Chapter 5: Unspeakable World
After leaving the inn, Iniabi announced he was going to the bookstore, while acting as if the thought had suddenly occurred to him. He made up the story that he and Cynthia didn't really remember anything about Hoshido, Nohr, or anywhere else, so he thought he'd go to the bookstore and buy a few books for the two on the history of the countries, the geography of the surrounding area, and things like that. Azura then said that as the two didn't appear to be from Hoshido, it could possibly be difficult in getting good service and asked if they had money so she could tell them how many books they would be able to buy and how much they were. Iniabi showed Azura what he had left, and she basically explained he had a lot of money. Iniabi thanked her, before he, Cynthia, and Jakob headed over to the bookstore, while Corrin, Azura, and Felicia decided to roam around the town. A little while later, they regrouped, with Iniabi and Cynthia having gotten a giant bag full of texts of all kinds, including tomes, since the store sold them. They then left the town.
After meeting up with a female dragon named Lilith nearby the town and making a quick stop in Corrin's private castle, which he called Castle Dusk, in a separate realm called the Astral Plane, Corrin decided to have the group lay low for the time being. Azura said she knew a place where they would be safe and led the group to their next destination, which was the Bottomless Canyon. It took them about half the day to cover the distance, but they eventually reached the canyon. As usual, the canyon was surrounded by mountains that had little plant life, and was rocky and barren, with dry lightning striking everywhere. They finally stopped at a bridge situated near the center of the canyon. Cynthia stepped towards the rickety wooden bridge that spanned the canyon.
"It's here, isn't it, Azura?" Cynthia asked, staring down at the slice of darkness.
Azura came to stand beside the white haired girl.
"I beg your pardon? What are you talking about?" Azura asked.
Cynthia raised her eyes and met Azura's.
"Aren't you not supposed to talk about it?" Cynthia asked.
The way Azura's eyes widened told Cynthia she was right.
"I'm not sure I follow. The Bottomless Canyon lies before us." Jakob said.
Corrin nodded, and his eyes fell to the bridge as thunder crashed above.
"This is where we lost Gunter." Corrin said. He looked around, wondering where they were suppose to hide, and asked "You mean for us to hide out here?".
"That's exactly what I mean. We'll jump into the canyon." Azura replied.
"Wait just a minute! If we jump from here, we'll all die. No one will ever find us, that's for sure... but we'll be ghosts!" Jakob said loudly.
Felicia nodded.
"I know we need to keep a low profile, but I don't think death is a great hiding place!" Felicia said.
"Don't worry. You won't die if you jump." Azura said.
The two retainers looked at her as if she was crazy.
"You have to trust me." Azura addd, as she saw the strange looks the retainers were giving her.
Corrin looked down into the canyon.
"Azura... you'll tell us more of what you know after we jump into the canyon, right?" Corrin asked.
Azura nodded.
"Yes, if that's what you wish." Azura replied.
Corrin said nothing for a moment, before a smile appeared on his face.
"Then we have no choice." Corrin said.
"Fine with me, I guess. Are you sure we won't die?" Iniabi asked, acting as if he didn't know Valla was below the Bottomless Canyon.
Azura nodded in response.
"Okay, then I believe you." Iniabi said.
Felicia turned to Corrin.
"Ahhhh... are you really serious about this, milord?" Felicia asked.
"Yes. Everything will be fine. I trust Azura." Corrin replied.
"Besides, it's not like we have any other choice. We could always turn ourselves in, but I don't think any of us wants to do that." Cynthia added.
"Thank you, Corrin, Iniabi, and Cynthia. I'll go first and wait for you to follow." Azura said.
"Alright. I'll be right behind you." Corrin said.
"So will I." Iniabi added.
"Me too." Cynthia added.
The three followed. Both retainers stayed silent and followed the four, who started walking to the center of the bridge. Once in the center, Azura walked towards the edge of the bridge. Felicia sighed.
"If he's going in, then I guess I must follow. This is incredibly scary, but here goes!" Felicia said.
"Yes. If Lord Corrin is going, then I'll need to find the courage. I would give up my life if my lord commanded, after all. It should be an easy thing to follow him anywhere." Jakob said.
Back on the center of the bridge, Azura was on the outer side of rope of the bridge, holding the rope with one of her hands. She took a quick look at Iniabi, Cynthia, and Corrin, before pushing herself off the bridge and letting go of the rope. The other three ran to the edge as well, looked down, then at each other, and jumped into the canyon. While falling, Azura looked back and nodded at both of them, before they were swallowed by the darkness. Meanwhile, Jakob and Felicia looked down into the canyon and jumped a moment later.
When Cynthia woke up, she felt the cool touch of grass beneath her fingers. She opened her eyes and looked around to see she was in a field, which was to a sideways land formation, and revealed multiple floating islands, some inverted and others sideways. Ruins of stones littered the islands, resembling skeletons of old buildings. Cynthia sat up and felt the world sway beneath her. She groaned and cupped her head in her hand, before standing.
"Are you alright, Cynthia?" Azura asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I've seen better days, but I'll be okay." Cynthia replied.
Just then, Iniabi got to his feet, albeit a bit shakily. Corrin remained laying on his back with his eyes closed, along with Jakob and Felicia.
"Iniabi, are you alright?" Cynthia asked.
Iniabi gave his wife a small smile and nodded.
"I'm fine, of course. I'm relieved to see your unharmed as well." Inabi replied.
Cynthia looked down at Corrin, Felicia, and Jakob.
"That was quite a drop. I'm glad everyone's alright." Cynthia said. She then surveyed their surroundings and said "This is it.".
"Yes. This is it. Valla." Iniabi said.
Azura narrowed her eyes and nodded slowly, unsure of what to say or ask, since they claimed they were amnesics yet seemed to know they were Valla.
"You don't mind if I wait until the others wake to explain our situation, do you?" Azura asked.
Iniabi pulled out a book.
"Not at all. I'll just read for a bit, since we have all of our things." Iniabi replied.
He sat down with Cynthia and started reading the book with her. It was on the geography of the continent to which Hoshido and Nohr belonged to, which the book called Drage. The continent of Drage was split into two halves, divided by the mountains of the Infinite Chasm, where the Bottomless Canyon was. It had eight, or rather seven, main kingdoms. Hoshido, Kohga, Izumo, and Mokushu were located to the east of the canyon, Nohr and Nestra were located to the west, a place called Notre Sagesse was located on an island chain to the south of the Infinite Chasm, and Valla wasn't even mentioned. There also happened to be a few main tribes. The Flame, Wind, and Kitsune tribe were all located in Hoshido's side, and the Ice and Wolfskin were located in Nohr. The book then went into much better detail on the geography of each land, as well as the climate. It was extremely specific, which the two truly appreciated. Unfortunately, they'd have to go over it later, as the others were beginning to stir. Corrin pushed himself up so he could sit down and looked up to see the broken sky.
"Ugh." Corrin muttered. He looked around at the field and asked "Is this... the bottom of the canyon? That was a heck of a jump, but nothing seems to be broken.".
His limbs were a little sore, but none of them were in terrible pain. Azura smiled.
"Thank goodness. I said you'd be all right, didn't I?" Azura asked.
"Yeah, you did." Corrin replied. He looked over to Felicia and Jakob, who were laying on their backs, and asked "Are they going to be alright?".
Azura took a few steps towards them.
"Yes. They should wake up in a few moments." Azura replied.
Corrin let out a breath of relief.
"That's go to hear." Corrin said.
Before long, they heard low noises of discomfort coming Felicia and Jakob.
"Felicia, are you alright?" Azura asked.
The pink haired maid got to her feet and placed her hand on her stomach.
"I-I'm fine. Just... I'll be okay." Felicia replied.
Azura turned her attention to Jakob.
"Jakob, how do you feel?" Azura asked.
Jakob got up before replying.
"I'm fine, of course. I'm relieved to see Lord Corrin is unhurt as well." Jakob replied.
Corrin fixated his eyes on the broken skies.
"So... where are we? This place looks like it's definitely seen better days." Corrin asked.
Azura paused for a moment. Her eyes drifted to their surroundings.
"This is the kingdom of Valla. We are no longer in Nohr, but we are not in Hoshido either. It is a land separate from both. Ever near, but hidden to all." Azura replied.
"A hidden land." Iniabi whispered as he continued to look around.
Azura took a moment before speaking again.
"This land is also responsible for the war between Hoshido and Nohr." Azura said.
"Responsible? How?" Corrin asked.
He followed Azura's gaze and looked at their surroundings. All he could see were twisted islands and a fractured sky, belonging to the ruins of a kingdom lost to time. Azura's expression clouded into urgency as she looked around.
"Follow me, all of you. If we linger here, we'll be spotted." Azura ordered.
"Spotted? Isn't this place suppose to be deserted?" Jakob asked.
"Not exactly." Azura replied.
"What do you mean?" Jakob asked.
When she didn't reply, the Nohrian butler got a bit anxious.
"Azura?" Jakob asked.
"We might be spotted by invisible soldiers. Now please, follow me." Azura replied.
She took off towards a vertical rise of land that had a dark expanse of a cave nearby, the others following behind her. Azura ushered them into the cave, and soon, they had crept through enough so that the tunnel opened up into a larger body where they could stand freely. Once they got into the larger body of the cave, they noticed it had a few stalagmites and stalactites. There was little lighting as well, the only source was from the entrance of the cave and also from a few silk nests on the ceiling from glowworms. There was no sign of water in the cave either, but there was a little plant life.
"We should be safe here." Azura said, keeping her voice just above a whisper.
She checked her surroundings before turning back to the others.
"As I was saying before... the throne of Valla is occupied by King Anankos. Before his arrival, this land was a peaceful one. All was well until Anankos killed our king and took the throne for himself. Once bountiful farmlands were devastated, replaced by wastelands and graveyards." Azura explained.
"He destroyed an entire kingdom? For no reason at all?" Corrin asked in shock.
"Yes, and he isn't finished." Azura replied.
"You mean..." Iniabi started to ask.
Azura nodded.
"He wishes to lay waste to the entire world. First Valla, then Nohr and Hoshido. Even now, he's the hidden influence that quietly forces Nohr and Hoshido to fight. King Garon's invasion is the result of Anankos's subtle manipulations." Azura replied.
"That's horrible!" Iniabi said.
"And those were the soldiers you mentioned before, I'm guessing?" Cynthia asked.
Azura replied with a nod of her head.
"But... if it's true, then maybe we can stop this war by defeating Anankos! We need to get back up above and explain this to everyone! If we can get Nohr and Hoshido to work together with..." Corrin started to say.
"I'm sorry, but you can't. You mustn't talk about Valla to anyone when your beyond its borders. If you do, you'll trigger a curse that will cause your body to dissolve and disappear." Azura said. Her voice was stern and convincing enough to know that she wasn't lying or joking, and she said "That's what happened to my mother... to Arete, the former queen of Valla.".
"What? Your mother was a queen in Valla, not Nohr?" Corrin asked. A sudden realization hit him, and he started to say "Then, that makes you...".
Azura nodded.
"Yes... I am a Vallite princess. The king that Anankos murdered... was my father." Azura said.
"And you were forced to flee?" Iniabi asked.
"Yes... but I wasn't able to tell anyone about this before. Because of that curse... even if I wanted to talk, I couldn't. I was trapped... no matter how much I missed my parents. I had to keep it all bottled up inside... until now." Azura replied.
"Azura..." Corrin started to say.
"Listen, Corrin. I'm sorry to say this, but... now that you've chosen this path, you'll know exactly what I've been feeling. No matter how much you want someone to understand what's happening... no matter how much you want to tell them the truth... you won't be able to tell them. You need to prepare yourself for that. I can't even express how painful it is to know the truth and not be able to say it." Azura explained.
"Alright. I understand." Corrin said.
Azura smiled. Meanwhile, Cynthia was curious as to how the curse exactly worked, as no one had explained why during the war.
"Wait, what about writing everything down? Would writing it down trigger the curse? Since it's really only activated when someone speaks of Valla, writing isn't speaking and would be a pretty good loophole, wouldn't it? How does it work, anyway? What brings down the curse? Does Anankos not want anyone to know about the land other then those who inhabit it, or is Valla actually a word with some sort of runic meaning that activates a spell of death? And if that's the case, how do they know Valla has been mentioned if it's done in a different plane of reality? Also..." Cynthia started to ask.
She stopped when she and the others heard a sound that resembled movement deeper into the cave.
"What was that?" Cynthia asked.
She gripped her lance and moved to the source of where she thought the sound came from. Everyone fell silent and got ready to draw out their weapons. They waited another moment and heard more movement throughout the cave.
"There are enemies approaching... a rather large number of enemies. Corrin, we'll need to deal with this threat before we can continue." Azura said.
"Okay." Corrin said.
"Tread carefully. Our enemies may use the shadows to ambush us." Azura said.
Soon, three figures entered the group's vision. They seemed to flicker in and out of visibility, always partially visible by glowing purple outlines, in the form of fully opaque humans.
"W-What in Naga's name are those?" Cynthia asked.
Watching the men flicker in and out of view was making a headache kick in. She and Iniabi had seen plenty of Risen before, but these were on an entirely new level of "not right". Risen made sense, as animating dead bodies was possible, but these things shouldn't have been possible. And since Anankos was eventually defeated and wasn't revived with the other villains by Jubilee or the Nightmare King, they didn't come across these soldiers during the war.
"Those are Vallite soldiers, animated by Anankos to eliminate all those in his way. I thought we'd be able to escape them by coming in here, but I guess I was wrong. Can you and Iniabi fight, Cynthia?" Azura asked, her eyes locked on the figures without so much as glancing at the two.
The two nodded, and Cynthia held up her lance, while Iniabi unsheathed Falchion and Erebus.
"So, does anybody know how to handle this? Because I'm sure our enemies know this place much better that we do. And even with the light of the glowworms nest, it'll still be hard to fight, especially when determining friend from foe." Corrin asked, looking at the darkness of one of the tunnels.
"We should probably stick together for the time being, in case we're outnumbered in a certain area." Iniabi replied.
"We won't be able to do anything for lighting though, so be careful at where you aim." Azura added.
Cynthia looked at the ground and noticed sandstones, which could make fire if two were clashed together, but also meant they'd be dealing with fire and would have a light span of only ten minutes. She told the others, and they agreed to have her use the sandstones to light fire for them to see. Cynthia carefully walked to one of the tunnels, with Jakob behind her. She struck two of them rocks together with as much strength as she could and threw one of the rocks, which caught fire. The flamed rock landed on a small path of grass, and as a result, they were now able to see some more invisible soldiers: an Adventurer, a Cavalier, and a Fighter. Cynthia was a little freaked out by it and forgot to draw her lance. Having been spotted, the Adventurer attempted to shoot an arrow at Cynthia, but the attack was intercepted by one of Jakob's daggers. Cynthia snapped out of her daze, quickly pulled out her lance, and landed a finishing blow. What she found curious was that once defeated, the invisible soldier dissolved into a pinkish-purplish fire. But she couldn't think about it for too long, since there were still more soldiers to be dealt with. Iniabi, Corrin, Azura, and Felicia didn't waste anytime and started to fight as well. While rushing to Cynthia and Jakob's side, the Fighter ran over to Corrin and delivered a blow to his chest. The dragonic prince winced in pain, but was able to brush it off and struck him back with Yato.
"Corrin!" Azura cried when he was struck.
Corrin looked at the Songstress for a short second.
"I'm fine." Corrin said reassuringly. He then turned to Felicia and shouted "Felicia!".
The maid nodded, knowing it was time to help him.
"Right." Felicia said.
The two worked together to defeat the Fighter, with Felicia landing a mid-range attack with one of her her daggers and Corrin landing the final blow. Azura helped by singing for them, which encouraged them to keep fighting. After killing off the three soldiers, Felicia quickly healed her liege. Once that was done, Cynthia withdrew her lance and picked up another two sandstones. The process of lighting the rocks, fighting, and healing was the same for awhile, and along the way, they were able to pick up some weapons and items from chests. Making sure to explore all paths, despite having to backtrack on a few occasions, the group progressed through the cave faster then Azura had anticipated. As they got pretty far into the cave, Cynthia struck two more sandstones together and threw the one that caught fire into the tunnel. The rock landed on a patch of grass, but instead of revealing invisible soldiers, they saw something solid moving. The solid figure was a knight that looked like he was in his late 60s and was backing away from the little fire. As the man backed up, Corrin jerked forward slightly and let out a little grunt.
"What the... is there something wrong with my eyes? Could that knight be..." Corrin started to ask.
The knight thought he heard a voice and turned around.
"Lord Corrin!" the knight exclaimed.
Corrin was overjoyed to see him.
"Gunter! Is that really you? And your alive?" Corrin asked.
The man, who was named Gunter, was wearing full body armor and appeared to be in great health and fitness for someone his age. Iniabi had to admit, it honestly crept him out a little.
"I am. I lost consciousness as I fell, and when I awoke, I was here. I have no idea how I survived such a fall... but I swear on my blade, I'm no ghost. My arms and legs are as sturdy as ever." Gunter replied.
"It's good to see you in one piece, Gunter. I'm so glad we found you." Corrin said.
Gunter smiled and turned his attention to the tunnel on his left. The tunnel was different then the other ones, as it was full of glowworms nest, had more vegetation, and lit up the entire tunnel.
"I would love to celebrate, milord, but it appears we don't have time right now." Gunter said.
Corrin looked down the tunnel.
"I'll help you fend them off!" Corrin said.
The group took down the last group near the end of the tunnel, with Corrin taking out the leader, a Bersker, with the Dragon Fang move. Once the enemies were taken care of, Corrin turned to Gunter.
"I's so good to see you safe and sound, Gunter!".
Gunter let out a chuckle.
"I'm glad to see you too, Lord Corrin. After I fell, I truly thought I'd never see your face again. It seems you've grown stronger while we've been apart, as well." Gunter said.
Felicia smiled as well.
"Yes. It is good to see you safe, Gunter." Felicia said.
"Felicia. I see you've done a good job protecting our master." Gunter said.
Jakob huffed.
"So, you aren't dead, old man. Can you give me back the time I wasted grieving over your demise?" Jakob asked.
Gunter gave the butler a black look.
"Hmph... you haven't changed. It wouldn't hurt for you to be kinder. But anyway, why are you all here?" Gunter asked.
"I brought them." Azura replied.
Gunter's eyes leveled on her.
"And who are you?" Gunter asked. He then gestured to Iniabi and Cynthia and asked "And who are these two?".
He led his horse closer to the three.
"My name is Azura." Azura replied. She took a minute to think about her next words and asked "If I said I was the princess kidnapped from Nohr as a child... would you understand?".
Gunter's eyes widened in recognition.
"Ah! Yes, I remember when you were little. I apologize for my failure to protect you from your Hoshidan kidnappers." Gunter replied.
Azura shook her head with a smile.
"There's no need to apologize, really. It doesn't matter at the moment. I'd rather learn how you've survived here. You are quite the knight to have avoided meeting a terrible fate." Azura said.
"And these are Iniabi and Cynthia. We found them unconscious in a field. Both of them are amnesiacs, but from the short time we've known them, Iniabi has shown himself to be a great tactician." Corrin introduced.
Iniabi gave a tilt of his head, while Cynthia waved her hand slightly at Gunter, who was confused at Corrin's explanation. He had basically described finding two random people and spontaneously making one of them the head of his small six person army. He then looked around the cave, and then back at Azura.
"You seem familiar with this place, Lady Azura. Where are we, exactly?" Gunter asked.
"This is Valla, an invisible kingdom tied to the world by the Bottomless Canyon. It is ruled by Anankos, who wishes to destroy the entire world. So long as he remains in the Vallite throne, the world will not know peace." Azura replied.
Jakob folded his arms.
"Yes. Now listen up, gramps. I'm only going to warn you once. If you talk about any of this while not in Valla, a curse will dissolve you!" Jakob said.
Gunter frowned in disbelief.
"What? is that possible?" Gunter asked.
Corrin wished it wasn't true himself. It would make everything a whole lot easier.
"It seems so. Also, I've... made enemies of both Hoshido and Nohr, Gunter. I couldn't bring myself to side against either of them, so both turned on me. Whenever we meet next, it will be a difficult fight. Will you stand with me?" Gunter asked.
Gunter was still in disbelief, but reminded himself that if it wasn't for his liege's decision, he would have most likely never seen him again or get out of Valla.
"Of course, Lord Corrin. I shall always remain at your side." Gunter replied.
"Thank you, Gunter." Corrin said.
Gunter nodded.
"I feel like I must be in a dream, surviving being attacked and falling so far... though I have to admit, Hans was a disappointment. He barely left a scratch." Gunter said.
Corrin was reminded by something at the sound of the insane Berserker.
"Ah, that reminds me: Hans said something strange. He claimed he was following King Garon's orders by attacking you." Corrin said.
"I'm embarrassed to admit this, but... King Garon despises me." Gunter said.
"Despises you? Why?'" Corrin asked.
Gunter sighed.
"After being honored for valor in battle, I was granted an audience with King Garon. He offered me dragon's blood. Accepting would require absolute loyalty to the king. It would have meant becoming his most trusted retainer, the highest of positions. However, it also would have meant leaving my homeland, my wife, and my child. I turned him down. I wanted to live a normal life. I begged for his understanding. I will never forget his resentment... his rage." Gunter replied.
"I didn't know." Corrin said.
Iniabi felt the same. If he had been hunted down, Cynthia and his children's, who he knew would eventually be Marth and Sayvra, safety would be his top priority. A silence fell upon the group, but after a few seconds, there was the sound of teleportation. All of them turned to the source of the sound, and what they saw was a Valllite woman, along with two other soldiers. However, all of them were so faded that their classes were impossible to identify, as well as their gender. They only figured out the Vallite woman's gender when she spoke to them. While Corrin, Azura, Felicia, Jakob, and Gunter only knew that she had to be the group's leader, Iniabi and Cynthia realized she was Arete, since Azura had told them about what happened when they all met during the war.
"Leave now... you should not be here." Arete said.
Iniabi was a little surprised. Out of all the Vallites they had fought, she was the only one that spoke. Corrin grabbed Yato and drew it.
"What the... who are you?" Corrin asked.
"I am a mage of Valla." Arete replied simply. She quickly lost her patience after a few short seconds and ordered "You were warned. Vallite warriors, eliminate them.".
The two by her side drew their weapons, their eyes flashing in the darkness. Arete then looked over and pointed at Iniabi.
"Begone, Fell Blood! This is our world!" Arete ordered.
Corrin turned to Iniabi.
"Iniabi, what is she talking about?" Corrin asked.
"I'll explain later." Iniabi replied.
Azura turned to the direction of the cave's exit.
"This is bad... I don't think we're strong enough to defeat them." Azura said.
Cynthia scowled slightly as she thought the 'any' contained in Azura's sentence was specifically aimed at her.
"Let's retreat to the other world!" Azura ordered urgently.
None of them were in a position to argue and quickly fled faster then the Villites could run.
"Lord Anankos will want to hear about this." Arete said.
She left with the other two invisible soldiers.
After getting out of the cave, the group started to walk in a certain area that was near a large chasm. Upon looking down into the chasm, it looked like an intense fog was settled there, and like the Bottomless Canyon, it seem to have no end.
"Listen carefully. This place leads to the Bottomless Canyon in the other world. If we jump here, we can return to the world from whence we came." Azura said.
Corrin took a step closer to the edge of the chasm.
"Wow, so this is how you go back and forth between worlds. Amazing." Corrin said.
Azura was a little confused.
"Hm?" Azura asked. She was then reminded that none of them had been there before, and said "Oh no, it's actually not. I always travel through water.".
"Oh. Then why don't we just go back the same way we came?" Corrin asked.
"We can't. You and I are the only ones who can use water to travel between worlds. This is the only way to bring Iniabi, Cynthia, Gunter, Felicia, and Jakob back with us." Azura replied.
"Just the two of us can travel through water? But why? Why us?" Corrin asked.
"That's... I'm sorry, but that's not something I can talk about right now. We need to get back to the other world now, before those Vallites try and attack again." Azura replied.
Before anyone could say another word, Azura jumped into the chasm.
"Huh? Azura? Wow! She didn't even hesitate." Corrin said.
"She really is fearless." Cynthia said.
Gunter walked over to them.
"Then let us show the same strength of will. I've got your back, milord." Gunter said.
"So, um... basically... your saying you want me to jump first?" Corrin asked.
"Seems that way. I should be the same as jumping of the Bottomless Canyon... well, maybe." Cynthia replied.
"Well, why don't you jump first instead? Ladies first, right?" Corrin asked.
"Fine. But your jumping with me." Cynthia replied.
Corrin agreed. The two walked over to the edge and jumped a few seconds later.
"I suppose I should go next." Gunter said.
He tried to get his horse to move closer to the edge. However, the stallion resisted and tried to get away from where Gunter wanted him to go. Since the animal was stronger, the old knight had a lot of trouble. But eventually, he managed to get his steed to go a little closer, and he, Jakob, Iniabi, and Felicia all jumped down.
Back at the Bottomless Canyon, Corrin, Azura, and Cynthia had just gotten to their feet and were now waiting for the others to join them. Corrin smiled when the others got up.
"Phew... it looks like we've made it back." Corrin said.
He went over and helped Gunter's horse stand up before it collapsed under it's own weight.
"Who was that woman down there? She said she was a mage." Corrin asked.
As he tried to figure it out, Azura started speaking.
"When dawn turns to dusk. When dusk turns to dawn. Then the door will spawn." Azura replied.
"Huh? Is that a poem, Azura?" Iniabi asked.
"My mother... she said those words to me a long time ago. She said that when dawn turns to dusk, and dusk turns to dawn... the pass in the Bottomless Canyon opens or closes." Azura replied.
Gunter thought about it for a moment, before something struck him.
"When the dawn turns... hmm... oh, I get it. Once every few decades, the skies above Nohr and Hoshido will reverse. If I remember right, that should happen fairly soon." Gunter said.
Azura nodded.
"Yes. I'm sure that's the sign that the pass down there has opened or closed. Since we're obviously able to travel there now, it will close next time. Once it closes, it will stay that way for decades. We won't be able to get there... we don't have much time." Azura said.
"I see. Then, we'll need both kingdoms to stop fighting each other and help us. If we had Xander and Ryoma, there's no way we'd lose." Corrin said.
"But how can we convince them? We can't tell them the truth!" Azura asked.
"We'll just have to find another way." Corrin replied.
Iniabi nodded.
"It's the only chance we have. Now that we know there's a common enemy for both countries to fight, I think we can save Nohr and Hoshido." Iniabi said
Corrin nodded.
"Right. All I can do is believe in myself and try to convince others to join us." Corrin said.
Azura was amazed at their optimism.
"Corrin... Iniabi... I suppose your right. I felt so powerless on my own, but together, we might be able to pull something off! Nothing will change if we stay here. Let's return to Hoshido first. I feel like they might be more willing to listen to us." Azura said.
Author's Note: Here's Corrin's Castle Address (be aware of spoilers if you visit): 01943-54591-83799-11750.