Ryoma and Say'ri - Raijinto
Day 8, dawn
Azura woke up from the gentle sway of the ship, but something felt a little amiss. Looking around at her surroundings, she quickly sized up the situation; Apparently, using her amulet caused her to lose consciousness (it was a rather strong dosage of power she had channeled, though losing consciousness was quite a step up from the common symptom in the past) not to mention her head hurt like no other. In fact, she did not really know where she had came up with those words, but they felt oddly natural when she sang them on the ship. Rearing back to the current situation, she seemed to still be on the Course of Action, though it appeared to be a bit empty. She was on a cot, amidst others of the make, that enough was obvious. But where was everyone else? Struggling to sit up, Azura struggled for a better angle at her surroundings, and everything became clear.
Subaki was grinning madly despite a large bloody bandage on his abdomen, resting but at the same time eagerly bragging of his heroics to the Ylissean cleric. What was her name? Lissa?
"Ah, if only I took notes of my perfect display. Such a moment will set the standard for the level of protection Hana will have to match!" Lissa couldn't help but scoff at his cockiness, trying to keep him still as she used a healing staff on him.
"Oh yeah? Then why were there three arrows in your gut?"
"A true retainer is a shield of steel or flesh, depending on whatever is at hand, milady. Once you find someone who'd use their body for your protection, you will understand the honor it is to defend such royalty with unwavering determination."
"I suppose that's true... And Sakura is as safe as ever. I'd even be bothered to say good job, then!" Laughing, Lissa finished her medical procedure, leaving Subaki to bask in the glory of his self-sacrifice. Looking at Azura, she grinned and ran over to the Hoshidan Princess, unable to control herself.
"Whoa! I forgot your name, but what you did out there? That was awesome! Even... if you kinda knocked out. But still! I've never seen any mage control water, let alone use waves to take out a ship! What was that?!" Azura calmly stared at Lissa with a blank face, not saying a word.
"Oh, not the talking type. Well, your song was quite beautiful, if I may say so. Are you feeling okay?"
"I am well," Azura answered politely, her face too blank for any sort of visual triage. "What is the situation?"
"...Well, we landed in Valm about three hours ago and near everybody's been busy ever since. We stormed their beachhead and took care of the garrison in short order, though Subaki here and some others were among our first casualties. However, there is still a large unit of Valmese cavalry and armor in the nearby city, and Robin is staging a charge-"
"Where are they now?" Azura asked, getting up and wincing as her bare feet struck the rough, cold wooden floor. Lissa tried to ease her, but Azura quickly brushed her aside.
"Whoa, you probably shouldn't-"
"Don't stop me, I'm fine..." Lissa was taken aback but smiled regardless, fixing the bed where Azura lay.
"...I suppose you're fine. They're still on the beach head. But we're a little off shore and-"
"I don't mind a swim. I will see you for proper medical attention after the mission." With that, Azura ascended the stairs to the deck, and slightly after, Lissa heard a slight splash as Azura dove overboard and swam to shore.
"Show off. Why can't Chrom let me swim in my dress?"
Robin analyzed his opponent's movements, slowly strafing to the higher ground amidst the rubble of the former house that had once stood a few minutes before. Now having the height advantage, the tactician waited patiently as the Valmese soldier made his move to strike his unarmored foe. When the Valmese knight reared his lance for an upwards heart-aimed lunge, Robin jumped down, kicking over his heavier foe and stomping on the right leg. Wincing at the snap and the subsequent screams of pain, Robin confirmed that the Valmese soldier's leg was at least fractured.
In one fluid motion, he blasted open the knight's neck armor with a wind spell, the vortex sucking all the air out of the enemy's lungs. Quickly, Robin took advantage of his foe's incapacitated state, drawing his Nohrian long sword (A defensive blade Robin had chosen from the newly-expanded armory) then stabbed it through the knight's neck clean into the dirt, trying his best to ignore the gurgles of blood and struggle from the hulk of metal in front of him before it ceased to move.
Waiting a few more seconds for confirmation, Robin stepped on top of his foe, yanking his sword out of the impromptu pedestal of flesh and metal he had just created. Sighing in relief as that seemed to be the last of his problems, the tactician found himself both overextended and isolated. Scanning the area, Robin sheathed his (horribly well-balanced) Nohrian blade and continued patrolling the beachhead.
Chrom and Frederick found themselves caught in an alleyway with two cavaliers staring them down. Frederick immediately took a covering position in front of Chrom, readying his lance for a joust with both of the knights at the same time.
"You're not going to take them both out," Chrom murmured, mounting Frederick's horse and drawing Falchion. "Shall we steal our respective partners for this dance?"
"What is the plan milord?" Frederick asked, but Chrom spurred the horse and smiled lightly.
"Veer right, I'll take the one on the left."
As the soldiers grew closer, Frederick readied his reins to prepare for a duel with the knight on the right. Behind him, Chrom grabbed Frederick's armor and brought himself up on his feet, ready to jump.
"Now!"
Leaping off the horse, Chrom dove straight into the Valmese cavalier on the left, slicing his lance with one motion and using his armored arm as a shield to brace his impact into and through the man's neck, knocking him clean off his horse and shielding Chrom's fall. Finishing off the moaning dismount with a clean stab to the chest, Chrom rose to his feet and groaned in pain from the impact, but was otherwise unharmed. Frederick, in an inhuman display of speed, avoided the other cavalier's lance entirely and grabbed the Valmese warrior by the armor when he was close enough. Ripping him off his horse and snapping his neck from the sudden shift in inertia, Frederick grunted in exertion as he felt the dead weight in his hands. Discarding the corpse from his sight, Frederick nodded at Chrom as they headed back to the makeshift base they had established.
Corrin deflected a cavalier's lance with Yato, while Lucina was pinned by archers close by. Corrin didn't have enough range to strike the rider, but she was not in a position to help Lucina either. Waiting for an opening, Corrin assumed a defensive stance and watched the cavalier to make another charge.
When it came, Corrin nimbly jumped into the air, drop kicking the knight off his horse and backflipping so that she hovered over the fearful Valmese for just an instant. Channeling her dragon-blood, her left arm turned into a spear and skewered the knight through the chest into the ground, leaving Corrin suspended over the newly-turned corpse as the archers looked in both terror and awe. Scrambling to get away, the archers ran off to retreat, but Lucina dashed up to one of them and ran him through causing him to cry out, prompting his comrade to look behind him...
"Look me in the eyes!"
...Only for a spear to pierce through his leg and sever it, leaving him to bleed out on the floor. Azura appeared from a rooftop, still dripping wet but otherwise unharmed.
"Fancy meeting you here," Corrin said in a relaxing tone, sheathing Yato and nimbly climbing up the wall-face to where Azura stood patiently. "You seem to be alright. What happened back there on the ship? Was that your amulet?"
That was the first time she's seen my power in use... She wasn't conscious when her dragon was rampaging...
"I suppose a little sea sickness came over me," Azura reasoned, stifling a cough in favor for a giggle. Corrin was unconvinced however, pouting as she crossed her arms.
"Ryoma said that was the second time your song had ever done anything more than echo off lake water. What are you hiding?" Azura backed off, her brows furrowing as she yelled back.
"Don't accuse me of hiding anything! You should not worry about- Focus on the battle... Ah, I-" Corrin was already off the roof, sighing as Azura's apologies went unheard and unwanted. Gesturing towards Lucina, they both turned towards an unknown location and ran, though a whole battalion of Valmese soldiers halted them in their tracks.
"Over there!"
"Ylisseans?"
Corrin and Lucina gulped as they were heavily outnumbered, but to their surprise, the Valmese swordsmen dropped to their knees as one, disarming themselves and taking off their helmets.
"Surrendering?" Corrin whispered, not believing her eyes.
"No milady. We are not your enemies," one of the Valmese cried in appeal.
"What is the meaning of this ruse?" Lucina asked harshly, pointing out the leader of the Valmese element. Immediately, he rose to his feet and, without his weapon, ran to Corrin and knelt again.
"Servants of Raijin! I am the captain of this regiment! We have clearly dishonored our heritage if the Lightning God sends his own blade against us! For all it is worth, milady, I and many other loyal Chon'sin swordsmen pledge loyalty to the Ylissean league! We stand with you and Emperor Ryoma!"
Emperor?
"Wait, what?" Corrin asked, clearly confused beyond belief. "You're switching sides just like that?"
Turning to Lucina who shrugged in return, Corrin faced the captain again.
"Yes! Clearly we have chosen the wrong side if the gods send their prophets against us!"
The Nohrian's thoughts were interrupted when Takumi, Ryoma and an unknown woman appeared out of a building, and the soldiers saluted once more upon their sight.
"Stand fast, Princesses," Takumi advised, smiling as he extended his arms towards the new female swordsman. "This is Say'ri, former Princess of Chon'sin. Apparently that little lightning stick in our brother's hands is a crucial piece of legend in this region. He... might also have just claimed the Chon'sin throne."
"W-what!?" Lucina cried, not believing her ears. A fair portion of the Valmese army were Chon'sin! To have them just turn their allegiance just because of Ryoma's sword? "T-this... changes everything!"
"Aye," Say'ri affirmed. "Emperor Ryoma was clearly sent by the gods to liberate our kingdom at this time of need. The proof lies within his skill and his blade, both of which my men... and I, will stand and die for."
Thirty minutes before
"There's quite a lot of them," Saizo scowled, his mask covering his grimace even as he extinguished the flames on his prepped shuriken.
"But look, there seems to be a hostage among them!" Kagero mentioned, her eyes pointing out the samurai being chased by Valmese knights.
"We can take them," Ryoma affirmed, motioning for Takumi to cover him along with his two retainers. "We move quickly and fluidly. Do not be hung up on prolonged engagements until we secure the area around the civilian."
"Yes sir," The two ninjas replied in unison, Saizo prepping another explosive for his liege.
"The Princess of the Resistance, finally within our grasp," The Valmese knight mocked, prodding Say'ri's chest with the butt of his spear. "Not much to grasp though, aha...ha." Letting out a guffaw, the soldier and his comrade laughed as Say'ri's hands were bound and she was forced to her knees as prisoner.
"You bring dishonor upon the loyal Chon'sin warriors!" Say'ri cried, recognizing the facial features of some of her countrymen in the crowd before her. "Stand with me, brothers, and we can-"
"That's enough insurrectionist talk," The Valmese knight warned, roughly rearing back Say'ri's head with his hands.
But as he did so, a shuriken embedded itself in his arm, detonating a second later and amputating the limb at the elbow. Screaming in pain, the knight stood up and made a commotion before a streak of blue pierced his head and silenced him with ruthless efficiency. Blood spurted out of the newly-formed hole in the man's forehead, spurting crimson even before the rest of his body hit the ground.
Another blue streak struck Say'ri's binds and her hands were free, though her head was still reeling from the shifts in momentum. However, she saw two clouds of smoke manifest and the two closest Valmese knights to her fell to the ground with blood jetting from their carotid arteries. Recognizing the work and not seeing the culprit, she put two and two together almost immediately and her eyes widened in shock.
"By the gods, shinobi? Here?" Say'ri gasped. Her head turned to her right when a crack of lightning set upon yet another knight, frying him in his armor and turning him into a smoking heap of metal and flesh. Upon striking the ground, multiple knives were seen embedded deep along his spine, no doubt piercing the bone or coursing with acute poisons, if not both.
"What in the world is this?!" a Valmese commander cried, before a red-armored swordsman bisected his body with a sword curiously akin to Chon'sin make...
But... the lightning coursing the blade! Could it be?
"Raijinto!" Say'ri exclaimed. "Our redemption has been sent!" Running recklessly, she closed distance with the crimson samurai and bowed at his feet.
"Bearer of the Raijinto, you are most welcome here to Chon'sin! You have my and any of my loyal countrymen's support! By the blade you carry and the blood in my veins, I swear upon death that my allegiance is true." Ryoma was still too focused to process that, but Kagero and Saizo were not as susceptible to this seemingly random declaration of fealty.
"How do they know the name of your blade?"
"It matters not," Ryoma decided. Unsheathing his twin katana at his side, he gave them to the unarmed Say'ri who bowed graciously. "I know little of my sword's significance to your culture, if I'm this is what I'm seeing. But if our cause has secured more allies, then aid us in freeing this land from oppression. It may not be what you are expecting, but is what my countrymen and I are here for."
"Y-your countrymen?" Say'ri asked, tilting your head. "But your blade and your armor? Are you not of Chon'sin heritage?"
"We're from Hoshido," Takumi butted in, secretly hoping his bow would elicit the same reaction as Raijinto did, but Say'ri did not quite seem to notice.
"Hoshido... have all the legends come to life?" Say'ri whispered. "B-but... Are you not the Ylissean league the resistance has been waiting for?"
"Whatever legends you heard are true," Chrom interrupted, stepping into the fold along with Frederick. "Brave soldiers of Hoshido and Nohr have aided us on our journey to take down Walhart's reign of terror."
"Lord Chrom!" Say'ri recognized, smiling in recognition at her ally. "May I be the first to welcome the Ylissean League to my homeland. But how did you bring about the myths and legends across to our doorstep, let alone ally two mortal enemies under your banner?"
"...And apparently we're a pretty big deal out here," Takumi added, whistling in rather fond astonishment.
"Princess Say'ri," Chrom continued. "This is Prince Ryoma of Hoshido. That is as much as we can spare so far, as there still lies a crucial turnabout at hand. If you'll look around for a second..."
Say'ri stared as the few Valmese that were left alive had taken off their helmets, revealing their Chon'sin features for her to see. None of them were standing, but in fact on one knee, bowing to Ryoma.
"Can this be..." Say'ri started, to which one of the Chon'sin standing replied eagerly.
"Princess Say'ri, by the honor of my ancestors which I have disgraced, I pledge my heart and blade to the Ylissean league! May my actions redeem what dignity I've tarnished by siding with the Valmese!"
Another echoed his claim, and then another. Then another. Soon enough, the survivors recited their rallying cry of allegiance to Ryoma and Say'ri, laying down their blades and stretching themselves to the ground in reverence.
"Soldiers of Chon'sin!" Say'ri cried, rallying her redeemed countrymen eagerly. "The crown of our people no longer belongs to me... Prince Ryoma of Hoshido, bearer of the Raijinto... You are the divinely chosen emperor of Chon'sin! Long may you reign!" With that, the newly-converted soldiers let out another cry, pledging their all to the startled and confused Hoshidan prince.
"W-what is this," Ryoma muttered, clearly not anticipating this turn of events. "First they know of our countries, then of my sword... Now I am their ruler?"
"Whatever position I had before is null," Say'ri bowed, "As you are the heir to the throne of Chon'sin. Will you guide our people to freedom, Emperor Ryoma?"
With this crucial turn of events, Robin realized that he had both a standing army of Feroxians (when they finished breaching the blockade) and loyal Chon'sin at his command.
Well, Ryoma's command, if one were to come to specifics.
Said samurai was at a loss, not prepared for anything political once he stepped through the portal to Ylisse. Say'ri was eagerly at his side, treasuring the twin katana he had given her even if they were of typical Hoshidan steel, spares lest Ryoma be disarmed in combat. Briefly advising her new Emperor on the history of Chon'sin, she had made it clear to Ryoma at least that she was fully serious on this odd yet veritable commitment.
The Ylisseans had won a critical battle and had conquered the Valmese cleanly on the many fronts of the shoreline. With an established headquarters and the prospect of many deserters due to the divine blade Ryoma held, Robin had many reasons to believe the war was as good as won. Meanwhile, Corrin had seen enough evidence to believe that Hoshido and Nohr would make this war their last.
And thus, with three countries behind them, two legends began their tale.