A/N: This was originally meant to go past the fort and contain the end of the in game chapter, but I got carried away with a certain... 'character' introduction and it caused me to reach the point where I would be uncomfortable typing up more. So! This in game chapter is a two-part.
I'm really wanting to get to Hoshido, but I've hit a rather bad dry spell on the last leg of Nohr. There are plans for Corrin being in Hoshido. And while yes, he is getting the love and care he deserves, he's going to have some huge hurdles to cross before he can start healing.
Also, for those who are reading 'A(n) (Un)Wanted Reunion', the writer's block is hitting that one, too.
Noir: Well, hello there.
1. Thank you :)
2. Same... usually. M!CorrinxFelicia is my go-to, but I won't deny M!CorrinxOphelia.
3. Things had to change to make this work. So, instead of making Corrin more 'Nohrian', why not just make most of the other Nohrian units to more closely resemble the King? I've no intention of changing Leo nor the other ones.
Temporal King: If I had a quarter every time the topic of Tribe-related things popped up in our PMs...
I hope the introduction of this new 'character' turned out well enough.
Traveling out of Krakenburg was both a blessing and a curse. On one hand… or rather on two sides of him, there is his little sister, Elise, and his friend, Felicia. On the other side, there is the ever strict presence of Gunter, and the absolutely foreboding aura of Hans. Arthur walked alongside Elise, who is looking at his 'spare backup' map. What happened to the other two? A bird swooped in and stole his original, then he tripped and landed in mud, ruining the second. Elise recounted with a huge grin about some of the self-proclaimed hero's mishaps…
Then her mood dropped as she remembered that her other retainer, Effie, isn't here. "She's like… my best friend." She said at one point. It didn't make sense as to why Effie wasn't with Elise. Why send one retainer, but forbid the second? Corrin worried for Elise, both on the subjects of her retainer, and that letter that has been tucked inside her dress. It's apparently from Father to her, and maybe this is the increasingly pessimistic side of him, but he fears what is in it. She said that she's only to open it after they're finished with their task.
All of it rubs him the wrong way. Not to mention the sword that Father gifted him. Corrin gets shivers from seeing that eye on the hilt of Gangalari move, it never blinks, it always seems to stare and observe. Felicia has a number of daggers on her, most are suited for throwing, but she has one specifically made for close-quarter combat. Elise has a simple healing staff, but that's it. She doesn't even have a self-defense dagger on her. Arthur has a total of two axes, one for throwing, and the other for engaging the enemy up close.
Hans also has two axes, but unlike Arthur's white-ish steel, his are made of a black metal, giving them a foreboding presence. Gunter has a combination of a lance, sword, and axe, proudly showing off his skill in all three of the main melee weapons.
And yet, even with all of these armaments, Corrin feels vulnerable. He doesn't trust Hans. He fears Gunter. That just leaves him, Arthur, and Felicia. Felicia didn't fully complete her training as a Maid, so she won't be as skilled as Flora, Arthur's bad luck apparently translates into combat as well, so he worries for the man. Corrin isn't exactly confident in his own sword skills, and there is that one other fact.
He doesn't want to kill. He really hopes that this fort is abandoned and he can just…
It hits him. He doesn't want to return. This fort is on the border, could he just… run? No, Gunter would undoubtedly catch him, but the very idea hits him with a sort of adrenaline. Though, if that pass is mountainous enough, he could travel a path that Gunter's horse…
Elise wouldn't be able to do the same. "Big brother?" Elise gently tugs on his arm, a look of concern in her eyes, "We're going to be okay, right?" Even she's doubting this mission.
...No, he's better off returning to Nohr, there's no way he would leave Elise behind. She deserves a better place, Camilla deserves a better place. "I…" Corrin finds himself unable to continue, he can't shake this feeling something terrible will happen.
"Fear not, Princess Elise!" Arthur proudly proclaims, "As long as we work on the side of Justice, we shall always prevail!"
Elise smiles, if but for a moment. "I'll try my best." Felicia states.
"Yea!" The youngest princess cheers, though it lacks her normal bounciness, "We're gonna be just fine!"
"...You're right." Corrin adds, giving in to the meager good mood.
Going up the trail that ascends the Bottomless Canyon, Corrin can get a total of three sights, each that leave him with a different expression. Behind him is Nohr, a land that has provided almost nothing but grief. Two big brothers that demand nothing less than absolute perfection from him on a physical and magical level. A father who has no problem striking down those who are defenseless. A place that has left Corrin scarred. He wonders how Jakob fares, and he sincerely hopes that the man is still alive.
The good parts are too far apart: Elise with her rare visits. getting to see Camilla only once, at least what he remembers, he wonders what his big sister did the first time they met. Flora and Felicia, who, until recently, only served because that is what the King ordered, but now they are his friends. Laslow, the only good side when Xander visits.
Directly in front of Corrin is the Bottomless Canyon, a place that sends chills down his spine. It's said that its name is literal, if one were to fall, they would never hit the ground. It's bottomless. And as the group approaches, the place seems to fall apart. Large cracks strewn across the ground, some holes are even forming. The wooden bridges sway with the wind, as if ready to snap to send an unfortunate soul falling forever. The grass is almost nonexistent, the land seems even more barren that Nohr itself. The few trees are either dead, wilted, or seemingly close to the first two.
Lastly, and while he can't get a lot of visual contact due to the mountains, he can see a lot of greenery. Grass, trees, even the sun's radiance can be seen peeking over the top of the mountain. Hoshido. Even from here, he can almost feel how much better it is.
"Focus!" Corrin yelps as Gunter strikes him with his mace. It isn't nearly enough to cause damage, but the surprise alone could have counted as legitimate pain. Corrin shrinks back into Elise, while trying not to flinch as Gunter sends a rather intimidating look his way. Felicia quickly shifts to his other side moments later, applying a small amount of cold magic to numb the area.
"...Pathetic." Hans says just loud enough for it to reach Corrin.
"Master?" Felicia whispers, concern lining her voice. One of her hands grips his own, a flush covering her face, contrasting the coldness of her hand. She simply smiles at him, but somehow even that makes him feel warm…
And not the same type of warm he feels when she's servicing him. "Big brother?" And now his little sister is holding his other hand, her eyes are wide, she is just as concerned as Felicia, maybe more. As with Felicia, she also has a flush forming, and she also makes him feel warm…
He couldn't get himself to keep eye contact, "Thank you, both of you." Shortly after, both Hans and Gunter scoffs.
"Ah, the public display of familial love!" Arthur all but shouts out, all the while throwing his arms over Corrin's shoulders. "Justice will watch over us as we route out these evildoers!" To Corrin, Arthur felt more like Laslow… if Laslow had a tendency to trip or break things.
Infinitely better than Niles.
It was as Corrin had worried, the fort is occupied. A number of Hoshidan forces is holding their posts. Which would mean that… Corrin's grip on Gangalari faltered for a moment. His eyes flicked over to the horizon, where Hoshido rests. Somehow, even from here, he could feel it. It was like a pull, of sorts. And the more he thought about it…
"Die, you Hoshidan gnats!" Hans didn't waste a second to charge, and Gunter spared Corrin one intimidating glance before charging in, most likely to not stop the axe-wielding maniac.
...the more it was like the same pull he has been associating with water. To him, water is home. "You face justice, fiends!" Arthur proudly proclaimed from his spot next to Elise, not willing to leave his liege alone.
"Could you to try and… not kill them?" Corrin asked.
"There is no task too small, nor too grand that I cannot accomplish!"
"Then… let's do this." The scarred prince managed to find his resolve, "No killing." He'd rather not fight at all, but the fear of failing his father far outweighed his preference to do anything. An involuntary shudder goes through him.
He never wants to be alone in a room with Niles again.
Pushing the nightmare of the Archer aside, Corrin encounters the closest Hoshidan, a Samurai. Probably due to Hans already cutting down others, the Samurai spared Corrin no reprieve. It's only thanks to Corrin's harsh training that he was able to deflect the initial strike from him. Corrin quickly retaliated, but the man seemed to have anticipated his slash and he jumped backwards to avoid being hit. The Samurai quickly followed up, charging again at a speed that would have left the common soldier in awe…
And then he abruptly stopped as he fell onto the ground with a heavy thud. A dagger has found its way straight through his foot and into the ground, effectively pinning him. "I won't let you harm my master!" Wow… Felicia is more skilled than he thought if she was able to do that. The Samurai must have hit his head on something particularly hard, as he has yet to even budge.
Felicia was by his side the next moment, another dagger already in hand. Even though he hated fighting, "That was impressive," he couldn't deny that it was skillfully done.
"I live to serve." She responds in kind, though it did sound far more genuine than it would have before she and Flora declared that they would gladly serve… if Corrin was the one they were serving. However, that doesn't change the fact that Felicia's body is also far colder than normal, and he even found himself creating some distance to keep himself from shivering. "I'm sorry, I can't help myself right now, not until we're finished fighting." Then, for some reason, one of her hands reaches to stroke his armor. "You… should be wet right now." She states in the most serious of manner. "You are Blessed, master. Your Dragon has entrusted a portion of His powers to you, it is a dishonor to not use them."
A beat passes, "I don't want to overuse them." He admits as a Sky Knight seems to have decided that he and her would make the best targets.
"To not tap into your Tribal powers is to reject where you came from." She replies, if more assertive, as she sends a dagger flying. However, unlike the previous one, this one seems coated in ice and when it hits the Pegasus, the chill seems to spread to one of its wings, causing the beast to plummet. Thankfully, the Rider is alive… and unconscious.
It's almost worrying how easily she can knock people unconscious. "For justice!" Corrin hears Arthur yell as he throws his axe, and the hilt slams a soldier on the head, both denting the helmet and knocking him unconscious. On one hand, his small group is able to do as he wanted.
On the other, Gunter and Hans are leaving a bloodbath, almost the polar opposite of Corrin and the others. "We need to push forward." Corrin finds himself saying, "To the fort." However, there was a slight problem. The only available route was to join up with Gunter and Hans, and Corrin would rather keep as much distance between him and them as possible. Well, more specifically, as far from Hans as possible.
And in that moment he made that call, the temperature also plummeted, fast approaching the coldness that Flora exhibited when she found out that Leo called Corrin cursed. The source was obviously Felicia, but where was she? He found his answer as she stood near the edge of the Bottomless Canyon, directly across from the fort. She was clearly straining herself, but she also showed no signs of stopping. "E-e-even th-the c-cold-dest of cl-cli-climates w-won't st-stop m-m-m-me!" Arthur says as icicles actually start forming on his body.
Corrin was about to call out Felicia, as the idea of joining up with the insane Nohrians was actually starting to sound better than this cold, "Khione…" Her voice is low and quiet, but it somehow also carries enough weight to echo in the immediate area. After she spoke that word, the ground around her immediately froze… just like that. And that's when he saw it. It was transparent, but he saw it.
A dragon, its scales seemingly made of ice, giving its body a reflective appearance. For a moment, this ghostly-ice dragon hovered in spot near Felicia, before it grumbled some sort of response. Felicia nodded and shortly after, the dragon opened its maw. It quickly flew around and as it passed her, lets out a breath so cold, that the entirety of the area the breath hit froze. The result was a bridge made of ice, more than wide enough to fit Corrin and the others shoulder-to-shoulder. Walls were on either side of the bridge, too, high enough to almost rival the fort. The dragon then turned towards Corrin, locking eyes with him. There was… sorrow? It was almost like a longing. Yet, before he could observe anymore, it disappeared in a blast of cold mist, and from its departure, a single sphere landed on the ice bridge.
Felicia collapsed, drained. Elise guided her horse to the Maid's side without hesitation. "She's okay." The princess concluded, "Magically drained, but fine." As Corrin approaches Felicia, he saw that there was still residual ice peppering her body. The ice isn't seem to be doing her any harm, probably due to her being of the Ice Tribe.
"Felicia…" Corrin found himself saying, a hand caressing her face. It surprised him how easily this action came to him. "I'll take care of you." Again, the statement came out so smoothly. "Let's finish this off." He states as his hand strokes her hair, which too, is extremely cold. But still…
Khione. That word… no, that name she said. Even though Corrin had never heard of that name, nor seen that dragon, he also somehow felt like he knew. Khione… is the Ice Dragon, one of the Dragon Gods. He could suddenly visualize her, not an it, she's a female. He could clearly see her, without the transparency. Her size would have dwarfed the fort. One of her scales alone would be larger than Elise. Her scales sparkled brilliantly, the ice reflecting an image as clearly as a well-kept mirror. Two massive horns on top of her head, though one could mistake that they were simply icicles impaled into her head, if an icicle could be larger than Elise's horse. A constant blizzard would be surrounding this powerful being, far more powerful than what Flora conjured. The temperature would closer match what he just felt, only it would be seemingly endless.
Somehow, Corrin knew all of this, like he spent a portion of his life with her. Corrin then turned his attention to the ice sphere on the bridge, then walked towards it. One thing he noticed that, despite the bridge being made of ice, it didn't actually feel cold. And, just like with Khione, he somehow instantly knew what this was, a Frost Stone. But, as he approached it, he realized that it was not a stone at all. Instead it looked to be a scale that had shattered, it was probably only a third of the size of the original. He picked it up, and like the bridge, didn't feel cold. This was one of Khione's scales. He pockets the item with care, before finally returning his attention to the fort.
There's a mission he needs to finish… and a Maid he needs to tend to.
