...sacrifice is needed and will always be needed."

"To what end?" Yuugi questioned with a twisted smile. "To hide behind a barrier that did nothing? You are aware of our losses, Elder? Or were you not aware of the body-" Yuugi's head was suddenly jerked to the left as a hand met flesh harsh and the sudden sound of a slap echoed in the air.

"Silence." Rebecca hissed, her weathered hand lowered. "You will not speak out of turn again, child. Do so and you will suffer for it and not by my hand." Rebecca stepped closer, wrenched Yuugi's hand away from his face where a small trace of blood slid down his cheek at the force of the blow. "Do you understand?" Rebecca shook him again. "Do you?"

"Yes," Yuugi responded, lowering his head in reverence and an apology. "I understand, Elder. You-You have my utmost apologies."

Rebecca brushed his atonement off as if it were dirt underneath her boots. "Spare me, Young One. You meant what you said and I meant to strike you. There will be no apologies. I merely want you to apologize for allow me to freeze my tits off in this dreadful cold." Rebecca nodded her head towards the swift coursing river that lies next to them. "Go on. Helios River awaits."

At the mention of the task ahead, Yuugi stilled, the bag in hands growing heavy. It was all he could do to rise and force his feet towards the river. He stopped, dropping to his knee and allowing the cold to seep into his trousers as a small comfort before opening the bag and gently tilting it towards the water. The sight of his former master as nothing but ashes caused his throat to close up tight and tears to sting his eyes.

"Guide him well, Lord Poseidra." Yuugi murmured as the ashes continue to trickle into the river. "Grasp his ashes within your mighty jaws and take him to the Higher Realms. Guide his soul and allow it to rest till the End of Days where he shall rise again as a Warrior of the Higher Realms with Blade and Bow." Yuugi grasped the bag tighter as the last of his master's ashes slid into the river. "Be at Peace, Master Yoshimori."

Yuugi rose, dusted the snow off his trousers and fur cloak before approaching Rebecca again with a tight, miserable frown. "It's done."

"Good." Rebecca released a bone-weary sigh that spoke of her impatience. "Come. Let us return to the village. If we're lucky then we will make it as dawn approaches and began preparations for the barrier."

"And who?" Yuugi began with a small swallow of regret-of fear. "Who will be using?"

Rebecca said nothing as she climbed onto her horse, a magnificent Courser by the name of Thyestes. "You do not need to worry about the women or the children being used."

"Then...who?"

Rebecca urged her horse forward, clicking her tongue to start a small trout and Yuugi was quick to man his own horse, a smaller Courser by the name of Atreus. "Elder-"

"I will be using Kratos," Rebecca called out casually. "He has volunteered."

Yuugi squeezed his thighs and jerked as Atreus' trout turned into a full gallop and all but collided with Thyestes. "Kratos?" Yuugi repeated with a shuddering breath. "You mean to sacrifice your own son? Our Lord Commander?"

Rebecca said nothing, staring at him with her shrewd sapphire eyes that Yuugi had come to adore since he was but a child. "Yes," she replied after a long pause. "I mean to sacrifice the child I spent three days in labor. I mean to toss away the life of my son who is now a proud and vicious warrior. Who has triumph over tragedy over tragedy? The loss of his wife and children who were proud warriors themselves? The man whom you currently fuck on a weekly basis when the cold nights grow too much to bear? Yes, I mean to use him as a catalyst towards the barrier."

"Elder Hawkins." Yuugi made no move to urge his horse out of the way when Thyestes gave an impatient neigh. "You must-must reconsider."

"Must I?" Rebecca goaded, nudging Thyestes along and down the snow-ridden path. "It is an honor to protect our village from all threats and you would deprive Kratos of it? Whose lot in life is one of a warrior?"

Yuugi flushed in shame before giving a solemn shake of the head. "No." Yuugi murmured, swallowing back his sorrow at the eventuality of Kratos' death. " I will not."

"Good." Rebecca snapped her reins with a twisted grin. "See that you do not."

Yuugi took a deep, shuddering breath staring at the Elder's back before following along with a tight heart and even tighter soul.

The light of Dawn and Kratos' solemn figure greeted them as they passed through Illyrian Village's Gate and Yuugi wanted nothing more than to jump from Atreus' back and embrace his lover but Kratos' dark eyes and still form urged him to remain on his horse's back.

"You welcome us home, Kratos." Rebecca's rough voice echoed against the cold as she gracefully slid off the horse and embraced her son. "Are the preparations done?"

"Yes, Elder." Kratos' deep voice returned and Yuugi took the time to check over his soon-to-be ex-lover. He was thankful that Kratos' tall and broad form was healthy and flushed by the cold. The man's deep black hair had grown down his back and was placed in a low ponytail and his beard had grown to make him look slightly older. It stirred Yuugi's loins to see him again, but the low heat soon grew cold at the thought of Kratos' leaving him behind in this mortal world-sacrificed as his master was days prior.

"Good." Rebecca continued, oblivious to Yuugi's degrading thoughts. "We will begin the ritual at the Height of the Sun." Rebecca turned towards Yuugi who had yet to dismount from his horse. "Attend to him. I will gather the villagers and tell them the news."

Kratos only moved when Rebecca was out of sight. "You are well?" Kratos gathered Yuugi into his arms and was gentle to set him on the cold ground. "Yoshinori-?"

"The High Heavens have taken him home," Yuugi uttered softly, reaching up and placing his gloved hands against Kratos' cheeks before moving to embrace his former lover. "Must you?"

"I must." Kratos dragged him closer and buried his face into Yuugi's hair. "I do this for our home and I cannot bear the thought of you being sacrificed-"

"And you think I can bear the thought of you doing the same?" Yuugi pulled away, hurt at Kratos' ignorance. Or, rather, Kratos cared so little for his feelings. "Master Yoshinori is gone and you soon will be gone as well. Did neither of you think of my heart while you throw yourselves to your deaths?"

"It is because we think of your heart that we do this, Yuugi," Kratos stated, his dark eyes softening when Yuugi scoffed and looked away as if he couldn't bear to stare at Kratos. "Do you really think so little of us? That we would leave you in this desolate world on purpose? Do you?"

"No," Yuugi whispered after a lengthy pause. "Never. I know that I am loved beyond my imagining, but what good is that love if I am alone? What can I do with such love if no one is around to share it? To feel it as I do?"

"We are here and we will walk beside you-even in death." Kratos moved to embrace him again, relieved that Yuugi made no move to reject his advances. "You will never be alone. I will make sure of it."

"Oh?"

Kratos hummed, pulling away and grasping his hand in his own before guiding him towards the inner workings of the village. Illyrian Village was a labyrinth of homes, shops, and inns. Considered one of the largest villages in a trinity dubbing themselves the Frontier of Ascien, Illyrian Village was the first defense of Western Ascien and acted as Guardian towards the smaller villagers outside of the Frontier of Ascien.

"Here." Kratos urged him further into the village, quiet about the fact that the villagers were hovering near the Altar of Osiris, waiting for his arrival, almost impatient for him to create and mold their safety.

It made Yuugi sick to his stomach.

"We are going home?" Yuugi whispered, stopping in front of a small house that Kratos called home. It was a place of reprieve considering that Kratos was Lord Commander of the Knights of Illyrian and was sparsely home. Why, the only time the man was home was to visit Rebecca, to rest, and to-to. Yuugi face flamed at the fact that he was one of the reasons that Kratos returned home-in haste most often than not.

"Memories?" Kratos murmured, urging him inside and out of the cold. Kratos' lodgings were simple with a mere bed in the corner near the windows, a couch, and chair near the fireplace and a small area that held a small mass of weapons created by Kratos himself and-

"Wait," Yuugi whispered, eyes straying to the display of weapons - a bow specifically. "Where did you get-?"

"It was gifted to me by the Dwarves of Zeshen," Kratos explained with a mournful smile as he moved to remove the bow off the wall and place it in Yuugi's hands. "The Bow of Yggdrasil will protect you from the Shadowed Ones." Kratos' jaw clenched at the thought-the eventuality. "I had the Dwarves modify it with the last of my magic."

"What...?" Yuugi breathed, head shooting up at the statement. Without his magic, Kratos wouldn't be able to mentally survive the ritual. The man would be driven insane by the pain. "Is your mother aware of your actions?"

"As she was aware of the first breath I drew in this life," Kratos responded softly. "You must take care of the Bow of Yggdrasil. It has survived since the Age of Bahamut and would be a shame if it couldn't handle your steady hands, no?"

"Of course," Yuugi uttered, reverently placing the bow over his shoulder. "It is in good hands. I cannot thank you enough for this precious gift, Kratos, but you know that I would prefer you at my side? The man that has my heart can protect me better than a Bow of the Gods."

"Aye." Kratos murmured, stepping closer and placing his hands over Yuugi's as he bent down and placed a kiss on Yuugi's forehead. "And yet, this will have to be enough."

Yuugi's lips thinned, and made no reply, merely closing his eyes and enjoying the feel of Kratos' lips against his skin when the bell tolled, signaling for Kratos to come to Altar.

"Don't go." Yuugi pleaded as the bell tolled again. "Please. Don't go."

"I must," Kratos stated firmly. "Do not make this difficult. Know that my love will keep your strong and safe." Kratos held out his hand, silent as Yuugi reached forward and placed his smaller one within his own. "Walk with me, Beloved. Walk with me towards my end."

"Yes."

Yuugi said nothing as they made their way to the Altar of Osiris. He kept his eyes lowered as he handed Kratos off to the High Priestess Asuka who wouldn't meet his gaze. Yuugi said nothing as he joined Rebecca in the crowd and joined her shaking hands with his own. Said nothing as the man who he had come to love was stripped and laid bare on the Altar. Said nothing of the tears that rolled down his cheeks as prayers lifted into the air. Said nothing as Kratos' screams tore his heart to shreds as Rebecca cold facade broke and she fell to the ground, screaming her hatred of Ceslan to the skies. Said nothing as Asuka raised her ritual knife to the air before slamming it down into Kratos' heart and ending his life and extending theirs as the barrier activated, erecting around the village like a mother embraces her child.

Said nothing as he watched the embers of life in Kratos' vanish as he, too, joined the Gods.

"It is done." Asuka bellowed out, rising and visibly swallowing at the sight of blood at the hem of her robes. "The Barrier of Osiris has been erected! Rejoice! For we are safe from the Shadowed Ones!"

"You must rise, Elder." Yuugi bent down, gathering Rebecca's shaking form in his arms. "You must rise and greet your people and rejoice that we are safe again-"

"Kratos." Rebecca murmured, interrupting Yuugi's soft demands. "My Firstborn. My Warrior. My Blade." Rebecca raised her head, her once luminous blonde and gray hair smudged by tears and snow. "Gone."

"Gone." Yuugi agreed with a tight smile that belied his sadness. "Yet, he is all around us, Elder. He is in the air we breathe, the sun that soaks into our skin, the water we drink and bathe and the food that we eat. Kratos embraces us with his love and we are grateful, are we not?" Yuugi tugged Rebecca closer as he noticed the villagers eyes on them once more. "Are we not?" Yuugi questioned again as he rose with her and forced her toward the Altar of Osiris now empty save for Kratos' blood - all that remained of him.

"We are," Rebecca uttered, joining hands with the High Priestess before turning to the people whose cheers had turned to somber silence as if they realized who was sacrificed.

"My People." Rebecca began, looking weathered as if all of her duties as mother and leader became too much to bear. "Let us stand here before the Gods and give thanks for the protection they have granted us in these dark times. Let us give thanks to those who were sacrificed in order for us to have such protection." Rebecca stopped, her eyes straying to the blood caked altar and shivered before continuing, her voice stronger and laced with conviction.

"Kratos and Yoshimori's lives were not given in vain!" Rebecca stepped forward, her lips pulled into a proud smile. "The Shadowed Ones approach our steps again and it is time for us to raise our swords, our bows, lances, spears, and hammers! The time is nigh! Let us not stand behind a barrier, but behind our weapons. We are Illyrians! We are Warriors! We are the Guardians of the Realm of Ascien! Let us not bow our heads and cower in fear to these creatures of the night. We will embrace the Light that Kratos and Yoshimori have blessed us with and turn it to courage so that our descendants may know that we fought bravely and we were strong." Rebecca's lips tightened as she looked down and saw pride, fear, sadness, righteous anger in her dear people eyes and allowed, just once, for tears to slide down her cheeks.

"Let it not be in vain," Rebecca whispered, as murmurs of encouragement rose into the air. In the crowds, she caught Yuugi's warm, but sad smile and as her lips sought to return the gesture, her eyes caught the golden string that sat upon Yuugi's chest that led to a rather intricate looking bow that sat across his back. The sight jerked her into a cold stillness. The Bow of Yggdrasil had been passed down in her family for generations and the sight of it on Yuugi's back meant that Kratos' love for the boy extended passed mere fucking. It meant that her son was in love-had been love. She supposed the sight of it should have warmed her old bones, but it merely made her heart cold knowing that such a powerful love would never be fulfilled.

"Elder." Yuugi greeted from the bottom of the Altar, looking up at her with a soft understanding that she knew all too well. "Are you well? You've grown pale."

Rebecca stared at him before joining him at the bottom steps, reaching out with a gloved hand to the golden string that sat on Yuugi's chest. "You know that his love for you is-is indescribable? To know that he blessed you with this bow before he died means that would have happily taken you as his mate?"

"I know that he loved me," Yuugi whispered, reaching up and clasping his hands with Rebecca's. "I know that him giving this to me meant that he would have proposed - allowed me to bear his name, but I knew that Kratos was a warrior first and foremost and I would always be a constant second. Yet, I shared his love and I embraced it and I shall always embrace it-" Yuugi swallowed before tightening his grip on Rebecca's hand. "...Mother."

"And embrace it you shall, child." Rebecca murmured, looking up at the deep blue barrier that served as temporary protection. She had meant what she said before: they would no longer bow before the Shadowed Ones.

"Come." Rebecca urged. "You, me, and that Bow of Yggdrasil have much to discuss."

Yuugi smothered a chuckle at the Elder's words. "You speak as if this bow has a life of his own-wait, why are you smiling? Rebecca? Rebecca, wait!"