War of Destiny
Music: "Crusaders" (Are We There Yet) by Baasik and Black Gryph0n
NOTES: "The Loneliest people, are the Kindest. The Saddest people, Smile the Brightest. The most Damaged people, are the Wisest."
Chapter 1: Crusaders
"HEADLINES! HEADLINES! HEADLINES!" A man shouted, waving about a paper from his cart full of them, egging on passersby to buy and look. His spot on a busy street corner attracted plenty of attention. "Get the latest in the war efforts against Pitch Black! Learn about the mysteries unfolding in the far north!"
A pair of older men in heavy winter coats stood near the cart, looking intently at the pages of the Daily Prophet newspaper and all of the different stories written across them...
After becoming a Sorceress, Princess Rapunzel of Corona seeks out Moon Stone and the search is proven successful upon her return! The newly named 'Sun Sorceress' now also holds control of the Moon, protecting both of our greatest Lights from Pitch's darkness!
Kanjigar's successor as Trollhunter revealed to be Teenaged Human Boy?! Princess Rapunzel takes Jimmy Lake Jr. as her apprentice! Let's hope he learns well for the sake of the Trolls!
The Dragon Hunting Business has reportedly 'fallen to pieces' after a grueling fight with Pirates over unknown reasons. No comments have been given to our inquiry towards the Archipelago leaders as many have remained at Hogwarts with the other Royals to discuss the war against Pitch Black.
Princess Rapunzel remains our only line of defense against the growing threat of the 'Moon Curse', but suspicious activities in the Far North have the Guardians concerned. Unsupported rumors of a Dragon Rider plague the North...
Miles away, across the clouds and along the coast, in a small Province near Syracuse, Jack spun out of the away of a fiery blast just before throwing up a shield of ice to block the next attack.
Merida took a running leap off of some debris, launching herself over Jack's head and shooting three arrows at the height of her jump, striking down two Nightmares. Tooth flew passed her as she landed in a crouch, and flew angling upwards, meeting the enemies air forces head on and shattering a Nightmare into a cloud of ash. She sped passed Sandy's cloud of golden dreamsand as the sorcerer used whips of gold to hold their place in the sky.
Bunny, who was on Sandy's cloud and using his boomerangs for long distance attacks, leaped off the golden cloud and onto the back of a passing Nightmare. He jumped from horse to horse, dealing fatal blows within the blink of an eye. Just below Bunny fast-moving figure, North was caught up in a fight with two Dark Wizards, attack spells deflected by the flat side of his blades just to slash away with his own magic.
One of the Dark Wizards caught his blades in a block, bringing them into a stalemate, but that allowed an opening for the second Dark Wizard to attack North from behind. The second Dark Wizard raised his wand, but before he could attack, Percy slid onto the scene, frosting the ground to speed into the second Dark Wizard. Percy jumped off of the slide and planted his feet on the hard pavement, grabbing onto the arm of the Dark Wizard and throwing him over his head. Percy spun his staff around to his front, ready to fight, as the Dark Wizard bounced as he hit the ground a few paces away. He slid on the cold ground, stopping only when he thumped against the side of the square's center fountain.
The fountain was dry, and Rapunzel stood on the very top plateau of the fountain. Alternating between her hair and hand thrown spells, Rapunzel stuck to mostly long-range attacks. Her hair glowed bright with Sun Magic, the familiar energy humming throughout her entire body, but there was a dark spot in the back of her mind. Like a storm cloud that could grow and consume her whole within a single heartbeat if she wasn't careful. The Moonstone gleamed against her chest, chained to her as the blue center of a necklace of silver.
Aurors and soldiers from Syracuse fought all around them, determined to protect the village from the attack. The civillians had long ago been evacuated when they'd gotten word from some of their investigators that one of the Dark Army's companies was closing in. The structures had taken significant damage, and several fires were burning around the town square as the battle waged on.
The fighting seemed to last for hours, but eventually they managed to push back the dark, forcing them to retreat back into the forest as they fled. Nightmares, Dark Wizards, and some Ghoul seemed to be all there was, which was a blessing in itself. Having to deal with a Giant or an Undead creature would have been much more difficult. But all in all, the village, though damaged, was still intact, as well as the large barn that was filled with supplies to be sent out to their own forces from Syracuse's ports.
Jack, Percy, and Bunny ran ahead with the men, ensuring that Pitch's followers were truly retreating, but Rapunzel came to a stop by a wood post fence, leaning heavily onto it with her palms as she tried to catch her breath, that storm cloud in her mind rolling angrily as she tried to calm it and push it back down.
"Rapunzel?!" Merida was suddenly by her side, hand gripping her shoulder, and Rapunzel laid her hand over her's.
"I'm okay," Rapunzel said, offering her a small smile, though she was almost certain it came out as at least a partial grimace. Merida still looked worried.
"Do you sense any trouble nearby?" Merida questioned, and Rapunzel simply nodded, her head still aching with each crackle of energy through those dark grey clouds.
"That way. Not too far away. It's not a lot, but we shouldn't let it grow." Rapunzel told her, and though she hesitated, Merida nodded in agreement and started walking along, following after Rapunzel.
They walked along the outskirts of the town, coming upon the farming fields. Sure enough, there in the center of the furthest field, was a large black spike with two smaller ones on either side. Rapunzel stopped a few paces away, taking a deep breath to steady herself. Merida touched her shoulder again, but Rapunzel motioned that it was alright.
She stepped up to the rocks and raised her hands, reaching out with her magic. The clouds billowed and grew, expanding to a looming shadow, her shoulders and back tensing at the chaotic and wild nature of crackling, unpredictable power. The Moonstone glowed brighter and brighter at her chest. Forcing her own neat and calming magic through it was painful, the colliding of such different powers caused sparks behind her tightly squeezed eyelids, her hands and arms shook with barely contained waves of energy, the raw power eager to try and escaped from under her skin.
It burned and stung, but she followed it with her own magic, healing and soothing as she tried to control the foreign power, and somehow she managed to lower the black rocks back into the earth they had broken through.
When the last inch of rock was returned to the earth, Rapunzel dropped to her knees, gasping and opening her eyes as something wet dripped from her nose. She reached up and touched it, looking at her hand she found blood.
"Rapunzel!" Merida's voice finally broke through and Rapunzel realized she hadn't been hearing anything except the rushing of her own blood for a good few minutes.
"I'm alright, I'm okay," Rapunzel quickly assured, reaching out to put some comforting weight on Merida's shoulder. Merida gave her a look, but didn't press her further. Instead, she mirrored Rapunzel's gesture and also rested her hand on the blonde's shoulder.
"Let's get back to the others then. You should rest." Merida nodded back the way they had come, and though Rapunzel wanted to say she didn't need to rest and they were all tired from the fight, she couldn't find the energy to form the words to argue.
The two girls climbed to their feet and leaned on each other as they started the trek back to where the other Guardians and the Allied Kingdom's forces would be waiting for them. And the other Guardians were, in fact, waiting on them, already back at the fountain in the town's square, debriefing from the fight.
"You did well Jack, but you still focus too heavily on defensive tactics. As a Champion, you will be expected to lead the fight." North was saying, and Rapunzel shared a glance with Merida before they both looked over at Jack who offered a weak, sheepish smirk.
Percy seemed to notice it too and draped his arm over his son's shoulders. "You're very good at defending your comrades, which is extremely important. But to grow in combat, you'll need to focus more on your offensive skills, which includes multiple adversaries, not just one-on-one dueling." He leaned closer and murmured conspiratorially to him. "It's a bit difficult when ice magic just wants to go sprawling everywhere. It's not the most organized magic."
Jack chuckled and nodded, smiling up at his dad. It was contagious and made Rapunzel smile too.
Tooth flew over from where the soldiers were gathering in a cleared out shop to set up a temporary medic bay. "I just spoke with Captain Mill. His forces have received few injuries and with the supplies being moved this evening the village will become less of a target. He's confident they can take it from here."
"But shouldn't we stay and continue helping? There are some wounded, and until that supplies is moved they won't be able to rest. Not to mention there are three Companies counting on this shipment reaching them before weeks end. It would be disastrous if we lost it." Merida spoke up without hesitation, and Rapunzel couldn't help but admire how she didn't seem at all affected when everyone turned to look at her.
"You do have a fair point, however our continued presence here will only draw more attention to this village. We must go, now that the immediate threat is over, or else one of Pitch's generals may realize just how important this batch of supplies is to our forces." North explained, his arms loosely crossed over his large chest.
Rapunzel knew that North was right, their presence as Guardians was as much a painted target as the supplies they'd had hidden here, but it didn't mean she liked it. Not for the first time, she found herself wishing she could simply do More.
"The greater concern for us is figuring out exactly how they found out about this supply route." Bunny said, nodding at Rapunzel in a gesture of understanding and some comfort. The thought did bring a wave of deep concern over their group as a whole.
It wasn't long after that they boarded onto North's sleigh and began their trip back to Hogwarts Castle, using North's snow globe to shorten the trip to less than a few minutes. Leaving the portal and coming into view of Hogwarts and it's beautiful scenery was a sight Rapunzel would never tire of.
The sun was shining through fluffy white clouds, and though there wasn't much activity outside of the castle, Rapunzel could sense warmth and familiarity inside, even from their distance. The sleigh flew across the sky, circling the castle as they descended towards the makeshift landing strip that had been paved nearby Mr. Crood's hut for easy ins' and outs' with the sleigh and other flying carriages.
They trekked up to the castle and just inside the main doors they found a swath of activity. Students rushing to and from classes that had started more than a week ago. Teachers were also rushing to and from classes because of substituting and also simply teaching more classes as some teachers were called to focus more on the war. A handful of reporters had taken to skulking about the school, trying to get every bit of news the could regarding the meeting of the Royal Council and their plans for the war.
Captain Amelia met them at the doors, hands folded behind her back. "Welcome back. The Royal Council is holding another meeting in three hours, and several of their Majesties would appreciate a mission report." She spoke mostly to North for this part, but looked at Rapunzel as another thought seemed to come to her. "And another thing, it seems the Trollhunter has returned from another one of his escapades with his team... Dr. Sweet wanted you to know that he's organizing the herb cabinet. Again."
"I...should go," Rapunzel drawled, sharing amused glances with Jack and Merida.
"Mom will be worried until I check in, and dad's going to show me a few tricks with my staff to help with my fighting technique. I'll catch up with you guys later?" Jack quirked an eyebrow in question and Rapunzel nodded.
She knew Jack was struggling to adapt his fighting style to fit his new role. The Guardians were hoping he'd soon present as a possible Champion for the Royal Council, but a title like that usually requires a certain amount of experience and reputation. Not to mention incredible fighting ability in all situations. Jack was naturally more of a Protector than a true-bred Fighter.
"If nothing else, then at dinner." She told him. She'd need to check in on Jim first, and then see what shape the infirmary was in, and at some point she would need to prepare for the Council Meeting that evening.
"I'm going to help with the mission reports. You can come find me in the Dueling halls if you need me afterwards." Merida informed them.
"Come on, Jack! Let's go check in on your Mother and sister." Percy suggested, calling from where the adults a gathered a few feet away.
"Try to get some rest." Jack said before jogging off to join his dad.
The infirmary was pretty empty of people, but crates and crates of herbs and medical supplies was prepped and stacked along the walls, ready to be shipped out in a hurry. There were a few soldiers, wizards or not, who had been brought to them, but for the most part, Hogwarts Castle had not seen much of the war up close.
Rapunzel supposed that was a good thing. Even being on the coast, Hogwarts was near the center of their territory. The enemy hadn't managed to break their lines, and hopefully they never would. If luck was on their side, Hogwarts would remain untouched and could be a strong support throughout the war just like the Dark Ages. The children here didn't need to be thrust head first into the ugliness of war...
"Not that they aren't being pushed toward it already..." Rapunzel couldn't help the thought as she came around a grouping of three stacks of crates to find Jim Lake Jr. fiddling with different herb jars and potion bottles.
If there was one thing Rapunzel had learned about Jim in the past few months of being his mentor, it was that he cleaned when he was worried about something. He'd sweep, dust, mop, wipe windows, wash laundry, etc. etc.
"Sooo, are you going with an alphabetical system, numerical, or maybe by consistency of use?" She asked, folding her hands as she walked a bit off to the side where Dr. Sweet's desk was. She glanced over the notes he had on the different patients, checking to see if there was anyone she needed to keep a close eye on.
"You're back!" Jim brightened after snapping his head around to see her. He put the potion bottle he was holding on a shelf and then stood to come and join her. "How was the mission in Syracuse?"
"It was alright. I'm worried about the men still stationed there, but Bunny and the other Guardians say we'd be more help by finding out how Pitch's forces always seem to know important bits of information." Rapunzel shared with him, shifting through a file on a soldier with a torn tendon in his shoulder. "Captain Amelia says you were off on Trollhunter business again. Is that why you've decided to completely rearrange the herbs you just sorted last week?"
Jim sighed heavily, and he looked tired. Far too tired for a boy his age, if anyone asked Rapunzel. She gently placed a hand on his shoulder, tilting her head in silent question.
"We found the second Triumbric Stone in the marshlands with the Quagawumps, but Angor Rot was there too. We fought him off, but he got away with the stone." Jim confessed, his gaze falling to the wooden top of the desk beneath his hands.
"I'm sure you did everything you could, Jim. You can't be so hard on yourself." Rapunzel told him.
"But it's my fault. If I hadn't gotten caught the first time, I'd still have control of Daylight! Then maybe we could've won this fight." Jim's shoulders sagged. "Blinky says I did well with the new glaives, but I keep messing up. I only just got used to one big sword, now I've got two small ones that sometimes make a boomerang and sometimes respond to me?" Jim huffed at the thought.
"Well, I may not know much about Trolls, but maybe I can help with that?" Rapunzel suggested, picking up Dr. Sweet's dagger-letter opener. She gave it a light toss, catching it by the blade and then threw it. The blade struck the wall where a calendar was mounted, directly in the center of the square designated for that day.
"Whoa!" Jim gaped, looking between her and then calendar as Rapunzel dusted off her hands. "Where'd you learn to do that?!"
"Well, I liked playing darts when I was younger, and every now and then Eugene takes me down to the Snuggly Duckling to spend time with some of our friends. They lose the darts all the time, though, so we usually play with knives. I'm the reigning champ of our last tournament." Rapunzel gave him a wink. Jim's only response was an astonished chuckle as he looked up at her. "Come and help me look over the patients and go over everything for the Council Meeting. If we finish in time, I'll show you a few tricks you can practice while I'm in the meeting and then continue training with you after. Sound fair?"
"Sounds great!" Jim grinned up at her, his earlier stress seemingly forgotten. It made Rapunzel feel a bit better, knowing that she could help him in this small way at least.
She had never imagined she'd have an apprentice to call her own when she was younger, but even just with the few months she'd spent mentoring Jim, Rapunzel had grown quite fond of him. He took everything she said and taught him to heart, and that was something she'd never experienced before. It was flattering and terrifying all at once. He was like a little brother that she'd never had. He was smart and a quick learner. His magic was very similar to her own, Sun magic with healing properties. For her, it had come from being born with a connection to the Sun. For him, it was his Kittroll roots, she knew. She'd been able to sense his true nature almost immediately after her Change, and it had been her initial reasoning for agreeing to become his mentor.
Even if she wasn't sure she was ready to be a Sorceress and to Lead and to Rule, Rapunzel was determined to do this right. She'd do everything she could to protect her apprentice, but still give him the freedom to grow on his own.
She was letting Jim take the vitals of their last patient check up when another presence entered the room, lingering by the door, and Rapunzel looked up to see Emma standing there. Her skin was pale with a grey undertone, her hair a dry and brittle grey. Her eyes had faded to a dull brown color, her cheeks were sunken, and she was thinner than she should be. There was still a small pang in Rapunzel's heart every time she laid eyes on the younger Frost.
"Emma!" Jim called, seeing where Rapunzel's attention had gone. He smiled at Emma, who waved back a little before stepping completely inside and off to the side to wait. Rapunzel helped Jim to finished their check in a little quicker and they both went to meet her when they were done.
"What can I get for you, Emma?" Rapunzel asked.
"Dr. Sweet says the new bottle of medicine arrived." Emma muttered, her eyes shifting off to the side. Rapunzel thought she saw the younger girl's jaw twitch from clenching.
Since the Battle of the Moor, Emma had been under Dr. Sweet's care. The official report said that Emma had fallen victim to the Fearling Curse, but it was left incomplete, allowing her to maintain her own consciousness. Such a thing has never happened before, so it has left many people, especially those of the Royal Council, confused and concerned. Many have questioned Emma's sanity in the recent weeks, and no one wanted to say as much, but she was looking worse. Dr. Sweet was doing his best to heal her, but nothing seemed to stop the deterioration. The best they could do was slow it down.
"I know where it will be. I'll be right back, just give me a minute." Rapunzel said, her mind seeming to highlight the way Emma shrank further into herself, her expression hard.
Retrieving the small bottle of pills from the back room took barely a moment, but coming back, Rapunzel hesitated. Her gaze fell on Emma and Jim from across the room, hidden behind one of the stacks of crates. Emma's expression was softer than before, looking up at Jim. They talked, but Rapunzel couldn't hear any of the words. She could only think about how much they've tried so hard to grow up; so afraid of being young, making mistakes, and not doing their part when it's so cruel that they're been thrust into roles of great responsibility and troubles. She'd seen them; Jim, Toby, and Emma. The three of them were so close, it surprised her how much they remind her of herself, Jack, and Merida. She wished she knew how to tell them to enjoy their youth, but she's often reminded by the other Guardians and the members of the Royal Council, that she is still just a child herself.
She took a breath, deep but shaky, and then started forward again with a new smile.
Merida woke with a start, her chest heaving up and down as she gasped for breath. She sat up, her body aching and her heart pounding. Her head was swimming with feelings and images leftover from the terrifying vision that clouded her dream.
She'd been having a lot of visions and headaches. The problem was, she could hardly remember half of what she Sees, and what she does remember she has no idea what it means. Though, she hadn't exactly been taking the time to meditate on them at all.
She looked around the dorm, seeing all the other girls asleep and the heavy fog outside the window. It was still early. Merida sat in her bed, closing her eyes as she tried to settle her thoughts a bit. Finding herself wide awake, Merida pushed the blankets off and got to her feet.
Within a few minutes she was dressed and freshened up, ready to start her day. She wandered down the stone steps, finding her way down to the common room, and at the bottom of the steps, she was only a bit surprised to find she wasn't the only one awake.
Talia was there in the open space behind the couch. She was armed with one of the fireplace pokers and was calmly moving through some practice sword dances. Her technique was excellent, and Merida couldn't spot an opening on her anywhere. She reached the end of her dance and then dropped her stance, turning to nod at Merida.
"You're up early!" Merida grinned at her and Talia snorted with amusement.
"I could say the same to you." Talia retorted before moving to return the poker to it's holder with the other tools.
"How have things been, coming back and all?" Merida asked. "You've been quiet and distant from everyone."
"Oh, everything's just wonderful! Yeah, it took one day for everyone in the school to know that I dropped out because I didn't have the money and it's only because of Rapunzel that I'm back. And don't even get me started on how awkward it is when Justin is even in the same room as me... Not that that's been an issue. He's so oblivious nowadays, I'm actually starting to wonder if he knows I'm back at all." Talia gave her a pointed look, and Merida winced.
"I'm sorry. I'd probably be a bit stand offish if I were in that position too." Merida nodded, and Talia shrugged.
"It's not your fault. And don't go thinking I'm ungrateful for everything you lot have done for me, it's just been... A lot." Talia sighed heavily.
"You know if you need anyone to talk to..." Merida started, but trailed off as Talia waved her off.
"Thank you. I appreciate it. I do. But you've done enough. I'm not the type to cry about my problems, anyways. But if you want to have a good spar at some point, that's a bit more my speed." Talia smirked, and Merida laughed into her fist.
"Anytime! I'm down in the training halls almost every day, so you know where to find me." Merida set her hands on her hips. They both looked towards the main entrance as they heard a couple of girls laughing outside the door, talking to the Fat Lady.
"I'll take that as my cue to go get ready for classes." Talia said, quickly making herself scarce as a couple of younger girls walked into the common area giggling and whispering to each other.
Merida shrugged and decided to find breakfast for herself.
Merida caught up with Ruffnut and Astrid at breakfast, hearing that Rapunzel had already come and gone. Merida saw Jack, but he was finishing and explained that he was catching up with some paperwork he was helping the Aurors with.
Merida wasn't surprised to find her fellow teenaged-Guardians completely busy, and if she was being honest she could easily find some work for herself within a minute if she really went looking. But when Astrid and Ruffnut mentioned going down to the docks to look at all the Traders coming to offer their wares for the war efforts, Merida's curiosity got the better of her and she soon found herself walking down to the dock with the other two Gryffindor girls as well as Tuffnut who had decided to stick with his sister after breakfast.
The four of them came down to find a dock full of colorful ships from all across the seas. All of the Traders had set up ramps onto the ships and small stalls to peddle their goods. A lot of students, some soldiers, and some people from Hogsmeade were milling about and shopping as the Traders called and shouted at passerbys.
Merida came to a particular stall that was little more than two barrels holding up a plank, but the weapons laid out on the makeshift table were of great quality. Merida was amazed by the craftsmanship of it all, and admired a delicate fan, except each metal spine was tipped with a razor-sharp blade.
"That one is one of my best pieces. I've got a smith back home who likes to try his hand at making different little trinkets he sees in all his travels." Merida looked up in surprise, yanking her hand back from tracing her fingertips along one of the metal frame pieces. She found a man who was very tall and very muscled. He had warm brown eyes and dark hair.
"Ooooooooooh! Me Likey!" Ruffnut drawled from right behind Merida.
"Welcome Ladies! Me and my men have traveled all the way from the Nordic Isles to deliver some of the finest smith work in the whole world!" The man announced, picking up a dagger and twirling and flipping it in some simple tricks. Merida knew they were harder than he made them look, so she was a bit impressed, but not enough to stop from rolling her eyes alongside Astrid as Ruffnut and a few other girls who had gathered swooned over the handsome sailor.
The man seemed to notice because he smirked and tossed the dagger up, but when he caught it, the dagger somehow disappeared to be replaced with a small white flower. Merida felt heat rush to her cheeks as he held the flower out to her, giving her a wink and a soft smile. She chuckled a bit, hearing some of the girls behind her squeal, and she rolled her eyes again, but accepted the flower with a gentle hand.
"Merida!" She jumped, hearing her name shouted through the bustle of the dock. She looked up the dock to find Bunnymund hurrying towards her. "Merida! Glad I finally found you. North called a last minute meeting. We're both needed up in his office."
"Oh, of -of course! We should go, just..." Merida turned back to look at the sailor, but he was nowhere to be found. Gone without a trace. "Where did he...?" She murmured to herself, glancing down at the flower he'd given her. She wondered why her shoulders sagged realizing he was gone.
"Something wrong?" Bunny asked, but Merida shook her head.
"No, it's fine." Merida told him. "I'll catch up with you guys later." She waved to Astrid and Ruffnut, and they nodded, still looking confused about where the sailor had gone.
Merida glanced back, but didn't stop following Bunnymund back up from the dock.