Disclaimer: This is fanwork based on the manga the Quintessential Quintuplets (Go-Tobun no Hanayome), by Negi Haruba. Its setting, characters and plot belong to its rightful creator. I write this only for fun and as a little writing experiment.


WARNING FOR ANIME VIEWERS: From this chapter onwards, the story will follow the events of the manga beyond chapter 32. If you don't want to be spoiled, STOP READING.


Legends of the past

Although the Northern Expedition officially ended in year 32 of the Discovery, the Nakano countries kept sending help and envoys to the north in order to alleviate the effects of the plague. By the year 34, the worst was over and the nations of the Uesugis started recovering.

It was at this time when scholars of the Itsuki Commonwealth first discovered one of the most popular legends among the Futaro clans: the story of the people from beyond the ocean.

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The rise of the Futaros

As explained in previous chapters, the Futaros were a cadet branch of the original Isanari line of the Uesugis. But they weren't the only one.

Back in the day when the Isanaris ruled the New Continent, the Futaros were a minor clan that shared its territory with other tribes, such as the Sanadas and the Takebayashis. It was a somewhat peaceful coexistence, based on common interests and cooperation rather than conflict, and helped by the fact that most of them were nomads that would not stay for long in the same place. Still, the Futaros were the poorest clan in the region and lacked the connections and alliances the other tribes had. Futaro chiefs would emulate the appearance and rituals of their parent line, but the prestige of Uesugi Isanari was not something they could just imitate.

Even when they were surrounded by other tribes, they were alone. Like other branches before them, they seemed destined to fade out in the annals of history. But everything changed when the foreigners came.

Futaro legends said that, during a holy pilgrimage to the country of the Thousand Temples, their clan got into trouble with other tribes. Before conflict escalated, though, they were interrupted by the arrival of a group of foreigners who claimed to have come from another country at the other side of the Great Sea. They had not intended to land there, but a storm had brought them to Uesugi shores and had wrecked their ships. They were stranded. And alone.

"Impossible!", the locals said. "Everyone knows that the Great Sea is the limit of the world; beyond that, there is the ring of molten stars that keeps the sky in its place. You are lost and liars, and you are not welcome here".

But the Futaros believed them. After all, they were different from the other people in the continent: different language, different clothing, different complexions and faces. Even their hair was of a different colour, with shades of pink that were considered miraculous. They also knew of utensils and technologies no one had heard of before. And contrary to Uesugi customs, women monopolized their leadership positions and prayed to one Goddess.

Soon, the Futaros and the newcomers struck an alliance: they would travel together and share resources until the foreigners could go back to their land and the Futaros found a land of their own to settle. The Futaros would offer protection and knowledge of the New Continent, whereas their new allies would provide them with new tools and technologies.

The many versions recorded by the Itsukis differed at this point, but they all agreed on the result: the foreigners left, the Futaros became sedentary, their culture experienced radical changes, and their size increased until they became the dominant culture in the New Continent. All due to the unexpected influence of some people from another land.

Or at least that was what their legends claimed.

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A scholarly debate

When Itsuki scholars published their findings, it was hailed as proof that the ancient Renas had travelled to the New Continent. However, many scholars disagreed and a bitter dispute started that continues to these days.

To begin with, the sources were considered unreliable by some. Given the nature of Futaro culture, there were many writings about the encounter between their forebears and the people from beyond the ocean, but all of those were written centuries after the events they described. The origin of the legend was rooted in oral tradition, which was not so trustworthy.

The contents themselves did not help. Not only there were different versions, but the differences were also stark.

According to the first version of the myth recorded by the Itsukis, for example, the foreigners did not come from the other side of the ocean, but from the other side of the sky. They travelled in enormous flying chariots and, rather than come in peace, challenged the locals to ritual board games to decide the fate of the world. Every Uesugi clan was defeated, until a member of the Futaros defeated them and was rewarded with heavenly wonders.

(Nowadays, conspiracy theorists use this version of the legend to support the concept of "ancient astronauts", the pseudoscientific idea that extraterrestrial beings visited Earth and made contact with humans in antiquity, influencing their development and their culture. This theory is not taken seriously by the vast majority of academics and peer reviewed studies)

For a good number of scholars, the legend was a religious allegory and the "foreigners" were either deities or heavenly beings, signalling the Futaros as a "chosen people" in their myths. Thus, the drastic cultural change in the clan was deemed to be the product of a religious revolution rather than due to external influences. And certainly not the product of the Renan Empire "enlightening" the natives of the New Continent.

While scholars kept arguing about the ancient connection between the Old and the New Continent, the merchant princes and princesses of Yotsuba had grand plans to strengthen the current connection.

The first Uesugi embassy to Nakano lands was about to arrive to the Republic.

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The Futaro embassy

In the year 36, a different kind of voyage took place: instead of Nakanos crossing the ocean to reach the lands of Uesugi, it was a group of ambassadors from the Futaros who travelled to the Old Continent to visit the lands of Rena.

Both the Ichika Empire and the Holy Church of Miku had entertained the idea of inviting their new Futaro allies to their lands, but the Republic had helped the Futaros directly during the crucial first stages of the Maeda invasion and the Futaro chieftains wished to pay their respects to the Yotsubans, exchange gifts and, perhaps, sign some new treaties to ensure further cooperation in common areas of interest. Thus, when the first embassy from the New Continent was assembled, its destination was the Republic of Yotsuba.

Her Most Serene Duchess and the Council of 428 spared no expense to honour their guests. They brought the greatest chefs of the Itsuki Commonwealth to prepare the meals, took the ambassadors to some thermal springs favoured by the Apostles of the Church, invited them to watch a play by the Ichika Empire's most famous troupe in the Republican Theatre, and gave them sumptuous clothes made by the finest tailors from the Kingdom of Nino.

Despite of this show of luxury, or precisely because of it, the Futaro ambassadors were a bit uncomfortable. They were not used to places such as the capital of the Republic, one of the most populous cities in the world, and their traditions and philosophies stressed austerity and restraint.

Popular tales explain how the head of the Futaro embassy found a moment to speak in private to the Duchess and said:

"Your Serenity has showed us the wonders of the Itsuki, the Miku, the Ichika and the Nino, but what about the wonders of the Yotsuba? What is what your people enjoy?"

At first, the Duchess and her advisors were puzzled. Had they offended their distinguished guests somehow? They took the embassy to other places, none of which managed to impress the Futaros. It was already evening when the youngest advisor suggested a visit to the public gardens, located on top of a hill from which the entirety of the city could be seen. It was a popular place among merchant princes and commoners alike. Many in the ducal court considered it a laughable proposition, but when the Futaros saw it, they were satisfied.

"It is not worthy of an embassy like yours", the Duchess apologized. "It is ordinary".

"It is what your people enjoy", said the head of the ambassadors. "Then it is more than good enough".

The embassy left the Republic in the year 37. By that time, the Commonwealth had also invited a delegation from Raiha Island, and the Empire and the Church were planning for similar enterprises. Things were going well, but tensions were brewing underneath the surface.

The Great Schism was about to happen.


Author's notes:

Ah, yes, this is when the tale of Rena came up in the manga, or at least hints of it. Anime viewers probably suspected something given the famous photo kept by Futaro, and manga readers… manga readers probably know by now the sad details of that moment. No spoilers here for now, though!

-I framed the story of Rena and little Futaro like one of those pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact theories. There are a lot, from theories about contact by Phoenicians, Egyptians, Romans, Polynesians, Chinese, etc. to the Book of Mormon and alien conspiracies.

-The rise of the Futaros is also based on several cases of mass migrations and sudden population increases, especially the early Neolithic migration of 7,000 BCE that, in which a wave of farmers from the Middle East colonized a good deal of Europe and other neighbouring regions, and the Yamnaya from the steppes.