A/N:Welcome, reader, to my little concoction of Darkest Dungeon & Fire Emblem... If you expect a lighthearted story of romance and grandiose adventuring, i am sorry to disappoint, here there will only be the deplorable actions of a family cursed to carry sin and pain, and the journey and suffering of the Heir to resolve crimes past. I do hope you enjoy...
Page 1: The Ancestor & The Heir
Castello Estate - 8:40 PM
"I am truly sorry, not just to you, my own blood. But to the people who reside within the walls of this blasphemous establishment i have made with the errors and wrong doings of decades of cruelty.." Wrote a feeble old man in his study, the room lit only by a small and nearly extinguished candle. His white and long hair running down from the back and side of his head all the way to his mid back, right hand firmly clasping a quill with ink while the left rubbed his temples and wiped the sweat off his forehead.
"I am Alexander Castello... Founder of this now abolished and ruined estate... your ancestor... I have spent a great deal of my now meaningless life chasing my ambitions.. Bringing our family wealth and fame that can rival the divinity of the gods themselves..." He stopped and looked around the ever darkening room, the distant sound of unrest and angered villagers growing slowly as they marched onto the manor, torches, pitchforks and blades in hand.
"I brought an evil from far..far.. far away, from that blasphemous... pulsating... and evil manor. You will hear of my... Eccentric, atheistic, horrid and taboo actions and contributions to our estate... Know that they were not intended for this... I was a different man in my youth... Stupid... Ambitious.." Outside the guards screamed as the people burned, stabbed, and beat them to death. Then came the sound of the front, robust wooden doors being banged on.
"I went to that place... Being requested to make a... Ritualistic... contribution to an excavation project... And to also assist in many festivities of... Questionable nature... I only hope the poor old fool's death was quick... For after the excavation finished did he fall from grace... As i am now." The doors finally gave way, the roar of the mob filled the manor, making all the servants run. It was pointless, as the mob had surrounded the manor, once they left the safe confines of the manor did they meet their untimely demise. Now, with their blood stained hands, they marched to the study on the 3rd floor.
"I... I have brought corruption to our home... Please... Come home, reclaim your birth right.. And save us all." The doors to the study started getting assaulted by axe and ram as the people demanded the coward to come out. "Don't trust anyone.. Only trust those you can buy.. Don't tell the clerics... Don't tell the kings and noble men... They would spread this corruption to far lands... Now... Please... Save us.." The door finally came down, and in came the furious group of men and women, however they stopped when they saw him holding out a letter with a metal crest on it and simply said "My last will and testament..." after one of the farmers took it did Alexander pull out a flintlock pistol and shoot himself in the head. After what seemed like an eternal fall did he hit the ground with a loud thud that echoed through the silence.
However the silence was short lived, as the house seemed to have gotten darker and the floor boards beneath them started creaking. All the men and women looked around, looking for the source of this decadent and terrifying change in ambiance. And, regrettably, find it they did, a hooded figure raised a hand to the people within the manor, then, with it's fingers slowly closing, started to crush the people within, the walls, floor and ceiling compressing unnaturally to turn the screams of it's victims into sloppy and wet pops, crunches and gurgles.
The hooded figure watched as the men and women who were outside about to execute the servants began to run into the woods, the hooded figure sighed and spoke up to the shadows in a soft but cold voice "Hunt them all down.. No survivors." The man in the shadows nodded and charged into the woods, along side his fellow Brigand vvulf, and for the night, all of the runners were slowly and dreadfully hunted then hanged, decapitated or eaten alive in a gruesome and unholy manner, all but one that hid in the corpses of the villagers by the manor.
The person in question was one of the maids that tried to escape, she was smart enough to conceal herself, in both sight and smell, within the pile of dead men and women, waiting until sunrise to leave. Sunrise finally arrived, the shining star and it's warm radiance never felt so good in the poor girl's life, but it was short-lived. She looked around to find the ruined manor and the dead bodies, she couldn't help but vomit, the sight, smell and experience alone would drive any young woman mad. However she heard a man calling for help within the piles of bodies, his voice was faint, but still audible.
She ran to assist the man, but found him with large pieces of wood going through him and his legs missing. The man saw the maid and reached for her, his eyes reflected that inevitable sorrow and self realization of his own mortality finally taking it's toll. The maid tried to free him but stopped when the man shook her pull away and held his hand out. She looked closer and found the envelope with the letter within. Between gurgles the man ordered "D..deliver..." then let himself finally succumb to death.
She looked at the bloodied envelope then looked around, she could hear the galloping of horses coming. She put it under her shirt and ran into the woods, she ran for days, then weeks, surviving off any food she could find or hunt. Eventually she came across a small town where she had the letter delivered to a messenger, ordering him to make sure this letter found it's way to the hands of the rightful heir of the Castello family. That night the poor maid was murdered as she slept, knife delivered enthusiastically into her throat, severing head from body.
Road Leading to The Hamlet - 7 PM - 150 Years Later
A stagecoach rushed through the forest trail, the violent whining of the horses, cackling of the driver and the ever looming crimson orange sky gave this place a horrendous and dreadful atmosphere. Inside the stagecoach was the Heir, finally a man, sitting with the old metal crest in hand. His parents died during a voyage across the sea to the northern continents, with him being the only survivor. He was left in the care of not one, but two families, but he had nothing until the letter was delivered. He knew immediately that he would have to venture forth into these harrowing lands, rumored by foreign sailors to be the home unspeakable terrors and crimes. The lighting itself didn't help matters either.
As the Heir put the crest back in his coat pocket, the stagecoach took a hard left, then turned on it's side. The Heir was on his back as he heard rustling and footsteps outside, he pulled out a flintlock pistol, held it tightly and aimed at the door up top. There was gunfire, screams, then silence, the Heir kept his pistol aimed on the door as he saw a shadowy figure loom on the other side. Thankfully the highwayman yelled "Sire! Are you alright?!" with the Heir replying with "Yes Dismas... I'm fine.. How far are we?"
Dismas looked down the road and replied with "Maybe a kilometer away.. We can get there on foot if we are cautious." Dismas helped the Heir out of the stagecoach and handed him a leather backpack with some supplies. The heir nodded and simply said "Then onwards towards the madness..." Dismas held his flintlock pistol and walked behind the Heir, ears and eyes out for any assailants who would be following them in the shadows. The Heir held a torch as they slowly made their way to a clearing, where they spotted two Brigand cutthroats. The Heir looked at Dismas and asked "Can you get a clear grape shot?"
Dismas smirked then hid his mouth under a red cloth he had around his neck, simply saying "Just say the word." The heir pulled out his flintlock pistol then charged into the clearing with Dismas, catching the cutthroats by surprise. Dismas took a quick grape shot, dealing heavy damage on both bandits, then the Heir shot the first cutthroat in the head, killing him. The surviving bandit looked up at both men as they reloaded and took aim once more, he simply put his hands up and surrendered, making both men smirk. They tied the cutthroat to a tree, slit his throat, then took all their gold and supplies.
Both men walked silently through the side of the road, remaining out of sight and earshot distance as a few bandits passed on horseback. Three of them stopped as they all started speaking, Dismas took aim but the Heir shook his head and told him "Listen..." The first bandit, a gluttonous and morbid man demanded "Are you two bloody dunderheads sure they gaun to the town?" Both bandits nodded, with the second one sating "Aye boss, they got our first lads and slaughtered them!" Dismas kept his aim on the fat old bandit, awaiting the order.
"Fine... Get our other lads to keep watch on the road.. We can't fail the Lords and Ladies... Last time we did they had poor Jerry lashed, branded, and castrated before Lady Olga let her private guards have their way with him.." Reminded the fat bandit as the other two shuttered, nodded and took off back into the forest. Dismas gave the Heir a quick glance, simply receiving a nod as his answer. Without hesitation, and with his aim true, Dismas shot the bandit in the head then both men proceeded down the road, nearing the town gates.
They could see the large black stone wall and it's thick iron bar gates roughly ten meters away, the design of them giving an ominous and questionable vibe that could only be described as doubt. Was this truly their destination? Did they really have to do this? These questions didn't matter, for as easy as it would be, the road back was now under constant watch from bandits and other mercenaries. Cautiously both men left the safety of the brush and bushes and hurried towards the gates, where they were ambushed by a Brigand Bloodletter and Cutthroat.
The Heir took a slash from the cutthroat while Dismas got lashed by the Bloodletter's whip, both men took aim, with the Heir yelling "Please tell me you can hit both of them." And Dismas complied, firing a grape shot that dealt minimal damage to the hulking Bloodletter, but moderate damage to the cutthroat. The heir fired at the cutthroat, ending the bandit's miserable excuse of a life. However this enraged the Bloodletter screamed and punished the Heir with a heavy handed swing of his whip. Dismas took advantage of the Brigand being so close to take a point blank shot at him.
The Brigand held his wounds, the crimson and vital liquid running through his fingers, painting his hands and the dirt red. The Heir stood up slowly and pointed his pistol at the head of the Bloodletter and said "You show no mercy... And shall receive none.." then shot a hole clean through it's head. Dismas hurried over to him and helped him walk into the hamlet, both men covered in dirt and blood from the trip. The Heir looked around the town, the sun had already set and the muddy streets were lit by small, nearly extinguished torches.
Finally, after a long and harrowing afternoon of running and fighting, they made it to the town hall. Dismas kicked the door wide open, revealing a poorly lit hall, papers littering every table and books of accounting and economic nature overflowing the shelves. The mayor of this place looked at them, a bald and morbid old man, hands delicate and back hunched gave him the obvious look of a greedy accountant. The Heir glared at him and demanded "Where are the denizens, where are the guards... Where are the people?" Dismas closed the door slowly, leaving the Heir to... "Talk"... with this greedy miscreant.
Meanwhile in Corrin's Castle...
Xander and Ryoma both walked up the main hall by themselves, Xander stating "My troops couldn't find him... We searched everywhere." Ryoma sighed and muttered "Same on our end... We got reports that he went to a port and bought a small boat then sailed southward.."
As the neared their destination did the feeling of dread grow, because on the other side of the door in the end of the hall was their younger sister, and she wanted their eldest brother back. Ryoma shuttered at the idea of what she would say and asked Xander "So, you gonna tell her?"
Xander scoffed and asked the Hoshidan "Me? I thought you were gonna tell her." Both knew they weren't gonna get anywhere and sighed, counted down "3...2...1..." then both opened the door, on the other end was Corrin, sitting by the window, waiting.
Xander entered first, with Ryoma coming in shortly afterwards as Corrin asked "Did you find him?" her tone soft, gentle but somber, almost restrained. It was Ryoma who answered in a low, almost apologetic tone "No, he isn't in The Continent... A ship merchant said he sold him a ship and heard something about going south.."
Corrin shot Ryoma a foul glare, her ruby eyes piercing her brother as she demanded "Get a fleet searching for him, i want every sailor and boat searching the sea."
Her brothers gave her a shocked look, before Xander explained "Corrin... We have exhausted our troops searching for him... And even if they could still continue, it's been a week, he would be well out of our Kingdom's waters.." Corrin now directed her glare at Xander, her eyes practically glowing with anger.
She took a few steps up to them while stating "He is the one who helped me... He helped US reach peace between Hoshido and Nohr... Helped us defeat Garon and Anatos... I will not rest until we bring him back... Now, has anyone searched his private home?"
Both brothers felt slightly uncomfortable now, but Xander replied with "Hinoka and Camilla should be arriving any moment with news of his private home..." That seemed to have made Corrin happy, if only slightly, as her cold red eyes seemed to soften a little.
But, then both Hinoka and Camilla came running in, with Hinoka holding an old piece of paper and stating between pants "W...We have... A ... Problem.." Both older brothers took the paper from her hands and sat it on Corrin's desk as all three of them started reading it, it was the Ancestor's Note. Corrin remained silent for about a minute before she picked up the letter and ordered silently "Can you guys please step out of my room for a moment.."
Her four siblings did so, leaving Corrin to stare at the letter, before she grabbed the edge of the desk and threw it through the wall with a loud and furious scream. Hinoka hid behind Ryoma as they listened to their sister go to town on her own room, practically destroying every piece of furniture in her visual vicinity.
Eventually the rage filled frenzy subsided into crying and chocked screams, making Xander look at his siblings and ask "How long before our ships can set sail?" Camilla replied in a low, almost inaudible tone "Twelve hours at most." Ryoma and Xander nodded and told both their sisters in a serious tone "Family meeting, one hour."
- One Hour Later - Mid-Night -
Ryoma and Xander both sat in the dining hall, their brothers and sisters arriving one after the other and taking their seats as soon as they showed up. Eventually all eight of them were seated, with the Hoshido on one side and Nohr on the other, along with their respective subordinates and high ranking officials.
Xander cleared his throat, stood up and explained "Sorry for having to bring all of you in such short notice here, but we have important news of a delicate matter... And it involves everyone here.." Ryoma watched as Sakura raised her hand and asked her "Yes Sakura?"
She seemed to shift awkwardly and asked with genuine worry "What about our eldest brother? Isn't he gonna be apart of this-?" She was cut off by Corrin as she entered in her armor and with puffy pink eyes and stated in a low tone "This has to do with Abram... And his disappearance.."
They watched as she took slow strides towards her seat, her hands bandaged and her cheeks flushed from crying and screaming. Elise finally stated with a frown "Our big brother would never leave us without telling us anything." Corrin slid the letter over to Elise and deadpanned in a cold tone "Well, he did... He set sail about a week ago." Elise and Leo both gave the letter a quick read then Elise yelled "He Left!"
Everyone covered their ears for that one, then Leo threw the note over to Sakura and Takumi, as Xander explained "Yes, we searched all our territories, and he was spotted at the coast before he set sail southwards." Elise was about to yell a quick quip, but was interrupted by Takumi asking "And is it truly necessary to intervene? He is the heir to a wealthy family, cursed? yes, but the point still stands, so isn't it better if we let him solve this?"
Ryoma was about to scold his younger brother, but then Leo added for Takumi "Well, in a sense you are right, if we do get involved in this it might bring this "Corruption" his Ancestor spoke of..." Xander nodded and asked everyone "With that said, we must take a vote, either we let Abram go through with his journey on his own? like he intended, or we prepare to send a fraction of our forces to aid him, possibly starting a chain of events that even we can't control in foreign lands? Everyone here is allowed to speak up and negotiate this choice-"
Corrin quickly stood up and walked to the door, stating firmly "I'll be waiting for those who are coming along, I'll be at the front door." Camilla and Hinoka both followed her, along with their respective subordinates. Ryoma chuckled and asked everyone openly "Anyone else? I'm staying, to ensure our Kingdom's safety."
Jakob, Felicia and Dia all nodded and went to prepare the essentials for the journey. Then followed Peri, grinning as she stated "Peri misses fighting, hopefully there's a lot of fighting to come." Xander facepalmed and asked himself "How did i end up hiring her..? Don't answer that Leo!" Leo frowned and stated "I guess I'll stay, seeing how i finally have time to spend with my family.."
Sakura and Takumi agreed and decided on staying, only leaving the spellcasters and border guards to make their choice. Flora was the first to stand and asked politely "I would like to join them? If you all allow it, of course." Xander gave the maid a small smile and nodded, dismissing her. Then lastly, was Shara, only stating bluntly "I'm bored." before leaving to prepare, causing Takumi and Ryoma to sigh in relief.
At the front door Corrin asked the one coming along one simple question "Are you ready?"
- Back with Abram - 1 AM -
Abram stared at the mirror, mainly at his new haircut, the sides and back of his head were completely shaved, leaving only hair growing on top of his head like a messy mop. Abram then set the mirror down and told Dismas "Splendid work, never had such a clean cut before in my life." Dismas threw the basin of water with his hair out the window and simply stated "First haircut i give Sire, much appropriated."
Abram stood up then asked Dismas "Now my colleague, we must plan for the coming days, there is much to be done, and not enough time before we are discovered... So tell me, where do we start?" Dismas sat down on the couch, finding the question to be rather simple as he replied "We must establish a source of income first... We can't hire muscle and buy the essentials without a steady income of gold, jewelry, and raw mineral resources." Abram rubbed his chin, apprehensive that the large sum of gold he brought would not fare them a moth if they wanted to win in the long run.
No, instead he looked up at Dismas and asked "Where can we start? Robbery won't get us anywhere good, nor would counterfeiting... What could we-" Dismas had a smug grin as he stated "Well, if you allow me... There is an abandoned building right on the edge of town, and many weary travelers and fine businessmen pass through this halmet..."
Abram raised a brow and asked cautiously "Are you suggesting-" Dismas nodded, and informed the heir in a respectable manner "Sire, no one owns this town, you can do what ever you want... But there are three things that make money in this Damnation. Food, Comfort, and Sex... Mainly the first and the later." Abram pinched the bridge of his nose then asked "And the other towns?"
Dismas' grin faded, as he only muttered "Trust me sire, there is a reason people don't like the Castello name... And your cousins are six damn good reasons..." Abram sighed and asked with the last of his Will "So, you are telling me that opening a brothel is the quickest way to make money, am i right?" Dismas nodded and told his lord "Sire, here there are not many professions... You can either be a smithy, a cook, hired muscle, a criminal, a cheap whore, or a slave... There are not many choices.."
Abram nodded, only stating "Get to work then, I'll pay for the needed renovations, but know that we must keep our heads low, is this understood?" Dismas nodded, bowed his head then left the room, leaving Abram to think on the events to come.
- Abram's POV -
I sat alone now, back against the hard, and cold wooden wall. My mind wandering rampant with ideas, most of which would have me hanged if I followed them back in Hoshido or Nohr.
"Home.." i muttered, a distant memory, a sad memory, where my adopter's family took me in with open arms. And I abandoned them, left them in paradise while i walk this hell of a land, with no one to trust. Now wasn't the time to worry about them, they would understand with time that i had to come, that I had to clear my doubts of who i was, who my family was... Up to now however, I've been proven to be disappointed. "Castello" A name with so much infamy that even the worst whore could claim her name have more merit than my own.
I left peace for this, to be branded a bastard child, to be feared like a monster straight from the deepest bowels of hell. I could only imagine what my brothers and sisters were thinking of me... And Corrin, my polar opposite, my heart ached at the prospect of her finding out. The more i looked into it, the more i realized how much pain i was causing in leaving. Corrin was always the tactician and fighter, i never learned how to wield a sword or direct an army, yet now i was expected to do just that.
I mutter blasphemous curses at myself, scolds no human should ever declare on another. But, no matter how much i wished i could have told them, or even brought them with me, i knew. I knew this was my curse, my family legacy, infamy, hatred and pain, and to bring back the greatness of the Castello name, to stand tall and not live in the shadow of another's success...
To bring upon "The House of Sins" once more.
A/N:If you made it this far, i applaud you, you have taken your first step as I have, but i am sorry to inform that i have not more to say to you, for now... If you wish to speak, you are free to do so, it would help in understanding where i can improve this horrid literature for you.
Hope you have a marvelous day, and please, leave a review.