A Summoner's Journey
Chapter 6: World of Birthright
Team for this chapter: Robin, Lyn, Nino and Serra
Heroes gained last chapter: Felicia, Jeorge, Kagero, Fir, Sophia and Narcian
Walking through the crimson red portal of the World of Birthright led us to an area with a large chasm and several swaying wooden bridges. An old fort was ahead of us, but standing in our way was a fearsome swordsman wearing bright red samurai armor. I restrained the urge to laugh because the guy sorta looked like a lobster. The next was an archer with long grayish hair tied in a ponytail. He was wearing colours different from the rest of the enemies here, blue and gray in contrast to the other's red and gold. The third was a pegasus knight wearing a white and red tunic and riding skirt, complete with short red hair and a Silver Lance in her hand. Finally, the fourth of our enemy group was a healer with short red hair and was wearing a short red and white cleric robe.
"Please drop your weapons everyone!", Nino called, "You are being mind controlled by Veronica and we want to stop it before there is more bloodshed!".
"What's that you say?", the swordsman drew his Silver Sword, "My realm is being controlled by forces from another world? Pah, I've heard that excuse before".
"The Kingdom of Hoshido is protected from invasion by our queen", the archer said sternly, "I'm not sure how you got into Hoshido but know this, our family will force you to leave!".
"Well said Takumi", the swordsman said, "Ready Hinoka, Sakura? Let's show these invaders how Hoshido deals with Nohrian spies!".
"You got it Ryoma. We're ready to fight!", Hinoka rose her Silver Lance into the air and vaulted towards us, beginning the brawl.
"Nino! Intercept Hinoka coming towards us with your magic! Robin, stand on the bridge to my left and block Takumi and Ryoma. Lyn, support Robin when necessary and Serra, stay behind and heal when needed!", I commanded and my troops scattered to fight.
Nino sent a spiral of wind swords towards Hinoka and the pegasus knight reared back in pain. The mage then sent a second volley of blades and vaporized Hinoka into light. Takumi nocked an arrow into his Silver Bow and fired, but Robin's Blarraven made the arrow bounce off him. Robin shot a powerful Blarraven back and Takumi was knocked to the ground, but still alive. Ryoma came rushing towards him and Robin quickly smacked his tome into the swordsman's face and swapped positions on the bridge with Lyn. Ryoma shook off his shock and launched himself at Lyn. Ryoma's swings were swift and powerful. Lyn could hardly parry them back, despite having the better weapon. Ryoma's Silver Sword made a large cut at Lyn's leg and she shot back with two quick strikes with her Sol Katti. However, Takumi came in to assist Ryoma thanks to Sakura healing him and Lyn got an arrow stuck in her hip.
"Robin! Hold them off! I need to heal!", Lyn shouted, blood trickling out of her mouth. Robin grabbed Lyn by the shoulder and pulled her behind him to Serra and faced down Ryoma and Takumi. Robin could feel Bonfire ready to unleash, but Ryoma was faster. He glowed with purple light and shouted, "Night Sky!", bombarding Robin was incredibly fast attacks. Robin staggered back, cuts covering his entire body. The injuries triggered his other skill, Defiant Speed. Robin's body was lit in a bright white aura and he destroyed Ryoma with a Bonfire-charged Blarraven. Takumi launched another arrow at the tactician, but Robin swiftly dodged it and took him down in two hits. Meanwhile, Serra healed up Lyn and the swordswoman charged down the bridge where Nino was to defeat Sakura, who was shooting Assault magic from her Physic staff towards Robin. Robin countered back with his magic, but Sakura showed a great deal of resistance to it. That is, until Lyn snuck behind her and stabbed her Sol Katti through Sakura's back, ending her life and the battle.
After the fight, Ryoma reappeared without his weapon.
"Looks like I underestimated the power of you strangers. I must retreat and regroup sadly. For the sake of our people, we cannot let Hoshido fall into the hands of the invaders!", Ryoma declared and he dashed back through the forest. We followed where Ryoma went until we found ourselves in a large port town. No citizens were around, just the quiet sound of waves splashing the deck and ships bopping lazily in the water. A partition made out of cobblestone was in front of us, presumingly to block pirates from invading the port. This place was quiet, but something felt wrong. I heard a bowstring draw and spotted a glowing blue arrow rocketing towards my way. Robin also noticed and sent a cloud of ravens to intercept it.
"Aw, the little Nohrian scum avoided my arrow? How interesting", Takumi came out from a wall to the left and smiled darkly at me, his hand ready to nock another arrow in his Fujin Yumi, "When I said that we'll force you to leave, I mean it. Now that has turned into killing you. No hard feelings".
He turned to his troops beside him, "Hinata, Oboro, block the chokepoint if they break the partition. While you're doing that, me and Saizo will pick off the enemy with our weapons and snipe that summoner dead. Got it?".
"As you command Lord Takumi", Oboro grinned, "Come along Hinata".
Hinata drew his Ruby Sword excitingly, "Ah, this'll be fun. Let's do this!".
The two stationed themselves in front of the stone barrier and we began our fight. Robin took advantage of the stone barrier and shot Blarraven at both Hinata and Oboro, severely weakening them. Oboro quickly realized what was going on and smashed the partition in one thrust of her Heavy Spear, allowing Hinata to go through. Lyn dashed in front of Robin to intercept Hinata while the tactician blocked more arrows coming in from Takumi. Lyn dueled with Hinata, sword to sword, but Hinata was surprisingly bulky on defense. Lyn's Sol Katti barely made a dent in Hinata's armor and it only got more harder to kill him as time went by. Hinata landed several hard blows on Lyn and triggered her Defiant Attack, making her glow with a fiery red aura. Lyn gritted her teeth in anger and her Sol Katti blew up in purple flames.
"Astra!", Lyn shouted and leaped high into the air.
"Pavise!", Hinata called and a thick blue shield enveloped the swordsman just as Lyn unleashed a incredibly flurry of sword strikes. The shield blocked all of Lyn's powerful strikes and only hurt Hinata a little, like a mosquito to an elephant.
"Nino, can you help me out here?", Lyn dodged a Ruby Sword strike from Hinata and countered back, barely scratching his shoulder. Serra's Recover staff glowed with bright light, healing some of Lyn's wounds.
"Gronnblade!", Nino finished off Oboro, then shot another volley of magic swords towards Hinata. Hinata staggered back from the attack and Nino cast her spell again, bombarding Hinata with powerful wind blades.
"It's time to end this!", Lyn dashed forward, enveloped by her Defiant Attack aura and smashed her Sol Katti onto Hinata's chest, shattering his armor and cleaving him in half. Lyn stopped to take a breather before Robin shouted in the distance.
"Lyn! Get away quick! Arrow and dagger incoming!", the tactician shouted.
Lyn instinctively backed away, but Takumi's arrow caught her all too quickly. Lyn crumbled to the ground lifeless as she faded away like any defeated hero.
Robin glared towards Takumi, who was getting ready to fire another arrow, "That's it. You're all going to die". His whole body glowed with orange fire and he shouted, "Bonfire!", sending a cloud of fiery ravens towards Takumi. The birds crashed into the Hoshidan prince, taking him down in one hit. The field seemed clear of enemies, but suddenly, a kunai dagger pierced Serra's leg and she fell to the ground with a yelp. Another came flying towards her chest, but Robin sent a swarm of ravens to stop it. Nino launched five wind blades at the direction of the dagger and destroyed a tall wooden fence, revealing a ninja with red hair and was wearing a dark blue ninja outfit with a matching colour scarf. The ninja said nothing and flung a knife towards Nino, but Robin jumped in the way and blocked it with his body. The kunai sunk into Robin's stomach and suddenly, he fell to his knees, his face contorted with pain.
All of us backed away in shock. "What the- Robin! Are you okay?", I cried.
"Poison Strike. Now to finish the job", the ninja armed himself with another knife and flung it with expert precision towards Robin's wheezing body. Luckily, Robin activated his Defiant Speed, making a light blue aura burst around his feet. He sidestepped quickly and the dagger missed his head by an inch.
"Blarraven!", Robin summoned a flood of ravens from his tome to bombard the ninja. At the same time, Nino rained down blades of wind and each of them exploded upon contact with the ground or a body. A sword struck the ground nearby the ninja's feet and he crashed into the wall of a house nearby, sliding down lifelessly and fading away. I glanced around for more enemies, but there were none. The battle was over, so we moved on, unfortunately without Lyn.
We ended up in a cherry blossom forest outside the walls of a huge Japanese-escue castle. Robin and Nino were able to treat Serra's wound in her leg with the use of the First Aid kit Alfonse gave me. She had a hard time walking, but she could still stand and heal at least.
"Told you I was helpless…", Serra muttered as she rose her Recover to heal Robin and Nino, who were my only attackers at this point. We were resting under a tall cherry tree when the sound of pegasus wings flapping filled the air. We looked behind us and found two pegasus knights, an archer and a male cleric waiting for us.
"Looking to approach Castle Shirasagi aren't you?", Hinoka's Brave Lance gleamed in the bright sunlight of Hoshido, "Invaders like you won't get away so easily".
"Aw, dammit. Should of brought Niles or Jeorge with me", I said, gesturing at my heroes to get up and prepare to fight.
"Only two mages and a healer? How incredibly sad", the monk smiled gleefully, "On Lady Hinoka's behalf, I would like to ask you to drop your weapons and surrender. Wouldn't want to get your little band of spies hurt".
"We came here to liberate you from Embla's rule, not to surrender", Robin's expression was harder than ever, "We'll fight till the end. Won't we Lucian?".
"Absolutely. We'll continue fighting no matter what. Let's go!", I shouted and the battle begun. Since we lost Lyn in the fight against Takumi, I sent Robin to tank the enemy in front of us with Nino behind him. Hinoka charged with her Brave Lance, striking with two powerful hits, but Robin managed to survive and Nino shot her down quickly with Gronnblade. As Robin fell back to get healed by Serra, the other pegasus knight, Subaki flew towards the exposed Nino and slashed the point of his Sapphire Lance in her face. Nino stumbled back, but wasn't too hurt surprisingly. The mage summoned five wind swords and launched them like cannonballs towards Subaki in the air, striking him and his pegasus hard. Serra healed Robin's wounds and he got back into the fight just as the archer, Setsuna, launched an arrow from her Assassin's Bow towards Nino. A flock of ravens rose to deflect the arrow and when the magic died down, Setsuna and Subaki were found impaled on two wind blades from Nino. All that was left was the monk, Azama. Azama did the smart thing and fled from the fight, allowing us to proceed towards the Hoshidan castle.
Scaling the ridiculously tall mountain towards Castle Hoshido led us to a beautiful courtyard with bright gardens, wonderfully designed fountains and more cheery trees dotting the grassland. There were walls leading towards the Hoshidan castle gate, patterned like a maze strangely.
"Did the Hoshidans want to defend their castle so much that they built a maze in front of their doors?", I asked, "Seems very impractical if they want to get out of the castle".
"It looks fun though", Nino smiled brightly, "It's like you'll have to find a new way out if you want to get in or out. A new adventure every time you open your door!".
"More likely that they have troops positioned inside the maze to guard the castle", Robin observed, "The way they can patrol the maze makes it impossible to get through the front door without being spotted. A good defense measure actually".
"Still, it must be a hassle to get in and out of the castle everyday with this mountain they are living on along with the maze", I said, "Oh well, guess we go in". I began walking into the maze when a knife nearly sliced through my leg. I backed away, wary for more attacks. Nobody and nothing else came out.
"I knew it", Robin opened his tome, "Enemies are waiting in the maze to ambush us. We have to expose them by breaking the walls".
"Let's do that", I agreed, "Be careful, you two. Don't let the enemy catch you by surprise. Serra and I will wait here in case you need healing". The two mages nodded and went into the maze.
"Damn, I nearly caught that summoner there with my dagger", Kagero, retainer to Ryoma, muttered.
"Lady Sakura and Kagero! The Nohrian spies have entered the maze. Prepare to attack", Subaki said over the wall, "Once they have broken the wall, rush out and ambush them!".
"W-we'll do that Subaki. Thanks", Sakura said, then walked to the right side of her room in the maze, "Hana, the Nohrians have entered the maze. P-prepare to fight when they break the wall".
"You got it Lady Sakura!", Hana heaved her Armorslayer, which she could somehow wield despite her small stature. Sakura never really understood that, as most swords were like carrying a sack of bricks. The Armorslayer was a sack of bricks with bars of iron glued to it. Still, the Armorslayer gave a good swing, so Sakura trusted Hana not to break her arm wielding it. Meanwhile, Robin and Nino were wandering around the maze, carefully breaking down the walls of the maze and exposing foes. Robin destroyed a barrier and Subaki was behind the wall. The pegasus knight lunged instantly and nearly stabbed Robin through the chest, but Nino shot him down before Subaki can reach. Robin broke another wall and Hana burst through the debris, landing two powerful slashes with her Armorslayer onto Robin's waist. A giant wind blade came down, but Hana was quick and rolled out of the way. Robin stepped back to attack with magic, but Hana rushed in before he could react and landed a large cut onto Robin's face. The tactician sent out a swarm of ravens in a large area, covering the hall with spirit birds. Hana ran back to avoid the attack, but it bought Robin time to activate Defiant Speed and send a Bonfire-charged wall of ravens towards Hana. The ravens moved almost instantaneously and slammed into Hana, ending her life. The ravens also broke another wall nearby, exposing Sakura and Kagero. This time, Nino was ready and launched a circular ring of wind swords towards Kagero. The ninja managed to survive and fired back her Poison Dagger, but Robin stood in the way and blocked it. The dagger sinked into his chest however and made the wound an ugly shade of purple. Robin could taste the poison in his mouth, but he couldn't let that stop him now. Robin cast Blarraven at Sakura, who was healing Kagero and took her down after two hits. Nino called down another volley of swords and defeated Kagero as well. The maze was silent after that. Robin and Nino have won the battle. The two mages looked at each other wearily. Nino rose her hand for a high five and Robin hit it gently, both of them smiling at each other.
Robin and Nino met back with me at the entrance.
"All enemies have been cleared of the maze Lucian", Robin reported, "We are free to walk into Hoshido castle".
"Great work you guys, taking out the enemy team like that", I grinned proudly, "Let's sit down and rest before going in".
All of us sat down under a cherry tree while Serra healed up Robin and Nino with her staff. The cuts and wounds vanished, but both mages still looked exhausted. Along with the First Aid kit, Sharena made us some provisions to carry in case we got hungry mid-expedition. I took out two turkey and cheese sandwiches and gave them to Robin and Nino. While they ate, I wondered who was waiting in the castle. We defeated Takumi, Hinoka and Sakura, three of the four heroes we fought at the chasm. All was left was Ryoma, the alleged "Prince of Birthright". He was probably the person we'll be facing in the castle. We rested for a few minutes, then we proceeded into the Hoshidan castle.
"Lord Ryoma, shall we guard you in the coming assault of the Nohrian spies?", the same red ninja that was with Takumi asked Ryoma.
"No Saizo. They aren't normal spies if they can defeat Hinoka, Takumi and Sakura on their own. They must be a more… unreal force", Ryoma said, "I shall face their leader in single combat, like the samurai of ancient times".
"Milord, I wouldn't risk your life like that", Kagero warned, "I just fought these enemies only a short time ago. They are incredibly strong".
"Kagero, are you doubting my ability with a sword?", Ryoma drew his personal weapon, a legendary katana wreathed in lightning, the Raijinto, "Do not worry. The Silver Sword I used against them previously was only practice. Now, there's no more games. The battle is to the death".
"I don't question your strength Lord Ryoma, but we will assist you if the situation goes poorly for you", Kagero responded, "We will bury those Nohrian scum in the dirt beneath this mountain".
"Looks like they have arrived. Let's do this", Saizo said.
We walked through the empty hallways of Castle Hoshido, the Japanese wallpaper and paintings giving a very foreign feel from the rest of the worlds we fought in. We eventually found a hidden passage behind the throne and found ourselves in a large room with a small room locked by wooden double doors.
"Wow, there's a lot of doors around here. Let's check what's over here…", Nino pushed the double doors opened and stepped inside, finding Ryoma alone, meditating.
"Hey guys! I found someone here- huh?", Nino turned to call to us, but the door suddenly shut close by itself and two ninja appeared on both sides of the room, surrounding us. Additionally, Takumi's retainers, Oboro and Hinata were paired up with Ryoma's ninjas, making us outnumbered 4-1 when it comes to attackers. Inside the locked room, Ryoma opened his eyes and stood up, grasping the grip of Raijinto.
"I'm surprised you made it this far. You've defeated my siblings and some of the best in Hoshido", Ryoma acknowledged, "But now I will stop you here at the cost of my own life, if necessary. I challenge one of you to single combat. How will you fare against the High Prince of Hoshido?".
"Umm… can it not be me who fights you?", Nino said in a small voice.
"The room is locked and will not be opened until both of my retainers or me is defeated", Ryoma informed, "So how will you fare against me? We shall see. Begin!".
The battle begun. Ryoma drew his lightning katana and charged towards Nino. Nino dashed out of the way and launched a ring of swords towards the samurai lord, but due to triangle advantage, Nino's attack only made Ryoma stumble. Seeing as Nino was out of range, Ryoma held his Raijinto up to his face and gripped it tightly. A spiral of electricity was unleashed out from Ryoma's sword and rocketed towards Nino. Nino jumped to avoid it and the electricity hit the wall behind her, making a hole that shown the massive cliffside of the mountain. One strike or push could send Nino out of the castle and off the cliff. Nino sent another volley of Gronnblade towards Ryoma, but he was just as fast as her, avoiding attacks with ease. Meanwhile, Robin was holding off four enemies from attacking me and Serra. The ninja's daggers bounced off the tactician's body, but if they managed to stick in, Saizo's Poison Strike or Kagero's Poison Dagger would quickly leech away Robin's life. Serra kept healing Robin and Robin fired back at the ninja with Blarraven, taking down Saizo in two hits and then defeated Kagero with a Bonfire-charged attack. When they faded away, they dropped golden keys, presumingly to unlock the door to Ryoma's room.
"Out of the way!", Robin sent a flurry of ravens wreathed in Defiant Speed's aura towards Hinata, taking him down in a single hit. He picked up the key, but Oboro stabbed him in the leg, making him crumble to the ground.
"Ahh! Serra, go heal him!", I commanded.
"But that spear fighter is in the way!", Serra cried.
"Nino won't survive in there with Ryoma and neither will we if Robin dies! Heal him and sacrifice your life if necessary!", I shouted, desperation clear in my voice.
"Sacrifice my life what?".
"JUST DO IT!".
Serra ran over and healed Robin with Recover just as Oboro went for another attack. Oboro's Heavy Spear impaled Serra through the chest and she faded away into light. Fortunately, Robin got up and struck with two Blarraven attacks, defeating the Hoshidan spear fighter. I ran to get the other key and we unlocked the door into Ryoma's room.
Meanwhile, Nino was starting to get tired from running away from Ryoma. She was already fatigued from the last battles and constantly dashing away to avoid Ryoma's lightning strikes drained her down. Eventually, her luck run out. As she jumped to dodge another bolt of lightning from Ryoma, the samurai dashed in and took advantage of her pause when she landed. He slashed his Raijinto over her chest and smashed her out of the castle wall from the hole he made earlier. Nino fell through the sky, screaming and crying her lungs out until she hit the ground at 100 miles per hour, fading into light instantly. We opened the door just as Ryoma did this and Robin, filled with rage for Nino's defeat, fired a Bonfire-Defiant Speed-charged Blarraven at Ryoma's back, smashing him to the floor. The samurai faded into light and the battle was finally over.
After the fight, Ryoma appeared in a flash of light without a weapon, like usual.
"Why do I feel so… refreshed? Is it true of what you said back at the Bottomless Canyon?", Ryoma asked.
"All of it is true. Embla is the real enemy here. We only came to liberate you from Veronica's control, not to conquer your kingdom", I said.
"You may be lying, but I feel that you are telling the truth", Ryoma said, "Then I thank you. Thank you for cleansing my kingdom of Embla's filth and clearing my head for the coming war with Nohr".
"No problem. It's all part of the job", I smiled.
"Also… I give my deepest apologies to your fallen comrades and all that we put you through. Because we were working on behalf of the enemy, they have forced me to end many unnecessary lives. I'm truly sorry", Ryoma apologized.
"It's alright. I'm sure it'll all work out in the end. Now, we have to go back home. Good luck on the upcoming war!", we bid Ryoma our farewells and went back to the Bottomless Canyon, where our portal was waiting. When we arrived back in Askr, I send Robin to the barracks for him to get some well-deserved rest and gave my report to Alfonse, Sharena and Anna.
"He made you guys fight you in single combat?", Alfonse asked, shocked.
"Oh wow, that sounds terrifying!", Sharena said, "Being split up like that… I thought we'll never see each other again and I don't want that! Not after what happened with Zacharias at least…".
"Who's Zacharias?", I asked.
"I told you two not to dwell on Zacharias's disappearance", Anna chided, then she sighed, "I guess we should tell you Lucian. Zacharias was a member of the Order of Heroes and taught Sharena how to wield a lance. He was a bold fighter and great comrade, but sometime ago, he went missing and we couldn't find him".
"Zacharias was Alfonse's best friend and the reason why Alfonse distrusts heroes", Sharena informed, "Well… that and when Marth left us".
"Let's not sink deeper into despair now, shall we?", Anna said, "Lucian, there's a report of another attack from Embla".
"Again? Which world is it this time?", I asked.
"Embla isn't attacking a specific world for more troops", Anna said seriously, "They are actually sending troops to fight US. A spy reported that they will begin their attack tomorrow morning".
"Any idea of where they are stationed?".
"Unfortunately, the spy couldn't figure out where the troops were stationed for the attack", Anna reported, "So our best bet is to fortify Askr Castle's defenses and send out a group to intercept the troops coming out way".
"Alright, so go tell Seliph, Jeorge and Maria to meet me in the lobby tomorrow morning", I said, then turned to Sharena, "Sharena, you're coming with me too".
"Thanks Lucian. I'll do my best!", Sharena grinned and the four of us disbanded, heading out to do our own thing. I was exhausted from the battle in the World of Birthright, so I took a shower, ate a quick dinner and hopped into bed, falling asleep instantly.
To be continued...
Next up is Paralogue 2: Sibling Bonds. Stay tuned and thanks for the favorites, reviews and follows!
- SharpEyLogic (Heroes ID: 6977989459)