The Prince's War

AN: And here's the next installment of The Prince's War. Now to clarify something, I'm not familiar with the Light Novels of this franchise. They aren't translated to English and I know jack about Japanese. So to all you LN readers, I'm sorry if I get any details wrong. I'm only going off the anime and manga, as limited as it is. So I hope you end up enjoying it still.

Now to reviews.

Zaraki6: I'm not sure if that is a positive or negative response, so I'm going to assume positive.

Dracus6: It will most likely be like that.

Evowizard25: I get that the anime isn't for everyone, but for me it's good. And I think that Theo is a pretty good MC. (and wars are usually fought over stupid reasons). He most likely will end up with Aishela (her relationship with Petr didn't really go anywhere, from what I've seen at least).

Conn wasn't actually a part of the original storied by Robert E. Howard but was a later edition in novels written by other authors such as L. Sprague de Camp. And yes, it's in the same universe.

And thanks, I hope I don't disappoint.

2 A Lord You Shall be

Conn stood on the deck of the ship that was carrying him to Atlatan, a midday breeze ruffling his shoulder-length hair that was now uncowled. It has been several days after he began his journey and there wasn't much to do except talk and sometimes assist the crew with some work, the latter of which wasn't that much of a problem considering that, like his father, he was far stronger than an average man.

However, during the talks with the captain, he came to understand more of the political situation and the unrest between the Factory Alliance and the Fantasia Union.

"So, from what I understood from all of this," Conn said as he rubbed his chin. "Lady Marinne Kreische refused to ally with Lord Alexis Deucet through marriage after the incident during the wedding that killed hers and Alexis' fathers."

"Yeah, that about sums it up," the captain answered. "And from what I know, Lady Marinne still mourns her father's death even after six months, which is why she still wears black."

"But shouldn't they have proceeded with the wedding? The incident obviously wasn't an assassination attempt on either one of them, but both. Their alliance would have increased the chances of finding the real culprit instead of continuing the conflict."

The captain only shrugged. "Look, that's not my problem. I'm only here to deliver cargo, not give out political opinions."

Conn now thought of the situation. He knew that if he was going to succeed in his plan he had to ally with someone. After hearing about what type of rulers were these Marrine Kreishe and Alexis Deucet, he thought that his best chance might be the Fantasia Union. He honestly didn't the mentality that the Alliance's leader seemed to have. And considering he was on the Alliance ship he wasn't going there anytime soon if he stayed.

Conn looked over the deck and saw the landmasses they were sailing by. He wasn't able to recognize any of them due to his lack of knowledge in this continent's topography.

"Now if you excuse me, I have to go," the captain said before walking away.

"Wait for just a moment, captain," Conn called out making the man halt and look at him. "How long until we reach your destination?"

"You mean Stark? Well, it'll take us about a day or so," the captain explained.

A day? Then that means that they were still far from the Alliances territory, which meant that the landmasses next to them belonged to the Union. Perfect, Conn thought.

"Well then, Captain, I thank you for your assistance," he said as he strapped a small wooden box on his belt next to his longsword. "But I have to go."

"Hm? What are you-?" the captain turned to ask but was surprised by seeing Conn actually run across the deck and leap off the ship into the water below, causing a big splash to appear. Several men including the captain went to check on what was going on.

"What the hell is he doing?" one of the crewmembers said as they looked at Conn who was now swimming to the shore.

The captain only stared at him for a little while before turning away. "Whatever he is doing is no longer our problem. We got his gold, we transported him and what he decides next is up to him. Now come on, and get back to your posts! We have more important things to do!"

The crew obliged and went back to their work. Still, the captain wondered what the young man had in mind.

Conn swam towards the landmass in front of him in a hurried manner. While it was quite a distance away that didn't really bother him since he had enough for it not to be too tiring. As he neared the land, he saw a gathering of rocks in the water.

Conn quickly grabbed unto the nearest one and with a good push got himself out of the water to stand on the rock. He rubbed his eyes to clear the seawater out of the way, took off his cloak and went to dry it a little. He twisted the cloak until a lot of the water dripped away; he didn't need it weighing him down.

Reattaching his cloak, he leaped unto the next rock, and the next, and the next until he got close enough and leaped unto the rocky side of the land and grabbed onto some of the bulging formations on it. He then began climbing up, mentally thanking his father for teaching him how to climb like a true Cimmerian.

He quickly reached the top and jumped unto the grassy ground. Dusting himself off, he headed towards the forest in front of him. The first step has been made, and now he needed to continue making others.

"Alright, now I just need to find someone for directions. Can't say if I'm in Mansour or Kilhis," Conn said as he recollected the map of Atlatan he has been studying. He checked over his equipment as saw that it was all still in place.

Satisfied, he began walking through the woods. He walked for a while until he stumbled upon a road. Smiling, he followed the road, which would no doubt lead him to civilization.

The walk was boring, for the most part, having nothing else to do but to think over what exactly he could do prove himself. He could overthrow a lord and take his place, but he would have to be careful because if he takes out the wrong type of lord he might the people's ire and be hated. Perhaps he could serve under one for a while and eventually rise in rank, but that would probably take a while.

Decisions, decisions. And none of them were easy. Then again, his father didn't have it easy when he took the Aquilonian throne after he killed Numedides so this was probably perfect.

Conn's ears then picked up a sound of growling next to him, something predator-like. He unsheathed his sword in the blink of an eye and put it in front of him as a defense. He looked around, not sure where the growling came from.

Then something roared behind him and Conn quickly turned to see some sort of wolf jumping at him. It was completely black, though the blackness didn't look like fur but some sort of miasma, with glowing red eyes.

Instinctively, Conn swung his sword, cutting the demon wolf in half mid near him, some blood splattering on his face. The two halves of the creature unceremoniously dropped on the ground.

"Quite a welcome-"

He then suddenly heard another growl coming from behind and quickly turned, but wasn't quick enough as whatever jumped was able to pounce on him and knock the sword out of his hands. He then landed on his back with a grunt, his hands grabbing the maw of the creature which turned out to be another bigger wolf demon.

Conn had to admit, this thing was strong, definitely stronger than a regular wolf. It tried to bite him but Conn was able to push it back, and with a mighty heave he pushed the wolf off of him. The young prince quickly got to his and the wolf followed soon after. It growled at him, its eyes glowing brighter than before.

The wolf attacked again, but Conn was ready this time. He waited until it was just close enough before quickly moving out of the wolf's bite and quickly wrapping his mighty arms around its neck. They both struggled, the wolf trying to get out of the young man's grasp while Conn kept his hold on it.

"Your life was forfeit when… you attacked me… creature," Conn said between grunts. He then began squeezing, the wolf gasped for breath but Conn was unrelenting as he made one final squeeze that crushed the creature's neck, silencing it forever.

Conn dropped the corpse on the ground. He looked around to see if there was something else lurking about and ready to pounce on him. Not finding anything, he went to retrieve his dropped sword and sheathed it.

"Well, at least I can cross out fighting demons, I suppose," Conn muttered under his breath. While not really an all-important component in his quest, his father and his siblings fought and defeated demons, unlike him. "I wonder if there is a wizard I can kill as well."

Then he heard something strange. It sounded like… waves? He saw some black smoke coming from the dead demon wolves and begin to gather in a single spot. Soon a huge black ball of smoke formed in that spot.

"Crom's devils," Conn said quietly as he stared at the thing. What was going on? Were those things reforming? Making something even more dangerous? His eyes narrowed as he took out his sword. Whatever that thing was, he wasn't just going to stand there and let it attack him.

Conn swung his blade right at the black ball, cutting through it, but once it reached the middle it stopped. Conn was shocked and tried to pull out the blade but some force suddenly pulled on him. He gasped as he forcibly moved forward until his hands were plunged into the black ball. Conn growled before pulling hard, trying to get his hands out of whatever monstrosity this was. He pulled as hard as he could and was seemingly successful but the black ball then began receding into his right hand. Panicking, he pulled with all his might and was actually able to get his hands out but the black ball completely disappeared into his right hand.

Conn landed on his backside, his sword still in his hand. "Mitra and Crom, what the hell was that?" Conn said as he rubbed his head. Then he was slightly blinded by a red glow coming from his hand and he quickly examined it. There was a strange red symbol of an intricate floating a few centimeters above it. He moved his hand a bit and saw the symbol move along with it.

Wait, he heard of these things before. The lords of these lands called them… crests he believed. It was a sort of magic they used on the continent to determine your rank. Did he receive it from killing those demons? He didn't know that that was one of the ways you could achieve a noble status.

He wondered how to make it go away. He focused, thinking of the symbol not being there. And just then the crest disappeared.

"That's… very interesting," Conn said as he looked over his hand for a few moments. "I shouldn't waste too much time gawking. I need to move."

He got up and went back to what he was previously doing, following the road.

It was the morning of the next day where Conn found himself once again walking on the road. It seems that wherever he decided to swim to was pretty far from any civilized area. Still, that didn't deter him. He was certain that he would find someone soon enough as it was impossible for this entire country to be abandoned.

He once again glanced at the back of his hand. He focused and the red crest appeared again. He wasn't sure what that meant exactly as he was still not familiar with the politics of this continent. That crest gave him a rank but what was it exactly? A low rank? A high rank?

Then he stopped as he once again heard some growling away from the road. He once again drew his sword, ready for yet another battle. Going through some nearby bushes where he thought he heard the sound. Then he heard something that sounded similar to stabbing. He got into a clearing and saw a man that was descended upon by yet another demonic creature that looked like a panther. He was about to go and help but after observing the situation slightly more he saw the man was in no danger. The creature was biting at the gauntlet the man wore while the man himself stabbed the beast through the neck with a sword.

Conn walked up to the downed man, grabbed the panther and threw it away before giving the man a hand.

"Oh, thank you," the man said as he got up and sheathed his sword. Now Conn had a good look at his features. He was pretty young with short dark-green hair, brown eyes, average height. He wore a green coat with golden highlights, a gauntlet that went up the entirety of his left arm that was held by two belts, a white shirt, gray pants, and brown boots.

Conn just looked to the side where he threw the creature and saw the dark ball already forming. "You might want to get that," Conn said making the green-haired man look confused before he also noticed the ball.

"What is that?" he asked.

Conn just gestured at it. "Put your hand in there, and pull out," he explained. The man killed the beast fair and square, he deserved his reward.

"W-what?" the young man asked, still unsure. Conn only groaned, grabbed him by the arm and pulled him to the ball. "Hey, wait a minute!" Conn just ignored him and pushed his hand into the ball and at the same time making sure his own hand didn't touch.

The green-haired youth's hand was now stuck in the black mass and he tried to get it out but it was harder than it seems. He turned to Conn in panic. "What do I do?!"

"Get the hand out and don't let the ball pull you in," Conn said matter-of-factly and just continued standing.

With shut eyes and grit teeth, the man pulled hard, determined to get himself out of the situation. It worked as the ball went into his hand. He opened his eyes and began panting, a blue crest appearing on the back of his hand.

"What the-"

"Congratulations, you are a lord now," Conn said with a smile.

"A… a lord? I became a lord?"

Conn sighed at that. "Do you have brain damage? Yes, you are a lord. Don't make me repeat it again."

"Oh, I… I see," he said, still looking at the crest above his hand. The crest soon disappeared and he turned to Conn with a smile and put his hand forward. "I'm Theo, from Sistina," the now-named Theo introduced himself.

Conn smiled before taking his hand and giving it a firm shake. "Conn, of Aquilonia," he returned the gesture. Normally, using your real name and place of origin would be a dead giveaway about who you are, but many people hail from Aquilonia and outside his family and friends, no one knew he was called Conn. Everyone just knew him as Conan II so using his nickname doesn't really give away much.

Theo pulled his hand away in a slight wince. "Man, you've got quite a grip," he commented as he rubbed his hand before raising an eyebrow. "Wait, Aquilonia?" He then put his fingers on his chin in thought. "Isn't that from the continent up north called Hyboria?"

Conn nodded. "The one and only."

"That's… very interesting actually," Theo mused. "So, what business do you have in Atlatan?"

"Oh, I'm just… trying to make a name for myself," Conn explained before putting up his own hand to show his crest making Theo gasp.

"You're… a lord?"

"I only became one recently, in a similar way you did actually, by killing those… whatever those dark creatures are. Though I had two of them," Conn said.

"Wow, you must be a really good fighter if that's the case," Theo said in an impressed.

"I suppose. But if I may ask," Conn began. "What is this place called? Or this country at least?"

"We are currently in the country of Mansour, but also very near the borders of Forbes if my guess is correct."

"I see. Well, at least now I know where I am," Conn said, but something else piqued his curiosity. "You said you are from Sistina. What are you doing so far away from home?"

"I'm… well… I'm in exile," Theo said making Conn look at him curiously. "My country is ruled by a tyrant family called the Rossini family. My people suffer under their rule, they did for a while now. But my father tried to help, making a secret grain barn, but he was betrayed and killed by the Rossinis. So I walked away, and now I'm trying to find a way to oppose them."

"Ah, so it's revenge you're after," Conn said.

Theo only looked at him with a serious expression. "What I want is for my people to be safe from the Rossini family. I want to liberate them."

The two of them only stared at each other for a few moments, as if trying to examine each other and read their intent. "I see," Conn said in a quieter tone. "And how do you plan on achieving that?"

"I originally planned to find a lord to serve under, and ask for their help," Theo said before looking back at his once again activated crest. "But since I'm a lord now I'll have a greater chance of that." He then once again looked at the secret prince. "So I again thank you for your help."

Conn could only grin after Theo said that before patting him on the shoulder. "I like that determination of yours," Conn said before turning away. "So good luck to you with that." He then began to walk away.

Theo looked shocked at the proclamation and blinked a few times in confusion. "Hey, wait!" he called out causing Conn to stop. "Won't you help me? Please, my people need it and I'm sure I can make it farther if you help me."

Conn gave a sigh. "Look, I'd like to help but I'm also trying to become a lord, gain my own land and people to rule. And who knows how long will it take for you to become a powerful enough lord with proper allies and influence for you to take back your country. If I help you then everything I do would need to be put the side."

Theo was silent for a few moments before his expression turned from shocked to dejected, he was honestly hoping he would receive Conn's help. "I see. Sorry, for asking then?"

The tone of his voice actually made Conn pause. He probably rejected the plea a bit too fast. He gave a sigh before turning back to the green-haired youth. "Look, we both want to become lords, right?" he asked which caused Theo to look at him expectantly. "So, we both go our separate ways and become lords individually. When that happens, I'll help you take care of your problem in Sistina. Sound fair?"

Theo looked somewhat astonished at what Conn was proposing before smiling. "Yes, that is… I thank you again," he said with a bow of gratitude.

Conn chuckled at that. "Alright, no need to thank me to death today. And rise up, I'm not your superior," he said and Theo obliged, a grateful smile still present on his face. "Well then, see you later, Theo of Sistina." He then once again went back on his way.

"To you as well, sir Conn!"

"Just Conn is fine!"

The two of them went their separate ways, Conn going further through the country Mansour while Theo's path led him to Clovis.

AN: And that's it for now. Our two heroes met and went to forge their own ways to glory. You know Theo's story so I won't go to too much detail in the future about it.

Still, I hope you enjoyed. Check out my other stories and leave a review, trust me, they help.

See you next time!