A/N: Thank you for your patience of making it this far into the story. This is where I start to deviate from IS' original story of asskissing Corrin to, well, actual story telling and world building. It's a slow process and I wish I could speed it up without absolutely degrading the process.
Garon sat on his throne stroking his beard, quietly stroking his beard. The Minister of War, Iago, stood next to his left and watched the royal siblings with a careful eye. Camilla and Xander stood tall and two younger siblings shifted outwards, allowing Corrin to situate himself in the middle.
The silver haired man began to wonder why he wanted to escape the Northern Fortress so badly to Castle Krakenburg. Yes, the capital was large and had much larger population that the drafty old fort, but something was missing. The people and merchants lacked life in their eyes. The roads and halls that the young prince traveled through were well lit, but no warmth settled into his bones.
A voice that Corrin had nearly forgotten spoke up, "You have passed the test. I am told you are now a warrior almost on par with Xander." Corrin nodded solemnly, only stopping when he caught a mysterious glint in King Garon's eye when he continued. "You finally possess the power to be an instrument of Nohr's power in the world."
Corrin was startled, but a quick glance to his siblings betrayed nothing. He could be a hero. He most definitely can be a hero, especially with the blessings of his father. Bold, brave Elise piped up, "but Father, will Corrin be all right outside of the fortress?"
Before Iago could scold the little princess for interrupting, Camilla's velvety tones backed her up. "Yes, Father, I worry about that as well. Isn't it dangerous for Corrin to live outside of the fortress' magical barrier?"
Corrin eyes narrowed in betrayal. He fought for his freedom and he didn't spend hours upon hours training for his sisters to send him back. The young prince took a deep breath to reel in the bite of frustration. A smile crossed his face and he hoped that it would reach his eyes, "I appreciate your concern, but I earned my way here and I'm ready to fight."
Garon gave a toothy grin, "Excellent. As you know, Nohr is at war with the eastern kingdom of Hoshido."
"Yes, father."
"War is no simple business. The enemies will try to kill you. They have starved our people. They have already inflicted heavy wounds on our land and people. Are you ready to face them?"
Corrin shrugged, only stopping to shoot a sly grin at his king, "It's not like I could lose the war with Hoshido any more than you have."
A deafening silence sat in the hall. Xander looked like he was about to keel over from heart strain and Elise cowered behind Camilla. Iago stepped forward, voice creeping into an undignified pitch for the courts only to be halted Garon's laughter. The old man had a hand on his belly and laughing his heart and lungs out. With a grin, Corrin knelt down onto his knees, carefully waiting until the king had calmed down.
Garon stood up, knees still shaky from laughter and he walked towards his children. His eyes were focused on kneeling man in front of him, thankfully blind to Xander's pale face and Camilla struggling to hide her own laughter. The smile was still on his face as he searched Corrin's eyes, "We'll see about that, child."
Corrin gave a knowing smile and prostrated himself, pressing his head against the red carpet.
"I, Corrin, the second son of the King of Nohr, Garon the Great, and of the Northern Fortress swear that I will serve you to protect you and the interests of the Nation of Nohr with my blood and life."
"I, King Garon of Nohr, hear your honest pledge. Rise, my child, for we are both sons of this land." With that, Corrin lifted his head and took the proffered hand. Garon did not hide his strength. With barely a hint of effort on his part, the king heaved Corrin back onto his feet. Corrin stumbled a little, but the king had already moved on, opting to settle back onto his throne.
"When was the last time I told this tale of ages? Of our blood and strength?"
Elise smiled and rocked back and forth on her feet, only stilling when Camilla's hand rested on the small of her back. The little princess barely wiped the grin off of her face as she mouthed the words of 'story time!' to Corrin. The silver prince smiled back and turned his attention back to his father.
His eyes were lost, focused on some invisible force in the room. "We of the royal family are descendants of the ancient gods, the First Dragons."
Leo, a talented mage and nothing that Corrin really wanted to dabble with, helpfully cast an illusion in front of the king and twelve dragons sprung to life. Some were red, another was blue. The ones that caught Corrin's attention were the two dragons in the centre. King Garon pointed a finger at a dragon. Its white wings were borderline skeletal and translucent feathers of energy collapsed upon itself, sending the dragon onto its knees.
"This is our enemy. The Dawn Dragon."
Corrin felt nothing at the screaming dragon, only smiling when Camilla told Leo to lower the theatrics of his little light show. The youth sighed and lowered his shoulders as a heavy claw clasped onto the Dawn Dragon's neck, dragging it down as it lashed at the shadow of a dragon that was pinning it down to the lands below.
Garon nodded to the melanistic dragon. "This is the Dusk Dragon. Enough, Leo."
The boy bowed and waved his tricks away and Corrin's attention fell back onto his King. "The First Dragons deigned to give us humans strength. Nohr lives on the corpse of the Dusk Dragon and her rulers, us of the royal family, inherited the contract of strength and will of the Dusk Dragon. The proof of our blood allows us to use the dragon veins of both the Dusk and Dawn. As inheritors of that divine strength, we could learn to wield that power to destroy an entire army of common troops. Xander, Camilla, and Leo have already shown that they possess this power. I expect no less from you."
Corrin pursed his lips, "Yes, father and I have trained every day to become more like my siblings."
Garon laughed again, "Indeed, you do show promise. But you will need a suitable weapon in order to serve Nohr.
A flash of light appears in front of Corrin. An ominous blade sits in front of him, glowing with purple and a moving eye. The blade is crooked and it looked to be hewn from a stone that caused a headache if you stared at it too long. Corrin is amazed at the blade floating in front of him.
Garon smiled a heartless grin at the child's wonder. "This is Glangari, a sword infused with magic from another world. It was a favored weapon of one of my enemies, but I believe that you can put this sword to good use. With this sword at your side, you will crush the Hoshidan army with ease."
"Thank you for this generous gift, Father." Corrin could barely hide the elation in his voice. Father had given him a sword with a name, vanquished from an old enemy. He could barely hide the growing smirk on his face as he caught Xander's expression. Yes, perhaps he could even be stronger than Xander with this blade. Power lapped at his wrist and he gave the blade an experimental whirl.
Satisfied, Garon turned to one his soldiers standing to the side of the throne, "Bring out the prisoners. We shall see Corrin's strength for ourselves."
A vicious smile crossed the young man's face. This will be interesting.
A/N: Thanks for reading.
