Four of us fly side by side as we make our way to the farmstead. Camus' orange butt is over on the left, while Hinoka takes the center and Aurora takes the right.
While the three of us on pegasus stick close under the cloud-cover, Gerome flutters along the tree canopy to warn us of any new hordes heading towards our holdout. Because even though I only wanted two people to go on this trip, apparently everyone else thought that more was better.
Caeldori's mount shares a similar coat to Aurora, except it has less of a bright sheen. Hinoka looks more like the blade of a spear, a dull greyish white shining in the sun. My mother's partner has a far more snowy coat. It's also larger, and has a horn sticking out of it's head. Because Falicorns do that.
They've been chatting about random things. Books, pegasus care techniques, old tales of the fights they've gotten dragged into. Caeldori's taken to Mother just as fast as she took to Morgan. And yet again I feel extremely jealous even though this is exactly what I wanted to happen.
The forest had cleared for a while again, but as we got closer I saw trees start popping up all over again. On the map, Renais was a pretty large farming commune. Several buildings, some for workers while the family that owned the joint had the big one in the dead center. That, plus the stables and barnhouse made a five pointed star that was surrounded by fields for crops and grass for the cows.
Apparently, this whole part of Roseanne used to be covered in large farms just like it. Then Walhart leveled them all, trying to cull the food that could reach the capitol. Not that it mattered, he ran over the whole duchy in a day regardless.
Knowing Virion, he probably planned on building more farmsteads like this. Something this size alone must've taken months to get ready. But this invasion obviously threw a wrench into things.
Camus tilts his head up, sensing that my brain's running faster than usual. He makes a concerned sound, asking if I'm alright.
"I'm fine, fleabag." I whisper to him, running my hand along his mane carefully. He keeps his eyes on me, validating what I tell him, before leveling his head back down towards the direction we're flying.
I wanna be upset at him, but I can't be. I'm just glad someone I trusted didn't abandon me again. He came back, and that's all I care about.
"Mother!" Caeldori calls to me, making me turn to look at her again. My mother's smirking along side her, which makes me think they're both planning something.
"What is it now?" I ask, straightening up my back so I can stretch my arms out. Gods, I feel so tense. My entire back is knotted up.
"I've been chatting with Grandmother, and she told me about how she and Grandfather met." Caeldori explains, giddy beyond belief as she's now privy to this forbidden knowledge. "How come you never told me the story about how it happened?"
"Because how it happened in my timeline isn't the same as how it happened in this one." I tell her, which earns me another one of her confused looks. She doesn't understand this time mumbo-jumbo, not that I can blame her.
Mother's pensive as well, before she chips in her own request."You never told me how your father and I met in your world, Severa."
I sigh, letting my arms slump as I finish up my stretches. "That's because I didn't like talking about the future, Mother. I still don't."
Her expression worsens. That wasn't the answer she wanted, nor was it one she would accept. "Even now, after it's been nullified completely?"
"No, no. I just don't talk about it for the fun of it." I say through gritted teeth, my words mixing in with a guttural growl. Caeldori physically flinches away, but Mother remains resolute. Before I left she built a pretty strong resistance to my mood swings.
Just because we accomplished our goal, doesn't mean all the bad memories suddenly went away. Even now, years after the fact, I still wake up in cold sweats thinking I'm about to be trampled to death by an undead horse.
Or because I could feel a Grimleal dagger near my throat.
Or because somewhere in the back of my mind, even though I know it's not possible anymore, I still think Grima's going to find a way to return.
The present situation added quite a bit of fuel to that fire.
Though this time, it doesn't seem like mother is going to relent. The glare she's aiming at me lets me know exactly what's coming out of her mouth next.
"Severa Maria Medon-Volkner." She rattles off, making my stomach do somersaults as I hear my full name. "You do not take that tone with your mother. Behave yourself."
"Yes ma'am." I whimper out quietly.
"Louder."
"Yes ma'am!" I repeat.
Mother's dictatorial manner fades away with my subservience, Caeldori is laughing so hard I think she's about to slip out of her saddle. Thanks, Mom. Now I'll never be able to tell her to do anything with this coming back.
Grumbling, I dig my hand through Camus' saddle bag. My daughter's laughs fade away as I pat around for what I'm looking for, right around when I find it. As I pull my hand up, the smell of spice faintly enters the air.
Cinnamon rolls. Managed to whip some up the night before we left. Didn't have any ingredients to make icing, but my grandmother's recipe works fine without it. I take a bite, letting the sugar take me so I can escape this situation one way or the other. But by now Caledori's recovered.
"What about you and father? How did you get together?" She asks, tilting her head as she sees what I'm holding in my hand. Again she's fidgeting in her seat, this time clearly wanting one. These were her favorite whenever I visited her deeprealm.
"I'm also curious. You must have met during your travels." Mother infers, jumping on the chance to dig up more information on what she's missed.
I sigh, taking another bite out of the roll. As I chew, I weigh the pros and cons of telling them about the first time I saw Subaki. Isn't a happy story, we were on the opposite sides of a fight. Heck, if things had gone the wrong way, one of us could have killed the other.
Still, it's going to be a while longer until we reach the farmstead. Guess this is as good a way to pass the time as any.
I've always hated boats. It's like being stuck on a big, wooden prison that never stays still. It's cramped, everything's damp, the weather sucks, the food sucks even more. Plus the whole time you're on one, you can only think about what you're going to do when you finally get off. On top of that, I never developed sea legs! So half of the trip, I'm cooped up in my cabin puking out a window.
Traveling on boats sucks. Fighting on boats is even worse. That fight in particular was one of the few things I ever regret doing.
Remember when I mentioned that mission Lady Camilla had to kill her little sister? About how Garon was forcing her to do something she'd hate herself for the rest of her life over? About how he was making Flora help by holding her entire tribe as collateral if they didn't get the job done?
Yeah, this is that story.
All of the other troops were ice tribe conscripts, terrified that if they failed that they'd be returning to their family's bodies on pikes.
Flora was a complete mental catastrophe. Corrin was like a second sister to her, and knowing what her relationship to Jakob turned into, it just made it twice as bad.
Camilla didn't speak a word the whole way. Only time she left her quarters was to receive reports or to take meals.
Beruka… well Beruka didn't care. She hadn't really developed… emotions? Morality? A soul? Not yet anyway.
And I wasn't in a good state of mind myself.
For context, this was about three weeks into Nohr's invasion of Hoshido. That entire time, I had been on the front line doing Garon's dirty work. Raiding villages, burning crops, beating on the locals, killing everyone who had a weapon in their hand. Kidnapping everyone else who didn't.
Like I've said before, I turned into the thing I had fought my whole life. And I hated myself for it. Part of me still does.
So yeah, we weren't exactly on a happy little cruise.
When the ambush started, Flora froze the whole section of water that surrounded Corrin's ship. The tribesmen ran across the ice towards the boat, Camilla and Beruka flew over the open expanse. I hitched a ride on the back of Beruka's mount, and got off when we finally reached the boat.
Basically the moment we landed, I was fighting. Oboro met as soon as I got on my feet, barely even drew my sword in time to block her attack. The whole skirmish, she had me on the back-foot. Fighting a naginata with a sword isn't easy, it's even harder when the person holding the naginata knows what they're doing.
Thankfully, backup showed up. A few of the ice-tribesmen took over for me, which means I got to break off and go hunting for the real target.
I still had my morals, compromised as they were. Way I saw it, if I just killed Corrin quickly, then we might be able to leave before anyone else had to meet our makers.
Finding her was the easiest part. The Princess wasn't exactly inconspicuous. Long white hair, silver armor and a grey cape. Part of her ear sticking out at a weird angle, should've caught on then that something was wrong. She was sticking to the back, knowing her now she was probably still trying to think of a 'diplomatic solution.' Because somehow, somehow, she managed to always solve things with a minimal body count.
Either way, I found her. It was time to get this over with.
I ran up to her as fast as my legs could carry me. Sword, tip pointed right for her chest. She spotted me pretty quick, wasn't really hard to, and lifted that weird spirit sword of hers up to deflect my attack.
Sadly for her, I don't fight fair. I used the momentum of her parry, dug one of my feet into the floorboards, then sucker-punched Corrin right in the jaw. She stumbled back from the impact, and gave me time to sure up my stance again.
Assaulted again, trying to keep the pressure up. This time I lunged forward and slashed along her waist, but she side-stepped it to my left. Spun around to block her counter-strike, then shoved her back again. Kept pushing, further and further, sending a flurry of slashes and stabs her way. She couldn't keep pace, the ones she couldn't block dug into her sides piece by piece.
Corrin didn't realize I was backing her into a corner until it was too late. As her butt smacked into the door to the captain's quarters, I saw her panic. That last moment in someone's eyes as they realize how big of a mistake they've made.
I didn't hesitate. My steel boot went straight into her chest, sent her flying through the wood and into the room. The yato fell out of her hand and landed on the ground between us.
Gods, it was like beating up a child.
"Can't believe you're the traitor that has everyone going insane." I taunted, stepping into the room. It was well lit, sun from the windows meant I could see everything. Corrin had been launched onto the ground, she was lying on her back and groaning in pain. Behind her was the map table, some charts and an unlit lamp resting on it.
As I walked inside, she sat up. Her eyes went down to the Yato, and she tried to dive for her weapon. For what it's worth, she grabbed the hilt. But at that point my boot was already firmly stamped on the blade, keeping it in place.
The Princess tried to yank the thing free. Right as I felt the metal slide under my sole, my other foot shot up and smashed right in her face. Again, she flew backwards. This time into the table, breaking a chunk of wood off and sending the lamp crashing down on her head.
"What a waste of my time." I grumbled, kicking her precious heirloom too far corner of the room. Corrin's face was pretty banged up at this point. Half of it was covered in oil from the lamp, staining her hair and clothing. The other half was splattered with red, my boot to the face having broken her nose.
"Three weeks. Three weeks, Camilla's been crying her eyes out over you." I told her, venting out my frustrations. Then again this whole fight had been me venting out my anger. "When we went back to Krakenberg, I heard her beg Garon to spare you. But no.
I lifted both my hands up, stopping right in front of her as I gestured to the world. "Instead he made her do this. Her, Flora, all of those conscripts. Their lives got turned upside down because you betrayed your family."
Finally, I got a response from her. Weak, but it was there. Her head shook back and forth, denying everything I'd just accused her of. "I… I haven't betrayed anyone. I'm doing this for them."
I rolled my eyes. Should have finished her off by then, but something was stopping. "Unfortunately for you, your father doesn't see it like that."
"My father. Is dead." Corrin spat back, looking at me. Through all the years I'd seen Corrin before, that was the first time I'd seen her mad. "Garon killed him in front of me. And then he kidnapped me, kept me locked in a castle, lied to me for my entire life about who I was."
That declaration was what made me hesitate. No one had told me Corrin wasn't really his daughter. But if what she was saying was true, then she had no reason to stand by the psychopath. Even my loyalty to Garon was already dangling by a string, Camilla was the only reason why I hadn't broken ranks and deserted.
Plus, I understood what it was like to see your old man die.
Corrin's hand started to shuffle under her outfit, slow and precise. My grip tightened around my rapier, but I couldn't strike at this point. I already knew I was on the wrong side, and all of this was making it even worse.
"I'm doing this for all of them. Camilla, Xander, Leo, Elise. Every day, all I think about is my siblings. All of this is so they're safe." She reaffirmed, before she pulled out a gem. Deep blue, spherical. I instantly knew what it was, after seeing Nah play around with one for most of my life.
"A dragonstone!?" I said, taking a large step back. My brain put the stone and her weird ears together, and realized I just picked a bad fight.
"You… know what this is?" Corrin said, clearly surprised. Her eyes looked at me with a newfound curiosity. She pulled herself back up, the stone started to shine with a dim light. "I thought only Azura had heard of these before."
I didn't respond, too busy backpedaling towards the door. Small spaces plus transforming manakete means squished me.
"My sister always did say you were a strange one." Corrin hummed, chuckling as she brought her gem up. "...I didn't want to do this. But I can't just let you hurt my friends."
This was the point where I turned around and ran for my life. Being in a cramped room with a manakete looking to transform was going to end with a very squished me against the walls.
As I stepped back outside, the battle was still in full swing. Everyone was engaged, though we were very clearly losing. Most of the ice-tribesmen were on the ground, knocked out or worse. Camilla was trying to fight off a kinshi knight and a sky knight, you can guess who that was. Beruka was being triple-teamed by ninja, and was getting overwhelmed.
Before I could decide what to do next, it happened.
A loud crash filled the air, and behind me this massive silver beast started to gallop towards me. It had the body of a mountain-goat and the antlers of a buck, nothing like any dragon I'd ever seen before. I couldn't even tell THAT was Corrin, just that I was in danger.
As the thing pounced at me, I rolled to the side. The wooden boards splintered as boards started to fly all over the place. As I tried to scramble myself back up, the thing's tail whipped around and smacked me right across the chest.
I danced across the deck like a rock, sliding to a stop and dazed. Again, I tried to stand up again. Again, Corrin started charging me down. And this time I didn't move fast enough. Both her hooves slammed down on top of me, pinning me in place.
Her hoof things somehow had fingers, and suddenly I was hoisted up into the air. The whole time I was kicking and flailing, trying to get loose. But most of my resistance had been beaten out of me. I looked around, trying to find a way out, when I spotted Beruka diving in from behind to try and help me out.
Not that she did. Corrin sensed her, somehow. As Beruka came in to strike, Corrin whipped her tail down and smashed her and her wyvern through the deck of the ship.
There went the rescue plan. Last ditch effort, I pulled my sword up and stabbed right into her leg. Blade cut through, but as a response she threw me overboard. Passed out as soon as I hit the water.
I don't know how long I was knocked unconscious, but considering I didn't freeze to death, it probably wasn't too long. All I know is I woke up laying on top of the ice shelf, someone pressing down on my chest. I bolted up and immediately started coughing up salt water, trying to breathe.
As I came to my senses, two people I didn't know were standing next to me. One was a shorter, pink haired girl in a Hoshidan priestess outfit. She was hiding behind Subaki, who still had his spear out. Both of them were wet, which meant they were the ones who fished me out of the drink.
We didn't speak much. My pride was too wounded to even say 'thank you'. I just sat there, letting Princess Sakura heal any bruises I had while Subaki stood guard. Once in a while we would share looks, both of us trying to make sense of the other. Neither of us really knew what to do next, though. Nominally, we were still enemies.
After that, they flew me back to the ship. Rest is history.
The farmstead was quieter than a graveyard.
On the flight down, the four of us could see something had happened here. Half the fields had been trampled into nothingness, one of the barns was completely collapsed. As we landed, we saw a few more bodies scattered across the ground wearing the Duchy's colors.
"So much for a safehouse." I observe, trotting past one of the bodies. Wisps of ash are coming from the wound, meaning it was a risen attack.
"We're not too late, are we?" Caeldori questions, her head looking around rapidly for some sign of life. The only other thing we could see was Gerome, still coasting above us to keep a bird's eye view of the area.
"Let's not make assumptions without more information." Mother assures, bringing her mount to a halt. Nothing much else to observe, though. Feels like we're the only living thing near here, even counting the risen.
We slowly ride across the complex towards the central house, which is surprisingly untouched. A large, rural estate three floors tall and half a city-block wide. Scratchless white paint and ornate windows, with a thatched roof that looks like it was put together yesterday. Some count probably called this home, one day. Now it's abandoned and pristine, like a museum piece.
Oooor the door just opened. Nevermind, not abandoned.
A pair of heads stick themselves out, one wearing a soldier's helmet while the other seemingly covered in bandaging. They turn to one another, probably speaking, before they both run out to meet us. Immediately I recognize them both as members of my-... Gwen's unit. One being the man whose practice ring I 'borrowed' for that spar, the other being the woman who as going to referee it. Both of them are worse for wear, uniforms are dirty and torn, but they're alive.
I smirk at them as they stop in front of my pegasus, leaning forward to get a better look. "Connor, Claudette. You both look horrible."
"Sorry we still work for a living, ma'am." The man responds to me, lifting his bandaging up so both his eyes are on me. Can see the bottom of a nasty gash, must've taken a glance from a blade.
"Glad to see we aren't the only survivors." His partner chirps, looking between Mother and Caeldori with confusion. "Um… Captain Takeda? Why are there two of you? And why does she look older?"
Mother chuckles in amusement as Caeldori nervously laughs in embarrassment. No good explanation as to why they both look so alike, but that's something we're going to have to deal with as long as they're together.
"We can discuss that later. What happened?" I interject, saving them both from an explanation as Minerva howls above us. She and Gerome start to veer off, gliding towards the far edge of the fields. Great, something got their attention.
"We were cut off, Major." Connor explains, scratching his cheek with his hand. "Bunch of us got together and just ran in the direction with the least amount of Risen. A while later, we found this place."
"A bunch of us got hurt in the escape. There's a lot of people who can't walk anymore inside." Claudette informs, throwing a thumb back over her shoulder. Behind me I hear someone rustling with their stuff. "We sent a group to see if there was anyone else. Is that why you're here…?"
I nod, deciding to not tell them the complete state that the group was in when they finally reached us. Though with news like this, I'm glad mother and I brought healing rods.
"How many of you are inside?" Mother questions, already holding her rod in hand.
Connor eyes the rod, putting two and two together. "Injured? Ten. Total? Eh… around sixty?"
"That's still twenty people short." Caledori grimly reminds them.
Both of the soldiers share a look. Sorrow, regret, shame. A hundred different emotions tossed between one another before they look at us again. "We… we had to leave some people behind." He tells us.
As Caeldori gulps, I sigh and shake my head. "Nothing we can do about it now. Let's just get inside."
"Follow us, Major. And Captain Takeda. And… other Captain Takeda..." Claudette awkwardly says, leading us towards the main house.
"Half right." Mother says, throwing the poor pikewoman a bone as we tread behind.
As we dismount and head inside, we see that that those who could walk have been busy. Before we entered, I saw two people were on the balcony surveying. Inside, the windows have been boarded up, there's barricades set from hall to hall. One person's standing guard at each entrance, while others seem to patrol from floor to floor.
All the bedrooms on the second level have been turned into a field hospital. People with injuries lay on beds, sit in chairs and wait. As we pass, we see a pair of them playing cards. Another group's trading stories, going silent as they see the three of us suddenly walk past. Actually, everyone does that. Soon as they catch a glimpse of me or Caeldori, their whole faces light up. Guess they think the rescue party's here.
Dunno if we can call ourselves that, but we need to link this group up with the main one.
As we reach the third floor, Claudette splits off. Says something about 'raiding the pantry.' Caeldori's stomach grumbles and she laughs, saying she'll bring a hunk of turkey for her.
Which leaves Connor leading us towards our final destination.
"This was the Count's business office, we think. Made this our command center, sort of." He explains, gesturing grandly at the old oak door. The fleur of Roseanne's engraved in each panel, with the knobs dully shining at us.
"I am impressed." Mother admonishes. "You have maintained cohesion under very extreme circumstances. I would not expect this out professional soldiers, let alone militia."
"You can thank the Captain and the Lieutenant for that." He answers, which makes me sigh again. This time in relief.
"Gwendolyn and her second are here?" Caeldori asks, wanting absolute confirmation.
"See for yourself." He replies, giving the door three quick knocks.
"Connor? Y'bring those fliers here?" A voice I instantly identify calls through the wood.
"It's Miss Severa and Miss Caeldori, Captain! And they brought someone new!" He yells back.
"We're right here you know." I tell him, mildly irritated.
"Well stop dickin' around and let'em in!" The voice calls back, in response the soldier starts to open the door. He twists the knob, then pushes. But it doesn't budge. He pushes again, nothing.
"Oh for the love of-" I start, shoving him out of the way. I bring my foot back, then send it smashing right between the knobs where the locks are. The sound of splinters fills the room as the door careens open, but it's not like I care. This isn't my house.
We're greeted by the sight of an old desk, something that probably costs more than I make in a year. Around and on top of it are even MORE things that probably costs more than I make in a year. Silver tankard, golden table clock. Lots of gem encrusted jewelry all in one big pile. Top it off with two large bottles of wine, one of them already uncorked and half empty.
The scene is completed with Gwen, sitting in a chair that I know costs more than she's made period. Her feet are on the desk, and she's spinning what looks to be the chain of a pocket watch around her finger. Her helmet's off, and her hair's spread around helter-skelter.
"Was wonderin' when you two'd find me." She said, grinning from ear to ear around her treasure trove of loot. She sets the watch down, standing up and grabbing the bottle from the desk. "Connor, go find Dijon and tell him tuh cycle the guards."
"Yes ma'am." He says. Soon as he looks at me, and judging by his expression, my plus twos, he realizes he should beat feet. Which he does, behind us I hear the door close shut.
Gwen chuckles happily, taking a drink from the bottle. Though as she sees how I'm glaring at her, she stops and looks towards me. "Uh… Miss Sev? Somethin' wrong?"
"You're looting? Are you kidding me?" I tell her, too angry to even open with sarcasm.
Gwen snorts, taking another drink without a care in the world. "Aw, I ain't hurtin' nobody. Just uh… 'acquirin' assets for the Ducal Militia.' We're allowed tuh demand quarters in wartime." She reasons.
My jaw locks up, fury building at her blaze attitude to robbing people. Caeldori stomps past me, going up to her friend and tearing the bottle out of her hand. Gwen lifts her hands up in surrender, not making any motion to stop my daughter. As she tries to re-cork the bottle, Gwen looks over to see my Mother standing by me.
"Uh… who's she?" She asks, not beating around the bush.
"Reinforcements." I answer. "That's not important, what the hell are you thinking!?"
"If this was Ylisse, I'd have arrested her already." Mother drones from the side, the same tone of voice she always used with me whenever I did something wrong as a child. Which meant Gwen was in really, really deep trouble.
"Well this ain't Ylisse now, is it tall, gold and hardass?" Gwen replies. On reflex, I facepalm. She just signed her death warrant.
Mother slowly came forward, arms held in a military rest behind her back. Each of the boards echoed as she walked, like an orchestra before a monster struck from the depths. Between my fingers I could see the approach, praying to the Gods I wouldn't be next for letting this happen.
Gwen was unphased. She even burped, the wine catching up to her. Oh for Naga's sake I'm about to witness a murder.
"I thought Virion would hold his officers to higher standards than this." She observes, waiting for an opening.
"I got raised from th'ranks. Folks like me give a lot less of a crap about nonsense rules." Gwen answers, scanning my mother again, before looking around her and towards me. "Sev, seriously, who's this lady and how do I get'er tuh piss off?"
I cringe audibly, Caeldori looks like she can't decide to be either shocked or beside herself.
"My name, is Cordelia Volkner." Mother tells her. Immediately, I see Gwen's smarmy mood trip over itself. Her eyes travel up to meet my mother's, and the dawn of just how badly she's screwed up washes over her.
"She's my cousin." I fib, best to establish that lie early before people ask questions. "She's also the Captain of the Ylissean Royal Guard."
"...Ah. I understand." Gwen says, her eyes not moving an inch away from Mother's face. Normally I'd love to see someone getting the screws put to them, but when it makes me look bad. Especially to my Mother! This is the last thing I wanted to happen the first day we see each other again!
"Is uh…" Gwen starts, not able to get the phrase out normally. "Is there a chance we can forget this happen?"
"Not at all." Mother replies. "However. I may decide to not report this to your monarch, assuming you leave all of this here where it belongs."
"Done." She promises. "And I apologize for callin' you a hardass."
"Apology accepted." Mother says, before stepping to let me and Gwen look at one another. "And to your Major, for shaming her like this."
"...Sorry, Severa." She mumbles.
"How were you even going to get all of this out of here?" I ask, not accepting or denying her words.
"Would you believe me if I said I wasn't?" She asks back, though the look I'm still giving her probably is all the answer she needs. The green haired soldier groans. "Come on, Cap. You know I grew up in th'poorhouse! I just wanted tuh be near some nice things for a bit, that so wrong?"
"We're in the middle of a battle." Caeldori reminds her.
"Yeah, so I might die in the next ten minutes!" Gwen yells back. "Pardon me if I wanted tuh feel like a noble before I ate it!"
"Enough." Mother announces, shutting all three of us up quickly. She eyes me quickly, then eyes Gwen, then me again. "She's one of your company commanders?"
"Look, I know this isn't the best first impression, but Gwen's a good soldier." I tell her, trying to salvage what I can from this total catastrophe. "You said yourself, she's kept everyone really organized!"
"Quite." She observes, before looking to Gwen again. "Are you a mercenary or a militia member?"
"Neither, ma'am. Ducal Guard." Gwen tells her sharply. "Lotta us got put in leadership for the new recruits."
"Sensible. Explains how you have an understanding of leadership." She analyses. "Well, I suppose if someone can earn Severa's approval, then they must be capable in some regard."
"Thanks… I think?" Gwen says.
The house suddenly started to shake. Outside we could hear an explosion, followed by a screeching roar that could belong only to Minerva.
Gwen said something about going to the balcony before running off. The three of us weren't far behind her.
There as a large cloud in the direction we heard Minerva scream. Brown and green floated around, knocked all over and killing all of our visibility. We couldn't tell what was going on, or where Gerome even was in that mess.
Not like that was going to stop me.
All of our pegesai were already airborne, the shockwave must have spooked them into the air. Mother whistled out to steed, and Aurora darted down. Hinoka followed suit, with Camus bringing up the rear.
As my family boarded and took off into the sky, I started to add two and two together in my mind. First the bodies in the lake, then what happened to Subaki's horse. Wolt took off into the sky, just like our mounts did before. He could sense something was wrong, and got out of danger. Which meant the floor was basically lava.
I turned to Gwen, pointing back inside. "Get everyone on the second and third floors! Stay away from the windows and don't get noticed!"
"What about you three!?" She asks, the lookouts that were posted already heading my words and running to safety.
"We'll be in the air. Just do what I say, and try not to get yourself killed!" I tell her, Camus snorting impatiently.
"I don't like it, but alright!" Gwen answers, following the others and slamming the door shut. Finally, I get on Camus. We shoot up into the sky, joining up with the others.
Even up here we can't really see what's going on. Too much crap in the air, it's like trying to stare through soup. This cloud is MASSIVE, too. It's covering a whole crop field, and even some of the closest barn.
Again, I hear Minerva cry out. This time followed by what sounds like her breathing fire.
"What's the plan?" I ask, fresh out of ideas.
"Diving in blind would be suicidal!" Mother points out.
"So we wait here? What about Mister Gerome!?" Caeldori asks.
Normally, this is where I'd say Gerome could handle himself. But right now my gut is screaming at me to do something. The back of my mind can tell something very bad is about to happen if we don't get involved, quick.
Then, out of the top of the cloud, I see something get launched into the air. At first I think it's nothing, too small to be Minerva. Maybe a wheelbarrow or boards from a shed. But again my gut says to go, and before I say anything Camus is already flying off towards it.
As the object reaches its peak, I finally make it out. A man in black armor, flailing in the air as he tries to grab for dear life.
Gods damn it, Gerome. No is not the time for your vertigo to kick in!
"Camus, faster!" I command. For once he doesn't sass me and does exactly that, launching us forward with even harsher flaps of his wings. Before I know it, and as he starts falling, we're right underneath Gerome's descent.
I give Camus' reigns a tug, eyeballing my friend as he drops. I press both of my feet deep into the stirrups, tightening my legs against Camus' body, then lean my arm out as the wyvernless rider plumetts down to the earth underneath us.
Pain and strain races up my arm as Gerome grabs on. His weight nearly rips me out of the saddle and down to death with him. But Camus compensates, jerking to the side. As I yell out in effort, both our combined strength hoists him upwards.
Gerome scuttles aboard, sitting behind me and clutching onto my back for dear life. I can hear his heart banging through his chest, and this grip he's got on me is gonna squeeze all the air from my lungs.
I turn us back around, and fly to a safe distance away from the cloud once more.
When I regroup, we flutter there for a few more minutes. The dirt finally starts to clear…
...And in the center of it we see Minerva, struggling as two large hands keep her pinned to the ground. One holding her mouth, the other grabbing her wing.
"What in the name of the Dawn dragon…" Caeldori asks.
"Less gawking, more helping Minerva!" Mother orders, taking the lead again and diving towards the wyvern as it tries to wrestle out of whatever is imprisoning her.
As we all torpedo down, though, it happens.
Minerva keeps struggling as best she can, rolling and kicking. Trying to get airborne again. Time after time, we see her go up, only to get slammed back down. Each hit sending shockwaves that shakes the buildings around, leaving a wyvern-shaped dent in the field.
A blast of fire spits out of her mouth, making the hand catch flame and release its grip. She unleashes one last angry cry, landing on her feet and trying to pull her wing free of the last hand's grip.
Then the second hand shoots back up.
This time, it grabs onto her other wing.
And all I can do is watch as both of them get torn off her body, binding her to the ground forever.
The hands pull both of the wings underground, leaving two sinkholes behind. Just like what happened to Subaki's horse, gone in an instant. A large mound of dirt appears, like something digging underground, trailing off back towards the forest.
The three of us land onto the ground, Minerva thrashing about in pain as blue blood starts to pour out of the holes. Crying over, and over, and over again. Hurt and confused, not sure what's happening or why.
Gerome immediately dismounts, yelling her name in an attempt to calm her down. His voice sounds just as hurt as her's.
Caeldori grabs my staff and runs, feet running through the new dark puddles that are being left all over the field.
And I keep watching, absolutely terrified. Two of the animals who've kept me safe my whole life, felled in as many months.
"We need to go. That thing's getting away." Mother tells me, Aurora's wings already flapping. But it doesn't make me budge. All I see in my world now is Minerva, tiring herself out and collapsing into a bloodied heap. Gerome's holding her head now, talking in gibberish as he tries to tell her it'll all be alright. Caeldori desperately keeps trying to stop the bleeding, her outfit getting coated in blue.
"Severa!" My mother barks, waking me up. I look to her, then to the trail, and nod. Both of us take off, pursuing the beast and leaving the battlefield behind.
I can't believe this is happening.
Ten minutes later, the trail disappears.
The lopsided trees and mounds of dirt mix back into a normal forest. We keep flying in the same direction, searching for clues. None of us want to go back without dealing with this once and for all. My horror's gone away, now I'm just furious. Whatever the hell this thing is just killed one of the only good memories I had of my old life.
So we fly, and fly, and fly.
Until below us, Mother spots a human trudging through the woods. Hooded, and carrying a staff.
Bingo.
Both of us burst through the canopy before the person, surrounding them on both sides. Mother takes the front, while I've already got my blade primed and ready to skewer them in the rear. Beams of sun come down, both from the hole we made with our arrival and between the tree-branches.
"Hold it right there!" Mother commands, hefting her own spear at the figure. It stops walking, the hood shifting up as it looks towards the knight who just confronted them.
Whoever they are is covered head to show in a dark brown shawl. They're tall, way taller than I am. Their build's large and well filled, meaning they've got muscle underneath the get-up. They don't seem afraid, or like they want to talk. Instead all I hear is a weird sniffing sound.
My eyes are focused on the staff, though. It's a simple thing, a purple translucent orb sitting on top of a wooden stick. The orb itself looks like it's covered in the stick's roots. Inside, I can see something scuttering about. Crawling all over the place. Like a bug.
...Like a beetle.
"On your knees, put the staff down. Now!" Mother commands. But our 'prisoner' doesn't comply, they just keep sniffing the air. Over, and over again, until they turn to face me. Beneath the hood, I can make out a strand of black hair and a tan chin.
The figure chuckles then, deep and low.
"I thought I smelled Grima. Turns out it's one of his brats." He says, chuckling even more as I look on befuddled. "So you're the runt's kid. I'll admit, I figured you'd look more like us."
Both Mother and I realize what he means by that. Without hesitation, she lunges forward and tries to stab the man. But the ground just sucks him, leaving nothing but the hole he travelled down. He pops back up on the far side, full on laughing at our misfortune now. In his other hand's a green gem, hovering in his hand as it glows bright.
"Here I thought I'd made a clean getaway." He says as the light begins to overtake him. "Oh well, I'll just make this quick."
Mother and I both fly up into the sky again, not wanting to risk getting torn to pieces on the ground. But as we do that, the earth blows up again. Dirt, grass, moss, trees. All of it gets thrown into the sky in a cloud as we barely make it out of the blast zone.
When it clears, flying in front of us is what I can best describe as a crocodile. Big and brown with a longer heal, razor sharp teeth and claws that could slash diamonds. It's wings look like it's made of rocks, but are somehow letting it stay afloat just as easily as our pegasi.
We're both dumbfounded. A living, breathing manakete that isn't Nowi, Nah or Tiki.
"Never understood why a Dragon would lower itself to mating with a human." The creature says, disgust emphasised as he names our species. "But I guess wiping out a mutt will be my good deed for the day."
"Who are you!? What are you doing here!?" I yell back, growing more and more confused by the second. A Manakete? Here!? On Valm!? Why!? HOW!? THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE EXTINCT.
Again, he laughs at us. "Sure, let me just reveal all my plans to the people I'm trying to kill. I'll be happy to, just hold still!"
He flies forward, faster than anything I've ever seen before. Both of us manage to dodge, but I can feel the heat off of his mouth as it barely misses. Mother winds up, I wind down, splitting it's attention while we try to put more distance between us and them.
OK, OK. Think, Sev. Remember what Nah told you! How kill a Manakete One-oh-One!
No wyrmslayers, crap.
No other manaketes to help, crap.
No backup, crap.
…
Shit.
I dive under the trees again, only to hear the thing smash behind me. As I whip Camus around, I see yet another hole in the ground. So he can dive in and out of the dirt at will! Great, as if I didn't have enough handicaps!
Still, this means the further away I am from the ground the better. Up we go again.
But of course, as soon as I try to fly back up, a shot of light goes up from the ground. Wind gushes around at lethal speed, slicing whole trunks in half where I was hovering before. Screw this, the sooner I'm out of his way the better!
Mother's waiting for me above the canopy, not taking this news any better than I am. She's clutching her spear close, constantly looking below us to see for any sign of the homicidal dragon.
"Please tell me you have a plan!" I beg, completely out of ideas.
"I'm thinking, I'm thinking!" She tells me, right as another wild blast of wind punches out from the earth. This one's a bit further off, proving that he can't see through the ground. Must sense based on movement or vibrations or something down there.
"Well think faster! We've got a demi-god trying to eat us alive, and I don't want to be digested today!" I tell her.
She grits her teeth, a vein bulging out of her head as she keeps scanning around the ground. "...We can't fight a manakete without any help. Let's just leave and warn the others."
"Are you kidding me? What if it follows us? We can't risk it killing everyone back on the farm!"
"Calm. Down." She commands, pointing back to the latest hole. "If it was going to kill them, it would double back and do it anyway. He clearly wants to disengage us, so why not let him?"
"...His staff." I say, trying to explain myself. "We need his staff."
"What?" She asks. "Why!?"
"Because I think that's what's controlling the Risen!" I inform her. "Look, it's complicated! I'll tell you later!"
Just as I'm getting ready to go down myself, she zips over and grabs my arm. "Severa, I am not letting you go down there! Flying a pegasus into a tunnel that small is extremely dangerous!"
"We can't leave without that thing, Mom!" I demand.
"Then I'll grab it!" She tells me, grip growing even tighter. "You stay put and wait for me up here!"
"Did you even pay attention to what it looks like!?" I bicker back, trying to wrestle my arm free. No luck, she's latched on like a thirsty leech. Doesn't help that this armor isn't as flexible as my old uniform.
Another blast of wind randomly fires up. This one's way, way too close for comfort. Somehow he's starting to zero in on us. "Mom! Let me go, we don't have time for this!"
"I said NO!" She yells back, giving another sharp tug. "It's too risky! If anything I should be sending you back ahead of me!"
"Don't. You. Dare." I hiss, my blood going cold at the idea. Sending me back, leaving her here to fight a dragon by herself. Is she insane?!
"Then do as I say! I'm not losing you a second time!" She tells me.
"And I'm not losing you the way we lost Dad!" I scream back at her.
That last shriek makes her grip slacken. Mother goes pale as a ghost, not sure what to say next. Neither am I, honestly. That outburst came quite literally from nowhere.
But it's true. Father already gave his life to protect us, and now she's getting ready to do the same thing.
I know that look in her eye, it's the same one he gave me right as he started to fade away. As if he was giving me an apology for disappointing me one last time. Except then we were on Grima's back, surrounded by all the other Shepherds. Now it's just the two of us, hovering here. Yet the future wants to repeat itself. Me and her, standing in that doorway. Her handing me the ring before she left, never to come back.
...This time I'm gonna make it right.
"Thank you. For everything you've done." I tell her, pulling my arm back. She doesn't respond, at this point she's despondent. "I'll come back with the staff. Trust me."
Her breathing's low and shallow. This must be a nightmare scenario for her come to life, me rushing headlong into a suicide mission. Because if I'm afraid of her doing it, she'll be afraid of me following her example.
"I've trained my whole life for this, Mom." I tell her, gently freeing myself from her grasp fully. This logic might backfire, but it'll also be the most honest I've ever been with her. "Ever since I was a kid, all I ever wanted was to be just like you. So let me show you I'm ready."
She keeps staring at me for a few scant moments, then her head nods.
And down I go.
Down back into the forest, and under the canopy.
Zooming between trunks and branches, ducking and twisting around them. Nudging Camus back and forth, helping him avoid anything in our way. Up, down, left, right.
Within a minute we're back to where we first stopped the jerk, fresh holes into the abyss surrounding the clearing. Again, I dive. This time straight into one of the chasms, my hand burning as I use ignis to light my way.
The claustrophobia is maddening. One wrong move and I'll crash into a wall, and he'll know exactly where I am. Chomp me up for a meal and spit out my bones. But I keep going, following the sound the manakete makes as it digs through the dirt. Quick and silent, no mistakes.
Perfect. For once in my life, I need to be perfect.
Soot rains down on us as the earth shakes. Rocks and pebbles are sent loose, giving me new obstacles to dive around. The tunnel's big, thanks to how large the dragon is. But that doesn't make this any less nerve wracking.
Then I see it. The staff, with the manakete's tail holding it tight.
Immediately, I hurl a blast of purple flame at his rear. He roars, the staff falls, and I grab it before turning around.
While he tries to spin, I soar off back the way I came. Behind me I hear him fire off another blast of wind, but I just keep flying. All I can do is fly as fast as I can.
Fly to the surface. Fly to the light. Don't stop for anything.
Fly until I feel the wind hit my back. Fly until it blows us out of the whole, knocking us both back into the open sky and sending me out of my saddle.
The last thing I see is the sun, right before I bring my hand around the orb and channel one last pulse of energy through it. Purple flames engulf the gem, and inside I see the beetle burn away into a pile of ash.
Something else hits me. A large force punches out from the gem as it shatters apart.
And the world goes black all over again.
A/N: They're baaaaaaaaaaaaaack.