AUTHOR'S NOTE


Well, here we are. A Fates rewrite summary in which the story is hopefully good.

I got a lot of creative freedom here since so little about the world of Fates is revealed in the games. I took what information I had and used it in a way I hope was creative.

Before getting onto the actual plot summary, here's a little important information for you to know. First off, we have ages of the royals. Since no ages are really revealed, I made some up myself.

When Corrin is kidnapped ages go as follows: Ryoma and Xander are 14. Hinoka and Camilla are 12. Azura is 11. Corrin is 10. Takumi and Leo are 8. Sakura and Elise are 6. When Fates begins, Ryoma and Xander are 22. Hinoka and Camilla are 20. Azura is 19. Corrin is 18. Takumi and Leo are 16. Sakura and Elise are 14.

Next, we have a quick tidbit about Valla. It is not built into a canyon. There is a Bottomless Canyon, but it instead runs along the bottom border of Valla, which is between Nohr and Hoshido. From a height standpoint, Valla is below Nohr and Hoshido thanks to terrain and stuff. Another thing, speaking of Valla, is that Lost in Thoughts is no longer as dangerous to the singer of it.

Finally, the Yato doesn't get any upgrades aside from becoming the Omega Yato in Revelation. It's just the Yato the entire time besides that. Sorry, Corrin. No extra upgrades for you.

The rest is pretty much self-explanatory when I get started on the story summary. I'll explain it as I go along. I hope you enjoy my idea for Fates' story!


STEP ONE: WORLDBUILDING

Welcome to the continent of Pheuyura (pronounced fway-yoo-rah). Hundreds of years before Fates, there were three important dragons. There was the Dawn Dragon by the name of Akiri who settled in the eastern area of the continent. The Dusk Dragon named Yugare settled in the west. In the center, the Midnight Dragon Anankos resided. All three dragons had their own sort of people based off the personalities of the dragons.

Those under Akiri were free-spirited and relaxed, choosing to keep to themselves. These people later founded Hoshido. The royal family inherited four weapons from Akiri. There was a sword by the name of Raijinto. Two bows were also created, one named Warrior Princess (a name it was given based off the title of its first wielder, the original queen of Hoshido) and the other Fujin Yumi. Finally, a staff named Sanata was created, one said to have mystical properties. Each weapon had pieces of Akiri's dragonstone on them. The throne of Hoshido as well as the crown also had pieces of the stone inside.

The people of Yugare were much more focused on power and strength. These people created Nohr, which also had four weapons. The first was the sword Siegfried. The second was an axe known as Sukeyu. Two tomes finished off the bunch, those being Brynhildr and Moonlight. All of these were also infused with a dragonstone, though these pieces came from Yugare's. The crown of Nohr contained a piece as well. A final shard of the stone was found inside a knife owned by a noble of Nohr, an ancestor to Iago. The knife was called Spectre.

Finally, the peacekeepers and moderators between Nohr and Hoshido created a third nation known as Valla. This one was under the dragon Anankos. It was not inside of a canyon because building a kingdom inside of a canyon is ridiculous. It received two weapons, the sword Yato and the spear Safaia, which had pieces of the dragonstone. A crown was also given to them. A necklace had much of Anankos' dragonstone in it. Said necklace was passed down from queen to queen in the royal Vallite family. A smaller dragonstone was also formed from the larger piece, another heirloom of the Vallite royal family. A song was also passed down in the family, the modern name being Lost in Thoughts All Alone, a tale said to be about Anankos' fall.

The weapons, crowns, and other talismans of the dragons were passed down after the dragons left behind the mortal world. All three dragons also left behind their blood inside of the royals, giving them power to activate Dragon Veins, spare pieces of the draconic power left behind. All royals are vulnerable to wyrmslayers, though those with actual dragon forms are much more vulnerable to the weapons.

Anankos, the strongest of the three, remained for a long time afterwards, where his younger sisters died not long after the countries were founded and pieces of the dragonstones forged the important objects of Nohr and Hoshido. Anankos lived until shortly before Fates took place.

The countries later broke off to form smaller countries as time passed. From Hoshido, Kohga, Izumo, Mokushu, and Aulane (a new, small country where the Flame Tribe resides) were formed. From Nohr, Cheve and Nestra were born. Finally, a piece of Valla became Notre Sagesse, a kingdom built into a mountain.

Now that basic world building is out of the way, we go onto the background information for the story of Fates.

Back before Fates took place, there were the kings prior to Garon and Sumeragi. The Nohrian king was named Giovanni and the Hoshidan king Haruto. Valla was being ruled by a woman named Aika at the time, who would later give birth to Crown Princess Arete and the younger royal Mikoto. Giovanni and his queen had Garon while Haruto and his wife had Sumeragi years later.

Nohr was growing short on food due to a lack of sunlight there. The darkness in the sky wasn't always there. Instead, it appeared around ten years before a fated meeting between Giovanni, Haruto, and Aika. Because no crops could grow in the darkness, food didn't last long. Nohrians were growing sick and weak due to the lack of food, so Giovanni was planning on asking Haruto and Aika for help to feed his people. Hoshido had a bountiful supply of food and Valla could help at least a little. However, Giovanni never got the chance to ask for any assistance.

Giovanni and Haruto ended up getting into a large argument at the meeting. Aika tried to moderate, but to no avail. After the fight seemed to be over, both men were still incredibly bitter. Giovanni asked for Haruto's help in feeding Nohr, but due to the high tensions, Haruto reacted negatively. He snapped about how maybe the Nohrians should all roll over and die if they were truly as bad as Giovanni was.

In his anger, Giovanni declared war on Haruto and stormed out of the meeting. Aika attempted to get the two men to reconcile before they left Valla, as that was the location of the meeting due to it being between both kingdoms. However, nothing worked and war broke out between the two primary powers on Pheuyura.

Garon and Sumeragi were born after the war began. As children, both aspired to grow up and end the war, hating all the bloodshed, but as time passed, both fell into the thought process that the other nation was bad. So when they grew up, they didn't end the war and instead allowed the fighting to continue. Great job, guys. After the war began, a small Nohrian force invaded Valla with intentions of gaining many new soldiers by taking over the country. However, Giovanni failed, resulting in Anankos being killed by the Nohrians. Because of Anankos' immense power, he was reincarnated as a man named Thalone. The excess magic from Anankos' death kept all the Vallite soldiers who died in the small invasion alive in a state of suffering, wanting revenge on those who had killed them. Even so, Valla remained neutral in this invasion, not wanting to sacrifice more lives in the war. All future Vallite soldiers who died in battle were also in this state.

Garon and Sumeragi both fell in love upon being crowned as kings. Giovanni and Haruto died of old age, leaving their sons to continue the war that they had started. Garon married a noble named Katarina, with whom he had Xander, the crown prince of Nohr. Sumeragi ended up with Ikona. They had four children together, those being Ryoma, Hinoka, Takumi, and Sakura.

However, happiness was not meant to last on either side. As tensions continued to run high, Katarina fell ill and passed away, leaving Garon alone to take care of Xander. Ikona ended up being murdered by a Nohrian assassin a week after Sakura was born, leaving the Hoshidan family in mourning. Sumeragi swore revenge on the Nohrians for taking his wife away from him.

Garon slowly slipped into a state of depression over Katarina's sudden death. He had cared immensely for her and didn't know what to do now that she was gone. In his fragile state, he grew incredibly angry with another kingdom, none other than Valla.

Valla was now being ruled by Arete and her husband Rivalis. Nohr wanted to quickly crush Hoshido before anything could get worse. Garon asked for Rivalis' help in eliminating Hoshido, but Rivalis didn't want to start any large fights. Angered by Rivalis' choice, Garon had the large army of Nohr invade Valla, which was much smaller, killing many Vallite soldiers in the process. By the time the invasion was over, everyone presumed the royals had died, though none of the royal items infused with Anankos' power were found by Nohrians. Rivalis was killed in the process. Arete fled with her daughter, Azura. Mikoto, who had ended up with a child after falling in love with Thalone, also ran with her child, Corrin. Safaia was lost along with Rivalis' body. The Yato disappeared. Arete took the pendant of the dragonstone and kept the song in mind to teach to her daughter. Azura snuck the dragonstone out.

Thalone was left in Valla after all this took place. Since he had sacrificed himself to Vallite soldiers to allow Mikoto and Corrin to escape, he was alone there. For some reason, one he later learned was due to his status as Anankos reborn, the soldiers never tried to hurt him. He slowly slipped into a state of madness after learning of the truth behind his origin, angry and wanting revenge on those who had caused him and his people so much harm. He ended up later manipulating the minds of others like Arete, Mikoto, Sumeragi, and Rivalis to reach his goals. His original intention was to be able to see his child again after they went missing when fleeing Valla. He ended up summoning Severa, Inigo, and Owain (who became Selena, Laslow, and Odin) to help him find his child. He also created Lilith, an Astral Dragon forged from his draconic blood, to help him out. However, he soon lost track of himself after getting their help and just wanted revenge on those responsible for killing so many Vallite people. This is how he is at the time of Fates.

The power of Thalone is to be explained here. He can easily possess people. If people are alive, he needs to be seen by them in order for him to be able to activate the possession. As for the deceased people, Thalone has one of two options. He can either make a pact with them in their last moments (often approaching them in a dream) to let them live on if he helps them. His other choice is to wait for them to die and then reanimate them as his puppets. If he dies, his power dissipates over whoever he has controlled after a short period of time, leaving those he was possessing that lived unconscious and those who were dead and reanimated dead once again. However, because he has much power when you consider the magic he has between himself and his many puppets, sometimes, odd things will happen. If many of his puppets are killed (a second time to cross over to the afterlife) alongside him, he will release a large amount of power that might have odd impacts on the world around him, such as reversing time or altering timelines. This is shown in Heirs of Fate later on in the rewrite.

However, Arete's troubles were not over yet. Garon's men captured her and took her to Nohr. Garon, still grieving over Katarina's death, fell in love with her, thinking she was his love reborn. Arete despised the man for being responsible for killing her husband but didn't have a choice if she wanted to keep Azura from being harmed.

Meanwhile, Mikoto arrived in Hoshido. After the death of Ikona, Sumeragi was looking for something to place his hope in once again. That was when he found Mikoto standing near a pond in the castle town of Shirasagi. Sumeragi instantly fell in love with her and decided to help her get back onto her feet, which resulted in their getting married. Sumeragi treated Mikoto and Corrin as family, once again resulting in happiness among the Hoshidan royals. Hinoka took a while to get used to Mikoto, as she had been incredibly close to Ikona before her assassination and didn't want her mother replaced, but once she began liking Mikoto, she never looked back.

Nohr was in a state of turbulence. Garon was having children with many a concubine since Arete kept on refusing him. The children born were forced to fight for a claim on the throne by their mothers, often servants of the crown. Upwards of twenty children were born, but only four children survived. No mothers lived after the horrible year of murder and grief. The survivors included Xander, Camilla, Leo, and Azura (who had been sheltered away to keep from being harmed).

Arete was facing all sorts of backlash as the new queen of Nohr. The people hated that she was a replacement for Katarina. In the end, the stress of the concubine wars, being forced with Garon, and the criticism of the Nohrian people got to her. Arete ended up committing suicide while a final concubine (one who hadn't been involved with Garon when the concubine wars were going on) was pregnant with Elise. This concubine died of illness when Elise was roughly four. Azura was left alone and sheltered, with only the pendant her mother had given her and a lullaby sung to her countless times, which she later learned was the Vallite family's birthright song.

Garon grew angry over the war due to Arete's death. With no other place to release his anger, he turned to Hoshido. He told Sumeragi that he was tired of the fighting and wanted a peace treaty. Sumeragi fell for it and decided to meet Garon in Nestra. He decided to bring along Corrin and Hinoka, both of whom wanted to spend some extra time with their father.

Once they arrived in Nestra, Hinoka began to shop for gifts for her brothers and sister back home. She walked into a nearby store selling bows, intending to get one for Takumi. Since she had been taught some of the bow herself due to being the heir of Warrior Princess, she was able to figure out what she needed alone. Corrin stuck with Sumeragi, claiming they had a bad feeling.

Corrin was right about something being wrong. Sumeragi met with Garon in a hauntingly empty street outside the store Hinoka was in. They spoke briefly before Sumeragi felt a pain in his back. He had been stabbed by Iago, a retainer to Garon, with the knife of his noble house. Spectre had impaled his armor in his back, leaving him badly bleeding once the blade was removed. Hinoka heard her father scream from inside the store and peeked out the window to see Corrin crying and shaking on the ground as Garon stuck his axe, which he had named Bölverk (since the axe of Nohr had already been passed down to Camilla), into Sumeragi's body, killing him. Hinoka panicked as Corrin passed out from shock. Garon picked up the unconscious child, planning to use them as a bargaining chip in the war with Hoshido. Iago kicked Sumeragi's body as he left, but Hinoka wasn't going to let him get away.

Hinoka nocked a bow inside of the store, and despite her shakiness, managed to fire it through the open window. It hit Iago in the arm, badly scarring him. Iago roared in anger and ripped the arrow from his arm, intending to follow after whoever had shot at him. However, Hinoka had used the distraction to grab Raijinto off Sumeragi's body and run away. Iago saw only her red hair before being called off by Garon, but he swore revenge on the pesky child who had scarred him. Hinoka, on the other hand, told herself that she was going to search for the man with the arrow scar and the knife Spectre for the rest of her life until she found him and got her revenge on him for taking away her younger sibling and her father.

Garon took Corrin back to Nohr and put them into the Northern Fortress under strict protection to keep the Hoshidans from taking her back. However, Hoshido wasn't just going to sit by while Corrin was raised with another family away from the royals they had lived with for so long. Yukimura, retainer to the now widowed Queen Mikoto, had a rogue from Kohga, a kingdom that had died out due to an invasion from neighboring Mokushu, infiltrate Nohr and take one of its children. The rogue, Shura in name, invaded Nohr and took Azura. Azura was slipping into an unstable state due to the death of her mother as well as Garon being uncaring, so she lived alone in her room. After being dropped off in Hoshido, Azura found a purpose in life again, happy to be somewhere that had people who cared for her. She never wanted to leave Hoshido due to how much better it was than Nohr.

This brings us about up to the time of Fates beginning. However, before we get started, I'm going to explain all the other small countries in the kingdom and any other information necessary to the plot of the rewrite.

First, we have Izumo. Izumo is a country that came from Hoshido after the Dawn Dragon founded Hoshido. It is ruled over by Izana. Izumo often remains neutral in conflict, but if it needs to pick a side, it will side with Hoshido. Izumo is a smaller country known for its natural beauty. Not many people live there, but those that do are relaxed and worry very little. There are only rare cases of poverty and starvation in Izumo due to the general peace.

Next, there's Kohga. Kohga is the smallest nation on the continent, or at least, it was. Kohga borders both Hoshido and Mokushu. Kohga was once ruled by a noble house. The two nobles who ruled the kingdom, the duke and duchess, were killed when Kohga was invaded by Mokushu. Mokushu wanted more land to stand up to Nohrian rule, or so they claimed. Kotaro, the daimyo of Mokushu, took over Kohga. He was greedy and wanted more land, killing many Kohgan people in the process. Those that survived were often killed by Mokushujin in the streets. Shura, a bandit from Kohga, ended up traveling alone to keep Kotaro and his trouble away.

Speaking of Mokushu, that country is next. It is ruled by the daimyo, Kotaro. Kotaro is a skilled ninja who gained immense respect from his people after rising up as a leader when the previous daimyo was killed in a battle against Nohrian forces. Kotaro was not above underhanded tricks, however. A Hoshidan ninja, the father of Saizo and Kaze, suspected that Kotaro was going to do something to Kohga after catching wind of a few rumors. Upon being sent to Mokushu to investigate, he was murdered by Kotaro to keep the invasion into Kohgan territory a secret. However, that was not the only twist of fate from that day. A few other ninja had come with Saizo and Kaze's father as reinforcements. They ended up taking the daimyo's daughter, Kagero, with them upon leaving. Rumors of his foul treatment towards Kagero, who wasn't even yet four, had spread quickly, so the ninja ended up taking her as revenge for Kotaro killing a respected retainer to King Sumeragi. Kotaro never made an effort to take her back, much more focused on the invasion of Kohga instead. Kagero's mother is never mentioned to anyone, but many suspect Kotaro killed her at some point or another. Due to the traitorous nature of Mokushu, it is unknown what side they would take in any large fight.

Next is Aulane. This is the small country where the Flame Tribe lives. The Flame Tribe leads the country, with the chief of the tribe leading Aulane as a whole. Aulane often stays away from international affairs, knowing that the tribe is self-sustaining, which also applies to the nation as a whole. However, if forced to choose, Aulane would side with Hoshido due to close ties between the chief and royal family. The next chief is set to be Rinkah.

I won't be giving Hoshido, Nohr, and Valla their own paragraphs here since there's already a lot about them in the rest of the story. To clear things up though, I'll tell you where the other two tribes originate. The Wind Tribe is located in Hoshido and the Ice Tribe in Nohr. The Kitsune are in Hoshido while the Wolfskin are in Nohr.

The Wind Tribe is led by Fuga. He has close ties with the Hoshidan royals, even fighting alongside King Sumeragi. The heir following Fuga is going to be Hayato. He often stays out of fights for the good of his people, but due to being inside Hoshido, he'd side with the Hoshidans in an instant.

The Kitsune are found in a secluded hamlet away from many Hoshidans. Not many know of their existence due to the fact that not many of the fox-shifters leave the hamlet. Those that do often find trouble from hunters, so they stay hidden. They'd be able to stay out of fights due to the lack of knowledge surrounding their existence.

The Ice Tribe is led by Kilma, the father of Flora and Felicia. Nohr has forcefully stripped away any freedoms the Ice Tribe may have had in recent years, causing rebellion to rise up. To silence them, Garon has Flora and Felicia taken from the tribe to be political prisoners, but this only furthers their anger. They rebel in Fates out of anger that they've seen such misfortune.

Finally, we have the Wolfskin. They live on Mount Garou, a steep peak found in Nohr. Not many know of the Wolfskin either, as Mount Garou is very difficult to traverse. They are also at risk from the same hunters Kitsune struggle with. The Wolfskin would also be able to avoid conflict since their society is shrouded in secrecy.

South of the Ice Tribe is Cheve, which was once its own country before being swallowed by Nohr in its path of conquest. Cheve was conquered by Hans, who wanted to get the favor of Garon. He became one of the king's right-hand men afterwards. Before the invasion, itwas ruled by a noble house. Scarlet's grandfather worked as a knight for the noble leader of Cheve, but his liege died in the invasion from Nohr. Cheve was also angered by this invasion, leading to a rebellion that was spearheaded by Scarlet. Nohrians would cruelly kill Chevois people in the streets (think the way Begnion treated Daein in part one of Radiant Dawn), including Scarlet's parents. After their deaths, she lashed out and started the rebellion. Cheve would side with Hoshido.

Next is Nestra, the kingdom of art. Nestra is well known for its performers and artists. Nestra is a peaceful place away from much conflict. The duke of Nestra stays out of affairs with Hoshido and Nohr, knowing of the fighting that would occur if Nestra got involved in the fighting. Merchants thrive in Nestra as well. Cyrkensia, the resort city of Nestra, is a city that never sleeps, always illuminated and bright. Nestrans stay out of Nohrian and Hoshidan conflict at all times to maintain the peace Nestra treasures so dearly.

Finally, we have Notre Sagesse. Notre Sagesse is built around a mountain that borders the sea and Valla. The Rainbow Sage, an elderly man who has lived forever due to a gift from Anankos, resides there. Notre Sagesse has an incredibly tall building at the peak of the mountain where the Sage lives. Notre Sagesse is far from both Nohr and Hoshido, so it's rare to see the country involved in any fighting. In fact, it has never happened due to the peaceful nature of the Sage keeping all the people from coming to harm in war. Even after the fall of Valla, the country remained one of the safest places on Pheuyura.

Well, now that all the background information is out of the way, it's time to get onto the story of Fates! We'll start off with how things are before the Branch of Fate, and from there, I'll split off and tell each story separately. A lot of things have changed, but hopefully it's for the better at the end of the day.


And there's the first part of my eight chapter saga to rewrite the story of Fire Emblem Fates! You can find the other seven parts (Prologue, Birthright, Conquest, Revelation, Hidden Truths, Heirs of Fate, and Character Updates) also on this story.

I hope that you enjoy this. I've put a lot of thought into it over the past week. Even if your interpretation of Fates is different, I pray that there's at least something you can take away from this.

Anyways, I'm going to be off to post the other chapters. Farewell!

-Digital