Outsider Chronicles: Storm of Crimson Wind
When I was a kid, one of the big stories I would have loved to live in was Eragon. Of course, as an adult, that is downright stupid considering most people don't even have a chance of a decent life. I wasn't expecting to end up being reborn into it as one of the most unlucky bastards this side of Worm. Oh, and I also have a link to some Gods who might also be villains. Fun.
Right, so I recently got back into the Eragon series and the result is…well, this mess. I also had ideas along a similar line involving Nasuda and Katrina, but I don't think I could pull them off quite as well as this one. The premise? Welllll the Humans and Urgals had to come from somewhere, right? So why not a horrific cataclysm that obliterated an entire civilization? Can you guess what I have in mind yet? Thats for later though, for now, Enjoy!
Chapter 1
So, I like Isekai stories. Even the brain dead, OP dumb ones are enough to entertain me most of the time. Despite that, I've never really wanted a close encounter with Truck-kun, mainly because being any kind of fantasy protagonist sounds like a huge pain in the ass. Unfortunately for me, I'm not that lucky. As an added bonus, I found myself waking up, not as a child in some original world where I'd become an all powerful Archmage with a harem of adorable waifus, but instead as the unluckiest sod in one of my favourite series from my childhood. On the up side, I'm technically a noble, on the down side, my dad is a psychopathic, treacherous maniac.
I'd been reborn as Murtagh in the world of Eragon. FUUUUUCK MY LIFE!
Oh, and you know what the worst part was? I'm not even lucky enough to end up waking up as baby Murtagh. No, instead I 'woke up' shortly after getting nabbed by the Twins. I'm not entirely sure what triggered it, but it might have been them treating my mind like their personal speed ball. As a result of that and the fact that the last thing I remembered was taking a motorbike to the face, along with the sudden influx of memories, I didn't fully manage to get my head on straight until I was safely behind the walls of Uru'Baen and not going anywhere anytime soon.
My accommodations were nice, but they were still a prison and it had been made pretty clear that attempts to escape wouldn't end well for me. The humourless guards with pointy sticks were the very least of the things meant to keep me here until the King got his hands on my True Name.
That left me here, laying back on my bed as I tried to figure out what the actual fuck I was supposed to do now. If I had ended up getting dropped into basically any other time before this point, I could have done something to keep out of the Kings hands, but no, I had to end up getting dropped in at a moment where my mind was already blitzed so I wasn't able to do anything about my kidnapping. Now I'm in a situation where I basically had no choice but to off myself before the King could get into my head. I had no interest in being turned into a monster by that lunatic thanks.
The only upside to this whole thing was that Thorn hasn't hatched for me…
Fate, if I ever get my hands on you, I AM GOING TO WRING YOUR SCRAWNY NECK!
It had been about three days since I had arrived in the Capital and the King had apparently decided that it was time to deal with me. As such, I had been taken from my cell and dragged before him. I had spent the time trying to figure out a way out, although the only thing I'd managed was to learn that I already had access to Magic, and come up with nothing. Now I was planning on blowing myself up and trusting my soul back to the cycle. Unfortunately, it appeared that, during the period where I was completely out of it, the King and his goons had presented me to the Eggs, so now I was kneeling before the King with a throbbing hand and a mewling baby dragon in my lap while the King waxed lyrical about the return of the Riders and how we'd help him destroy the Varden and so on.
I ignored him as I stared down at the baby dragon in my lap as it crawled over me. He opened his eyes and looked up at me and I felt his mind brush against mine. There was no words, but I could feel his unconditional love and pure innocence. His mind was as clear and untainted as a mountain breeze. There was no way I could allow that purity be tainted by the Kings madness.
"No," I said, cutting off the king mid word.
The Mad King stared down at me for a moment, apparently not having expected me to speak up.
"I beg your pardon?" he said.
"I said, no," I said, "I won't be your puppet."
There was some muffled murmurs from the watchers and I suddenly felt a rather intense set of eyes fix themselves on me from a group of black clad, masked individuals to one side.
The king sighed as he shifted on his throne.
"I thought you might say that, but I admit, I'm more than a little disappointed," he said.
"Your Father…"
"Morzan is NOT my Father," I spat, "My swordsmaster was more of a father than he ever was!"
"Ah yes, Tornac," said the king with a sneer, "A skilled swordsman to be sure, but a poor teacher. Or maybe to good a one…regardless, you may wish to reconsider, lest you end up like him."
He sighed.
"Regardless, I think we're done here. Guards."
The two solders flanking me stepped forwards and poked me in the back with their spears.
"I shall allow you to keep your dragon with you for now," said the King as I was pulled to my feet, "Maybe that will let you consider what could happen if you continue to be…difficult. Oh, and before I forget, a token of my good will."
He reached into his cloak and pulled something out that he tossed towards me, using a brief flair of magic to allow it to land at my feet. I looked down and my eyes widened as I recognized it. It was a token my Tornac had carried with him, a supposed artefact from his homeland that had been handed down from his ancestor. I had never given it much consideration before, but with my new memories, I recognized it for what it really was.
A fist sized, clear orb set into a setting made of a silvery metal with a thin border surrounded by a full-circle stylized bow with a stylized knot at the bottom and three solid circles along the top half of the circle. As I touched it, I felt a brief spark and a faint breeze danced across my skin.
I looked back up, wondering if the King knew what he had just handed me, only for my eyes to meet those of one of the masked men stood off to the side. His mask was dark red and he was wearing a dark cloak that covered his entire body, leaving only a few strands of ginger hair poking out. Despite the shadows of his hood and mask, I could have sworn that his eyes were glowing. However, before I could say or do anything, the guards seized me and dragged me out of the room.
Not long after, I found myself back in my room, staring down at the inactive Vision with my Dragon on my shoulder and thinking about what all this meant. Assuming this thing was a genuine Vision and this wasn't a cosmic joke, it held some…interesting implications for the future. It also meant that there was a good chance that the masked men in the Kings throne room were actually the Fatui, which really, REALLY didn't bode well if they were poking their noses in.
That being said, there really wasn't much I could do about them or the potential horrific future consequences that lay in our future. For now, my goal should be to get the fuck out of here. Exactly how I'd do that, I don't know, but considering this thing reacted to me, maybe it wasn't all that impossible.
With that in mind, I clasped my hands around the Vision and prayed. Considering the reaction I'd got from when I touched it, I was pretty damn sure I knew who to direct my prayer towards. I had no idea if this would work, even with the revelations that had come out in game shortly before my death, the actual mechanics were hardly understood and I can't be the only person in a situation like this who had prayed for help and not received a Vision. Plus, I was trying to reactivate a Masterless Vision and not even within the Seven Nations, so…
My thoughts were abruptly cut off by a flash of light and a blast of wind that settled around me like a cloak. I opened my eyes and smiled as I looked down at the glowing teal light that now filled the Visions core.
"Thanks Venti," I muttered and I could have sworn I heard a faint chuckle in response as the wind faded.
I clenched my fist around my Vision and looked up at my Dragon, who was now perched on the end of the bed and looking at me with large, curious eyes.
"You know, now that we actually stand a chance of getting out of here intact, you need a name," I said.
The little Dragon perked up at that and I felt his mind brush against mine.
"Lets see…Thorn really doesn't work, so how about…Akatsuki," I said, "It means red dawn, which seems appropriate considering that we will be helping bring about a new beginning and I might as well tap into some more weeb shit."
My Dragon gave me a flat look, before letting out a chirp and a sense of amused contentment.
"Great, glad that didn't take long," I said as I got to my feet, "Now, whats say we blow this dump?"
Akatsuki gave an affirmative chirp and fluttered over to perch on my shoulder as I turned to face the window. We were about 10 stories off the floor, but that shouldn't be a problem. Hopefully. I had a far better chance of getting out this way at least. Now if only I had a weapon…
As if in response, my Vision pulsed and spat out a sword. It wasn't anything special, just a standard sword, although I could tell that it was well made.
"Huh, thats handy," I said as I picked up the weapon and secured my Vision to my belt.
Now armed, I shifted Akatsuki around so that he was inside my tunic and made sure that he was holding on tight, before taking a stance and calling upon the wind. It took a couple of tries, but before long, I had coated the blade in an almost visible shell of wind that was actually causing it to waver and blur.
"Huh, I wonder if I could pull off Invisible Air with this?" I mused, "Something to consider later. Right now, its time to go. Hold on Akatsuki!"
My partner tightened his grip on my back as I drew back my sword and swung it at the wall, releasing all the wind at the same time. The resulting explosion shook the entire floor and sent chunks of pulverised stone rocketing out across the city.
"I might have overdone that," I muttered as I steaded myself on the now decidedly unstable floor, "Oh well, more chaos the better. ONWARDS!"
I jumped as the floor of my room began to collapse, having lost the support of the external wall. I ignored the shouts and screams coming from behind me as I focused on avoiding becoming a street pizza. The wind answered my call, wrapping around me and slowing my fall enough that I could turn the normally fatal drop into a rough landing that I was able to absorb with a slightly awkward roll.
"You OK?" I asked Akatsuki, getting a slightly dizzy impression of a thumbs up in response, "Right, lets move."
Putting action to word, I took off down the street, wrapping myself in wind as I went to boost my speed.
Thankfully, it seemed that my explosive exist had created enough chaos in the city that my passage went mostly unheeded. For a brief moment, it looked like I'd be getting out scott free. Then, just as I reached an open courtyard not far from the city gates, Akatsuki let out a startled squark and yanked back on my hair. I immediately skidded to a stop, just in time to avoid being hit by an arrow that hit the ground with enough force to completely pulverise the cobblestone.
I spun around, raising my sword as I looked for my attacker. It didn't take long to locate the black cloaked figure dashing across the rooftops with a bow in hand as he drew another arrow and…threw it at me?!
I jumped back with a yelp as the arrow, in complete and utter defiance of all logic and physics, flew faster than it would do if fired from his bow and smashed a crater in the wall behind me. I dodged a third arrow and then my pursuer reached the edge of the courtyard and jumped, his bow vanishing and a pair of blue shortswords appearing in his grip instead.
Welp, there goes any hope that it wasn't who I thought gunning for me! I might be fucked.
I braced myself and brought up my sword, just in time to catch my opponent's blades. The force of the impact created a blast of wind, blowing the Harbingers hood back and revealing his ginger hair, red mask and feral grin. A quick shift and spin broke the blade lock as those few seconds confirmed that I couldn't match Childes raw strength. I needed to get out of here before…
Childes blades flashed before I could finish the thought, but instead of having my head taken off, I deflected them. And the next strike. Before I knew it, we were locked in a lethal dance of steel, Anemo and Hydro which, despite the difference in strength, was mostly evenly matched. Ah, I'd forgotten about Murtaghs skills, which I had apparently inherited. The man was skilled enough to match an Elven Rider who had been old before the Fall and had trained with a sword for most of his life, so its not that surprising that I could apparently match Childe in terms of skill, if not raw power.
That being said, I didn't have time for this and I wasn't convinced that Childe couldn't end this whenever he wanted if he just pulled out some more Elemental powers, or even used his Delusion. Plus, dealing with the Harbinger was just making more time for Galbatorix' goons to catch up to me.
With that in mind, I broke our current exchange and jumped back, summoning Anemo around me as best I could.
"Don't tell me you're going already!" shouted Childe as he surged forwards.
"I don't exactly have time to waste," I said as I dodged his strike, "We'll have to finish this later!"
I wrapped my sword in as much wind as I could and brought it down, creating an enormous air burst that exploded out, utterly decimated the courtyard and blew Childe completely off his feet since he was off balance from his charge. It also served to blast me in the direction of the wall and a much smaller application of my Vision let me right myself in the air and guide myself over the city wall and away from the city, leaving the shattered remains of the timeline (what little there was left with the Fatui around at least) behind.
And there we go, thats where I'll leave it. At least this one has more meat to it than my last entry.
Soooo, yeah, thats a thing. I originally intended to do more with this, possibly right from Murtaghs birth and include a lot of hints before having this event happen in a later chapter, but Eragon is a…very big book and I'm not skipping over that much content with an Outside there to fuck shit up, so its a later awakening one post Book 1.
I also originally planned to use either Electro or Dendro and have him teleport out with the lay lines, but that was boring and so I changed it for a more interesting concept.
Speaking of which, look whos making trouble! Yeah, the Fatui is absolutely sticking their noses in here and they are not being subtle. After all, an alley who is fairly powerful and not technically affiliated with Celestia would be something the Tsritsa would find quite valuable. Why was Childe sent? Because the original idea used Senora, but shes…unavailable. Also, I wanted to write that fight.
In case it wasn't obvious, Childe was holding back and only picked a fight because he was interested. Otherwise, he and the rest of his agents wouldn't have done anything to help capture Murtagh. They will cross blades again in the future.
Anyway, I think thats everything, so I'm going to sign out now. Don't forget to leave a review!