The Faceless that attacked Corrin was a mountain of necrotic flesh and muscles. A eleven-feet tall abomination that moved with far too much swiftness for a being of its size and power. Armed with naught but her regular axe, she would have a very hard time putting it down, and would probably still be struggling with it when its equally massive brethren would arrive on the scene, ready to tear her from limb to limb. It was a situation that no people, even a hyper-competent Nohrian assassin who tangled with the best warriors on the continent, could wish to find themselves in.

And yet, she still leapt to Corrin's spot, sliding down the hill with her axe at the ready, eager to try to defend him by attacking the beast. As hopeless as her endeavor was, Beruka refused to back off, holding up her axe and building up the strength to sever the creature's head in one blow. Shura's yelling in the background was all too distant, and she only focused on the nearby threats. Be it the Faceless, or the two nearby undead creatures, who were now staring directly at her. In spite of their size and power, the assassin felt like she could send them flying if they ever made their approach. All that mattered to her was getting close to the prince, and she'd make swift work of whatever would stand in her path.

In front of her, the Faceless that seemingly crushed Corrin raised its hands again and smashed the ground in front of it, then did it again. The second time though, its hands went flying out of the smoke that it had created, having been messily severed from its arms. As immune to pain and… somewhat unintelligent as it was, even the Faceless knew that something had gone wrong, and it left out an otherworldly grunt before backing away. Strangely enough, it didn't bleed anything from its stump. It also didn't bleed anything when a shape ran out of the smoke and used a single kick to pulverize its head. Deprived of its head, the creature stumbled backward and fell. This overwhelming display of might caught the attention of its fellows and the Nohrians present, and the two Faceless that were ready to attack Beruka, and Beruka herself, turned towards the fallen corpse of the attacker.

Over it stood Corrin, with Shadow Yato drawn. He looked fine, if a bit covered in dust, and was currently staring at the gathered mass of undead with an unusual look of contempt and anger on his face. Then, his eyes detected Beruka, and that ruthless air of his fell to the side to make way for an embarrassed little grimace.

"Beruka!" He said, quickly approaching. "I'm sorry for worrying you… Oh, and the others!" The prince looked up at his fellows. "Apologies for worrying you guys! But." He turned to look down at Beruka. "I… well, I'm sorry for worrying you. I mean, you went down that hill and exposed yourself to danger just because of me…"

"It's not-behind you!" Beruka drew her axe and prepared herself for a fight upon noticing the speeding monsters heading their way, who obviously didn't intend to simply let the two have their little chat. Running in the other direction would've been a smarter move however, because it took Corrin a single swipe of his sword to instantly fell both creatures, though Beruka, just to be sure, took the decision to sever their necks with her weapon.

"They're not a threat." Said Corrin. "Well, to me anyway. You guys should stay close just in case."

Kaze and Shura, who were already sliding down the hill, didn't wait for his order to make their move. "Damn right." Said Shura. "You know, the more I see you fight, the more I get why you dropped me so easily at the ship." Continued the outlaw. "I feel a lot less ashamed about that, now."

"Heh… It's only been some months since our battle at the Sevenfold Sanctuary, and yet, you've made boundless progress." Said Kaze. "Most impressive."

"It's only thanks." A Faceless ran in, but Corrin simply leapt and severed its head flat. "To my draconic power. I'm not that good."

"Heh, modest too? Come on, it's okay to be boastful from time to time." Admitted Shura. "Well, anyway. There's one person still alive, right? We should try to search for them, or else the whole trip would've been kind of a waste."

"Well, that, and obviously lives in danger should be saved." Corrected Kaze.

"Yeah, that too." Said the outlaw. "Well, how many of the freaks remain ahead? If you want, we can dig her out of whatever rubble she's found herself in while you two clean up… Well, let's be honest, while Corrin clean up and Beruka can always assist." He said, seemingly expecting the assassin to stare at him. Instead, she just nodded. He wasn't really wrong in his assessment after all, and it'd be pointless to try to intimidate him for it. Kaze, however, looked a little surprised at seemingly teaming up with Shura, though the circumstances forced him to adapt quickly.

"Alright. I'm always up to save a life." Said Kaze. "Hoshidan as they may, the person stuck inside must still be saved."

"Yeah, no need for a speech. Let's just do it." Shura glanced at Corrin. "Is there someone else or is it just one person?"

"One person." Answered the prince, after holding out his ear. "I should've been there sooner."

"Perhaps, but there's nothing to be done to save these. Come. If you're quick enough, this one person will be saved."

Corrin nodded and, after some hesitation, pointed at a small forest, past a little stream. The bridge hadn't been broken yet, giving him some hope that the Faceless had yet to take that particular path. "I'm going to scout ahead, in case there's Faceless in there." He said. "They may be standing still in there, and there's no heartbeat for me to track them by, if you ask why."

"Fine by me." Said Shura. "Hey, what about the remaining abominations though? I'd be pissed if we ended up assaulted and killed while in the middle of your little frolicking in the wood."

"There's…" Corrin looked outside and noticed one last rampaging undead, heading straight for the group. He held out his hand, smirked, and turned his arm into a long, thin yet sharp black spear, piercing the undead right in the face. "About zero." He said, with a cocky smirk. "I'm not hearing any of them in the nearby area. They would've ran in there by now after all."

"Well, hope you won't mind if we tag along anyway? If some Faceless run out of nowhere, you'll be closer to help us both." He said. "I wouldn't be asking this if I had some more proper equipment but… heh, it would've been suspicious if we ran out and acquired some heavy-duty weapons for a simple stroll late at night, right? Unless you were really scared of the dark."

"C-could you please stop bringing that up?" Stammered an indignant Corrin. "Alright, follow us then. Once we're in the clear, we'll just search together then. It's easier. Splitting ourselves in two groups is pretty dull on my part after all."

"Heh, don't worry, you handled these really easily so I get why you'd be confident. But how about we go to that person's rescue now and cut the chit-chat for later? Even with your level of strength." Shura turned towards the destroyed village. "… I'd rather not stick around for even a minute. Bad memories and all."

"Understandable." Said Kaze, as the group began to head out. "It also pains me to see a destroyed village. I can certainly understand conquering a town after a battle, but inflicting needless harm on a village that has done no harm is disgusting." He folded his arm. "I do not know what would drive Nohr to commit those despicable actions."

"Yeah… something about this doesn't feel right. The Faceless are going to destroy a lot of infrastructure that the settlers could need later, and sure, it can be replaced, but it'd be easier, and cheaper, to just keep the thing in the first place instead of destroying it."

"Do remember Garon's speech. His goal, and the goal of his sycophants, is to destroy Hoshido entirely. Yes, destroying infrastructure and sending those… necrotic golems across the region is irrational and will result in more destruction than it is worth, but it's secondary to their actual objective of besting their rival country for good." Said Kaze. "It's a shame, however, that citizens will need to die as well."

"Well, what about the soldiers?" Asked Shura.

"One who take up a weapon learn that his life belongs to the gods. Should they fall, then so be it. They volunteered fully knowing that. The civilians, though, simply wish to live their lives in peace. They should not be deliberately targeted. The Faceless's purpose may be to sow chaos, yes, but all they ever do nowadays is destroy villages and harm the defenseless."

"Yeah. I get you. Well, do keep in mind that you ninjas have been doing the same for Nohr." He said. "I'm aware that Hoshido's been sending ninjas into Nohr to harass the common man and spread chaos. Morally, I don't really care. I'm an outlaw, and I was a ninja myself, so I'm not going to lecture you, but… You do know that you're kind of a hypocrite on that one, right? Sure, the Faceless are awful and Nohr has done wrongs, but things have gotten so shitty in the first place because people answer wrongs with wrongs."

"I do understand your point. And to be honest, the attacks on the innocent citizens of Nohr is what pushed me to switch sides. My people, much like Nohr, seek to wipe out their enemies entirely. And given the state of the country, it will be easy to topple Nohr if their leaders fall." He said. "And during my trip to the country, and out of it, I realized just how truly miserable the average Nohrian was. Since neither sides were in the right for me, I chose to go with Corrin. With him, Nohr will be reformed and Hoshido will live."

"Heh, I see your point. I'm in the same boat. I don't care about Nohr and its scumbag elites, and Hoshido gave up on my country in its direst hour. I'm following the kid to see if he can turn things around." He said. "And so far, I haven't really been disappointed. Being an outlaw sucked. Betrayal's everywhere, everyone hates you, it's cold and hostile outside or even inside." Shura sweeped his hand at nowhere in particular. "But in this new army? It's pretty great. I sneaked into a forest filled with fox monsters to unleash half an army out of a magical orb, all for the purpose of successfully ambushing a thousand soldiers. I'd say things are good."

"Heh… I can imagine that you'd be proud. It was certainly an harrowing encounter." Said Kaze.

"Speaking of that… How did it feel to attack and kill your former countrymen?" Asked Shura, perhaps a bit bluntly.

"It was painful, but as I told Miss Beruka, I was never under the delusion that I would be able to spare my fellow Hoshidans. War has its casualties, and though I mourn their losses, I knew that they were inevitable. Besides, if I took precaution not to kill my fellow, the others would be suspicious of me and my loyalty. I'm barely accepted as it is."

"People don't trust ninjas… But if you ask me, we're not going to be constantly slaughtering Hoshidans." Said Shura, before lowering his voice. "With the way things are going, I think that there'll be fights between Nohrians once Hoshido's done for."

"Really?" Said Kaze, raising a curious eyebrow. "What makes you believe that?"

"Well, there's a lot of frustration with nobles, Garon's cronies are going to want to hold unto their powers… I'm not saying that there will be a civil war, but I wouldn't be surprised if there's a brawl. Lots of blood is going to be shed." Admitted Shura. "And there's not much we can do to stop that."

"You seem to be flippant with it… in all due respect."

Shura shrugged. "If there's one thing I've learned, it's that people think that the easiest way to obtain something is via murder. Manipulation, friendship, intimidation… it's a lot of work. In the end, a lot of people think that you just need to plunge your knife somewhere and make it work. And those Nohrians brute know nothing but violence, anyway. If they see their positions being threatened, and notice that their usual sycophantic tactics don't work, you can bet that they'll fall back on the one thing that always worked for them. And we'll have to outdo them in their favorite field to win." Said the Kohgajin. "Though even if we murder them all, there's no way this will fix all those years of having Garon as a King. Fixing Nohr will take more than just punching the bad guys and calling it a day."

"A wise point." He said. "Though I fear that having to fight those loyalists and keep Hoshido stable will prove stressful on the new king. Of course, I do intend to help Lord Corrin with that anyhow."

"Yeah… Well, that's what happens when you spend decades doing everything in your power to worsen the situation. I'm confident that Xander and his buddies will be able to do something. Well, at least I hope that they'll do it. If Nohr break down because of in-fighting while Hoshido just got the crap beaten out of it, the entire continent's going to go up in flames." He made a whooshing gesture with his hands, imitating a rising fire and accompanying the motion with a helpful "wooaahh" sound.

"Well, if you asked me, we could say that Kossatsu… apologies, Dreiz, is already going up in flames. I rather detest quoting the man, but Garon is right to call it a turning point. Future historians will note the current conflict that we're partaking as a key turning point for the future. A shame that such turning points are rarely brought forth by wars and other conflicts."

"Well, what did I say? Diplomacy and listening to others is hard. Better to just punch the other guy and get what he has on his person."

"Hm… With all due respect, that is a rather, erm, lawless way of saying things."

In front of the duo, Beruka and Corrin decided to take some advance, stepping over the bridge and into the forest itself. The young man leaned over to the left, as if hearing something, and then raised one finger before turning towards Beruka, with a joyful smirk. "Hey, I can hear some birds!" He said. "If they're singing, it means that there shouldn't be any monsters around."

"Good news." She replied. "You did particularly well dispatching them."

"Well, it's like…" He glanced behind him, and Beruka very quietly put her finger in front of her mouth. "Like… dolls, you know? The Faceless lack pity, mercy or really anything close to that. They live to slaughter, I don't need to hold back on monstrosities like this. I mean, I shouldn't hold back against living soldiers either maybe, but it's far easier to just go at it against those monsters?"

"Hm. I can see your point." She looked around. "I've learnt that regular humans can be just as devoid of mercy and compassion as those beasts myself." Beruka looked down, noticed that Kaze and Shura were now well behind, and turned to Corrin. "I do need to tell you something." She whispered, her voice being caught by his supernatural hearing. The young man glanced at her with wide eyes.

"After the war, what are your plans?" She asked, curiously. He seemed rather prepared to the question, fortunately, since his answer didn't come with any hesitation beside some brief surprise at Beruka's sudden curiosity.

"I'm going to fix the system that gave rise to psychopaths like Hans and secure peace with Hoshido. It's going to be hard." He winced, perhaps thinking of endless angry reunions and shouting. "And we're probably not going to be out of this mess in just some years, but I have faith that we'll be able to see a different Nohr by our lifetimes." He looked at her. "What about you?"

"I'm… I've been approached. After the war, I might get hired with the King's shadows." She said, seeing no use in treading lightly. His eyes widened slightly but he managed not to sound too shocked. "I will serve as the King's bodyguard against threats, though I will also protect the Royal family."

"Congratu-oh." He realized the nature of the job and looked down. "Erm… And you're telling me because you might be hesitating? There was a sort of slip in your voice early on." He said. She narrowed her eyes.

"Yes." She admitted. "You know me a little too well… Though do see it as a demand. Not a permission." Beruka précised. "I… respect your opinion, but please, do not try to stop me directly.."

"I won't. You're free to do as you want, Beruka." He said. "You earned that right, and I'm not going to try to hold you back from it of course." Considering the nature of the news, he was taking it rather well. Past the initial surprise, that is. "It'd be a bit of a shame if you were to just discard your identity… Wait, a huge shame." He said. "What's your current stance on it though?"

"I am thinking about it, but before that, I need to get past the rows of blades, maces and shurikens in my way." She said. "But… to be perfectly honest, I find myself hesitant. Would you know why?" Beruka asked.

"Well, I'm not you but maybe it's a hesitation thing? You'd need to say goodbye to Selena, Camilla, erm… me." He swiped his head to stare at a bush but spoke up quickly. "I think that may be that? I think it's fair if you don't try to think about it now, since there's a lot of troubling things happenings, but you should take your time to consider it when you can. It's a pretty important choice and you really need to look at both options before speaking up." He sighed. "I think I know what I'm talking about here?"

"… And what do you think?"

"Well, I think you should try to remain with us, but that's just me." He spoke. "It'd be a shame if you ended up cutting off your bonds. But I know that you're your own woman, and I don't want to control your own destiny." He said. "Furthermore, I-" And she didn't need his super hearing to know that sound had been made just a few meters away from the group. He didn't sheath his sword though, and when Beruka drew her axe on instinct, he gently tapped her on the back of the hand. The assassin glanced at him but lowered her weapon, aware that Corrin would not let her do so if they were facing anything dangerous.

The young prince took a few steps forwards and glanced into the bush, seeing that there was no apparent danger, he took the decision to take a few more steps, and gestured at Kaze, Shura and Beruka not to join him yet. Beruka raised an eyebrow in concern but once again, decided to trust him. A wise decision that the two men next to her also decided to emulate. Perhaps he didn't want the lone survivor to be spooked? A group of people bearing down on them just after such a massacre would probably be seen as a threat.

"Hey." Said Corrin, at a bush. He spoke slowly, clearly and held his hands out. "Don't worry. I'm not a foe." He said, before moving his hands just a little higher, perhaps in a bid to demonstrate that he was serious. "The monsters are all dead, you can come out whenever you want to."

The bush rustled just a little and several tenses seconds happened before a spear shot forward out of the bush, aimed for Corrin's chest. He reacted to it, but didn't see it as a threat. And he was right in his assessment , since his black armor, even when he was wearing a relatively lighter version, prevailed effortlessly against the bronze weapon, causing it to snap against his chest. The assailer, though, immediately threw the wrecked weapon at his face and clumsily rolled out of the bush. Fortunately, the prince caught the spear and moved to try to very gently grab the person by the shoulder, preventing them from running off.

"No! Let go!" She yelled, struggling against his hand. She only relented after about twenty seconds of struggle, and she would've perhaps done more if she didn't accidentally spot the other "Nohrians" gathered. Or perhaps she was just confused at Kaze's appearance. Either way, her struggle soon ended, and she dropped her head a little. "Just… do it." Said the young survivor. "I'm so sorry, ma!"

Corrin narrowed his eyes in concern. She was speaking Hoshidan, a particular dialect from its countryside. Summoning forth his knowledge of the tongue, Corrin knelt over to the young girl "Calm down." He said. "We're not the enemies here, we're-"

"You're the ones who sent those Faceless things into the village!" She said, and that Hoshidan anger rose right back up as she began to bash at his hands. He hardly reacted, and she must've noticed it, because she stopped again. Beruka got a bit closer, but not enough to scare her further.

She had jet-black hair and thick eyebrows, along with wide black eyes. Going by her size and voice, she was about of Elise's age, and even had the youthful freckles to go along with it. Her clothing was relatively simple, being common Hoshidan attire with a small brown cape. She didn't seems to be a soldier, but to her credit, she was a bit broader than the average girl her age, perhaps due to farm work? She had some fire to her though, in spite of how fragile she looked.

"We are not the ones who sent the Faceless into your village." Reassured Corrin, though that was without a doubt a meager reassurance for the young girl. "Those who did it are cruel men whom I seek to oppose."

"W-well, you could do a better job at that!" She fired back immediately, before glancing at the ground and at her surroundings. Upon spotting her village in the distance, the little girl gasped before wheeling around to face Corrin. "W-what happened to the other people of my village?"

"I… I cannot say just how much it saddens me to say this, but I think you're the only survivor." The young man glanced at her and while he was saddened, he nonetheless kept his composure enough. "The monsters who did this have all been killed though." He let go of the Hoshidan, but she didn't take her chance to run away, since her legs crumbled immediately. The young woman brought her hands to her eyes and knelt on the ground, letting loose a flow of tears.

"My village… my people… No…"

Corrin stood over her, clearly horrified, and even Shura seemed at a loss of words. Beruka herself felt a sting on her heart upon seeing the young girl's crumbled form. Even the assassin that she was knew just how much it hurt to lose everything, at the hands of far-away people who couldn't care less. Eventually, after about an eternity, Corrin slowly crouched and held his hand. "I'm sorry." He said. "I know that none of my words will be able to mend your pain, but I still want to apologize to you." The young man sadly shook his head. "The country whom we fight for has caused you tremendous pain, but I want you to know that the people responsible will receive what they deserve. I promise."

The young girl sniffled a little and looked up. "You… Mother always said that vengeance won't bring us anything." She said, sobbing a little between words. "But… I can thank you for trying to apologize at least."

There was probably no point in getting angry, now. But it was hardly a good thing, from Corrin's point of view. The way the girl sat up, just staring at her village with a blank expression… She probably thought that she was done for. And she pretty much was. Even if she survived the night, the young survivor would have to wander the countryside, now unsafe thanks to the Faceless. Sure, she could be saved by some wandering Samurais or a passing Ninja, but she could also meet the wrong crowd or end up into the dangerous wilderness.

And they couldn't just show up, as Nohrians, and put her in another village. Well, there was that town, but she'd be lost and would probably be without anyone to really bond to. They could take her in, but then… then she'd have to live with the rest of the Nohrians, the nation that took her village. It'd probably be kidnapping to do that to her outright, but at the same time, what choice did he have? And what else could he do? He would not simply return without saving at least one live. He had to try. She might refuse. It was especially possible that it would happen, but he just wouldn't feel like the hero he was supposed to be.

"Erm… what's your name?" He asked. It'd be better to try to establish contact with her. Luckily, she glanced at him with a look of confusion rather than fear or anger.

"My name's Mozu." She said, a bit flatly.

"I'm Corrin." He said. She simply nodded and pointed at him.

"I knew that. They spoke of you." She said. "The people of the big cities. They often talked about the arrival of the prince. Whenever they stopped, they'd say they couldn't wait to see him… People sounded happy, all until they didn't." Said Mozu. "I heard something happened, but we figured that nothing would happen. They had defenses and… and the soldiers that passed by, they often said that we were leading a big invasion. I couldn't get everything they said but it sounded like we were winning! Why… No… What were these monsters even doing here then? Why did these soldiers even leave?"

"The war has… reached Hoshido." Said Corrin. "I'm sorry about your village, and about all the other innocent villages that may be targeted by these beasts."

"That's a bit easy to say…" Answered Mozu, some edge creeping into her voice, though she soon stopped.

"Mozu… What are you going to do next?" He said. She moved as if to speak, but deflated all of a sudden, realizing that she would be sent to wander across Hoshido. Realizing this, he moved his hand to her. "I… I know that it won't replace your village, but I can't just let you wander away into danger. Say, what do you think about joining my group?" He said, somewhat insisting on not calling it an army. "We have a way of preventing you from joining fights and I guess that you'll find a… temporary residence here. I'm under no delusions that it will ever replace your home, but I at least want you to find another in the midst of this insanity."

"J-join you? W-would I walk along Nohrians?" She bit her lips before seemingly giving up. "Well, I guess there'd be no shame in it. B-but what purpose would I fill?" Mozu asked, perhaps fearing that Corrin's sweet demeanor concealed some depraved man. He quickly realized (or envisioned) whatever she was imagining and moved to correct her. "No, no not that! It's a bit hard to imagine but I've got a place where you can stay at and where people won't harm you. You won't need to participate in stuff like cooking if you want. It'll be a free roof for you, and you won't need to worry about anything. You'll be under my protection and I will except nothing else in return."

"I… Is this a trap?" She asked. "I'm sorry, you sound nice. But I can't so easily trust a Nohrian. Not after what they've done to my village. I guess that there are nicer ones, and-and I know you're likely one of those, but it's hard to hear it from a Nohrian."

"Then what about from an Hoshidan?" Said Kaze, stepping forth. Mozu snapped her head at him in surprise before putting her hands on her mouth. "You… you're from Hoshido too? I won't be alone?"

"I do hail from Hoshido as well." Said Kaze, speaking in Hoshidan. Not that this particularly meant that the conversation was beyond the trio's ability to handle. All three spoke Hoshidan. After all, to know about an enemy, one must know his tongue. "You've suffered greatly. Do know that we intend to take a stand against the people who did those atrocities. Prince Corrin intend for it to stand." He said. "I know that it will be hard to trust Nohr, but the people who did it will fall by the end of it, and I swear that thi shall be done in your village's honor."

"I see… Erm, thank you." Said Mozu. "I don't understand why a ninja would work with Nohrians though…"

"Lord Corrin is a man of peace, though he is ready to take action against evil. His path is a long one, but in the end, we will both return to Hoshido." He said, warmly. "I will not bar you from taking your own path, but please, heed my words. The countryside is not safe for the moment, and Corrin has the means to keep you safe from fight."

"… Well, I'll trust you." She said, even smiling a very little. "Even if you hang out with weird people."

"You just haven't seen Kohgajin hairstyles." Said Shura, putting his hand on his hair. Beruka simply blinked. Until now, she had never really reacted to being called weird, but somehow, Mozu calling her that broke her composure just a little. She figured that it was simply the shock of herself, a confidant assassin, simply being seen as weird by the young girl.

Kaze and Corrin let out some small chuckles, and the former gently took Mozu's hands. She threw one last look at her village and shook her head. Both knew that she would never move past the scar in her heart, but at the very least, she was already on a new path. As ninja and villager began to walk away, the latter almost being a daughter to the former, Corrin sighed in relief. At the very least, Mozu had been saved. He just regretted that he couldn't say the same for her village.

"You did good. Needed that push from Kaze but heh." Shura patted Corrin on the back. "Nice little wholesome thing. Almost makes me forget the part where we're in a war and may just drop dead tomorrow." Noticing Corrin's horrified face, Shura backed off. "Kidding." He said. "All of us are just too tough to randomly get felled by a random arrow, heh." They began to set out. Corrin did decide to get in front of them, just in case a random Faceless roamed.

She wondered how he dealt with his hearing. Having to constantly deal with the information would be rather exhausting, and she even considered asking him how he he managed to filter the information. How he cut through the meaningless chatter, the sounds of the wind, the sound of something being moved, the footsteps of some random soldiers meters away… However, Beruka knew better than to interrupt someone who was in the middle of something. Not that he seemed to be particularly busy with his work, since it mostly involved listening. He even turned around.

"… Do you want to resume our conversation?" Said Beruka. Shura, who was looking at the village, looked down at her, confused. The young man stammered a little and then shook his head.

"M-maybe once we're alone." He said, though he fumbled badly since this only made Shura more curious. Putting his hand on his chin, he stroked it while staring at both Nohrians, bearing a wicked smile on his face. It reminded him of Niles, though Shura seemed even more malicious for some reason.

"N-no! It's not what you're thinking! It was really serious talk!" He said. "So please, don't get any funny ideas!"

"I'm getting all the funny ideas, kid." Admitted Shura. Beruka glanced at Corrin, pondered on what to say and simply pointed to her axe. Shura didn't quite back off but he did raise his hands and chuckled.

"Well anyway… Lord Corrin, I can appreciate saving someone, I really do, but what are we going to do with her? Just stick her into that orb portal thing?"

"Y-yeah. That's what I planned. Maybe she'll come out when things are quiet." He pondered, before lowering his voice slightly. "Not that they will. We'll get into the thick of things soon after all…"

"Yeah… But well, there are worse places to be in those times, ya know? I certainly wouldn't mind being in a tiny world with a lot of soldiers at my side." He admitted. "I mean, if I were a civvie, that is. Besides, there's some vegetable fields so she can use them if she want."

"In her defense… Would you feel safe if you were surrounded by Mokushujin soldiers, even if they were apparently sworn to protect you?" Corrin winced when Shura's casual expression made way for a glare that would send chills down the spines of the bravest man, but he relented. "I get your point… I hope this'll show her that not all Nohrians are evil." He said. "but let me be honest, kid, she's probably not going to silence the opposition. A lot of folks like here may lose their villages to Nohrians, and we won't be there to save them this time. And I know that you and the others are fine people, but we know that there will some Nohrians who will be doing shitty things."

"I know. But… I guess I just wanted to help while I could. I know that there will be… some moments where we won't be able to help out, so I want to make sure that we at least managed to help with that. "

"I understand it." Said Beruka, who had little stakes in the matter anyway. She could appreciate Corrin's enhanced strength and confidence though, and a part of her felt… glad, perhaps, at his success? Regardless though, it'd be hard to introduce Mozu easily. Corrin certainly had good intentions but she may be seen as a spy, and while the soldiers respected Corrin and the royal family, it was possible for them to attempt to bully her, or perhaps worse, if they felt that she could be a spy.

Her paranoia worked up. Perhaps she was a spy, too. After all, her sob story could allow her to easily sneak into the camp, and it was mighty convenient that she managed to make it that far when those monsters had been rampaging around. She'd ask her, why, perhaps she'd even drill her in, but she felt that doing so in front of the others would get her too much grief from the others.

Not like she cared, of course, but the interrogation wouldn't work with that many people around. All she could do was to wait.

"Still, I do wonder how we can stop these assaults." Declared the young man. "I think I'll try to stop Iago, or I'll get Xander…"

"I doubt that he'll stop. Only King Garon, at that distance, can threaten Iago into stopping and he probably asked for it in the first place." Said the young woman. "The Faceless invasion is devastating, of course, but we might as well focus on the task at hand. We cannot allow ourselves to split our attention at a time when we will start the greater offensive against the strongholds."

"You're right but I'm… I feel a bit pathetic just casually allowing it to happen." Said Corrin. "I'm going to ask them at least."

Beruka nodded, and focused on getting home. The village vanished from sight, disappearing into the darkness.

…

The Wind Tribe found its origin in the waning days of the provincial war that led to Hoshido's status as a superpower. Having been bestowed legendary weapons by the dragon deity that her province worshipped, and having sufficiently trained herself and her children in the art of battle, Queen Makoto began a ferocious conquest of the continent, effortlessly defeating her rivals one per one. Her ninjas effortlessly overcame the assassins sent her way, and even her children, while not as deadly as her, were strong enough to lead conquests on their own.

All cowered in front of her. All but Prince Kazuko, from a province that unfortunately failed to mark history like he did. Legends said that the hot-headed young man intended to raise a colossal army to stop Hoshido's advance once and for all. His parents, however, intended to merely surrender, in the hopes that they would be able to keep some form of power or at least be spared of destruction by putting their arms down. Of course, if the prince decided to strike, then the negotiations could be shut down or Hoshido could order for higher compensations to make up for it. And, obviously, they were never going to let their son run off to his doom, nor would they simply agree to have him lead their people into a doomed battle.

When words failed, the rulers decided to banish the Prince and stripped him of his title, sending him away from home so that he wouldn't try something. Outraged at this, but also determined to save his country and parents, Kazuko merely got unto his horse and left the province along with some trusted soldiers of his. Aware that he wouldn't be able to raise an army without his royal status, the prince decided to go to the east, where ferocious winds made the ground barren, in the hope that the endless gales were made to hide some powerful weapon that would be able to single-handedly reverse the tide of the conflict.

What exactly happened during the expedition, no one really knows and historians of various camps argue to this day about it. A variant tells that Kazuko failed to find a weapon, but apparently stumbled upon a tribe that was threatened by either bandits or, according to the public's age, a ferocious monster. After slaying them, the prince decided to give up on his journey and settled to rebuild anew. Quite a few versions, however, added that he did it under the hope of attacking Hoshido again, though old age took him long before his nascent country could build up the military strength for it.

Another variant had Kazuko find enlightenment instead of a weapon and give up on his dream, deciding that he was better off respecting his parent's wishes. Either way, he formed a tribe in a region constantly battered by the winds, and such a feat was definitely commendable. After all, the Nohrians who were in the middle of walking into his footsteps definitely had a hard time with the strength of the wind that was crashing down upon them.

The horses whined as they attempted to step forward (prompting some of their riders to descend from them and help them progress), though they managed to do somewhat better than the soldiers on foot, who found themselves battered in one direction and then the other with seemingly little warnings. But they themselves weren't envying the wyvern riders, who had to deal with the extraordinary strong winds. Only Beruka, Camilla and a few select experts were still riding their mounts up in the sky, fearless of what would happen if the gale's endless attack eventually got the better of their pet.

"Ahh… Can't you do something to counter all that wind?!" Said a soldier to a dark mage, both struggling to continue on. Next to them though, a general clad in heavy armor was casually walking along, wondering what the fuss was all about.

"No… It's going to get better after a short while, come on! The wind won't kill you like arrows, swords and spells can!"

"At least I can defend from those with a shield!"

The soldiers were being led by Tello, Xander and the rest of the royal family as a show of solidarity to the men and women that they were currently making wade straight through the maw of the spirit of the wind. The latter's constitution allowed them to hold up somewhat better to the wind than the others, though Elise saw fit to use some rope to hang unto her horse "just in case!"

"We're in deep trouble if those bastards decide to ambush us!"

"If they do, they will learn that all the fury of the storm cannot deter the strength of Nohr!" Said Xander, in a bid to inspire Tello, though he himself apparently thought something similar. It'd be easy for the inhabitants of the wind tribe to ambush them in the current storm. Rumors said that they knew when the wind would strike and from when, and placed deadly attacks during that precise moment, before promptly vanishing along with the gale when it attacked.

"We should be done with this soon. The Wind Tribe's frontier has intense winds in it, yes, but the whole region obviously isn't quite like that." Said Leo, about the only one not bothered by the wind. Not because of his spells, though. It was just that hard to faze him, even for a powerful tool like this. "We should soon arrive to a point when we will be bale to relax…" He smiled a little. "And I think that this will occur sooner than you may think."

"Well, I'd like for it to occur now!" Commanded Elise, spreading her arms a little as if she could single-handedly stop the wind with her sheer strength of her limbs. When it actually did, the blonde girl looked down at her hands in awe, and raised them carefully, almost as if she were afraid that she could kill someone with them. Behind her, the winds still raged, but the first soldiers to emerge noticed a somewhat similar situation after a few more steps.

There was still a wind brewing, and its howl could be heard across the entire region, but it was much milder. Almost refreshing even, as attested by Tello's decision to take his helmet off to enjoy it a little. Realizing that his soldiers could be seeing it though, the virile general promptly put it on and took a harsh facial expression. This amused Corrin a little, though he soon refocused back on the trip at hands to properly soak in the sight of the wind tribe without all that wind.

It was a bit hard to believe that some many people could apparently both decide to settle here and actually make good on that promise. It's not that the land was barren, but it sure looked… fairly arid. There were some patches of grasses from what he saw, and the sun was present, well, perhaps too present in fact. There were no signs of clouds and if it weren't for the gale, those soldiers with heavier gear would end up cooked inside the shell meant to protect them.

Now, of course, it was close to Hoshido, so it wasn't entirely barren, but it was still a curious sight. And one that Tello seemed to notice.

"Heh, odd country, isn't it?" He said. Corrin turned towards the bald man, who offered him a worrying smile. He couldn't help but be reminded of Hans whenever he saw him, to the point where he wondered if both men were somewhat birthed from the same parent. Of course though, he had never asked. Being compared to the general of the dogs of war wouldn't please the Nohrian general.

"Yeah… Well, we both saw Nohr, didn't we?" Answered Corrin. Tello laughed a little, seemingly surprised that the prince would give him such an answer but being quite pleased with it.

"Heh, don't worry. It's a smaller part of the eastern side of the continent, we'll be back to greener pastures soon." Answered the general. "And the actual blades hidden beneath them, of course."

Corrin prepared to retort, but he noticed that a small group of people were approaching in the horizon. Too few to even stand a chance against the army, especially with the royals leading it, but a bit too much to be a mere greeting party. They weren't particularly trying to hide themselves. Not like they could, given the topography of the region (which had only a few large stone hills and some trees struggling to stay alive), but there was a boldness to them that almost worried him.

Was it a four-way attack? Were those warriors merely a distraction before an impeding assault? Regardless of their intent, they meant business, and it would be wise to warn the others. Corrin raised a finger, but found that he didn't really need to. While he could actually see the people, the others could very well see the black dots fast approaching in the horizon.

"Corrin, how many of them?" Said Xander, soon understanding that his little brother would be able to identify them from that distance. Corrin glanced, but it took him a few minutes before he could start to identify them. Luckily, they weren't clad in Hoshidan attires. They weren't even clad in much attire in fact. One man wore a furred jacket that left their chest exposed, and for some reason that he couldn't fathom, he had decided to bring some brown pants with holes in them. He also wasn't wearing shoes, though he had plenty of small cosmetic over his body, like an impressive necklace or a bunch of rings on the arm, or even a small crown of a sort.

A woman next to him wore a similar jacket but had an upper apparel similar to what Rinkah wore, and she had red pants. Her crown was a bit bigger and she had some metal gloves covering her hands. The rest of their friends were as similarly lightly equipped, revealing some very muscular toned bodies. For a second, Corrin envisioned an battle where the wind tribe inhabitants would somehow punch the entire army into the ground using nothing but their muscles, but he dispelled that thought very quickly.

"They're from the Wind Tribe, I think. They don't have much clo… ill will apparently, but we should remain cautious."

"They could serve as a greeting party." Said Tello. "But watch our flanks, just in case. You need to be as paranoid as you can in wars."

After what felt like an eternity, the two groups met. Corrin and Xander both decided to get off their horses, so as to avoid looking down on the Wind Tribe inhabitants. Not that they reacted to it, though. They all stood with a frown, observing the huge army in front of them with something akin to irritation instead of fear. However, two of them stepped forward, apparently to match the "diplomats" sent their way. Corrin held his hand out upon coming into contact, but they simply glanced at his hand before bowing slightly. It was politeness, but the way they did it somewhat felt like they were chiding for him for forgetting proper manner. The princes thus decided to follow their gestures, raising up at about the same time too.

"Greetings, inhabitants from the Wind Tribe. We, of Nohr, seek no quarrel with you. We merely wish to peacefully pass by to reach the Infinite Stairway. None of us intend to commit any form of harm upon your citizens, and we will thrive upon our own resources for as long as we stay here. We only ask that you accept to let us pass through."

"Those demands are fair, crown prince of Nohr, and we accept to let you through." They spoke surprisingly good Nohrian, albeit with an accent. However, before either men could thank the woman who spoke, she (and the others) smiled, and then pointed at Corrin's sword.

"You, who wield the blade of dusk. Our leader would like to meet you." She said. "He desires to talk to the one of the prophecy. You will go with us, to meet Fuga. The rest of the army may proceed, but two trusted advisors may be allowed to be taken along."

Corrin tilted his head, somewhat having trouble with the information, and Xander promptly stepped forth. "With all due respect for your leader, who has demonstrated his might to Nohr, we never were informed about this."

"Fuga doesn't wish to have the entire Nohrian army remain too close to the capital. Understand our hesitation, concerning what some of your countrymen have been up to." Said the man. "Prince Corrin and his chosen ones will be treated with respect, and will be sent back to the army once Fuga is satisfied. Which should take far less than a day. If you refuse, then you may no longer pass."

"You could force your way through, but would you do that?"

"… I would not. I am not like the brutes who gave you that sad impression of our country…" He looked down upon Corrin. "Are you fine with this, Corrin? This is…"

"I understand. It's a fair business." Said Corrin. Nothing he could say could matter, and he could bet that Fuga would have good explanations for him. It could be a trap, perhaps, but they would need to join the Stairway as soon as they could… And besides, he was confident in his chances of emerging alive even if it was an ambush. "I cannot say no and endanger the mission. The army will continue its path and I will meet Lord Fuga."

"… I see." Xander nodded, regretful but aware that he couldn't oppose it. "But who will you take with you?"

Corrin turned to look at the army and began to think…

…

A/N: Yo! Sorry for my absence, I took the train yesterday so I decided to delay the chapter by one day to add some more meat to it!

We now get into chapter 20! Fuga's wild ride! It's a bit crazy how we're at that chapter. The ending probably isn't that far away now. I think it's fair to say that we're past the halfway point, even by a little. Roughly… 65% of the fic, perhaps a bit more. But I don't want it to end yet, I'd be sad!

What did you think of the origin story for the wind tribe and Mozu's paralogue? Reviews are greatly appreciated and I truly enjoy having them! Keep 'em coming!

See you later!