"Ana! Get out of there, Ana!" Ash shouted in a panic, witnessing his sister in her Attuned form, Lugia being strangled by a massive shadow, its crooked, rotten talons wrapped around her neck, shaking her viciously.
"Ana! ANAAAA!!" Ash screamed, running toward Lugia, and yet feeling like he was treading through waist high water, incapable of getting any closer.
Just then, the black monster, opened its beaked maw, spewing forth rancorous lava from its mouth, casting Lugia's body in a river of liquid fire. As Lugia screamed in agony, it's Mantle returned to human form, only to begin combusting herself, screaming in pain.
"NOOOO!!" Ash screamed, his hand to help her forever out of reach.
"Ash..! Help me..!" Anabel gasped weakly, desperately trying to claw out of the lava.
Then suddenly, he woke. His vision blurry and his thoughts not yet collected, Ash began to wonder where he even was, how he even got there, or how dawn had already begun to break. Left in a heap of steaming wreckage, the brick and mortar of the decimated Cerulean Fortress around him, a crater of stone and splinters. Wincing in pain, Ash barely had begun to recognize the searing pain from burn wounds all over his body. Despite most of his clothing burnt to ashes, his Silver Scale Pauldron was surprising left unscathed, its gentle, silver glow still present.
His mind in a fog and the pain across his whole body persisting, Ash once again succumbed to unconsciousness, barely even able to move his head before he had collapsed once again. As the prince lay dormant within the debris, the Paldean galleon made landfall, seizing the least decimated portion of the harbor to drop anchor. Paldea's newest Mantle walked off the gangplank onto the wharf, affixing her braided pony tail hair, brushing a green tuff of hair out of her eyes.
Her hand to her hip, fixing her tribal-like clothing much like what a caveman in ancient times would wear. Examining her similarly crude weapon, a hand axe fashioned by a thick oak branch, a sharpened stone wedged into it, the whole thing bound together by sinew and twine, the Mantle looked up at the devastating scene before her.
"I can't imagine the soldiers sent in survived that ordeal." She sighed, scanning the wreckage.
"That does not matter, Mantle. Our orders were clear. We were to secure the Mantle of Lugia and confirm Queen Cynthia's death, as per our Emperor's decree." The captain spat out, kicking the corpse of a nearby Kanjoh soldier as he surveyed the destruction, his hand resting on the thorny whip affixed to his hip. "And it clearly looks as if you failed miserably in both tasks."
"You saw that thing in the sky! We had no chance at intervening in that, unless you wanted to be incinerated with Lugia in that blast!" The Mantle argued her case. "It was on your order we'd retreat, besides! And you lost so many men, unnecessarily!"
Snapping the whip, the captain hit the Mantle on the side of her arm, the lash from the barbing leaving a nasty wound, the Mantle clutching it in horrific pain.
"Your status does not leave one such as you to question orders, Mantle! It's by the generosity of your Holy Emperor that you and your's are even left still breathing." The captain leered. "Perhaps I should make an appeal to the Emperor to overlook our little understanding, on account of your poor performance here."
"No-please! There's no need for that." The Mantle raised her hands up in submission, relenting from her previous boldness but a moment ago.
"That's right, Mantle, you will do as told." The captain sneered callously, before turning to more soldiers departing from the ship and toward the keep. "You will join the men in the search for Cynthia's body. We may not have captured Lugia's Mantle, but at the very least, the Queen's rule will be ended."
Grimacing at her predicament, yet helpless to it, all the same, the Mantle began to walk towards the keep herself before the Captain spoke once more.
"Oh, and Nemona-or should I say, Koraidon?" The captain called out. "Don't even think of returning until you have a body. And if you think about running away, well... just remember who's waiting for you back home, heheheh..."
"Yes...Captain Brassius..." Nemona growled back at him, her tone of voice in an attempt to insult his authority still hardly diminishing the Captain's arrogance.
On the other side of the keep, Surge and his unit began to enter the back side of the fortress, their point of entry thankfully left undamaged from the battle. Passing the wall and making it to a partially burnt stable in the very back of the courtyard, Surge noticed the Wyrdeer Cynthia and Anabel rode toward the keep were still there, tied up, wounded by some falling ceiling splinters, spooked by everything that had transpired, yet miraculously none the worse for wear otherwise. Using his dagger to cut them free, Surge showed them the path leading out the back, the two mounts retreating towards the forest.
Laying low, Surge peeked out the barn doors to spy onto the keep's courtyard, the location now teeming with Imperials.
"What do we do, Commander?" Brock asked.
"We wait until they split up and clear out. Pick them off one by one until we reach the keep itself. That's where I saw that thing fall after it blasted Lugia with that move." Surge spoke back, not taking his eye off the soldiers.
"Do you think Lady Anabel is dead?" A female soldier asked bluntly, her concern for the young woman evident.
"I don't know, Misty." Surge replied, unsure of all that transpired, himself. "That last blast was so bright...yet from what I saw, Lugia couldn't possibly have survived that. Not when it was that close to her..."
Noticing a crudely dressed woman, wearing nothing but a ratty pair of pelts for her legs and chest approaching the central wreckage site, Surge gasped.
"That's the Mantle...has to be!" He whispered to his soldiers, the duo now peaking from gaps in the splintered wood wall.
"What makes you say that, sir?" Misty asked.
"Well, aside from being starkly out of uniform compared to the others, when one becomes a Mantle, they usually find ways to become closer to their Legend by taking traits or characteristics in their Legend's forms, expressing it in many ways. Be it clothing, the way they carry themselves, finding fascination in things such a Pokémon of Legend would." Surge explained. "This one for example is wearing the clothes a cave woman would have worn in ancient times. Koraidon is said to encapsulate that primal past from long ago."
"That explains why Lady Anabel loved-no, loves-silver so much..." Brock realized, correcting his phrasing to the present tense to keep hopeful. "And why Cynthia wears black so much."
"If she's here, they are certainly checking the wreckage for survivors, or more accurately, checking if our Queen is underneath that rubble. Either way, we can't just rush in. Not only do they outnumber us significantly, but their Mantle is right there. We need to wait for our moment to strike." Surge instructed his soldiers, clutching a Thunder Stone.
Nemona struck out on her own, perusing the debris in search of anything resembling the Queen. Coming upon the spot where the firebird crashed down from the heavens last night, Nemona's eyes widened upon seeing the unconscious body of a man not too much older or younger than she was in the devastation. Approaching him, Nemona knelt down, nearing his mouth with her hand to check for any sign of life. Just then she felt his breath, weak and labored, but still even enough to prove he was alive, only just.
"How on earth did one of their soldiers survive that blast..?" Nemona thought to herself, noticing the imagery of a lonely mountain on his leather tunic, the Silver Mountain, the Kanjoh Kingdom's emblem, decorating the young man.
Reaching her hand to her axe, Nemona readied herself to bring the blade to his neck, moving him onto his back with her foot. Right as she prepared to deal the killing blow, her arm was stayed by a sudden feeling inside herself. It was almost as if her Legend within her urged her to cease, despite Nemona knowing such a thing should be impossible.
"What is this feeling?" Nemona mouthed to herself, her axe held just barely over the young man's throat. "This can't be..."
Nemona began to feel...something... within the young man beneath her. A power much like her own. A Mantle, just like she was.
"Are you...that fiery monster who destroyed Lugia..?" Nemona asked softly, even though she would not likely receive an answer. "You're a Mantle..! If the others find out, they'd certainly wouldn't let you walk away from here freely...or let me kill you..."
Nemona paused for a moment, considering her options. The young man beneath her was defenseless, but at any moment, he would be discovered by the other Imperial soldiers. Were they to ever discover the man beneath her had such power, he'd be made to fight for them, a slave soldier.
"Don't take this personally." Nemona apologized, readying her axe once more, gently pressing it into the man's neck. "Believe me, I'm doing you a service. You don't want them to control you, trust me."
Just as before, Nemona's hand was stayed, the young woman unsure of herself.
"Why..?!" She asked herself, irritated in herself for failing to commit to her own want. "Why can't I do it?!"
Nemona was unsure of why she could not deliver her best ability to offer mercy to the one beneath her. Was it out of some feeling of pity? Did she feel she saw herself in the young man below her in some way? A kindred spirit, perhaps? Nemona was unsure of what it was, but she did know if not for this man's intervention, Lugia would have surely killed her. Wrought with guilt, her resolve to do what she wanted to in order to spare this man a fate worse than death faltering due to sentimentality, Nemona shook her head.
Just as she was finally readying up the will to execute him, she heard rubble behind her shifting. Turning her head sharply, she noticed a small platoon of soldiers coming to join her in the crater, three in total, all armed and eying who Nemona was crouched over.
"And what might you have found, Mantle?" A soldier asked with evident snark, shoving Nemona to the side and into the ashes beneath their feet. "Ooo, lookie what we have here, gentlemen. Our little Mantle found us a big one. This ere's the bloody Prince of Kanjoh."
"What?!" Nemona gasped, just now realizing who she was examining mere moments ago.
As the man nudged Ash in the face with his metal boot, Ash grunting in pain from the prodding, Nemona got out of the dirt beanth her.
"Caught us a big fish, didn't ya, Mantle?" Another soldier chuckled, kneeling over the Prince, his eye set on the Silver Scale Pauldron still on Ash's shoulder. "Well, isn't that a fancy little trinket..!"
"Hands off him, you lot!" Nemona warned them. "The captain wants us to look for Cynthia. Leave this one to me, keep searching your side!"
"And who are you to give orders to us, scum?" The first soldier asked, his eyes leering at Nemona through his helmet's face plate only to sneer at her, turning his attention back to his fellow soldier. "Go on then, lad. See if he's got anything's else on 'im we can pocket."
"Im warning you!" Nemona growled.
"You daft, you stupid cunt?" The third one leered, his hand to his sword. "You aught to learn your place. Captain said bring 'im the Queen's body. We'll settle for this one 'ere. You go on and find the Queen."
"Yeah... We're just doing a little, what's it called..?" The second soldier asked mockingly. "Inventory management...heh heh..!"
"Yeah, inventory management. So why don't you fuck off, ya twat!" The first soldier waved to Nemona, his arrogance knowing no end.
As the third soldier began running his fingers through Ash's trouser pockets, the second soldier kneeling over Ash's body began trying to unfasten the Silver Scale Pauldron on Ash's shoulder. Furious that the soldiers were disrespectfully looting the young man who was still a foot in the grave, yet hesitant to act on her instinct due to the warning Captain Brassius made, Nemona could only watch helplessly as the soldiers began taking any trinkets they wanted.
Just before the second soldier could begin to remove the pauldron from Ash, the Prince'a body began to flare up suddenly, spooking the soldiers and making them take several steps back. Acting seeming on unconscious will alone, Ash's body glowed with burning fire, surrounding Ash's shoulder in a veil of flame, the fire seemingly to prioritize protecting the pauldron over Ash himself.
"Oh fuck..!" The third soldier gasped, stumbling back onto his feet. "Mantle! The Prince is a Mantle!!"
"Alert the captain! Our Emperor may yet have a new soldiers for his Legion!" The first soldier shouted, signaling the second one to leave.
"Fuck..!" Nemona spat to herself, watching on as the soldier began to scramble out of the ditch.
Pondering her options, processing her emotions, Nemona struggled with the guilt of letting another like herself be caught and used as a weapon for the Paldean Empire. But yet, still, she knew the consequences of defying the Emperor's decree. Caught in her conundrum, Nemona paused for but a moment longer, hoping she didn't regret what she did as she made her call.
As the soldier finally began to come to the crest of the gorge, a hand axe was sent flying into his back, its sharpened edge slicing through his armor. As the now dying soldier fell back into the crater, the other two looked at who threw the weapon.
"Nemona, you traitor!" The first soldier sneered, unsheathing his short sword. "How dare you betray the Holy Emperor!"
"We will have blood for our comrade!" The other soldier shouted, mace in hand.
"Betray?! I owe my allegiance to none but myself!" Your Emperor threatened those I care about, and I've not forgotten my promise to return the favor!" Nemona growled, semi Attuning in defiance.
Two white protrusions came out from Nemona's scalp, her body began to become clad in scarlet scales, with feathers of purple and white forming on her forearms and back, respectively. With a long, red and white tail extending from her tailbone area, her clothes not harmed from the drastic changes to her body, Nemona readied her now clawed hands for combat, lunging at the Imperials. Their weapons bounced off her body like birds on glass, the soldiers helpless against one who possessed Legendary power.
With nimble movement and ferocious, brutal blows, her claws shredding through their armor as if they were made of tin foil, Nemona swiftly, and remarkably quietly, dispatched of the soldiers. As she stood over her victims, the ground drenched in their blood, Nemona began soaking in what she had just done, staring down at her trembling, transformed hands, her victims' blood which stained her arms matching the color of her scales.
"Wh-wh-what have I done?!" She gasped, her, shaking her head in defeat, her form reverting to normal.
Looking down at the one beneath her, Nemona realized there was no turning back at this point. Grabbing Ash's arm, she slung him over her shoulder, desperate to try and hide him somewhere, anywhere that wasn't here. Ascending from the crater, the Paldean began to scan the area for anywhere she could to hide the unconscious Mantle. Spotting the stable across the courtyard, Nemona hastily checked around to make sure she wasn't seen by her fellow imperials.
Trudging over the cobblestone path, Nemona got closer and closer to the stables, with Surge and his soldiers taking note.
"Shit! Their Mantle has the Prince!" Brock grunted.
"Why's she coming here?! Have we been spotted?!" Misty hastily asked, readying her sword.
"No, something's off here..." Surge muttered, cautioning his soldiers. "Why would their Mantle be carrying the body of a survivor over this way? The standard imperial protocol is to seize any survivors and to bring them back to Paldea for questioning or force them into slavery. Hardly makes sense for her to be lugging around a dead body, either. She has no reason to bring Ash this way...unless she has her own agenda."
"Does she intend to flush us out with him as bait? Draw out survivors to see if they'd die protecting the Prince?" Brock asked.
"It's not entirely unlikely, but such a tactic usually requires more pressure, more show of force. Mantle or not, that woman is still on her own, and still at risk of being outflanked." Surge surmised.
"She's getting closer!" Misty panicked. "We will be spotted in no time!"
"Follow my lead." Surge ordered his troop, readying his blade, making for the door.
Exiting the stable, Surge, Brock and Misty took V formation, taking defensive positions of each other's flanks.
"Unhand our prince, at once, imperial! Our army is on the way, right this moment! Soon enough this entire port will be surrounded!" Surge boldly warned, his attempt at a bluff hardly phasing Nemona.
"Take him and get him out of here." Nemona warned them, gently laying Ash on the ground and stepping back, showing she had no intent to fight. "They're searching the wreckage for survivors, including your Queen. If they're not satisfied with surveying this site, they'll spread into the forest before long."
Confused and bewildered, Surge and his team paused to soak in the advice of their assumed enemy had just offered them.
"You're...letting us leave?" Misty asked, flummoxed by the Mantle's lack of will to attack, lowering her guard.
"Misty, don't!" Surge warned her, keeping his full attention on the Mantle before him. "Why should we trust you won't stab us in the back the moment we run?"
"I consider this payback." Nemona began to say, looking down at Ash's body. "If it weren't for him, Lugia would have killed me in that fight. Besides, a Mantle out of the Empire's hands is reward enough for me."
Retaining eye contact on Nemona, Surge ushered Brock to retrieve Ash, the young knight sheathing his sword and approaching his Prince. Cautiously eyeing Nemona, Brock kept his eyes focused on her, backpedaling towards his unit.
"You're a slave soldier, aren't you?" Surge began to finally piece the story together. "If you have no love for the Empire, I'm sure there's a good reason for it."
"You have no idea..." Nemona sighed, staring up at the sky in saddened longing, only to panic when she head the distant sound of soldiers' talking fast approached. "Go, now!"
Seeing the lengths Nemona was going to aid them, Surge surmised this was no deceptive act. Seeing enough reason to trust her for the moment, Surge nodded in respect to the imperial soldier before retreating with his own. Taking a moment to turn back to Nemona, Surge asked her a question.
"Who are you? I'd like to tell the Prince who it was who saved him."
"Nemona." Nemona answered briefly before turning around and running into the debris, hoping that when the soldiers spotted her, they'd see her doing as instructed.
Reentering the forest, Surge and the others realized just how long a trek it would be back to where they were headed. Fearing the imperials would been searching the area soon enough, the trio of soldiers knew they would not be able to escape the woodlands in time. By some miracle, the steeds that Surge freed earlier had returned to their side, showing that they were willing to offer them to mount.
Taking Ash, Surge slung the Prince over the back of one of the Wyrdeer, mounting it himself a moment after. With Brock and Misty taking the second one, Surge took the reins into his hands, snapping them.
"With the wind on our backs!" He cried out, the group now fleeing north.
.
.
.
Some time passed afterward, and with it came great changes among the regions of the Empirical Realms. The Queen's death, despite not yet being confirmed yet by either the Paldean Empire or the Kanjoh Kingdom, was publicly revealed to the populace. All eyes over the world were upon Kanjoh as the Paldean Empire annexed the region with minimal resistance, thanks to the help of Lord Giovanni, who by the grace of the Paldean Emperor was made Regent, taking complete control of the Kanjoh capital, who immediately began imprisoning an executing any who showed any signs of loyalties to the old Queen, forming the Imperial Provisional Government of Kanjoh.
Seeing the confusion within Kanjoh as an opportunity to exploit their rival nation, the Unovan Republic quickly sought to seize the port town of Cianwood, wresting it from Kanjoh control, the flag of the White Dragon's wings now flying high over former Kanjoh lands, all the while the Paldean Empire was busy designating Vermillion City as Paldea's latest Province, their soldiers too busy suppressing the confused and vocally opposed citizenry within the walls of the capital.
As these turbulent events showed that the world outside was changing drastically, Ash finally woke from his long rest, his body now fully healed. Laying in a bed inside a dark, unlit room, with only the faint light of the sun creeping through a heavy set of black drapes, Ash began to wonder what had transpired.
"Where am I..? He asked absentmindedly, his memories a blur.
Laying at the edge of the bed was none other than his Lycanroc, the wolf Pokémon loyally laying beside his master. Hearing Ash's voice being all he needed to pant in joy, the Pokémon lept atop Ash, lapping him with slobbery licks.
"Hey, hey! Easy there, boy!" Ash chuckled, settling down his barking Pokémon.
"My Lord? Are you awake?!" Ash heard Brock's voice from behind the door at the other end of the room.
"Brock, is that you?" Ash asked.
"Thank the heavens!! Stay put for now, your Grace! I'll go fetch Lady Cynthia and the Commander!" Brock shouted, the young soldier already having left his post guarding Ash's room to retrieve the two.
It wasn't long after that when the door to the bedroom was thrown open, Cynthia running inside with a wide smile and tears on her face.
"Oh, my darling son!!" She bawled, kneeling beside the bed to hug Ash, the young prince ignorant to what would prompt such an emotion from her.
Surge entered the room not too long after her, taking to the other side of the bed, a wood chair in his hand. Sitting beside Ash's bedside, Surge offered his arm to Ash to shake.
"Feeling better now, soldier?" He grinned, with Ash accepting the firm shake.
"It's good to see you both, but what's all this about? Why am I in a bed? And when did mother and we meet up?" Ash asked, still in the dark about the event of that fateful night.
"...Just what was the last thing you can remember, Ash?" Cynthia asked shyly, her sudden somber look in her face all Ash needed to know something dreadful transpired.
"I...was with the Commander here...we were burning the bodies of the bandits we slain at Mt. Moon..." Ash paused, reflecting on his memories. "I saw a man run up the mountain. I followed him all the way up to the summit, and then I heard Lugia's cries... The man suddenly appeared again in front of me, and his robe caught fire...After that, I can't remember a thing. Next thing I know, I'm here in bed."
Hearing Ash's story was all Cynthia and Surge needed to grimace, their expressions becoming stern and heavy with grief.
"Then it's truly as I had feared..." Cynthia sighed, clasping her mouth with her hand, moving to sit aside Ash on the bed.
Looking at both the Commander and his mother, Ash was completely ignorant to the source of their despair. Confused and curious, Ash asked them a question.
"...What happened?"
"Milord. I don't know how to tell you this, but..." Surge struggled to speak, shaking his head in denial. "Damn it all! Why is this so hard to say?!"
"What? What's wrong?!" Ash demanded, sitting up in the bed, causing Lycanroc to leave his lap and to the floor.
"Ash... you're a Mantle." Cynthia somberly informed her child.
Several moments of pause came, the room deafened by silence.
"...What..?" Ash heaved, shaking his head. "Enough jokes, mother. Tell me what's really going on."
"It's true!" Surge explained. "I saw you transform with my own eyes! I followed you up the mountain when I heard you shout at something. By the time I finally reached the summit, your body was burning with great flames. You Attuned into a Legend, right before me."
"N-no-no! There's some mistake here! I'm not a Mantle-I can't be a Mantle!" Ash shook his head. "If I was a Mantle, I should've Attuned long ago-found out long ago! I could have helped bear my Sister's weight! Where is Ana?! She must know something about all this!"
Surge and Cynthia remained silent, Ash's mother most of all wrought with guilt, clutching her arm.
"Mom..?" Ash breathed, afraid of what she had to say next.
"...I had accounted for everything in regards to how we hoped to enact our plan that night. I knew Paldea would attack us at Cape Cerulean in hopes to assassinate me, even right down to them employing their newest Mantle." Cynthia heaved, her head up to the ceiling, her eyes covered by her long blonde hair, obscured to Ash. "We were to use the chaos to make the Empire believe me to be dead, allowing us to flee here. What I never considered was you being a Mantle."
"When you transformed, you were berserk. Most first transformations into Legends are like that, as you once saw with Lady Anabel years ago." Surge explained. "When you Attuned, you flew toward the Cape. You forced the Paldean Mantle to retreat...only for you to do battle with Lugia, yourself."
"No-! Wait, hold on!" Ash gasped, sweating and gripping the bedsheets over his lap.
"By the time we saw the battle, your Legend began to erupt with heat." Cynthia added, trying her best to maintain composure in front of her subordinate. "Anabel shielded the area by covering you and her in a shield. If it weren't for her, I'd reckon the explosion would've been far worse. By the time we knew it, Lugia was nowhere to be seen..."
"Mom! Don't you say it!" Ash begged, his heart racing a mile a minute, the Prince breaking into a cold sweat.
"I'm afraid your sister is no longer with us." Cynthia apologized, tears finally welling up as she struggled to maintain eye contact with her son.
Ash's pupils contracted. His throat seized up, his windpipe felt like it was being strangled. As his hands and legs began to tremble in anxiety, Ash struggled to find breath in his lungs as his heart raced, the young Prince's mind wrangling with the sheer volume of information divulged to him.
"There was no easy way to tell you about all of this..." Surge sighed, setting his hand on Ash's shoulder for comfort. "I tried to do all I could to find her, but ever since the Paldeans made landfall in our old country, making return trips to the Cape have gotten more and more dangerous. It was all I could do to retrieve your burnt body the morning after the fight. It it wasn't for a rebellious Mantle in imperial ranks, we might not have even managed that."
"Ana..! No!" Ash cried, grasping at his hair as tears welled up. "No, that's impossible! There's no way I could have! Not to her! I couldn't have!!"
Anxiety overtook all of Ash's reasoning, the young prince's vision blurring and his body twitching involuntarily.
"Get him some water!" Cynthia asked Surge.
"Yes, milady!" Surge obeyed, running out of the room for a goblet.
"There might yet be hope. We never saw if she survived or not." Cynthia offered, hoping to give the grieving young man some sense of hope, even though she herself did not entirely believe such an event being likely. "We never saw a body. She may yet still be out there."
Ash didn't respond. Looking down at his trembling hands, Ash began to look upon himself with unmatched contempt. Even the presence of his loyal pup didn't so much as provoke a distraction from the news delivered to him. Realizing that he needed time to process all of this, Cynthia began to get up from the bed. Hugging her son, giving him a gentle kiss on his head, Cynthia began to leave the room.
"I can see you don't want to speak..." She said with choked up words, her own tears stifled by her wish to maintain her formal appearance, knowing the guards just beyond the door were within earshot. "Just know, I'll be nearby, if you wish to talk."
Trying one more time to get his master to cheer up, Lycanroc nudged Ash with his snoot, only for Ash to remain unfazed by the attempt. Sensing his master's distraught, Lycanroc simply sought to remain by his side, returning to his spot on the end of the bed, curling up while keeping Ash in sight. The day passed on, and no matter how many attempts Cynthia or Surge made to help him cope, either by talking or offering him something, Ash simply remained silent, refusing to talk.
Returning to sleep, rejecting any food or water offered to him, Ash continually broke down throughout the night before exhaustion causing him to relent and rest.
.
.
.
Upon sleeping, dreams of memories of time long past emerged in Ash's mind. His oldest, most distinct memory of him as a young boy, holding the hand of his big sister as the two made their way east, the children and their mother, who's face Ash couldn't even remember anymore, watching for enemies as the three of them fled the village they once called home.
"Ana? Where papa?" Ash asked, his limited toddler speech leaving him little in the way to ask questions.
"Papa is away." Anabel said back to her baby brother, the older, yet still far too young sister helping keep an eye on Ash as their mother kept her eyes on the road as they fled the village at the behest of their father, who offered to stay behind with the other men of the village to hold back the invading Unovan Republic soldiers.
Ash's memory of his original parents' faces was but a distant, long forgotten detail to him, but yet one thing he remembered was her tone of voice. Panic towards the entire situation, with despair for her husband who had by that point would've probably long perished in the assault on the hamlet.
"It's safe now!" The mother urged her children, crossing into the open and fleeing further east.
Suddenly a stray bolt of lightning flew at the trio, the mother quickly jumping in the way to defend her kids. Screaming in pain, the woman collapsed to the ground, her quivering body kicking up mud.
"Mama!" Anabel screamed, her and Ash coming to check on her.
"Mama?" Ash asked, the young child's mind still not developed enough to understand what happened to her.
"R-run!" Their mother begged, finding what strength she had in her body to crawl to their defense, putting herself in the line of fire as more bolts of lightning and motes of flame hurtled in their general direction.
Grabbing her brother, Anabel picked Ash up, carrying him piggy back style as fast as her little legs could. Amongst the smoke of burning homes and screaming villagers, the two siblings were no longer able to see what happened behind them, their mother defiantly flailing in defense as a Republican soldier cut her down, the two unaware of her fate for certain. Running and running, Anabel finally reached the end of the village and made her way to a forest just beyond. Finding some respite in the trees, Anabel deemed it safe enough to set her brother down, seeing that the tree beside them had apples growing from it.
Climbing into the tree, Anabel plucked the lowest fruit from it, coming back to her brother. Splitting the apple up, Anabel prepared Ash's even further by breaking his half into even smaller portions more suitable for her younger brother.
"Ashy, it's gonna be ok." Anabel told her brother as he happily ate his helping. "Ana's gonna keep you safe."
"And what do we have here?" A voice called from the tree line.
Suddenly a trio of soldiers emerged from the shadows, the sashes on their arms marked with the white wings of the dragon of truth. Republican soldiers had already made it this far east, no doubt killing or capturing anyone attempting to flee the area.
"Couple of urchins, from the looks of it." Another soldier snickered. "Hardly even worth the trouble."
Reaching for a stick on the ground, Anabel took up arms against the soldiers, valiantly shielding her brother from them by using herself as a shield.
"Well, look at this one, lad! This ankle biter's a fighter!" One of the soldiers laughed, mockingly picking up a stick to torment the child further. "Have at thee!"
"Stay back!" Anabel warned him, swinging the stick helplessly at the slowly approaching soldier.
"What say you, lad? Kill or capture?" The soldier in the rear asked.
"This one's a defiant one. I imagine some one out there 'ould pay good money for a slave with that kinda energy." The encroaching guard leered, her leather helm exposing enough of his devilish, warped grin, his face to show his disgusting intent. "But I suppose she'd need to grow up to actually work the fields. Ain't worth waiting that long for one who'd just eat until then."
"Then just kill them and be done with it. We've got way more runners to deal with." The other advised, surveying the trees for anyone who'd be hiding up in the branches above.
Still having his fun tormenting the children, the soldier got down on his hands and knees, dragging out the encounter, with Anabel flailing the stick around helplessly, the man hardly phased by her desperate struggle. As he got close enough, Anabel continued to swing the stick, only this time, she'd managed to manage to jam the soldier's eye with a blistered part of the branch, a splinter piercing his eye.
"AHHH! FUCK!!!" The man screamed, striking Anabel across the face with the back of his fist, getting off the ground and covering his bleeding eye.
"Ana!" Ash gasped, the toddler waddling over to his hurt sister.
"You little bitch!" The soldier gritted his teeth, pulling out his sword once more. "Congratulations, you get to die after all. But first, I'll start with the toddler!"
"Ashy, no!" Anabel screamed on the ground as she watched as Ash got held up by the head, helplessly hung in the massive soldier's hand, crying in fear. "Leave him alone!"
Just as the man aimed to plunge the sword into Ash, a bolt of blue lightning slung from the tree line hit the man's fellow trooper, electrifying him and killing him instantly.
"What the fuck?!" The man gasped, his wounded eye blinded and incapable to see where exactly the bolt came from.
Before he knew it, a young woman, not older than a late teenager, clad in black leather armor blitzed him at incredible speed, her rapier through his chest before he could even blink.
"Wait..!" The man exasperated, dropping his sword and Ash, only for the woman to instinctively catching the falling toddler in her free arm. "I know you..! You're..!"
"Shut up." The woman growled coldly, thrusting her weapon into his chest further, his heart gouged by the blade's point, the man desperately trying to helplessly claw at her as he began to slip off her blade.
As the man fell to the leaf covered forest floor, slipping into quiet death, the young woman turned to Anabel, gently setting the toddler down.
"Ashy!" Anabel gasped, hugging her brother, inspecting him to make sure he wasn't harmed before looking back up to the woman.
"Come. It's not safe here." The woman softly offered, hoping the two would join her in getting far away from the place.
"Who are you?" Anabel asked, cautiously keeping herself in between the woman and her brother.
"My name's Cynthia." She responded, keeping a kind, approachable smile on her face, extending her hand to gently rub to area where the soldier struck Anabel across the face, her gentle touch helping soothe the pair before she got up on her feet again, extending a hand of invitation. "Come. It's not safe here."
.
.
.
Waking up, Ash realized that he truly had been dreaming, and that most vivid memory of Ana coming to his protection was all too common as they grew up. As kids, she defended him from the town bullies, as prepubescents, she even slain a thief that attempted to rob the pair on a night on the town.
She was always there for him, protecting him. Ash only wish he had the opportunity to return the favor, especially after she was revealed to Inherit a Legend and became a Mantle. All that wishing to protect her for once, and he ended up killing her.
Sitting in his bed, looking up at the ceiling in his darkened room, Ash left the food delivered to him untouched. Finally taking the courage to look at anything besides the roof, Ash looked to the nightstand beside him, only to see the Silver Scale Pauldron upon it, the item glowing with a soft, gentle and welcoming glow.
Taking it into his hands, Ash inspected it closer, eyeing the lavish embroidery on the trim of the pauldron, an inscription, small, yet still readable.
"As the scale of the Guardian of the Sea still yet glows, so too does my protection for you. No matter where you are, no matter how far apart we may be, my love will always be with you."
Whispering the writing to himself, Ash began to gently cry once more, his tear drops going down his face. But as a teardrop left his chin, the droplet tapping the surface of the pauldron, it began to shine brighter than before. Suddenly, the armor piece began to hum a gentle melody, like the sound of Lugia herself bellowing. His eyes widening, Ash recognized the song as one his sister would sing to him in her semi Attuned form when they laid in bed together, a gentle lullaby to coax the two to embrace one another for a blissful sleep.
As the hum and glow died down, Ash stared at the piece with determination. He knew that his sister was still out there, somewhere. And she needed his help.
"Don't worry, Ana. I won't let you down this time." Ash said to himself, taking a step out of bed.
Grabbing his tunic, trousers and gear, Ash left the room, swinging it wide open, startling Brock who remained posted at his door.
"Your Grace?! You're out of bed!" Brock gasped, crossing his arms into an X while holding his head high in salute to the prince.
"At ease, Brock." Ash urged him. "Where's my mother?"
"She is in the building across the way! Allow me to escort you!" Brock offered.
"So...where exactly are we, anyways?" Ash asked, following Brock to the door down the hall.
"Oh, right. My apologies, sire. I had forgotten you were brought in unconscious. You haven't even seen the village proper." Brock lightly bowed his head for forgiveness.
"Village?" Ash asked as the door was opened to him.
Before Ash was a budding village, filled with a moderate amount of people walking about. Judging that he appeared to be in the center of town, Ash observed flabbergasted as children began to run down the dirt pathway that connected all the houses and stores around them. To their left, a town smithy was hard at work sharpening a blade for a member of the Storm Squad Ash recognized as Misty. Just past them, a general goods store with its doors open, the apparent shop owner bringing in a set of crates offloaded from a Tauros drawn wagon.
Patrolling soldiers from the North Garrison and Storm Squad waved eagerly as they passed the citizenry, the young ones' jaws dropping as they witnessed the midday sun gleaming against their polished steel plated tunics. Citizens gathered around a great well dug in the center of town, all of whom patiently waited their turn to gather water. Looking past the houses, Ash could see to the west a large field, lined with apple trees and wheat fields, with rice paddies located just behind him to the south.
Looking north, however, Ash noted a mountain looming quietly over the village, with two great protrusions on the sides of it gave it the appearance of a horned beast. As Brock continued to lead Ash up to the central-most building, which seemed to Ash to be the central keep of sorts, Misty took note of the two and approached them giddily.
"Ash! You're awake!" She smiled, Ash's other long time friend in the garrison running to meet him, leaping into his arms for a hug. "I'm so glad!"
"Hello, Misty." Ash grunted, patting her on the back. "Good to see you. Mind not hugging so tightly? Your armor's digging into my chest."
"Oh, my apologizes, milord!" Misty relented, backing off.
Taking note of the people in the background, the soldiers included, beginning to notice the ground, more specifically Ash, the prince began to wonder further where he was.
"These people... I don't recognize them." Ash pondered, examining the faces of the villagers. "Where in the hell are we?"
"I'll let our Queen explain that to you, milord." Brock replied, opening the door for Ash and standing to the side of the entrance alongside Misty. "She will likely still be in the map room. That's the one two doors down on your right."
"Thanks Brock." Ash grinned at his comrade before entering the building, Brock shutting the door behind him.
Following Brock's instructions, Ash entered the room specified, with the group in the room all turning their heads. Alongside Cynthia was Commander Surge, as well a man, a woman and a teenage girl, the girl around his age, the man an older gentleman, and the woman about Cynthia's age, all of whom he didn't recognize. Before he could even process anything, Cynthia was on him instantly, the doting mother embracing her son immediately, her soft, supple breasts pushing into his face.
"Oh, my son! You're finally out of bed!" She blushed, furiously kissing Ash on his forehead, cheek and scalp before realizing she had an audience to save face in front of. "...T-that is to say, I'm happy to see you up and about. I had...worried...that certain events we discussed left you depressed."
"It's fine, mother. I have words I wish to exchange once I get up to speed on things. For one, where on earth are we?" Ash asked.
"I had always wanted to tell you about this, my son, but I have always believed that our time in Kanjoh was limited." Cynthia began to explain. "That's why I had spent so many years planing an exodus to the north. I had overseen so many things in regards to the inception of this village we're in, even before those in the court conspired against me. But allow to start by saying this: welcome to Kitakami, our new home, our new country!"
"Kitakami?" Ash asked.
"During a campaign led by Cynthia, your sister, and I to deal with rumors of Republican soldiers crossing over the Indigo Plateau, the three of us got separated from the rest of our unit due to a violent storm. We had gotten lost in the great valleys north of Kanjoh territory for days, only seeming to get further engrossed in the labyrinth of canyons." Surge added in.
"The dead lands?" Ash surmised, knowing the general location enough from his history lessons. "The no man's land that was warred over so much that the very earth itself died?"
"We knew such treacherous territory would be impossible to cross until we let the storm die down, so we ducked into a cave and waited until the next day. But when dawn finally came, we discovered a source of light coming from when we assumed was a dead end in the cave." Cynthia continued. "We were curious, so we decided to follow it, against any real reasoning. It was then when we found this place. A picturesque paradise, sheltered away within a valley amidst all the blighted lands just beyond its rocky walls. A lone mountain in the center, with rivers of the cleanest water we'd ever seen coming from it, and lands so fertile, just about anything could take seed."
Nodding quietly as his mother continued, Ash was enthralled by the story his mother recounted, familiar with a period in time years ago, just shortly after Anabel awoke to her power, where his mother and sister were gone for an oddly lengthy amount of time, but remembering they didn't go into too much detail over it.
"I knew if I let slip this secret, the greedy Kanjoh lords would have sent droves of men here to plunder it for resources, so we decided to keep it a total secret, even from you. I was afraid if I even let one other person know, the secret would be exposed." Cynthia apologized.
"But if only you knew, there where did all these people come from?" Ash asked, referring to the villagers alongside the other three still unaddressed people in the room.
"These people are among many refugees that your mother and I wished to save from the havoc that the wars have wrought upon us." Surge spoke up once more, with Ash looking in confusion, his expression giving Surge a chuckle. "Don't act too surprised, Ash. You and your sister aren't the only refugees your mother sought to save. They just weren't raised by her, is all."
"As Queen of Kanjoh, I didn't have too many liberties to leave the capital for excursions, so I asked a trustworthy, longtime friend of mine to come to aid." Cynthia smiled, waving her hand to the older gentleman in the room. "Ash, meet Jervis. He's a longtime war buddy of mine from my... let's say bleaker past. I trust him implicitly, so when I made my discovery, I asked him to locate any refugees willing to come and bring them here, to a place that would give to them which the Kanjoh kingdom failed to do for them: offer them a new home, a new beginning."
"Over time, the place began to bud into a promising settlement. Perhaps in time, we can even establish a new country here, one not dictated by the greed and avarice the realms of the land share." Surge sighed. "Mantles and regular people alike. We want to give them a chance at living a life that isn't forced upon them. A place where Citizens shall not fret over their lands taken from them, Mantles forced to fight in wars over those fucking Elemental Stones."
"This is what I wished for Ash. This is what Anabel wished for. Here, we can give people a chance for hope again." Cynthia smiled, her hand now on Ash's shoulder. "And it can be yours too, if you wish to join us. But it's only a matter of time before the other nations begin to expand once more. We will need to enact the next stage in our plan, and for that...we will need your help."
"She's alive. I know it." Ash said with conviction. "I am a Mantle now. I know that. I need to do what I can, so I can hold my head high when she returns."
Smiling at her son, not wanting to dampen his spirits with her own opinions regarding Anabel's whereabouts, Cynthia simply rubbed his back, humoring him.
"Good boy..!" She grinned, her affirmation getting Ash to blush before she turned to the older woman in the room. "Lorelei, care to fill my son in on the dealings with the other nations of the world?"
"Yes, my Lady." The woman in the corner replied, stepping up to the map of the Empirical Realms. "We'll start with the Paldean Empire. To know what they've become in recent time, we need to go back some 32 years. Before there was ever an empire, the nation of Paldea was divided among bickering tribes, all of whom fought and destroyed each other for the most precious resource in the country, one which no country besides them had. Tera shards. Just as effective at harnessing magic as Elemental Stones, but they shatter after a single use. The trade off is that they come aplenty, all sourced from a massive, crystalline tree-shaped mountain jutting from a massive crater in the center of the region."
"I'm familiar with the Tribe Wars of Paldea, but what I've never known was just how was all that fighting able to be ceased?" Ash asked.
"The Tera Tree, as they call it in Paldea, is nigh impossible to be accessed due to it being surrounding by staggeringly high, impenetrable walls of mountainous bedrock from the crater. Their current capital, Mesagoza, was the one spot in the whole region that had a tunnel capable of reaching the source of the Tera Shards. The tribes would constantly wage war on one another to claim such a plot of land, and none would be able to hold such a claim for long...until he came along."
"The Emperor." Ash surmised.
"Holy Emperor Turo, as he has recently deigned his subjects to address him. Genius strategist, charismatic leader, a symbol of national progress. But most importantly of all, the Mantle of Miraidon, the Visage of The Future." Lorelei responded. "Using his natural, godly gifts to transform into such a beast allowed Turo to lead his tribe to glory, conquering the land now called Mesagoza. From there, he brokered peace with the other tribes before assimilating them all, organizing the region's people into a proper nation. From there, he used his gift of gab, as well as his status as Mantle to garner international rapport, making trade with the other nations in the Empirical Realms."
"Makes sense." Ash muttered.
"For a decent time, the nations of the world saw ships full of Tera shards shipped to them, all at a low cost. The Empire had effectively monopolized trade of all things related to magical stones and the like, the nation immediately prospering as the world's foremost trade hub. That was, up until they mysteriously decided to stop selling outside of their country. Many theorize that such a sudden cut off of cheap, quality goods is what spurned many of the nations to panic from their sudden failing economies, pushing to invade other lands to find stable supply of resources like Elemental Stone. Only question is why the Emperor would decided to possibly put his own nation's economy down by closing almost all forms of trade to his nation, aside from the others he had annexed."
"What I fail to understand, anyways, is that, after some 32 long years of making peaceful relations, the 'Holy Emperor' now seeks to stoke the fires of war world wide. Once those he'd brokered peace with, he has undermined and double crossed." Cynthia added in. "If I were to guess, the man simply became absorbed in his accomplishments and sought to drive himself to greater heights. The Empire annexed the much smaller Alolan Kingdom, friendly neighbors to Kanjoh that they were, only half a year ago. Had it not been for the widowed Queen Lusamine's wisdom to provide the Empire a treaty signing, they would have been absorbed completely."
"The Luminary Treaty. If I'm remembering correctly, the treaty signing allowed Lusamine to maintain her sovereignty over the Kingdom, at the cost Paldea establishing a garrisons and military port across the archipelago. As well as requiring the Queen to marry into Turo's family." Ash recounted. "But I know all too well. She is the Mantle of Necrozma, the Blinding One and princess Lillie the Mantle of the Moone Maiden, Lunala. Two powerful Legends at their command, and yet they refused to fight back."
"They know their strength all too well. If they were to take to battle, Turo would respond in kind. The destruction of such a battle, no matter the outcome, would be far too steep for such a small nation as Alola." Surge shook his head. "And that's not even mentioning King Mohn's passing just prior to the annexation. Without the Mantle of Solgaleo, the Sunne's Herald, beside her, Queen Lusamine was more than likely distraught to channel her powers, even if she wanted to battle."
"And that's not all. As you know, thanks to Lord Giovanni for offering Paldea the chance to assassinate the Queen of Kanjoh, the Paldean Empire annexed the vast majority of territories in Kanjoh, save for some towns and villages to the west of Caer Silver. Thanks to this move to wrest power from the crown, the Empire gave Giovanni the title of Regent, the ambitious lord all too eager to serve the empire would it meant he had control over Kanjoh himself. And as if that wasn't bad enough, he publicly decreed Anabel and Cynthia died at Cape Cerulean, murdered at the hands of Prince Ash, who fled the country to escape justice. Any and all Loyal to the true crown have either been imprisoned or drawn and quartered and anyone who questions anything regarding the nature of Ash's defamation is made an example of."
"That bastard!" Ash grumbled. "He must pay for his betrayal..!"
"In enough time, we will deal with the man one way or another, but more pressing matters trouble the new Imperial Provisional Government of Kanjoh than us." Surge butted in, point to the map. "In the wake of the chaos caused from the battle at Cape Cerulean, the Kanjoh guard was left dismantled and disorganized. By the time word got to the western territories, the soldiers garrisoned west of Caer Silver were set upon by marauders from the Unovan Republic. Even now, they set up camps and sack villages for supplies, all the while 'Lord' Giovanni is contently watching as unnecessary mouths to feed are butchered. All those people dying means any grain stockpiled before winter can instead be fed to his constituents and conspirators."
"It's that day all over again..." Ash grunted, clenching his fist as bitter memories of his past once again haunted his mind. "Mother, we need to do something for those people, immediately!"
"I'm sorry Ash, but other predicaments outweigh those villages." Cynthia sighed, shaking her head.
"What..?" Ash gasped in disbelief. "How can you say that?! Those people need help! Surely you'd know what those animals are capable of! You saw what they did to my village! We can't just let those Unovans have their way with the land those people strive to work and build up!"
"I know all too well of their tactics and brutality. Far too personally..." Cynthia sighed, looking into the palm of her hand, a faint blue glow emanating from it.
"Mom?" Ash asked, taken aback by the magic light in her hands, knowing such magic would be impossible without an Elemental Stone in one's possession, leading him to only one other conclusion. "Wait...you..! Are you're a Mantle too?! When? For how long?!"
"I suppose this talk of the political dealings can wait another time." Cynthia addressed Surge before turning to her adopted son. "It's time I told you my own past. Where I came from, and what I really am. I...am a former soldier of Unova. A traitor who turned her back on her country after she saw what they were doing to others. But most important of all... I'm the Mantle of Zekrom."
"Zekrom?! The Black Dragon of Ideals?!" Ash asked, his mouth agape only before he grew frustrated. "Why?! Why didn't you tell me?! What about Anabel? Does she know?! How long were you planning to keep your power a secret? When Anabel has been risking her own life on the battlefield?!"
"Ash, I must ask you to remain calm." Cynthia urged Ash, her eyes suddenly growing distant, as if she was staring 1000 leagues away.
"Calm?! How do you even expect me to remain calm?! This changes EVERYTHING!" Ash threw his hands up, pacing about the room in impatience, still yet realizing what his mother's changing disposition.
Before Ash could get another word in, Cynthia leaned over the map table, covering her mouth as she began to violently cough.
"Mom..?" Ash's toned changed to worry as he came to her side, dropping his arguments to come to her aid.
"Here my Lady! Your medicine." The still yet unaddressed girl spoke up, handing Cynthia a glass flask of some strange liquid.
Reaching for the bottle, Cynthia grimaced at the drought, quickly drinking it up, only to take her hands off the bottle, handing it back in urge from the evident disgusting taste of the potion. As Ash got a better look at her, Ash noticed his mother had blood slightly dripping from her lip, her hand she coughed into covered in specks of blood.
"You're sick!" Ash gasped.
"Anabel didn't want you to worry. She told me she informed you about some of the side effects Mantle's suffer from using their powers, but not all of it." Cynthia gasped, catching her breath from drinking the evidently bitter medicinal drink. "Come with me, daylight is burning. Surge, I'll leave planning details up to you."
"Yes, my Lady." Surge sighed, putting his hand up to his brow in anxiety as he himself began to pace back and forth.
Taking her son by the hand, Cynthia led Ash out of the room and building altogether, taking him far away from the village to a massive, craggy gravel pit in the northwest part of the valley, not a speck of grass, save for an occasional tumbleweed or bramble bush to be seen for leagues.
"This is the Paradise Barrens. This area will be a perfect spot for training purposes... as well as private talks between a mother and her son." The blonde woman said before finding a flat enough boulder to sit down on, the woman coughing again a few more times.
Concerned for her health, Ash sought the best way to comfort her, rubbing her back to ease any sort of pain that ailed her.
"I'm fine!" She assured him, catching her breath. "I'm...fine...thank you."
"When were you planning on telling me any of this?" Ash asked.
"I'm sorry it came to be this way, my son. I never wanted this for you. The curse of being a Mantle is something I wanted to fight against. I want to make Kitakami a land, no, a nation where Mantles need not give their lives away in service to the greedy, pious leaders of nations. A place where Elemental Stones would not be needed to forge a happy, meaningful life." Cynthia said with somber tone. "This place...this nation I wish to build, the nation your sister wished to build. We wanted it to be our legacy before this toll on our bodies claimed us."
"What do you mean by that?!" Ash asked, his anxiety peaking from Cynthia's choice of words implying she was dying.
"Mantles are gifted immense power from the Legend that inhabits us. We could fell entire forests, divide mountains, scorch the heavens themselves. But not without cost." Cynthia informed her son. "We don't have an exact idea of how much of a price it is, but any time we use magic, each time we Attune, our very life force itself is shaved away in turn. While basic spells cast in human form would normally only so much as take a few days off your life span, Semi Attuning could take several weeks, if not months of time away from you. A full Attuning claims the most of all. A year, if not more, is wrested from your life force, each time it happens. And that's not even all of it. There's body aches, seizures in the muscles, malaise, internal organ degradation and more that come even after all of that. The cost of using these powers far outweighs their powerful boons."
"N...N-no. No! That can't be!" Ash shook his head in disbelief, his eyes dimmed with dread as he tried to deny what his mother explained. "If this is how bad you are... I've NEVER once thought you'd have the opportunity to transform when you were needed so often at the castle. If you're this bad, then...Ana..!"
"If you truly believe Anabel's still alive, then I can only imagine she'd have only a few decades left to her life." Cynthia bowed her head in forgiveness. "I'm sorry, Ash! I truly am! I did my best to conceal your sister's gift from the council! I knew if they found out, they'd exploit her powers. But I was too late. By the time I explained the cost of such power to her, she had already concluded it was her life's mission to use her power to save the people she cared about. I know from private talks with her that she was glad she became a Mantle. She never would've wanted you to suffer giving up your life over something like that."
"Then all that talk of her saying she and I would take to the skies together...to sail free in the air as Legends together...that was all bluster to make me feel better." Ash gasped, piecing together than Anabel was merely humoring him whenever he spoke to her about wishing he was a mantle.
"Ash...please listen...I know all too well how you must feel about all of this. When I found out just how must of my life I threw away, forced to kill and destroy at the behest of another, I faked my death. I was selfish. I thought only about my own survival that I didn't stop to think about what it was like for others out there." Cynthia explained. "It was then I met him."
"Him?" Ash asked.
"The King of Kanjoh. His name was Lance. He was a kind soul, taken long before his time due to disease. He found me when I was at my lowest and took me in. We got to know each other, told each other of our past. Did he care I was a Mantle? No, he didn't. He saw me as a person, a human. Not a resource to be exploited, but an actual person he could speak and confide in. On his death bed, he named me his heir, and to be queen of Kanjoh. He wanted to make a world where we need not destroy each other over resources, to burn homes and salt land, to send people and Pokémon to their graves over pointless battles. He sought to seek out and bring all the Mantles together and destroy the means to harvest Elemental Stones. I believe in his cause, a cause he entrusted to me before he passed."
"I never knew." Ash muttered.
"It was his actions which inspired me. In order to atone for my past crimes and atrocities, all I can hope to do is bring an era of hope amd peace for all. That's why I took you and your sister in, just as he took me in. Now all I can do is try and do right by you. I doubt I can stop you from taking action, but at the very least, I wish to train you on how to control your Legend within yourself. With whatever time I have left, it's all I can hope for."
Ash remained silent, a lump in his throat strangulating his capacity to speak. He had never realized just what his family was suffering through, just how ignorant he'd been to their plight.
"...How long do you have left?" Ash hesitated to even ask.
"There is no real 'knowing', per say. It's just a...feeling... that you have inside you. Something only you can understand and comprehend. Using this power, you realize how much it takes from you. At the rate I'm at... a few years left. A decade at best..." Cynthia sighed.
Ash looked down to the ground, her confirmation all his heart needed to drop like a stone in a pond. For a moment, he stood there in deafening silence, absorbing all the information she availed to him. This whole time, right under his nose, his mother and sister were dying rapidly, and he was ignorant to all of it. Clenching his fists and holding them to his face, Ash began to damn himself, berating himself as he desired some sort of solution, no matter how miraculous, to grace his family and spare them of such an untimely demise.
"But that's more than enough time to see this through till the end. Ash, the road ahead will be dark, and things will only get worse before they can get better...but, I know light is there at the end of it." She spoke again, hoping to bring more positivity into the conversation. "Hope. Hope of a future where greedy, corrupt nations no longer plague their citizens and prey upon those like us. I want to destabilize the Empirical Realms. I want to destroy their means to wage war. Deprive them of the means to produce and harvest Elemental Stones. To bring it all crashing apart.To tear it all down and begin again."
"So in other words, you want to wage war with the whole world, is that it?" Ash drawer his conclusion.
"I'd prefer the term 'Revolution', myself. I don't want to wage war and see people suffer unnecessarily. Even as Mantles, to take on entire armies and risk Kitakami and other innocents, is just reckless. I just want to give the people a chance to be free of the burdens Elemental Stones bring. A place where the Pokémon we use for war and labor can be our equals. Cynthia corrected her son. "I want a place where Mantles can live, not as weapons, but as human beings. But I'm afraid I can no longer do it alone. Lance's dream. My dream. Your sister's dream. Is that a dream you would share with us?"
"All I've ever had in my life were you and Anabel. You're family, and I've been enough of a burden. I will learn to control my powers and I will help you and Ana." Ash knelt before Cynthia, taking her hand gently in solemn vow. "I swear on my name and my honor: I will help you create this new nation and help bring forth an era of peace."
"Ash... I know you have hope of Anabel being alive, and hurts me to say this, but she's gone." Cynthia shook her head, appreciating Ash's vow, but feeling obligated to give her own opinion on her daughter. "I'm sorry, but if she is still alive, she would have reconvened with us. It hurts me more than you can imagine, but there's just no way-"
"You're wrong." Ash cut her off. "Ana's out there, somewhere. And she needs my help-our help! And if I'm to give it to her, I need to master this power I've been given. The power of Ho-oh."
"Ho-oh? Is that the name of the creature you turned into?" Cynthia asked, surprised Ash had a name to go with the Legend. "There's no records in any archives I've read of a bird of fire existing. There are a fair number of Legends said to exist in our world, but I've never heard of one such as yours. How do you know a name for it?"
"I..." Ash stared blankly, wondering how he himself knew the name, only to now recall the decrepit man in the robe, standing over him amongst the burning wreckage, mouthing the name to him before he slipped into unconsciousness. "That's what that man said to me. I don't know who, or what, he is. But he knows something.
"Man? You said something about that earlier, but Surge told me he saw nobody else but you when you Attuned." Cynthia pondered. "What did the man look like?"
"Like a zombie of sorts. His fingers were decaying and his skin, shriveled. I didn't see a look at his fact, but he world a pure white robe with gold trim."
Cynthia's face formed a look Ash could only describe as stern contemplation , the woman lost in thought as she pondered the recesses of her memory.
"Something stand out?" Ash asked.
"...Not on a surface level of the description you've given, but it's still strange. If such a man exists who possesses the power to force a Mantle to Attune, I cannot see what a man stands to gain from that, least of all forcing a transformation to make you have gone berserk." She replied, her hand to her chin in worry. "Either way, such a topic is best saved for another day. For now, we need to train you to use your powers properly, if you really wish to make that kind of sacrifice. We only have so much daylight left."
"Ok..." Ash sighed, moving to more open area. "Where do we start?"
"Well, normally, we would take time building up your strengths, understanding your capacity and limits. Usually, we start off with small spells, gradually working out way to Semi Attuning, then a full Attuning." Cynthia began to explain. "But as you know, time is of the essence. As war spreads, the chances of marching armies finding their way into this little valley of our rises. We won't have the luxury of taking our time with this as your sister did. Regardless, we will start small. Try and cast a basic spell."
"How can I do that?" Ash asked, trying to find the strength needed to summon fire, but he knew not how to draw it out.
"You don't know? That's peculiar. Almost every Mantle I've ever met with has never spoken like that. Usually after the first Attuning, your body just...becomes accustomed to it. Though I suppose your case is an anomaly either way." Cynthia sighed, holding her chin to ponder. "It was said at the birth of man, God once delivered unto them his power, made incarnate. Though many Legends find themselves Inherited by a Mantle, 18 of them are said to be blessed by Almighty Sinnoh himself, each said to hold with themselves a fraction of his essence."
"God? Only one? I was certain the Legends within us were the Gods themselves, giving us their blessings." Ash asked.
"Essentially are all a part of the original one. Much of the history on the subject is lost to time, I'm afraid. Either way, enough history lessons. Let's see how I can solve your issue..." Cynthia thought before coming up with an idea. "You seem to have an affinity with fire. Try to imagine a burning wick in your hand. Cup your hands, picture a candle in your clutches that must be ignited."
Taking her advice, Ash clasped his hands closer together, picturing a flickering flame in between his palms. Suddenly a couple sparks ignited, a burning wisp of radiant, orange and blue fire emerged in his grasp, the petite fireball suspended mid air between his palms.
"I did it..!" Ash grinned, only to sigh as his sudden elation snuffed the flame out immediately.
"As a Mantle, it's also important to remain emotionally balanced. To have too much of one emotion or another offsets the magic that would flow through you. This is especially important when you attune, for such unchained emotions could drive your Attuned form berserk. You also must have a will to take these actions. Without a desire to cast these magics, their strength dissipates." Cynthia informed Ash, forming a bolt of lightning in her hands. "As long as you have the will and the balance, nothing can hope to stop you!"
Augmenting her body with electricity, Cynthia casted a Wild Charge, blitzing a nearby boulder at breakneck speeds, shattering it into pebbles with just a punch.
"Now you try again." Cynthia nodded, waving the dust she kicked up out of her face.
Closing his eyes, Ash began to concentrate. Centering his emotions, Ash relegated his thoughts on the intent of forming a small ball of cinders, enough to engulf some nearby dead bramble. Clasping his hands together, Ash began to wince as he tried to force his power out. Watching on from the side, Cynthia frowned from the lack of anything coming from his hands, knowing full well it didn't require such a sheer amount of effort to cast a spell.
Her concerns were stifled however, as a glowing blue ball of fire formed in Ash's hand, with several other smaller orbs of flame erratically orbiting around it. Retaining his concentration, Ash focused on the bramble bush in front of him. Raising his hands for the pitch, Ash hurled the myriad orbs of fire, his Will-o-wisp flying through the air, striking his target with precision.
"Yes!" He grinned, looking to his mother for her approval, the blonde woman grinning right back, nodding her head.
"Very good, my son..!" She smiled back at him, her hand to her breast as she approached him. "But just remember, this is only the beginning of training. If we are to strike while the iron is hot, we must concentrate on training you as rigorously as possible. The next 2 weeks will be the hardest you've ever trained in your life. I can only hope you are able to rise to the challenge."
"I will, mother. I promise you this, I will master this power, find my sister, and I will bring peace to the realms!" Ash proudly beat his chest.
"Good boy..!" She smiled whimsically, petting her son on the head before bringing his face into her bosom, his cheek pressed against the soft fabric of her dress. "Surpass my expectations, and I mayhaps even reward you..! It's been far too long since I've felt your embrace, my darling..!"
"It has, mother..." Ash sighed in content, letting his beautiful mother dote on him further, her soft touch upon his scalp all he needed at the moment.
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Meanwhile, several leagues south of Kitakami, a search party was combing through the Mt. Moon highlands, the leader of the troop none other than Captain Brassius, with Nemona begrudgingly beside him. Reuniting with a squad who search some caves in the area, the group shaking their heads in defeat, Brassius began to grow impatient.
"Damnit!!" He shouted, picking up a stone and tossing it at Nemona. "Mantle! Explain to me why we are still here in this backwater country side, searching for a woman who should already be laid before out Holy Emperor?!"
"I-" She began to say, knowing no answer was sufficient enough for the callous individual.
"Silence! The fault lies on you! That is the only correct answer to my question." He spat, his hands on his hips and he surveyed the area. "The only place Queen Cynthia could have fled was in this direction. And yet, there is no sign of her, or anyone for that matter."
"The trail surely would've gone cold by now, sir." Nemona quietly rebuked.
"Your Legend was said to possess incredibly hunting abilities. I supposed I expect too much for a slave as you to get the job done." Brassius cracked his whip, striking Nemona's waist, hitting her exposed skin between in top and bottom sets of pelts.
Quietly accepting the punishment, knowing any show of defiance would mean further consequences, Nemona gritted her teeth and continued to bear the lashings. It was by miracle enough that the men she had killed weeks ago were seen as further casualties from the Phoenix's and Lugia's battle, the captain ignorant to Nemona's act of betrayal. Knowing to count herself lucky up to this point, the slave soldier continued to grunt from the whipping until a solider came charging up to the group, waving erratically, getting everyone's attention.
"My Lord! I found tracks! They lead through a narrow crevice through these mountains. They must have fled further North!" The solider relayed to Brassius.
"Then our mission is still yet salvaged. Ready the men, we press on." Brassius ordered.
"About that, sir... the crevice had some sort of rock slide. We won't be able to bring the wagons through unless we unearth all the rubble."
"Damn it all..." Brassius scoffed, pondering his options, only to look to Nemona. "Mantle, here's your chance to earn the Holy Emperor's faith in you back. You are to continue following the trail. Bring us back Cynthia alive. Anyone else it to be dealt with extreme prejudice."
"Yes, Captain Brassius." Nemona scoffed to herself before getting up off the ground, walking over to the soldier to follow him to the trail.
"And, Mantle? Don't think about running, either. You understand what will happen if you do." Brassius warned her. "You have one week to complete your assignment. Fail to do so, and the same punishment will happen, even if you return. Understood?"
"Yes, my Lord..." She bit her tongue, showing him as little honorifics as possible.
"Very good then. Away with you, Mantle." Brassius arrogantly grinned, shooing her away.
Walking over to where the trail was picked up, Nemona noticed a massive pile of rubble obstructing the already narrow passageway, evidently the sole means to travel further into the northern mountain range, it's road sabotaged, no doubt, by those who fled that very direction weeks ago. Glowing in vibrant scarlet light, Nemona fully Attuned into Koraidon, the red scales dragon using its massive frame to leap over the debris in one fell swoop.
Trudging on, Nemona continued further north, sniffing out the scent of the tracks left in the dirt. Knowing full well she could potentially be facing the Phoenix who had inadvertently saved her life, the Mantle of Koraidon was none too pleased with her predicament.
"Forgive me, fellow Mantle. I had hoped to pay you back for saving me, but now it seems we will come to blows after all." Koraidon sighed, getting on all fours, pressing onward.