Part 2: Shift
Chapter 12 - Focus
Beta'd by A.O. Talmidge
"Mind running that by me again?"
Anna shuffled her feet, not meeting her sister's eyes. Maybe she shouldn't have been surprised that this wasn't going as smoothly as she'd hoped.
Still, was it not ironic that as much as she shunned her reputation as an Anna sister, the moment she needed help, she came running to her family?
Maybe, but she would take what she could get. "I need you to smuggle us out of the city."
"And remind me why you need me to do this, one more time?"
"Well…" Her left hand went to the back of her neck, and she gave a half-hearted smile, still avoiding her sister's eyes. "I might be on the run from the Izumite government now for being suspected of conspiring with the guy who killed the archduke."
She'd kept her right hand under her cloak, to not reveal the new scars leading up her arm, if only not to worry her sister further. She should get a pair of gloves to cover them up. They still itched slightly, but at least her head had stopped pounding.
Her sister's eyes half-lidded, hand cocking to her hip. "Lemme guess, Mystery Man over there is the one who did it, right?" Clearly, she wasn't impressed.
"Robin did it to save my life." She could tell that it was true, even though she didn't understand yet what it was he had saved her from. There hadn't been a chance yet to really talk.
"How romantic." Her sister's tone was flat.
"Anna."
Her sister sighed and glanced over to Robin and Kaden, sitting at a table near the shuttered window across the small, but well-furnished sitting room, talking in low voices. Nina had already gone her own way while they were losing patrols in the city to get to here, the flat above her sister's shop.
Her sister looked back to her, before she leaned in close. "They aren't pressing you into doing this, right?"
"No." Anna shook her head for emphasis. "I'm choosing to go along with them."
Her sister folded her arms, unconvinced. "Alright, let's say that I agree to this: what's your plan? What are you going to do afterword?"
"…Kill a mad dragon."
"You mean the one you told me sent invisible soldiers to assassinate you? You want to go looking for the thing that wants to kill you?"
"It's not like we're just going to charge at it blindly. We're going looking for information. If you want you could even help us out in the search. You know, use your network of contacts to find something?"
"Don't push it."
Her sister was clearly unimpressed with her request, so Anna switched tactics. "Come on Anna, you aren't just going to leave me to be executed right?"
It was a low blow, but it seemed to work.
"Of course I won't!" Her sister looked offended at the implication that she would. "But I'm not sure that helping you with this is the best way. You sound like you're in way over your head, Anna."
"Well, what else am I supposed to do? It's not exactly like these things will just blow over. Izumo wants us executed and the dragon will keep hunting us, Anna. The longer we wait around, the more likely it is that we'll be captured or killed."
Her sister sighed and rubbed her eyes-
moving right through the eyes she meant to rub
-and sighed.
"Look, this is a lot to swallow. I'll help you, but I'm worried you're jumping into to something you'll regret, Anna. That's all."
Great. Now she felt bad.
At least she was getting somewhere.
They walked over to Robin and Kaden who looked to them from their conversation at their approach.
"Well?" Robin asked.
Anna nodded. "She'll help us."
"However," her sister interjected, "all three of you together would attract too much attention, so we'll have to smuggle you out separately."
Robin nodded. "That makes sense. I assume you have at least an idea for a rendezvous somewhere?"
Her sister nodded. "The owner of an inn in a town west of here is run by someone who owes me a big favor. You'll arrive at different times, but you'll all get there eventually. In the meantime," she gestured to Kaden's ears and tail, "you need something to cover those traits, and you," she gestured to Robin, "ought to ditch that cloak of yours. It's too distinctive."
"Ah, no. The cloak stays." There was a challenge in the way he said it.
Her sister cocked her eyebrow, unfazed. "Weren't you wearing the thing when you…you know, killed the-"
Anna laid her left hand on her sister's shoulder, cutting her off. "Trust, me Anna, I already tried to get him to get rid of it before. I don't think this is going change anything."
Robin gave Anna an odd look, which she returned with a cocked eyebrow.
Her sister threw her arms up in a gesture of surrender. "Fine, whatever. But at least take the thing off or cover it up while I help you get out of the city." She started to move towards the stairs before she paused, looking back. "I feel like I shouldn't have to tell you all this, but don't go out. For now, just wait here while I get the operation ready."
Anna gave her a mock two finger salute. "You got it."
The thrill of battle sung in her veins.
Corrin sidestepped the thrust of the spear, before bringing her own sword up to redirect the follow-up jab towards the left, grabbed the handle of the spear with her free hand, and jerked it towards her. Moving with the momentum of the grab, she stabbed forward, but her opponent shifted out of the way, throwing a kick towards her midsection.
Anticipating the move, she let go of the spear and twisted out of the way of the boot, spinning into a swipe with her sword, blocked by the wood of the spear. The strength of the impact sent painful vibrations up her arm, but she ignored them.
They held the lock for a moment, before she disengaged – she knew she wouldn't win a contest of raw strength – and rolled under and away from the retaliatory swing. She quickly righted herself, orienting towards him. The two began circling, the sand of the sparring arena coarse under her bare feet.
As they circled, she saw Jakob enter her field of view, walking towards the outdoor practice yard, before coming to a stop just outside of the sparring ring, watching impassively. Of course, she knew what to look for and saw a modicum of distaste flash through his expression, likely at how long they had been going. He really didn't need to worry so much. She knew her limits.
This particular spar had been going for only a minute, which didn't sound like much on its own. However, this was just the latest of a many matches. She was tiring, and Gunter was just as skilled - if not more so - than she was. He also had the advantage of the reach with his spear.
However, he was both aging and wore heavier armor, and she could see his movements flagging slightly. It would likely be imperceptible to anyone else, but Gunter had been her sparring partner all of her life. She likely knew his tells better than he did.
For her, fighting and swordplay were second nature. It wasn't as though there was much else to do, stuck within the bounds of the Northern Fortress as she was.
The thrill thrummed under her skin.
There.
She surged forward, twisting around Gunter's downward swipe before she slammed the flat of the blade upward into Gunter's forearm. A cry of pain and his grip on the weapon loosened. She immediately pressed the advantage and moved into a flurry of blows.
He recovered quickly enough to parry one strike, two, but it was frantic, clumsy because of the fresh injury. Gunter stumbled. On her third blow, the spear flew out of his grip right before she rammed her shoulder into him and knocked him spinning face down into the sand.
The tip of her blunted practice sword drove towards his neck before he could recover. The thrill hummed, urging her sword forward, but she ignored it, stopping at with the tip at the back of his neck.
They held that position a moment before Corrin let out a long breath out, and the thrill faded once again to a distant hum.
The spar was over. She took the point of the practice sword away from Gunter's neck before jabbing the tip into the sand. She offered her free hand to him, smiling.
He cocked an eyebrow at her. "Excellent form, milady." He grasped his hand in hers. "However."
Her eyes widened and she tried too late to get out of the grip. Her world spun and she crashed hard into the sand, her breath rushing out in a gasp.
"You forgot the most important lesson: never let your guard down against your opponent, not even for a moment." Corrin gasped roughly for a moment before she was able to suck in air again, coughing slightly. "True enemies will not be so kind. Show any weakness and they will exploit it; having the wind knocked out of you will be the least of your worries then."
She pushed herself up on her hands and knees, shaking off the daze. Jakob came rushing up, crouching down to her level, placing worried hands on her back, but she waved him off shaking her head. It was just unexpected, not life threatening.
He looked up towards Gunter. "That was uncalled for, old man!"
Gunter's arms came to a parade rest, hands clasped behind him, his face impassive. "Hmph. Life is not a spar, and the sooner Lady Corrin understands that, the better."
"You are just a sore loser."
"And you coddle her too much. Nohr is not seen kindly; you know this. If someone does not teach her these heard lessons now, she won't last a day on a real battlefield."
"Lady Corrin is peerless with her skill in the sword, matched perhaps only by Lord Xander."
"Perhaps." He directed his attention her as she got to her feet. "However, forgive me for saying this milady, but you lack any real experience. When the time comes to make snap decisions in battle, you cannot hesitate or show mercy. This was meant as a reminder of that." His eyes flicked to Jakob. "Surely even you can see the wisdom in this."
"You are making excuses, old man. Her lack of experience is not her fault and you know it."
"Let it go, Jakob." She set a hand on his shoulder. It was an old argument, and the two would go on for hours if she let them. She retrieved her practice sword and put it back in its holder off in the side of the ring. "It was a bit harsh, but he had a point." Even if she didn't fully agree with it. "Anyways, did you need something?"
Jakob glared a moment more at Gunter, who returned the look coolly, unperturbed, before he left. Jakob turned towards her, bowing his head slightly. Not for the first time, she wished he wasn't so formal. "A rider came earlier bearing news, milady. One of your siblings will be coming to visit soon."
"Really?" Corrin perked up, a smile forming. She began walking back towards the fortress, Jakob falling into step slightly behind her. Though the sky was overcast like normal, she knew evening was approaching. Hopefully, Felicia wasn't on cooking duty alone. "Did the message say who it was?"
"I believe it was Lady Camilla and her retainers."
Corrin's smile turned strained. "That's…great."
"Is something the matter, milady?"
"No, it's nothing." She really was looking forward to a visit, any visit, but Camilla could be a bit…much. Oh well. At least it would add some variety to her schedule.
The bandanna crushed Kaden's ears, muffing his hearing slightly. A cloak covered his tail. Both were obnoxious and the bandanna itched, but he recognized the need to lay low for now.
The inn was a relatively small establishment, a fairly typical two-story affair, with a room with tables on the first floor doubling as tavern and rentable rooms on the second. The owner had thankfully accepted Anna's sister's request without much question, if not a raised eyebrow.
They were safe, at least for the moment. Three full days after leaving the Izumite capital and they were all finally in the same place again, Anna being the last to arrive earlier today. She was currently off getting supplies, and Robin had gone somewhere. Kaden hadn't seen him all day.
Kaden had only just started actively gathering information on how far news of them had spread. Unfortunately he hadn't needed to look very hard, as a table right here in the inn was currently talking about it. That was…discouraging.
"You hear the news from the Izumite capital?"
"What, about the big Festival of Spring or somthin'?"
The table in question was full of workers finished with their work for the day, enjoying a drink.
"Well, sorta, but I'm talkin' about what happened at the end of it." The one who brought it up smelled like soil and had dirt caked under his nails – likely a farmer – took a long swig of his drink, drawing out the tension.
"Well, don't leave us in suspense. Out with it already." That one smelled like dough, and the white splotches of flour on his clothes pointed to him being a baker.
The farmer leaned in, seeming apprehensive, but grinning at the suspense he was causing his table mates. "The archduke was assassinated on the last day of the Festival."
The reaction was subdued. "That's it? We already heard about that. Terrible news, that, and you shouldn't go makin' light of it."
"Nah, don't be mistakin' me now. I heard a new detail; somethin' interesting, yeah?" He took a swig out of his mug, before scowling. "It was a Nohrian who done it."
The others at the table started muttering.
"I know, right? Blasted wyvern dung eatin', war makin' savages, the lot of 'em."
Kaden let out a small sigh of relief, tuning out the rest of the unsavory comments. At least the details of who had done it were muddled.
He was about to leave and go find Robin when another patron who had been drinking alone at a different table turned towards the group. A black traveling cloak with a hooded cowl drawn obscured his features. "I'm afraid that's what you are saying is not correct. You really should get your facts right before you go spouting drivel."
The farmer stood up, slightly wobbly, glaring at the other guy. "Yeah, and what do you know, huh? You think it was something else, a Hoshidan, one of the tribes? Pah. Not bleedin' likely."
"Hardly. The tribes don't have nearly enough resources or reason to try something like that." He stood and moved closer to the gathered crowd. "No, it wasn't a Nohrian at all, but another separate party altogether. The Izumite castle guard apparently had him and his accomplices in custody."
"Well that's fine then, innit?" The man snarled and the drunk farmer didn't seem to have the sense to back off.
"If you'll let me finish, they had them in custody only briefly before they escaped a few days ago. Blasted through one of the castle's outer walls to do it. If they're smart, they'll be out of the capital already."
"Hah, you really think one little group was really able to do something like that?"
"I'm only telling you what I know, likely from more credible sources than you."
Well, this wasn't good. Kaden stood and left as the innkeeper's husband moved to break up the engagement before it descended into something worse.
The late afternoon sun greeted him as he moved out into the small farming village of Albah. From what he gathered, they mostly did business, trading with other towns and villages around the capital. West of the Izumite capital, Albah wasn't particularly large, but had paved its main thoroughfare, its primarily wooden buildings wrapping around a central water source. The whole village small enough to that it was difficult to get too lost in.
Eventually, he found Robin in the town hall's records room, poring over a map while writing something on a loose piece of parchment. A stuffy looking guard hovered nearby, likely the one who had let Robin into the records hall.
"Hey, Robin."
Robin didn't look up. "Just let me finish and I'll be right with you, Kaden."
Kaden shrugged and leaned against the door frame. While he waited, a hesitant looking scribe came in from the main assembly hall. She took one look at the both of them and moved quickly towards a nearby storage shelf. She grabbed a book before leaving quickly, though not before giving them nervous glances.
"What was that about?"
Robin finally looked towards him. "I think we intimidate her."
"Maybe."
Robin stowed the parchment into an interior pocket of his cloak and as he did so, Kaden noted a sword buckled to his belt, the pommel poking out slightly. Undoubtedly there was a battle tome stored in stored somewhere in one of the cloak's inner pockets.
Getting armed was one of the first things they all did before leaving the Izumite capital, a gift from Anna's sister. Along with his beaststone, Kaden had a knife for self-defense, just in case.
"You finished here, Robin?"
Robin nodded and rolled up the map, depositing it back on one of the shelves. "I assume you need something?"
"Right." They both stared walking out of the town hall, past the guard who locked up the records room behind them. He leaned in, talking quietly. "I heard some talk in the inn. Seems like rumors about you- know-what are already starting to spread, and some are even startlingly accurate."
"It's not too surprising considering what happened, but that is worryingly fast. No doubt bounties and wanted posters will start circulating soon." Robin sighed. "We shouldn't stay here long."
"I feel like we should at least stay the night once, you know, get our bearings together before heading off."
"Sounds fine, but be prepared to get away quickly if needed."
"I assume you have an idea for where we should go?"
"Away from the country of Izumo, naturally. South towards Mokushu seems our best bet at the moment since from what I've gleaned, even though they support Hoshido with their ninja, they're neutral enough. Have you ever been down that way?"
"Can't say I have, but that sounds right." He hadn't wanted to head any more west as it was a little too close to…well. "Any ideas where to go after that?"
"Not yet, no, but hopefully one of the Anna sisters will have contacted us with something from their network, before long. If not, well…" He trailed off. "Regardless, before we lose sunlight, there is something I would like to do before we get too far."
"What's that?"
"Let's find Anna and I'll show you."
The small town below looked so peaceful, tranquil. Normal. Far above from a nearby cliff through the cover of foliage, Shura lay crouched down and watched daily life in action, knowing the peace was all a gilded lie.
Mokushu made efforts to look neutral, but if you knew where to look, their dealings with Nohr became apparent. Thankfully, for him, it wasn't the nation of Mokushu that was the issue. Shura had already long since located the source of Mokushu's woes.
The current Mokushujin daimyo. Kotaro. The man responsible for the destruction of his own nation, Kohga.
What Shura was planning on doing was suicidal, completely irrational. That's why it would work. Oh, he had backup plans, certainly, but this would be the most satisfying way.
One of the men from his band of outsiders sidled up beside him. "Shura, one of our spies reported troop movements. The ninjas are mobilizing for an operation. Looks like something big."
Shura smirked. "Good." This would work well for his operation. "After they've moved out, we wait for the best moment and strike. That will put our window at a week, maybe two at most."
"How can you be so sure? What if Kotaro goes out with them?"
Shura's mouth moved into a grimace. "Believe me, I know all too well how Kotaro thinks. Something like this would be below him. Besides, he's too busy maintaining his neutral image to go with something like that. He'll be there."
And in the end, one way or another, Kotaro would lie dead by his hand, and the voices of that cried out from Kohga's dead would finally be silenced.
"And, you're dead."
The steel point of a sword tickled Anna's neck. Her breath came out mildly labored. Her eyes flicked over to her own sword, lying out of reach across the forest clearing, knocked out of her grip.
Robin retracted the sword and backed away, allowing her to push herself to her feet. An applause came from Kaden, sitting on a log near the edge of the clearing. "Hey that wasn't too bad, a bit rough at the end, but pretty good."
She winced as she retrieved her fallen sword and sheathed it, adjusting her new fingerless gloves. "You don't have to patronize me, Kaden. I was clearly outmatched." She rolled her arm, still throbbing from her own deflections of those last blows from Robin. Right before her sword was knocked out of her grip and she was knocked flat on her back.
The whole spar had felt one-sided. She could tell Robin was holding back, and that wasn't even including the fact that he hadn't used any magic.
"But it was informative." She looked towards Robin, his own sword held loosely at his side. His eyes were calculating.
"How so?" She moved to her pack and crouched down to retrieve her waterskin.
"Well." Robin sheathed his own sword, and sat down on a nearby log, crossed one arm while slipping a hand under his chin. "There's a few things. Your stamina is pretty solid, but could be better. I can tell you have some training with the sword, but you're trying too hard to block my strikes instead of turning them away. You're feeling that pain in your arms, I'll bet?"
She nodded, taking a deep drink of water. "Yeah."
"Honestly, you'd be better off dodging out of the way of strikes or deflecting them, especially up against stronger opponents. If you move to simply block, the disparity in strength could end up fracturing the bones in your arms if you block too much, or, in the worst case scenario, break your weapon."
"Has that happened to you before?" she asked.
He shook his head. "Not to me personally, no, but I've seen it kill when it happened to others. You also need to learn better footwork. You're fast, but speed won't help if you stumble."
Kaden let out a low whistle. "You got all of that just from that one fight?"
Robin glanced towards him and shrugged. "Remember, I was the tactician of an army. Gauging the strengths and weaknesses of my troops was my job."
"Ah, right."
He turned back to face her. "Regardless, you locked your knees at the end; it was how I was able to knock you over. Your stance needs work, something that's flexible but holds your center of balance, something that doesn't lock up the moment you're under duress. I can show you a resetting exercise, something to train yourself to revert to a good flexible stance on instinct."
Anna nodded her assent. It made sense.
Robin paused a moment, staring at her carefully. "You're distracted."
She sighed, rubbing her eyes. "Can you blame me with everything that's happened?"
"No, but getting distracted even for a moment can be fatal in battle. Whatever is on you mind will still be there afterwords, but only if you live through it. "
"That's easier said than done." Even if it was true. "Look, I was trained for self-defense, not real combat."
He held up a hand. "Don't misunderstand me, that wasn't meant as a reprimand. Everyone starts somewhere, and yours is far from the worst starting point I've ever worked with. But, don't let it go to your head. You need to be able to quickly assess whatever combat situation you find yourself in and decide when to fight and when to flee. There is no shame in running when you're in over your head."
"You're just a fountain of wisdom today, aren't you?"
"Doesn't make what I'm saying any less true. All I ask is that you listen."
"Yeah, yeah." She stood. "You said something about a resetting exercise?"
Robin nodded, and started instructing her on the stance and movements of the drill, which she moved into without complaint. Like he had said, her mind was distracted, worried about her situation. How could she not be? She was on the run now.
She also hadn't asked the obvious questions. Sure, she'd barely gotten back together with the other two after separating to get out of the Izumite capital, but she hadn't asked anything yet.
Why? Even if Robin did not have full answers it had to be better than her own speculation. Was it really that difficult to ask?
Maybe she just was afraid of what the answer would be.
But it would be worse just letting it fester in her head. She should ask. He was right there.
She'd do it soon. For now, she would focus on what was right in front of her.
Another dead end.
Nyx sighed, and gently closed the cover of the last travel log before shoving it aside into a large pile of equally useless reference books.
At this point, she really was not surprised. Artifact seekers were eccentric at the best of times, and the places this particular set of travel logs covered were locations she had already visited herself at one point or another.
None would lead to the Mirror of Truth, her personal project for the last decade or so. To say chasing false leads for so long was becoming tiresome would be an understatement. She leaned back into the stiff-backed wooden chair and sighed again, brushing aside unkempt long black hair before she rubbed her tired eyes, aching from how long she had spent reading again.
She was running out of new leads.
Not for the first time, she recognized that she could be pursuing something that did not exist. From what few notes she had been able to gather, the earliest legends of the Mirror dated to before the founding of Nohr and Hoshido.
However, the Mirror was never the only artifact in those legends, and each one sounded more far-fetched than the last. She honestly doubted many of them even existed outside the fantasies of those who wrote about them.
A grumble echoed from her stomach. Right. She had forgotten to eat something this morning.
Again.
She scooped up her own journal from out of the pile of books and tucked it into her satchel before she looped the strap - modified for her short height, of course - over her head to settle it on her shoulder. She hopped off the chair before taking her cloak from the back of the chair and wrapped it around a plain black tunic and dark green trousers, falling towards sturdy leather walking boots.
Even like this, she likely looked like a glorified child dressing up in clothes meant for adults.
As she began trekking out of the fairly modest library, she pointedly ignored the stares the few other patrons gave her. Let them think what they want about her; she really could not care less. Despite her physical appearance, she was no child worried about her reputation; she was long past that.
Passing out of the library, the relatively sleepy streets of Notre Sagesse were more active than normal. A quick glance towards the city's faraway port revealed the reason. A large vessel, which had not been there this morning, was moored in the harbor from the east side of the docks, and if she squinted, Nyx could see dockworkers busy unloading crates of cargo.
On her way to the market, she passed a group of men, likely on break, engrossed in conversation. They paused as she passed, took one look at her as she went by before completely ignoring her. It was one advantage, she supposed, of looking like a child. People rarely paid her much attention, so she could easily eavesdrop if she wanted.
"Did you hear? Another prospective group just arrived on the trading vessel to seek the blessing of the Rainbow Sage."
Nyx snorted. Rainbow Sage was such a ridiculous sounding title no matter how many times she heard it.
"Ha! How long d'ya think they'll last?"
"Ten gold pieces says that they don't even make the climb up."
"I'll take that bet. You in as well?"
"I dunno. They look kinda hardy, more so than your usual group if you ask me."
"Scared you'll lose your coin to me?"
Nyx rolled her eyes, moving on. This sort of talk was typical here; rumors about the Sevenfold Sanctuary and its supposed caretaker milled about the town like wildfire. Though, it was not as if there was much else of interest going on in the island port town of Notre Sagesse.
The smell of cooking food brought Nyx out of her thoughts, and her stomach rumbled in anticipation. Eventually, she chose a vendor at a stall selling some sort of meat-filled bun. The vendor raised an eyebrow at her, likely wondering what a child was doing alone here.
Thankfully, as usual, money talked louder, and he handed over the wrapped meat bun without any issue. "You enjoy it, young lady."
Internally she scoffed. She was not young. However, there was no reason to make a fuss, and she smiled a fake smile at the street vendor as she left. It was far easier to just let people assume she was the age she looked; no need to recount her life's story to everyone she met.
She was used to her stature at this point, but that did not mean she enjoyed it. She hopped up on to a bench near to the vendor and started eating. As usual, her feet skimmed annoyingly just out of reach of the ground.
What should she do next? The public records here seemed like a waste of her time, and the supposed artifact expert in town had taken one look at her and slammed the door. She did not have the funds to make him talk either.
She was nearly finished with her food before she stopped and tensed, the remaining part of the meat bun nearly to her mouth.
Her eyes flicked over to an old man sitting casually next to her on the bench, looking out into the street.
There had not been anyone sitting next to her a moment ago.
Had she really been so distracted that she did not notice someone sitting down next to her? No, that felt unlikely. She bit down into the meat bun and eyed him carefully. Neat, long grey hair, impressive mustache and beard, wrinkled face. He looked relatively harmless, nor had he moved to attack her, but as she knew, looks could mean little.
Her free hand crept down towards her the front, easily accessible pocket of her satchel, the home of her current battle tome. Just in case he tried something.
"I have no intention of harming you." The old man did not move, nor did he turn to face her as he stated it. Her hand kept going, heedless, as she brought out the tome, feeling the familiar thrum of the anima magic of the tome connecting to her own magic. Better safe than dead or violated.
He casually shifted a polished staff made of gnarled, dark wood in the grip of one hand, the other tapping a rhythm onto the faded green robe he wore. Instinct told her he did not simply use the staff as a simple walking stick.
Nyx glanced around, at the people walking by in the afternoon sun. None seemed to take any interest in either of them. Odd, seeing as the physical age disparity would have normally drawn at least a strange look or two.
"What do you want?" She took the last bite of the bun, dusting off crumbs from her lap with her free hand, freeing it up for casting.
"Hmm," the old man rumbled and finally turned to face her. "Quite the layered question, young lady. It would take quite some time to answer that fully. What do you believe I want?"
She scowled in annoyance as she swallowed the last of her meal. "I meant with me."
"Ah, well why did you not say so in the first place?" The man seemed amused at her irritation. He rapped a finger against his staff. "I need your help."
"Sorry." She was not sorry. "Not really interested. I have a full plate already." She scooted off the bench. Tucking her tome under her arm, she started to walk away.
"You seek the Mirror of Truth."
It was not a question.
Nyx stopped in her tracks, before she quickly turned back, going through a mental list of potential spells and curses to cast.
"However, I can tell you that your quest for the Mirror is pointless."
Her free hand clenched into a fist. "What gives you the right to decide if what someone else seeks is meaningless?"
He shook his head, and let out a chuckle. "You misunderstand me. Your efforts to find the Mirror are pointless because it has already been destroyed. Shattered."
Nyx narrowed her eyes. "Those are empty words without proof."
The old man shrugged. "I know because I did the deed myself. Its essence has already been remade into something else."
"Really." She doubted the truthfulness of the statement, but even so, her curiosity was peaked. This was the first time she had heard something like this. However, she did not relax her guard. No sense being careless. "And what was it made into?"
He raised an eyebrow. "I can hardly give you all my secrets for free."
Nyx scoffed. "Of course you can't." She hesitated a moment before pressing on. "You said you needed me to do something for you. What would you want the help of someone like me for?"
"You are the witch of the lost town of Navall. The demon who terrorized innocents for her own twisted experiments. The cursed child."
How did he know about that? "The cursed child has been dead for a long time."
He nodded. "Indeed. And, in that time, they have spent much of it seeking atonement. Though you carry those titles, those burdens with you, you are not the same person. Quite the noble effort to be sure. Yet ill-gained or not, the woman who stands in her place has extensive experience. Experience I could use."
"You know an awful lot about something that happened decades ago." She searched her memory for this man but came up blank. "Do I know you?"
"Not personally, no. Nevertheless, like you, I am cursed. You are not as young as you appear to be, and I am a great deal older than I look. Both of us have done deeds for which we seek to make amends." He paused a moment. "Not to mention, those marks," he gestured to the runes on her cheeks and forehead, "are quite distinctive to those who know what to look for."
A gust of wind stirred. The old man's robe fluttered, but it was an almost imperceptibly delayed reaction. His shadow was not quite aligned in the way it should be. Realization came quickly.
"You are an illusion." How had she not spotted it earlier? She must have been getting rusty. If that was the case, that meant she was not in any real danger, at least not from physical sources. "No, you are casting a localized one in the area around us." Was that why no one was paying them any mind?
"But I am very much real, just not here." The illusion stood, planting the staff firmly on the ground, or rather, making it look like it was. The sound it made was almost frighteningly realistic. "I cannot force you to do anything, but if you wish to pursue this, you need only come to the Sevenfold Sanctuary."
"And what would I need to do in return? I assume you aren't doing this simply out of the kindness of your heart."
He chuckled. "Quite so. As I said before, I need your help." His expression turned serious. "Something is very wrong with the world, something that even in my long years I have never encountered before."
"Could you be any more vague?"
"Yes."
She rolled her eyes. "Then I assume you want my help studying this ambiguous threat of yours?"
"In essence, yes. Even if it is just a fresh set of eyes, anything would help. In return, I will answer your own questions about the Mirror. And, if you find my answers prove unsatisfactory, well. Age has some advantages, and over the years, I have amassed quite an interesting collection. Perhaps you will find some answer there."
"Let me think it over." It was a tempting offer, but there was a lingering question. "Who are you, anyway?"
He laughed heartily. "I believe it should be quite easy to piece together who I am." She blinked and the old man was gone, the illusion dispelled.
Well, she was not lacking in time, so she could at least check it out. If nothing else, it would allow her some solitude, time away from people's eyes and, assuming the old man had not been lying, access to a collection of sorts and answers about the Mirror.
She glanced towards the distant mountain to the west of the city and the ornate building, looking no larger than a dot from this distance. The Sevenfold Sanctuary.
So the Rainbow Sage wanted her help with something, did he? Well, it had to be better than just twiddling her thumbs. She started walking.
A/N: Ah the introduction of Corrin, Shura and Nyx. Should be easy to guess which one the crew will be encountering first. For Anna and co., this chapter serves more as an interlude but is no less important. Rest assured that the other characters we saw in Izumo are not idle, nor is the rest of the world.
A note since enough people brought it up: Confusion at certain things is kind of expected. No one character has all the answers yet. However, there are hints scattered throughout.
Truth is often more simple than you think.
