I live...
This chapter has been done for a few weeks, but family issues destroyed my desire to proofread and publish it, until now. Hope you enjoy.
Corrin gripped the sides of his helmet, trying in vain to drive out the ringing in his ears. The ringing faded after several seconds of agony, and Corrin began to feel his strength return to him, followed by a sudden rush of energy into his fatigued limbs, then a sense of euphoria.
"There's better places to sleep than on the ground, you know"
Corrin heard scraping of steel boots on the road, and registered a familiar black gauntlet offered to him, which he gratefully accepted, and hoisted himself to his feet "I'm glad you're okay Leo, things were chaotic for a minute there. Do you know of what happened to Xander?"
Leo took his older brother's arm and pulled it over his shoulder, leading him elsewhere "You ought to worry more about yourself, I doubt these miscreants managed to so much as place a scratch on Xander's shield. Care to explain what just happened?"
Corrin removed his arm from Leo's shoulder, and after a couple of shaky steps managed to find his stride "I sensed a dragon vein on the road, and your retainer, Odin, helped me reach it, but I didn't expect it to be so difficult! Xander makes it look so easy, I would have never guessed every time he uses one he contends with all this. He really is amazing."
Leo only grunted in response and Corrin removed his helmet, feeling his disheveled hair- slick with sweat and tangled from its time confined in his helmet- fall upon his ears. Corrin attempted to right his hair with some annoyance, only for it to flop back down miserably. Corrin sighed, and resigned himself to it "Do you suppose that we should follow the rest of the soldiers?"
"The soldiers are here to fight, we're not paying them to sit on the sidelines and watch. Besides, no point in sticking our necks out for a battle that has already been won." Leo opened his mouth, as if to say something more, but thought better of it, though whatever he thought to say seemed to be eating at him. Corrin did not press, his brother was nothing if not inquisitive, if he needed to ask something, his curiosity would get the better of him eventually.
And sure enough, Leo spoke again "You said you used a dragon vein? Why did it summon water? And neither Xander nor I could detect it, how did you sense it?"
"Huh? Is that so strange?"
Leo appeared taken aback "Did Xander neglect to tutor you on dragon veins?"
Corrin was quick to jump to his eldest brother's defense "He gave me a brief explanation of them, but given all his other duties as crown prince, and the rarity of dragon veins, he thought it was more important to tutor me on combat and war strategy and battle tactics."
Leo scoffed "Anyone could tutor you on those, but only a royal could possibly even begin to understand how to teach you about dragon veins. It was remiss of him."
Corrin realized this was an argument he could not win, nor was he particularly keen on arguing with one brother over the actions of another, and decided to change the subject "Well, what is so abnormal of this dragon vein?"
If Leo noticed the abrupt change of subject, he accepted it graciously, realizing the pointlessness of the argument "There's nothing 'normal' about dragon veins, but the rest of us can only influence the earth with them. Stone, dirt, and on occasion, the plants they sustain. I've seen Xander control fire once, but that seems to be the exception that proves the rule."
"Perhaps different dragon veins affect different elements, and our ability to detect them depends largely on our personal abilities."
"It's possible, though it's more likely- never mind, there's no way for us to study it, dragon veins are too infrequent, they must be destined to remain a mystery." Leo glanced around, as if remembering something "We should head to the front of the column, Xander must be done by now."
Corrin was not ignorant to the beginnings of Leo's other theory, nor how hastily he changed the subject, but Leo would only evade him if pressed, and so Corrin respected his younger brother's privacy. "How many dragon veins have you seen, Leo?"
"Eight, though three of them were in Castle Krakenburg, and one was this one right now."
"Three at Krakenburg? That many? Why?"
Leo shrugged "Castle Krakenburg has its secrets I suppose. Some texts I've read about it says that it pre-dates Nohrian Royalty, and was made by the dusk dragon itself. Some books suggests it pre-dates the dusk dragon even. Perhaps father knows more on the subject."
"Perhaps one of those secrets could pave the way for the restoration of Nohr."
Leo smirked at his brother's optimism "Perhaps, but I find it unlikely. If the answer was under our noses this whole time, surely the royal family would have discovered it by now. But it's a pleasant thought." Leo's attention was drawn elsewhere for a moment, and he beckoned for Corrin- who had been distracted in thought- to stop. Corrin did so, and Leo approached someone laying at the side of the road, an arrow protruding from his arm. Judging for the insignia on his breastplate, one of the guards from the Northern Fortress. Leo, pressed two fingers against his neck to find a pulse, then tore off some cloth from the guard's uniform and wrapped it about the base of the arrow, before continuing beckoning for Corrin to follow. "More reason to hurry to the front of the column."
Corrin could not as easily shake his worry for the man "Will he be all right?"
"It's not much of a wound, he most likely passed out from pain. The best thing to do still is make our way to the front, so we can take command and organize everyone to take care of the wounded."
Before Corrin had a chance to agree, his ears picked up a sound in the omni-present darkness of Nohr's forests. Corrin scanned the woods for the source of the sound, finding two silhouettes in the gloom. Corrin grasped Leo's shoulder to get his attention, then pointed in their direction. Leo seemed to see the two figures, and responded by placing one hand the rapier at his side, and glancing at the carefully inlaid gemstone runes on the fingers of his gauntlet.
As the two figures came closer, Corrin could make out their features. They weren't Nohrian, but they didn't appear to be Hoshidan either. Given that they seemingly could not see the two princes yet would indicate they were foreigners, not adapted the Nohr's constant state of dusk. They bore dark skin and bright hair, but their skin was not gray, like that of some denizens of Nohr, but rather a light brown; not entirely unlike copper. The larger of the two was obviously a man (as he wore only a baggy pair of pants), and a giant one at that, in the muscular sort of way that most Nohrian men could only dream of being. He held in both hands a massive wooden club- a konabo, if he recalled correctly- and judging from appearances, had more than enough strength to use it.
The smaller of the two was either female, or a very young boy, dressed more modestly with a ragged shirt and baggy pants. While smaller, holes in her shirt revealed an abdomen rippling with muscle, and taught arms ended in calloused hands, one of which held a small war hammer. Her hair was white like ash, and she had paint sloppily spread on her face, and though she appeared at least a year younger than Leo, her face looked mean; locked in a perpetual scowl.
Corrin almost jumped with a start when Leo shouted suddenly "You in the woods! Drop your weapons, you are surrounded! Surrender, and you will live!"
The two warriors looked quickly for the source of the voice. A brief exchange of words occurred between the two, and the girl dropped her weapon, but the man raised his own over his shoulder. Leo seemed slightly confused, and kept his hand on his rapier, but made no other move. Corrin shifted on his feet awkwardly, mimicking his brother's response.
Then, suddenly, action. A ball of fire erupted from the direction of the two warriors and flew towards the two princes. Leo jerked, startled, and flicked out on of his fingers on instinct, striking at the fire ball with a small kinetic spell that parted and dispersed the blaze. Corrin yelped in surprise, and leapt clear of the flames with agility that surprised even him, and he found himself once again amazed by his armor. Nonetheless, though he avoided the flames, the heat still rolled over him, scorching his armor, and he found himself thankful for the very thin layer of cloth between him and the metal plates.
Before Leo could so much as draw his rapier from its scabbard the giant was very nearly upon them, and it hurled its club towards Leo. Leo dodged, barely- right into the giant's unforgiving reach. The man struck out with his fists at Leo's exposed head with massive strikes that were only slightly mitigated by the prince's warded collar. Leo rose his gauntlets in a feeble attempt to block, only for the giant warrior to grab his head and slam it against the prince's own defense. Leo finally managed to put distance between the two of them by kicking at the man's exposed shin with his armored sabatons.
Corrin made to run to aid his brother, but was interrupted by an explosion of pain in his side that drove the air from his lungs and knocking him to the ground. Corrin scrambled away from the direction of the blow, and found the girl, a smirk on her face and blood on her hammer. Corrin quickly secured his barbuta helmet, and adopted a defensive stance. He quickly shot a glance at his brother, who was shielding his face with his gauntlets and regaining his footing.
Corrin's attention was brought back to his own predicament by a sudden movement in the corner of his eye, and only barely managed to keep his head smashed by a quick strike from the hammer. The blow that would have likely ended his life instead landed on his shoulder, in which he felt something give, and he cried out in pain. Corrin again scrambled away from the brutal weapon, using the superior reach of his sword as a deterrent.
Corrin's blood began to boil, the pain in his shoulder forgotten, and raised his sword with one hand, and thrusted for her heart- eager to end the fight and help Leo, but then the enormity of what he about to do struck him. What right did he have to take a life? The girl was young, no doubt younger than he was, why was she a warrior? What drove her to that point? In his mind, Corrin could practically see her leaving her village, proud, ready to make a name for herself, and he could see her returning in a casket.
The opportunity to redirect the strike had already passed though, and Corrin consigned himself to live with his regrets as consequence. But thankfully that was unnecessary, as the girl moved to swipe the blade away with the handle of her hammer. What would have pierced her heart instead left a modest gash in her side. Corrin expected her to fall to the ground in pain, but instead she ignored the wound entirely, and pressed forward with a reckless assault. While the blows were easy to read, they were fast, judging by the ache in his shoulder and side they were strong.
Corrin began backpedaling while blocking, aiming to move out of the punishing weapon's reach. Parry. Back. Parry. Back. Parry. Back. Strike- a gash on her shoulder. Parry. Back. Strike- a gash on the leg. The girl finally began to slow slightly, but her strikes became more reckless and ferocious. However, she swung too wide- a silly, slight mistake, and all the opportunity Corrin could have hoped for.
Corrin used the delay to step into the strike, too close for the head of the hammer to connect with him. He grasped the hilt of his sword with both hands, lifted it over his head, and brought its pommel down on her head, hard. The girl's knees trembled for a moment- trying to stay upright with sheer willpower- but only a second passed before she collapsed into the ground, unconscious.
Corrin breathed a sigh of relief, before he recalling Leo's predicament. He quickly looked to where he saw his brother last, and found him there; lying on the ground, face badly bruised, and rapier-dripping with blood- in hand. His opponent was on the ground just a few feet away, in a pool of his own blood. His right leg looked contorted, as if it was struck with great force, and in his side was a small hole, where Leo's rapier had connected.
Corrin quickly removed his helmet and threw up on the road, overcome by the visceral sight. Once, twice, and three times he deposited the contents of his stomach on the road, before wiping his mouth and putting his helmet back on. He shook himself from the nauseous stupor. Leo was breathing, and that was reassurance enough for the time being. Nonetheless, concussions could have serious consequences if left untreated, he recalled. He had to find Felicia, or Jacob, and quickly.
Corrin looked down at the girl again, poking her with his boot to make sure she was unconscious. When she did not respond he realized she would need treatment for a concussion as well, and potentially surgery to remove bone fragments from her skull- for interrogation, if not out of respect for human life.
A clatter and a hissing were the only warnings Corrin had before he found himself enveloped in smoke. Corrin looked about panicked, and yelped as he barely jumped out of the way of another assailant. Corrin couldn't get a clear view of his attacker through his visor, but it was safe to assume it was a ninja or shinobi of some persuasion, and he DID see the weapon-a metal spike thin enough to slip through a visor and long enough to drive its way from the eye socket to the spinal cord, or the unarmored armpit to the heart, and capitalize on so many other chinks in Nohrian armor design.
Terrified did not begin to describe what Corrin was feeling at that moment. Alone, outmatched, potentially outnumbered, and cornered in a cloud of smoke. Corrin took a moment of deliberation before removing his helmet- it offered excellent protection against long weapons, but against a spike it would only serve to make it more difficult for him notice the ninja's approach. All that besides, it was heavy, and ruined his imitation of Xander's hair, now if only his boots weren't choking his feet…
Corrin forcefully shook himself out of his stupor, blaming it on the smoke, and pulled his collar over his mouth, and slowed his breathing. Corrin heard movement on his right, and pivoted to meet it, ducking out of the way of the spike, and dropping his sword. He grappled his opponent briefly, who was strong, but not nearly as strong as Xander, and didn't have the advantage of thirty pounds of armor to throw around. Corrin grabbed his arm, and twisted, throwing them both to the ground. A hectic struggle ensued, Corrin attempting to use his weight to pin the ninja, and prevent him from using the spike.
As they struggled, however, Corrin found the ninja did not appear to be a ninja at all. The man was young, perhaps a year or two older than him, but most definitely younger than Xander. He sported green hair and clearly Hoshidan features. But in place of dark silk clothing with many pockets he wore a tattered sleeveless shirt and baggy pants, just like the other two assailants. What was more, the material was far too rough to be Hoshidan made, instead it appeared to be made of wool, which was typical in Nohr to cope with the cool climate.
Corrin came close to pinning the man, however, the ninja threw his forehead forward into Corrin's nose, loosening Corrin's grip for an instant, and giving him time to squirm free. A small knife appeared in the ninja's hand, and he swiped at Corrin's face, who narrowly ducked out of the way, saving his eye, but still cutting a shallow gash in his temple, along with a fair-sized chunk of his hair. Corrin brought his armored fist down on the man's nose in return. The man went rigid for a moment, and then squirmed loose of Corrin's grasp on more time, kicking him away, and retreating into the fog, haphazardly throwing a makeshift shuriken-no more than several pieces of sharp metal slapped together, and even more harmless than the real things- which pinged harmlessly against Corrin's armor.
Corrin remembered what Xander told him about ninja. Typically, they were harmless, scouts barely armed at all and half of the time would disguise themselves as civilians. But Xander warned him, that some ninja, the ninja that did learn how to fight, turned slaughter into an art. Corralling soldiers into narrow choke points, planning several moves ahead of their quarry, preparing for almost any action that they could come up with.
Corrin pursued nonetheless, Leo was still vulnerable, if ever there was a chance to kidnap a member of Norhian royalty it was now, and thus Corrin had to keep the ninja's attention on him such that the ninja could find neither the thought or the opportunity to slip off, with Corrin's younger brother in tow. Corrin heard a skidding, a brief stop, and then the running continued, louder, more clumsily, as if the ninja were carrying someone. Corrin panicked, and quickened his pace, such that he could barely hear the ninja's soft steps as well as the heavy pounding of his steel boots upon the ground.
Corrin stumbled as he broke through the smoke, reorienting himself. The ninja made its way into the woods, limping, but still so fast Corrin could only catch a glimpse. Corrin sprinted after him, hoping to wear him down and corner him.
The ninja who could do little other than pant at Corrin's feet. Despite his speed when he first engaged Corrin, he was quick to wear down. Corrin had suspected from his uneven tracks and louder steps that he may have been injured prior to engaging Corrin, and seeing him now, he could confirm it, blood soaked through his trousers, and not from any injury Corrin could recall inflicting. Corrin glanced at the body the ninja had taken: not his brother, but rather, the girl whom he had fought before.
Corrin was careful as he approached the ninja, nonetheless, leveling his sword at the man and staying just far enough away from the ninja that a single step would send its tip between his ribs. "I'll accept your surrender. I have no stomach for violence, but you attacked us, not the other way around. Surrender, and you will be treated honorably as a prisoner of war."
The ninja was panting, clutching his bloodied side, but his voice was steady "There is no honor in being sent to the chopping block, though I thank you for the offer." The ninja drew from nowhere another dagger, leveling it at Corrin, who watched intrigued. The ninja narrowed his eyes, and seemed to look at Corrin with great attention. A few seconds passed before the ninja cast the dagger aside "Whether or not your honor is something to be trusted in, your country is not. Instead, I ransom information for my freedom. And hers."
Corrin considered the offer. It could be dishonorable, but information could save the lives of many Nohrians. That said, he didn't know the value of these prisoners "This girl, you fought me to rescue her, even though you were already injured. Is she important to you?"
The ninja's breathing evened out as he regained his breath "She is special to someone special to me. Every soldier in Hoshido is precious." It was a non-answer, if there ever was one. Corrin disregarded her, not much point in pursuing it.
"And who would you be?"
Kaze gave something, almost a smirk "I am no-one. No family left to care of me, no prestige, no fortune. I lost my name at birth, but I am called Kaze."
Corrin nodded "Well Kaze, what is it you can tell me free that we couldn't find through interrogation?"
"This does not concern my country, but rather Nohr. Your soldiers would kill me before they would hear me out."
Corrin titled his head, intrigued "I will hear your information before my decision."
Kaze shook his head "I will not surrender my collateral so easily. I will take your word of honor for my freedom and my life."
Corrin was silent for a moment, weighing his options "I give you my word."
Kaze dipped his head "We were sent here by a traitor within the ranks of your troops. He set us loose from our prisoner convoy, and left us here."
"I don't believe you."
"And I have nothing more than my word to convince you."
"And who would this traitor be?"
"I do not know." Kaze replied coolly "A former member of the Earth Tribe, most likely."
"Many members of the Earth Tribe serve as auxiliary forces for Nohr since we liberated and civilized them. And they serve honorably, as any Nohrian would. Meanwhile, the word of a Hoshidan ninja is worth little."
"It is not the word of a ninja. It is my word. It is good and all I have. Now what is your word worth?"
Corrin looked at the ninja up and down. The ninja seemed earnest in this, but spies typically did, at least until they suddenly didn't. To take this man prisoner would be to go back on his word, but then again, to let him go free, where he could attack others would a be a betrayal to Nohr and its people. But then again, wasn't deception necessary to outfox those that sought to deceive you anyways? Was it wrong to steal back from a thief? If not, then surely to lie to a liar was also justifiable.
"I cannot allow you to go free after what you've done, even if what you say is true. I believe you will treated well as a prisoner of war, I cannot so quickly abandon faith in my kingdom, at the prompting of an enemy.
The ninja narrowed his eyes "But you do have doubts."
Corrin remained silent for a moment before replying "You are a ninja and a spy. It is your job to sew deceit and misinformation."
The ninja held his tongue.
"Wha-what is this?"
Kaze shifted the girl atop his shoulder, calm even inches from the tip of Corrin's sword. "The fate that awaits prisoners of your honorable nation."
As Corrin sat in the woods, he watched as no less than sixteen unarmed Hoshidan's were lined up at sword point by two dozen Nohrian soldiers. Like clockwork, two Nohrians went down the line, one slamming the heel of his boot into their backs, pinning them to the ground, and another brought a knife to the back of their heels, cutting tendons.
"This is a trick, a Hoshidan illusion!" Corrin rasped harshly at the ninja.
"You know as well as I do that is not the case. This is very real. There are only three fates for Hoshidan soldiers taken prisoner. Samurai can be ransomed back to their families, for exorbitant sums of gold. Others, like these prisoners, are crippled, so they cannot rebel, and then sold as galley slaves. And then there are those, like this poor hero, who will share our fate."
Corrin watched as a commotion broke out among the crowd, as one Hoshidan rose to his feet, rolling from a quick thrust from one of the Nohrians, and launched himself at the nearest Nohrian. He struck like a lion, breaking his target's nose before being tackled to the ground, screaming and howling as he found his tendons cut, despite his efforts. Another prisoner, this one a woman, attempted to escape during the commotion, she made it six paces before finding herself surrounded and skewered by three Nohrian pikemen. The man who slashed the tendons seemed distraught at this, even more so than the Hoshidan's that cried out and asked for mercy. He screamed at the offending soldiers. Corrin could not discern his words or reasons, and for this he was thankful.
"Odd, that they spared the one that fought, but killed the one that ran. Hoshidan prisoners are also sold as slaves for blood sport, like we assumed we would be. But being a ninja, they will certainly execute me swiftly. And I will get off far easier than the girl will. So, tell me then, do you trust the honor of your soldiers over my own?"
Before Kaze could finish, Corrin had already cast his sword aside, and attempting to run and interrupt the atrocity before him. Kaze dropped the girl in alarm, wrapping his arms around the naïve lordling's waist and pulling him to the ground "Do you want to get yourself killed? What is the word of a noble that cannot understand the world or the common people in it to them? If you interrupt them, they would sooner kill you than hear you out, and no tragedy would be averted. Do you wish to do good? Watch then, honor them with that, and learn what Nohr is capable of. This war may have begun when your king killed mine, but the savagery of Nohr has existed for all time."
Corrin remained silent, his blood boiling with a fervor he did not think was possible. He watched, quietly, enraged. He felt suddenly, his naivete from earlier, both in his battle against the flame traibe, and later his exchange with Kaze. He knew now, that while it was well-fated that he should doubt his right to end another's life, might did not make right, but HIS might could make right. Against such cruelty, what could he do but kill? As the Hoshidan's screamed in pain and terror, it was Corrin's turn to hold his tongue.
Was he on the wrong side?
So... the beginnings of character development, and Corrin taking initiative for once in his life. Not making any promises on when the next chapter will come, but we'll get a glimpse of Castle Krakenburg, the royal family and (hopefully) Nohrian culture and political climate. What fun.
At any rate leave review with your thoughts on this chapter (Especially on Corrin. I know there's not much, but I'm trying to give Corrin character, but God, it's not easy). I will happily accept any criticism (of the story), and if you have any positive feedback that will boost my ego (please, it's like a leaking balloon...that is reliant upon a ninety year old chronic smoker with one lung blowing into it to prevent it from collapsing on itself). Peace.
