Chapter 2
With the flow of battle starting to end, Camilla was a bit uneasy sitting in front of the tent where Corrin was lying down, his breath heavy with the strain of a fever. It had always threatened his stability in battle when he would tire rather quickly compared to everyone else, so they were pushed for time.
In a sense, hearing that Corrin was alive enough to have to be dealt with was some form of relief for her, as she wondered if he had died somewhere if he pushed too hard.
Easing up when she saw Felicia come out of the tent, Camilla stood up and attempted to enter, but she was blocked with a hand coming from the maid.
"I know you want to check on him, but for now, let him rest. That last fight took more than it should've, probably the emotional strain from having to face both of them at once," Felicia sighed, rubbing her hands together.
Sighing a bit, Camilla pouted, as if she didn't have the authority to ignore what Felicia just said, but did as she was told, and sat back down, waiting in the strange silence that was her anxiousness.
There was seemingly something so wrong with having him fight like this, even if it was the only way to have him survive with Garon as his father, something about it just seemed so off to Camilla.
Sitting down next to her, Felicia felt the negative aura that Camilla was emanating, she sat there uncomfortably, as if waiting for her retainers to call for her and take her away to do something in Corrin's place. The wait didn't take long though, as Kaze quickly appeared, with information that was seemingly leaked to him from Saizo, returning the favor from their encounter with Kotaro in Mokushu.
When he started to get up out of bed, Corrin heard the slight chatter outside of his tent and tried to walk over to listen to what was happening.
It didn't help that he tripped over the seat that was placed next to his cot, making an audible thump, quickly followed by Felicia and Kaze rushing into the tent.
Helped out of his tent and into the common, the trio made their way over to the strategy tent, with Takumi and Camilla waiting inside, along with their retainers.
"So, what is our next move?" Corrin asked after Camilla let him go, trying to regain his balance starting the meeting.
"As we already know, we need to meet the Rainbow Sage to make progress with the Seal of Flames," Takumi started, pointing to a spot on the map in the middle of the table.
"The only way to reach him at this time of year is leaving through the port town of Dia, but we have word that the Nohrian Navy is near there, meaning a confrontation is unavoidable," Kaze continued, pulling little circles to show the number of enemies that they would be expecting.
"How outnumbered would we be?" Corrin asked, seeing what type of plans would be necessary to pull off such an attack.
Kaze had piled nine circles together to represent the enemy, before pulling a little half circle to show their numbers.
"This is only the case if the full force manages to be ready, as they are yet to land there. The town doesn't have enough docks for all their ships to land, so if we catch them when they're unloading the first few ships," Kaze emphasized, pulling seven of the circles to the side, "we may still have a chance of securing the town."
Walking through the halls of the candlelit castle back in Nohr, it was fair to say that Xander's feathers were somewhat ruffled.
First and foremost, a battle that surely would've gone his way ended in a draw, and secondly, the enemy commander had the balk to say that he cared more for the war than his siblings.
What absurd proposition; he did care for his siblings, it was only that he had to prioritize the war to have them be safe, and that the country should be able to welcome back their heroes of war, should they not.
Pausing at his thought, Xander shook it aside, worrying about the philosophy of the war later.
"Brother," a voice called from the end of the hall and leading up to the stairs of the throne room, seemingly waiting for Xander's presence.
"Leo," Xander called back, walking up to his more magically gifted brother, waiting for whatever question would soon follow.
"How did the battle fare?"
"The results could've been better, but Corrin ended up interrupting it along with Camilla."
"Ah, I had heard of her desertion, but hearing you speak of it, confirms it, yes?"
"That was the least of the things, though. Corrin had mentioned something about father being controlled, by someone, though who it would be is a surprise to me."
"About that, there is something that I want you to see."
As the two men walked off, behind one of the pillars, someone had been listening in on their conversation, and with her silent resolve, prepared to act on her own.
The move to the town of Dia had taken about two days march, and the camp was being set up around the hill overlooking the town. As the intelligence report confirmed, the outline of the fleet could be seen on the horizon, but it looked like there was still some time to secure the town.
Sitting down on top the hill, Corrin looked down at the place that was soon to be a battleground. He wondered if the fate that fell upon Cyrkensia would happen again to the peaceful port town, defenses only meant for small pirate raids. The thoughts of another great battle for no purpose kept flashing in his mind, the smell of a burning city still in his system.
"It feels strange, doesn't?" a voice called from behind, picking him out of his thoughts.
"A strange tranquility before the chaos of a battle, where a small mistake can mean the difference between ten dead or a thousand. Yet you must stand and lead, guide those who without cause, shall crumble. Such is the case for those who wish change."
Glancing around for a potential assailant, Corrin quickly jumped to his feet, a small charge of energy coming from his hand.
"You need not fight me, for even if you did, our fight would be over before your next heartbeat. Instead, head my words, prince of fate," the voice reappeared behind him, turning around only to see no one.
"You have done well to come this far, but things tend to go down a certain path, no matter how much you may try to fight it. The question then becomes, how do you make small differences that benefit the most people and hurt the fewest people. This next battle will be a test of your ability to help lift people up, be they friend or foe. Be sure you properly display this to me."
Glancing around for the source again, Corrin found that it disappeared as soon as it came but felt as if he saw a face flash in front of him, if only for the briefest of a moment.
Despite what he thought he saw, it didn't change was someone else had seen, and it was unsettling to her.
"Are you alright?" Azura asked, as if she was had to pull from her entire well of courage to say that.
Confused by the look of fear on her face, Corrin checked his body, before shrugging, not really clear on what she had meant.
"What was so dangerous about that?"
Falling to the ground, it was as if Azura had seen a ghost that truly haunted her, she dared not look at Corrin, as if the presence of whatever she had seen had cursed him.
"It was a being that shouldn't be here; the power of a dragon from a world not of our own, for its power would ruin all that it touches," Azura started to shudder, thinking about the danger of whatever it was.
"Tell me everything that it told you."
Looking out to the port once more, Corrin was now more than certain that the pressure was on, no way to get around it.
If what Azura told him was true, the success of the entire campaign would hinge on this battle, not if they won or lost, but if the strange figure approved of their actions.
So concerned was he that Corrin had sat down with everyone in camp for a bit, as if something would change if he did so.
"Are you alright milord?"
"Yes, just fine, why?"
"You just seem a bit tense, and you suddenly tried to talk to everyone in camp. Not that you don't care for them, but you would never sit down and talk that long one on one before."
Looking down, he wondered if he should tell her, if he could trust her to support him with the kind of knowledge that he had.
Thinking about if for a bit, he shook his head, turning it away from her.
"Something else is now at play. Whether it's good or bad for us is yet to be determined, but now we must be careful. One wrong move, and this whole world will fall, long before the skies switch."
Staying quiet and listening, she attempted to understand what she was told.
"This being came to me and said that our actions in this next battle will be a strong indication of which way he will fall. What is it that ensures that we fall in his favor and protect ourselves from him."
With the ship rocking on the waves, they had collected their assault force into their main ships and were getting ready to prepare the landing.
Staring at the town ahead, the commander of the force seemed unsure of this choice.
For all he knew, he most likely wouldn't be able to defeat his enemy, and it was solely based on the fact that he didn't know if he could do it.
Despite the fact that he wished to fulfill a knight's duty, something about it just didn't seem to fit. Maybe it was the fact that it was an innocent town caught in the crossfire, or that he was not certain of his victory, but whatever it was, it didn't feel right.
But orders were orders, and they would finally land in Port Dia.
AN: it's been a long time since I had time for this. Hopefully, this story isn't so dead that it no longer has any traction.
All I can say is that freshmen year of college is coming to a close, and I should be able to get more out then.
