AN: A pretty short oneshot about Raven's past. Mega spoiler warning.
Enjoy.
One, two three.
The arrows flew off of the string barely seconds from each other, yet they all found their target perfectly. These three arrows joined a small cluster of more arrows on the tree, all of which stuck out from the wood in the area of a gald.
"Not bad eh?" Raven told Karol, who was sitting nearby, and grinned as he went to retrieve his arrows.
The group had found a nice spot to camp tonight, a clearing nestled at the edge of the forest bordering the continent of the perpetually raining Heliord area, and the wide open grassland of the Capua Torim area. They had been chasing Cumore, after finding the knight forcing people to work in Heliord, but by now they had lost the Captain.
Most of the group was gathered around the fire, where Estelle seemed to be trying to cook, but perhaps not doing that well of a job. Repede was sitting at the edge of the clearing, apparently keeping watch, Yuri by his side. Karol was sitting on a large rock, bag on his legs, watching Raven practise.
After yanking all the arrows out, and checking that none of them were damaged, Raven walked back to his original position. He winked to the boy as his arrows somehow disappeared up his sleeves, and Raven brought his bow up again. Karol blinked in surprise, wondering if that was how the old man was always so fast on getting his arrows onto the bow. He's always a blur during battles, so much that Karol has never really figured his fighting style out.
And Raven began again, shooting in groups of three arrows at a time, at that same area in the tree. By now, there was a fair sized hole in the wood, a testimony to the sheer strength behind that bow.
After three combos, Raven snapped his wrist deftly, the bow folding into a double-edged blade. Sheathing it, he fetched his arrows again, and once again slid them up his right sleeve.
"Well, that's about enough fer today. So whaddaya think boy? Old Raven here's pretty amazing eh?" Raven asked Karol now, walking towards the boy with both hands locked behind his head. He blew away a stray strand of brown hair that had fallen in front of his eyes, and stopped in front of the boy, who had hopped to his feet.
"Yeah, that was pretty cool." Karol replied. I mean, what else was he going to say? He wasn't even sure why the group was letting Raven tag along. Raven was just...a very fishy character. But still, he did seem pretty close with the head of Altosk. Karol's biggest hero was the Don, so he should trust his judgement. But still, Raven was kinda weird, if nothing else.
There was a rustle in the bush behind them. In the blink of an eye, Raven spun around and took out his weapon, a flick of his wrist snapping it into its bow form. An arrow flew from the bow, slamming into the chest of a large, green bird. It shrieked and crash landed into the ground, and died. It was a common monster from the area, not too big of a surprise.
"Are ya kids sure you set up the camping barrier properly?" Raven yelled back to the group, who didn't seem too concerned. It was a low level monster, and nothing that cause any member of the party much trouble. Karol though, had fallen off of his rock seat, and seemed thoroughly shaken, as always when he encountered a monster. Geez, had this guy really in the Hunting Blades at one point? No wonder he was kicked out.
"Hey, ya alright kid?" Raven asked Karol, offering a hand. Karol took it and dragged himself up.
"Oh y-yeah, I was fine. It j-just startled m-me, that's all." He stuttered, brushing himself off and trying to straighten himself up. Y'know, he looked pretty confident when he tries.
Raven snapped his bow back into its short sword form, and turned around to retrieve his arrow from the dead bird. Karol grabbed his purple cloak though, stopping him. Raven turned around.
"Whaddaya want?" Raven asked.
"Well...can I see your bow? I've never seen something like it before I met you." He asked. Seriously, this had been gnawing away at him for a while. How did Raven's bow change like that? This guy was full of mysteries.
"Sure kid, but be careful with it. It's not easy getting yer hands on a transform bow. The last time one of mine broke, I was buggin' Fortune's Market for months before they found another one fer me." Raven warned Karol, and handed his bow to the boy.
He then went to the bird he had shot, bending down to yank his arrow out. Yuck, there was monster blood all over it now. Probably a good idea to clean this one first before he put it back with all his other arrows.
There was a familiar click behind him, the click of Raven's bow snapping between its two forms.
"Ahh!" Karol cried out, and Raven sighed, somehow knowing what he was going to see even before he turned around. He looked back, to see that Karol had dropped the weapon, which was now in bow form, and the boy was clutching at his lower right arm. A small drop of blood trickled down his arm, and Karol looked on the verge of tears.
"Aw, kid, ya didn't try to use it did ya?" Raven sighed, shaking his head. He thought Karol was smarter than to operate the bow...guess not.
"Karol!" Estelle, hearing Karol's cry, forgot all about her cooking and ran over to the boy. She grabbed his arm in concern, looking at the wound. Karol didn't resist, but winced as Estelle accidentally brushed the cut. The first thing she did was to kneel down, close her eyes, and a green magic circle began glowing beneath her. No one was surprised when the light of the spell first aid glowed around the wound. It seemed a reflex of Estelle's, to heal any injury in her sight.
"Are you alright boss?" Yuri came over to check out the commotion.
"Yeah, I'm fine, Yuri, and thanks, Estelle." Karol murmured, quickly explaining what happened to the two, and assuring Estelle that he was fine. After Estelle stopped fretting over him, the boy looked to Raven and muttered an apology. Raven had picked up his bow by now, and was picking bits of grass and dirt off of it, as well as wiping off some of the blood.
"Ah, don't worry about it kid. I messed up pretty bad when I first picked up one of these." Raven told Karol, patting the boy on the shoulder as he walked over towards the fire.
"Now, what's fer dinner guys?"
Has it really been more than ten years ago, when he had first thought about using this difficult form of fighting?
---
Twenty-three year old Schwann knocked on the door. The room was one of many down the long hallway. This was the Knight's quarter in the castle.
"Captain, you wanted to see me?" He asked, raising his voice so that it could be heard on the other side of the door, but didn't receive a reply. Properly, he should have just stay here and awaited the permission to enter, but Schwann's never been much of a proper knight. He was well respected with his skills with a sword, but he drives his superior crazy. It's probably why those in the higher-ups try to keep him and Alexei apart. When those two friends are together, no one can match the mischief they cause.
He pushed the unlocked door open, and stepped in. It was a comfortable room if a bit small. The walls were a warm light brown, decorated with gold and green. Two bookshelves, crammed full of books, took up the entire wall on one side. On the other, it was bare except for a large carved emblem of the Empire, below a portrait of the Sword Stairs, Zaphia's Barrier Blastia. A few glowing Blastia planted into the walls provided the room with ample light.
In the centre of the room was a cherry wood desk, various scrolls and parchment sprawled atop of it, which made Schwann smile, knowing that his Captain was rarely ever organized. A fireplace rose behind the desk, full of the ashes from yesterday night's fire.
Schwann's eyes were drawn to a magnificent bow leaned against the central desk, the bow his Captain used. It was a marvellous weapon, built from both natural wood, and synthetic materials. Two sharp blades edged the front of the riser, and two more on the limbs of the bow, which will snap together to form a blade with the riser if used properly.
He looked back to the slightly ajar door, and could not see nor hear anyone outside in the halls. So he deemed that he was safe, and picked up the bow. It was deceivingly heavy, which surprised Schwann, as his captain always handled it with such ease! It might not be as heavy as his sword, but testing out the string, Schwann could tell that you needed to be very strong, to be able to lift and shoot this bow at the same time.
He examined the mechanics of the weapon, marvelling at how smoothly he was able to push the limbs in, forming the short sword his captain had often beaten him in sparring with. There was a rumour that the weapon had been a gift from the commandant himself.
"Soldier, what are you doing?" Came a female voice from the doorway. Schwann scrambled upright in panic, and flicked the Transform Bow to get it back into its bow form. He dropped it back where he had found it, just as Captain Casey walked into the door. The room and the hall outside was carpeted, which must have muffled her approaching footsteps.
She was short, and didn't look all that intimidating. But she held herself with an authority that was hard to deny. She wore a green and gold outfit proudly, the colours of her brigade. A small dagger hung on her left hip, a weapon she usually used in conjunction with her bow when it comes to close combat. The women closed the door behind her, took off her rank cape and flung it onto a coat rack to the side.
"At alert." She said almost absently, and Schwann immediately straightened up, both arms locked by his sides, and bringing his feet in.
"You asked for me captain?" Schwann asked as Casey walked up to him.
"Show me your arm." She said sternly, and Schwann hesitated, confused.
"Captain?" He asked. Casey didn't wait for him this time, and grabbed his arm. She turned it so that Schwann's palm faced up, and Schwann knew that he wasn't gonna be able to hide it from his perceptive captain. A long thin cut was visible running up his unarmoured arm, the black cloth he normally wore beneath his armour torn to reveal the blood that was just starting to seep from the wound. When he had tried to turn the bow back into its bow form, the outer blade on the limb had cut him deeply.
Casey cursed, and brought her other hand on top of the wound, a Bhodi Blastia visible on her wrist. A quick incantation, and healing magic sealed the deep wound.
"Thank you." Schwann murmured as Casey dropped his arm.
"I should have expect as much from you Schwann, but please try to keep out of my belongings." She scolded him, turning her back to the knight to retrieve her bow. "It's dangerous if you don't know how to use it. You could have lost a finger or worse."
She then sat down behind the table, placing her elbows on the surface, locking her fingers together.
"At ease. Please sit down." She motioned for the seat opposite her. Schwann relaxed out of his rigid posture and eased himself down onto the chair, resisting the urge to look at the healed wound on his arm. It itched, and it was hard to resist scratching it.
"You must be wondering what I had called you for. I'll get down to business. As you are aware, it has become decided that Alexei will be promoted to the rank of Captain, and my second in command has been reassigned to Alexei's new brigade. Thus, I want you in the vacated position." It wasn't really a request. Sounds like this had already been arranged, so Schwann had no say in it. Not that he would have protested otherwise.
When he had first been assigned to the brigade under the command of a girl, he hadn't been very happy about it. Casey though, had proved over and over again that she was just as capable, if not better, than any of the male knights.
"Details about any changes in your duties, expectations, and rank will be delivered to your room by tomorrow. That is all." Casey stood up, and grabbed her bow. Schwann was surprised that the meeting was so short, but he stood up as well in respect as Casey walked by.
Casey stopped to look back at him just before she left the room.
"You know, that bow looked natural in your hands. A few years of work, and you'll be a great Transform Archer."
Compliments were rare from Captain Casey, so this comment threw Schwann off.
"Meet me in the courtyard an hour before sunset. You've got a lot of training to do if you're going to become my second in command. Maybe I'll even show you how to use this bow."
And with that, Casey left the room, leaving Schwann wondering. Transform Archery eh? Sounds interesting.
---
Raven chuckled lightly as he thought back to that day. Schwann never did take up transform Archery. But the spy Alexei had sent to the Union certainly did.
He looked down to his belt, where a dagger hung on his left hip. His wrist was resting comfortably atop of it, withing easy grasp of the familiar weapon. This dagger had been the same one Casey had carried, found by Schwann on the battlefield after her death. He didn't know if it was a good thing or not, to be carrying a reminder about the girl he loved and lost.
"What are you staring at old man? We're not going to leave any food for you if you don't get it yourself." Yuri's voice broke his contemplations, and the prospects of missing dinner took over his thoughts.
"Heyhey, that's no way to treat your elders! There better be some left fer me!" He complained. As Raven ran towards the fire, his thoughts were now on the present, and far away from that day long ago.
AN: Divine Cannon was the bow that Raven gets during the sidequest in which you learn about Casey. Divine Cannon was Casey's bow. If Raven could use Casey's bow in the game as a Transform Bow, then Casey must have also been a Transform Archer. And thus I've drawn the conclusion that he probably uses this style of fighting in memory of her.
Raven and Schwann deserves more attention by the Fanfic community.