Author's Note: Since some of the events in-game aren't specific as to when precisely they occur, I'ma have to do some headcanoning. The only definitive thing I know is that, five years prior to the main plot, Isurd was saved by Nimue in the Cadensia Region. Therefore, that's an absolute lower bound as to when Taion could have first met Nimue.

xxxx

/Time: Chapter 2, after the First Class Change/

/Millick Meadows, Aetia Region/

"So...why are they called 'Mondo'?"

Taion looked at Eunie with curiosity; there was a strange feeling at the sight of her in his own clothing (then again, was it truly 'his'? All that had shifted were the shirt and scarf), but more so at the sight of the Mondo fluttering around Eunie's head wings. "Pardon?"

"The name. 'Mondo'." Tapping at the gauntlet on her wrist, she added, "There was an old intel report that described Agnian Blades. Can't remember for the life of me what it was called, but I remember this gauntlet. And it sure as spark wasn't called Mondo."

"...a fair point," remarked Taion, glancing ahead at the others; the canyon that connected to the Fornis Region loomed before them. "I'm surprised you had the wherewithal to even review old intelligence briefings."

"Oi, you calling me an idiot?" she huffed, placing her hands on her hips.

"No. Rather...in my experience, if it doesn't have anything to do with what's right in front of them, then most soldiers don't bother digging for answers to irrelevant questions."

"Well, you never know if you'll run into an unusual Blade on the battlefield. Rare or not, better to be prepared for when sparks blow in your face, right?"

"...yes," he murmured, walking onward.

"...so, you gonna answer me or what? Come on, tell me!"

Taion retreated into his thoughts, feeling that Eunie would eventually stop pestering him if he simply went silent. (This wouldn't work, and it would never work, but they were still new at working together.) Rather, his thoughts...turned back...

xxxx

Mondo: such an unusual word.

Yet how strange, for it to be so close to yet another word, of much greater importance...

xxxx

/Time: Five Terms Prior to the Main Plot/

/Colony Lambda, Great Cotte Falls, Pentelas Region/

Life as a tactician wasn't easy, especially when it came to using a Blade you weren't necessarily good at. What fortune, that I can think anywhere I want, mused a young Taion, his hands trying to manipulate Katashiro...but to no avail, as the thin slips of paper sluggishly hovered through the air. Not fast enough.

It was admittedly rather strange, for a fourth-termer to be trained up into Operations and Planning for the Colony's Strategy Branch; with Isurd having recently been promoted to Commander of Lambda, the man had a much greater sway over the affairs and administration of the Colony...including assignments. Alas, given Taion's lack of demonstrable combat ability, not too many people had complained about him being transferred from Logistics to Strategy.

(It was a wretched feeling, to be so useless and inept. It galled.)

Hence why he took the opportunities when available to practice, and train. The replication of Katashiro's paper talismans using ether had been a relatively easy capability to master...but maneuvering them? Manipulating them as though they were an extension of his very self? That had proved...elusive. Yet what else could he do? There was no one else he could turn to; not truly.

"So this is what you've been doing."

Taion frowned at the sudden voice; turning on his heel, he watched as an older woman with purple hair and crystalline hands approached from the waterfall. "Lady Nimue?" The woman was truly an oddity: she had only showed up at Lambda following Isurd's return from a disastrous expedition in the Cadensia frontier. Although he had yet to work on a mission with Nimue, he knew that she had spent some time getting acquainted with the older members of Operations, as well as the Lieutenants overseeing the other aspects of the Colony's command structure. To this point, he hadn't had much chance to work with her personally. "What are you-?"

"You know there's a curfew for soldiers not on duty," she remarked, walking up besides him. "It's important to be well-rested."

"I'm...I'm aware," he muttered, feeling as one being put down. "It's just-"

"Is there a reason you haven't come to me for advice on how to use your Blade?"

Grimacing, his eyes fell upon the unique gauntlet on Nimue's arm; much like his own, her Katashiro rested within there. "I...wouldn't want to inconvenience you. The Commander obviously has many plans involving you."

"Does he, now?" She seemed strangely amused by his claim.

"Er...well, given how many people in the different branches of the Colony that you've been speaking to, it only seemed logical-"

Nimue interrupted his guess before he could finish. "I simply wanted to get to know the people here: to get insight into how they live, into why they fight. It's...been an enlightening experience."

Honestly, Taion didn't know what to make of her comments. Sometimes, the woman spoke as one who hadn't ever been through boot camp at the Castle, or secondary training at Colony Theta. (Oh, if only he knew.) "I see...so why-?"

"I've seen some of the plans you've drawn up for hypothetical combat situations. I've also seen your older notes analyzing problems with our supply chain, from your time in Logistics. I believe you have a good head on your shoulders...so I don't think it's something as simple as pride that kept you from asking."

Taion burned with shame at how easily he was being called out. "I...that is..." An elaborate figure suddenly moved in his periphery, drawing his eyes; he watched a simple origami doll dance around in the air, commanded solely by Nimue's will.

"Jihi is pretty good, isn't it?"

"...Jihi?" he dumbly repeated.

Nimue nodded, her smile revealing just a hint of her tiny fangs. "The Blade, Katashiro...I understand it's a rather rare weapon?"

Surely she knows that? "Well. Yes; compared to more conventional Blades, those who emerge from the cradle with Katashiro are rather scarce." (Life would have been so much easier, if he had been born with a bond to a conventional weapon.) "I've referenced some old textbooks that describe the techniques of past users, but I've been unable to replicate them." More like the chosen techniques that had been described seemed so...base. Manipulating the paper talismans to form a thin blade seemed fine and dandy...but that was so lacking! Why not have a sword yourself if that's all you were going to do?!

"It's easy to manipulate a weapon if you can hold it in your hands; but for Katashiro to be an extension of your will, you have to intimately understand the flow of ether between them and you. And forcing the flow of ether is different from guiding it." As the little doll settled in her palm, she added, "It's why I named my Katashiro: to make them seem less like the tools they are, and more like a partner. It helped give me the mindset I needed to use my Blade to its utmost."

"That sounds..." Silly? Childish? Nonsensical? He didn't dare voice his incredulity, because Nimue — even though she was a newcomer to the Colony — outranked him.

Patting him on the shoulder, she said, "Sleep on it. Think of a name that fits with what you hope to accomplish in the time you have left." Then she departed without another word.

"...the time I have left?" I still have six terms left; why did she make it sound like our Homecoming is in the near future? Still, he resisted the urge to let his confusion roil; a superior had given him a task. It was only proper for him to devote himself to it.

So he returned to the barracks. He pondered in silence, and dreamt.

His dreams were startlingly different. They were strangely ethereal, drifting in and out from the heights of something immense; his dreams normally focused on the mundane realities of his life, and the dread of failing his fellow soldiers...but this? It was...something else. Something bizarre. And there was a word: a very peculiar word, that carried a very unusual meaning—seizing his destiny; determining the passage of fate; carving his own path to the future. Such big and grandiose comments, far above one of his status.

(Yet it was...intriguing.)

(You may not be able to attain such lofty heights. But why not try and aim high, regardless?)

Hence, the next morning, he resolutely entered the tent for the Strategy Branch. Nimue was already present, manipulating her Katashiro (no, she had called them Jihi) to imitate a battlefield scenario in miniature. "Have you thought of a name?"

"...I believe I have."

"And?"

Taion raised his gauntlet, pulling out a little paper talisman. It felt strangely heavy. That word...Monado...it seems far too noble. He was way too grounded, too pragmatic, to apply such a bizarrely majestic word to his Blade. But...it's something to reach for. Thus, he took one proverbial step back from such grandeur, lopping off one syllable to obtain his chosen name. "Mondo." It...fit, somehow, despite sounding somewhat juvenile when said out loud. "These...will be my Mondo."

Nimue smiled sincerely. "Mondo...I like it. Now we can begin training in earnest...but first, origami."

Taion blinked. "Paper folding?"

"Doing the folding yourself will make manipulating them into other shapes much easier in the long run."

"...if you say so, Lady Nimue."

"You don't have to call me 'Lady'. Just Nimue is fine."

"Er...right," he blustered. "Yes ma'am."

xxxx

With Nimue's guidance, Taion took to utilizing Katashiro — his Mondo — with gusto.

Even if he couldn't change the future...it still gave him more options in the present.

xxxx

/Time: Chapter 4, right after leaving Colony Lambda/

/Great Cotte Falls, Pentelas Region/

The party rested upon one of the paths winding up the massive waterfalls, catching their breath as they continued their ascent. Taion — perched on a rocky outcropping — was gazing at the distant ground below, where the waterfalls crashed gloriously in a torrent of mist and vapor. Hmm, he thought, feeling one of the Mondo pace around his hand. That's...where I used to practice. That feels...so long ago, now. He suddenly felt, more than heard, his Ouroboros partner sit beside him. "What is it, Eunie?"

"...so. You remember that time I asked about your Blade's name?" she solemnly asked.

"...yes." Sparks, how many days ago had that been; one week? Two? Maybe three?

"...you wanna talk about it?" she asked, without a hint of her usual standoffishness or coarse demeanor. "I mean, given all that stuff with Joran and Isurd, and the stuff that's been said about this Nimue lady..."

"Mind if I inquire as to your reason for asking?" he calmly asked.

"...I just wanna know, I guess. That's all. Is that a problem?"

Looking at the Mondo in his palm, Taion thought about Nimue's presence, and the void that her death had carved out between him and Commander Isurd both. Even so, the Mondo — much like the watch in his pocket — were legacies of her presence, of the mark she had made upon the world. (Of the path she had helped carve to the future.) That...was something he had no issue talking about. "No. Not at all. You see, this Blade type is actually called Katashiro..."

And so he spoke of Nimue and the Mondo, with Eunie hanging on to every word.

xxxx

Maybe, one day, Taion would actually be able to change his destiny for the better.

And his Mondo would be at his side for every single step of the way.

xxxx

Author's Note: Taion was like this close to being a literal Monado Boy.

The whole notion of Blades as shown in Xenoblade 3 seem rather interesting; because judging by Noah's whole conversation with Riku when being introduced to Lucky Seven, their chosen Blade is something that they **manifest.**

It's not exactly a weapon that they choose for themselves, or that they pick up at random from a weapons rack...at least, that's not the impression given.

Anyhow, Jihi (慈悲[) is a Japanese word meaning 'charity', 'mercy', or 'compassion'. My use of 'Katashiro' as the name of his Blade type (based on the actual paper dolls used in certain Shinto rituals) is based on translations of promotional material from February 2022.