A/N: EDIT: Well, lack of feedback really hurts...T_T
Still, I'm trying my best here.
Hope you're ready~!
Once more, we're sticking with the "Embers" rule for this story, and others. If folks don't like this, it won't be continued. Meaning that if the story itself ain't popular? Well, I won't be able to continue it, sad as that may sound.
I'm working two jobs -might need a third soon!- so I barely have time to write; as such, I cannot afford to write something folks don't enjoy. So by all means, speak up! Your voice matters! Make yourself heard! As ever, reviews are the fuel that sustain me. Without them I cannot write a single word. Simple as that. Working nearly all hours of the day keep me absurdly busy, and I can't bring myself to write something folks don't like.
Now for your questions, comments, and concerns:
Q: You ever gonna do that Elden Ring self insert story I asked about?
A: I don't think I can. Not confident enough to do a pure Elden Ring. Was going to call it Maidens For Days or somesuch, involving a protagonist with an absurdly high Luck stat, but I dunno if folks would want to see such...
Q: Why is Naruto being subtle with his power?
A: As one reviewer guessed, its because he doesn't want to attract the Greater Will's attention...yet. If he started pulling out Kurama with all his bells and whistles, he'd garner too much attention, not only from the Greater Will itself, but all the other Outer Gods lurking out there. That isn't something he wants at the moment.
But as we all know, our boy can never be subtle for long...
Don't expect him to throw fights, either.
Because he won't~!
Q: Update schedule?
A: "Witch" should be update tomorrow or Monday, which will bring all my Elden stuff current for said month. Speaking of which. I'm thinking of moving the weekly Elden Ring back to monthly updates rather than weekly after this. Keep things fair, ya know?
Ronin and I are still working on Archon, and the others need more time in the oven.
The other stories deserve some love.
Thoughts?
Q: Sooo...is Naruto an Empyrean in this? He's got all his powers and all, sure, but..
A: Not sure if I clarified it, but an Empyrean, Naruto is not. Would've felt like I was adding too much here.
As stated, our boy's quite content to live it up this life, but some things never change. He's intent on forging a lasting peace in the Lands Between. If that means creating a new world order, cracking a few skulls and starting a family besides...well. He's done all that before, hasn't he?
Q: Timeskip when!
A: Timeskip now! Nine years, to be precise. Naruto a.k.a Godwyn, is now sixteen years of age...two little horned boys are running about undefoot, and he's about to find himself an older brother to three other children *cough*Ranni*cough*Rykard*cough*Radahn*cough*
Q:...Naruto, I mean, Godwyn, he's aware of what Alecto and Tiche are...right?
A: In the words of Godfrey, be assured. He's well aware that they're more than they seem.
Q: Will Fia be in this story?
A: That's a loooong explanation, but the long and short of it would be yes, eventually. How could I exclude her given her love for Godwyn?
As ever, I own no references, quotes, memes or themes. Not a wit or a one.
I'm just a humble author trying to make his way in this wild world, one word at a time.
As ever in the words of Kaif...
...SPOILERS!
"You're not putting those boys in the sewers. I won't allow it.
First one to try it loses their hand.
Second? You'll lose your eyes.
Third? You lose your life."
Are we clear?
~The Golden Son.
Prince of Pride
Naruto always wanted to be a brother.
Why wouldn't he? He'd ever longed for a sibling in his first life. Preferably an older one, but after some thought, he didn't mind playing the role of eldest himself. It seemed like such a good idea at the time. Yes, he'd made up his mind long, long ago. He would be the best sibling he could be; sure to protect and guide those who came after him...
.
..
...More fool he!
"Morgott! Mohg! Get back here!"
Laughter echoed ahead of him. "Nay! You'll never take us alive, old man!"
Long strides carried "Godwyn" down the halls at a breakneck pace after his quarry. In hindsight, he was sure he must've been quite the sight half-dressed as he was; blue tunic hanging loosely off one shoulder, the breeze kicked up by his frantic jog only serving to tug the garment down yet further. A passing servant stopped to admire him and found herself bowled over for her efforts. He caught her with nary a backward look, spun her to the side, then hurried on with a rushed apology.
What had he been thinking?! CHildren were evil! Little siblings were sneaky! They were tricksy! Fierce and fiery fiends they were, sweet one moment then sour the next!
"I did warn you...
'Not the time, Kurama!
He didn't race after the twins, nor did he walk. He stalked. No point in running now; he knew exactly where they were headed.
Sure enough, he found the boys in the plaza, perched in the high branches of a tree. Morgott had already made it to the top, while little Mohg, with his heavier head of horns, was still struggling at the halfway point. Said struggles redoubled when he saw him him coming and he scampered up after his twin.
Naruto stopped at the base of the oak and tapped his foot. "Come down from there! Right now!"
An accorn bounced off his head. "Come and get us!"
...don't tempt me."
Naruto's right eye began to twitch. He could, if he really wanted to. A swam of shadow clones, a golden arm or two from Kurama, and he'd wrangle them right down. But doing so would cause questions, questions he knew he couldn't answer. Not yet.
Soon, but not yet. Not until his position was truly secure.
Yessir, he had always wanted to be a big brother. Truth was, it really wasn't all it was cracked up to be. He loved Morgott and Mohg to death of course, no matter what they might look like. He'd staked his very reputation on them. Were it not for his own good word they would be rotting down in the sewers with the other Omens -yet another flaw in the Order he would fix when he came to power-but it was precisely because he had spoken up at the every moment their birth that the Fingers let them be; that they were free to be like this. Boys, having fun, causing mischief, living their lives. Utterly unaware of the heinous fate they'd avoided.
And thus, did he become their minder.
Their faults would be his faults, their sins, his sins.
Still didn't stop them from being little scamps when they wanted to be. Little hellions, they were!
"Last chance." He began to crack his knuckles. "Either you get out that tree right now, or I'm calling her."
Mohg clutched at a withered bough, good eye gone pensive. "You wouldn't dare!"
"Oho?" he planted a fist against his hip. "Care to test me?"
The younger Omen blew a merry raspberry his way.
"Right, then. Don't say I didn't warn you."
He placed two fingers to his lips, closed his eyes, inhaled deeply...and whistled at the top of his lungs. A sharp piercing note echoed away over Leyndell, from the tallest tower, all the way down to the eastern ramparts. A second passed. Two, now. Followed three. The silence stretched out as the young Omen held their breath. And then.
Someone whistled back.
"Fool of a brother!" Morgott glared bloody red daggers at his twin. "Now you've done it! You've ruined us!"
Mohg managed a grimace. "Maybe it wasn't here...?"
"You rang, my lord Godwyn?"
Mohg was still speaking when a soundless shimmer of silk appeared at Naruto's flank. The ghost of a smile touched the blond's face. Sloppy. He'd heard her footsteps this time. Either she'd let herself slip or he'd simply grown used to sensing her over the years.
"I'm telling you, she's gotta be an assassin. No handmaiden moves like that."
...I'm well aware. But she can't hurt us.'
After all, what manner of man feared death when he'd already died once? He didn't care who she was; even less of what she intended.
Simply put? She was far too entertaining to loose.
He craned a blue eye over his shoulder, grinning from ear to ear. "They're in the tree again."
Alecto strutted past him, a hand ghosting over his shoulder as she slipped by. Looked up. Frowned. "Is that so...?
The twins stiffened beneath her gaze.
Naruto bit down on a snicker. He knew that look. He'd been on the receiving end of it a time or two when he was their age. Alecto was in every way a more mature version of Tiche; a tart-yet-tantalizing hint to what her daughter would one day become. And unlike him, she wasn't afraid to mete out spankings to little lords who grew too big for their britches.
"My young lords," she cooed softly at the Omen twins, "You'd best climb down from there before I fetch your parents."
Morgott and Mohg exchanged a wary glance. The latter spoke. "We'll take our chances!"
"Will you, now?" It was the wrong thing to say. Because you see, Alecto smiled.
It was not a nice smile.
"Shall I call mine daughter Tiche, then?" she plucked a tiny silver bell from her sash, hefting it over her head as one might a mace. "I'm sure she would love to play with thee."
Someone whimpered. It sounded like Mohg.
This time, Naruto couldn't quite bite back his laughter. Tiche's idea of "play" left much to be desired. Oh, she'd play with them alright. As in training. She'd work them they dropped from exhaustion. Usually via her fists or the business end of a knife. He'd been subject to such before. He, at least, could handle her. They could not.
"Well?" Alecto all but purred, ready to flick her wrist and unleash hell. "What say ye? Shall I call her?"
Their response was nothing short of immediate.
"Anything but that! We'll be good!"
Morgott and Mohg shot down the tree, sketched a quick bow, and scampered the way they'd come. Naruto contemplated chasing them to their chambers...then thought better of it. The dual threat of Alecto and Tiche was usually more enough to cow the boys for a month or two. They'd behave in the interim.
Alecto hammered them with one last warning. "Don't forget your lessons tonight!"
They gave a harried assent and hastened around the corner.
"Such children," she tutted, touching one to her cheek.
Naruto palmed his face. "You don't now the half of it."
"I know more than I care to," His mother's handmaiden clicked her tongue. "But enough of them. We're alone. Which means," she continued apace, a trace of glee tickling her words as she linked her arm in his, full bosom pressing against him. "We have the afternoon to ourselves. What say you, my lord? Shall we take a...walk? Through your chambers, perhaps?"
He quirked a brow down at her. "What kind of walk?"
Her smile could've made Uncle Malekith quiver. "A very enthusiastic walk."
"I wouldn't. You promised to see Tiche today, remember? She'll have a fit if you ignore her."
"Not today, then?" Some of his reluctance must've shown through; because Alecto made a noise of displeasure and reluctantly released him. "A pity. Close your eyes, my lord."
His brow furrowed in faux concern. "Whatever for?"
"Humor me, my dear prince."
Naruto rolled his eyes, but complied nevertheless. He knew what Alecto was going to do; for all her supposed subtlety, he could read her like a book. Even a blind man could see her intentions. She'd been hounding him ever since he came of age; and something told him it was for more than just his body. Courting her promised pain and disaster.
He'd been through worse.
He was a prince after all...and truth be told, he enjoyed this little game of theirs.
Warm lips brushed his cheek, little more than a feather's touch. Something sparked. Fine, two could play to her scheme.
With but a thought his arms came alive and he whirled, wrapping both one arm round Alecto's waist even as the other lifted her up. She made a pleased noise, coiling a slender leg round his waist as he dragged her into the shadows. Gasped now when he pressed her against a wall in that darkness and kissed her full on the lips, hard enough to bruise. Her body ground against his, hips bucking in wanton need. He held her there for a full breath then pulled away, pinning her wrists above her head, denying his handmaiden the satisfaction she sought.
Alecto struggled a moment more to no avail, and slumped in his grasp. "How unfair. Don't you know its rude to keep a lady waiting?"
"Rude?" he scoffed. "This from the one who keeps trying to jump me?"
She flashed him a coy look beneath her lashes. "Then refuse me."
"..."
"The Golden Son, indeed." she tossed her head, sending her long blond braid to swaying as she gave him a long, fond look. "Even now you resist." her words piqued into a gasp as he forced a knee between her legs. "As expected of Marika's firstborn. I'll have you know this is no game for me-ah!" her breath hitched a little in thinly-veiled pleasure when he tightened his grip on her. "I know I can never be your queen," she leaned forward as much as he would allow, words ghosting most pleasantly over his right ear, "But I would happily be thy consort...
"Damn she's thirsty."
That...was not the image Naruto's self control needed right now.
It was enough to make him quirk a blond brow and lowered her to the ground. "You're teasing me."
"Am I?" Alecto smoothed her skirts, a pale hand tucking aside a strand of straw-blond hair. "You have but to say the word. You'll be a man grown, soon enough. I wonder who you'll chose?" a pale finger touched her chin in idle contemplation. "Then again, why settle for one at all? Consider it...
Her peace said, she turned and sashayed away, hips swaying in a manner that couldn't be anything other than deliberate.
His eyes lingered.
"Oh, and one last thing, my lord."
And as he looked on Alecto rang the bell.
"Do be kind to my daughter. She is far frailer than I."
Heat flooded Naruto's cheeks as he swore softly. "Why you sneaky little...!"
(.0.0.0.)
As ever, Master Hewg had tales aplenty.
Tiche almost found it ironic, in a bitter way. This habit would be surely the death of her. She'd been forever fond of weapons for as long as she could remember. Knives, chief among them. Some might call it natural given her upbringing, but she just couldn't help herself. She knew she was courting disaster by visiting him here at this hour, but she simply couldn't help herself.
Loyal smith of the royal family, Marika's misbegotten was a weaponsmith beyond compare. His weapons rattled the earth and split the skies.
In the beginning she'd sought him for such. Could he craft a weapon to kill a god? She had to know.
That was then. She'd since fallen prey to his stories instead.
And so many he had!
...he really fought that many knights?" she uncrossed her legs and rose from her place beside the old man's anvil. "Alone?"
"Silly girl." Hewg swatted her on the shoulder, a light cuff that didn't even sting, yet she felt the rebuke all the same. "He's like his mother, Marika. Its not his smile you need to worry about." a scaly finger poked her just shy of her forehead. "It when he he stops smiling that you need to run."
When he stopped? Her nose wrinkled. "I don't understand. He's always smiling. And he's so kind."
Could one be too kind? She wondered about that sometimes. Her lord -her target!- was a mystery to her, even now. For all his kindness, he never presented any openings. Ever was he wary, ever was he on guard. There was power in him, strength ready to spring forth at the slightest provocation, but it wasn't the strength that stilled her.
It was his kindness.
Lord Godwyn was just too damn nice. She'd thought a child of Lady Marika and Lord Godfrey would be an insufferable prat; an arrogant prince who sought only strength for himself and no other. But he wasn't that way at all. He'd risked his reputation for his brothers. Put his very well-being on the line. Proven himself time and again. It had taken her years to realize it. And in those years she had grown...attached. If she was tasked to slay him now, if it came to that, she didn't think she could. Not her, nor her mother. They'd gone too deep. Fallen too far in their cover.
Gods above, Tiche didn't think she even wanted to hurt her Godwyn anymore.
Her? Oh, dear. If she was thinking like this, this boded poorly.
Poorly indeed.
"Not always." Hewg's words drew her back to reality, and something in his voice caught at her. "I watched someone push him too far, once. They're still finding pieces of 'em in the capital."
Tiche opened her mouth to inquire further...and a faint chime caught her ears. She cursed and thumped a fist against the ground.
"Oh, seems he's rung the bell." his peace said, the surly Misbegotten returned to his task. "Off with you then."
Tiche dithered. "...may I come back tomorrow? I don't wish to be a bother..."
Hewg grunted something under his breath. It sounded like a yes.
She scampered of with a smile.
(.0.0.0.)
"Please excuse my tardiness!"
For once in her life, Tiche arrived late.
Naruto was almost pleased by it; her five minute delay gave him time to master himself, if only just.
"Don't worry about it." he mussed her hair, drawing a whine from the maiden. "I wasn't the one who rang for you."
Long lashes fluttered in a baffled blink. She stood there for a long moment.
Naruto counted to nine. Watched the realization dawn.
"Then who...oh. Mother." Tiche pouted, anger flashing in her blue-green eyes. "She's scheming again isn't she? Just you wait, my lord Godwyn." she drew herself up, thrusting her chest out at him. "You mustn't fall for her wiles! Someday, I'll be even more beautiful than her."
A laugh leaped from his lips. "Of that, I have no doubt."
She stomped a foot as his grin gradually grew. "You're teasing me, aren't you?"
"No, no, perish the thought-ow!" he laughed when she thumped his chest with a fist. "That tickles!"
She thumped him again. Harder this time. A hint of anger crept into her voice. "Godwyyyn!"
"Okay, okay! Ow!" he feigned pain for her sake. "I'm sorry! You really are adorable when you sulk...
Tiche wailed and gave him another smack, heedless of his laugh. "Cease!"
He drew her into a warm embrace, stifling her protests. "Sorry, I don't think I can."
She slugged his shoulder, but the blow lacked the power of the last. "My lord is too arrogant...
The bait was too juicy to ignore. "Your lord? Wasn't aware I was your property."
She bit his arm for that. He only laughed harder.
Try as he might, Naruto couldn't quite keep the smile from his face as Tiche railed at him. More often than not he fell back old habits these days. It was so terribly easy to slip into the painstaking persona he'd crafted for himself, to be Godwyn, the Golden Son, loved and treasured by all. But there were times when Tiche teased the real him out. He rather liked that. Almost made him feel human. He'd have to watch her. Her, and Alecto both.
Kurama scoffed at him. "Going for the mother/daughter pair are we? Why am I not surprised?"
Maybe he was. Maybe it would end in disaster. But for now, Naruto found himself content.
This was nice. Peaceful. He...he needed this respite.
He'd do anything to keep it, as long as he could.
The dragons struck a week later.
A/N: Here we go, we're getting to the good bits!
To be clear, its never quite specified when Godfrey left the capital; only that it was sometime after Mohg and Morgott were born.
Do you want this to be a story? Yes? No? Maybe so? Make yourselves heard! Once more, we're sticking with the "Embers" rule for this particular story, and others.
If folks don't like this, it won't be continued. Meaning that if the story itself ain't popular? POOF! Gone. Completely. I'm working two jobs -might need a third soon!- so I barely have time to write; as such, I cannot afford to write something folks don't enjoy. So by all means, speak up! Your voice matters! Make yourself heard! As ever, reviews are the fuel that sustain me. Without them I cannot write a single word. Simple as that. Working nearly all hours of the day keep me absurdly busy, and I can't bring myself to write something folks don't like.
Aaaand there we go. As ever, reviews keep me alive. Without them, I cannot write. So...in the Immortal Words of Atlas...
...Review...Would You Kindly? And have some previews -potential blot bin things- that I'm working on.
(Previews)
Gransax descended upon the capital in a storm of fire and blood, and for the first time since the Age of the Erdtree began, the capital walls were breached.
Thus did an era of peace end...
...and the War of the dragons begin.
Godfrey boomed a laugh and hefted his ax. "Dragons! Ha! This will be a worthy death!"
Godwyn rounded on him with a dangerou smile. "Don't even think about it, old man."
Blast. He winced. "T'was merely a jest, my son."
"Sure it was."
He heard Marika's laughter back in the capital.
"Woudst thou care to commune with me, dear Godwyn?
"By eating dragon hearts? Sorry, I'm not the sort to...
Lannseax dropped her robe.
...oh."
Tiche twitched. "You can't have him. He's mine."
"Changing the world from the inside out?"
"That's the plan, more or less. You're the first one I thought to approach with this."
A bemused brow rose. "Not Radahn?"
"I'm working on him. Tanith has nothing but good things to say about you."
...very well." he took a seat at the table across from him. "Count me in. Even if it is blasphemy. You do realize of course, dear Godwyn, that if the Greater Will catches on, it will try to kill us.
Naruto steeped his fingers and laid his chin atop them. "Let it try."
"So be it." Rykard raised his glass. "Together, we shall topple the very gods."
"I've waited ever so long to meet you, my lord." the black-robed woman dipped a curtsy. "I am Fia."
R&R~!
