Special thanks to:
-Xolef -Xenophos
I don't own Arknights or type moon content.
Ursus empire's city of chernobog / year 1084 / sunny
Today was just like any other one for Ivan, as the boy laid on the ground in exhaustion and pain from his training with Hellagur.
The young sarkaz's chest heaved as his lungs thirsted for air, and his muscles failed to listen to him as he wanted to get back up for more.
"I believe this is enough for today, young Ivan."
Hellagur's voice seemed slightly amused, the veteran taking a seat next to the boy's body. The former general had to admit the boy's skills were advancing better than he expected, especially for someone with oripathy.
Hellagur's eyes took a glance at the two daggers on the ground, he could tell Ivan was also meticulous in their maintenance as well.
"It's still not enough."
"Do not be so rash, strength comes with time and effort, and your progress is one that you should be proud of."
Hellagur chuckled, remembering Ivan's first days as a trainee. The helpless boy from three years ago couldn't muster a decent stance, nevermind surviving for ten minutes against him.
The same could be said for his daughter, the two have really changed in the past two years, Hellagur felt proud at their growth and dedication.
Ivan frowned slightly, his eyes looking at the ceiling, suddenly lost in his own thoughts.
"Hey uncle Hellagur, do you have any news about Ed?"
Hellagur wasn't surprised by the question, he was used to Ivan and Neon asking it every time after they finished their training sessions. It felt like a prayer, a wish for a glimmer of hope to hold on to.
It made it significantly easy for him to realize the reason for their drastic change. It was endearing to see that even in his absence, Edward was still helping them in some way.
'That boy is truly special.'
Hellagur shook off from musings, returning to the conversation at hand.
"Unfortunately I do not, ever since the mine was attacked, my informants have been unable to catch wind of any news or sightings of him, I trust he is in the care of Buldrokkas'tee, so no harm will come to him."
Ivan nodded, a bit of relief calming his heart. He sighed as he tried to get up, only for his arms to buckle under the strain. Hellagur chuckled as the poor boy's face collided into the floor.
"Come now, you must rest."
Hellagur picked Ivan up, placing him on his back as he walked towards his room. Ivan felt sleepy, but he still wished to ask a question.
"Uncle Hellagur, if Edward is with the Patriot, does that mean he will be fighting against the Ursus army?"
"Indeed, I suspect he had already seen his share of battles against both the army and aspiring mercenaries."
Hellagur felt Ivan's grip tighten considerably, and his breath felt uneven now, slightly rushed.
"I hate not being there to fight with him."
Hellagur couldn't see the deep frown on Ivan's face, but he could feel the boy's frustration. It was understandable to him, he knew he had similar feelings when he was too injured to fight alongside his comrades in the past.
"I'm afraid the only thing you would be there is a liability, young Ivan, the battles Buldrokkas'tee's unit fight are not a place for one of your current capabilities."
"Do you think Edward will be fine?"
Hellagur contemplated the question as he walked, it didn't take him too much thought to give a response.
"I believe he'll be fine, Edward is unlike any child I have ever known, if anyone in that situation can do it, it would most certainly be him."
Ivan nodded, his anxiousness slightly eased with Hellagur's answer. Sleep soon overcame him as Hellagur placed him in his bed. Hellagur moved to the infirmary, and he saw Neon tending to patients.
He moved inside the infirmary and began to help her, noticing her concentration, he kept from beginning any conversation until she took her break.
"I take it you finished your training with Ivan, father?"
"Indeed, his rate of improvement is most admirable."
Neon smiled and nodded, sipping her coffee a bit as she relaxed after her hard work with the patients.
She conversed with her father as they enjoyed their drinks, and then continued with their work together. As she worked on stitching the wounds of one of her patients, Neon couldn't help but think about Edward's state.
Was he injured as well?
Was he in pain?
Shaking those distracting thoughts aside, Neon focused on treating the wounded woman. With each day, her skills and knowledge grew. She already agreed with Ivan on their roles in the future.
'Wait for us, Edward.'
With blazing determination, Neon let out a long sigh before her eyes narrowed, unintentionally making her next patient mildly uncomfortable.
Ursus empire's northwestern tundras / year 1084 / clear skies
Edward sprinted through the crossfires, his arrows shooting the enemy mortar shells and drones with pinpoint accuracy, the deafening sounds of their explosion ringing in the ears of the combatants.
Unfortunately for the ursus forces, they didn't have a similar way to repel the guerrilla forces' own barrage of mortar shells. Explosions sent the enemies in a chaotic state, and their barrage of projectiles ceased as the survivors of the bombardment were killed by Edward's arrows.
Once the ranged fighters were finished, Edward turned his sights on the rest of the battlefield. A rain of steel was unleashed on the opposition, the arrows protecting allies and ending the enemies in one fell swoop.
With the cover of the steel arrows, the fighters' morale soared, their strict coordination besting the number advantage of the ursus soldiers. Many of the enemy soldiers began to falter at the sight of their comrades and war beasts impaled by the steel contraptions at such a horrifying speed.
Edward's advance was as unstoppable as it was relentless, single handedly mowing through their ranks, switching constantly between the bow and the twin blades.
Patriot was the same, leading the shieldbearers as they rushed their opponents, leaving no room for them to regroup. The wendigo's spear, bathed in flames, shone as a beacon for his forces in the battlefield. No matter what the Ursus soldiers threw at them, nothing seemed to even faze them.
Their shields and armor withstood all the punishment they inflicted, runes drawn over the equipment glowing menacingly, mystery taking their capabilities beyond what was normal.
Their weapons cut through the soldiers' defenses with little resistance. Some were covered in flames like their leader's, others were sharper than they had any right to be, cutting through both weapons and armor with ease.
Concentrating on Patriot and his shield guards proved fatal for many of them, as the snipers plucked their enemies from their hidden position. Everything moved according to Buldrokkas'tee's strategy.
It was shortly after the first officer was bested by his fear, that the entire unit began to retreat. The lieutenants looked on in horror from afar, trying to contact their comrades to get a status report, yet receiving no response.
In the blink of an eye, arrows pierced their heads and ended their lives, plucking all hopes of the routed force regrouping any time soon. Edward watched from his vantage point and made sure to take care of any who tried to rally the fleeing troops.
The magus sighed, his sight turning to the final part of this fight as he silently moved back to the main force. As soon as his arrows made their appearance in the main battlefield, Patriot stopped his advance and busied himself with pinning the enemy down for their archer.
The wendigo absorbed the scene occuring in front of him, horrified soldiers watching as their brothers in arms were impaled by Edward's arrows. The velocity of the arrows and their firing rate were certainly inhuman, and gave the illusion of multiple archers instead of just a singular one.
No, it wasn't even possible for him to deduce that the sniper was a single bowman with this firing speed and accuracy. Even advanced crossbows couldn't match this speed, nevermind the insane accuracy and range.
Igor couldn't believe his eyes the first time he watched an ursus force being broken so effortlessly by the magus. The captain and his soldiers considered themselves lucky to have met Patriot instead of him when they were the enemy.
The merciless and seemingly unending volley of arrows was the last straw that shattered any semblance of courage the opposition could have mustered, abandoning their ranks to run for their lives.
Yet even their escape proved to be nothing but a futile dream, as none of the ursus combatants made it out of Edward's range, their blood coating the snow in deep crimson.
As the battle came to a close, Edward's figure showed itself, in unblemished armor and red mantle as always. It looked almost disturbing to see that the one who reaped so many lives was the cleanest out of all of them, only having his boots dirtied by the blood he stepped on.
The seventeen year old had grown taller and stronger over these short two years, tempered by the numerous battles they've had. The scars on his neck and cheek made his figure terrifying to the average person, coupled with his indifferent eyes.
Patriot noted that he's been growing increasingly cold in the battlefield as well, and he's been distancing himself from the rest of the group for some reason.
Edward stepped past Patriot with just a nod of acknowledgement, leaving the cleaning of the battlefield to the others who are more used to it. A lot of the troops kept stealing glances at the retreating figure, yet none of them did anything.
'Many of the soldiers appear to worry about your condition, Edward.'
'I know, Eden, I just need some time to handle the mind's eye side effects.'
Edward resisted the urge to groan under the constant hallucinations that plagued his mind. He gritted his teeth and continued on his way, ignoring the looks he got from those around him.
They did not see the corpses that littered Edward's path, nor did they hear the sickening crunches of the corpses' bones he trampled on to make sure no one notices any abnormalities in his steps.
Settling in his corner, Edward concentrated on the fire in front of him, trying to block out the screams and cries that gnawed at his ears.
'Assimilation of battle data is still underway, the filtering process is nearly complete.'
'I don't mean to sound ungrateful, Eden, but you'll be doing me a great favor if you hurried up.'
Looking around to make sure no one had approached him, Edward grasped his shaking hands together. The migraine seemed to only increase as time went by, his head felt like it was ripe to burst.
'Don't worry, I'm with you.'
That same strange voice he's been hearing from time to time once again cut through the other sounds in his head. He felt a cooling feeling spread through his body, the headache slowly but surely fading away.
His body shuddered, taking deep breaths as if he was drowning a few seconds ago. Edward coughed, feeling a stinging pain in his chest.
'Assimilation complete, I apologize for the delay.'
"Well, that could have been better."
Edward whispered indifferently, a slightly cynical smile growing on his face. He certainly didn't imagine his friend would cause him such troubles.
'I have a question, Edward.'
'Oh, this is new, what do you want to know?'
'Even as you suffer through this backlash and see those memories, I sense no hatred or disdain from you towards the heroic spirit, I would like to ask why.'
Edward pondered over Eden's question, his expression taking a somber turn. His dreams of Shirou's "outings" have been growing more frequent with every use of his card.
He saw slaughter and destruction beyond measure.
Atrocities that he could never be able to put into words.
Edward has had a front row seat to each of Shirou's numerous experiences, witnessing with his own eyes as his best friend cut down both innocent and guilty alike for humanity's survival.
A counter guardian, a protector and servant of humanity.
The title sent shivers down his spine, the very thought of their missions giving him a bad taste in his mouth.
'I don't hate him, because I know Shirou. He would never have wanted that, I could tell he was in pain all the time in those visions. Besides, if I didn't believe in him, what kind of best friend would I be?'
'So it is out of trust that you overlook his actions?'
'Not exactly, trust would imply a degree of uncertainty, but I'm certain that he's not doing what he wanted, and neither am I overlooking his actions. I would never accept or allow the acts he committed.'
'I see.'
Edward sighed as he stood up, and walked towards his makeshift workshop. As he readied himself for the maintenance he would be doing, Edward noted his siblings training together along with Viktor.
They are certainly growing into fine warriors, taking quite well to everyone's teachings. He saw Zack sparring with Ofnir and Viktor, the three would be swordsmen wielding their cleaving swords with a good deal of proficiency as they went on with their three way spar.
His student certainly found a place among his siblings, and has grown much thanks to their company. His mother Amelia grew to dote on them quite a lot too, something he was grateful for.
Edward's eyes trailed to Yelena, the girl practicing her arts along with the rest of the little casters. He could feel the temperature plummeting from his position, as black icicles formed around her and shot forward at her targets.
Edward hummed as he surveyed their training from afar, waiting for the equipment he needed to repair. He heard from the fighters who took charge of drilling his siblings that they'd be combat ready sooner than even they expected.
He sighed as he reached the conclusion that they should start taking part in the upcoming battles. He didn't like the fact a single bit, but he guessed that with the combined efforts of him, Buldrokkas'tee and the rest of the fighters, they should be fine.
Still, he couldn't help but worry.
"You keep thinking so hard, and your hair will go gray before you finish puberty."
Edward turned to Lazarus, the sarkaz warrior playfully placing his arm across the magus's shoulders. Edward's eyebrow twitched in irritation, he couldn't get used to his teasing even after their time together.
"Although just between you and me, I think gray hair would fit well with your grumpy side and the tundra's color scheme."
Edward gave no response, content with giving Lazarus a neutral stare. Lazarus smirked at the ursus's lack of amusement, before he ruffled his hair and ears.
Edward moved to the workshop, noticing the pile of damaged equipment, ranging from weapons to armor and even devices. The magus never felt more appreciative of structural grasping, alteration and reinforcement spells.
"Is it just me, or does this pile get bigger with every battle we have?"
Lazarus chuckled at the comment, a mischievous smile on his face as he whistled in faked innocence, suddenly unable to meet Edward's piercing glare.
"Well, most of these were used by the newer recruits from the former miners, it's expected that they would abuse their tools with their lack of experience."
"Sure, blame the recruits, when your equipment and that of the other sarkaz fighters is in the midst of that pile."
Lazarus coughed, refusing to meet Edward's piercing stare. The sarkaz fighter felt an uncomfortable pressure from the annoyed teen, so he tried to switch the subject.
'He must be going through puberty.'
"So, the little vouivre isn't helping you today?"
"Yeah, today is a training day, so maintenance is up to me alone, at least until he finishes his drills."
"I guess I'll keep you company then."
Edward stopped analyzing the cracked sword, and gave Lazarus a confused look. He knew that there was more to his company than what he says, but Edward decided to play along.
"You really have nothing to do, do you?"
"Well, there's not much I could do that would be better than annoying the hell out of you."
"Dully noted, I'll be sure to tell miss Amelia that the next time you flirt with her."
Edward snorted as Lazarus spat his drink all over the ground, and started his work while completely ignoring Lazarus's excuses. He made use of him as he had the soldier organize the finished products, much to the latter's discontent.
Blackmail was an excellent tool to force obedience.
It took him quite a while to go through a good deal of the equipment, and soon enough Ofnir joined in after he finished his training. With the combined efforts of the three of them, most of the damaged weapons and armor were repaired and organized.
Leaving the rest for Ofnir to have fun with, Edward sat next to Lazarus as he drank from his water bottle.
"Care to tell me the real reason behind this visit?"
Lazarus's carefree smile faltered, his expression falling into one of seriousness instead.
"You're no fun, could've at least gone along with it for a couple more minutes."
"I'd give your acting skills an three out of ten, telling me you had nothing better to do was a dead giveaway."
"Okay then, care to tell me why you were shaking and gritting your teeth so much by the fire a while ago?"
Edward's body tensed, looking at Lazarus with wide eyes. He was sure no one was paying attention to him back then. Lazarus looked flabbergasted at his reaction.
"I wouldn't be much of a guerrilla fighter if I failed to hide from someone who's busy suppressing his groans, you know."
Edward shook his head, a wry smile on his face. Noticing Lazarus's unflinching glare, he knew there's no dodging this topic.
"That was just a small backlash of the power I use."
"Thought as much myself, I could tell that there weren't any external injuries on you, not like an average ursus flunky would get a shot on you in any case."
Lazarus smirked as he looked at Ofnir scrambling in all directions, the vouivre sporting an excited grin on his face as he worked on the weapons and armor.
"I'm not going to force you into resting, but if you try to push yourself more, I will tell Buldrokkas'tee about it. I'll give you three guesses as to how well that will go for you."
Edward flinched at the threat, nodding his head quickly. He did not wish to hear the ungodly lecture he'd get from the wendigo if he ever found out about this.
He instinctively caresed his head, phantom pains from Patriot's reaction after he handled the sarkaz group last year left him slightly frowning.
Lazarus held back a laugh at the sight of the distressed magus. The soldier couldn't remember seeing such a reaction from Edward since their acquaintance.
"I'm glad we have an understanding then, see you around, hero."
Edward's eyes bore into the back of Lazarus's skull all the while the Sarkaz was in his line of sight.
Edward took it back, blackmail was utter hell.
He sighed and closed his eyes, his thoughts shifting to his most recent endeavor.
A book titled "Puppets" appeared in his grasp, Edward opened it and continued reading from where he left off. It took quite a chunk out of his points to get this knowledge, but it's understandable considering the field in question.
Those who know the ways of creating puppet bodies were few and far in between after all. It was an exciting subject to learn to be sure, Edward already anticipated putting all this knowledge to use as soon as he got enough points to procure the materials.
He was so focused on the book, that he didn't discover a certain rabbit walking up to him until she was right in front of him. He looked up to see Yelena giving him a stern look.
"You need rest."
"Don't worry, I'll be resting after I read up a chapter or two. Besides, I still have to do oripathy check ups for everyone in a few hours."
Flipping the pages, Edward barely managed to save his book as a dark shard of ice stabbed into the ground. His eyes widened at Yelena's action, hugging the book protectively.
"What the hell, Yelena? You can't just go about destroying my book, you know."
"You need to go and rest."
Her eyes got colder as she conjured more of her icy spears. Edward quickly stored the book in his inventory and raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.
"Calm down, Yelena, you win. I'll go to rest."
She kept staring at him, as if to deduce if he was lying or not. Dispelling her arts, she stepped up to him and gently poked his chest with her finger.
"You have just returned from a battle, and on top of that, you've had to repair most of the equipment as well. Even after all of that, you decide to read your strange books instead of resting, it worries us to see you overwork yourself."
"You're starting to sound more like Patriot by the day, little rabbit."
Yelena was not amused by his response, crossing her arms and tapping her foot impatiently. Edward felt the temperature starting to plummet even further.
"I'm not repeating myself."
Edward held back his laughter at how cute she looked when she tried to be intimidating. He decided to humor her, and went back to his own tent under her watchful eye.
He smirked when he heard her sudden yelp, followed by a playful caw from his raven. He felt the effect of her arts, as the bird expertly weaved through the snowballs she hurled towards it.
"He is just being playful, Yelena, don't be so dramatic."
Yelena glared at the hateful bird as she nursed her tail, she could swear the bird was laughing at her as it rolled around on the ground before it placed itself on Edward's shoulder.
Inside his tent, Edward contemplated his current situation. Their forces had increased to a full hundred and fifty combatants, granted forty of those were nowhere near the proficiency of Igor's troops or Patriot's fighters and were just temporarily with them until they learned to fend for themselves.
His siblings would increase that number to about a hundred and eighty, making them too big for usual guerilla warfare tactics. Then again, not like they had a single instance where they had the numerical advantage to begin with.
'I believe you have noticed the progressive increase in the numbers of the hunting forces.'
Edward nodded, assured that he was not the only one who felt like Ursus was sending more forces after them than usual.
'I guess we're starting to become a thorn in their side with our continuous victories, then again, our opponents are far from the true combat force of ursus.'
'It could be that the ursus military is still undergoing changes and is sending the unwanted groups after us, the same case of Igor and his followers.'
'Not sure about that, they wouldn't make the task of hunting us that blatant of an exile sentence for those soldiers, a safer bet would be to mix them up.'
'There is also the possibility that the emperor is trying to weaken the forces of the nobles.'
'That's the theory I'm choosing to believe as well.'
He clenched his fist, feeling the increasing power within his bones and muscles. He wondered how far these magical enhancements could take the power of an ursus, the Uruz runes drawn across his body giving a faint glow in response.
Turning his eyes to the raven who pulled at his ears incessantly, he chuckled as he pushed it aside. The bird completely ignored his attempt as it continued to pester him.
Although if one were to look at that raven, they would certainly doubt their eyes when met with its robust physique. Edward felt that he had gone a bit overboard with enhancements for the little familiar, its body easily matching a young eagle now, with speed, sharp claws and beak to back it up.
Although that outstanding upgrade also brought a near bottomless energy. The raven had caused no shortage of troubles with its brazen playfulness from yanking out food from people's hands, to pulling the tails of any victim unfortunate enough to garner its interest.
'It certainly is a peculiar specimen you created, Edward.'
'...Do you think I can eat it after all those concoctions it munched on?'
'I do not recommend that.'
The raven cawed as it backed off, off put by Edward's strange gaze. The magus smiled in triumph, his plan to drive the little miscreant off succeeding.
Edward began pondering what needs to be done for the future. They can't fight these battles forever, and he doubted Patriot would agree to leave ursus for greener pastures.
Yelena and the rest deserved a place to call home, and he promised the miners that they'd definitely be happy. His eyes narrowed as he could only reach one conclusion.
He would have to fight ursus for the infected, and even if it meant that he would take on the world in order to give them a home, then so be it.
But, is it truly the right path for a hero?
A hero of justice is one who saves as many people as possible, even if it was at the cost of the few. Their scales differ to neither innocence, age or standing, for all that mattered was protecting the greater whole.
Edward frowned at the recollection of that particular thing Shirou said in one of those dreams. No matter how hard he tried, it refused to leave his mind, for the simple reason that he couldn't find an answer to refute it.
Was that butcher truly the hero that person saw in him?
No, there was no way that was the case. She would never have wanted that, he was certain of it. Fighting for the infected was in essence the complete opposite of what Shirou said, as they were definitely the few.
So, what would be his answer?
He would never turn away from the suffering of others simply because they were on the expendable side of the scales. He would never preserve an order that is built upon the suffering of the few.
But does that mean that he would have to potentially destroy the many in the process?
He sighed, unable to make up an answer he was certain of. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep, his thoughts put on hold for now. A part of him knew that he would never sleep soundly until he found one.
His eyes narrowed in irritation, and he left the tent to talk to Buldrokkas'tee about his plans instead. He stopped near the tent and hid next to it when he saw Yelena with Patriot.
Not wanting to interrupt their time together, Edward decided to head out for a walk instead.
The two sat together as they ate some food in a comfortable silence. Buldrokkas'tee thoughts drifted to his family at the sight of the girl happily munching away at her food.
"How is Edward doing?"
"I forced him to go to his tent to rest. He seemed ok, but I'm not really sure."
Yelena sighed as she huddled closer to the wendigo, her eyes staring at the lamp in the middle of the tent absentmindedly. Buldrokkas'tee seemed to ponder on something as his eyes threw glances at the little one sitting beside him.
He had been considering this subject for a while now, hesitation keeping him from bringing it up even after inquiring about her past in the mines from Edward.
He huffed a long sigh, before he steeled his nerves. He had to ask, if only to put this matter to rest, whatever the outcome may be.
"Yelena, There is something I have to ask."
The cautus's thoughts were put on hold as she looked up to Patriot, her eyes growing exceptionally softer when met with Buldrokkas'tee's red ones.
"Of course, what is it?"
Edward walked on through the woods, enjoying the warm late-summer breeze. His eyes lingered on the village not too far from their camp, mild curiosity prompting him to give the place a visit.
Tracing a cloak to hide his ursus military uniform, the magus soon found himself walking in the middle of the village. It didn't take him long to notice the tension in the air, as well as the nervousness and anxiety the villagers tried so desperately to hide when their eyes met with his.
Not long after entering the village, he found the cause of the problem, as three men of Ursus's patrol unit conversed with what he assumed was the village's elder.
Edward eavesdropped on the conversation as he hid himself from view.
"Sirs, you have to believe me, we don't have anything left to give, even our crops are still not ready for harvest."
"It's harvest season, old man, you think we're idiots?"
"No sir, the crops are still not ready for harvest, and even then, it would take us a bit of time to properly prepare them for the tax collector."
"How much time do you need?"
"Two weeks at least."
"Then we'll return in two weeks with the tax collector, you'd better be ready by then, if you know what's good for you."
The patrol officers soon took their leave, leaving the elder alone, the old ursus taking a seat on a boulder next to the village well. His wrinkled face appeared despondent as he looked on at the people passing by.
"Do you need any help, elder?"
The old man's eyes moved to an unfamiliar cloaked figure of a young ursus. The elder could tell from the very beginning that this stranger was not part of this village, the hideous scar on neck and the remarkable red shroud were proof enough of such.
Coupled with his sharp brown eyes and serious demeanor, he certainly felt intimidating. However, the elder sensed a certain sincerity that didn't match his outward appearance.
"Do not mind this old man, young stranger, I'm simply taking a small rest after dealing with the patrol unit that passed by."
"I heard that conversation just now, judging from the expression you had on your face, I assume not all is well with your deadline."
The old ursus frowned, letting out a heavy sigh as he felt his years weigh down on him.
"I suppose you would be willing to listen to an old man's woes?"
Edward smiled at the question, leaning on the well beside the old man.
"I would be happy to."
"I thank you, as you heard, the patrol unit's coming back in two weeks time to collect the taxes, but as we have nothing else to give, they're going to take a portion of our harvest, but I fear that our crops won't be ready by that time."
"I see."
"Even if the crops were ready at that time, I know that they are going to take a sizable portion of the harvest for themselves as well, leaving us with not enough food to make it to the next one."
The elder looked sadder by the sentence, his worries and difficulties never felt so crushing as they did at the moment. He turned to the youngster beside him, who seemed to be considering something.
"Elder, can I trust you to keep a secret?"
The elder considered the question, but didn't take long to give a nod. Seeing his agreement, Edward gave him a toothy grin.
"Take me to your crops please, I might be able to help you."
The elder grew curious, but stood up and guided Edward to their crops, they looked almost ready to be harvested, the vibrant colors were very appreciated by the people of the tundras, so used to the neverending snow.
Edward observed the area for a few moments, reaching into his cloak to retrieve a book from his inventory without scaring the old man. It was the one about runes, he quickly went through the pages for the part he sought, stopping once he came across the Berkano rune.
He noticed the elder wearily glancing at the book, unable to understand the language in it as it wasn't ursusian.
"Worry not, elder, I am what you would call a wizard you see, and I'm going to try my best to help accelerate your crops' growth so that it will be ready before your deadline."
Noticing a small bruise on the old man's arm, Edward's hand reached out and glowed as his circuits flared to life, the healing magecraft easily dealing with the man's minor injury in mere moments.
The elder's eyes widened at the display, his opinion on the young stranger changing drastically. His hope rekindled, he waited with bated breath as he watched Edward moving at the edge of the field.
The magus followed the instructions in the book, as he carved runic symbols on a few rocks and on the ground itself as he moved along the perimeter of the fields.
Soon enough, Edward finished his tour and returned to the old man, drawing the final rune there and completing the runic formation.
Edward channeled his magical energy into the formation, the runes glowing with a deep brown color to them. The elder felt the land beneath him subtly shift about, his eyes noticed some minute changes in the field.
"There, that should help the crops mature in a week or so, I will come here daily to check on the formation in the meantime."
The elder nodded silently, a long sigh of relief left his mouth, his body visibly relaxing.
"Although I suggest you find a solution for dealing with the patrol unit's extortion before they come here."
"That is indeed the remaining issue, but I believe I have a solution for that. All I need is to talk with the rest of the villagers about it."
"Very well, I shall return to the village tomorrow."
"I cannot thank you enough for your help, young wizard."
"It's not a problem, I'm glad to be of help."
The two of them returned to the village before Edward left the village and returned to the camp, finding himself faced with a clearly angry Yelena.
Any other time, Edward would most certainly consider the smile on her face to be the highlight of the day, but given the fact he could feel her icy fury, he found himself looking for any support or escape routes.
A shame that he found neither, as he was cornered by the other kids and a very amused Patriot, who wasn't too keen on offering any aid.
With a resigned sigh, Edward surrendered to his fate, idly wondering what the elder was going to do with the patrol unit.
"The formation's still doing ok, just be careful around the symbols please."
"Understood sir."
Edward watched as the villagers excitedly continued their harvest, the elder standing by his side with an enthusiastic smile on his face.
"I see everybody's still as lively as yesterday."
"We have you to thank for this, young Edward."
Edward scratched his head with a smile, noticing the little figures coming their way. The elder gave a small laugh as their guest was once again swarmed by the youngsters, the little rascals demanding the wizard to entertain them with his exotic spells.
The magus wasn't as amused by his situation.
"You guys can be real slave drivers."
"The little ones are quite taken by your magical shows as well as your tales."
The magus sat in front of the kids, his circuits activating as flames sprouted from his hand, his arts molding the fire to take on the forms of various animals.
The children were mesmerized by the show, cheering happily as their eyes gleamed at the sights, soon enough looking up to a swarm of butterflies made of flames as they fluttered around.
The elder sat there with them, enjoying the show for a while, before ushering the children back to their parents. Once all of them were gone, he walked with Edward near a tree on a small hill, overlooking the village.
Edward chose not to comment on the two graves in front of the tree, noting the saddened look on the old ursusian's face as he sat in front of them.
"I suppose the village has decided on what to do?"
"Indeed, we have agreed to burn down the village and move on, make it look like it was raided and attacked. We should set out tomorrow, hopefully with the three days of headstart, we'd be out of their investigation zone and clear to look for some place to build a new village."
"Sounds plausible enough, though the lack of bodies will most likely tip them off."
"That's where I hope you'd come in, young Edward. We are hoping that you would demonstrate your magic to the envoy in burning something to the point where nothing's left, while leaving them alive to report."
"Should be simple enough, leave it to me."
"I cannot thank you enough. We'll be sure to provide you with adequate compensation."
The elder remained silent for a good amount of time, gazing solemnly at the gravestones in front of him.
"This is the resting place of my son and granddaughter, you see. They were killed for helping an infected escape the patrol unit."
His eyes trailed from the graves to Edward.
"To think our salvation would come at the hands of one such infected, maybe fate can be kind at times."
Edward's eyes widened, the question of how the old man managed to figure it out went unspoken.
"You are not as careful and vigilant as you normally are when you're busy helping others, as you have done so many times in the past week and half. I just happened to be lucky enough to get a glimpse of the originium on your arm."
The old man reached for something under his clothes, pulling out a wooden flute, decorated by intricate symbols, before giving it to Edward.
"I may not know your story, but I have come to know some part of you during our short time together, not to mention that this village owes you their lives, this flute belonged to my granddaughter, I hope you make better use of it than me."
Edward took the flute with a silent nod, choosing to sit next to the old man as he passed his last minutes with the resting place of his loved ones before the inevitable parting.
"Edward, envoy spotted, they're coming your way, should arrive in a couple of minutes."
'It's showtime.'
Flames burst to life as Edward's circuits thrummed with magic energy, a loud explosion resounding throughout the area as the village buildings were set ablaze and turned to rubble.
Once the envoy arrived, they saw a figure in the midst of the burning inferno, unaffected by the heat in the slightest, garbed on a simple cloak, with nothing visible other than his right arm, covered in glowing lines, and a mask resembling a crow's beak.
The mask wearer wasn't completely unknown to the tundra's patrol units, as rumors circulated throughout the region of a vengeful spirit wearing such a mask, bringing nothing but ruin and decay wherever it went.
The soldiers faltered upon realizing they were detected, as the figure's gaze slowly turned to them, and started approaching them.
"H-Halt! What have you done to this village!?"
"They have wrought injustice to this land, and so they paid the price, not even their ashes shall remain."
His hand reached out, the captain's body began spasming as he felt invisible hands grip his throat.
"You are also guilty."
In a flash, the captain's body was enveloped in flames before the envoy's very eyes, and in a few moments, the flames disappeared, leaving nothing of his corpse, just a lingering scent of burning flesh.
The fate of the villagers was no longer lost on the rest of the soldiers after the clear example, yet they remained still, afraid of being the next victim of this spirit.
"I have not come for you, and so you shall live, go and tell of what happened, for this shall be the consequence of all that tarnishes my land."
Just like that, the figure vanished in a blink of an eye, as if a hallucination of their minds. The soldiers hurriedly escaped to report the incident, the stranger's mask still at the forefront of their minds.
"Man, you really made them shit themselves this time, almost made me feel bad for them."
Edward remained silent as he sat in the camp, enjoying some well deserved rest after a job well done.
Well, at least he would be if Lazarus decided to give him some peace and quiet.
"At least we managed to secure a sizable amount of food from the villagers."
"Yeah, those weapons should serve them better than the soldiers we got them from. All in all, it was a nice trade."
"Well, let's hope that display does its job well, I'd hate to see them getting caught by the patrol unit."
"The patrol unit's unlikely to care for such a ruin in any case, they'll just cross it out for the future taxes and move on."
Edward nodded, giving a silent prayer for the safe travels of the villagers. He looked at the flute in his hand, wondering if it was some twist from fate.
He brought the flute to his mouth, intending on trying to play a tune he hasn't played for a few years. Yet he was interrupted as Yelena and Buldrokkas'tee came.
"Edward, there's something I wish to ask of you."
Edward was momentarily confused, before he gave a glare to Lazarus, wondering if he was sold out. The sarkaz's equally surprised expression said otherwise.
"Sure, what is it?"
"I would ask for your blessing to adopt Yelena."
Edward's mouth would've fallen to the floor if it could, as he stared blankly at the two of them, hand in hand. Quickly composing himself, he thought about it for a bit, a smirk appearing on his face.
"I'll accept, but on one condition."
"What is it?"
"Hey you brats! Come here."
The rest of the little siblings came quickly in response to his summons. Once they were all present, he turned to Patriot again.
"You want to adopt Yelena? Then my condition is that you adopt those kids as well."
"Then I accept."
The immediate answer caught Edward off guard slightly as he was expecting at least some amount of hesitation , but he soon beckoned the kids with a glimmer of excitement.
It's time for a little payback.
"Now then, kids, swarm your new father."
Edward continued to smile as the wendigo was overcome with the children's excitement as they hugged him, taking no small amount of satisfaction from watching the big man struggle between them.
Just as he was about to retreat however, a hand grabbed him and pulled him into the group. He found himself being hugged from behind by the white rabbit, a serene smile on her face.
And so the camp went into a cheerful celebration, an occasion that was treasured by all participants, for such a thing may not come to pass again.
Inside his world of unlimited blades, EMIYA sat in silence, his thoughts drifting to the company that's been forced upon him.
The girl named Lily, was interesting as she was irritating. Her childish attitude aside, she had tried to strike conversation at every turn ever since they met.
Despite his best efforts, he ended up caving in to her exceptional determination in the end. Her enthusiasm has had him consider giving her the cold shoulder a number of times to dissuade her, but he realized soon enough there was no winning this fight.
"Hey Shirou, why are you frowning?"
He glanced at Lily, the girl idly trying to draw things on the ground using a dagger she must have picked up from somewhere, safe to say she was failing spectacularly.
"I'm contemplating how long you're going to keep this farce up."
"Is Shirou going to finally stop being sad and grumpy?"
He glared at her, noticing the cheeky smile plastered across her face.
"I am not grumpy."
"If you say so. Then what are you thinking so hard about?"
EMIYA chose to remain silent, standing up and dematerializing without a word. Lily pouted at the distant behavior, sighing a bit as she tried to draw figures on the ground with the dagger.
"Do not be despondent, child."
She jumped in shock, and almost tripped on the dagger, if not for fact her body was suspended just above it. She turned to look at the golden haired man from before, smiling wryly from her suspended position.
"That dagger is a noble phantasm, it is easily capable of injuring you."
"Sorry for the trouble, Eden."
"Think nothing of it, child."
Eden walked up to her, placing her on the ground, the dagger disappearing from their side. The man glanced to the east, before shaking his head.
Sitting beside her, the man impassively gazed at the wasteland in front of them. Lily hugged her legs as she did the same, somewhat lost in her own thoughts.
"What he went through isn't something you can heal, child."
"I know, but I won't give up on helping him as best I can."
"I assumed as much, I wish you luck on your endeavor."
The young woman kept stealing glances at Eden. The man's face locked in a somber and serious expression. The visible intricate golden colored tribal markings on his lean body did nothing to diminish his appeal and despite his silence, he gave off an aura of approachability.
It was hard to describe the aura he exuded, even though he was cold and impassive, his actions conveyed a lot of emotions, especially when he saw the happiness of people.
"Hey, Eden, can you tell me a tale like the ones you told Edward?"
He turned his attention to her, his crimson inhuman pupils staring down on her. Wise eyes that seemed to know all secrets and judge all beings.
"Very well."
The two sat there in that desolate world, content with each other's company as the man in white robes regaled the lady with the tales of many a hero and heroine.
Name: Ahkmatov Edward Viktorovish. (Formerly Edward Miles)
Race: Ursus.
Age: 17 years old.
Element: Fire, Air, Earth.
Originium-Cell Assimilation: 4%.
Originium blood concentration: 0.4 u/L.
Arts: Telekinesis.
Current condition: Healthy.
Inventory:
-" Introduction to the field of Alchemy. "
-" Intricacies of Transmutation. "
-" Advanced Bounded Fields. "
-" Advanced Runes and the engraving process. "
-" The paths of Healing magecraft and Spiritual healing. "
-" Puppets. "
-Ursus weapons and equipment.
-Food and rations.
-Class card( Archer class heroic spirit: "Nameless" )
-Holy shroud.
-5000 LMD.
Points: 3000.
Uruz: rune of life force, physical health, courage, vigor and endurance. (among other things)
Berkano: rune of continued growth and continual rebirth or renewal of all things. The rune of becoming.
Thank you for reading
Have a nice day and stay safe.