I had found myself in a rather peculiar position. I have found myself becoming the captor of Eír, the princess of Hel. I had no reason to trust her since it was rather suspicious that she would let herself be captured the way she did. There was also her apathetic demeanor which sent chills down my spine. There were times where I caught faint glimpses of sadness though I've had suspected that it had nothing to do with becoming a prisoner. I decided that for now I would treat her like I would any other Hero, even if it was logically counterproductive to speak with the daughter of the dead on amicable terms. She was under my command and as such, I needed her at her peak fighting condition if we were to have even the slightest chance against an entire army of the undead. Even The Walking Dead had nothing on Hel's undead army.
"Um… is there something bothering you? I know I'm supposed to keep an eye on you but I can't help but feel as though… hmm I'm not sure of the right words actually. Maybe it's just a morbid curiosity of mine. At any rate, I will make sure you're well taken care of."
"I'm not sure I understand… why are you?" Eír was curious even if her face didn't appear to show it. She looked as emotionless as always but I could tell by tone the of her voice that she was rather confused.
"Why am I being nice to a princess of death? Don't get me wrong I still think you'll stab me in the back and if you ever lay one hand on Sharena or Alfonse, I will personally handle your execution and send you back to your mommy dearest. I will not, however, leave you out to die needlessly. To be honest I'm surprised that the daughter of death is actually a living breathing person but the gift of life is not something that should be taken for granted."
"I see… Though there are others who would seek death. Death is deliverance. For those who who truly suffer it can be a mercy"
"Yeah I sorta understand it. Sometimes those who suffer terminal illness or those who suffer from great physical pain… I do suppose it can be comforting to die on your own terms. I personally like living, but I know I won't live forever. All I can do is live how I want and try to die on my own terms. Preferably peacefully at an old age, but dying while protecting my friends isn't a bad way to go either. It's not like I will get any second chances on life though, and neither will you. So… I don't want you to give up the gift you were given. N-not that I think you would do that of course. I would hope not but you are a bit hard to read." I said pensively
"I don't care enough either way to attempt suicide. My life is in your hands now."
Her words made me wince. How could she not care about her life one way or the other? I understood that living in the Zenith version of the underworld as it's princess would probably make her comfortable with the idea of dying herself but… something felt off about this girl. How could she not care? Most people in her current position as prisoner would at least try to do something to remedy it. While it was still possible that she is simply biding her time waiting for an order from Hel to assassinate either me, Sharena, Alfonse or maybe even Anna, I didn't think that was the only reason. I wanted to know what made Eír so… indifferent and disinterested about everything. After a long pause, I finally opened my mouth to speak
"I see. I'll be taking my leave here soon but I will be visiting you often, so I apologize in advance if I tend to get a bit long winded when I talk. Is there anything that you need? Food? Drink? Maybe a good book or two?"
"Erm… I suppose I could use a warm meal… But what kind of books do you have in mind?"
"Hold on… I got a classic book from my world that I enjoy reading. I'm not normally into reading literature books but I find this one to be fascinating. It's called Frankenstein Or the Modern Prometheus." I took out the copy out of my coat pocket and handed it to the princess of death.
For once Eír's facial expression showed a hint of emotion, that of curiosity. I considered it to be my first successful attempt at peeling away one of the many layers of sadness and apathy that usually adorned her face. Perhaps, my attempts at befriending this girl were not entirely in vain after all. A small smile slowly crept up on my face as the thought of perhaps growing close enough to her to convince her to stay on the side of the living. It was a risky gamble, but the pay off was equally rewarding.
"Thanks…" was all that she could say as the mask of indifference seemed to have been removed from her. Even if was for a short while.
I walked into the castle training grounds where I had made arrangements to meet with Odin Dark for our weekly magic practice. I never really managed to get the hang of using a tome, but it had never deterred me from continuing to try. I could very stubborn when I wanted to be, but it did help that Odin was every bit as entertaining as he was informative. We had taken to calling our training sessions "Chosen One Duels" even though most of the time, I would be standing there barely getting any sparks from a simple thunder tome while Odin shouted out words of encouragement like "Yes! Fell Beasts will soon tremble before the wrath of the Legendary Summoner!"
"Hello there Odin how fare thee?" I ask dramatically
"I am well for my third eye has predicted that on this fated afternoon thou shall succeed in mastering the thunder spell! Surely then we will be able to name your first spell."
"I actually have a few name ideas for that. But we must first hone my magic. I just don't understand how I can manage to summon an entire army but when i pick up a tome everything just fizzles. Clearly I must have some sort of magic ability if I can summon…"
"Don't worry! Even a Chosen Hero such as myself had to practice many times before mastering the dark arts! Just watch me. BLAZING SWORD!"
And just like that, an image of a giant ass sword with wings appeared and landed on top of a big ass boulder. The spell cleaved it into twain and as always, I was easily impressed by it. It was obvious that he had taken a liking to the grimoire I had given to him a few weeks ago. It was very "Odin" so I gave it to him knowing that it would serve him well and that it would strengthen his attacks. It costed me a pretty penny in divine dew, but I didn't regret it one bit. I gave Odin a round of applause and it made him beam radiantly with happiness. I had a feeling that I might be getting lectured by Niles and Prince Leo for indulging his ego too much, but I'm the Summoner dammit, and that means I'm the fourth highest in command. Or at least, so I tell myself.
I gathered my resolve and I grabbed the thunder tome I borrowed from Odin. I concentrated like I've been taught, and recited the spell. "STAR PLATINUM!" I shout as I managed to unleash a very weak spark and launch it in the general direction of a practice target. I missed my mark, but for a moment my newest accomplishment made me feel elated. That is, until I heard someone shout in pain from the stray thunder spell. I ran to find the person who I accidentally sent my spell to.
"Oh my gosh Takumi! Are you alright?" I asked while in a mild panic
"It's just a flesh wound. I've had worse." Takumi winced. I noticed that he was a bit scorched where I had accidentally hit him
"Well even still, I will have Odin call over Sakura to heal you up. It was my fault, so it's the least I can do." I motioned to my current magic instructor to grab Sakura and he quickly ran off to do just that.
"Im fine really! I'll just get some bandages it's no big deal"
"I'm really sorry Takumi! I'm still learning how to use tomes so I haven't learned how to control it. Magic doesn't exist in my world so I dunno if that is what makes it more difficult for me…"
"Perhaps you should just stick to summoning heroes, Kiran. No offence, but you're not cut out for the front lines anyway."
"I'm not looking to fight though. I never wanted to fight… but if I train, I will be able to defend myself and then I can dedicate more heroes to fight Hel's army. We are going need all the help we can get if we are going to fight actual dead people. An army of the undead is going to be tough to beat. I'm going to need the help of my best archers and I need them to be in top condition. I can rely on you for that, right?"
Takumi nodded. He had a look of satisfaction on his face, as his skills rarely got acknowledged back in his homeland of Hoshido. When I first summoned Takumi, he was very combative and he really didn't like me too much. I guess ripping him away from his homeland made him distrustful of me and I really couldn't blame him, since I knew what it was like. Despite that, I had a hard time getting along with him as he had often just glared at me and only acknowledged me when I sent him to the battlefield. Eventually, as I worked with him more and more, I had came to realize that I wasn't the only issue he was dealing with and found him passed out from over exhaustion while training with his Fujin Yumi. Really, all he had ever wanted was to be equal to his older brother in strength. After that incident, I had made it a point to bug the poor dastard when ever I had spare time. Nowadays, I send his retainers after him as my spare time is extremely limited, but I always make it a point to send him a note. Now we are steadfast friends and allies.
"That's great! I'm glad that I have so many friends here. I have never imagined that I would be pulled into this world and help lead so many heroes into battle for three different wars and still manage to make friends with them. It's kinda funny, because now I'm sorta torn between this world and my own. I get homesick sometimes but at the same time, I don't want to leave the friends I've made here." I sighed heavily.
"I understand how that feels, Kiran. I miss Hoshido very much but right now we are needed here. Have you talked to Alfonse and Sharena about this?"
"I'm just kinda afraid that Alfonse might not take me leaving too well, so I haven't really brought it up with them very much. I promised them I would show them my world one day if I ever get the chance, but there may be a possibility that when this is all over, I'll go home and find that I can't go back. Al has once told me that a hero he made friends with left without a goodbye and he was quite upset about it. He's been trying to distance himself from the other heroes and he even avoided me at first to because of it. I just don't want to hurt him again like that."
Takumi opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by the arrival of Odin and Princess Sakura who immediately went to check on the burn that I had given him earlier.
"Thank you coming on such short notice, Princess Sakura. I understand that the clerics have been extremely busy lately since the last battle, so I appreciate everything you are doing. I know he is your brother, but I'm still grateful all the same"
"O-oh it's no trouble really. I-Im just happy to help. J-just try to be more careful with your magic from now on." Sakura stammered as she raised her physics staff to heal her brother. I stared in awe as light enveloped Takumi and the wound slowly closed up and vanished. It didn't even leave a scar. Over the past two years of witnessing healing magic at work thousands of times it never ceases to amaze me. I mean sure modern medicine from back home can do wonders but I wondered how many lives could be saved if doctors and nurses could use healing staves in addition to the advanced technology and knowledge we already use.
"Thanks for the save, Odin! Your hard work is very much appreciated"
"It's all in a day's work for Odin Dark! I perish the thought that Lord Takumi would fall from his wounds!" Odin grinned as he did a pose
I laughed and returned the favor by T-posing after which I explained that it was a pose in which younger people from my world attempt to use its power to assert dominance over each other. Takumi sweat dropped and Sakura looked at me with confusion mixed with curiosity. I chuckled to myself. Never underestimate the power of dank memes.
"Odin Dark is most proud of his protege of darkness. You'll surpass even I, the Dark Chosen Warrior of Fate!"
"Thou art too kind. For while I may be descended from a long line of legendary warriors, I am far from the fighters they were. If I'm to fulfill my duty, I must train my body, mind and spirit daily. Only then will my Hero's journey be complete" I then struck another pose reminiscent of the pose Caesar from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure did in Battle Tendency. I've been seriously considering lending a physical English copy of the manga to Odin to convert him into a fan.
"I have no idea what either of you are saying. Can't you just speak normal? And why are you posing? Nothing here makes sense" Takumi muttered
"I was just joking around with Odin. It's just fun to do dramatic poses and talking like this makes me sound like the hero of an old English play with a dramatic and tragic backstory. Plus, I like naming weapons and stuff like that. Old legends from my world often have the hero find legendary swords all with their own names and stuff. There's this one legend where a boy becomes the king of Camelot in old England after a fairy gifts him a sword with mystical powers called the Excalibur. Not be confused with Merric's Excalibur tome though."
"You say that, but didn't you say earlier that magic doesn't exist your world?" Takumi asked
"People in my world several centuries ago believed that magic existed but as far as I'm aware, magic doesn't actually exist back home. Even if it did, it wouldn't have existed in the same capacity as it does in this one. So the legends of King Arthur and his knights never actually existed either. There is no historical evidence of their existence, only the legends. Supposedly, the Excalibur was made with Damascus steel, which is one of the strongest types of steel in history. Unfortunately, the knowledge on how to make Damascus steel has been lost to time. It was also said that the bearer of the sword would be unable to die of blood loss, but the rest of my memory of the legend is a bit foggy, as the lore behind Arthur has changed several times over the centuries. " It was clear that I was geeking out over all of this. I loved old legends like Beowulf and Arthur and The Knights of the round table. I was actually taking history classes at my university on these kinds of things and I would often spend many nights reading up on whatever I could find about old myths and legends on the internet.
"O-oh, that's a shame… I actually wanted to know more about the story. It all sounds so…" Sakura stammered.
"Well if you guys want, I could talk about other old myths from my world. Reading about them was one of my pastimes after all. It's all rather fascinating but I am curious as to whether or not Alfonse would be able to read the Poetic Edda in its original language… if my hypothesis is correct, then the Askran language might be similar to the language spoken by the Norse Vikings. They were a group of people from my world that were famous for their seafaring capabilities and were supposedly fierce warriors."
"Wh-what makes you believe that they are similar?" Sakura asked
"Lots of things actually. Take Alfonse's weapon Folkvangr, for example. In old Norse mythology Folkvangr is the name of one of the places your spirit could go to if you died heroically in battle. And there's the fact that Hel actually exists here as well. I'm not sure if Hel has dominion over the dead in all of the worlds, or just here in Zenith, but that's way too close for my tastes. My world and Zenith seemed to be connected to each other in some sort of way. However, it also seems very different to the way it is connected to the worlds that Heroes come from. But if it is truly connected, then maybe my world could hold a clue to-" I was then interrupted by the frantic voice of Anna
"Kiran! We need you to prepare for the next battle right away. King Gustav sent out the orders just now!"
"Did he now? Well that definitely puts a damper on my little story time session. We're heading to the tomb I take it?" I asked Anna.
"Exactly. The king's troops are already mobilizing as we speak"
"Leave it to me then. I'll gather up the other tacticians and we'll draw up the plans faster than you can say 'Kiran is the best summoner" I then winked at her before leaving to draw up the plans.
A/N: Just for the record, from chapter 5 onwards, I'm going to stop using line breaks. I was using line breaks in my drafts since I thought the document editor thing in fanfiction had a linebreak function. I remember having that option the last time I wrote fanfics on this site (I never actually used the option) so either a)the option for line breaks never existed and I'm misremembering shit, b) the option does exist but not on the mobile app which Im using, or c) it did exist but it's no longer an option. At any rate the placeholders I had put in for the past couple of chapters look very jarring to me so Im going to do something else. Unfortunately, since I write the chapters way ahead of time, you will be seeing the "~Linebreak Placeholder~" thing grace the screen for the next chapter. skiddibibbbido nobody actually reads A/Ns right? Well jokes on you, because the angel ring doesn't double growths!