Regal purple.

The walls, carpet, and ceiling of the room were all made of purple material with gold highlights. Even the large bed's silk canopy was a light violet, while the other nearly identical bed next to it bore one of a much darker hue. The room was not very large, but it was of a comfortable size. It was large enough so that five people standing around the bed was not cramped and they each had plenty of space to move around.

An old man with greyed hair sighed, even more wrinkles forming on his scarred face as he grimaced at the bed. "Flora, Felicia. Will you two please do the honors of awakening our young lord?"
The two young women that he had addressed nodded, one with light blue hair, the other with salmon pink. Both wore traditional maid attire and stood with proper posture, their backs straight and their hands in front of them. "Don't over do it this time, Felicia. We don't want to give him frostbite," the first girl said.

The other woman, Felicia, awkwardly smiled as she removed her white glove from her hand, Flora taking off her own from the opposite hand. "I'll try…"

Felicia brushed aside the canopy to reveal a young man lying in bed, the lilac covered bed sheets wrapped around. He had disheveled white hair and ridged pointed ears. He looked cozy while he slept, so the girls did not take any pleasure in placing their palms on either of his cheeks. Moments later, the boy's red eyes snapped open.

"Gyah!" He quickly sat up and whipped his head from left to right with a panicked expression. His eyes found the two maids before him and remained on them before he put his head in his hands and groaned. "Do you two seriously have to wake me up like that every day?"

Flora slightly smiled. "Any other way that we try doesn't work, so yes. You're a heavy sleeper, you know."

The young man sighed and smoothed his peculiarly styled white hair back, rubbing his eyes. "Gods. Sorry, sorry. I didn't get much rest last night. Xander had me practicing my swordsmanship practically past midnight…"

"Diligence is the root of all strength, Lord Corrin," said a thin, silver haired man standing beside Flora with a smile. He was wearing a well fitted suit that complimented his sophisticated aura. "You must work hard until you prove that you are prepared for the battles to come."

Corrin rolled his shoulders and stood up from his bed, looking through the open window. He squinted upon seeing the dark night sky dotted with white stars. "What in the…what time is it?"

"Around five, milord. Now, it is time for practice. I have taken the liberty of readying your armor! Pounding out the dents, reinforcing the metal and whatnot. Your brother is a fearsome opponent, is he not?"

Corrin grimaced, looking down at his feet with a bashful look. "Perhaps he is for me, Jakob. But for others…"

Behind Jakob stood a somewhat short and composed young woman, her white hair falling down to the middle of her back. Her serious expression showed that unlike her brother, she was prepared for anything even at the crack of dawn. She greatly resembled Corrin, having the same ears and eyes and similar faces, but her deadpan expression hid that fact for the most part. She was already in her armor, which was made of an ivory colored material and was plated in a way that made it resemble reptilian scales. While the waistguard was trimmed gold, the primary highlight of the armor was black, covering her shoulders, knees, feet, and running down the center of the armor. Lastly, a navy blue cape hung from her neck.

"That's not entirely true," the girl said. "While I may have less trouble facing Xander than you do, I assure you that he is still not to be taken lightly." She adjusted her hairband and looked to the old man. "Gunter, please fetch our blades for us. Meet us on the roof."

"As you wish, Lady Kamui," Gunter said, turning around and marching out of the bedroom. When he opened the door, Corrin caught a glimpse of the long hallway that stretched out before him, the velvet red carpet seemingly never ending.

Corrin looked to Flora and Felicia and gave a gratitude filled smile. "Thanks for waking me up, though. You'd think I would be used to this strange sleep cycle by now…"

"Oh, don't look so glum, Lord Corrin. When we first became your maids, we too had to get used to changing our sleeping habits. Granted, it didn't take us as long," Flora reminded him with a grin.

"H-hey! I'm his retainer, not his maid!" Felicia added with a pout, causing Corrin to snicker. "There's a difference, you know…"

Kamui cleared her throat and interrupted the trio's small digression. "While Gunter retrieves our blades…Brother, don't you think it would be best to make our way to the roof from now? Felicia, Flora, and Jakob can tidy up."

"Right, right. You guys don't have a problem with that, right?" Corrin asked, to which the three shook their heads.

"Of course not. We shall have this room resembling its state when it was only just built! With the furniture still intact, of course." Jakob declared with determination. As the twins exited the room, he began constructing a plan with Flora and Felicia on exactly how they would go about cleaning the room, making Corrin smile as he grabbed his armor and left. His armor was essentially identical to Kamui's, though crafted to match his more masculine frame.

"He'd make a pretty good tactician, you know. He's really good at micromanaging. I could never do that," Corrin stated, looking down on his shorter sister as they walked. "...Do you think you could?"

Kamui nodded, her expression remaining steadfast. "I believe I would be capable of becoming a noteworthy tactician. I have studied under Leo for many years now, which have honed my skills at staying organized."

"Uh…that's great. I've never really studied under anyone. Well, unless you count Xander—"

"I know."

Sighing, Corrin figured that it would be best for him to remain silent. His sister was never the most talkative or social person in the world, but she seemed to have an aversion towards him in particular. She would often just completely ignore him whenever he attempted to instigate a conversation or leave when he'd enter a room. However, it seemed that when it came to their other siblings, she was perfectly fine.

Of course, Kamui had her reasons. She found her brother to be rather annoying. His presence didn't make her want to hurt him or anything of the sort, but often times it did give her a headache. He was much too nonchalant sometimes, while other times he seemed to be always on edge. This was also the reason why she wasn't too fond of her younger sister, Elise. Despite being a full grown adult—at least by Nohrian law—she both resembled and acted like a child. She valued maturity in people and the fact that those two lacked any shred of it was a dealbreaker, regardless of whether or not they were siblings.

They briefly stopped so that Corrin could change into his armor, but eventually the twins came to a spiral staircase that ascended towards the roof of the fortress. After climbing the stairs, they stepped onto the roof only to find their brothers and Gunter waiting there for them.

"Heh. You two sure took your time," their younger brother, Leo, said. While the twins looked incredibly alike, there was practically no resemblance between them and Leo at all. He had a smaller face, a different nose, and blonde hair. He wore a black hairband that prevented the back half of his hair from sticking out and onyx black mage armor with golden highlights, complimenting his blonde hair. "We've been up here for nearly half an hour."

"Leo, your collar is inside out. We can see the tag," Kamui pointed out.

Leo's face went red as he scrambled to look at his own collar, flailing. Sure enough, he had put it on the wrong way. "What?! Xander, why didn't you say anything?"

Next to Leo stood a taller man with hair the same color as his. He was wearing armor that shared the same colors as Leo's—though with a much larger presence of purple—but it looked to be crafted to fit someone who would use a melee weapon instead of magic. "Truthfully, I hadn't noticed…" he said with a grimace.

"Gods!" Leo sprinted away while tugging at his collar, attempting to hide himself within the shadows of a corner. "I cannot believe this. How could I have been so blind?"

Gunter cleared his throat and nodded at the young lords. He took a few steps towards them and presented the two with their weapons, two standard bronze swords. Despite their common material, they were in pristine condition and appeared to be exceptionally well taken care of.

The twins each took their respective weapons. "Thank you, Gunter," said Corrin.

The old man smiled and returned to his original position, leaving the three siblings to face each other. "Well," Xander began as he mounted his horse, "are you two ready?" In his hand he held his personal weapon, a strange looking sword with a long blade that split into two at the hilt before nearly reconnecting at the tip. As a result, this left a thin gap between the blades, small enough that the hand of a child could not slip through.

Taking a deep breath, Corrin took a combative stance and looked to his sister, who had already done so moments before. "On the count of three?"

Xander nodded, his horse taking a step back in order to provide some distance between the opposing forces. "On my mark. Three…two…one…begin!"

Kamui began by immediately turning around and dashing away from Xander. As usual, she left Corrin by his lonesome.

"Oh, come now. Again?" Corrin's thought was interrupted as Xander brought his blade down on him. The young man dove to the left, luckily getting out of harm's way just in time.

Xander recovered quickly, turning to his left with his sword extended and nearly taking his brother's head off. With another swing, his odd looking blade clashed with Corrin's simple one. Corrin twirled around, forcing Xander's sword upwards.

Their swords collided again and again until Xander grew curious. After his blade ricocheted off of Corrin's, he did not attempt to strike again. He simply stood there, as did his brother.
Corrin held his sword in a defensive position, staring at his brother. "...Aren't you going to attack me?"

Xander shook his head and sighed. "Corrin, you have not swung your sword on me. You've only been parrying, blocking, and dodging. How do you expect to win a battle if you do not attack?"

The boy grimaced, biting his lip. "Sorry, sorry. I'll uh…try to attack more often. Though, I find myself having trouble with—HYAH!" Suddenly, he spun on his heel and swung his sword upwards at Xander's head, only barely missing. Not giving his opponent time to recover, he let out a barrage of strikes, Xander only barely managing to deflect each of them.

The horseman smiled. "Amazing! You've improved greatly since we last fought, brother. You've been training without me, haven't you?"

Corrin smirked, ducking under a slash from Xander's blade. "Not at all! Sister and I have just been coming up with new strategies for beating you specifically! Such as the element of surprise!"
The young boy spun his body out of the way and Xander just barely managed to avoid Kamui's blade hitting him, twisting at an awkward angle in order to do so. At an astonishing speed, Kamui ran past him and grabbed her sword, which was stuck in the ground, jumping in order to dislodge it.

"You threw your sword? Kamui, that tactic is incredibly impractical. Not to mention dangerous."

"It nearly worked on you!" Kamui shouted as she slid under Xander's mount and slashed, Xander only just barely blocking it. Turning around, he managed to parry one of Corrin's strikes before having to spin to deflect Kamui's jab at him. Xander turned around once more only to be met with the blunt end of Corrin's sword slamming into his face—a move that left him incredibly dazed. This gave Kamui an opportunity to easily knock Xander off of his mount, the black steed galloping away. Xander reached for his sword—which had fallen from his grasp—but Corrin placed his right foot on the blade. The twins aimed the tips of their weapons at their brother, signalling his defeat.

Xander smiled proudly. "It seems you've bested me…excellent teamwork, you two."

The twins each took one of Xander's arms and pulled him up, Kamui handing him his sword after. "Thank you," she said. "I will likely not be throwing my sword again anytime soon. I had thought it would make for a good distraction while Corrin attacked, but it appeared he was too slow…"

Corrin looked down at his feet guiltily and kicked at the stone. "S-sorry. I was thrown off guard. I thought you'd be throwing it from the opposite direction…"

"Even in the heat of battle, you should always be aware of the position of your comrades."

Xander waved the topic away. "Either way…Corrin, your sword is becoming brittle. It may be time to get a new weapon for you."

"Or," Leo began, entering the scene with two girls behind him. "You could try magic. Combat is more than just pointy sticks, you know. Kamui here seems to have taken an interest in tomefaire."

Kamui nodded while at the same time smiling at her sisters to greet them. "Yes. Magic has many usages on the battlefield. It can provide you with range, but unlike bows, it can also be used close quarters in case you get cornered."

"Which is why I dabble in it quite a bit. It's also quite excellent for aerial attacks," said the purple haired woman behind them, putting her pinky finger to her cheek and smiling. Her armor was similar in color to Leo's, being mostly composed of black and gold. Her brigandine had a large window in it to allow her rather large cleavage to show, a feature that while not at all practical, she would defend for its aesthetic value. The vambraces on her arms had purple gloves attached to them, the material of which they were made of making it easier to grip with. Lastly, she wore a deep black head ornament that made it look as if she had two little horns protruding from her head.

"Hm…maybe I should start using magic! I don't have a lot of experience with fighting, though." A short girl with large blonde pigtails stated, a bright smile on her face. She was the only one of the siblings who wore no armor, instead simply donning a fancy black dress with pink highlights as well as being adorned by several ribbons and bows, the most prominent of which being the two black ones that kept her hair in pigtails.

"Ah!" Corrin grinned, happy to see his sisters. "Camilla! Elise! So glad to see you. Did Father send you?"

"Nope! We just wanted you to pay you a visit! We don't get to see you often, since you're not allowed to leave the fortress and all. Sometimes I get really lonely without you two…" Quickly wiping away her frown and replacing it with a beaming smile, Elise wrapped her arms around Corrin and Kamui and giggled gleefully. "Oh, I love you both so much! I love you more than anything in the whole wide world!"

Sighing, Leo shook his head in disappointment. "Elise. Would you please at least try acting slightly more mature? You may be young in appearance, but you're almost an adult."

"I for one think a cheerful attitude like hers in well needed in this gloomy kingdom, Brother."

"Well said, Camilla." Xander nodded in agreement.

Kamui cleared her throat and gave a suppressed smile. "It is good to see you as well. It's not often we are offered a chance to get together. You're all so dear to both Corrin and myself. While we don't have many memories of when we were children, we are grateful that we have such a wonderful family."

Her twin nodded in agreement, mimicking his elder brother. "Well put, Sister."

"We're grateful to have you as well," Xander told them. "But actually, we have some news—"

"Oh oh oh!" Camilla quickly shook her head, interrupting her brother. "Allow me to tell them, Xander!" She stood firm and with a smile, looking directly at her precious little twins. "Kamui. Corrin. Father has asked us to take you both back to the capital!"

Both of them gasped, Kamui especially looking quite shocked. "T-truly!?" Kamui asked with a wide smile. Becoming aware of her sudden outburst, she quickly composed herself. "That is…wonderful news."

"We can finally leave the fortress..." Corrin muttered to himself. "This is astonishing!"

"Does…does this mean we that we get to join you all as soldiers on the battlefield?" Kamui asked in a hopeful tone.

"We can discuss the details with father. We have carriages waiting at the fortress walls to take us to Castle Krakenburg. Lilith will be joining us, by the way, as will Felicia, Jakob, and Gunter. Flora will be staying behind to tend to the fortress." Xander spoke with a smile. Despite the fact that he had been raised to show as little emotion as possible, he could only barely hide his excitement to spend even more time with his siblings.

Kamui looked confused. "Lilith is coming…? Is there any particular reason?"

Lilith, as much as she wanted to be, was a retainer to neither Corrin nor Kamui. She was more of a maid. She did the common housework that the other retainers were too busy to do, such as cleaning the stables or dusting the various rooms of the fortress.

"She just requested that she accompany the two of you, specifically Corrin."

"Oooh!" Elise put on a mischievous grin. "Looks like she's got a crush on big brother!"

Corrin's face went red as Kamui slightly smiled. "Come on, Elise…"

Castle Krakenburg was located right in the center of the capital of Nohr, a city known as Windmire. The castle was constructed out of dark bricks and other a plethora of other material, standing hundreds of meters tall.

The most curious thing about the castle was its location. The city of Windmire— constructed within a shallow crater formed by a meteor strike thousands of years before—was ringed by numerous circular walls dividing the city into wards in which the different social and economic classes resided. In the centermost ring was a deep man made walled pit, and that was where the castle was located. The castle entrance could be reached by way of the sloped path that spiraled down the walls of the pit and led to the bottom. It was the residence of King Garon, the ruler of the kingdom of Nohr, also father to Corrin, Kamui, and the rest of their siblings. Despite this, none of them shared a mother.

Xander was son to Queen Katerina, who had died before any of the other siblings were born. Camilla, Leo, and Elise were born to some very fortunate concubines of King Garon, but almost no one among the general population knew anything about them. Again, they had died not long after giving birth to their children.

When it came to Corrin and Kamui, however…no one seemed to be aware of who their mother was. Corrin had wanted to ask his father many times while they were growing up, but Kamui had always discouraged him, telling him that it would be rude to ask about what may have been a sensitive subject to Garon. Eventually, Corrin gave up hope of ever finding out who his mother was, and he was perfectly content with that.

The princes and princesses of Nohr all stood before the throne where a large man sat. His beard was a peculiar mix of brown and white, his hair only being a few shades more gray than his skin. Nearly everything about him was imposing and intimidating, right down to his menacing scowl. His look was complete by his simple stark black armor and large wool cloak, perfectly fit for a king. He stared down at his children, looking specifically at the twins.

"Corrin. Kamui. I see you've made it here safely…" He spoke in a low, commanding voice, causing Corrin's blood to run cold.

Kamui bowed gracefully out of subordination to the king, but also out of respect for her father. "Yes, Father. We are both happy to see you and visit Castle Krakenburg once more."

"It is only thanks to your diligence that you are here. I have been informed that you are warriors nearly on par with Xander. At last, you possess the strength to be an instrument of Nohr's power in the world."

"But uh…Father? Will it really be alright for them to be outside of the fortress?" Elise asked with concern in her tone.

"I worry about that as well. Isn't it dangerous for them to leave the fortress? I mean, it's so sturdy and its defenses are nearly impenetrable. I'd like to spend more time with them of course, but wouldn't it be safer for them to stay?" Camilla questioned, as motherly as usual.

Corrin looked to the both of them with a reassuring look. "Sisters, please. I think Kamui and I are strong enough to hold our own in any fight, even on our own."

"Yes, we've been working on fighting as individuals rather than a team. Corrin has become quite agile as of late," added Kamui. "Meanwhile, I've been working on giving my strikes more power to them in order to inflict greater damage. Hitting harder is generally a sound tactic."

The king nodded in understanding. "Truer words have never been spoken. Now, my children. As you are aware, Nohr is currently at war with the eastern kingdom of Hoshido."

"Yes, Father," the twins said in unison, then looking at each other. Corrin slightly chuckled, while Kamui only cracked a small smile.

"We of the royal family are descendants of the ancient gods, the First Dragons. As inheritors of that divine strength, we conquer those who oppose us with ease. One who learns to wield that power can destroy armies hundreds of men strong. Xander, Camilla, and Leo have already shown that they possess this power. Even your little sister possesses quite impressive magical potential and heals far more than your average cleric. I expect no less from you."

"We are aware of your expectations, Father. Xander has trained us to go beyond the extent of our combat abilities."

Nodding, Garon continued to speak. "You two show promise. However, your simple swords will not do. You will need a weapon more suitable to serve Nohr."

With a wave of the hand, a peculiar looking weapon appeared before the two in a puff of smoke. It was a sword, that enough was obvious, yet it appeared that the blade was encased in some sort of black rock, the tiny crevices being illuminated by a glowing purple.

"Oh my…" Corrin said in awe.

"This is Ganglari, a sword said to be infused with magic from another world. You will use its power to crush the Hoshidan army with ease." As Garon spoke, he smiled at the thought of what his children would do to any Hoshidan that stood in his way. However, there was quite the apparent issue at hand.

Corrin scratched at the back of his neck. "Err…Father, forgive my rudeness, but there are two of us. Two people cannot exactly wield the same blade at one time."

"Of course. I had every intention of allowing Corrin to use it. Kamui, I believe you are adept enough in battle that you will not need the extra support of a blade such as this one. However, I will allow you two to decide amongst yourselves."

The twins looked to the sword, then to each other. "Ah…Corrin, I'm going to have to agree with Father. You do need the extra support."

"I won't argue with that. But if this sword is as strong as I believe it to be, then you wielding it would be like having two of you in one. If I use it, it'd be more balanced than anything."

"If you wouldn't mind," Leo began. "I'm going to have to agree with Kamui. Brother, don't you think that your agility combined with the strength of Ganglari would make an exceptional combination?"

After a few moments of contemplation, Corrin finally nodded, taking the handle of Ganglari into his hand. "I suppose there's no arguing with that logic. Thank you, Father." Upon gripping the blade, a chill ran down his spine. He felt as if the power from the weapon was flowing through his veins and instilling itself within him. His heart pounded in his chest, though he hid this from everyone else by maintaining a straight face. It would be unbecoming of him to show weakness, afterall.

"Indeed. Now, let us see you put that sword to use!" Garon turned to a tunnel in one of the throne room walls and grinned, calling out. "Bring forth the prisoners!"

"Prisoners?" Kamui said to herself as she turned around only to see two people bound at their hands being dragged in by Garon's servants. One was a dark skinned woman with erratic white hair and fire in her other was a man with forest green hair who seemed very calm despite the situation, his attire implying that he was a Hoshidan ninja.

Garon looked upon the two menacingly. "These are prisoners from our most recent skirmish with Hoshido. I want to see your power with my own eyes. Everyone else, take a step back." The other Nohrian children complied, leaving the twins by their lonesome. "Guards!"

The guards dropped a club and several shurikens on the ground, then hastily exiting the room. The bindings were then spontaneously incinerated, going up in ash and freeing the prisoners. The man collected the shurikens from the ground while the girl grabbed her club and glared at the twins, baring her teeth.

"You! I am Rinkah of the Flame Tribe! Speak your names, Nohrian blue bloods!"

Corrin bit his lip, thankfully remembering to keep his grip on his sword. "Corrin."

"Kamui."

Rinkah squinted, slightly lowering her guard along with her arm. The aggression in her face seemed to fade and be replaced with confusion. "Corrin…and Kamui? Could it be?"

The ninja took one shuriken into his left hand, sighing. "...I am Kaze, a ninja of Hoshido. Show me what you are capable of."

With a sinister smile, King Garon watched from his towering throne as Kamui began to confidently walk forward, Corrin following shortly after.

"Obliterate them, my children."