A/N: EDIT: Well, that's not a lot of feedback.
Its a crying shame, but I know why, given the site breaking/dying.
Site is still bugged to heck with notifications/email alerts and its driving me mad.
More than week of this, with no fix from the admins, and the web/desktop version is getting progressively worse.
But hey, the app works right? Only problem is, some of us can't us the app, or don't wish to. That's a lot of people not getting alerts AND KILLING MY MOTIVATION TO WRITE.
Its driving me batty.
Alas, in other news depression's starting to hit real hard these days. Like a sledgehammer paired with concrete. Sometimes I wonder why I do anything at all. can't claim to understand what's going wrong with my head anymore. I don't even know why I'm feeling this way! One moment I'm fine, then my mood craters for a few hours, then I'm back again for a bit, and the cycle repeats. On and on, round the bend, forever and without end! Its rather annoying; as though I've become a prisoner in my own mind sometimes.
Sure, what's one more mental problem on the pile. Not like I don't have enough, what with already being this old. Feels like every day is a battle sometimes. Meanwhile, my doctor insists that I'm fine. Take a health walk he says. Go fishing. You'll be fine.
*siiiigh* Right. Suuuure. Don't bloody feel fine, doc.
Worse, I can't seem to find a better doctor willing to see me. Trying to push through...
As ever, I own no quotes, references, quotes, themes or memes! They're simply tributes to legends far greater than I.
I'm just an old man who writes as a pastime. I don't make any money doing this, not a single cent. This is ALL done for free.
Time and feedback will determine if this remains a story. Simple as that. In other words...its up to YOU, the reader. Do let me know~!
Chapters are going with the "Name" theme for now. And if you didn't know who Orin was before...
...you will now. After all, we named dropped her and Halsin in last chapter.
Yes, Orin from Baldur's gate. THAT Orin.
"Whatever comes our way...
~?
Name thy Blade
There were complications, of course.
Such was life in the badlands; things were seldom simple.
Indeed, no sooner had Naruto and Marika set out for the capital than someone chased them down.
Naruto pinched the bridge of his noise. "Orin, no."
"Orin, yes!" a pale girl clad in blood-red leathers growled up at him, pale eyes livid while a bemused Marika looked on. "I was born to slice and slash, to rip and ravage!" she flung out a hand and shook her head fiercely, nearly smacking him in the chest with her long ghost-white braid...only to see his expression and think better of it. She stomped a foot instead. "Yet you would leave me behind with these mewling pups?" Her dark lips curled in a sneer of utter scorn. "NO! I will not have it! I am a warrior, not some...broodmare!"
Naruto heaved a sigh. Wild, excitable girl. He liked to think he'd curbed the worst of her tendencies during his tenuous time as chieftain, but moments such as these reminded him how truly exasperating she could be. She had been worse once, long ago, when he'd first found her in Badlands. This? This wasn't a tantrum. He'd seen her tantrums and the bodies the shapechanger left in her wake when she was angry.
Hey, lets take in the crazy murder-hobo-girl. I can fix her. Suuuure...
In a sense he had...but he'd also made her much, much worse. Orin was a killer through and through to be sure, but she was a killer utterly devoted to him now. Both good and bad, that. Good in that Orin believed him to be some sort of dark murder-god made flesh and would obey him without fail. Bad, because she had a terrible tendency to throw an absolute fit whenever he left her behind or didn't pay her enough attention to her. That he was considering doing the former now didn't speak well of her behavior.
A sulky Orin was, as he'd learned long ago, a stabby Orin. And a stabby Orin was best placated.
Hoarah Loux, Godfrey, Naruto, these were but names to her; insofar as she was concerned, he was a lord of mayhem and murder.
...and she was right, in a sense. He'd murdered many to keep control of this Tribe, to keep them alive, and he would kill more yet if it meant dragging them out of the Badlands. His killing days were far from over. Hoarah Loux was cold and ruthless. He hoped he could be better as Godfrey; because people didn't listen to him when he acted like himself, like Naruto.
A crown was warranted with strength. No more. No less.
"You're leaving to be with a goddess, Father." His apprentice scuffed at the ground with her bare foot. "Why? Its not fair. Did I do something wrong?"
Father. Though they were nearly of an age and not related by blood, she ever insisted upon calling him that. Strange girl.
He tried rally. "You would be in charge of the Tribe while I am away and bring them here once I make certain its safe-
"I don't want to be in charge." she slashed a slender red dagger through the air, stabbing at some unseen foe as she stalked after him. "I want go with you. I could become a goddess. A goddess of murder." We could lacerate the world together." She raised her gaze to look up at him, anger smoothing out for a moment. "Doesn't that sound nice?"
He grimaced at the very notion. "It sounds like the Formless Mother, so no."
In his heart of hearts, he'd hoped that would dissuade Orin.
Not so; she made a grab for his arm, latching tight.
"Please don't go." milky white eyes pleading in a rare moment of sanity. "I don't want to stay here. Not alone." It was a fleeting thing, gone in the next instant. "If you must go, then take me with you. I was born to kill and murder! Not watching mewling pups!"
"Oh, do let her come." Marika called ahead of them. "We could always use another blade in the battles to com."
Orin absolutely hissed at her, black lips thinning in a scowl. "I wasn't talking to you, godling."
The Eternal Queen tittered. "Hmhmhm. She has spirit. I like her."
One battle maniac to another...
It would mean leaving Halsin in charge of the tribe in his absence, but surely that wasn't such a bad idea. People liked Halsin. That big bear of a man -no relation to Runebears despite the comparison- could stand to learn a thing or two about about proper leadership and besides, it would keep him out of his hair. And Orin under his watchful eye...
Was he really considering this?
Kurama offered the mental equivalent of a shrug. "Better the devil you know...
.
..
...than the one he didn't. Yes, yes, he knew the saying.
"You will be on your best behavior."
Orin perked up. "You mean...?"
Naruto didn't give her the chance to speak further; he knew better than that by now. "You will do as I command...
"Yes," she babbled, quick to placate him and remain by his side, "Yes of course. Your will is my will.
...and you will stay your blade until I tell you otherwise. Do you understand?"
She made an unhappy noise at that. "Must I...?"
"Orin." he grabbed her by the chin and forced her to look up at him. "Do you understand? There will be many foes for you to face where we are going. But only if you listen. If you cannot, you will be sent home to wait with the ret. Can you be trusted with this task?"
"Trusted...?"
Her milky white gaze lit up with almost childlike delight as she nodded fervently; despite being a woman grown she posed a rather simplistic outlook on life. In her shattered mind, the only good enemy was a dead one. By that logic, it was best to bring her along after all; if left to her own devices, she might kill half the tribe in a fit of pique. At least here he could keep an eye on the wayward shapeshifter. Coral her, mold her into someone better. Someone...more sane than she was now.
"Of course, my lord Bhaal." he never understood why she called him that sometimes. "You can trust me. Your will is my blade."
Marika made a bemused noise behind him. "Well, that was a quick turn about..."
He let her chin go and patted her head. "Good girl."
It was all too easy to win her over.
All it took was a bit of praise.
Orin skipped after them.
(.0.0.0.)
Leyndell was very much...under construction.
Such was Naruto's first thought as he laid eyes upon the so-called capital of the Altus Plateau. They'd built their walls strong, favoring the exterior over the interior, and it showed, even from here. It was a city built in a hurry, a castle constructed under attack...and they expected yet another assault, judging by the harsh look of the knights as they drew near. Stranger still, he could see a strange golden glow over the city, an almost ethereal light that seemed to turn the sky gold with resplendent radiance.
"That would be the Erdtree," Marika informed them primly as they passed through the gates. "Its not fully grown yet. Once it is, you'll be able to see it all across the lands between."
"Hmm." Naruto made a noncommittal noise, thoughts turning inward.
They didn't have enough warriors here. Not nearly enough.
If another attack came...
He brushed such thoughts aside and kept walking. More than a few passing peasants paused to balk at him as he strode past; no doubt seeing him as great towering Goliath, a barbarian from the Badlands. Let them gape and gawp all the liked. He cared not. His thoughts were elsewhere. The air was thick with life here. It almost felt like chakra. Almost, but not quite. He hoped Marika's so-called "Erdree" wasn't another one of those blasted Otsutsuki trees. The world didn't need another God Tree.
"Godfrey?"
A quick blink drew him back to the present. At least Marika wasn't calling him Hoarah Loux anymore. He'd cast that title aside, just as surely as he'd left the name Naruto behind. It was easier in theory than practice he supposed. Although he responded to the name Naruto and retained nearly all his techniques from his last life, he didn't quite consider himself a shinobi these days.
But if one of those Trees was here...he would rain fire on this city.
"Relax." Kurama soothed him. "It doesn't feel like a God Tree. Not those we knew, at any rate."
Orin trailed them like a curious puppy; one with a penchant for murder, eager to drink in the sights. "Where are we headed, queen of gold?"
"The people must see their new Elden Lord." Marika smiled for a passerby, waved to another, and kept walking all without missing a beat. "Afterwards...I suppose we shall have to begin our campaign in earnest. North, South, East and West." she flicked her fingers in each directional as she said them. "We have enemies on all sides. To attack one may well open us to another. Oh! But before all that I'd like you to meet the Greater Will."
Right, this-so-called-twiggy-tree-god. He scowled. "Remember, I won't bend the knee."
"And I do not expect it of thee!" she smacked his arm." That silly space slug asked me to find a strong husband, not a holy man. Besides, we may yet meet Radagon if he's in." Her lip pursed at that, as though she'd took taste of something sour. "He may...take issue with you."
He quirked a silver brow her way. "What of it? I'm not here for his blessing."
"Well said! Let's be off then, shall we?"
"Yes, yes," Orin waved a pale hand in dismissal. "Very pretty words. Now where are our enemies?"
Marika quirked a bemuse blond brow her way. "My, my. Aren't you the bloodthirsty one?"
She licked her blade. "My only purpose is to please my lord and kill his foes."
"Orin." Naruto's voice rose in warning.
"Yes, father. Sorry father." she subsided with an unhappy sigh.
He hid a grimace behind one hand. Best deal with that before her temper spiraled out of control.
"Here." He crossed his hand and conjured a shadow clone in a plume of smoke, a perfect replica of himself in all his towering glory. "Go play with him outside the city."
Orin squealed in naked delight. "Can I?!"
"You can...if you manage to hit him." That was unlikely; she'd never managed to dispel any of his doppelgangers. "Run along now and be a good girl."
She was off like a shot, practically dragging the bunshin behind her. Naruto spared a brief prayer for soon-to-be-exasperated self. Doubtless he'd receive some interesting memories once the clone dispelled itself. But if it kept Orin occupied in the meantime and let her blow off some steam, all the better.
Marika granted him a long, lingering look, and planted a fist on her hip. "And how long were you planning on keeping that little trick from me, dear Godfrey?"
"Long enough." He rumbled a laugh and lumbered ahead of her; hat giant staircase looked like the right way. "Don't dally now."
It didn't end there; Marika had questions of course; most did after they witnessed his signature jutsu and she was much too...MARIKA to ignore what she'd just seen. Good. He would've thought less of her if she meekly accepted everything.
Result, she pestered him all the way up to the Erdtree, asking questions for almost every other step.
"Are the two of you...?"
"I'm not her Father, not really." he shook his head with a grunt. "We're not like that. Its a term of endearment. Orin thinks I'm a god. She worships me and no," a stern glance followed, "Not like that."
The goddess grinned. "I suspect she'd be delighted to lay with if you let her...but back to those clones. How many of those can you make?"
He knew what she was up to, but played along for the sake of the game. "As many as I wish."
"Oooh," she made a pleased noise, "And are they durable?"
"When I wish them to be."
Her eyes all but sparkled. "Good, good. One last question."
By the sage, she really was a female version of his old self. It was...rather endearing.
She beckoned him down and stood on the very tips of her toes. Her lips brushed his ear, close enough to touch, in a manner meant to tease. "...Can they put out?
A lifetime ago, Naruto would've coughed and spluttered a dozen denials. Even now he felt that impulse, but not quite. He stamped it down and granted her a mildly bemused look. He knew her game. She was trying to rile him, break his facade, the better to get the measure of him. She had an impish streak it seamed; maybe she enjoyed a bit of mischief herself. Good.
"You'll have to see for yourself."
Her grin gained an edge. "I knew you were a keeper."
Soon enough they crested the steps and reached their destination.
Marika had spoken true, Erdtree was but a sapling, a small tree only. Tiny though it was, it still dwarfed them all. Naruto released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. This wasn't a Otsutsuki God Tree. Oh, it was a tree that held a god, but it didn't feel like an Otsutsuki, and he knew well the feeling of that slimy chakra. This felt more akin to light and life, a beacon of energy from beyond the stars itself. Not chakra. Thank the sage for small mercies, but he'd had quite enough of those, thank-you-very-much!
A man stood near it, clad in dark robes, head bowed in benediction.
He caught sight of pale skin and flaming red hair -curious- before the newcomer turned to face him. Whomever he was, he was almost exactly of a height with Marika. He had a sinking suspicion as to who it was, but even so he held his tongue...at least until Marika flung out an army in greeting.
"I've returned, brother~!
The stranger raised his head and turned to face them with laconic slowness.
"Sister." he grunted once, then noticed him at her side. "And who is this?"
"My Elden Lord, of course." she beamed. "I finally found him.
Naruto decided to be the bigger man and offer his hand. "...you must be Radagon."
The redhead sneered and made no attempt to reciprocate. "And you're the brute that my sister has chosen."
Marika tutted. "Be nice."
"Why should I? He doesn't seem the sort to understand."
Naruto fought down a twitch and the urge to squash the puny many before him.
Ohhh, so he was one of those then, was he? It was in that moment that he knew. They'd never be friends. Rivals for life.
It was with this in mind that he launched the first salvo. "It must hurt, having that stick up your ass."
Marika loosed a decidedly unladlylike snort that soon dissolved into a sea of giggles.
Radagon bristled. "Now see here, you barbarian from the badlands-
"You have come."
A deep voice cut through Radagon's diatribe as all portion of the Erdtree's bark peeled back.
From within slithered...a presence.
An entity.
Marika was right. It really was some sort of silly space slug; akin to a snail without its shell. The Elden Beast was all black and dark blue yet threaded through with golden veins, shining as though lit from within. Its long neck craned down to regard them with a single glowing eye of purest gold. He stood his ground beneath it, even as Radagon bent the knee. Marika, for her part, didn't budge either.
Naruto -Godfrey!- glared at the Elden Beast and it glared back.
The world held its breath. Someone had to bend first.
It was not him.
"Suitable." a lone word rumbled from what passed for the beast's throat, followed by many more. "He will give you many strong Empyrean children. I expect great things. Go forth and conquer in my name. Together, you shall bring Order to the Lands Between.
Its peace said, the eldritch creature turned and slithered back into the Erdtree, leaving the three of them to balk at its rather abrupt departure.
"Well, then!" Marika bounced once on her heels and steepled her fingers with a lilting laugh. "That went swimmingly, don't you think?"
She smiled, then. It was not a nice smile; rather one that promised pain and pranks for their enemies.
Oddly enough, it only endeared her to him all the more.
"Shall we begin?"
A/N: And scene. Hope you enjoyed.
Would you like weekly updates? Do let me know~!
As ever, reviews are the fuel that sustain me. Without them I cannot write a single word. Simple as that. Working nearly all hours of the day keep me absurdly busy, as such, I can't bring myself to write something folks don't like.
Aaaand there we go. As ever, reviews keep me alive. Without them, I cannot write. So...in the Immortal Words of Atlas...
...Review...Would You Kindly?
(Previews)
The Tribe arrived the very next day.
"Can you kill something that big?"
"I'd prefer to talk with it, first
Gransax loomed before the capital. Before him.
Naruto -Godfrey!- raised a hand and waved. "Mind putting that Bolt of yours down?
Liurnia loomed before them.
And there at the head of a great host, an inumerable army...
"Go back to the Erdtree. You cannot pass." Lady Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon, brandished her staff his way. "You shall not pass."
Naruto planted his ax in the ground, "I challenge you to single combat."
She'd been drinking.
"Marika, you're drunk.
"M'not."
He picked her up.
Her eyes lit up. "Princess carry!"
He sighed and carried her back to bed.
Naruto blew out an angry breath. Enough of this. "Orin!"
His disciple perked up like an eager puppy. "Yes?"
He pointed at their enemies. "KILL!"
She dove on them with a cackle.
"As my lord commands~!"
"Father, look!"
Godwyn really was a golden child.
Naruto heaved a small, bemused sigh as he watched his son conjure up a fresh gale. "Thatta boy...
"No. They won't be sending our sons to the sewers. Morgott and Mohg will stay. Right here. With us. If the Greater Will has a problem with that I WILL BREAK ITS BACK."
EDIT: Hope this made you smile, and have a great day!
Warm regards,
~Nz.
R&R~!