Hello, everybody! Jack of Knaves here. Well, after doing some thinking, I decided to give this project another shot. Now then, a few things to go over. I have a number of plans in store for diverting and improving upon the Crimson Flower storyline, namely by making it considerably longer compared to how short it was in the actual game. Additionally, I will be posting a poll on fanfiction dot net asking a simple question: should I incorporate Shez from Three Hopes into the story?
That being said, controversial opinion time: I actually like Fire Emblem Fates. Mainly because it was my first Fire Emblem game, although I will admit it has a number of problems, how it handled romance notwithstanding. Personally I always had Male Corrin romance Felicia (the klutzy maid. Plus, ice dragons are awesome. I mean, it wasn't an actual thing, but still) while Female Corrin went with Silas to avoid that mess. But, that's just me.
Well, I don't really have anything else to talk about without going into spoilers, so let's begin!
Prologue: A Disastrous Plunge
Kingdom of Nohr-Bottomless Canyon
Corrin, a young man with spiky platinum blonde hair, pointed, almost-elf like ears, blood red eyes, and clad in silver and black armor absent of any sort of footwear with a blue cape fluttering in the wind behind him, pinned by a broach that held a shimmering, almost mystical blue stone, his hand gripped tightly around the handle of an ordinant-looking golden sword, known as the Divine Sword Yato, Azura, a beautiful young woman around his age with long, flowing blue hair and golden eyes wearing a long white and blue dress and ordinant accessories, including a mysterious seashell necklace that had some kind of magical properties, and Felicia, a beautiful young woman around Corrin's age with pink hair, icy blue eyes, and clad in the quintessential maid outfit, arrived at a location that Corrin recognized immediately, not because of the nearby outpost that was once patrolled by a small regimen of Hoshidan soldiers or the eternal storm that always seemed to be raging overhead, but because they had arrived at the place where everything that Corrin had ever known in his life growing up had begun to be flipped upside down.
It had all started when Corrin was finally allowed out of the fortress where he had spent most of his life growing and had been brought before the man he had once thought to be his father, King Garon of Nohr. He had bequeathed him a sword called Gangrilarhi, and ordered him to use it to kill unarmed prisoners, a command which he had refused. Meeting with his father after the fact, Corrin had been sent with an apparently-reformed criminal named Hans to investigate an abandoned fort near the Bottomless Canyon in the hopes of being able to set up shop there, only to find that it was decidedly not abandoned and, thanks to Hans, was pulled into a battle that neither he nor the rest of his companions desired with the Hoshidans stationed there. If it hadn't been for his older brother Xander and the rest of his Nohrian siblings showing up when they did when the Hoshidan assassins arrived, he'd probably be dead.
But, it was at that point where everything Corrin had ever known had begun to shatter like glass. Hans, having apparently snuck off during the fighting, proceeded to murder one of Corrin's oldest friends and retainers, a man named Gunter, by knocking him into the Bottomless Canyon. In a fit of anger, Corrin's body began to transform. First his arm morphed into a some kind of organic lance or impalement limb, with which he struck Hans in tandem with Gangrilarhi as his head seemed to take on a more dragon-like appearance, before blasting the murderer with a blast of what seemed to be the purest, most pristine water he had ever laid eyes on out what looked like a massive maw of some kind that had formed out of both of his arms.
Terrified by Corrin's transformation, Hans revealed that it had been King Garon who had ordered him to kill Gunter. It was at that moment, however, that Gangrilarhi seemed to take on a life of its own and hoisted him into the air before attempting to drag him into the Bottomless Canyon, only to be saved by Lilith, whom Corrin had once thought to be a strange bird that he had nursed back to health, then an ordinary stablewoman. Turns out she was neither, but was instead a dragon, who had provided him a safe place in the Astral Plane for him to recollect himself before he returned to the Bottomless Canyon, where he was promptly kidnapped and brought before the Hoshidan Royal Family.
It was then that the truth came out: Corrin was not a Prince of Nohr, but a Prince of Hoshido who had been kidnapped by Garon after luring his real father, King Sumeragi of Hoshido, into a trap under the pretext of wishing to partake in peace talks, killing him in cold blood and taking Corrin for his own.
Corrin had then spent the next several days getting acquainted with both his biological Hoshidan siblings and Azura, who was apparently a lost Princess of Nohr that had been kidnapped in retaliation for Corrin's own kidnapping, although her captors, including Queen Mikoto, certainly made her feel like she was a part of the family far more than Garon had with him, though thankfully Xander, Camilla, Leo, and Elise had done more than enough to make up for it. While most of his siblings and his mother were more than happy to spend time with him, his brother, Takumi, seemed very, very hesitant to both trust and spend time with him.
After he had spent a few days coming to terms with the truth about his family, his Mother revealed that, because of rumors that had been circulating about Nohrian spies infiltrating the castle, she wanted to present him to the people of Hoshido as the lost prince who had returned home at last. The ceremony had started out peaceful enough, but that quickly changed when Gangrilarhi took on a life of its own again and flew out of his sheath and into the hands of an unknown assailant, who then caused the sword to explode violently, leveling the town square and slaughtering all the innocent people who had gathered there. Queen Mikoto threw herself into the trajectory of what seemed to be shards of Gangrilarhi, sacrificing herself to save his life.
Corrin couldn't really remember much of what happened after that, mostly because of the fact that he hadn't just partially turned into a dragon, but had fully and completely transformed into a dragon, consumed by a mindless rage until Azura had apparently used her gift as a Songstress in order to restore him to his human form. As far as he knew, one moment, he was cradling his mother's body in his arms, then a loud roar echoed throughout his mind to the point where he couldn't even hear himself think, and the next he was kneeling before Azura, having evidently been strangling her in his Draconic Rage, his memories of both his childhood and abduction by King Garon fully restored.
While his siblings, save for Takumi, and Azura consoled him about the destruction of the square, Corrin was selected by the Yato, which was apparently forged to be the key to peace in their world, as a massive Nohrian invasion force gathered near the border of Hoshido, prompting the High Prince of Hoshido, or more accurately, the new King of Hoshido, Corrin's older brother Ryoma, to gear up in preparation to go to war with Nohr. After acquiring the Dragonstone that was currently attached to his cape's broach, which would allow him to maintain control over his dragon form and be able to revert back to his human form at will, Corrin and Azura made to follow the Hoshidan Royals.
Once they had arrived on the field of battle, Corrin quickly found himself between a rock and a very, very hard place as he was forced to choose between the family he had been born into, and the family who had raised him.
But… Corrin couldn't do it. True, he had little recollection of his blood siblings, but that didn't change the fact that the same blood ran through the veins of each and every one of them, what little memories of them he did have was proof of that. And yet, at the same time, he couldn't cast aside the Nohrian Royals who had taught him everything they knew of swordplay and the world. However, neither Xander nor Ryoma would listen to reason. So, in a desperate attempt to get their attention, Corrin, Azura, and a recently arrived Felicia attacked soldiers from both Nohr and Hoshido in order to get both sides' attention.
They got their attention all right… but because they had attacked both Nohr and Hoshido, Corrin, Azura, and Felicia were branded traitors to both kingdoms, and as a result, they were forced to flee for their lives. In search of a place to hide from the two armies, Azura had revealed that not only did she know of a place where no one would ever find them, but when they arrived, she had a great deal to tell them both about what she'd learned from her mother, and the truth about this world. In absence of any other alternatives, both Corrin and Felicia had agreed to follow Azura to the Bottomless Canyon.
Only thing was, there didn't seem to be one, apart from the fort nearby, and Corrin wasn't certain if Nohr had indeed set up shop there or if Hoshido had reassigned a new regiment of men. Even if the fort really was abandoned, with the war between Nohr and Hoshido in full swing, there could be no doubt that one or both sides would be all too eager to claim it.
"You… don't mean for us to hide out here do you?" Corrin asked Azura, who turned around to face the prince.
"That's exactly what I mean. We'll jump into the canyon," said Azura as though jumping into a canyon that had the word "bottomless" in the name was a perfectly normal and completely rational thing to do, much to the alarm of her companions.
"WHOA-WHOA-WHOAAAA, WHAT?! H-hold on just a minute!" screamed Felicia. "If we jump down there, we'll all die! I know we need to keep a low profile, but I don't think death is such a great hiding place!"
"Don't worry. You won't die if you jump," said Azura, taking note of the extremely apprehensive looks on both Felicia and Corrin's faces. "You have to trust me."
Corrin looked very hesitant before he spoke. "Azura… you'll tell us more of what you know after we jump into the canyon, right?" he asked the Songstress, the silent demand evident in his voice.
"Yes, if that's what you wish," replied Azura with a small nod.
Corrin thought it over for a few moments before giving a reluctant sigh. "Then we have no choice," he said.
Felicia's eyes went even wider before she let out a terrified squeal. "Are you really serious about this, milord?"
"Yes," said Corrin, turning to face Azura as he spoke. "I trust Azura. Everything will be fine."
Azura walked up and hugged Corrin, letting out a sigh of relief before releasing him. "Thank you, Corrin. I'll go first and wait for you to follow," she said before making her way to the rickety bridge that spanned across the canyon.
"All right, I'll be right behind you," said Corrin as he followed Azura.
Felicia heaved a reluctant sigh. "If he's going in, then I guess I must follow…" she said, reluctance oozing from her voice. "This is incredibly scary… but here goes!"
Once Corrin and Felicia were gathered on the bridge, Azura took a deep breath before hurling herself into the canyon, with Corrin and a terrified Felicia jumping over the ropes holding the bridge up and plunging into the abyss right behind her only a few moments later.
Almost as soon as they jumped into the abyss, however, Azura could immediately sense that there was something very, very wrong about it. That something quickly became very obvious as dark energies surged across the dark depths of the canyon and deep, dark, and sinister laughter echoed throughout the rocky pit.
"Ummm… Azura? Is that… supposed to happen?" asked Corrin over the loud rush of wind, making an effort not to look under Azura's dress as it blew about in the wind.
"That dastard... he's tampered with it! Damn him!" cursed Azura.
"Who's tampered with what?!" yelled Corrin before it clicked, a look of sheer terror setting in on his face as the realization hit. "We... just jumped off a cliff to our deaths, didn't we?"
"I'm afraid so," Azura shouted back, panic creeping into her own voice as their descent into what could only be certain death seemed to speed up considerably.
"I KNEW THIS WAS A BAD IDEA!" screamed Felicia as Azura and Corrin screamed at the top of their lungs before they hit something solid and everything went black.
And that's a bingo! Hope you enjoyed Felicia and Azura's cameos, because that's the only time you're seeing them in this story! That said, don't worry, they're not dead. They'll show up again in the third installment of this series. If you liked what you saw here, then be sure to fave, follow, review, and join us next time as Corrin arrives at Garegg Mach Monastery! See you then!