The Hoshidians ran to the battlefield where they found Yukimura leading a small force against a retinue of Nohrians.
"How could they have gotten so close to the capital?" Takumi asked. "Mother's barrier should have made that impossible."
"Only improbable, not impossible." Ryoma replied curtly. "Focus on the task at hand. Sakura, stay with Yukimura and heal the injured. Hinoka, take to the skies and lead our Sky Knights and Takumi, cover me with the Fujin Yumi. Got it?"
"Got it!" All three siblings said in unison before assuming their assigned duties.
Riding her pegasus, Hinoka was the first to enter combat, catching an enemy wyvern off guard with a well placed lance strike.
"For Queen Mikoto!" The Princess yelled before charging into the fray with two fellow riders.
They quickly fell in behind a young blue haired wyvern rider and began a pursuit, throwing nageyaries to try and force the enemy rider into striking distance. Instead of panicking like most wyvern riders, this girl stayed eerily calm and simply deflected each thrown lance with a swing of her axe. Suddenly the wyvern rider made a sharp turn skyward, catching Hinoka and her fellow Sky Knights off guard. With the sun shining at her back, the Nohrian threw two hand axes, taking out both of Hinoka's wingmates.
"Target acquired." The Wyvern Rider said calmly.
"You wanna go? Let's go!" Hinoka countered before charging toward her foe.
The Hoshidian's piercing attack was easily blocked by a mighty vertical axe swing from the Nohrian who wasted no time in counterattacking, going straight for Hinoka's head. Strands of hair flew off Hinoka's head as the axe whizzed past her face.
The Blue haired wyvern rider was relentless in her attacks, not giving Hinoka a moment to counterattack and forcing her on the defensive.
I can't lose here! Hinoka thought. How can I turn the tides?
The Nohrian charged once more, she feigned a downward slash before quickly reversing the direction of her axe to hit Hinoka on her cheek.
Thrown off balance by the odd maneuver, Hinoka lost altitude and the battle paused as both combatants sized up the other.
The blue haired girl made the first move. She charged and yelled, "Finishing the mission!"
Hinoka whirled her lance, deflecting the blow and hitting her adversary with the butt of her lance. Pushing her advantage, Hinoka attacked once more. Aiming her lance at the wyvern, Hinoka attacked but found her lance simply bounced off the dragon's tough scales.
"Oh crap..." Hinoka said as the wyvern rider quickly recovered and prepared to deliver a finishing blow. Just before the axe could strike, an arrow came shooting up from the ground and struck the enemy wyvern in the wing, causing it to fall to the ground below.
"Be careful up there!" Takumi yelled, revealing himself as the one who had shot down the wyvern.
"Thanks bro! It won't happen again." Hinoka replied briefly before flying to engage a purple haired Malig Knight who seemed to be commanding the air forces.
Takumi likewise returned to the battle in front of him. While his sister had been busy fighting the wyvern rider, Takumi had been in a heated battle against an enemy mage. Both of them had been launching attacks from across the battlefield but neither had landed a successful hit.
"Radiant Dawn!" The mage yelled as another Thunder spell raced across the battlefield.
"Shut up!" Takumi yelled as he countered with another arrow from the Fujin Yumi. The wily mage had been dodging his attacks and yelling crazy attack names since the beginning of the battle and it was starting to get on the Hoshidian's nerves. Intent on finishing the battle quickly, Takumi notched a few arrows and launched them all in quick succession.
"You'll have to do better than that to defeat the mighty Odin Dark!" The mage yelled as he dodged the attacks and began to charge at the archer.
"You haven't seen half of what I can do." Takumi countered as he continued to notch arrows.
Odin launched a couple of spells to block Takumi's attacks at first but the need slowly decreased as the distance closed between the two.
Crap! He knows archers have trouble aiming at close range. Takumi thought as he continued to back up and began to launch arrows more frantically.
The blond haired mage began to gather energy for his next attack as he closed the final few feet.
"Eldritch Smack-"
Landing a lucky shot, Takumi hit Odin in the shoulder sending him flying. His magic dissipated, Odin struggled back to his knees, his face showing a mix of fear and excitement.
"Die now you Nohrian Scum!" The Hoshidian Prince yelled as he loosed another arrow at point blank range.
The arrow flew straight at the dark mage's head but never reached its target. Instead it lodged itself into a tree which had mysteriously appeared from the ground.
"What!?"
"Get out of here Odin." A Dark Knight commanded. "I'll take care of this pest."
"Of course milord!" Odin replied before running to the rear of the column to be healed.
"You think you can handle me?" Takumi taunted, confident after his victory against Odin.
"Not only will I handle you, I will erase you." The Dark Knight replied before launching a spell at the Hoshidian prince.
Catching a glimpse of his brother out of the corner of his eye, Ryoma continued to charge into the thick of battle. Displaying a surprising amount of acrobatic skill, the red-clad prince jumped over the heads of a few Nohrian mercenaries before landing and deftly cutting them down with a few strokes of the Raijinto. Spotting a commander standing atop a nearby hill, the swordmaster yelled, "Nohrian commander! I am Ryoma the crown prince of Hoshido. I challenge you to single combat!"
The Nohrian Paladin smirked slightly before giving his reply. "Very well. But I am no mere commander, I am Xander the crown prince of Nohr!"
Spurring his horse forward, Xander unsheathed the Siegfried and charged toward his opponent, slashing at any Hoshidian soldier who came near. A few feet away from Ryoma, Xander spurred his horse into the air and Siegfried met with Raijinto in a flash of purple and gold lightning.
As the battle continued, the princes matched each other move for move. Although Xander had superior mobility and defense, Ryoma could launch a greater diversity of attacks from the ground to keep his foe off balance. The continuing clash between these two legendary weapons could be felt throughout the battlefield through the crashing of their lightning and the clanging of their steel.
It was these sounds that met Corrin's ears as soon as he set foot on the battlefield.
I have to find Ryoma and the others so I can help them defend the capital. The Prince thought before carefully surveying the battlefield for his siblings. It took a couple of moments, but he eventually spotted Sakura at the rear of the Hoshidian battle line.
"Sakura! What's happening? Do we know how this army got here?"
"Big Brother!" Sakura exclaimed as she finished healing a red-haired Sky Knight and his steed. "We still don't know... The others charged into battle awhile ago. I-I've simply been healing people back here."
"And you've been doing a fine job." Yukimura cut in, as he approached. "Welcome to the battlefield Prince Corrin. I'm sorry we had to meet under these circumstances but I am the chief tactician of Hoshido, Yukimura."
"I'm sorry too." Corrin replied. "Do you know where Ryoma and the others are?"
"I believe I've seen lightning from the Raijinto coming from that direction." The tactician stated as he pointed toward the battle. "Good luck getting there though, Lord Ryoma is always where the battle is thickest. It will be nearly impossible to reach him."
"Watch me." Corrin replied with a determined expression. Tightening the grip on his katana, Corrin rushed into the battle. Running into the thickest part of the battle, Corrin caught a Nohrian mercenary by surprise from his katana. A swift slash was all it took to slay the Nohrian before Corrin continued forward.
No time to think about Nohrian casualties. I have to protect the capital! Continuing forward, the young prince deflected the lance of an oncoming cavalier before running headfirst into the heavy shield of a knight.
"Stand down. I don't want to hurt you." The knight said, his friendly attitude starkly contrasting with his intimidating face.
"I can't do that." Corrin replied defiantly as a female fighter moved to block his exit. I was hoping I wouldn't have to use it so soon but looks like I have no choice. Eyeing his foes wearily, Corrin slid the katana into his belt and pulled out the Dragonstone. "Sorry about this. HAAAAA!"
In a flash of magic, the young prince transformed into a mighty dragon, startling everyone nearby.
"A dragon!? That's so not far." The fighter said before a swing of Corrin's tail knocked her unconscious.
"Char-" The knight began to yell before being knocked to the ground by the determined prince.
Rather than staying to finish off the knight and his companion, Corrin continued to march deeper into the battle. Swords and soldiers alike bounced off his scales as he pushed forward. I'm almost there! One final push! As Corrin finally reached a clearing, he was surprised to see two familiar faces locked in combat.
"Ryoma? Xander?"
The red clad samurai was the first to return his brother's call. "Corrin!"
Unfamiliar with his brother's draconic form, it took Xander another couple of seconds to reply. "Corrin? Is that you?"
Ceasing the flow of magic to the Dragonstone, Corrin returned to his human form and ran over to his Nohrian sibling. "It is Xander. Call off your troops!"
"I can't do that little prince. They took you away from us and sullied the pride of Nohr. For that they must pay."
"You have no right to say that." Ryoma countered. "Corrin was taken away from his homeland by Nohr long ago. We did not take him away from you, we simply put things right!"
The stagnation of the princes' fight had spread to both armies. While they were both following their commander's lead of a ceasefire, battle-lines were tense.
"Ryoma! What's going on?" Hinoka asked, as she descended from the sky. "Why has the fighting stopped?"
"This is Corrin's sibling from Nohr."
"Xander isn't his only sibling here." Camilla descended, fresh from her battle with Hinoka. "They haven't hurt you have they darling?"
"W-We would never do that!" Sakura cried as she broke through the line to join her siblings. "Corrin is our brother."
"The only thing bothering him is the Nohrian scum on the doorstep of his capital." Takumi chimed in, making his presence known. "So why don't you all get lost!"
"Such a hothead." Leo chided as he joined his siblings. "Even after our little skirmish, you continue to let your emotions control you. We aren't leaving until we get what we came for."
"Yeah! We're here to get our brother back!" Elise said, completing the set of Nohrian royals.
"Camilla, Leo, Elise!" Corrin exclaimed as his Nohrian siblings revealed themselves. "How did you all make it to the Hoshidian capital so quickly?"
"As soon as we heard you had been captured, we gathered a small force and set out to rescue you." Xander explained. "I'm not sure how, but we were able to make it through Hoshido's barrier and set course straight for the capital."
"Father didn't exactly approve of our rescue mission but we'll deal with that later." Leo continued.
"Father's anger is nothing compared to how much we love you darling."
"You lie!" Ryoma yelled. "He is not your sibling! He is of Hoshidian blood and you kept that from him!"
They are telling the truth. Corrin thought as his two families continued to argue. Their intentions had to be pure to move through Mother's barrier, but there's so much they kept from me...
"Xander!" Corrin yelled, silencing his siblings. "Did you know?"
"Did I know what?"
"Did you know the truth of my heritage?"
"Why would you ask that big brother? Xander would nev-"
"Elise!" Xander said, cutting off his little sister, "He deserves to know the truth." The Nohrian prince took a deep breath before continuing. "While Elise and the others were kept in the dark about the nature of your heritage, Father explained it to me shortly after you were brought to Nohr. To answer your question: Yes, I did know you were of Hoshidian birth but that has not stopped me from caring about you like a brother. The situation is more complex than you realize. Return to Nohr with us and Father will explain everything to you."
"Returning with you would be a death sentence!" Hinoka cried. "King Garon has already tried to kill Corrin here in Hoshido. Returning to Nohr would make it that much easier for him to finish the job."
"Is this true Corrin?"
"I-It is Xander." Corrin replied. "The sword Father gave me, the Ganglari, exploded during a festival the Hoshidians were throwing. I would have died if Mother hadn't..."
"She sacrificed herself to save our brother!" Takumi explained. "Now you must pay for what your country has done!"
"We'll protect you from Father." Camilla said, "Now please come home with us so we can be a family again Darling."
"Don't believe a word they say Brother!" Ryoma countered. "They've lied to you your entire life and they continue to do so now!"
"We have never lied to you willingly Corrin." Leo said, "We may have kept certain things hidden from you but I'm sure the Hoshidians have done the same. Otherwise this wouldn't even be a choice at all. The time has come to make a choice little Brother. Will you choose the bonds of blood or the bonds which have been forged throughout your entire childhood?"
Corrin fell silent as he realized he had to choose between Hoshido and Nohr. Siblings from both sides began to plead for Corrin to return with them, but their arguments fell on deaf ears as Corrin tried to make a decision.
How can I choose one over the other? I know I'm Hoshidian by blood but Nohr raised and nurtured me like I was their own. I have so much history with Xander and the others but would returning with them make Mother's death be in vain?
As the prince's mind continued to race and his families made their desperate pleas, his mind kept circling back to his memories of Nohr: Practicing swordplay with Xander, learning the basics of magic with Leo and playing all sorts of games with Camilla and Elise. Years later, Corrin would declare it was these memories that swayed his decision. Reluctantly, Corrin walked slowly over to Xander's side and drew his katana.
"Withdraw your troops Ryoma!"
"Brother! What are you saying?"
"I cannot abandon the only home I have ever know. I'm sorry Ryoma but I'm returning to Nohr."
"You're really going to go back with the people who tried to kill you? Who killed your Mother?" Hinoka added, trying to change her brother's mind.
"These people didn't try to kill me." Corrin replied, gesturing to his Nohrian siblings. "They came to Hoshido to rescue me."
"You would turn your back on your true family, your own blood, for this Nohrian filth!?" Takumi chimed in. Despite his earlier aggression toward Corrin, he seemed genuinely hurt by the betrayal.
"Together we have forged bonds stronger than blood and Father will soon see that."
"Well put little prince." Xander said with a smile. "Now our family is whole once again."
"We've waited too long for Corrin to come back to us. We won't let you take him!" Hinoka declared with a threatening twirl of her lance.
"Please Hinoka. This is my decision. Can't you accept that?"
"None of us will accept this!" Ryoma declared, drawing the Raijinto. "If you leave, Mother's death will truly have been in vain."
"Are you saying you won't let your own brother follow his heart? I thought Hoshido was supposed to be better than that." Camilla replied with a smirk.
"Don't twist our words you wench!" Ryoma growled. "We simply want our brother back."
"And Corrin has made his choice." Leo said confidently. "He has chosen us over you."
"Yeah! He's our brother now." Elise chimed in.
"H-He would never do that!" Sakura tried to counter weakly.
"Enough!" Takumi yelled, drawing the Fujin Yumi and notching an arrow. "If you won't hand him over, we'll simply take Corrin back by force."
"Takumi no!" Corrin cried but it was already too late. Takumi released his arrow and the battle resumed with even greater ferocity than before. Lightning flew through the air as Siegfried and Raijinto clashed once more, trees sprouted from thin air as Leo blocked incoming arrows from the Fujin Yumi and Camilla and Hinoka were slowly gaining altitude as their steeds fought tooth and nail. A young samurai clad in pink charged directly at Corrin with katana raised. Corrin raised his own to block but was not prepared for the berating the girl had for him.
"How could you choose them over Hoshido!? Your kidnapping broke Lady Sakura's heart and it took her years to finally recover. How do you think she'll feel now that her brother has rejected her of his own free will."
"I-"
Corrin's blade wavered as he thought of Sakura crying for his sake, creating an opening for his opponent. She kicked him in the stomach and launched a quick follow up strike toward Corrin's left side. While the attack did leave a nasty dent in the Prince's armor, he was otherwise unharmed.
"I cannot forgive someone who would so blatantly harm Lady Sakura. You're coming back with me whether its dead or alive." The samurai readied her sword once again and charged.
The killing intent emanating off his opponent sharpened Corrin's mind and resolve. He easily blocked the girl's piercing attack toward his midsection with a sweep of his sword and countered by driving his knee into her stomach.
"I am truly sorry for what Sakura had to go through but I simply cannot abandon the only family I've ever known."
"They'll... never trust you..." The girl replied, winded from Corrin's attack. "King Garon will kill you on the spot."
"Just like you're trying to do?"
"RRAAHHH!"
Enraged at the comparison between herself and King Garon the samurai charged once again, swinging her sword in a wild and deadly dance. Corrin tried to pary each blow but a few were swift enough to break through his guard, leaving a couple cuts in his armor and releasing a small amount of blood.
The samurai paused for a split second before going in for the kill: A slash aimed directly at the Prince's neck. That pause gave Corrin plenty of time to twist his body below the strike and hit his Hoshidian opponent in the back of the head with the butt of his katana, knocking her out cold.
"Hana!" Sakura yelled as her retainer hit the ground.
"Kagero get her out of here! Saizo retrieve Corrin!" Ryoma ordered as he parried another blow from Xander.
Skurikens flew at the Nohrian prince from nowhere and two shadows materialized from the heat of battle. One shadow, revealing itself to be a well-endowed female ninja, grabbed the defeated samurai and disappeared back into the battle. The second shadow revealed itself to be a menacing looking ninja with a nasty looking scar over one of his eyes.
"I'm afraid you're going to be coming with me." Saizo growled as he held a dagger at the ready.
"I don't think so." Corrin replied with a twirl of his sword.
"Then I guess we'll be doing this the hard way." Saizo smirked before throwing a small explosive at Corrin's feet which released a plume of smoke.
His vision obscured by smoke, Corrin was defenseless as Saizo launched a barrage of attacks. Each one was placed deliberately to be nonlethal but extremely painful.
"That's enough!" Drawing some magic into his sword arm, Corrin transformed it into it's draconic form and used it's strength to blow away the smoke in a single stroke.
The display of strength caught Saizo just as he was preparing to strike, forcing the ninja to quickly backstep and regroup.
"Pretty impressive. But that's not nearly enough. You deserve worse for abandoning your family."
Not bothering with another smokescreen, Saizo threw a couple shurikens and charged once more.
Now that his target was visible, Corrin was able to counter. He easily knocked the incoming shurikens out of the air and raised his sword just quick enough to parry Saizo's next attack.
"I... didn't abandon them!" Corrin said, enduring the pain from Saizo's previous attacks and bracing against the current one. "I didn't want to anyway. Nohr shaped me into who I am today. How can I sacrifice that? How could by birth family ask me to do that?"
Angered by the Nohrian prince's answer, Saizo backed away and threw some of his specialty explosives which exploded as Corrin tried to swat them away.
"One is supposed to make sacrifices for their family!" The ninja yelled over the wall of fire that separated him from his target. "Its how you show your devotion to them!"
"Not on this scale!" Corrin countered as he slowly pulled himself off the ground. "Not when it involves war or killing!"
"That is exactly when they need to be made." The ninja replied knowingly. Seeing his opponent beaten and barely standing, Saizo pulled out his dagger once again and leapt through the flames to deal the finishing blow. However, rather than hitting his target, Saizo's dagger was met with the axe of a Nohrian princess.
"You've been naughty." Camilla said before unleashing a savage blow which sent her opponent flying backwards before he crashed to the ground.
"They're too strong! Fall back to the castle!" Ryoma yelled.
While Corrin had been struggling against the Hoshidian retainers, his Nohrian siblings had flourished against the opposing royal family. The calm-minded Leo had made short work of the hot-headed Takumi and although it had taken her slightly longer to catch her prey in the air, Camilla easily defeated Hinoka.
As the Hoshidian army gathered its wounded commanders and fled, Corrin's family gathered to his side.
"You fought well today little prince." Xander said both his armor and horse riddled with cuts and blood.
"You look like hell warmed over, but you survived. Good job brother." Leo added.
"Yeah! Now let's finish off those nasty Hoshidians once and for all!" Elise said with her usual cheer.
"Not today Darling." Camilla replied.
"Why not? We've got them on the ropes!"
"Our forces are too tired to make another push." Xander explained. "The Hoshidians are tired as well but they'll have a slew of reinforcements to throw at us. It would be impossible for us to take the capital in this condition."
"Even if we could take the capital we're too far away from the Nohrian supply lines to keep it." Leo added.
"Exactly. Now let us return home. Father will be pleased to know our family is whole again." Xander said, leading the army back toward the border.
As everyone left, Corrin lingered on the edge of the battlefield for a few moments.
Goodbye Hoshido. Hopefully when I next return, it can be in peace.
With those parting thoughts, Corrin turned away and began the trip back to Nohr, the Dragonstone and Katana his only mementos of his homeland.
AN: Long time no see everyone! Sorry for the wait but school and life commitments were crazy the past few months. Hopefully it was worth the wait! We've now finished the prologue and can officially begin the story of Conquest. Even though there weren't a lot of changes this chapter, some big ones are coming on the horizon. I can't guarantee when the next chapter will be out but I'll keep writing whenever possible. Now onto the changes:
1) Mini-fights between the royals and certain retainers. It doesn't really have a lot of plot relevance but showcases the bonds of the Hoshidian royal family before you're forced to choose a side and gave me an opportunity to try writing a few characters (Odin was a blast!). If you think a character appeared this chapter but aren't sure, odds are you are correct. I tried to include as many possible. If any seemed out of character, let me know.
2) Corrin fights retainers rather than his Hoshidian siblings. While it is emotional that Corrin would have to fight his siblings, he wouldn't stand a chance. Ryoma is too strong, Takumi has the Fujin Yumi and Hinoka has the advantage of flight. Instead, Corrin fights Hoshidian retainers who give a terrible first impression of their homeland. Don't get me wrong, I like Saizo and Hana was the whole reason I got Birthright but Saizo is a jerk to everyone (for good reasons) and Hana hates Corrin for things he had no control over. It gives a glimpse at a couple more characters while solidifying Corrin's choice for Nohr.
Feel free to leave a review with your thoughts! See you next time!