A Summoner's Journey
Paralogue 9: Nohrian Summer
Team for this chapter: Ike, Sonya, Camus and Cecilia
I managed to get my two new five star heroes trained up just before Caeda flew over to the training tower, alerting me of another Emblian invasion.
"Don't they have better things to do than constantly invade other worlds?" I groaned as I dismissed Caeda and called back Sonya and Ike. Yesterday's session was quite fruitful if I say so myself. I managed to snag Sonya and got Ike while trying to pull Saber. Not a bad trade to be honest.
"What's the matter Lucian?" Ike asked when he came back to me. His legendary sword, the Ragnell was soaked in blood, metal scraps and wood shavings, but it didn't look dulled in the slightest.
"Another invasion by Embla. We're going to have to leave to attend to it" I replayed Caeda's message in my head "Apparently, they've attacked the World of Conquest during their summer festival"
"So that means we'll be fighting heroes in swimsuits" Sonya guessed "Or at least the ones who dressed for the weather"
"Exactly. So we should head back right away" We exited the sky-high training tower and took a warp panel back to base, where I called Camus and Cecilia to join us in the liberation. I decided to give our regulars (Katarina, Robin, Robinne, Catria and Minerva) a break since I've been using them far too often lately. They needed breaks and free time for themselves.
"Okay, now that everyone's here, I just need to double check if everyone has the right skills" I said and gestured with my hand to mentally activate everyone's skill bracelets. Robinne taught me the trick last night. Pretty handy.
"Ike had his Ragnell obviously along with Reposition, Aether, Heavy Blade, Vantage and Hone Attack" I murmured and shut off Ike's bracelet "Sonya had her Dark Excalibur, Draw Back, Moonbow, Mirror Strike, Green Tomebreaker and Res Ploy"
As I shut off Sonya's armband, I turned to Camus and Cecilia "Camus has the Gradivus, Reposition, Bonfire, Fury, Vantage and Hone Cavalry while Cecilia has her Gronnraven, Draw Back, Moonbow, Triangle Adept, Bowbreaker and Hone Cavalry"
I nodded "Okay, everyone's ready to go. To the World of Conquest!"
We leaped through the swirling portal and arrived on a mundane beach somewhere in Nohr. I didn't think Nohr could have a place as lavish as this, but here it was. Palm trees, golden and sparkly sand, many seashells scattered about and a calm sea nearby. If I didn't know any better, I would think we were back in the World of Awakening.
"Commander Anna… what's the point of this?" I heard Alfonse's voice from behind a bush "We've been waiting here for an hour. They aren't coming"
"Have more patience Alfonse. I'm sure they'll be here soon. After all, there is no better beach here in Nohr!" Anna replied. Alfonse opened his mouth to reply, but Anna cut him off "Shh. I hear talking"
Anna peeked her head over the bush excitingly and then slumped with disappointment "Oh, Lucian. What are you doing here? I thought you were at the tower"
"Caeda sent me a message saying that Embla has invaded this world. I came to liberate it like usual" I replied "What about you? What are you doing here?"
"Well, I wanted to test out this new tome I invented-"
"She wants to take pictures of the swimsuit-clad heroes to sell them and make money. She negotiated a deal with the Anna here" Alfonse interrupted "Believe me Lucian. I tried to hold her back"
"You're making it sound like it's a bad thing" Anna pouted "We need the money to pay the regulars and strategists their salaries! Plus, I have a bunch of other ideas to improve the castle as well"
"And I'm guessing Rebecca and Clarisse selling game and fur wasn't enough?" Alfonse groaned "Along with some of our heroes doing top-of-the-line mercenary work?"
"Nope. We need more" Anna shook her head "Which is why I have this new and improved camera tome. Now it can capture moving images and I heard that Nohrian royalty are prowling the beaches now. Prime opportunity!"
"Well, if neither of you minded my eavesdropping, it sounds like you've been here for a while" I said "And none of these Nohrian royals showed up here. They must be elsewhere"
"That's impossible. This is one of the only good beaches in Nohr. Have you seen this place, Lucian?" Anna gestured around herself "Outside of here, the landscape is like a dumpster fire!"
"They could of been battling Emblian forces on the way here" Cecilia suggested "That's why they haven't shown up yet"
"That's possible. Which means we should wait a litt-" Anna's eyes perked up and she squinted past me "Oh I see four figures ahead! I need to double check that this thing's still working…"
"We won tickets to this tropical island, but those Emblians showed up at the wrong time" Corrin slumped sadly "Sorry Elise. This contract thing is interrupting our vacation and forcing us to fight"
"Aww, it's okay! As long as we do what the contract says, we'll be free!" Elise grinned cheerfully "So all we have to do is beat those Askrians and then we can play!"
"Right. After we defeat the Askrians, we can find Xander and Leo as well" Corrin nodded, then looked ahead "Looks like we found them. Ready Elise?"
"Ready!"
"There looks to be an Emblian sword flier and archer along with Summer Corrin and Elise" I said, staring at their stat screens "Corrin's a thunder mage flier and Elise is a wind mage. Ike, handle the archer and Elise with the Ragnell. Camus and Cecilia, take on the sword flier and Corrin. Sonya, assist Ike. Go!"
The battle ensued and Ike took on Elise and the archer handily, taking Brave Bow arrows like a champ while Sonya countered Elise's magic. Streaked in purple light, Ike swung his Ragnell forward, propelling a shockwave that busted the archer into the sand. Elise whipped up a tornado of wind magic towards the mercenary, but Sonya's Dark Excalibur clashed and cancelled it out.
"Run while you can!" Ike's pulsed with the blue light of Aether briefly before sending two shockwaves roaring through the sand. One of them struck Elise and she crumbled to the ground instantly while another smashed into the sword flier, mortally wounding her.
"Cecilia, strike down Corrin!" I called and the mage let loose a swarm of green avians all over the battlefield, peppering Corrin and the sword flier in deadly wind magic. Corrin staggered back on her mount from the attack, but the sword flier powered through and raised her Armorslayer over Cecilia's head. That's when Camus came in to parry the blade and impale the flier through with his Gradivus.
"Sonya, shield Ike from Corrin!" I commanded when I noticed Corrin recovering and beginning to fly towards Ike. She opened her tome and thrust her hand forward, calling an intense tunnel of water filled with tropical fish to rush over Sonya and Ike.
"You shouldn't have tempted me!" With a yell, Sonya projected a swirling sphere of purple wind around herself and Ike, cleanly slicing Corrin's water spell away from them. When the water rush ended, Sonya sent a spiraling tornado towards Corrin's bewildered face and sent her flying into the ocean, ending the fight.
"Okay, I managed to get some photos" Anna stared at the multiple images projected over the pages of her tome "But they're all pictures of you fighting the Nohrians! Why couldn't you hold still for even a second?"
"Well, I'm sorry we couldn't pause for a photo in the middle of combat" I shrugged, then peered over the horizon of the ocean "You said that this was the only good beach in Nohr, right?"
"That was a bit of a lie. There's one more beach nearby that's suitable" Anna followed my gaze "And looks like the ferry's coming back just in time. We can board the boat and sail to the next island. Hopefully some good Nohrian royals are going about there!"
"Why did I even bother coming along…?" Alfonse grumbled, then drew his sword "But since you're fighting the Nohrians, I might as well help out. It'll give me something else to do besides watching over Anna"
"Rude!"
"I appreciate your help Alfonse. Especially since we didn't bring a healer with us" I glanced over to our team resting in the sand or sitting on rocks "We expect this to be a short expedition, so we didn't feel that a medic was needed"
"You would be right. I sent a spy to gather information as usual here and there isn't a strong Emblian presence here. Freeing the heroes from their contracts shouldn't take too long" Alfonse nodded "Anyways, let's get on the boat and move to the next island. I doubt any of the royals are lurking around here anymore"
We made our way out of the beach and headed towards the docks. Anna was right. Outside of the beach, Nohr wasn't exactly what I'd call a stable and prospering country. The streets and shops were all deserted and empty and every building was scratched with graffiti of all kinds. Trash cans were lit on fire and the only sounds I heard were sounds of gangs yelling and fighting.
"How could anyone live in this place?" I asked Alfonse. Seeing as I had nobody from Fateslandia to tell me, he was the best choice "This is exactly how Anna described it: a dumpster fire"
"Corrin and Corrina like to do storytelling with the kids in the Order like Fae, Nino, Nowi and others" Alfonse explained. I guess Corrin was male Corrin and Corrina was female Corrin. Similar to Robin and Robinne "Funnily enough, they even described their own stories using sock puppets"
"So that was what the theatre was used for. I thought it was just Odin's private quarters at this point" I smirked "But anyways, go on"
"I attended their storytelling one day just to hear what the books didn't tell me. Apparently, Corrin sided with Hoshido in his timeline while Corrina sided with Nohr in hers" The prince continued as we walked through the desolate streets "In Corrin's adventure, he led the Hoshidan army deeper into Nohr, straight to the capital city. After defeating a band of outlaws, Corrin's army was led into an underground city, which was where the real Nohrian life was"
"Interesting. So you're saying that there's an underground city right below our feet?" Ike tapped his boot against the stone paving "No wonder there isn't anyone above ground. The gangs and outlaws would scare all the civilians away"
"That's right. The leader of the outlaws, Shura, stated that only idiots, foreign representatives and protected nobles roam Nohr above ground" Alfonse continued "Otherwise, they risk being attacked by the gangs or Nohrian patrol guards"
"That reminds me of a certain country in my world. North freaking Korea" I said as we boarded the ship "I could tell you guys more about it if you'd like"
"I'm all ears. After all, it seems like a decent distance between here and the island" Alfonse scanned the horizon "And I'm interested to learn more about your world Lucian"
"I'm afraid your storytelling's going to have to wait because we have enemies aboard" Sonya interrupted "A couple of raiders wearing swimsuits"
I looked past Sonya and saw that Xander and Leo were on the deck along with an axe knight. An Emblian lance flier soared nearby the vessel as well, prepared to attack. I sent Ike and Alfonse to deal with the axe knight and Summer Xander while Sonya, Camus and Cecilia fought the lance fleir and Leo.
"Are you seriously fighting me with a beach toy?" Xander's Lilith Floatie clashed surprisingly hard with Ike's Ragnell, but it was nothing that the mercenary hasn't handled before. Ike charged in and bashed into Xander with his shoulder before stamping on his saddled foot.
"I really should of brought my armor…!" Xander fell back, letting Leo open his tome and cast a windstorm of tomatoes towards Ike and Alfonse's direction. In midair, the tomatoes caught fire and crashed like meteors on the ship deck, wounding the swordsmen badly. Seal Resistance was branded on their bodies as well, melting any further resistance. Xander took advantage of the duo's stun and rushed back into the fray.
"Not today!" Alfonse's Folkvangr burned with the flaming light of Defiant Attack, increasing his power tenfold. Xander didn't stand a chance, quickly getting thrown overboard with dozens of brutal slash wounds. Leo was about to call another storm of tomatoes, but Ike threw a shockwave that tore the prince in half, ending the mage. Meanwhile, Camus, Cecilia and Sonya finished off the Emblians and our boat journey continued.
"Argh! Again, I can't get good photos before you guys start fighting! I need a faster camera tome…" Anna grumbled "All I got was two shots when Xander and Leo revealed themselves and even then, it was covered by crates!"
"If you'll excuse me, I'll go check the rest of the ship in case of any stragglers" Cecilia excused herself along with Camus. Understandable, since nobody really wanted to deal with Anna's tantrum. I left Alfonse to handle Anna and headed to the stern, where the island was quickly coming into close view.
"How are your wounds Ike?" I asked. The mercenary leaned the Ragnell against the railing before crossing his arms, looking over the stern distantly "Ike?"
"Oh, sorry. I was just thinking a bit. About my world" Ike replied, not taking his look off the horizon "Now that I'm here, what happens to my world? Are things going differently without me?"
"Rest assured, nothing has changed since you've arrived. You see, whenever I summon a hero, a replacement reappears in their world after an hour or two to continue the timeline" I explained "So by now, a new Ike should of appeared in your world to continue your story. Was that clear enough?"
"It's a little confusing, but I'll take your word for it" Ike shrugged "This world just feels so alien to me that I'm getting paranoid. It would be nice to see some familiar faces soon"
"I'll try my best. Summoning is incredibly random though, so I can't guarantee anything" I replied. I couldn't mention to Ike that his world's summoning banner burnt up a week ago "One day though, someone from the World of Radiance will join you"
"Hope so" Ike picked up his sword and mounted it on his shoulder "The coast line's getting close. We should be prepared to move"
"Right" I turned behind me as Ike went to the gangplank "Camus, Sonya, Alfonse and Cecilia! Get ready to move out! We've arrived at the island"
The ship's captain, who was apparently indifferent and unalarmed to us foreign "invaders", lowered the gangplank to the island. The shore was a cracked piece of rock, littered with defensive tiles and crumbling walls like this used to be a fortress.
"Any of you spot enemy troops?" I asked Camus and Cecilia. The two cavaliers squinted and cocked their heads upwards for a better view.
"A wind mage and a half-naked axe fighter are directly across from us" Cecilia replied "And I believe I spot a wyvern flying in from the north"
"That should be Summer Elise, Xander and Corrin then" I nodded "Summer Leo should be deeper inside the fort"
"What's your plan Lucian? The enemy is going to remain cooped up in the fort, waiting to ambush us" Ike said "We could bust down the walls and catch them off guard with a quick assault"
"We'll cause a diversion and force the enemy to go our way" I decided "Ike and Sonya, you'll stay on the shore here and fire shockwaves and magic towards Elise and Xander. They'll retreat into the fort to protect themselves only to find Camus and Cecilia ready for them. Once the enemy is all grouped together in the center, we'll overwhelm them in one fell swoop"
"Sound plan. Let's get started then" Camus nodded, pointing his spear at the nearby cracked wall "I assume me and Cecilia should start chipping away at the wall?"
"Wait for my signal first. Ike and Sonya, fire at will" I nodded towards the pair and they aligned themselves on the shore, preparing to strike. Ike fired first, shooting an astral blue shockwave that rocketed straight towards Elise. Sonya's Dark Excalibur followed suit and Elise dashed under the cover of the cracked walls to hide while the two attacks sundered the desolate land.
"Xander, the enemy Askrians are here!" Elise cried, clutching her Hibiscus Tome tightly.
"This would of been so much easier if I had my armor and Siegfried" Xander grumbled, picking at his Lilith Floatie with his fingernails "Leo, has Corrin arrived yet?"
"Not yet, but I fear that the Askrians would try to assault us from the fort's front gate" Leo pointed to the ruined wall "We should man ourselves on the defensive tiles and wait for their assault"
"Alright. Elise, go alert Corrin of the situation. Me and Leo will hold the fort" Xander ordered and Elise rushed off. Meanwhile, I couldn't hear anything going on inside the building, so I gave Camus and Cecilia the signal to attack. Cecilia fired a roaring gale of wind towards the fortress wall, collapsing it in a mountain of dust and bricks. The two cavaliers charged through the debris, but Leo and Xander were more prepared than I've expected.
"I'll sink you!" An icy aura briefly covered Summer Leo before he called down a meteor shower of tomatoes, which were veiled in the ice cold magic of Iceberg. The tomatoes bombarded Camus and Cecilia and the green mage was taken out instantly. Camus took the attack hard, but he managed to power through just enough to throw his Gradivus at Leo in a counterattack, skewering the red mage through.
"Camus, pull back! Ike and Sonya, take the front line!" I commanded and the lance cavalier retreated just as Xander swung his pool toy towards Camus.
"I won't let anyone die!" Ike blocked the Lilith Floatie just in time before Sonya blew Xander backwards with a gust of wind. Xander landed on his feet just as Elise and Corrin came in to reinforce. Elise called a tornado that whipped Ike backwards, sending the Ragnell flying out of his hands thanks to Windsweep. Xander charged to attack Sonya, but the wind mage cleanly took him out with a blade of wind.
"Camus, flank Corrin and Elise. Sonya, distract the two while Ike recovers his sword!" I ordered and despite his injuries, Camus stalwartly began galloping to the left of Corrin and Elise while Sonya conjured a purple tornado to trap the duo.
"Time for a little discipline!" Sonya closed her fist and the tornado imploded on Corrin and Elise, slicing dozens of bleeding cuts with Moonbow. The mage duo attempted to get in one last attack, but Camus already arrived to finish them off. One strike from the Gradivus was all it took.
"Thanks to you, we've been released from Embla's contract" Xander thanked us shortly after the battle "Now if you excuse us, me and my siblings would like to enjoy the tropical island on our own. Do you mind…?"
"Oh of course. We'll leave right away" I nodded and unclasped the Breidablik from my belt before noticing Anna scanning her camera tome, giggling like an excited child "Well, I assume you got the photos you wanted?"
"Finally, my luck turns around! I got amazing photos of the Nohrian royals in actions. I can't imagine how high a price these will fetch…" Anna grinned before Summer Corrin approached her tentatively.
"Speaking of which, the Anna of this world told me to deliver this to you" Corrin said before Elise dragged her off back to the beach. Anna took the letter and tore it open.
"She's probably just checking up on her new business partner" Anna unfolded the paper in the letter and read the contents out loud "Let's see… "To whom it may concern, if you wish to use moving pictures rather than still images, you must pay a contract fee as itemized in the included report""
Anna's eyes went wide and her jaw dropped "What?! This price… it's even more zeros then before! This will bankrupt the Order!"
"I guess Anna is always going to be Anna, no matter where she's from" Alfonse smiled uneasily as Anna began to shake with rage "Oh no…"
"Grr... I didn't want to resort to this, but I have no other options! Alfonse, Lucian and Sonya! Take off your clothes!" Anna ordered.
"Excuse me?!"
"C-come again?!"
"No way in hell I'm doing that" I growled "I've commanded three battles in a row in the last two hours and I'm in the mood for a nap. I'm not letting myself or any of my heroes be milked for money without their consent!"
"If you must use heroes for the purposes of profit, you could turn to Camilla and some of the other females in our army" Camus suggested politely "With consent of course. Sonya here clearly doesn't want to do it"
"I am NOT a cash cow made to fund the Order, I'll have you know" Sonya growled "Lucian, let's just get out of here. I need a bath after this little excursion"
"Of course" I opened the portal back to Askr and my heroes followed me through, with Anna fuming in anger.
"Hmm… Camus's suggestion could sprout some ripe fruit. I could mull it over for a little bit actually…" Anna murmured to herself before jumping into the portal back home.
For our efforts in liberating the World of Conquest, we were awarded twelve orbs from the quest fountain. We were dry on orbs after summoning Sonya and Ike, so I decided not to pursue the Nohrian Summer heroes until later. Robin mentioned that the banner lasted a month anyways.
"There's also another event coming in a few days at the special maps courtyard" Robin told me "Lilina and Cecilia's Bound Hero Battle"
"Interesting. So I suppose it's a big battle for a handful of orbs?" I asked and Robin nodded.
"In a nutshell, yes"
"Oh well. I wasn't expecting anything too exciting" I stretched, letting the muscles on my back relax "Anyway, I'm leaving training tower quests to you today Robin. Organize a team of infantry, cavalry, armors and fliers for the tenth stratum ASAP"
"Right away. I'm assuming you'll be off to take a nap?"
"Yep. See you at dinner Robin"
"Aren't you the lazy one…"
The Duties of a General: Camus and Cecilia's C support
"How are you feeling Cecilia?" Camus asked the valkyrie politely as he approached her in the lobby. Every time a hero "dies" in combat, they usually appear in the castle foyer an hour later. Heroes who have experienced it first hand state that it isn't painful, but floating around in perpetual darkness got boring after a while.
"I'm alright, thank you. The miraculous powers of this world leaves me with no apparent pain, despite my defeat" Cecilia replied "Before in my world, I've suffered mortal wounds that brought me to the brink of death. Only Sophia's healing brought me back to life"
"Sophia… that's the purple-haired shaman girl I've seen around the barracks before, right?" The lance cavalier asked and Cecilia nodded "She doesn't strike me as someone who would know how to heal"
"Well, she's more than what she looks" Cecilia shrugged "Not to sound offended or anything, but I'm surprised you approached me and asked for my well being. You seem to be the stoic and charismatic one around here"
"To repeat your words, I am more than what I look" Camus replied "As a general, it is my duty to check up on my fellow soldiers to make sure they are feeling comfortable heading into combat. It makes me feel like I belong among my troops and they earn trust and respect for me too"
"I see your meaning. Soldiers of an army typically look to their generals as stoic and apart from the common man's social status. That's why so many soldiers can unnerved around their commanders" Cecilia nodded in agreement "However, if more generals adopt your philosophy, they can connect more with their soldiers and build trust, allowing them to fight better"
"That's my intent" Camus frowned, at a loss on how to continue the topic "What's the context behind these "mortal wounds" you've suffered from?"
"Oh, it's a long story. If you'd like to hear, perhaps we should go somewhere less stuffy than the castle lobby" Cecilia offered "Perhaps… the parlor out in the castle town? We could have some tea while we talk"
"By your leave, General Cecilia"
And that's Nohrian Summer, the banner which introduced the first blue flier mage with S!Corrin. Nothing too interesting to take note of besides the new support building between Camus and Cecilia. Coming up next is The Sacred World paralogue, followed by the first Brave Heroes paralogue. If you want to be notified of when a new chapter comes out, favorite and follow. If you want to leave constructive criticism or praise, leave a review. Until next time fellow summoners!