*Chapter 11: Cyrkensia
"Okay… I think I figured a way around this." Corrin said as she is back in the interior of the ship just hanging out with most of her friends, Robin and Lilith mainly, Azura, Kaze and Mozu as well, along with Hinoka and Sakura. Takumi and Saizo are also there but they're keeping their distance for reasons Corrin cares not for as she is more focus on solving this challenge Robin gave her. "You let the main force rest but send a small strike force of your best fighters. That way, you minimize risk while also having the best chance of taking down the foe. What do you think about that?!"
"It sounds reasonable enough…" Robin replied, only partially satisfied with her answer. Corrin decided to get back on her training in tactics and enlisted Robin to tutor her due to his expertise, she could barely keep up with Leo's lessons for reasons she refuses to talk about so perhaps Robin will be a more reliable teacher. Granted, he has offered her a few pointers during her studies since he seemed to catch on fast to what he's heard but everyone kept shutting him off. Corrin's gonna have to remember to bitch slap Leo when they see each other again, which is eventually, and provided she doesn't go numb upon seeing her… adoptive brother now as enemies.
"But what if their retreat was just a ruse, and they littered the mountain with traps?" Robin raised the stakes of his tactical scenario.
"H-hey! You didn't say anything about traps!" Corrin protested.
"Without knowing anything about the path ahead, sending anyone is a risk." Robin noted.
"Yeah, and so that's why you send your best men and minimize casualties."
"Indeed, it's likely that by doing this victory can be achieve, however the Nohrian Army is nothing if not tenacious and dreadfully deceiving, and their terrains are constantly in the dark so it's easy for them to plan traps that at first glance seem hard to spot and Hoshidan soldiers like Ninjas, Kinshi Knights and Basaras are known for always catching their prey so they have to know that even though they managed to escape there's a high chance they were followed to their camp and have to be ready to defend themselves." Robin advised.
"By that logic then we shouldn't pursue them at all and not waste a single casualty." Corrin replied.
"Yes, that would be the logical course of action, even if some would object to being too cautious."
"You mean Takumi?"
"Shut up!" The younger stepbrother snapped offended as he too has a talent for tactics and does favor caution over offense, not that Corrin will acknowledge it, giving their rocky relationship.
"Let's look at it like this then, we're the ones who are hiding out in enemy territory, the place being the Woods of Forlorn, no loss of lives yet and our equipment is in acceptable conditions to last as for two weeks at best and we're on our way Niflheim to meet with the Ice Tribe who are too rebelling against Nohr and have managed to remained perfectly conspicuous up until they decided to send a message to us to know that they can protect us but in doing so the Nohrians finally catch wind of this as soon as they find us and we have to take them down before they inform the Capital and send Grimm to attack the Tribe for their actions. The enemy is defeated but most of our equipment is lost in the fire, such as most of our Healing Rods and the few we have left must be expended wisely and the enemy retreated and we have to catch up to them before all of the main force learns of what we know but there's a high guarantee that we be walking into a trap. What must be done, do we go for it and prevent the Ice Tribe from getting ravage, knowing that we must lose some or more of our own just to forge this alliance and restock, or do we save ourselves and leave the Tribe behind?" Robin raised the stakes even higher.
"Oh, C'mon! That's even harder than it was earlier!" Corrin cried out.
"Truly, but such hard choices are to be expected in war, better to fail in a scenario and learn from it than to fail in real life." Kaze spoke up. "Just answer with how you think for now is what's best."
"Okay… well in that case I would choose to go after the fleeing enemy and make sure the Ice Tribe doesn't get exposed." Corrin made her decision. "If we are expecting a trap than we should obviously sent a scout group by air? Like pegasus knights or whatever. They map out the area, nail down the enemy's position, and sniff out any traps. THEN we send a ground force to take out the enemy. There's the risk of explosive mines, sure but even though they'll be expecting Ninjas to spot the traps doesn't mean they'll be completely prepared for them, especially if we enchant them with Magic to make their movements soundproof or at the very least actually invisible."
"Okay, now we're getting somewhere." Robin said more intrigued.
"The aerial units are covered from archers by ground troops with archers of our own and the aerial units make sure the ground troops don't go in blind." Corrin finished, feeling proud of herself. "How is that?"
"It's a C+ plan, with an A+ for effort." Robin praised.
"No, no, that deserves an 82% B, at best." Corrin whined.
"It's a great idea, Corrin, but the scenario I gave you lacks air support. In this hypothetical situation, there ARE no sky knights or… whatever to send. That's why pursuing the enemy and stopping them from exposing the Ice Tribe is a huge risk in the first place, otherwise there be little room to argue about not saving the tribe." Robin tutored.
"Y-you can't do this! You can't keep making up new rules all the time!" Corrin cried.
"Corrin, he literally told you before you started this that he would put you through scenarios where you can't have aerial support and are completely earthbound, you're lucky he doesn't give you a C minus for blindly ignoring the handicaps." Azura reminded her, causing the novice princess to groan loudly in defeat.
"Sephiroth, she's so loud." Takumi hissed.
"You seriously can't afford to go easy on me, I am still a rooky in all these tactics." Corrin pleaded.
"Not really, no." Robin muttered a bit smugly, showing off small hints of a grudged for the beating she gave him days ago, even though he's completely healed, thanks to Lilith.
"Prick…"
"Why do you want to learn to be a tactician, we have Robin for that?" Mozu asked.
"I won't always be around, either because I was taken out or was needed elsewhere, so it's best to keep everyone prepared on what to do when things get out of hand. Sure, sometimes the best defense is a good offense but when an enemy is known for focusing on more offense caution is key." Robin advised. "Look at it this way, Corrin, unlike Nohr that is a country rich with metal and steel, Hoshido is rich with wood and iron. Nohrians rely on perfecting strong bulky tower outposts made of steel, Hoshidans are masters of the art of woodcraft; making buildings of wood that can blend with the surroundings of a forest, using iron to dim the light that would give away their position when hiding from Nohrian scouts, usually by ninjas, and plan decent ambushes. Regardless of our current strength we have to pride ourselves in our offense being a good defense, at least that's how I see it."
"He's right, Hoshido's military has always favored high speed, defense and resistance over strength, not that we don't have any to back up our might, of course but our tacticians, such as Yukimura always favored using strategies that offer us minor casualties as possible." Kaze added. "We're no strangers to sacrificial moves and more potent tactics, though naturally those are used as last resorts but are always put into consideration and due to our current numbers being very small we must remain stealthy and on the defensive as long as preferable."
"That is a lot to process." Corrin sighed.
"You'll get there, Corrin, all it takes is time, for now focus on what you're good at and that is fighting unpredictably." Azura said.
"Unpredictably?" Corrin repeated.
"I've been there for most of your recent battles and was there during your spar with Hinata and later Hinoka this morning, you seem to favor speedy and strong attacks but the way you move makes it seem like you're leaving yourself wide open but almost always parry every hit on time. I don't think I've ever seen Hinoka struggle so much like that, though it was obvious for a while that you were the better fighter." Azura noted.
"Ah, yes, Corrin was trained her whole life by Nohr's finest swordsman, former Supreme Commander Gunter and Crown Prince Xander, though she picked up on both their fighting styles neither suited her and in her attempts to make her own she found that she has a habit of seemingly letting herself wide open to, as you said catch them off guard when she parries, though Lord Xander has noted that she does this subconsciously since she prefers to go with the flow." Lilith explained.
"It is a peculiar, if not concerning fighting style that can prove effective if used correctly and it seems like it's right for you." Hinoka added.
"I don't know what made me cry more, the thought of ever fighting Xander while he uses Siegfried, since he never uses it when training me, or all those times he scolded me when I kept fighting like this." Corrin muttered, recalling all those painful moments when Xander criticized her for doing something he does not approve of. "I don't even know why I fight like that, nor how to stop, it's just something inside that clicks whenever I am force to make an answer with my sword."
"Well that's one of the things that makes you special apart from all the other supernatural qualities, unpredictable is good." Robin praised. "Makes the Weapon Triangle more inadequate."
"Isn't the Weapon Triangle just a game mechanic for that war boardgame the Scholars in Notre Sagesse invented?" Azura asked.
"Yes but there is merit to it in real combat, for example, swords are swift and can flow past an axe much better than a lance, an axe's bulk allows it to deflect a lance's thrust better than a sword, and a lance's range keeps a sword at bay more so than the typical primitive range of an axe. No weapon is greater than the other, each bests one and is bested by another. Tomes are also known to have a greater advantage against bows, just as bows have an advantage over Shurikens and Shurikens have an advantage over Scrolls." Robin tutored. "Every little detail counts, and always overestimating the enemy means you're always cautious but of course there's no shame in improvising and going with what you'd got, even if it's not enough."
"Y-you're really w-w-well versed when it comes to w-w-war… aren't you?" Sakura said next, raising the question that everyone, not including Corrin has been wondering ever since Robin joined their ranks and has been offering much aid in their endeavors.
"That is the big mystery of the moment, ain't it?" Robin replied, sounding both longing and sad over his lost memories. "Makes me wonder if perhaps I was a part of another conflict of high states before all this happened."
"There's no point thinking about the past now when the future keeps busting our door open every time we close it." Corrin advised. "Who knows, maybe if we're lucky we'll run into someone from your past over the course of this journey. Heck, for all we know you already did and sadly you can't remember."
"Appreciate the wishful thinking, but don't you think said person would've shown themselves to me sooner once they saw me, that is unless they didn't care for me and are minding their own business." Robin replied.
"I'm just saying, no need to be all paranoid."
"Hey guys, Nestra up ahead." Rinkah called out as she enters the interior to inform everyone that their journey at seas has ended.
"So much for my vacation." Corrin whispered lowly so that no one could hear her.
The made it by nighttime to the west of Horus, directly in the coastal country south of Nohr, Nestra. Corrin stares at the city in awe, as even at night it is quite the beauty and rather bright.
"This place is amazing, it looks almost as grand as Windmire, though not as big but way more beautiful." Corrin said amazed, as she and the rest of their group exit their ship.
"I figured that be your first words here. This here is Nestra's famed Resort City; Cyrkensia." Robin explained to her. "Nestra is another neutral kingdom, Like Izumo. As you can see, this city is known for leisure. People from both Nohr and Hoshido vacation here, even in times of war."
"Wait… this is… Nestra's Resort City?" Corrin muttered, a lot of bad bells ringing in her head.
"You guessed it; this is where it all began. Where our father was murdered and you were taken from us." Hinoka explained, sadness and rage showing in her face but her voice is more compose. Corrin can see that although most of the Hoshidans seem to hold Cyrkensia in high regard, she has notice a reluctance from them coming here due to what Garon had done in this very city.
"This is where it all began." The once stolen Princess whispered, once again trying to recall her lost memories but alas she comes off with nothing yet.
"Enough dilly dally, the sooner we get to Cheve, the sooner we get Ryoma back." Takumi insisted as he does not want to dwell on such dark thoughts for long, granted he has nothing against Nestra, he actually adores this place, but since this is where his father was stolen from his life, he understandably also has mix feelings about staying.
"Will it be safe for us to travel without any trouble from any of the Nohrians that are staying here?" Corrin asked.
"We should be, Nestra's King has long since been a willing supporter to King Garon, helping with Nohr's food shortages so a truce was forged that Nohrians are not allow to engage in any sort of conflict, this is the same for any Hoshidan staying here and so far neither side have started a skirmish of any kind for over thirty years. That is known to the public at least." Robin explained.
"Furthermore, the Nohrians are forbidden to bring any Grimm into these soils, otherwise the King will become agitated." Kaze added. "I've never seen King Garon lose his temper and behave like a savage, but I have seen King Alexander lose his temper and he is quite the beast."
"Yes, what a wonderful warrior he is." Reina chuckled, reminiscing on another event that she experienced years ago.
"You and I have very different opinions on how bad that day really was." Orochi muttered, recalling that day differently.
"Hey there, I thought I smelled a familiar scent." A new voice comes from their left as they see a newcomer who is a young man, probably in his early to mid-twenties with orange hair, dress in blue and black attire resembling those of Hoshidans and he's not human, due to the fox ears located on the top of his head and the pretty fox tail on his back.
"A Kitsune!" Hayato gasped, surprised to see someone such as him here.
"Those scary people who can turn into fox monsters that live secluded in the Mountains of Hoshido?" Mozu asked just as surprised.
"That's rude, calling me a monster without getting to know me first." The Kitsune pouted, looking offended but with a hint of playfulness, giving Corrin the assumption that he may be used to prejudice to an extend that it doesn't bother him so much anymore, which saddens her a bit. "And the name is Kaden, just to avoid any more bad names."
"Sorry, we're just surprise is all, your kind don't usually leave your Hamlet due to distrust over humans." Azura said apologetically.
"That's okay, I can tell you're good people and from Hoshido." Kaden smiled cheerfully as he asked.
"Well… yes and no." Corrin responded, not sure if they can reveal anything to a stranger.
"Hey now, there's no need to be shy or secretive, I can tell the majority of you are from Hoshido by your scent alone. Kitsunes have excellent noses, nowhere near as vast as Lycans but good enough." Kaden explained. "Most of you are Hoshidans while the whiteheads not so much, the mean male looking lady is from Muspelheim."
"What was that, asshole!" Rinkah snapped vastly offended by the Fox's description of her.
"Who are you kidding, hothead, your women features are hardly noticeable because of your ugly muscles." Hayato mocked.
"Boy I will smack you!"
"The pretty, pretty white lady and cute Bluenette are Nohrian." Kaden referred to Corrin and Lilith, which makes sense since they've lived in Nohr for most of their lives. "You also smell like a deer and fish respectively. That's weird, and now I'm hungry."
That last comment made Lilith nervous and intimidated enough to hide behind Corrin while the Princess can only sigh over her dragonic self looking more like a deer.
"The little village girl smells like both Nohrian and Hoshidan, and… stone." Kaden said intrigued as he stares at Mozu, whose father was Nohrian while her mother is Hoshidan.
'Stone?' Rinkah mused. 'Is that what my burning blood's been sensing ever since I first saw her in Aikawa?'
'It seems Corrin made the right choice in bringing the girl along after all.' Takumi thought, thinking the same as Rinkah.
"And you… you I can't make out." Kaden said looking at Robin strangely. "Your scent is really ominous; I think I just found myself a mystery."
"Story of my life." Robin sighed, feeling sad upon Kaden saying that, not that he will admit it and just take it as a compliment of sorts, since there are plenty of people who revel in being considered mysterious. "Anyway, Kaden, is there something we can do for you?"
"I sure hope so; I'm looking for a songstress." Kaden revealed.
"A Songstress?" Azura repeated, wondering if he is referring to her.
"Well, you know how the Humans of Nestra are like, they have a reputation for being great singers and dancers, and their best performers give shows at the famed Opera House of the resort city of Cyrkensia."
"Yes, that is common knowledge in Horus, apart from their impressive military power." Azura replied.
"Right, but the thing is, the Opera House is about to make another performance tonight with Nestra's most famous singer Layla supposed to perform." Kaden continued.
Corrin remembers Elise and Camila talking about a performer named Layla. That's it, Layla is so famous that Nohr's royal family often comes to Cyrkensia to see her perform, Elise in particular is so taken with her that she inspired the young Princess to become a singer as well. She and Camilla promised to bring her here when she would finally leave the Northern Fortress. But now she'll never get the chance.
"And… she can't now?" Robin said.
"No she cannot, you see her mother is rather old and is expected to die soon so she left to see her but was originally pressured to stay because tonight's performance is another big one." Kaden continued.
"How important are we talking here?"
"But more importantly, why should we care about it?" Takumi spoke up next, unconcern with Kaden's problems.
"It's important because King Garon and his daughter are coming to see the Opera House." Kaden revealed, causing most of the group to gasps in shock.
"Gods, Garon is here!" Corrin begins to panic. She's not ready to face him after her desertion, much less Elise of all people, she has to be the one Kaden is also referring to.
"That Devil is coming here to see some play while he sends his demons to take away our homes!" Takumi growled in outraged.
"I know, what a jerk. Anyway, Layla was forced to ignore her poor mother and perform for the Nohrian Royals but I encouraged her to go to her hometown, Nestra's Capital, to see her mother while I take care of things here." Kaden explained.
"Why would you do that for her?" Corrin asked.
"Simple, the Nestrians are really nice to me, heck almost every human I meet outside of my home is really great, though for some reason the ones who come into my hamlet are really evil, but anyway, Layla did me a solid a while back and this is me returning the favor, and now I have to find a songstress who looks and sounds like her to perform in her place otherwise the old man who runs the Opera House will be really mad at me and will do something that most bad humans who come into my home want to do to Kitsunes and cut off my fur." Kaden muttered nervously.
"Why not just run back to Hoshido then?" Hinoka asked.
"I could but if I do, Layla might get in trouble when she comes back but if I follow through with this and find a suitable replacement she might be in less trouble and not get fired."
"Well this is quite the conundrum you got yourself in but I don't see how we can help with this." Robin said. "We have a Songstress with us who is arguably the best in Hoshido but she looks nothing like Layla."
"That aside, I would be please to help you Kaden. I personally always wanted to perform in the Opera House." Azura volunteered.
"What?" Corrin gasped.
"Oh no." Robin muttered knowing what she is plotting.
"Hey, that's great, now all we got to do is dye your hair pink, make it shorter, disguise your voice to make it sound more cheerful and we got us a good play." Kaden smiled happily.
"We have magic for that." Orochi commented.
"W-What is she planning?" Sakura wondered.
"Kaden, can you wait here for a moment, our group has something to discuss, promise we won't be long." Azura said.
"Sure, just remember that the show starts in three hours."
"No problem at all." Azura smiled as the whole group returns to the Astral Plane to begin a plan, so Kaden won't have to wait long.
"Okay, can someone please tell me what's this about, cause last time I checked, we still have a missing Ryoma?" Corrin demanded.
"Don't you see, Corrin? This is our chance to take the enemy by surprise. We shouldn't waste the opportunity!" Azura explained.
"What?" Corrin uttered in shock.
"While King Garon is distracted by Azura's song, we can approach with little resistance. If we capture Garon, Nohr would have no choice but to negotiate for peace." Orochi said getting the plan Azura has.
"Assault Nohrian Nobility while in neutral territory! We just discussed how the King of Nestra is in good terms with Garon and wants no sort of violence between our nations in his property!" Corrin snapped, against this plan.
"This is a little something we Hoshidans like to call Karma, Milady, and we're not really going to kill Garon, too risky since we don't know for certain if his direct defeat will stop the Grimm or just make them more feral." Reina stated.
"I'm against this as well guys, succeed or fail, Hoshido will be accused of violating the Nestrian Accord and the Nohrians could use this as the excuse needed to encourage Nestra to side with them against us." Robin objected.
"We know that, but none of the Nestrian higher ups are gullible enough to believe that they can stay safe from the War all the way to its end, a fight like this one was inevitable." Takumi pointed out.
"It's true that many here won't fault you guys after what happened to your King and made support us as well but all the same this attack is ill advised, even if we will not be facing any Grimm, their human forces are not something to underestimate, Garon is not arrogant enough to travel anywhere without his army at his side, especially now if he has his youngest child traveling with him." Robin persisted.
"You won't change our minds, Robin, like it or not we're taking this chance and we're bringing Garon down." Takumi declared, with most of the Hoshidans nodding in agreement.
"No! This is insane, there are so many reasons why this will backfire on us and worse." Corrin is adamant on not letting the team go through with this.
"Corrin…" Azura muttered, understanding why she would be against this but is still troubled by her reluctance to not want to cease the opportunity to end this War as swiftly as possible.
"You have a better idea then, because last time I checked prolonging the war even longer isn't the kind of person I imagined you to be." Takumi scoffed.
"Not one of you want to end this war as much as me, not ONE OF YOU!" Corrin yelled, while slamming her fist on a wall, leaving a hole in it, and causing Sakura to squeal. "And none of you know Garon as much as I do, he's not the kind of person that can be caught off guard, if you've seen how deadly and nigh-unbeatable Xander is than you know his father is someone to be feared."
"Last time I checked and by your own account; you don't know him at all either." Takumi reminded.
"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!" Corrin snapped ferociously with both her fist tighten and the red aura manifesting again but much dimmer that barely any of them notice.
"STOP IT! STOP IT!" Sakura cried in anguish, dreading that a conflict between her two siblings would happen.
"Takumi you're only making things worse!" Hinoka protested at her brother to cease the antagonism.
"I'm not the one defending the enemy!"
"I'm not defending anyone, I'm just…" Corrin would've proceeded but Robin places her hand on her right shoulder, which is enough to get her to keep quiet again, lowering her head to be covered by her bangs and let him do the talking for her.
"If we're serious about doing this then you have all better make up your minds now, and you have better be prepared because the likelihood of all of us making it out alive of this mess is slimmer than you can comprehend." Robin advised as there is really no convincing the Hoshidans. "Not to mention that you're all forgetting one important detail that will jeopardize everything in a heartbeat, especially you, Azura."
"What is it?" Azura asked.
"Your mother." Robin reminded, making her widen her eyes. "You said it yourself that she taught you Lost in Thoughts All Alone and gave you the pendant that grants you your magic, meaning that she knows about this power way more than you and how to counter it and she is guarantee to be here as well, the only perfectly reasonable reason why Garon would bother to come here is to please Elise after what the poor princess went through in Kurosaki, and of course Queen Arete would come since those two get along so well. She's not your replacement, much less Camilla but this is definitely something she would do."
"Well, shit…" Takumi hissed.
"And let's be real here guys, there's no way the Nohrians would travel anywhere without having a way to smuggle their Grimm around to make things easier for them to handle any situations, they're the ones with the most use of Spatial Magic." Robin continued. "There's a huge pool within the Opera House, so I bet you they'll have, or already managed to place a few Feilongs in there, those dragons are known for being unnaturally stealthy when in water."
"Well what do you suggest mister know it all, since you seem to have all the answers." Takumi sneered with agitation.
"At this moment, I have neither the strength, nor do we have the manpower for this sort of assault. With our stealthier allies and Orochi's magic we can survey the Opera House and with the Astral Plane increasing the three hours we have before the show starts I might be able to devise a plan that can help us overpower Garon's defenses, and if we're really lucky confiscate any tomes from his Dark Mages, in particular their Warp Tomes to prevent anyone from escaping and bringing in reinforcements." Robin computed. "There's also the matter of civilian casualties, people may get caught in the crossfire no matter what we do. King Alexander cares for his people deeply and if even one of them gets hurt because of our actions, and Gods forbid are killed, that will be enough for him to raise arms against Hoshido, making capturing Garon and forcing Nohr to agree to a peace treaty completely pointless if we end up picking a fight with another nation. Plus, the Nohrians can just lie and say that we slaughtered many Nestrians there and still put everyone against us."
Robin's words hold truth, making the Hoshidans reconsider this course of action.
"Look, I know it's not really my place to speak out and decide anything for any of you but believe me when I tell you that this is not worth it. If we had bigger forces, I be more up to this, the sooner we end this war the better, sure but let's be real here, the odds remain against us." Robin noted.
"I… you're right." Azura uttered in defeat.
"Dammit…" Hinoka cursed, as she too wanted to do this but Robin raised a lot of good points.
"I… I think I may have an answer to this blockade." Lilith spoke up next, turning everyone's attention to her with looks mostly comprise of hope, while Corrin's is a dreadful one, wordlessly begging Lilith not to do anything to go along with this but the Astral Dragon did not offer her mistress her own expression as she raises her Dragonstone that glows silver and from her temple that's nearby something comes out, floating towards them, a white scroll with hoshidan markings that resemble the sacred scroll in the possession of Hoshido's religious group, the Dawn Faithful that contains the good word of their god, though smaller, and it makes its way into Lilith's hands.
"This is a special scroll that contains very ancient Light Magic, based on its design and the fact that it's a scroll it's Hoshidan in origin and it's one of the things that seemingly originated from here before I arrived." Lilith explained.
"Light Magic?" Hinoka breathed
"I can't use it but I have a method that allows me to understand how magic items work that I am not familiar with without seeing them in action ever, and whatever this thing is, it has the power to create objects and possibly semi-sentient beings made of tangible light." Lilith explained.
"Truly?!" Takumi gasped in surprise. "If that's true, why didn't you bring this up before?"
"I've had this since I was nine and always kept this in my temple ever since and rarely paid it much attention, I was lucky enough to have remembered about this when Robin mentioned how short in numbers we are." Lilith muttered. "Besides, activating this thing is seriously complicated because it has a unique seal that can only be remove by pouring large amounts of mana into it before it can ever be use. It alone is very powerful."
"How much Mana, exactly?" Robin asked intrigued.
"I can't say for certain but anyone can pour their magic into it but for some reason it doesn't accept dragon magic, it wants the power of humans, or at least other magical relics."
"And can this scroll allow us to create beings of sort somewhat similar to the Grimm?" Kaze asked.
"It should but how strong and the exact amount of how many constructs can be created depends on the strength of the user." Lilith continued.
"Well, Robin's unquestionably the strongest among us." Hinata said.
"Not at this very moment, the previous battles this week have pushed him to his limits and his latest stunt in pushing the Leviathan away nearly left him without any magic. Furthermore, his body's ability to absorb external mana to refuel his powers is unbelievably slower than it should for human mages, it took more than ten days to restore 30% of his powers using the mana of the Astral Plane." Lilith explained. "Which to him is enough to overpower any Warlock, Sorcerer and Dark Knight Nohr throws at us but not against the likes of Nohr's Top Tactician and Chief of the Dark Mages; Iago, especially their Royal Family. And from a strategic point of view, as Robin likes to put it, we have to assume until proven otherwise that the rest of the Royals will be in the Opera House, making this opportunity even bigger to take but even more suicidal because, each and every one of them, even Lady Elise is significantly strong and versatile."
"She's right, plus I lack the skills to use Scrolls, I'm a bookworm through and through." Robin added.
"Luckily for you lots, I'm here and apart from my Divine Blood, Scrolls are my bread and butter." Hayato said confident that he can use the Light Scroll to its fullest potential.
"There's also me, just want to make sure that I don't go forgotten for whatever reason." Orochi also volunteered to use the Scroll.
"You're needed to keep Azura under the illusion that she's Layla." Takumi instructed. "And regarding the seal, I should be able to unlock it."
"How, you have no aptitude for magic?" Lilith questioned.
"Not me precisely." Takumi said presenting his Fujin Yumi. "My Sacred Treasure houses massive amounts of wind magic power. Surely it will be more than enough."
"Well… yes, despite Sacred Treasures housing divine power they are mainly comprise of earthly elements so it should be acceptable for the scroll but, are you sure you want to use your most valuable weapon just to unlock another." Lilith asked, rather baffled.
"It'll be fine, the Rainbow Sage gave me all the instructions needed to carefully manage the Fujin Yumi, and like any Diviner and Magic Weapon, it is capable of absorbing External Mana to refuel itself at a pace much faster than any other, plus it be good to put its full powers to use, I've never dared use my yumi to its fullest potential due to not yet having the endurance to channel all of its stormy might, and I don't think I yet have what it takes to use its entirety so doing this feels like the wise course." Takumi insisted. "Any other Yumi will do for me."
"Okay, great, that's one problem almost dealt with, now all that's left is to commence preparations to get this started and train to use the dang thing." Hinoka said determine to see this threw.
"C-Corrin, are… y-you o-kay?" Sakura asked, noticing her sister's distressed expression.
"What does it matter how I feel, it doesn't matter to anyone what I even think, so what am I even standing around here for!" Corrin snapped angrily and walks away from the group, leaving Sakura squealing again.
"Corrin, wait! Where are you going?!" Hinoka tried to reach out to her.
"To my treehouse, where I know I can still feel like I hold some semblance of control in my life!" She yelled.
"Why did she recommend Lilith to build her a treehouse?" Hayato murmured.
"Because I always wanted one!"
"Leave her be, it's not like anyone really expected her to be up for this anyway, and she said so herself back in the Wind Tribe, she ain't got the heart to fight Garon." Takumi said irritated with Corrin but also a slight amount of sympathy. "It's actually for her own good that she doesn't get thrown into this mess."
"Wow… Takumi, I honestly didn't think you'd start to show concern for Corrin so soon." Hinoka said genuinely surprise.
"Shut up and get this show up and running." He hissed.
"What a mess this all turned out to be." Robin sighed, with little frustration while beside Kaze and Azura.
"It's my fault. However, as horrible as this may seem it has to be done." Azura said standing firm to her choice.
"You think this might really work?" Kaze asked Robin.
"I can't guarantee anything yet without the facts, and I'm not too keen on doing this either, the only reason I'm going along is to make sure none of you end up dead once this all goes down." Robin said. "I'm more concern for Corrin, and you as well Azura, whatever happens after this, I question if you're truly ready for the mess you're dragging all of us into, especially with the realization that you're raising your lance at someone who's your father too."
"Please do not wage your concerns with me. I've… been preparing for this moment ever since I made my choice to fight for Hoshido. Pain and misery awaits us everywhere and suspense makes it even worse."
'This woman… she has no idea how deep the pit she's jumping into truly is.' Robin thought, agitated by now.
"Should we even go through with the performance part if the chances of the Queen of Nohr appearing is high?" Kaze questioned Robin.
"We don't really have a choice since this whole thing depends on someone performing, and besides, there is still a high chance that Arete won't be there since she is the Head of all Healers in Nohr, and based on what I learned from my time there, something I'm sure you picked up on, Arete is known for frequently traveling the land and healing the people, as bandit raids are frequent in the West of Horus, not just in Nohr, not only to assure the people that the Royals have their best interest at heart but naturally to increase popularity and maintain the support of the populace." Robin explained. "The Shadow Queen's endeavors is actually the main reason why Nohr hasn't conquer all of the West because she has earned the trust of the many Dukes and Archdukes into assisting with Nohr's food supply and with the War going on she has to be overworked. The attacks that occurred the day after Kurosaki were small, yet ferocious but barely any city was attacked, this was likely due to Nohr needing time to recover from their first defeat but following the third day they got bolder and grew in numbers with both man and beast and you Hoshidans are no slouches in a fight, especially when you have the home field advantage so all their classes of healers are needed full time and the Nohrian Royals aren't one to shy away from a fight and if Camilla attacked Ryoma then Xander and Leo have to be leading their own assaults as well with Arete not far behind. And Garon? There's not much to say about him since I've never seen the old man fight but if Corrin's former tutor Gunter was a fierce warrior despite his old age, it's safe to say that we're lucky that he hasn't taken the frontline yet."
"Why hasn't he, though? Isn't he supposed to be this Almighty Warrior King of Chaos and Bloodshed?" Takumi questioned.
"Putting up with Nobles shoving themselves down his throat over how problematic the war will do to their economy by the aftermath, making sure there are no rebellions on his property, helping with the summoning of more Grimm since at least one member of the Dusk Bloodline is needed, take your pick? None of the Royals there know the meaning of Sloth." Robin replied.
"Then what'd you call what Garon is doing now?"
"Being a dick."
"Sounds about right." Takumi sighed, while few among them make light chuckles to Robin's response.
"Okay, but then how come people are calling Arete the Shadow Queen if she's such a renowned healer?" Oboro asked.
"She's Garon's wife." Robin reminded everyone, causing them to make a big 'OH' sound in realization.
"That makes sense." Subaki said.
"Wives are always being brought down when the man screws up." Hana noted.
"Hey, we aren't all like that, and do you really want to use GARON as a pedestal for husbands?" Hinata argued.
"Whoa there, I know where this is going and we are not doing this!" Robin interrupted, putting his foot down.
"Thanks for that, now how does this work, do you just touch the weapon and channel it's power into the scroll, or the Seal in general?" Takumi asked Lilith to get on with turning the Light Scroll on.
"More or less." Lilith said as she takes the Fujin Yumi into her hands and uses her Dragonstone to do as Takumi guessed, it glows red as it hits the Sacred Treasure with a harmless little beam, causing it to glow with the same color and likewise another beam is fired from the bow that hits the scroll, already the Astral Dragon begins to absorb the Fujin Yumi's Magic into the scroll to in turn harness its power, a process that only lasted a short while.
"Wow, that was quicker than even I could anticipate." Lilith said, surprise herself by the seal being already broken.
"Wonderful, but with my prize possession now a shadow of its former self for a while I'm gonna need me a fitting substitute." Takumi muttered, feeling a hint of regret for doing this.
"What, like a Pursuer?" Setsuna asked.
"No, as great as they are, they don't suit my standards"
"Actually, there is an… alternative I think would be great for you." Lilith offered.
"I'm all ears." Takumi easily complied.
"In the meantime, let's go and test this baby out." Hayato said as he takes the Light Scroll from Lilith and opens it up and like with all other magic scrolls there are inscriptions that are seemingly impossible to read but like those scrolls it means little as he can already feel it's power coursing through him and already summons a construct made of bluish white light in the form of a small ball, that later grows large spikes and then shapeshifts into a serpent, then a wyvern the size of a lizard. "Wow, never summoned a spirit that could take on various shapes before."
"The scroll doesn't summon spirits but more like constructs that are semi-conscious and are an extension of the will of the scroll's controller. If used correctly can create light soldiers as strong as any man or perhaps stronger, that depends on whoever wields it, which is you at the moment." Lilith explained.
"Sweet, I can do a lot with this baby." Hayato said as he lets his imagination run wild as he creates a massive and majestic beast; a four-legged Dragon whose appearance differs considerably from that of the traditional Dragon appearance. It's covered in tissue similar to bird feathers, rather than scales, the feet resemble bird talons as well. The head is covered in what appears to be fur and it's skull is somewhat broad and flat. The fur extends down the neck and to the upper chest region.
"A-Amazing." Sakura uttered in amazement.
"A shining sculpture of the Sky Dragon Ramuh." Rinkah said recognizing the design on illustrations she saw in scrolls back in the Flame Tribe.
"Yep, a marvel isn't he." Hayato asked smugly.
"Maybe but if you want a marvel, I have a real dragon in mind." Rinkah said as she snatches the scroll from Hayato's hands.
"As if a savage knows how to use a magic scroll." Hayato scoffed.
"Of course I can use other magics, you idiot, I have the blood of the Blaze Dragon coursing through me, harnessing tomes and scrolls is second nature to me, why do you think I qualify as an Oni Chieftain?" Rinkah spatted.
"Really, because I don't think anyone among us have ever seen you use any other magic that isn't the one coming out of your skin." Takumi countered. "… For some reason that sounded so wrong."
"I'm of the Flame Tribe, genius, what else would suit me better." Rinkah replied as she uses the Light Scroll and makes a construct of her Tribe's respective Deity. An enormous creature with looks that follow the usual characteristics of a Dragon: having a massive body, a pair of wings that allow it to fly, four limbs with claws, and a tail. However, unlike traditional Dragons, this one's body is not covered with scales, but it seems to be entirely made of flames, giving him an overall impression of a burning skeleton. And the appearance of this beast, horrifies Sakura to the point that she is struggling not to cry.
"What the hell is that thing?!" Azama asked, even he is disturbed by this monster.
"Gaze upon the visage of the Great Iblis, God of Fire." Rinkah said proudly. "Granted, he's actually crimson in color than bluish, though I suppose blue flames are more beautiful than red ones."
"You call this a dragon? It looks more like something straight out of hell that can burn even souls to ashes." Hinata protested.
"That sounds about right, given that his flames are said to burn everything in the world to cinders when angered, heck, he even destroyed his own flesh and bones when he Degenerated, forcing himself to live forever as a living flame." Rinkah explained. "Bet that must be fun."
"Sure it is, and I bet he must have a blast when caught in a rainstorm, he must especially love it when he's reduce to a teeny tiny fireball on the brink of being extinguish." Azama mocked.
"Fuck you, Hoshidan, at least my god gave my people real power!" Rinkah protested. "And no, Dragon Veins don't count."
"Hey, now, let's not get all religious all the sudden, those kinds of fights are completely boring." Reina stepped in, being the mature one and ceasing this argument.
"Boring is not a word that should be used when trying to stop an argument." Hinoka said.
"Potato Potahto." Reina shrugged.
"Who the hell says potahto?!" Hinoka snapped, fed up with that word.
"Apparently everyone but you." Takumi commented. "Alright, you two start working on learning how to get this thing to work, I have a feeling that this scroll is going to take some real effort to pull off, a team effort to be precise."
"And considering how well these two are getting along, I think it's safe to say that we should be expecting their wedding any day now." Azama joked, regarding how rocky Hayato and Rinkah's relationship is going.
"SHUT UP!" The duo yelled in outraged.
"Who would ever want to get married while in a war anyway?" Mozu asked.
"You'd be surprise, love can be really odd and persuasive sometimes, even during war." Subaki said.
"Right, and next thing you know everyone in the army will start using these pocket dimensions to safely give birth to their babies after mistakenly getting pregnant during a freaking war and decide to leave them in said pocket dimensions to grow into adults by themselves and barely visit and only give them the love and care they deserve once they are deemed good enough to join the army." Hinata joked drily.
"Hinata… you know I think of you like a brother and would storm every fortress in Nohr to find you if you were taken and would only sacrifice you if it meant saving my family, and even then I require a lot of time to get over it. But that has got to be the absolute dumbest thing that has ever come out of your mouth." Takumi scoffed angrily and indignantly before laughing loudly for some reason, even more questionably is that everyone else is also laughing as if it's the funniest thing they've ever heard as well as the dumbest. Heck, even Sakura and Azura, and shockingly Saizo but weakly, except for Robin who is just baffled.
"I know right, as if we would ever do something so irresponsible." Subaki laughed.
"Totally, not even Nohr is that horrid." Hana chuckled.
"I mean, I would totally do that but you people, aw please, we're not all misfits." Azama cheered.
"We're laughing together." Setsuna added.
'I don't know why but I feel like these people are in desperate need of some serious mood killings and extreme cockblocking and I think it has to be me.' Robin mused, deeply concern for his allies. 'And for some reason saying that feels ironic yet at the same time filling me with intense rage over years of insults. And now I'm also sad. I should definitely watch out for Corrin too.'
"Child abandonment is not really something to laugh at for either the one abandoned or the one that did the abandonment, personally I think the latter is the most unbearable." Reina said after calming down and showed a very brief glance of sadness, and apparently her words caused her friends to look at her strangely and dare she say, disturbingly suspicious. "What…?"
"Nothing, nothing. Anyway, while you're all doing your parts, I'm gonna go and talk to Corrin, make sure she doesn't remain too broken up about this." Robin said.
"You do that and chances are you might encourage her to be a part of this instead." Kaze stated
"Yeah, that is the most likely scenario but at the moment, she's a mess we got to keep clean, you coming." Robin asked.
"No, I better go out now and help survey the Opera House to give you more to work with." Kaze declined.
"Indeed you should but at the moment our Princess needs words of encouragement and be put at ease, so it's only right that we go to her first." Robin insisted.
"I know, however… you being the one who knows her the most out of all of us, I believe it best that you go to her alone, I fear I might just get in the way." Kaze said, somewhat sour.
'Wonderful… and now I have to deal with a partner with low self-esteem.' Robin muttered, already telling the real reason of Kaze's decline.
"Well… okay, be sure to come back safely." Robin replied as he goes to find Corrin.
"Hey, you okay, man?" Hinoka asked the green Ninja.
"Of course Milady, pay me no mind." Kaze insisted as he turns to Azura, Orochi, his brother and Kagero. "We should be off at once."
"Right, let's go." Lilith replied as she takes the five of them back to the Main World and on the ship where Kaden was waiting outside. "I better go and mark the Opera House to make it easier for you guys to return but right now I have to help the others prepare on their end. Also, if you need to return just remember to stand right wherever I have marked the entrance and call out my name, I'll be able to hear you from within."
The five nodded as they go to meet up with the Kitsune while Lilith returns to the Astral Plane.
"Wow, that was fast, it's barely been a minute." Kaden noted happily.
"I told you I wouldn't be long. The rest of my friends have other things to attend to while these five will accompany along the way." Azura said politely.
"Sure thing, but word of advised, the manager of the Opera House is wary of both Nohrians and Hoshidans, specifically those of their respective militaries, especially Ninjas." Kaden warned, giving a brief glance at the ninja trio in the group.
"Why is that?" Azura wondered.
"Well Nohrians are… well, Nohrians and Hoshidan Ninjas aren't known for being polite and he's got a bone to pick with one of them." Kaden explained.
"Well, our job takes us to very dark places so the prejudice is reasonable." Kaze admitted regrettably.
"Sure could go for at least one day in the West without being compared to the darker members of Nohr, though." Kagero sighed. Saizo merely makes a weak scoff, as he takes his job seriously and cares not over how people view him but Kaze and Kagero know that even he is not proud of some of the things he's done. "Then again Kitsunes aren't one to talk about skeletons in closets, or rather holes."
"True, I am no one to judge, so I will not. Anyways, let's skip the dark tones and try to enjoy ourselves cause that's what tonight is all about." Kaden cheered.
"R… Right…" Azura mumbled, as she knows that tonight will not be a pleasant one because of her.
"Well, here it is." Lilith said as she takes Takumi to her temple and once inside she presents him to a unique bow kept inside a glass container in the shape of a box left in display. The bow itself strongly resembles the Fujin Yumi but it's light purple and had this ominous aura to it that gave the master archer of Hoshido the creeps but also intrigued him a lot.
"This is it?" The Prince asked.
"Yep, this bow, yumi, or whatever odd names you Hoshidans like to give your weapons is called Skadi, it's one of the many things that have been in the Astral Plane long before I arrived and as you can already feel, it holds great power within it." Lilith explained.
"Is it a Sacred Treasure?" Takumi wondered.
"No, while the Rainbow Sage has created many weapons of unholy qualities there is none like this one in this world because it didn't originate here." Lilith said. "What I can best describe, this thing is most likely from one of the Outrealms, entirely other universes that are either mirror images of ours or completely different, whichever is the case this weapons definitely not from here."
"It feels like… it's calling out to me." Takumi said as he is receiving some sort of urge that is making him eager for battle.
"Yes, well, that is because the bow's magic power gives it a level of awareness to its surroundings and from what I could tell, it also has a bloodlust, like it yearns for battle and it was forged by a powerful entity that knows only war." Lilith surmised.
"Like a God of War, huh?" Takumi smirked, liking the sound of it. "Looks to me like it'll make a fine substitute until my true partner is back in action."
"I'm sure she will but bear in mind that dark weapons are known to drive their wielders insane." Lilith warned.
"Don't worry, I've had a lot of practice in keeping my bloodlust under control, the Fujin Yumi requires a lot of concentration and force of will to fire even a single arrow that's weaker than a real one. She's asked much of me and I've delivered so I'm sure I can handle this one."
Robin makes it to Corrin's current residence which is a treehouse Lilith designed for her. Corrin used to tell him that she always wanted a treehouse ever since she learned about them as a kid, the mere idea of living in a house on top a tree may be frowned upon by most nobles but Corrin never really struck him as a noble due to how sheltered she was, and her fascination for treehouses really is kind of cute. Still, this isn't what he thought she would want in one since this is a fancy looking treehouse, granted there are some amazing treehouses in Hoshido but he honestly thought she me more into the child-like types but that just might be him still seeing her as someone that needs to be taken cared off more than most, and Lilith was the one who built this place for her.
"Sooner or later everyone will want to give her what she wants, I guess. Though, tonight is one of the rare exceptions." Robin sighed as he walks the stairs and goes to open the door but soon stops once Corrin's grumpy voice is heard from within.
"Unless it's Lilith, Kaze, Azura or anyone else that hasn't hit on my nerves yet don't even think of coming any closer." She warned, though it didn't sound like a warning but more of a whiny brat, which is accurate.
"It's a good thing I can take a hit so well." Robin joked as he opens the door and enters anyway, and the first thing he sees is a punch straight to the nose by Corrin, and miraculously it did not break but it still hurt. "ARG! I really can't catch a break…"
"Qliphoth, what you excel at the most is not listening to what I say." Corrin hissed as she walks back inside with Robin following before closing the door. The inside of the treehouse is even more impressive, the furniture almost reminds him of her large room in the Northern Fortress. A nostalgia that Corrin surely doesn't mind since she never truly hated her life there.
"So let me guess, you're still going to play along with this obvious attempt at Regicide?" Corrin sighed as she sits on a couch.
"Can't say I have a choice, Takumi especially is dead set on this and the rest, beside maybe Reina, are dead set on ending this war as swiftly as possible and doing this is actually as clean as we can be." Robin sighed as well. "More on that later, look Corrin, I can't really begin to imagine what you've been going through with all this, and this assault must especially give you more heartache but as much as I am against this, we both have to face the facts that this is still an opportunity too good to pass out, even though all logic dictates that we should just continue to march for Cheve."
"I get that much, at least but I meant what I said about them not knowing Garon as much as I do, he's no fool, he help mold Xander, Camilla and Leo into the Nohrian Champions they are today, and he spared no expense in making Leo the new brain of the family, he's going to see this attack coming a mile away even if his thousand eyes fail to spot our three ninjas." Corrin said dreadfully.
"I'm aware enough of Nohr's might to say they are Horus's true superpower, especially if their Seers are everywhere." Robin noted.
"Don't suppose we can just push harder into convincing them to drop this whole thing completely." Corrin suggested.
"We could but I argue that doing so will just raise tensions higher between you and Azura, especially your stepsiblings since Garon killed their father in this city." Robin reminded.
"Hypocrites." Corrin scoffed at them. "What to do, what to do…"
"I don't have all the answers and the consequences are high and everyone here knows that, and once this starts there is no going back." Robin said. "With this in mind, there is one thing that I need to get out of the way before I can do anything else."
"Which is what?" Corrin asked.
"Corrin, I think it's best that you don't participate in this attack." Robin let out what he wanted to say, and in truth, he was expecting her to lash out on him again, because even though he's not used to it, he can't help but feel that he should, but to his fortune, his Princess express no anger, nor a semblance of shock and instead shows a numb expression, as if she doesn't know how to feel on the matter.
"Oh…?"
"Glad to see that you're not overreacting about this and really it's no surprise, you're the most reluctant to go along with this and for good reason. You aren't going to be at a hundred percent when you face Garon and that puts you at risk of being overpowered and endanger the rest of us. And in spite of what he's done, he is still your father at heart, same with King Sumeragi, even if you don't remember him." Robin said more warmly to her. "This kind of conflict, no one should ever partake in at all."
"I know that but… how is sitting back and do nothing more right than taking up harms against the nation I once called home?" Corrin questioned as she lowers her head. "I'm gonna have to face him eventually and is now not the time?"
"Sooner does feel better than later to me but for this instance, I'm gonna have to disagree." Robin said as he goes to sit next to her in the couch. "There's really no way to make this easier to bear this burden but we can still share it, I can still carry you along the path."
"No you can't. Lilith said so herself after we kept you in the Astral Plane for ten days straight hours ago, you're not as strong as you were when you hid your powers from everyone in the fortress." Corrin muttered. "Not even I have seen you at your full potential but I know that ever since that Blight Dragon came out of me you've been overusing your magic more than any Mage should ever and your ability to recharge with external mana is laughably petty. I've never seen Garon fight but he was the one who oversaw Xander's training as he was growing up besides Gunter and his use of Sorcery isn't something to laugh at, if Leo and Camilla's talents are any indication, apart from Arete."
"I've seen them spar with their soldiers back in Windmire, I know what they're capable of." Robin replied, not particularly worried in appearance.
"And yet you're still set on helping them with this attack."
"I'm just being a team player."
Silence befalls the room, neither whitehead speaking another word, Corrin due to her struggling with all this and Robin trying to choose his next words carefully.
"Did I really make the right choice?" Corrin spoke up next again after five minutes of silence.
"It kind of feels that way to me, at least." Robin replied, knowing that she means about choosing Hoshido. "Is another argument with your other baby brother really worth questioning life choices?"
"I can handle a baby, especially a tiny pineapple but this is more about what you told me before you brought me back to Hoshido." Corrin said. "About… running away, choosing neither and never exactly betraying anyone?"
"I'm pretty sure that ship has long since set sailed, don't you think?" Robin asked.
"I know but… why did you give me that option? How would doing that had worked?"
"It was more of a hunch, and at the time it felt right, getting you away from all that, shielding you from responsibilities the two elder brothers should've known better than to leave you in, even if they never meant to do it." Robin confessed. "Taking a neutral stand in war may seem like an awful idea but I was sure that I could pull it off if given enough time."
"And now you don't?"
"Like I said that ship has said sailed, we're on the path of your "Birthright" and it would be a grave mistake to give up now just because it's too hard and I'm not one to give up on something I've started. Whatever you would've chosen I would've followed, Hoshido, Nohr, or any other kingdom, none of it really matters to me. I mean, saving lives sounds like something I would love to do always but that's not what's important right now."
"But why go so far for me, knowing the dangers, then?" Corrin asked with deep concern for him.
"Because you're all I really know in these lands and the first thing I ever laid eyes on when I woke up in those fields, and at the moment I don't have anyone to give me purpose in life but you." Robin made an exasperated sigh as he confessed, looking up at the ceiling, not noticing the impact his words had on his Princess as she can only look at him with a deep blush and longing in her eyes.
"Oh, Robin… I… but what about… Morgan?" Corrin quickly asked without thinking.
"I don't know who she is, or worse if… if I'll ever see her after this." Robin said with the first true hint of sadness and bitterness Corrin has ever seen him display and seeing him like this is shattering what's left of her already broken heart. "This war could be my final moments but I made my choice and all I can really hope for is that whatever regrets I'll make won't be too severe."
He closes his eyes as he attempts to make himself relax some more because the stress is finally getting to him. Thinking about Morgan always made him feel a strong sense of longing and desperation, how badly he wants to find her, but he also feels a lot of despair and regret. All this train of thought made him fail to notice Corrin get closer to him, placing her knees on the couch to raise her head above his and places her left hand on his. Honestly, she is moving purely on instinct, as she moves her head closer to his and closes her own eyes, about to…
She is forced to stop as she hears a knock on the door, and immediately she sits back straight, struggling not to let out a loud gasps, purely flustered and embarrassed, and Robin none the wiser of what his master was about to do, he was just that deep in thought that he didn't even feel all that movement in the couch.
"That's probably your sisters. Just because they hate Nohr, well, it's impossible to believe Sakura hates anyone but they'll no doubt want to make sure you're alright more than me." Robin said.
"Yeah! Yes, of course." Corrin uttered as she quickly gets back up on her feet and rushes to the door, quite fast that Robin is suspicious as to why.
As soon as she opens the door, she sees Hinoka, Sakura and Lilith who were about to greet her but quickly halt, startle by the very irritated and flustered face Corrin has right now.
"WHAT?!" Corrin asked louder than she intended.
"Whoa there! You look like Ryoma when he was forced to confess about Scarlet to us and legitimately threatened us and Takumi not to tell mother." Hinoka muttered.
"That's none of your business." Corrin hissed before forcing herself to calm down by taking a deep breath and breathing out. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. That was totally uncalled for and unfair of me, I'm just really stressed out."
"We can see that and we thought that Rob would've set you at ease to an extent." Hinoka said.
"Only I get to call him that. And yes, he did, but then I stressed myself out over something else." Corrin muttered. "I do that to myself some times."
"It's true." Lilith affirmed.
"I know that pain." Hinoka mused with sympathy.
"Anyhow, anything I can do for you three?" Corrin asked.
"Nothing, we just wanted to check up on you, I know we really let Takumi and Azura toss you aside by going along with this and we also wanted to tell you that…"
"If you're going to try and convince me to not participate in this mad plan, don't bother because Robin is already doing that." Corrin interrupted, just assuming that's what Hinoka was going to say.
"I… was hoping to be the one to give that talk but I supposed anyone would do just fine." She muttered. "Anyhow, I think a little bit of girl time might do us some good, you've been busy most of the day learning tactics with Robin, or rather days learning tactics. Dawn, this alternative time flow things needs more time to adjust."
"You have no idea." Lilith mumbled to herself, recalling her first time in this place.
"Yeah, that would be kind of nice." Corrin agreed.
"And that would be my cue to leave then." Robin said, as he exits the treehouse and gently walks past the women. "Talk to you soon Cor."
"Yeah, thanks for coming, Rob." Corrin waved at him as the four of them enter the treehouse and she closes the door.
"Did w-we… int-terrupt something?" Sakura asked her sister nervously, still troubled by the previous expression she flared at them with.
"Yes, yes you did but don't worry about that too much." Corrin insisted as she places her hand on Sakura's shoulder, not wanting to think about what transpired today and at least wait until tomorrow to make up her mind about what is about to transpire tonight…
'Maybe this whole pocket dimension thing wasn't such a good idea, after all.'
"We're back." Orochi cheered as her group return to the astral plane, and while to them they've only been gone for two hours and twenty six minutes, the rest who remained in the pocket dimension haven't seen them for more than five days. The first thing the five of them see upon arrival though is a battle going on between ten individuals who look human enough except that their bodies look to be made of bluish white light and are dressed like Hoshidan Soldiers and are having a five on five showdown, beside these warriors are Rinkah and Hayato with the Light Scroll floating between them and glowing with the same light as its power is active and creating these constructs. Corrin, Hinoka and Sakura are also there watching the fight with expectations.
"You about ready to call it quits yet, punk? Because this match is all mine." Rinkah said to the boy smugly, confident that her constructs will be winning this fight.
"Not a chance, I'm not stopping until I get a tie breaker and take you down eleven more times for good measure." Hayato declared.
"Really, only eleven?" Rinkah smug, pretending to be impress.
"Why stop at ten?" Hayato replied back more smugly.
"Oh, that's a good one." Corrin mused.
"And guess what." Hayato began as one of his Constructs that's dress in the common uniform for Master of Arms cuts the Oni Chieftain of Rinkah's men in half, defeating it. "My time to shine has begun."
"What the hell just happened?!" Rinkah demanded in outraged over her main light soldier of this fight having just been defeated.
"Katanas beats Clubs, that's what." Hayato smirked victorious.
"NO! NO THEY DON'T! Want to know why, because the Weapon Triangle is BULLSHIT!" The Flame Demigoddess yelled.
"I'm beginning to question if it's true or not." Corrin mumbled
"In case you're beginning to take it more serious, there's a Dual Katana you can use just in case Lancers ever cause you trouble." Hinoka advised.
The clash between Light Soldiers is put to a halt as eight violet arrows are fired at the remaining light soldiers and destroys each of them instantly.
"Hey, what was that for, Princeling!" Rinkah yelled at Takumi who was the one that fired those arrows and is walking to the scene.
"Sorry about that, ran out of target practice since I broke all the steel dummies Lilith made for me and you guys were making too much noise." Takumi said with a fake apology while wielding Skadi as he quickly got the hang of this new weapon.
"Nice to see that everything is going wonderfully here." Azura said.
"Good, you're all back. I was worried I go mad with all these days of waiting over mere hours on the other side." Corrin said relief to see the five of them back safely.
"I for one like this whole Time Theft deal." Takumi replied. "So, I take it everything's ready on your end?" He asked the five.
"It was apprehensive but we manage to survey the Opera House thoroughly enough to have a clear view of what we are up against." Kaze informed his partner.
"Good, let's gather everyone and start planning." Hinoka said and soon enough everyone gathers in a war room Lilith creates, with a large table with a map containing blueprints of the entire Opera House.
"Based on what we've seen and according to what we've heard from the gossips, the security will be mainly run by Nohrian Knights, they don't seem to trust any Nestrian soldiers with safeguarding their Royals anywhere outside of Nohr so we can easily expect no friendlies inside." Kaze explained. "Every entrance and exit is being guarded as if their lives depended on it, and they probably are at risk."
"That's no surprise, I've heard that the Nohrian always do this when they visit the Opera House, mostly by bribing security." Reina added.
"Why would anyone ever used soldiers for security in a play?" Corrin asked.
"Pride mostly, that and violent incidents have occurred there in the past that have even led to the death of a performer, three of them were caused by Hoshidans and Nohrians so security is expected to be tight." Azura explained.
"There are more Knights put on guard, several Warlocks too but there are more Rangers there than we're used to seeing in one place." Kagero continued.
'Warlocks?' Corrin repeated in her head. 'Oh, right, that's the alternative name for Nohrian Dark Mages, kind of like Diviners are really regular Mages with a different name to distinguish them from other nations' Mages. Don't hear that name as much as I should, though.'
"Rangers are King Garon's favored class among his army, while those of Nohr's Royalty are expected to be trained as Paladins or Dark Knights primarily, Garon chose to be more akin to a Mercenary in his youth, hence his affinity with Axes once he was officially one himself." Robin explained. "No surprise why they serve as the bulk of his Royal Guard, which are surely all here, apart from the Retainers that serve his wife and children."
"Garon doesn't have Royal Retainers assign to him? That seems impractical for Nobles in this day and age." Hinoka said.
"So he's been lectured about ever since he became King." Corrin replied.
"And in this day and age, regardless of how well balanced and deadly they are, relying on one class too much can cost an army dearly, which can work to our advantage to an extent." Robin began planning.
"Wait, I thought the bulk of Nohr's army were the mages among them that can use Dark Magic." Hayato wondered, with Robin giving him a hand gesture of half and a half.
"Dark Magic tomes are ironically enough, not that common in Nohr, which is a shame considering that they're arguably the strongest offensive spells and they mainly use Anima, so addressing them by their alternative name; Warlock feels almost appropriate." Robin explained.
"How did I not know that…" Corrin whispered to herself.
"Anything else worth noting that should concern us?" Robin asked.
"Garon has yet to show his face there and is expected to arrive when there are only ten minutes left and we have pinpointed where the roped off area he will sit to watch the show is, right where it is reserve for VIP, naturally but there was no mention of Princess Elise, or anyone else in his family arriving with him." Saizo informed. "There's more, I overheard two women dressed of Nestrian nobility whispering among themselves and acting strangely."
"How strange are we talking here?" Takumi asked.
"The way they moved and presented themselves and spoke to one another didn't feel like what any of us would expect of these people, they felt false to me, and while they didn't say anything noteworthy, one of them seemed nervous and being chastise by her friend to keep a cool head and not draw attention." He explained.
"Not draw attention? Azura, have you heard anything strange while pretending to be Layla?" Corrin asked.
"Afraid not, most of the people I spoke to were merely expressing concerns and apologizing to me, as Layla over what she's going through with her mother and how unfair it is that she/I have to perform of all times." Azura said. "Pretending to be her is hard but her situation made it easy to fool everyone to think that my 'sudden' stoic attitude is me coping with the stress, something the real Layla did at one point, according to Kaden, who I and Orochi kept close to avoid further suspicion since he is quite popular in Cyrkensia."
"Kagero and I haven't noticed what Saizo described but based on our best assumption, we strongly believed there are many among the spectators tonight are really Nohrians in disguise, hiding in plain sight." Kaze concluded.
"What? Why would they do that. Garon's not the kind of person to act all paranoid?" Reina questioned, having had the chance to confront the King of Nohr once before and noting him as a man with an unwavering warrior's spirit in spite of his dark tendencies.
"It's seems obvious in a way." Robin said realizing the issue. "They have a trap ready for incoming danger, meaning that they're expecting an attack to occur in the Opera House."
"Makes sense, does that mean that they know we're here too?" Corrin asked, growing concern.
"That's a big possibility, it's likely that one of their Seers have been following us for some time but between the fight against Sloth and warping into Mokushu's harbor so suddenly, I doubt we were being followed to that extent while at sea." Robin said.
"Impossible, we did a thorough check in the harbor before sailing and we're sure that we were in the clear." Orochi stated.
"Either way, they have the manpower ready for an attack but what about the true bulk of their army. Any Grimm?" Takumi asked.
"None that we could spot inside and among the Dark Mages keeping security, none possess a Warp Tome, though it's likely that there's more of their forces being hidden elsewhere, like the sewers." Kagero said. "But even that is unlikely since attacks underground the city have happened before and because of the war, the military here must be tightening their security and any possible location for invaders to operate in."
"So we're still going in blind, still with what we have at this very moment, I'm sure Robin can cook up something great." Corrin said more confident in her Tactician, though Robin makes no sort of reply to her comment and is left to his machinations.
"Does that mean you're onboard now." Takumi questioned but Corrin is unable to respond with Robin talking first.
"Alright! Let's see what I can cook up." He stated.
I had more than a troubled uncle to concern myself with but no harm done and I've had a swell time. Anyhow I'm back but making these weekly might not work out for me anymore, can't say I didn't give it my best shot. But one thing I can guarantee, I ain't giving up on my first story.
Ranger is the name I am giving the Hero class, while it is my favorite class when I played Awakening, the name itself is very inconsistent and it has been changed many times; Myrmidon in Gaiden/Echoes, Forrest in Genealogy of the Holy War, Mercenary in Thracia 776, Highlander and Bastard… in the TearRing Saga. Why? And Brave Heroes in Fates, again, very inconsistent since Nohr is portrayed as the bad guys technically so I feel that a different name is needed again and as such they will be called Rangers in my story and the mounted units of the same name have been replace with Bow Knights so there will surely be no sort of confusion.
And as for Dark Mages, well, last time I checked the only Dark Tome in Fates is Nosferatu and that one varies from Light to Dark so, again very inconsistent, and while I do intent to bring along the dark tomes from the other games, mainly Awakening, I will call the Class Warlocks from now on, and since it has the word war in it, I think it fits well with Nohr.
Also, Takumi is now wielding Skadi. Will this make him more of a jerk or will he handle its power better since Anankos won't be manipulating him, you will all have to keep reading to find out.