Draco: I am absolutely incorrigible. I am. I'm awful. Good Alpha.
So, I have been replaying Generation IV, for reasons involving Generation III, and my ultimate intention is to continue straight into Generation V. Which is going to include playing Conquest again because damn it, I love Ransei. Because of that plan, and because of what happened at the end of my last Conquest fic, I have had Ransei in my thoughts (many of which I'm not proud of). Then certain circumstances happened that will soon lead to my ability to minimize my losses in Generation VIII, so I have also had Galar in my thoughts.
This is the bastard child of those two thought gatherings. After much deliberation, I decided I'm going to risk it, start writing, and pray to the Alpha that they do not announce Generation IX before I get this started properly. That has happened to me no less than thrice already, do not accuse me of unfounded paranoia.
To any historians who grit their teeth at Mōri Motonari being a young man while Oda Nobunaga is ambitious or Sanada Yukimura being old enough to fight for Takdea Shingen, consider this your final warning - there are not enough empty bowls for the amount of #AnachronismStew I am about to brew up here. The Warriors series has always taken artistic license with historical accuracy, but I am about to put them to complete and absolute shame. You have been warned.
I do feel like saying that is going to give away a plot point I have planned, but it's going to happen about as far in as the Ultra Space departure was last time, so it's a #FirstEpisodeSpoiler at worst, anyways.
Now's a good time to say it - you should read the earlier petals on my lily bomb before you dive into this one. The Legend of Ransei, Auroran Nightlight, To Be Wed in Dragnor, and Kingdoms Unknown. The way I write Pokémon Conquest is not something you want to go into blind.
Is that everything? I think that's everything... No, wait.
WARNING. THIS IS A POKÉMON FANFICTION BY DRACONA AURACTO. DO NOT READ THIS FANFICTION UNDER THE ASSUMPTION THAT IT WILL BE SHORT. YOU WILL REGRET IT.
Pokémon and protagonist © Nintendo. Character designs © Koei. Ransei © somewhere in the middle.
...Still feels awesome to use those copyright shenanigans.
Aurora: Dreadful Premonition
"Watch it!"
Evia of Aurora raised her shield to meet another - a much smaller and lighter one with rotating blades around its outer edge that clattered against the surface of hers, in the hands of a young-looking man in a bright predominantly-gold ensemble. As Hanbei of Ignis pulled his weapon back, Evia thrust her sword forward, the blade slipping between his weapons handle and its inside surface before she flung it into the air, leaving it tumbling as she braced herself.
Hanbei stepped back as the Raichu that bore his Link charged across the battlefield, body wreathed in lightning. He connected with an already quite-battered Wigglytuff, who managed to brace herself enough that she only skidded backwards rather than being sent tumbling. Both of them came off worse for the impact of the Volt Tackle, but only Wigglytuff found herself wrapped in a soft light. The rejuvenation washed through her from her Warrior, Oichi of Dragnor, who had planted her weapon in the ground - a staff of bright cobalt, headed with a great white crystal surrounded by water.
Not a moment after it hit the ground, another staff connected with it - this one in deep black and tipped with two round jewels, brandished by a figure in a dark, hooded ensemble. Kanbei of Ignis found his attack stopped by a newly-firm defense and moved back as his Chandelure unleashed a spiral of ferocious flames that narrowly missed the Sylveon that was charging at him.
Sylveon managed to halt in the center of the Fire Spin, waiting until the flames subsided; then she reared back, unleashing a Dazzling Gleam that hit Chandelure like a rain of crossbow bolts. The battle of attrition had finally worn down the Luring Pokémon, who found himself tumbling to the ground with candles extinguished; a shout from behind drew Sylveon's attention, and her intent to aid Wigglytuff quickly turned into intent to duck as the Hyper Voice threw Raichu over the Intertwining Pokémon's head.
Kanbei sighed, and the glow from the jewels at either end of his staff - a dark sapphire on one end that seemed to cast shadows, and a burning ruby on the other that trailed fire when he swung it - subsided as he lowered it at his side. "It seems not every battle can be won," he observed.
Evia chuckled, sheathing her sword on her back and hooking her shield over it. "You know, you say that," she argued, "but if you two had been around when Nobunaga first got ambitious, our resistance would've been crushed before it began. Having to rely on a couple of punks like he did really gave Hideyoshi a handicap."
Hanbei laughed as he picked up his fallen shield, pulling a lever to retract its blades. "Not like that stopped you and the Fool of Dragnor from coming straight to Ignis again when everyone challenged you two to unite the region again for the thrill of it," he argued. "I can see why he kept coming here hoping for another round with you guys when everything was going to Distortion."
Evia's smile fell. "Wish I was back to give it to him sooner."
The Ignisans approached their fallen Pokémon; Hanbei lifted Raichu in his hands, and Kanbei managed to hoist Chandelure over his back. "We'd best bring Hideyoshi the news of our loss," Kanbei insisted. "Hope to battle with you again."
"Likewise," Oichi agreed. "Safe travels."
"Appreciate it," Hanbei praised.
As they departed, Oichi approached Evia; there were a few light cuts along her arms where her defense had been a bit too slow against Hanbei's weapon, and the healer held her staff forward and let a few drops fall onto the wounds, causing them to close up. "Always a treat, fighting those two," Evia observed.
"Moreso since you got back," Oichi argued. "Going into battle against Fire-types with Glaceon was never particularly clever. At least Sylveon's not as bad defensively."
"Yeah," Evia agreed, looking over her arms; satisfied with their condition, she and Oichi started back into the castle. A smile rose on her face as she pushed the door open. "How do you reckon I should take another step up?"
Oichi rolled her eyes. "I mean, honestly," she sighed. "You have the luck of Antimatter."
Evia giggled. "You know you love to see it."
Despite herself, Oichi smiled back. "Yeah, I do."
They stepped inside in time for two figures to rush clean past them - one in icy blue, and one in a soft brown. Evia gasped as they almost knocked her over, and she called after them; "Hey, you two, settle down!" The smaller Pokémon was the first to slow down; this was the third Eevee that Evia had managed to Link with, and she gave a cheerful cry towards her Warrior, dashing her way as Glaceon turned around.
"Nothing like a battle to tire you out," Oichi admitted. "What do you say we have ourselves a soak in the furo?"
"Dinner, then a soak," Evia insisted. "That'll let us digest a bit before bed."
"Good idea."
+x+x+x+
Her blade impaled itself in the ground behind her, her shield clattering against it.
Evia didn't even have time to face back towards her opponent before she was struck across the face, her horns ringing from the blow as it knocked her to the ground. As she tried to rise, she saw, in the distance, something rising up - something massive, with dark clouds gathering around it. She barely had the opportunity to register what she was seeing before another blow connected with her side, knocking her over and nearly driving her Warlord Crown into the dirt below her.
A power began to gather around them - a power that should not exist.
She tried to raise her gaze, and a Glalie loomed straight ahead of her, breath frosting out of its mouth. Then, of a sudden, it began to change - no, not change, but grow, becoming larger and larger, beyond the natural size of not only its own species, but any species in Ransei. By the time Evia had even righted herself, it was standing at what must be level with any castle in Ransei, and its gaze was focused on her as a chill began to gather.
That giant Glalie narrowed its eyes, and Evia realized that the chill was going to center itself on her; she opened her mouth...
...and screamed.
As Evia panted, trying to catch her breath, she felt a strange burning from her right palm, and her left hand came around to press against it, trying to weaken the sensation. Her ears were ringing, from what she could not place, and her vision was briefly fogged as she tried to focus on her surroundings.
She was in the Warlord Chamber, in Aurora Castle, sitting upright on the bed; the blankets had fallen from around her, and the cool night air tickled her bare skin. She and Oichi had ended up having a little something extra between the furo and the bed, and they had fallen asleep in each other's arms in the Warlord Chamber; the motions beside her told Evia that and her awakening had roused her beloved, and she became aware of Sylveon, Glaceon, and Wigglytuff all looking at her in concern.
As her breathing steadied, Oichi set a hand on her arm. "Evia? What's wrong?"
"I... I..." Evia closed her eyes. "I'm sorry. It was... a bad dream."
"Just a dream?" Oichi asked, concerned.
"Y-Yeah," Evia insisted. "It wasn't... the beasts."
Oichi sighed, lifting her hand away. "Do you want to head out to the battlefield?" she asked. "Maybe work it out of your system?"
Evia smiled at her. "No," she insisted. "Thanks for the offer, but a dream's nothing to worry over." She started to shift out of the bed. "I could probably do with a drink, though. My throat is dry."
"Alright," Oichi murmured. "You sure?"
"I'm fine," Evia insisted, picking up her nightrobe as she got out of bed. "It was just a dream. I'll be right back."
She threw the robe over her shoulders as she made her way out of the Warlord Chamber.
...It was just a dream, right? Despite herself, Evia found herself asking that question. It had been so vivid, so terrifying. She wasn't exactly prone to bad dreams - even after she had returned from a less-than-pleasant journey, her dreams had given her less trouble than how long it had been since she had slept in a soft bed. Some small part of her was scared that her nightmare was more than just that.
But what else could it have been? asked the rest of her mind. What she had seen - an ordinary Glalie suddenly achieving a titanic size - it was too impossible to be anything but a creation of her subconscious mind. And those environs... nowhere in Ransei, or the otherworlds beyond, had been anything like the pure chaos that was the landscape her dream had been set in.
She hydrated herself with a glass of water and made her way back to the Warlord Chamber. Oichi was waiting upright, clearly concerned for her, and the others hadn't exactly relaxed, either; with a smile, Evia removed her robe and slipped back into bed with her wife. The two of them cuddled close as their Pokémon settled back down - Glaceon and Sylveon rejoined the still-sleeping Eevee on one side of the bed, and Wigglytuff sat down against the other.
It was a practice they had fallen into shortly after Evia's return from a less-than-pleasant journey; Wigglytuff was facing the door, ready to be roused at the slightest disturbance, and the Eeveelutions were facing the balcony, similarly prepared to intercept intruders. The doors to the balcony were always closed and locked with the curtains drawn before the Warriors fell asleep, and Oichi's staff was hung over the headboard, with each woman's sword sheathed just under the ridge of the bed to be drawn if a blunt weapon should prove insufficient.
That security offered an additional layer of comfort, and thoughts of her nightmare vanished as Evia drifted back to sleep.
Draco: This is probably going to sound petty, but Tadakatsu has been pissing me off as I've contemplated this fic. There's no reason why he should be able to Link with Dialga. There aren't even Legendary Pokémon available for all the ruling Warlords (I know there weren't any Poison-type Pokémon in Generation V, but Nene has a dual-type Perfect Link), why should this one particular junior Warlord get a one? Dialga would be much more appropriate as Ieyasu's Link; considering that he, Hideyoshi, and Nobunaga are those three big badasses with opinions on birdsong, giving Ieyasu a Dragon/Steel-type to correspond to Hideyoshi's Dragon/Fire-type and Nobunaga's Dragon specialization would be more appropriate than Registeel. Plus those frickin' crystals that beef up specific individual Warriors' stats go to Nobunaga, Ieyasu, and Tadakatsu, who, again, is a junior Warlord when not all the ruling Warlords get one. If you were gonna give three particular Warlords items that made them unreasonably badass, Hideyoshi would be the more logical third option to round out Nobunaga and Ieyasu.