Author's Note: This was written as the introduction of a longer total reimagining of Fates. I neither have the time nor the inclination to complete it presently. Please enjoy what I do have to give!

T for language

Prologue

The Bottomless Canyon yawned before Prince Takumi of Hoshido, the jagged stone teeth making the resemblance to a dragon's maw uncanny. The trail had, impossibly, gone cold halfway across. The traitor princesses and the two Nohrians who had joined them had left a trail of trampled grass as they had passed, but had failed to pick up again on the other side. Cowards, too weak to face the consequences of their betrayal, too weak to pick a side, too weak to protect Mo-

"Prince Takumi! We must turn back!"

Takumi grit his teeth and tightened his grip around his Fuujin Yumi. He had thought that after being separated from his retainers and finding the trail left behind, the Gods might be granting him a chance to shoot a couple of traitors down. But instead, their footprints stepped onto one of the rickety bridges strung across the canyon, and apparently never stepped off on the other side.

Bitterness curled thick on his tongue as he turned on his heel to face his men. He was too close to Nohr, with too few soldiers – five samurai, whose names he did not know- to continue the hunt. But Takumi was the Captain here, and royalty besides. He couldn't let the aching wound of betrayal force him into making any more foolish mistakes today.

"We're returning to Hoshido!" he shouted. "The traitors have fled, but do not hesitate to strike them down if they return!" Takumi stepped out across the natural stone bridge and back towards Hoshido, tailing his men. He was going to have to face his siblings and admit his failure. They'd lost Mother, their stolen sibling, and Azu- the Nohrian princess in less than a day, and he couldn't even deliver the traitors to justice.

Standing at the apex of the arch, a gust of wind caught his hair and blew it over his shoulder. Takumi wasn't particularly afraid of heights, but the Bottomless canyon was an unnerving place. A shiver ran up his spine despite his best efforts to conceal his fear.

A resounding CRACK echoed down the canyon, followed by a concerning rumbling. Takumi and the samurai still on the bridge froze, like frogs caught by the gaze of a snake. The stone beneath Takumi's feet shifted.

Oh, fuck that! Takumi sprinted after the samurai in front of him as they scrambled across the bridge. The chunks of rock that has been suspended by the power of a nearby dragon vein had suddenly begun to shift perilously, dropping pieces the size of flagstones into the abyss. Takumi lunged for solid ground just as the bridge collapsed completely. He caught a fistful of grass to haul himself up, his palm cut on its blades. A jittery shock of energy that always followed close calls made his blood pound and breath shutter. He glanced at the samurai on the ground next to him, making eye contact as she did the same.

A chuckle of relief broke past his lips as the situation caught up with him, and the samurai grinned crookedly back. Takumi pulled himself together gradually.

"Hah… Is everyone alright?" he asked. All five samurai motioned affirmative. "Did anyone see what triggered the collapse?" A bridge like that, built with a Dragon Vein, shouldn't have collapsed until the Vein itself ran dry, or another person with the Dragon's Blood severed the connection. Takumi could still feel the lulling pulse of energy in the back of his mind, so it was not the former. But there was no one around who could have-

Takumi caught a glimpse of a wavering purple figure in the corner of his vision just as the entire cliff side gave away beneath his feet. Takumi screamed as the Bottomless Canyon swallowed him whole.

He fell, and fell, and he remembered nothing more.