AUTHOR'S NOTES: Slightly late, but here it is! I may or may not have been addicted to Fire Emblem Heroes which just came out, so there's also that. Either way, this is where Silas and Mozu officially join Corrin's army, and that in turn means more character development is on its way. Mozu's one of the more three-dimensional characters in the story, and so there's a lot I can do with her in that regard. Also, in other good news, I'm nearing 100 reviews on this story, and so thanks a bunch to everyone who's contributed, and to those who plan to. It's an author's lifeblood, and so every comment counts and is appreciated.
I've rambled enough though. Happy Reading!

CHAPTER 49: A Comforting Conclusion

Sing with me a song of Solace and Grace...

Silas and his men worked swiftly to dispatch the Faceless, but the horde was larger than they had anticipated. Corrin's army came in the nick of time to assist in that regard, and it was clear at once that whoever (or whatever) had sent these creatures had likely done so with intentions of reaching a larger target. This small village was likely just conveniently in the path of wherever their real destination was.

Faceless might not have been exactly sentient and thus were also not very bright, but they were not entirely stupid. They would never flee with enemies at their backs; for whether they realized it or if it was just programmed into them by their creators, they knew they were slower than most other enemies. They also knew how to fight and had at least a basic level of understanding of how to defend themselves.

On the other hand, against the ferocity of Mozu, now with an equally pissed off Kamui at her side, the Faceless began dropping like dominos. Corrin was surprised as he watched the trees and brush rustle as they approached the forest. He was unaware of Mozu, but had heard her screams earlier, and so wondered if Kamui had found the survivor or not.

Within a few minutes, he got the answer to his question as Kamui and Mozu burst from the woods, stabbing and slashing at anything that moved. Mozu was dirty and scratched up, but was surprisingly not bleeding too much. Kamui, by contrast, looked like she had gotten into a bloodbath and appeared to be missing her left eye.

"Blazes, sister!" Corrin gawked as he plunged his sword into one of the few remaining Faceless, "swim in enough blood today?"

"Well, it started smelling after a few minutes, and so the 42 faceless we slaughtered are still out there starting to rot." Kamui retorted, pointing a thumb over her shoulder back at the woods, "how is everyone else? Is Sakura keeping things straightened out?"

"She and Felicia are tending to the wounded as usual," Corrin nodded, "you though… you took a bigger beating than usual, and that says something. Did you lose an eye?"

"Nah, but I've got a nasty cut right above my eyebrow," Kamui shrugged, "I just got so hyped up in the fighting that I kind of just didn't notice. You know how berserkers are."

"And who is this?" Corrin smiled at Mozu, who seemed to be coming down off of her adrenaline rush and realizing the hopelessness of her situation. Kamui opened her mouth but then realized that she had not even asked the little farmer what her name was.

"I… I'm Mozu Kobayashi…" Mozu peeped, "Th-thanks for helping come and save me. I ain't sure there's really anything left to repay you with though…" she glanced around, sighing dejectedly as she beheld the carnage around her. The peerless bravery and vigor that she had fought the Faceless against had vanished as the cruel reality of her situation sunk in.

"Waugh!" she cried, "what am I gonna do!? They took my mother, my life, my village, my friends… everything is gone!"

Even through her one eye not caked in blood, Kamui could tell that there was nothing to recover from this awful place, and even if there was, the odds of them moving the 800-pound masses of flesh that were the Faceless corpses seemed unlikely. That would stink something awful within a day or two as well.

"We can't just leave her here," Silas suggested, although he was preaching to the choir.

"I would never do such a thing," Kamui pointed out, and Corrin actually nodded in agreement as if he had been about to say the same thing (which he had been). "Surely you've got some family or friends somewhere we can take you to, yeah?" She was totally on board with taking Mozu with them, but obviously if she had other relatives that she'd rather be with, that would make plenty of sense to her.

"There's no one that wasn't here in this village," Mozu frowned, "and I couldn't start over here even if we did manage to clean it all up. Every home, field, and life this village once cradled… gone and destroyed. I reckon nothing would even grow here either. Everyone I ever called family is dead, and every house a grave."

"We're taking her in." Kamui made an adamant statement. "Unless she says otherwise, we're taking her in and there's nothing you can do about it, Corrin."

"Do you suspect that I'm that heartless?" Corrin frowned, "if anything I thought I'd have to be the one arguing points to you about why we should help her."

"Well golly!" Mozu exclaimed, "if y'all are gonna help me out I'll do whatever I can to repay the favour. I might not be much of a fighter, but I can cook and hunt and farm and other chores like that, 'n stuff…"

"You had me at cooking." Kamui pulled Mozu into a hug that surprised the smaller girl, though there was a fleeting moment when it seemed the tension left Mozu's body as she felt a wave of reassurance of some kind. "No offense, Corrin, but since we can't have Jakob, Sakura, or Oboro on kitchen duty every night, sometimes the crap to come out of the mess hall has been less than appetizing. I bet Silas could cook me something good though…" she put her finger to her chin.

"Well shucks, if y'all need a chef to keep your bellies fed every night before a battle, you can count on me!" Mozu promised, feeling a little more confident that she could be useful in an army full of people that appeared to Mozu to be formidable soldiers, "at least 'til I can learn how to properly fight and all that. I wanna make sure I pull my weight."

"PFFT," Kamui snorted loudly, "not to be rude or anything, Mozu, but I saw you fighting those Faceless in the woods. You're a natural!"

"You're just shuckin' me," Mozu shook her head, "I was all stoked in the heat of the moment and mad at those monsters! And before you ask, no I'd really not wanna have to see what I saw today just to get me into the fighting spirit or whatever y'all call it."

"I like you more and more each time you open your mouth, kid," Kamui smiled approvingly, accidentally looking a little intimidating because of her sharper teeth and her "missing" eye. "And I mean that sincerely. You're smart and you're honest and not trying to be something you're not. You'll do just fine with us. I promise you that." She offered her hand.

Mozu hesitated for a moment, her eyes not making contact with Kamui's partially due to the dragon-girl's grotesque mosaic of blood on her face, but eventually she nodded and shook Kamui's hand, only to pull it back with slight disgust at the sight of the blood on it.

"I'd think that gettin' dirty was acceptable for a farmer, but don't y'all ever clean yourselves up after one of your battles?" Mozu was used to getting dirty with mud or old fruit or the likes, but blood outside of butchering livestock was not really her thing.

"Most of us do," Corrin shot Kamui a look, "Kamui's just barbaric and hasn't been exposed to proper civilization yet—not even rural farming civilization."

"Well then…" Mozu actually noticed the humor of the situation, "Maybe I kin' teach you a thing or two before the others teach you to be properly civilized, huh?" Kamui laughed.

"Let's get out of here," she suggested to the others, "and Mozu…" she paused, taking a deep breath to calm herself down and show her sincerity. "Barring my savage beahviours, I really want to let you know that I—that we—care for you. Don't go treating this like some favour to try and get something out of you. We helped you because that's what we do. I know what it's like not having any family to turn to, and it's depressing. I can guarantee with almost certainty that you'll be treated like family by everyone here."

True to Kamui's word, everyone that met Mozu found her particularly endearing. Oboro in particular took a liking to her right away, although found it rather funny when Mozu disclosed her age, considering her size.

"So that's really how old you are?" Oboro looked curious. Mozu was about a head shorter than most of the others, barring Sakura, Kamui, and Hana.

"I already said I ain't one for lyin'," Mozu declared, "I toldja I turn 19 right after the end of harvest."

"Alright," Oboro was not one to push the subject any further, "I apologize. I guess it just kind of caught me by surprise. You're so small and adorable!"

"Hey now, you don't need to go patronizin' me, y'hear?" Mozu crossed her arms.

"I'm not!" Oboro reasoned, "Sorry; I got a little ahead of myself. Let's get you cleaned up, and I'm sure you'll feel a whole lot better…"

While Oboro took charge of helping Mozu feel welcome and comfortable, Silas returned with Kamui and Corrin to the war room, where they were met by Gunter, Anna, Kaze, and Sakura. Silas gave the reports of what he knew.

"From what we learned, we heard that the Faceless were heading eastward towards the Wind Tribe," he explained, "we obviously aren't 100% sure, since we don't have spies in Hoshido, but that would be a safe place to move next if you want to make sure the Faceless don't lay them to ruin like they did with Mozu's village."

"Our sources confirm the same things, my liege," Kaze turned to Corrin, "we have not received much information beyond that, but I suggest we look into it as soon as we are able. In the meantime, we should rest up. That was quite the battle."

"I'll drink to that," Kamui nodded, "but first I should probably get cleaned up—and make sure my eye's gonna be okay. I'd hate to have to patch it up this early in my tender young life."

"Milady, must you always make things more dramatic than necessary?" Gunter voiced.

"I thought you'd know me by now, Gunter," Kamui cooed.

"I'm just glad that's over with," Sakura sighed, wiping her brow, "so much death and carnage… it was terrifying. Mozu really needs us now more than ever."

"And she will have our continued support." Corrin declared, "New Kamui is a blessing for us to have, both as a place to live and during this war effort. Silas, we've arranged barracks for your soldiers, and are honored to have you and them join our cause."

"It feels good to be able to use my skills for a righteous cause," Silas smiled. "It's also good to say hello to my old friend Kamui again. I suppose we have a lot of catching up to do."

"Oh, don't I know it," Kamui smirked. "In any case, meeting adjourned. Let's rest up and bit and when we decide our next course of action, we can all meet back here and whatnot."

Corrin nodded in agreement, and they went their separate ways. While Kamui's antics sometimes made him slap his forehead, he couldn't help but admire her tenacity and her fixation on making sure things got done. He was happy either way though. He felt they had done good work today, despite the losses. He just hoped that Mozu would be able to acquaint herself with him and his army and feel just as welcomed here as she was back in her village.

AFTERTHOUGHTS: Mozu is definitely going to have a more "country" feel to her, particularly in her dialogue. Apparently in the original Japanese version of the game, it was more prevalent (akin to Donnel, from Awakening), but among the many fuckups that the localization team had, they apparently removed it. Either way, country-Mozu is here to stay. I also have some interesting plans for Silas, so stay tuned, and feel free to leave reviews!

CHARACTERS RECRUITED:

Silas: A recently appointed Nohrian knight of noble birth who is easygoing but dedicated. A childhood friend of Kamui, even to the point of a secret crush. He is both very kind and quite skilled for a man of his age, Silas demonstrates openness and altruism towards others with little thought of any kind of reward, and is extremely well-liked by Nohrians and Hoshidans alike as a result. Has the worst "bedhead" in the army. Born on 1 November (Age 22)
Class: Paladin

Mozu: A daughter of farmers from a small village in Hoshido, she tries her best to help those around her. Her own humble origins have her overwhelmed to be around royalty all the time, but remains blunt and honest to a fault. While meek and often hesitant to pick up new skills, she is unabashed in most other circumstances, although still suffers flashbacks of the death of her fellow villagers, much to her dismay. Has the best survival skills in the army. Born on 6 October (Age 18)
Classes: Sniper, Master of Arms