AUTHOR'S NOTES: so I've kind of been on a little writer's block lately, and rather than decreasing the quality of my story by trying to force it, I kind of tried to ride it out until I was spirited enough to write again. This is one of the main results. A few small notes before I continue though. "Zulera" is just a minor OC from the Flame Tribe, since I needed a name besides "the scout". you won't find any Mary Sues or self-inserts in my works (or hopefully not anyways). Also, "Ferevs" was a name made because the continent stupidly doesn't have a name and I don't want to have to say "Hoshido and Nohr" every time I want to collectively refer to them. Besides, there are all those other smaller tribes and nations too. The name is just "Fire Emblem REVelation Setting" abbreviated. So there's that useless bit of info to think about as we start the 15th installment of 'The Silent Dragons'.
Happy Reading!
CHAPTER 15: The Astral Plane
Sing with me a song of Fire and Dreams...
So this was how it ended then… Kamui knew that Hans was a deplorable bastard son of a nug, but she also knew that if she somehow survived this fall that she would hunt him down and end him herself. Maybe she did have a chance at surviving. It wouldn't be the first time a princess fell from a high cliff and survived… but would she even have the memory of Hans-or anything else for that matter? Maybe she really was too contemplative at times. She'd have to ask Xander and Camilla to beat it out of her till she bled it all over the floor or something. Of course, she'd have to survive this fall before she did anything, and since she was reaching breakneck speeds, she was pretty sure that there were only seconds standing between her and the rock that her remains would messily splatter across upon impact.
However, the Nohrian royal family were not the only ones that had come to Kamui's aid. Lilith had accompanied Kamui from the Northern Fortress for a reason, after all…
"My kin, my gods, my blood… Dragons grant me strength…" she chanted, "Great Moro, I beseech you!"
Lillith's form shifted from the blue-haired humanoid into a small dragon that more nearly resembled a small fish. She increased her falling speed, sailing down the abyss to snatch Kamui before she hit the bottom and her life end prematurely.
Still, when Kamui was snatched from the air, she was unconscious, and it was not until she woke up that she realized where she was, to an extent-it was somewhere completely foreign, and she concluded instead that she had literally no idea where she was.
Even the architecture seemed foreign. There was a very Hoshidan feel to the place, for while Kamui did not ever recall being in Hoshido, she had seen pictures and heard descriptions of it, usually by envious Nohrians who vied for that splendor to replace the squalor of some of the pits of Nohr, or something like that.
Whatever the case, Kamui glanced around to see Lilith (or at least the little fishy-dragon thing that she assumed was still Lilith from their encounter earlier) floating around near her. Groaning and rubbing her eyes as she sat up, she muttered a few things before speaking.
"Uhhh… what just happened? And for that matter, where the hell are we? Is this Hoshido?"
"This is a world parallel to the one in which you live, Kamui." Lilith explained, "parallel to both Hoshido and Nohr, and the continent of Ferevs where your life takes place. It is known as the Astral Plane-a place where time itself flows differently."
"How were you able to get us here?" Kamui tilted her head, "and how did you transform? I take it you're not actually a human."
"Obviously not," Lilith quipped playfully, "but yes, this is my true form. You've seen me like this before when we were both a lot younger. Do you remember that baby bird you rescued?"
"I wondered why it didn't exactly look like a bird." Kamui chuckled, thinking back to how Xander was about to correct her, but Camilla had given him such a look. She didn't know what that exchange of expressions had meant back then, but it made sense now.
"Once I recovered, I was able to assume a human form," Lilith continued, "you were so kind to me that I decided to stick around, remaining a human so I could serve you. You saved my life more times than you realize, and now I'm repaying the favour. Unfortunately, the power I used to get us here has pushed me beyond the capacity of a human body, and so I am unable to return to that form any longer."
"I'm sorry for being so careless then…" Kamui sighed.
"Don't be," Lilith smiled, "I don't mind a whole lot. What matters to me is that you're safe."
"So how were you able to get us here again?" Kamui still looked skeptical, "and what's with the Hoshidan decor?"
"The First Dragons have granted us power to inhabit this dimension." Lilith clarified, "Under their protection, we are safe here. That reminds me-allow me to help find you a place to rest."
Lilith's eyes flashed for a moment, before suddenly a treehouse sprung up a few meters away from where the two were situated.
"Hey now!" Kamui's face lit up, "I can dig this. Did you just use a Dragon Vein?"
"Sure did," Lilith nodded, "The power of the First Dragons roams freely here. Even time and space operate differently, and so just because you spend an evening here does not mean you have spent an evening away from Nohr."
"Good to know," Kamui mused, "I'll have to get back to you on the schematics of that whole thing to see how it works. I should probably get going back so they don't worry about me."
"You should probably rest first…" Lilith suggested, "an evening to get that headache of yours reduced is likely only a few minutes of time back home."
"But I…" Kamui froze. "How did you know I had a headache."
"You're showing some pretty strong signs… and if some poor judgment has you tripping off a ledge, I'm not sure I could come to your rescue so swiftly."
"I'll keep that in mind…" Kamui stood up, realizing she was a little shaky on her feet, and went to the treehouse to investigate it. She trusted Lilith, but her curiosity made her at least want to take a look around the place.
It was definitely cozy; there was a storage area full of crates, as well as food, a few bookshelves, a dining table, and a few storage chests.
"What the hell is up with this box…" Kamui mused, glancing at a treasure chest with a weird mask-looking design on top. She opened it to find it empty, and so decided to think little of it at the moment. Lilith was right; her head ached more than she had realized. Maybe she had stood up too fast, or maybe it was something else as well. Regardless, she fell comfortably onto the bed and curled up, falling asleep within minutes.
=Bottomless Canyon near the Nohrian border…=
"We can't just leave Kamui behind!" Elise argued, "Gunter and Jakob aren't even here!"
"Sweetie, we've looked everywhere…" Camilla sighed, "and we're not even supposed to be out here. You know how Father is about solo missions."
"But this is our sister!" Elise asserted. "We can't just leave her alone in this gods-forsaken wilderness!"
"As much as I like to point out Elise's childishness when she displays it," Leo interjected, "She has something of a point. It's not like Kamui to just run off like this."
"But even then, if the Hoshidans didn't take her, do you suppose she…" Camilla trailed off, cocking her head back towards the canyon and the abyss therein.
"No!" Elise insisted. "No! No! No! Kamui is fine! She probably just ran too far ahead!"
Almost as if she was predicting the future, they heard a voice from the west calling out for her big brother or big sister.
"Perhaps your words have merit after all, little sister," Xander smiled, before turning towards the source of the noise. "Little Princess!" he called out.
"I'm in the woods!" the voice responded, "We're alright; we just got a little ahead of ourselves… My retainers and I are safe."
"We are not far behind," Xander called out, "if you stay where you are we can meet up with you."
"I'd rather just keep going and meet you back at Windmire! I've seen enough of this terrible place to last two lifetimes!"
If it was a trick, it was a deviously well pulled off trick, for the Nohrian siblings pursued the voice westward. Xander picked up speed, although eventually, 'Kamui' stopped responding.
"By the gods, she's fast," Leo groaned, but they continued their path westward towards Windmire, not knowing that not only were Kamui and her retainers not actually in front of them, but that one of the had vanished in the canyon, another was in the Astral Realms, and the other was missing in action…
=Daishan Fortress, Hoshido…=
A smirk crept across Rinkah's face as she watched one of her scouts returned, looking rather winded, but content.
"Chief," she began, "we've successfully routed the Nohrians back to their own land. Lady Kamui is unaccounted for, but we know she has not left the area."
"Perfect," Rinkah grinned, "excellent job, Zulera. now we wait. If she's truly down in the canyon, the only way out is for her to come right back here."
"And how do you know that?" Saizo frowned.
"The Flame Tribe is not entirely barbaric, you know. We're familiar with this shithole, and there are stories and legends alike about this place. Either way, I believe a certain someone wagered 35 gold that my girls and I couldn't trick the Prince and Princess of Nohr."
"I was proven wrong." Saizo groaned, "a surprise and a rarity, but I am a man of my word. Here."
A handful of gold coins tumbled into Rinkah's hands from Saizo's, and the two shook hands.
"Only one portion of the plan remains," he pointed out, "your girls impressed me once; think they can do it again?"
"Oh no; this one's on me." Rinkah clarified, "I'll take Princess Kamui down and we'll deal with her from here. It'd actually probably be better for you to return to Shirasagi to report this to your queen or high prince or whoever you answer to."
"Right," Saizo seemed to briefly mentally calculate the risks and advantages of this situation before deciding that Rinkah's Flame Tribe warriors appeared capable and much cleverer and more intelligent than he had first assumed. As such, he and his men vacated the premises, leaving the Flame Tribe women alone.
"I'm going to go out on a limb here, princess," the scout from earlier spoke up, "and guess that you didn't just want Saizo to go home to report."
"I've done my socializing for the day." Rinkah pointed out, "after a bit, I need a bit of time to myself to refuel my flames. You've already done a hell of a good job, Zulera. You should rest."
"A commendable assertion, Princess." Zulera smiled, "thank you."
="Fort Kamui", the Astral Plane…=
Kamui rested and felt revitalized a while later. As she exited the treehouse, Lilith was there to perform her checkup.
"How are you feeling, Kamui?" she asked.
"Much better," Kamui sighed with relief, "my wounds are healed and my mind is clear and racing! I've got so many questions about this place, but I should probably be getting back. I can't rest properly until I know that everyone made it safely home… alas, poor Gunter."
"Indeed," Lilith sighed, "his sacrifice will not be forgotten. However, if you are ready to depart, then we should get moving. I cannot say that time froze in your absence, but while it might be slower there than here, things will not quite be the same as the way you left them… but you will return to the same place you left from."
"Got it," Kamui nodded, "I'm ready. Open the gate, Lilith."
"Tread carefully," Lilith warned as she opened the gate, "Hoshidan soldiers may still be lying in wait for you upon your return…"
Whatever the case, Kamui found herself back at the same point where she had been assaulted by Hans, except everything was deserted. SHe wondered what had become of the Ganglari sword that she had dropped here. Had Hans taken it and run, or had the Hoshidans claimed it? She looked around before calling out for her siblings, although by this point they were long gone. Rinkah, however, was watching her.
"Like candy from a babe…" she smirked, silently moving towards the confused Nohrian princess as she wandered west. Once she was only a few meters from her prey, Rinkah pounced.
"Y'er mine, Nohrian!" Up went Rinkah, and then right back down she came, striking Kamui in the head. Kamui staggered, spinning around, her eyes flashing dizzily as she tried to regain her orientation. She wasn't sure how many times she was struck, but since she was unarmed, her resistance was minimal before she finally got knocked out.