Draco: Finally have Nene and Nō both transformed. Good Alpha, Ujiyasu's story was the wrong choice to Link grind in. But I got Evia's second Eevee to evolve, and I got Ujiyasu and Keiji to transform in the process. Got Keiji to Link with Terrakion, too! Had to start the story over to actually make progress towards the Warrior assemblance, but #WorthIt!

I know it sounds kind of nitpicky, but I don't have an issue with Keiji's legendary Link the way I do with Tadakatsu's because he's not someone's junior Warlord. He's a free Warrior, going about as he pleases. When he ends up in command of Yaksha, it's not because he was assigned in the ruling Warlord's absence - it's because Kotarō ran off and left the kingdom to fend for itself, and Keiji decided not to leave them out to dry. Plus he's a compassionate guy, and his being able to Link with one of the Swords of Justice just makes you feel warm-hearted.

Pokémon and protagonist © Nintendo. Character designs © Koei. Ransei © somewhere in the middle.

Glacial Reaches: Violence

"I didn't think it was called the 'Glacial Reaches' because it went so far."

Naotora's utterance earned a giggle from Oichi. "This doesn't change," she informed them. "It still reaches just as far when we call it Nixtorm."

"You sound cheerful about it," Naomasa muttered.

"Snowy environments look gorgeous," Evia defended. "My only bad memories of Nixtorm involve being interrupted."

The eight Warriors had started marching towards the Glacier the day after they had dealt with Kojirō - as soon as the Shadowed Plains knew that his rule was over. Choosing to follow the north shore of Ransei around the Chaos rather than go straight west through the Ironlands meant that they had reached snowy territory before they made camp the first day, and it was evident in an instant that the Warriors of the Ruins were not particularly fond of the cold.

Ina shook her head. "You said there is someone here who may have a hand in the Dark Storms?"

"Yes," Evia confirmed. "Hayakawa of the Swarm invited a Warrior from the Glacier to stay with her, shortly after finding some kind of crystal. The next morning, Warrior and crystal were both gone. And less than a week later, the Dark Storms began."

"You do realize-"

"Yeah, we do," Hanbei interrupted. "More likely than not, it's just a coincidence."

Ina shook her head. "Then why are we making this journey?"

"I didn't expect you to have misgivings about the snow after forging a Perfect Link with an Empoleon," Nobuyuki teased.

Ina blushed, and Kanbei shook his head. "Where legendary Pokémon are concerned, nothing would surprise me if it had relevance. And even if it does not, at least we can search the area, using that shard you delivered from AZ."

Evia had the Wishing Star in her shield hand as they marched, waiting for its resonance - though she wasn't sure what form that resonance was supposed to take. "No stone unturned," she muttered.

"So long as the stones don't disagree," Ina conceded.

+x+x+x+

It was their fourth day in the Glacier when they encountered disaster. Their initial destination was what would be the site of Nixtorm Castle, as part of an effort to cover as much ground as possible. As noon was approaching, a blizzard began to pick up around them, prompting the party to take cover to minimize their exposure; a cleft in the mountainside had enough room for eight Warriors and nine Pokémon, although it wasn't as deep as they would have liked.

"Wasn't the Glacier one of those locations with bad weather in response to the Dark Storms?" Naotora asked.

"Yeah," Evia confirmed. "We'd better stay low. In all this white, it would be easy to lose track of where the affected Pokémon are."

"What makes snow so much worse than sand?" Oichi retorted.

"Hey, that was a very dark Pokémon against light sand," Evia defended. "A lot of Ice-types are brightly-colored, I wouldn't trust myself to-"

Ina struck her shoulder to get her attention. "Hey. There's something there."

There was indeed a figure visible rather near to their cover - and although most of its body was indeed quite bright, its dark horns stood out against the snowstorm. The Glalie seemed to be searching for something, not wandering past idly as a wild Pokémon might but looking about thoroughly.

"It must be some Warrior's Pokémon," Nobuyuki observed. "Is there someone else wandering around here?"

"Maybe they're searching for wanderers before the Dark Storm hits," Evia hypothesized.

The Glalie noticed them... and after an instant - no more time than any of them would take to make sure they weren't seeing things - ice began to gather around his maw.

"Guess not!" Evia rescinded.

Emboar charged out in front of the others, raising his arms as he positioned himself to take the brunt of the Ice Beam that the Glalie unleashed. Fortune was not on their side, however; the ice stiffened his movements, freezing him nearly to immobility before the attack subsided and stopping him from attacking in return.

Chandelure promptly swung out for the type advantage, but Glalie drifted backwards before the Luring Pokémon's attack was unleashed, the Fire Spin melting the snow around him but not striking the Ice Face Pokémon himself. Raichu leapt forward to remedy that, connecting with a ferocious Volt Tackle that wracked Glalie's body with electricity; Togekiss promptly flew forward and followed it up with a Dazzling Gleam for further damage, and Naomasa made to lead the Warriors in stepping out to confront their opponent.

So many spars with Evia finally paid off when he saw a dark shape rushing from nearby; Naomasa automatically moved to defend, raising his glaive to meet the weapon that came his way.

A sickle, brandished by a man in a purple coat covered in web patterns.

"You!"

Oichi drew her buckler as she came up next to him, slamming it into Hisahide's sickle to break the lock, and Naomasa promptly drove the butt of his spear into the cruel Warlord's chest, throwing him back. The healer drew her rapier as well as the other Warriors emerge into the snowstorm, weapons drawn; Naomasa aimed his glaive at Hisahide angrily. "What are you doing here?!" he demanded.

"You broke my claim to one land," Hisahide snapped, "so I returned to the other."

"Other?" Oichi echoed. "You claim the Glacier and the Volcano?"

"Some say the world will end in Fire, and some say in Ice," Hisahide retorted, "so I made both bow to me."

Glalie managed to fight through the paralysis enough to attack again, unleashing another Ice Beam - not at the Pokémon around him, but at the gathered Warriors, who were forced to split up. Naomasa was the only one still in melee range with Hisahide, who promptly parried the glaive thrust with his sickle and retreated; Chandelure decided to double up their Fire-type offensive, and directed his Fire Spin to hit Emboar, melting the ice around him and letting his type advantage prevent too much friendly-fire damage.

Espeon unleashed a Psybeam that struck Glalie full-on, and Lopunny bounded forward to follow suit with a one-two Dizzy Punch. Naomasa continued trying to attack Hisahide, who wove around each attack with surprising agility, the glaive never striking anything more than the tails of his coat. On evading the twelfth blow, he had an opening; the cruel Warlord drove a ferocious kick into Naomasa's stomach, knocking the wind out of him, and as he reeled Hisahide raised his sickle above his head.

A Flamethrower seared forth from behind him, heating the blade until the edges glowed, and the moment the last embers passed his weapon he brought it down.

Naomasa's body started to move, only for a scream of pain to punch through the blizzard like a cannonball. For a moment, Evia could have sworn he had evaded the blow - and that was fortuitous, because a heated blade like that would carve through his flesh like butter. But then she realized an asymmetry in Naomasa's figure, and then something landed in the snow before her.

It was a horn - from Naomasa's Warlord Crown.

Naotora gave a ferocious war cry as only a mother can, charging forward - and Evia was an instant behind her. Hisahide moved to strike with his sickle again, but Naotora lunged her bladed greaves forward, striking at the hilt to force the weapon from his grip. He was still stumbling from the blow when Evia came within striking range, and the edge of her shield lunged forward, striking him in the chest to send him flying into the snow. Glalie was knocked out by a Fire Blast from Emboar, and the Pokémon turned towards the cruel Warlord; Ninetales leapt out of the blizzard to defend her Warrior, but Raichu lunged forward with a Volt Tackle, connecting viciously, and Empoleon unleashed a Hydro Pump to follow through and knock her out.

Charged whinnies echoed out of the storm before the Warriors could advance on Hisahide, and everyone was caught off-guard when a pair of Zebstrika galloped forward, crackling with voltage at the ready. One advanced threateningly near the Warriors, forcing them to step back; as their Pokémon moved forward to defend them, Hisahide hoisted Ninetales over his shoulder and mounted the other. It quickly dashed off, passing just near enough to Glalie for the cruel Warlord to seize him by the horns and bring him along; the aggressive Zebstrika promptly followed suit before its opponents could attack, leaving them alone in the blizzard.

"Damn his dark heart," Evia cursed. "Wait, Naomasa-!"

Oichi had gone to his aid; as Naotora dashed towards her son, the healer brought her staff forward and let a few drops of water fall from the head. The liquid was chilled by the time it connected with his head, earning a gasp of shock from Naomasa as it made to heal him - but the damage was too great to heal.

The horn on his left side had been cut clean through, so near to the base that a few of his hairs were singed from the heat of the guilty blade.

+x+x+x+

They made camp just outside the cavern once the blizzard subsided, without even making an effort to travel further in the daylight they had. Naomasa didn't want to talk to anyone, retreating into his tent and not coming out; Naotora and Audino brought him his meal once dinner was done, and Naotora alone reemerged - looking worried.

"He wouldn't even speak to me," Naotora murmured.

"I'm not surprised," Evia admitted. "After what happened to him... I can't even imagine how he must feel. It must be terrible."

Uncertain gazes were traded around the camp before Kanbei spoke up. "Is... is there no way to...?"

"Heal him?" Evia asked. "I don't even know. I've never..." Her hand went up to the base of her own horn. "...All things considered, I don't see it as any more likely than healing a severed limb."

Oichi shook her head. "It's not just the pain. Hisahide was half of the reason he wanted to get stronger in the first place. Being defeated, and then dealt a crippling blow like this..."

"Crippling?" Ina echoed. "What in the world is so crippling about losing his horn?"

Naotora and Evia both glared at her, and Nobuyuki set a hand on her bare shoulder. "Ina, you shouldn't be insens-"

"This is not the place to be sensitive!" Ina protested. "That Hisahide is responsible for something terrible in Nixtorm, Antimatter have me if I'm wrong. And a Warrior willing to strike at a person's body demands strength of will in all who would oppose him. Against a foe such as that, if one can fight, they must fight - unless they are physically incapable." She turned to Evia. "And being as I have not seen you two locking horns when you spar, what about their loss should make him incapable of fighting?"

Evia shot to her feet. "Don't treat us like-"

"It's a Crown!" Ina interrupted, standing in return. "Every Warrior in Ransei mistook those horns for an ordinary Warlord Crown, no different than Shingen's mask or Lord Ieyasu's helmet! Not until stories spread of you reacting to blows to them did anyone assume them to be anything but an accessory! How would their loss affect you? How will his loss affect him?"

"Shut up, you ignorant-!"

Evia made to storm forward - and Ina's foot shifted against the snow. It collided with her bow, causing it to rise up to her hand; she seized it by the handle and brought it forward, and one of the blades upon its arc lashed across the back of Evia's hand, down to her wrist where the ridge of her gauntlet stopped it. The Auroran stumbled back with a yell of pain, and everyone shot to their feet; Oichi made to move her staff forward, but Ina drew an arrow, loosing it in an instant and knocking the staff from the healer's hands, leaving it falling into the snow.

Nobuyuki acted before she could do anything else, his hand seizing the bow not a moment away from hers and pulling it from her grip. "Ina, stop!"

Ina glared at him, and he fell silent in a moment; she made no effort to reclaim her bow, however, and turned to face Evia again. "The wound stings, does it not?" she demanded. "It brings you pain. And if left be, it will fester, it will worsen, and yes, it will cripple you. In time. But treat it, and it will recover. It may well scar, but it will not handicap you. And if you can fight through the pain - in this instant, right now - then you can strike me down for inflicting it upon you, no worse than you could before it was there."

She turned away, and started into her tent. "How, then, are your horns any different?"

Draco: Managed to get Evia three more Eevee while I've been writing this chapter. Wish I could call it good luck; first I had an ugly case of writer's block, then my spacebar started jamming and making my writing harder than it has to be, and now I'm trying to recruit the escort brats to get their Perfect Links and they're not frickin' showing up. I'm on Motonari's story, have Ransei united (and not a hundred Pokémon yet), they're the only 'Warlords' I've yet to recruit, but it took me ages just to get Masanori. I got 75% of the #Cap on gold before I got Kiyomasa. Where the hell is Mitsunari?

(horrible disregard of terrible event in favour of ramble b/c i'm evil liek that)