It's you! :)
"Squire! You're not hiding, you're blocking! Fix your shield!"
Silas felt the force of the mace crash against the heavy metal shield in his hand knock him back, his footing slipping beneath him as he stumbled backward, shield flailing to the side.
"Useless," To emphasize the point, the knight punched him straight in the stomach with his armored gauntlet, ruining any chance of Silas recovering his footing, and leaving him coughing on the ground trying to reclaim the escaped air, "If I were trying to, I could have killed you right now! Do you expect your foes to lie over for you like a whore?! On your feet!"
"Y-yes ser!" Silas pushed through the fractured ribs and stumbled up to his feet. His mouth felt dry and his feet ached. Hours they'd been at it, and hours they would continue, or so his master had said, until the young squire's block met his standards. But as fatigue continued to creep into his bones, Silas felt those standards seem to get further and further away from him.
"You're tired now? You don't even have proper armor yet, I don't want to hear you start complaining about being tired! Hoshido's sun will burn you alive if you don't learn to push through it!" His master was supposed to be a veteran of a war. The war, as everyone called it, though nobody had ever named it. From the way he talked about it, Silas guessed that he assumed the war would start again at any moment, and had just been biding his time the past few years by training a squire in order to keep himself sharp. He was a hard man to train under, but the best a commoner like Silas was ever going to get.
"Excuse me, ser." Silas couldn't have tell when he showed up, but seemingly out of nowhere, there was suddenly a tall, lean, white-haired man in servant's garb standing behind his master. The knight looked behind him, as surprised as Silas had been, through more composed considering he hadn't been through the same rigorous endurance test he'd been putting the squire through. "I'm afraid I'll need to ask the both of you to take a break while we do maintenance. You may have noticed, but the royal family was here recently and they tend to leave the training grounds in a bit of a mess. Would you be so kind?"
His master shrugged, but otherwise spoke respectfully to the butler. "Your fortress. Your rules." Then he turned his attention back to Silas, "Go tend to your gear before it snaps in half."
"Do you think your squire shall need a mage? He appears hurt." The butler looked at him with the same cool detachment, the same way he would look at a piece of furniture in need of repairs.
"He can do that on his own time," said his master, "What are you waiting for, squire? I said get going!"
Silas didn't wait to be told a third time. He picked up his shield and shambled away as fast as he could with his wounded sides. It felt as though he were barely moving at a limp.
The armory was empty when he stumbled in, giving him first pick of the cleaning and repair tools. Weapon maintenance was one of the more tedious aspects of his profession, but he didn't mind it so much. The peace coupled with the slow and steady rhythm helped set his mind at ease while he rested, and there was something satisfying about fixing something with his own hands and then using it later.
Silas slowly lowered himself onto the bench, grunting in repressed pain as he did so, until he was able to settle down and find a position that allowed him to work without causing stress on his wounded side. His instructor had been right, it wasn't fatal or even crippling and a quick trip to a mage would have it fixed in a moment. But it still hurt, so he made a mental note to find one the moment he was done tending to his equipment. At the moment, the slow and even sound of the scraping stone served as a psychological anesthetic. A feeling that was abruptly diminished when the sound of clanging tools began outside. The sound of bashing and screaming kids didn't do wonders for his focus, and he redoubled his effort.
"...Wait, hold on," Silas took a closer listen to the sound outside. It didn't sound like a team performing maintenance. For starters, he was pretty sure they wouldn't have a young boy fixing up a training yard by himself. From what he could tell, it sounded more like someone was using the training grounds. Silas groaned as he forced himself onto his feet and limped his way back to the door, determined to find whoever it was tearing at the training targets when they weren't supposed to.
The culprit wasn't exactly hiding themselves. Silas saw them immediately after stepping outside, swinging around a wooden practice sword and bashing away at a target with a loud shout at each collision before bouncing off and nearly losing their footing.
"Gah...just...break in half you stupid piece of stupid wood!" The girl shouted at her inanimate opponent as she whacked once more, "Come on, it blew up when Xander did it… stupid dummy!" She accentuated by punching it, a decision she immediately regretted as she pulled back holding her fist in pain, "Ow, ow, ow stupid...oh, hi there!"
She perked up immediately when she saw him watching, any attention she'd been paying to her now bleeding and probably sprained hand was instead directed at him, her gaze filled with curiosity at the new stranger that had entered her life. Silas felt a bit flustered at the sudden attention and shifted uncomfortably, "Uhm...they're supposed to be doing maintenance soon…"
"Oh it's fine, I'll be long gone before then!" She exclaimed, putting all her lung power behind her voice despite him being no more than twenty feet away, apparently unaware of the concept of an indoor tone, "I mean, no one ever bothers me whenever I'm out here before and I don't see why they would start now! Besides, even if they did, I'm pretty sure I can tell them to wait a bit, that's what some so-and-so said anyway, what was that guy's name? Anyway, you're a knight, right? I think I saw you with that older knight, are you like his son or something? Knights are supposed to be, like, really good at fighting, right? Think we could fight for a bit? I really hate wooden dummies, all they ever do is just sit there and stare no matter what I do to it, and it's annoying! I tried breaking it in half like I saw my brother do, but it just keeps looking at me with its stupid dummy face no matter how many times I try! You don't look like a dummy, though, and you even have a shield! So how about we fight! I don't think I've ever fought an actual guy before, have you? I mean, I think I saw you fighting that bigger knight earlier, but does that really count? He was kind of being a bully, I'm not sure it really counts as a real fight if one guy is like, twice the size of the other guy, but yea, other than that, how many people have you fought? You looked like you were pretty good at it, was that because of training or do you just fight people often? I heard Gunter say that experience will always be better than training, but then he also says that you're worthless in a fight unless you've trained like hundreds of times, so I guess he just meant that you need both! I mean, I've been training for a while, nobody has ever wanted to fight me, and it would be pretty rude to just tell them to if they don't want to! You look like you're good at fighting though, so I guess you wouldn't mind, right? Want to fight then?"
It took a moment for Silas to realize she was waiting for him to say something, after that huge barrage of words that he was still trying to decipher the meaning of. "But...you're just a kid…"
"You're just a kid!" She shot back at him, "Hold on, what's wrong with your leg? You're kind of standing to one side, are you okay? Aren't your legs really important for a knight? I mean, how are you supposed to-"
He cut in before she could start again, "My leg is fine, it's just my side. I got hurt during training, but-"
"Oh my gods, really?!" Gods? "Geez, I've been so selfish, you need to get a mage for that! Hold on, stay right here and I'll get Jakob! He can do magic, I think, just...wait right here! I'll be right back!" And just like that, before he could even get a word in she was sprinting off, leaving him dazed and confused.
"Who was that girl?"
Fort Dragonfall
Niles
Some said that Fort Dragonfall was built out of the corpse of a fallen god centuries ago. There were as many legends surrounding it as there were about the Bottomless Canyon, with many references to Hell and deities and great wars fought between them. Personally, Niles didn't care much about whether dragons ever existed or not. The more likely explanation for the monstrosity of a fortress lying in front of him was that some king from centuries ago dead from who-cares-what had a dragon fetish and wanted to make a fort out of it in order to be scary. Niles knew that if he had unlimited power, he'd probably do plenty of petty things with it.
As far as petty gestures of superiority went, the dragon fortress was at least a productive petty gesture. Just looking at it even the lowly thief couldn't help but be slightly winded at the sight. Imposing, powerful, and with the dark, dreary skies accentuating all the right places. On the technical standpoint, the interior was completely encased, with only a single large entrance to pass through and towers beside it armed with trebuchets and fire pots to rain down on anyone trying to march through. Looking at it from the sides, even after all the centuries that had passed, no visible signs of decay or degradation could be seen from where he stood. True to Nohrian engineering, making more with less and building to stand the test of time.
"Hmm, looks like they've been making themselves at home," Niles observed while looking at the towers and upper walls of the fortress. Soldiers with peace-tinted skin marched along, huddling under the lights of torches every step of the way, as they made their rounds across the battlements. In the towers the soldiers looked hopelessly out into the expanse of dark and dreary wastelands, any chance they had at picking out anything in the dark completely ruined by the lantern above their heads destroying their night vision. In those same towers, Niles could pick out the trebuchets he had heard of from the survivors of the attack, still in working order from where he sat. At the front gate, there were signs of the invaders' attempts to clean up the battle scars left from their assault, defenses that had been dashed apart and hastily put back together. "Seems they plan on staying here for awhile. Won't be able to just attack when they transport."
"That is unfortunate. It would have been easier to deal with them on the road. Attacking a fortress is...tricky," The giant in metal armor that Niles assumed had a name but couldn't quite remember what it was muttered as he looked at the fort from atop his armored horse. There wasn't any real risk of being spotted as long as the guards were huddling under lanterns, and they were far enough away that any sound made from the steeds they'd used to ride there were absorbed by the surroundings. Personally, Niles still would have opted to play it quiet anyway, but it's not like anyone ever asked for his advice.
"It's not all bad," Niles offered up as a ray of hope, "Those guards seem to just be getting the lay of the land. It seems they've forgotten that they aren't in Hoshido anymore, they're marching about the way they would if they still had a sun and moon. See the pathways," he pointed along the upper walls, "They haven't been taking the time to keep it constantly lighted with torches, so there's a lot of blind spots. And they're huddling around the fires for warmth and absolutely killing their night vision. Any fool with a grappling hook and a good arm could sneak in without any drama."
The metal man nodded, "Hmm, an excellent observation, thief. I will ride back to report on what we have found. Remain here for the time being and keep an eye on them. I should return before the morrow."
He rode off with barely a nod to them. No time in a knight's life for small talk, Niles supposed. Something about knights always made him feel uneasy. You give a human being the best armor and the best sword and teach him from childhood how to kill people the most efficiently with it, and then expect them to follow a code of honor? Seemed like a recipe for disappointment in Niles' eyes. He'd seen Gunter run a man through without enough force to launch him off the ground, blood flying onto the ground painting a path that marked which way he went, and there wasn't anything honorable or pretty in the sight of it, yet this was supposedly the same man who never cursed, never lied, never drank, never whored, etc etc. Something in his bones didn't buy it, and his bones were never wrong.
"So who should take first watch?" Right, the kid was there too. Sometimes it was hard to remember that he existed. At least he didn't get the same feeling from Silas as he did from the older knight. Niles knew exactly what his vice was, at least. Being smarter than him helped too.
Niles stretched out his back and lied down on what seemed like the softest patch of dirt available. "You. I'll let you know when I'm ready to take over." Hopefully by the time the cavalry finally showed up.
Despite his admittedly low expectations, the kid actually didn't bother him anymore after that. A few minutes in, Niles opened one eye and saw him sitting against a rock watching the fortress with utter focus. It seemed he could match any of the other knights in focus when he set his mind to it. He probably didn't need to be so surprised, but it was a bit of a contrast to the naive deer-in-the-headlights attitude he seemed to always have, especially around his precious princess.
Out of more curiosity than anything, Niles decided to throw out a lure. "Hey, how do you think the princess is doing?"
Silas jumped at the sound of his voice, evidently not expecting any sounds for the next few hours, "Which princess?"
Niles rolled his eyes, "You know which one. I'm certainly not talking about the bubbly little pipsqueak."
"Corrin, then?" His face immediately became a lot more thoughtful and distant. A bit of Niles found it amusing how all that focus and determination could evaporate into thin air the moment his sweetheart's mere name was brought up. Everyone has their vices, indeed. "I'm honestly kind of worried about her. She doesn't seem to take loss well, and in the past few weeks alone, we've had plenty of that to deal with. I think about everything that's ahead of us, and a big part of me just wants to protect her from all that."
"Oh right, I guess you know all about loss, don't you? Didn't your whole team die back there?"
Silas unfortunately didn't take the bait, and actually seemed to take the question seriously. "Yeah, well...at least it wasn't the first time for me." No fun. "I am a soldier. Something tells me you know a thing or two yourself."
Definitely not fun. "...That's none of your business," Niles muttered and lied back down, having lost all interest in the conversation.
"I understand-"
"The hell you do," Niles growled, his fists curling. He realized that he was getting more angry than he should, but was too angry to do anything about that.
"I do. I grew up in Nohr too." The kid's voice never lost its sincerity, which might have been the worst part. There wasn't even pity or sympathy there, just...understanding. Like they were somehow in the same boat. "This place is...cruel. I just want to protect her from it."
"Protect her?" Niles processed what he said before slowly a laugh built up in the back of his throat and forced itself out. They were talking about the same princess that was cutting up prisoners for training, who killed a queen, and massacred a village. Someone who he'd personally seen kill armored men with single strikes, who completely tore apart anyone who challenged her to a spar, and who could somehow out-drink him. And yet… "You want to protect her? Heh, that's a good one…"
"What's so funny?" Silas shot at him
"Heh...nothing, it's nothing. Carry on, protector." Should he tell him? Burst the bubble of perfection that the kid seemed to have trapped himself in. It was pretty obvious, they weren't talking about the same princess. Silas, at least, was talking about a princess that no longer existed, but he seemed to still be desperate to hold onto. A mental image of a perfect love that died when he wasn't looking. It would be so easy to reach out and rip that picture of perfection into pieces, but...no, that would happen on its own, eventually, and the punch always hurts more when you don't see it coming.
Niles just hoped he would be there to watch the tower of ideals come crumbling down.
Fort Dragonfall
Azura
It had been a long, long time since she had last seen the sunless sky of Nohr. She had almost forgotten the desolation and decay that was ingrained into the very land itself. Nature had long since given up hope on this place, the trees and grass had accepted their deaths centuries ago and all that was left of nature was its carcasses that dotted the landscape. It was a hopeless land, without even a sky to reach for or a sun to offer comfort, and Azura remembered why she never missed her supposed homeland during all those days under Mikoto's care. It was a land that bred hopelessness, despair, and cruelty.
It hadn't been a long journey between Shirasagi and the sea, and it was an even shorter one between the docks and Nohr. It had only taken a couple days on the open waters for them to enter Nohr's territory, and it had been very clear when that happened. She remembered that moment perfectly, when she had been standing on the edge of the ship looking out at the distant, endless horizon on the waves, when in a single moment all light in the sky was gone. All light everywhere was gone. It was impossible to see even her own hand. She had felt blind in that moment, the only thing that she could see clearly was the waters behind them, with the sun still shining down on them. She could see the brightness of the horizon even as it stretched further and further away, and felt an unexplainable yearning to return to it. To reach out and take it.
So this is what it really feels like to be Nohrian, she had thought in that moment, when she finally understood what it meant to be trapped in darkness and drawn to the distant light like a moth to fire.
They had been greeted upon setting down on the shores of Nohr, but not in the way they had been expecting. There was no army, or even militia standing ready to fight them on the shores. Instead, when they came upon the docks of a small fishing village, the piers and town were empty save for a single woman in scarlet armor, carrying a white flag.
"Could be a trap," Takumi had been skeptical at first glance, "We should just bombard the fishing village from a distance to break them then move in with the garrison."
Hinoka looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "It's a white flag, and she's alone. You're being paranoid."
"Don't underestimate the lengths these backwater savages will go to in order to achieve victory. No rules bind them."
Azura's sigh betrayed her irritation, "If they're so backwater then what makes you think they're capable of making a trap at all?" Looking back, she might have been a bit harsh but given the circumstances she still felt pretty justified, "If you're so paranoid, just bring a squad with you."
It took both her and Hinoko to convince him, but before too long Azura was watching the small boat sailing toward the shore carrying her siblings and a whole team of armored soldiers. She watched from her telescope as the woman tied their ship to the pier as if it belonged there and welcomed them with open arms into one of the homes.
Hours later, and the signal was being sent to begin offloading the rest of the legions they had brought. Boat by boat, the soldiers marched into the town, where the folk living there treated them as if they were rescuers rather than conquerors.
The next time she saw her siblings again, they related what had happened back to her in the privacy of her room aboard the ship. Takumi looked disappointed, but both of them expressed satisfaction as they told her about the welcoming they received. From what they told her, the port city wasn't just surrendering but outright seeking to join them, offering everything they could provide.
"And you trust them?"
She would have expected such acceptance from Hinoko, but Takumi was particularly surprising. "Their reasoning makes sense. Cheve gets its food from the sea, they have no need of their tyrant king, yet he uses the threat of force to keep them attached to his decaying cesspool of a realm. As Scarlet tells it, he's burned down entire villages just for making demands for aid. They have had enough of Nohr's evil and are ready for something new. As far as I'm concerned, if they're against Nohr, then they're with us."
Whatever skepticism Azura might have had about the fiery resistance fighters was put at ease upon their first battle at Fort Dragonfall. During their travel northward of the port town, Takumi had spent every spare moment with Scarlet, learning as much as he could about the formidable fortress. Reportedly impenetrable, but the young warrior had evidently been planning for this well in advance, even before the barrier had fallen. According to her, any attempt to truly conquer Nohr would be doomed without a large supply of food, and Fort Dragonfall was the most well-supplied fortress on this side of the border given its strategic placement between the sea and the capital itself, Castle Krakenburg. Scarlet and her militia led the charge while their army surrounded the fortress, and systematically obliterated the garrison stationed there. Azura only knew the battle was over when her siblings returned to invite her to walk the now bloodied halls.
"You'll never know how long I've waited for this day," Scarlet beamed with satisfaction and joy as they stood at the highest spire of the fortress, the winds whistling all around them while they looked down on the dragon they had slain. Just the four of them, standing above the world. "This fortress has been here since I was a little girl. It was where their occupation force stationed itself. All day I would see soldiers coming and going from here to patrol our town and keep watch over us. Now those days are finally well behind us, and we can finally truly be free, all thanks you."
"There's still work to do," Takumi mused, "But not today. It seems for the first time, we have something to celebrate." He seemed happier than she'd seen him since mother had died. The way him and Scarlet talked seemed to make him look a bit more alive. Something about finding a kindred spirit, someone who shared his fiery need for justice, perhaps. Under better circumstances, Azura would have taken a moment to be happy for him, but unfortunately they weren't better circumstances.
"For you, perhaps. It is time I left now."
"Does it have to be now? Nohr isn't going anywhere," Hinoko pouted, while Scarlet just seemed confused
"Left? But where are you going?"
"It's something Ryoma asked me to do once we had a foothold established here," she explained while trying to keep the details vague. Takumi and Hinoko clearly trusted her, but there was always a possibility of her capture. Interrogation tended to break through affection and admiration, even loyalty, if applied long enough. Azura wasn't willing to give her anything they could pry out of her. "Takumi and Hinoko know what to do. I'll be in contact within a month, or I suppose I'll most likely be dead."
"There is no need to be so secretive, Azura."
"No, my lord, she is correct in doing so," Scarlet was surprisingly understanding, "Everyone breaks under interrogation eventually. It is better this way."
"You don't have to worry about anything." Said Hinoko, "Now that we're here, Nohr will never be a threat to your home again."
Azura wished she could be as optimistic as the others. Still drunk off their victory even days after it had passed, they seemed akin to children eagerly reaching for a fire. She had never really learned how to live in the moment and accept happiness, it was a trait that she had come to envy in her siblings, but even so, someone had to be the voice of caution. "Perhaps, but our actions now will have to decide that. I will take my leave immediately, if you have no further matters to speak of."
"Wait," Hinoko stopped her for one last hug, "Make sure you come back, alright? I don't want to lose another sister."
Hinoko's extreme reaction was expected. What wasn't expected was the way Takumi averted his gaze shyly as he spoke, "Just...don't die."
"Takumi…"
"One last thing," said Hinoko, her voice taking on a tone of wistfulness and unease, afraid to hope but not quite unable to resist. "If you end up seeing Kamui...can you please tell her-"
Azura would never hear the end of that sentence. As she had spoke, the sounds of battle slowly erupted beneath their tower, crescendoing with each syllable until its harsh melody drowned out her voice entirely, and its carnage was all that could be heard throughout the entire fortress.
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