Screenshot Dakota's War Journal (Semiblind Fire Emblem Fates RP/LP) (Send me your castles!)

[Alastor15243]

I made the stream! Anyone who wants to watch Birthright Dakota in Mangs' Corrinright, it's live now:

https://www.twitch.tv/mangs1337

[Alastor15243]

...Oh.

Okay.

...Well, I died.

I was worried that would happen, what with me picking a flier, but even so...

That was... shocking... how it came about.

Edited October 4, 2016 by Alastor15243

[Moblin Major General]

Well, at least Mangs sacked himself to save you.

[Alastor15243]

Well, at least Mangs sacked himself to save you.

Hm? No, Dakota died in chapter 8. He wasn't part of "The Slaughter of Chapter 9".

It was hilarious. The entire chat was facepalming.

[Prince Cavvy]

...When will people realize he considers these avatars nothing but cannon fodder and just give up on it already? It's a pointless prospect.

[Alastor15243]

...When will people realize he considers these avatars nothing but cannon fodder and just give up on it already? It's a pointless prospect.

Eh, it was fun while it lasted. And he got a real kick out of my recruitment message, that was priceless.

[sirmola]

Also, I just asked around in the fates forum today, and apparently Revelation... doesn't really have skills on any of the generics?

THere are three exeptions to this.

1. Enemies can have skills from their class and any prerequisite class, so you often have enemies with skills from both classes that they could promote from, even though captured enemies will only have access to one of these classes. Endgame, enemies often have 4 skills, but the are almost all perrequisite skills.

2. the lancer class has a wide variety of possible starting skills to make up for the lack of level up skills. I captured a lancer skirmish boss with 5 skills.

3. All paralogs from conquest (but not shared paralogs) give generics the same skills that they would have gotten in conquest at that level.

[Alastor15243]

Alright, sorry for the delay, I've decided that for plot purposes I have to do a DLC chapter to add another map before leaving Valla, so I've been building up an army of level 10 bond units to tackle...

Drum roll please...

...

Anna on the run!

Hope you enjoy! I'll try to get it out in the next few days.

Edited October 8, 2016 by Alastor15243

[Ren_Ambrose]

So I'm curious. Are you trying to not recruit other player avatars, or are you just gonna stick to bond units?

[Alastor15243]

So I'm curious. Are you trying to not recruit other player avatars, or are you just gonna stick to bond units?

Bond units serve a special story advantage over player avatars at the moment, and... I don't want to spoil, but let's say something that's gonna happen in the next update is going to explain my plans from there on out.

Also, change of plans, I still recruited Anna and plan to use her, but I could not for the life of me work out a proper way to fit her xenologue into the plot so I'm having her join automatically storywise, and I'm going to do another DLC mission and say it's Valla before I move on with the plot. Sorry for the delay, I kinda had to build up a halfway-decent bond unit army and I've been reaaaaally busy this week.

Edited October 14, 2016 by Alastor15243

[Alastor15243]

Right, shooting for uploading tomorrow evening. Hope you enjoy!

[Alastor15243]

Well I finished the pre-battle dialogue and got most of the way through the level at least. Shooting for tomorrow.

[Alastor15243]

Sorry for the repeated delays, but plot has mandated that this episode be huge. Counting each image as a URL, it's 20 pages in microsoft word right now. I've completed everything but the ending scene, which I still have to work the kinks out of so it makes sense, but I think you're gonna like this one!

[Bandit]

20 pages? That can't have been easy to do, really looking forward to this update now after all the hard work you've put in! Best of luck finishing it off, I'm sure this will be a really great update.

[Alastor15243]

Entry 04

Part 1

 

 

 

Dear friend, family member and/or begrudging ally,

 

If you are reading this, then either you have decided to join me in my mission to stop Hoshido and Nohr's vast apocalyptic conspiracy, or over the course of my attempt to recruit you you've demanded an explanation for something I've said. In either case, there is some information that you must know, but which neither I nor anyone else can speak aloud and live.

 

I have almost certainly told you this already, but I will repeat: do not say a single word of the following paragraphs aloud. There is a curse upon the land that I am about to write about. I don't understand the details, but all I know is that speaking about the place out loud while not inside of it will cause the speaker to dissolve. For the time being, as I am unwilling to experiment, we are also assuming that this applies to all other actions the actor recognizes as a means of communication, such as writing and sign language. But the only method I know for certain of safely conveying this information outside of it is to record it in this magic journal while inside of it and then show it to someone.

 

You have been warned.

 

Let's get right to the point: The Bottomless Canyon is not in fact bottomless, but a gateway into Valla, a fantastic lost world of floating landmasses deep within the earth. Its people are long dead for reasons I haven't determined, but whether through brilliant mages or superior resources, their magical prowess vastly exceeded that of anything on Xelbus, and it is the birthplace of a great many powerful magical artifacts, including at least five of Xelbus's legendary weapons, Azura's necklace, my pan-dimensional castle home base of New Lilith, and the Amulet of Ruin that Garon and Mikoto are using to bring about the apocalypse. I also suspect that Ganglari, the sword used to fake Mikoto's death and sever her tie to the Fuujin Yumi, is from this world as well.

 

After careful experimentation, I have discovered four ways to get to Valla. The first is by using Azura's necklace to teleport in via any body of water, though for reasons unknown, only I can follow her this way. The second is to be inside my convoy bag while I use method one, but given my convoy bag's questionable spatial makeup, I have not and will not test the potential psychological effects this would likely have on any fully sentient creature. The third is to be summoned there from New Lilith, but through various tests I have confirmed that this method will only work for those who have already visited Valla by some other means. The fourth is to jump into the Bottomless Canyon. This is the only method that unfailingly works for everyone.

 

There is technically a fifth method I know of involving a misfiring experimental portal Leo created once, but I will need Leo present before I could even begin to try and replicate that.

 

Valla is currently under the control of Garon and Mikoto's forces and an army of translucent, purple-glowing creatures created through the harvest of the souls of everyone who has died in the last decade or so, and as such they have an incredible array of ancient magic at their disposal. Their plan is to take the amulet to one of the Great Veins and then harness the souls of 1,000 slain warriors, topped off with my own soul, to unmake all of reality and reduce it into raw dragon vein magic with which to re-create the world in their own image. I have been using New Lilith to travel back in time to stop this war from ending terribly, and on my first trip back I discovered the ulterior plot behind the war. I barely managed to escape back into the past a second time before they succeeded in destroying the world.

 

Our priority right now is to stop the war between Hoshido and Nohr from escalating however we can, expose Garon and Mikoto's lies, and prevent them from getting the necessary souls. But make no mistake: with the power of Valla at their disposal, I cannot say with total confidence that that will be enough in the long run. I will not rest, and I will not consider our job done, until those two are brought to justice and the Amulet of Ruin is destroyed once and for all.

 

...

 

Dakota: ...

 

(Dakota closes the War Journal while Azura looks on. The two of them are alone in Valla)

 

Azura: Are you done with the note?

 

Dakota: Yes. I think that's everything our future allies will need to know before we can bring them here.

 

Azura: ...What's wrong?

 

Dakota: Oh, nothing much, it's informative and all, it works for our purposes... I just wish it were more convincing.

 

Azura: Does it need to be?

 

Dakota: Picture this.

 

(Dakota steps over beside a lake)

 

Dakota: “You're putting me on! Look, grand conspiracies are one thing, but do you expect me to believe that I'm going to dissolve and die... just by saying Valla!?”

 

(Dakota quickly sips water from the lake and begins spurting it out of her mouth and gurgling before stepping into the lake and pantomiming melting into it)

 

Dakota: “Blaaauuughaghaghahgaaaaaa! Oh woe is me, for the curse is real! DAMN MY REFUSAL TO LISTEN TO THE SEXY DRAGOOOOOOooooonnnnnblblblblblblblblblblblblblblblb!”

 

(Dakota gets out of the water and shakes herself off)

 

Azura: ...Point... taken? ...But doesn't your War Journal make pictures? You have images of Valla in there, don't you?

 

Dakota: Yes, magical illustrations, and once Leo's on board I'm sure he could vouch for their authenticity to any Nohrian, but as for the Hoshidans... they might just dismiss it as vile Nohrian sorcery.

 

Azura: ...If only we had a camera...

 

Dakota: ...

 

Azura: ...

 

Dakota: ...Azura?

 

Azura: Yes?

 

Dakota: What the hell is a camera?

 

Azura: Oh! Right! You wouldn't know, they were just invented in Hoshido about a year ago. It's this thing where they take a tiny canvas of light-sensitive color-changing ink and then expose it to light so that it makes a perfect recreation of whatever it's pointed at.

 

Dakota: And would most Hoshidan soldiers know what they are?

 

Azura: I'd say nearly all of them.

 

Dakota: Excellent! Then our plan is to get one of these “camera” things to bolster the message.

 

Azura: ...I'm sorry, but they're extremely rare. They're still very much an experimental technology. The device and film require specialized equipment and even buildings to make. Where are we going to get a camera while still in Valla?

 

Dakota: Leave that to me.

 

 

 

Dear War Journal,

 

I think the above conversation pretty much sums up today's agenda. However, first...

 

 

A quick bit of remodeling! Isn't New Lilith just darling? I've decided that the shops should go up there because they don't actually provide any bonuses during invasions and so their protection is less of a priority, and the protected space is going to get crowded otherwise.

 

 

Also, two new buildings, just like in the last two timelines around this time. The mess hall and the lottery shop! The lower defensive wall is starting to be rebuilt. But now that I think of it...

 

 

...Why the hell is the lottery shop indestructible while the prison isn't!? If that isn't the most ass-to-nose backwards thing I've ever heard in my life I'll eat my lovely regal locks with a side of haggis. Surely it should be the place built out of hardy bricks meant to contain dangerous prisoners that should be indestructible, and the gambling center that gives the bonus to critical hits... surely?

 

But that is several thousand furlongs beyond irrelevant, War Journal, so on to business:

 

 

First, a quick training session. Nothing much, just something to keep me on my toes.

 

 

As a side note, I also decided to train up a few more of those “bond units”: Rommel's Galen (I think; there's another Galen from Cavvy, but I'm not certain which is which), Renn's Charis, Edgar's Yuzu, and Solo's Dillan. This training was just as infuriating as it was with Rhoda, but now that my aforementioned experiments have proven that Lilith's summoning magic cannot be cheesed to exploit Azura's water transport, these bond units now have a much greater utility in giving me a passable and easily transportable army for the time being.

 

Now on to the main task for the day: acquiring a camera. Now while New Lilith has acquired a great many items, we don't have anything close to resembling a camera.

 

 

Thankfully, I do happen to have access to a rather wealthy information network I haven't made much use of before now: an entire multiverse of time castles run by my counterparts in dozens of other worlds!

 

 

Granted, the intelligence and tactical prowess of some of these iterations of me are... questionable...

 

...But still, a wealth of different... unique perspectives regarding the world, I resolved, would assuredly supply me with some information. And, indeed, some information I got.

 

 

Anna. That name came up quite a few times. Details about her are sketchy, but here's what I managed to piece together: She's apparently an extremely enterprising young lady with at least a few dozen sisters who are all, somehow, in defiance of logic and nature, completely identical, down to the name. Together they apparently run a massive business empire that deals in military equipment, medicine, exotic vacation resorts, artificial skill empowerment, gladiatorial spectator sports, and apparently, travel through the fabric of space and time. According to the accounts of some of my counterparts, in some of these realities the royals have even been sent promotional tickets to one of their beach resorts, where, and there's the important part...

 

 

They got their pictures taken.

 

So clearly this saucy little money minx and her built-in fiftysevensome has access to cameras. Perhaps, perhaps I will be able to cut a deal with her.

 

One of my counterparts managed to supply me with a talisman on a little teddy bear keychain that is apparently supposed to summon her. But evidently it doesn't work within the confines of New Lilith, so I'll have to once again venture outside of her walls, however briefly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Dakota is in the middle of the ruined remains of some sort of town square, accompanied by Jakob, Azura, Theo, Rhoda and several other bond units. She raises the talisman. Within seconds, a portal ten feet in diameter opens up in front of her. Anna leaps out as the portal closes behind her, and she immediately assumes a chipper sales pitch.)

 

Anna: Welcome to AnnaMart, we trade in everything but human flesh! How can I help you on this fine day, sir and/or madam?

 

Dakota: ...Greetings! I am Princess Dakota Waterstone Vendelgate of Nohr.

 

Anna: Ooh! A princess!

 

Dakota: Indeed. I am currently on a vitally important mission, and am in dire need of a camera.

 

Anna: Sure thing! 100,000 gold, please!

 

Dakota: ...

 

Anna: ...

 

Dakota: Care to repeat that?

 

Anna: 100,000 gold, please!

 

Dakota: Are you sure you adjusted for the interdimensional exchange-rates?

 

Anna: All gold is worth the same everywhere, customer!

 

Dakota: ...

 

Anna: ...

 

Dakota: ...WHAT KIND OF INSIDIOUS RACKET ARE YOU RUNNING HERE, SHE-WITCH!?

 

Anna: The best kind of insidious racket, of course!

 

Dakota: I'll have you know that I invaded, and defeated, a nation of samurai, flying horses, and ninja riding atop clockwork lions, and I only spent half that.

 

Anna: Good for you! 100,000 gold, please!

 

Dakota: ...Alright, just... break it down for me... precisely what costs what here?

 

Anna: Excellent question! The camera itself is 30,000, followed by 15,000 for the film for five pictures...

 

Dakota: 3,000 gold per picture!? Have you no soul, woman!?

 

Anna: Probably not! But I do have a heart of gold! And a platinum spleen!

 

Dakota: I don't believe this...

 

Anna: ...And then there's 4,000 for instantaneous shipping, 5,000 for using our handy dandy summon-an-Anna talisman, and another 6,000 for tax.

 

Dakota: ...And the remaining 40,000 gold?

 

Anna: Oh, that's just for flat-out bribery.

 

Dakota: BRIBERY!?

 

Anna: Oh yes! This is very much an illegal transaction. Minor breach of the prime directive and all that.

 

Dakota: The prime what?

 

Anna: No selling overly-advanced technology to a dimension that hasn't already invented either it or something similar! Company policy! Of course, your people have invented the camera, but it's still not widely available, so it's a bit on the grey side. Might still get me in trouble. Upset the balance of the natural order or whatever.

 

Dakota: How could a camera do that!?

 

Anna: Oh you'd be surprised! This one time the king of Votswaria came to us! Cute kingdom. Scenic. Famous for its pastries. We sold him a solar-powered bread toaster! The continent was in ashes within the month. So are you paying or not?

 

Dakota: ...I don't even have the 40,000 at the moment.

 

Anna: (Playful wince) Ooh...! Tough break then, sister.

 

(Dakota takes a deep breath in, then pulls Anna closer)

 

Dakota: Listen to me very carefully, Anna. Allow me to provide you with a teensy bit more information about that mission I told you about. I am on an extremely dangerous and vitally important mission to stop a duo of megalomaniacal monsters from performing an ungodly ritual with which to sacrifice 1001 human souls... and then completely obliterate... not just this country. Not just this continent. Not just this planet. Not just this dimension... but all of conceivable reality.

 

Anna: (Mild shock, claps hands to her mouth) Oh good heavens! That's where I keep all my money! ...And sisters!

 

Dakota: Indeed. I have an entire conspiracy to expose, and having a camera would greatly aid me in convincing my Hoshidan allies of the truth. And once I have succeeded and ended the tyranny in both of my homelands, I will be in a position to more than pay you back for your assistance. Is that enough to persuade you to... cut us a deal here?

 

Anna: Oh indeed it certainly would be!

 

Dakota: Excellent-

 

Anna: (Smirking closed-eyes smile) If you weren't full of shit!

 

Dakota: Excuse me!?

 

Anna: (Sly smile) Do you seriously think you're even the first person to try that on me this week? And besides, I took a good look into your eyes. Those are totally the eyes of a duplicitous liar!

 

DAMN IT! SHE KNOWS!

 

Anna: Now if you'll excuse me, I believe we're done here.

 

(Anna raises a talisman similar to the one Dakota has)

 

(Nothing happens)

 

Anna: ...

 

Dakota: ...Something wrong?

 

Anna: You tell me! What's going on here!? I can't teleport back! I can always teleport back! (Speaks into an ornate sending stone ring, with a gem that's purple instead of clear) Anna to Annabase, this is Anna, patch me in to Anna immediately, we have... Anna? Anna!? ...Anna! (Lowers hand) I can't teleport back or contact base! (Suddenly glares at Dakota) ...What are you trying to pull!?

 

Dakota: (Eyes scanning around warily) ...I assure you, this isn't me...

 

Anna: (Readies bow at Dakota. Jakob and Azura tense up.) Listen princess, let me warn you right now, if you think I need a couple dozen of my sisters and their boyfriends to kick your butt, you've got another thing-

 

Dakota: Don't be ridiculous, you're obviously bluffing. You're a level ten outlaw with an iron bow. I'm five levels higher, better armed, and at doubling speed.

 

Anna: H-how did you know-

 

Dakota: I could kill you in two seconds if I wanted to, but I haven't, so I don't. So for the love of all the gods, shut up and let me listen!

 

(Anna shuts up. Dakota looks around, listening to the eerily still air all around them. Suddenly her ears twitch violently and she does an about-face to see what looks like a purple glowing meteor racing towards them.)

 

Dakota: GET DOWN! HIDE!

 

(Everyone dives for cover behind the ruined village's various walls and hedges, except...)

 

 

SHIT! Rhoda, you clumsy fool! Get behind cover now!

 

...Damn it, she's unresponsive. There's not enough time to go back for her, we're too close to hostiles to teleport her out, we'll have to hope that whatever that thing is passes us-

 

(The purple ball of energy lands in the town square center, right where the portal once was)

 

SHIT.

 

(The energy dissipates to reveal a blue-haired woman on a horse. She gets off, cackling creepily to herself. Takumi is tied up and unconscious, slung over the back of the horse.)

 

What!? Takumi!? So soon!? He wasn't supposed to be brought here for a couple more days!

 

...Looks like I was right, they're speeding things up out of desperation. But this isn't exactly favorable for...

 

...Damn it, we'll have to hope she doesn't spot us and leaves in a way we can follow.

 

Thank goodness I have dragonvision so I don't have to peek over the wall.

 

 

Arete: So Arey missed one, did she? (Does an artificially deep voice like a child mimicking an adult) “Block off all the ways in or out”, quoth Mickey! Well Arey got all the ways out, but looks like she missed one of the ways in!

 

(Arete waves her arms and conjures magical purple chains that encircle and cross around the place where the portal Anna came through was. Anna glares at her from her hiding place.)

 

Arete: There! Now no one else can come in!

 

(Silence. Arete suddenly turns to her right, annoyed.)

 

Arete: Arey knows that, Mrs. Muffin! Of course this means somebody came through! Arey gets enough lectures from the trees! Gods, they never shut up about the blood and the screaming and the “we long for the sweet release of death”!

 

...Oooooookaaaaaaay. This is... a thing, War Journal...

 

(Dakota turns to look at Azura, who is sitting with her back against one of the ruined walls, white-knuckled and eyes bulging, struggling to keep her breathing soft and level)

 

...What's up with her...? I guess she's not comfortable with stealth...? Better make a mental note of that...

Arete: (Exasperated groan) Yes, Arey supposes she must find out who, Mr. Longfingers. Lest Mickey become... (shudders) cross with me. Now where...

 

(Arete looks around, only to see Rhoda unresponsive on the floor, halfway sticking out from behind cover. Arete walks over and grabs Rhoda by the ankle)

 

Arete: ...Oh. (Brighty) Well, that was fast! What does Arey spy with her little eye?

 

(Arete waggles Rhoda around by the leg while Rhoda flails limply, blowing spit bubbles)

 

Arete: ...Um... What exactly is this... supposed... to...

 

(Arete sees Rhoda's face. Arete suddenly smiles a manic smile.)

 

Arete: Ooooooooh... what have we heeeeere!?

 

(Silence. Arete's manic smile suddenly vanishes as she spontaneously shouts to her right)

 

Arete: AREY DOESN'T KNOW WHAT WE HAVE HERE, MR. LONGFINGERS, GODS! ...But it's weird. And Arey likes it. Up on the saddle with you, and off we go!

 

(Silence)

 

Arete: What? There could be more?

 

(Azura's breathing becomes difficult for her to control, and she seems on the verge of having a panic attack)

 

Arete: ...Yes... there could be...

 

(Azura curls up into a ball)

 

Arete: ...but Arey's bored. Hi ho, grizzly bear, and to the lab!

 

(Arete flings Rhoda onto her horse, leaps on, and flies away like a purple comet again)

 

...War Journal...

 

...It just occurred to me...

 

...I have absolutely no concrete idea of what bond units are made of.

 

...I should probably have a concrete idea of what bond units are made of, War Journal.

 

They're life forms created artificially through magic... out of the interactions of the “True Dragons” of multiple alternate universes.

 

They are in one sense or another made of me, War Journal.

 

The enemy is currently scrambling to either re-capture me or find some workaround for the ritual.

 

They now have an extremely dangerous specimen to-

 

(Dakota turns to see Azura, who still looks both terrified and on the verge of tears)

 

Dakota: ...Azura?

 

Azura: …

 

Dakota: Azura? Are you okay?

 

Azura: (Takes deep breaths) It...

 

(Azura closes her eyes)

 

Azura: ...It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter in the long run. Keep it together...

 

Dakota: …

 

Azura: ...I'm sorry... what's... what's the plan?

 

Dakota: We're going after her. Even if she didn't have Takumi, I don't want to risk what they can do with Rhoda.

 

Azura: ...Of course.

 

Dakota: I'm sending everyone back to New Lilith. I'll follow her myself on Galen and then summon you back when we arrive. Then-

 

Anna: Ahem!

 

(Dakota turns to see Anna, her cheery saleswoman persona back in jarring fashion)

 

Dakota: Ah, yes. You. We're, er, in a bit of a hurry, so if you-

 

Anna: Look, um... I know what I said about your eyes before, but, uh... now that I look again... I think I see something more in there!

 

Dakota: Uh... thanks?

 

Anna: So let's assume, for the moment, that I believe you now about what you're up against.

 

Dakota: ...Very well?

 

Anna: What's your plan now?

 

Dakota: To get Takumi and Rhoda back.

 

Anna: And in the process beat the tar out of the portal-blocking tart on a horse?

 

Dakota: At some point, yes. If not now then later.

 

Anna: Fantastic! (Whips crowbar out of belt, twirls it, then grips it firmly in both hands with a wide bright smile) Dibs on the kneecaps!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, War Journal, we've arrived. Thanks to a thick cloud near where we started we were able to follow her in cover long enough to study what directions she looked in so as to avoid being spotted. The rest of the trip was relatively uneventful aside from, y'know...

 

The breathtaking scenery. I mean good gods, War Journal, I have never seen a more beautiful wasteland in my entire life. I actually legitimately believe that someday, when this is all over and this place is more widely known, there will be people who will actually want to live here.

 

...But that's hardly important right now. Galen and I arrived in a hilly area deep in one of the larger islands, with a small castle close by. Arete made a beeline for it, but...

 

It seems that this “Arete” hasn't gone inside yet. She's talking to...

 

(Click to play music in new tab)

 

...Of course.

 

Yukimura: (Pushes up glasses) You're late, Arete. Do you have the prince?

 

Arete: Arey has him right here! (Holds up the unconscious Takumi) Arey snagged him when he went all mopey on his own.

 

Yukimura: Did anyone see you?

 

Arete: Nobody but the spoons! (Thousand yard stare) The spoons see everything.

 

Yukimura: ...And your other passenger?

 

Arete: No idea, it fell out of a dimension portal.

 

Yukimura: You missed one? Arete, you know how crucial it is to our plans that no other universe intervenes!

 

Arete: Arey fixed it. Point is it's weird. And stupid. And Arey wants it. Can Arey and Iggy play with it, Yuki?

 

Yukimura: (Deep breath, pushing up his glasses again) ...Yes. You may. Later. But do not forget your mission. Dakota's little stunt at the bridge means that time has betrayed us. I would not entrust Lady Mikoto's soul link to your... unique brand of magic had we any other choice, but we do not. We must have Takumi under Mikoto's full control as quickly as possible. Iago is waiting for you inside. You have two hours. Be swift, but be. Thorough.

 

(Yukimura walks off)

 

Arete: And what's your plan, Yuki?

 

Yukimura: (Still walking away) That is none of your concern, Arete. Simply do your job, as I do mine.

 

Arete: ...

 

(Arete summons a dozen Purple Ones and walks towards the castle gate)

 

Arete: Minions! Heed Arey! Guard the castle with all your might! Take heed! The muffins are relentless! But under no circumstances is Arey to be disturbed! Busy work! Much concentration! THE HAMSTER AND THE WALRUS DO NOT LIKE TO BE INTERRUPTED!

 

(Arete slams the gate, and a witch warps in right in front of it)

 

(Stop music)

 

...Right. I think that makes our job fairly clear.

 

(Dakota Summons all of his allies from New Lilith, now including Anna)

 

Dakota: (Points to the castle) They're in there. The soldiers are under instructions not to interrupt under any circumstances so as long as we don't make a ridiculous amount of noise fighting the guards, we should be clear to approach.

 

(Dakota turns to Anna and pinches the back of her unused hood)

 

Dakota: Is this a disguise or do you actually do the breaking and entering thing on the side?

 

Anna: (Smiling coyly) Why do you need to know?

 

Dakota: If I get you to the castle gates, can you sneak us in undetected?

 

Anna: (Smiling) Woah woah woah, slow down, young lady... (whips out bow) Who said anything about getting me there?

 

(Dakota smiles)

 

Dakota: Right. Let's move!

 

 

Edited May 17, 2017 by Alastor15243

[Alastor15243]

Entry 04

Part 2

 

 

 

So here's our mission: Take out the guards and seize the castle. Seems seems straightforward enough, War Journal.

 

 

We've got a fork here, with only one of the paths leading to the castle, but I'm going to tackle both. On the surface it seems like a pointless division of resources...

 

And yet...

 

I just have this feeling something might be up.

 

 

Anyway, as you may have assumed from the previous conversation (or not, because you're a goddamned book), Anna has joined the entourage. Oh tidings of merriment and jubilation, War Journal, another squishy!

 

 

In all serious though, she's not bad. She's got a speed and defense surge at the moment, but I see potential here regardless.

 

 

She has quite a few talents under her belt, and apparently one of them is this thing called a... “Leif's blade”...? Never heard of it, but apparently she's offering me a 30% cut of the gold she makes with the thing to help fund our mission.

 

 

As for reclasses, she has apothecary (as one would naturally assume) and troubadour. I'll see how her growths turn out before I decide how to proceed with this, but if she's going to be making gold, Profiteer might be a good skill to get her later.

 

 

Which brings us to... this thing.

 

 

...Apparently this is some... bizarre practitioner of black magic... distinct from dark mages. She doesn't look like she'll be too tough, but still... something tells me I should remain on my toes. Especially when we're this close to “Mommy Dearest”.

 

Ah yes.

 

That reminds me.

 

So Yukimura's admitted it. I had little doubt before, but this confirms it.

 

Fuchsia was Mikoto.

 

I was correct.

 

...

 

...Splendid! This means I know what she's capable of.

 

And what she isn't.

 

But that's not important.

 

There will be plenty of opportunities to kill her.

 

What's important right now is making sure she doesn't take my brother down with her.

 

Begin.

 

 

Oh.

 

Goodness.

 

WELL ISN'T THAT FUN!?

 

 

...Hm... I don't see a skill that allows that... but I just saw them do it. Is it like singing?

 

I suppose this is what those hooded figures used to...

 

Oho.

 

Ohohohohohoho.

 

Oh I am going to have so much fun when I find out who was responsible for that.

 

Oh yes.

 

So much fun.

 

Plentiful fun.

 

Inexhaustible fun.

 

INFINITE FUCKING FUN.

 

 

Anyway, better play it safe. I give Anna a rainbow tonic and set her up to bait the archer-mercenary pair at the archer's range while backed up by Jakob. She has a dual yumi equipped. The accuracy's pretty poor, but she assures me she's quite lucky, and a quick look at her statistics with my dragonvision bears that claim out.

 

 

Meanwhile in case the other path gets any ideas I lead a small group to head them off.

 

 

The northern strategy: a resounding success!

 

 

One of the witches teleports in to follow up.

 

 

A FOOLISH MISTAKE.

 

 

As I suspected was possible, the eastern enemies have all decided to rush us. Strangely enough however, the second free witch didn't teleport beside the first free witch to uselessly attack Anna and get killed. Instead she simply... advanced. With her feet. Like a normal person.

 

Given the behavior of her comrade I don't think that coincidentally wise decision was based on any sort of intelligence. Curious...

 

 

Anyway, time to take care of the advancing foes. Anna and Galen take out the witch and mercenary safely out of range of where any enemy can reach or where any witch can warp to.

 

 

Then I switch things up and aid Jakob, now armed with a dual shuriken, to take out the incoming foes. I was going to fight them directly, but I spotted a wyrmslayer among the enemies' weapons. But thankfully that's the only sword or tome among the weapons the nearby enemies have, so the dual shuriken won't backfire.

 

 

It would appear I was wise to suspect the second witch was also, in fact, an idiot. She warped in to fight Jakob and this is the result. She didn't even stand a 1% chance of dodging while using a tome while Jakob was using a dual shuriken.

 

 

More witches beam in, but they're no less useless than the first ones. Anyone with decent resistance can basically ignore them.

 

 

Seeing how Jakob is a bit over-leveled and I need to get him his strategist skills quickly, I have him switch out for the less trained Anna to take out the incoming eastern foes. Her first level is... satisfactory. It's about what I expected her to get based on what she already had.

 

 

I seize the opportunity to get her some more kills against bow users on the enemy phase. Thanks to a dual guard (which has to be used up by an archer before the witch can attack), there's no way she can die.

 

 

Unfortunately one of the archers hangs on with one HP and the knights continue to advance.

 

 

Looks like I'll have to intervene. Even if I somehow get no dual guards, I'll still survive the knights and the witch.

 

 

More witch reinforcements. Hm... this is an interesting scenario... this witch's movement range and all of the witches' potential warping ranges all line up so that I can stick Anna at the edge of this purple zone to bait and kill all of them at once with the dual yumi without being in range of any of the knights!

 

 

Let's see if they take the bait.

 

 

...Things didn't go perfectly (Anna missed and wasn't strong enough to one-shot), but the second witch warped to attack Jakob rather than Azura, and the third witch didn't warp at all! I think I'm seeing a pattern... for whatever reason it seems like only one of these witches will warp in any given round. Curious.

 

 

BUT NOT CURIOUS ENOUGH!

 

 

Respectable, and it rounds off the primary missing growths from last time. And most importantly, one shot from the dual yumi will kill the witches now!

 

 

With the eastern forces clear, the western forces start their advance.

 

 

Business as usual, I bait the witches for easy Anna training.

 

 

We're making good time approaching the base, without much of incident happening.

 

 

Hello... what's this?

 

 

JACKPOT!

We're getting that. Now. Anna's going to take out this witch and stand by to bait her.

Regrettably, Anna misses the follow-up and Jakob must now finish the job.

Jakob scavenged an accessory off of the witch somehow. Amusing, but low priority. MORE IMPORTANTLY...

SPELLSTRESS! SURRENDER UNTO ME THY BOOTY!

SUCCESS!

I'll work out what to do with it later. For now, time to reclass Jakob so that he can work towards getting Rally Resistance and Inspiration two levels from now.

All that's left is to take out the gatekeeper...

...And we're in!

(Anna is examining a massive lock on the door)

Dakota: Can you get us in?

Anna: Easy.

Dakota: What kind of security should we-

Anna: (All with peppy saleswoman cheer) The nastiest. The Penumbra Mesh Interceptor Mk. XVII. A magical security system developed by a mad sorcerer in another dimension about three thousand years beyond your world's level of advancement. This artifact fills any building it's installed in with a mesh of invisible beams so tiny not even a fly could move through them, and if somebody without proper clearance is caught within any of them, their exact location, thoughts, equipment, statistics and abilities are perpetually broadcast into the brain of whoever holds the corresponding talisman. It also marks you with a curse that makes the wielder a near god over you. With but a thought they can break your bones, melt your flesh, violate your most intimate personal thoughts and twist them like a fork through ramen, and assault your eyes with eldritch visions that would carbonize the souls of mortal men and freeze solid the blood of the gods!

(Dead silence)

Anna: (Smiling) Whaddya think? Nice sales pitch, huh? Anyway, this is way beyond acceptable tech for this world. Someone at Annacorp has been a very naughty girl. But you don't need to worry about that, I'll deal with that when this is all done. For now, let's just get inside.

Dakota: But you just said-

Anna: Yes, yes, it all sounds very nasty, but there's one teensy weensy little design flaw.

(Anna goes to the side of the door and starts fiddling with the hinges)

Anna: See as you can probably imagine, all of that's got to take up a lot of magical power. Totally unviable amounts of power, in fact, in a world this primitive. So it can't actually be on all of the time, and I'll bet half of my teeth that it's on its infamous power saver mode. You see, the power saver mode... it cheats a bit by using a general rule to check for people.

(Anna ties various ropes to the hinges on the right side of the double doors, before climbing atop the door, tossing the ropes over the flagpole, and leaping to the ground again)

Anna: See... it only turns on the tracking mesh when it senses the door being opened.

(Anna yanks on all of the ropes at once, causing all of the hinge pins to fly out simultaneously from the right side of the door. The right door still attached to the left door, Anna swings both doors open like one giant door swinging open on the left side's hinges.)

Anna: (Walks up to Dakota and whispers) And it doesn't count this as opening it.

(Dakota stares at Anna)

Anna: What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?

Dakota: Look, I am trying really hard here to save myself for the man I love, could you make it a little easier for me?

Anna: (Smirks) No promises whatsoever!

Gunter: Very well. After you, milady.

Dakota: No. Everyone head back to New Lilith. Only Jakob and Azura will accompany me.

Anna: Uh... are you sure that's a good idea? We're short-handed as it is.

Dakota: There are at least two promoted units in there, possibly more. No number of us will be enough if we get in a straight fight. We need minimal foot traffic if we're going to avoid getting caught.

Of course I have... other reasons... but more on that some other time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...Alright, War Journal, we're inside.

 

The plan is simple: Get Takumi and Rhoda, trash any magical equipmen they have while we're at it, and get the hell out of there.

 

(Dakota, Azura and Jakob sneak down a hallway towards the sounds of two voices. Jakob has not brought his horse. Or his shoes.)

 

Jakob had to leave his shoes behind, they'll make too much noise in these hallways.

 

Years of training myself to fight barefoot on any terrain, and finally, finally I get to reap the rewards.

 

(The voices finally become audible)

 

Arete: So? What is it, Iggy? Tell us! Tell us! The walrus must know!

 

Iago: ...Arete, I think, I'm not sure, but I think your act of childish impulsiveness accidentally turned out to be wise.

 

Arete: Yay! So what is it!?

 

Iago: I'm not entirely certain, but I do know where it came from: the Time Castle.

 

(Dakota uses her dragonvision to see inside the room: Iago and Arete are examining an unresponsive Rhoda lying on a large table)

 

Arete: You mean that thing we tried to steal when-

 

Iago: Yes. And if my hunch is correct... this thing may at least be partially made of Dakota herself. We may very well be able to use this to create a suitable substitute for Dakota's soul. And given our current situation... we could certainly use one of those. I'll need to do some more tests in the other room though.

 

Right, this is what I was afraid of. We need to get Rhoda out of there now, and destroy their equipment while we're at it, or else this could be very bad. We need to-

 

...Oh no.

 

Oh no.

 

What did Yukimura say again?

 

...That this wasn't their top priority?

 

(Click to play music in new tab)

 

...Fuck.

 

(??? walks in from the room opposite the hallway Dakota and company are in)

 

???: Excellent. Then perhaps we may not even need Dakota after all.

 

Iago: L-Lady Mikoto! (Kneels) I did not expect you to be ready to move so soon! I-I trust everything feels normal?

 

???: As normal as the occasion will allow, Iago. It feels... queer, however. Awkward. The slightest bit off, like a puppeteer pulling inch-long strings.

 

(??? readies the Fujin Yumi and an arrow appears. He dismisses the arrow and lowers the bow.)

 

???: ...But I shall make do. Arete. You did well to bring me here. But I must ask you to confine yourself to Valla from now on. Your presence in Hoshido or Nohr would raise... far too many questions. And goodness knows we could stand to have fewer questions going around already.

 

Arete: (Pouting) ...Understood, Micky.

 

Iago: Lady Mikoto, I must ask... what are we going to do? The charade, it cannot possibly hold on much longer-

 

???: It can, Iago. It can. It must. And it will. We simply need to keep the people too angry to ask questions until we can gather the armies for a full scale war. A few skirmishes. A few... heinous war crimes. That's all it will take. Something to make the Hoshidans even more furious with you. ...Do you have anything lined up?

 

Iago: Well, there was this charming little village I was planning to send Faceless at.

 

???: (Smiles) Oh that should do nicely. Spare nobody. No man, no woman, no child. Make those who hear about it stare at the messengers in disbelief and scream to the sky in vain. Make them demand to know what kind of animal could do such a thing. (Smiles cheerfully) After all... once you convince a man that hatred can be righteous... once you convince a man that there is an evil out there that deserves no mercy... there are few who are willing to let that belief go without a fight.

 

Iago: And then?

 

???: My allies shall gather the most belligerent among our army, and the Hoshidans shall... retaliate. Because, of course, they always... “retaliate”. The Nohrians always started it, after all, who would dare point fingers at us? Oh we won't target civilians, of course not, we're not like that Nohrian scum... though I doubt the Nohrians will see an unprovoked attack on some sleepy border fort much differently.

 

Iago: (Smiles wickedly) I should say not. And what then?

 

???: We... Hm...

 

(???'s eyes twitch from side to side ever-so-slightly for a moment)

 

???: ...The new plan is merely in the outline stage... Garon and I are not ready to give further official orders just yet.

 

(Dakota signals to Azura and Jakob, who sneak up next to her, right up against each shoulder)

 

???: For now, simply return to Nohr and plan the village's slaughter.

 

(Dakota gestures for them to look forward down the hallway, and lifts her War Journal just high enough so that they can read it, and wills the pages to become visible to them. They notice and look.)

 

Keep calm. Don't change your expression. Whatever you do, don't show any visible reaction to what you're about to read.

 

She knows we're here.

 

Takumi has dragonvision, and Mikoto's figured out how to use it.

 

She doesn't think I've noticed. She's waiting for the right moment to ambush us. We're not going to give her that chance. On my signal, follow me. Quickly. There's no time to extract Rhoda, we have to do something a bit more drastic. Give me a few seconds.

 

(Dakota uses her dragonvision to scan the general layout of the castle)

 

???: Take the specimen to the alchemy lab for further testing.

 

Come on... come up with a plan... a good one... a passable one...

 

Iago: Understood.

 

...Fuck it, it's the best we've got.

 

(Click to play music in new tab)

 

(Dakota slides into the doorway and fires off a Dragon Fang blast into the room. Iago and Arete, carrying Rhoda, are taken off guard, but ??? dodges effortlessly)

 

Dakota: RUN LIKE SCREAMING LITTLE GIRLS!

 

(Dakota, Jakob and Azura run for their lives, not the way they came, but deeper into the castle)

 

???: (Smiling) Come to Mama.

 

(??? Sprints after them, practically gliding along the floor thanks to the Fujin Yumi. Dakota takes a flying leap towards a column in the middle of the hallway and dragonshifts in midair, smashing the column with her weight before she shifts back to continue running. She repeats this with every column they pass. A magical siren starts blaring, and stone walls start coming down from the ceiling to seal off their way forward.)

 

Voice: Penumbra Mesh Interceptor Mk. XVII manual startup initiated. Defenses will be active in three minutes.

 

Shit! The doors are all coming down simultaneously! We've got about ten seconds to get to the end of this hallway before we're trapped in it! Good news is there's no way Iago or Arete are going to be able to catch up at this speed, but...

 

...If we don't do something about the PMI...

 

(Jakob and Dakota manage to roll under the hallway's final wall and pull Azura through on her stomach before it closes to arrive in a large central chamber with a dozen doors to other areas and a large column in the center. The Fujin Yumi allows ??? to also slip through the gap with ease just as it and all of the other ways out of the room close, but Dakota manages to blindside him with a fierce punch to the face, causing him to stagger backwards. Dakota readies her sword, but ??? blocks using the Fujin Yumi like an energy hacksaw. The two of them clash “blades” for several seconds until Dakota manages to kick him in the leg, knock him to the ground, and bodyslam him with her dragon form to pin him to the ground.)

 

Dakota: AZURA! SING! NOW!

 

Azura: ♪ You are the ocean's gray waves, destined to seek life beyond the shore just out of reach... Yet the waters ever change... ♪

 

(??? launches Dakota off of him and flying across the room, where she slams into the pillar and slides to the floor, transforming back in a daze, and Jakob runs after her. ??? laughs as Azura backs away, terrified, against the wall.)

 

???: I'm afraid that little headache remedy of yours isn't going to work on me. Arete's magic may be unpredictable, but it is... quite potent.

 

(??? Turns to Dakota)

 

???: I thought you might have come. Not that it was remotely intelligent of you, but when I heard that the canyon entrance guards had been taken out I didn't know who else it could have been. I don't know how you managed to avoid getting ambushed by the guards...

 

(??? Eyes Azura's necklace)

 

???: ...Though I have my suspicions... but at any rate...

 

Voice: Two minutes left until manual startup.

 

???: (Twirls an amulet around his finger) ...I'll know the truth soon enough. And so much more.

 

(??? Aims the Fujin Yumi at Azura's head)

 

???: But you know what? Something tells me there's not a whole lot going on in there worth probing, Azura. I've known you for over a decade, and in all that time, apart from your little song and dance? I've never once seen you do one thing that was even slightly not boring. ...Yes. Perhaps I should save myself some-

 

(A dragon fang shot whizzes a foot away from ???'s head and splashes against the wall. ??? turns to see Dakota's arm turning back to normal from firing it, a death glare on her face.)

 

Dakota: I am dangerously not boring, Mother. Turn your back on me at your own peril.

 

(??? Raises an eyebrow)

 

???: Goodness, were you trying to hit me just then? I've never seen such incompetent aim in my life.

 

Dakota: Better than how you were using dragonvision back there. That had to have been your first time. I'm guessing your normal body wasn't born with it.

 

???: Regrettably, yes. Of course, neither was Sumeragi. Pity. Perhaps he could have saved himself and you if he had only seen the tiny little girl sleeping inside one of Yukimura's little mechanical boys. But I'm a fast learner, Dakota.

 

Dakota: (Readies a fist at the column) Then you'll know the structural significance of this pillar. Along with the others I destroyed.

 

(???'s face lights up with surprise and amusement, and he starts walking towards Dakota)

 

???: (Laughing) Oh my gods! You're actually trying to bring the castle down on us!

 

Dakota: (Sarcastically) Oh heavens no! This Vallan décor is just an affront to my eyes!

 

Voice: One minute left until manual startup.

 

Dakota: Thank you, strange voice, but I won't need that long. One more punch is all it will take.

 

???: And what exactly do you think that will accomplish? Do you think that would kill me?

 

Dakota: Oh I would be sorely disappointed if that were the case. But you used this place to possess Takumi. If you had a better magical lab anywhere, you would've used it for something that important. I destroy this, I destroy your whole operation and your chances of making a substitute soul for me.

 

???: Perhaps. At the cost of your own life. But perhaps I have other options. Perhaps Iago and Arete already managed to get that bizarre creature out of here. Perhaps you'll be giving your life and the life of your friends for nothing. So here's the big, important question, my... sweet child... are you willing to throw your life away on a “perhaps”?

 

Voice: Fifteen seconds.

 

Dakota: Pfft. That's a stupid question.

 

???: (Eyes narrowing) I suppose you have a better question?

 

Voice: Ten seconds.

 

Dakota: Oh I have the best question! “Where in all the gods' names did Azura scamper off to?”.

 

(??? suddenly looks around the room. Azura is nowhere to be seen. He scans the room to see that all of the doors are still blocked off, but then notices the puddle on the floor from where Dakota tried to shoot ???, and it's shimmering slightly with fading traces of magical light. ??? Turns back to Dakota and Jakob, and Dakota dragon lances her left middle finger at him before dragon-lance-punching the column to pieces with her right hand. ??? Looks at Jakob.)

 

(Stop music)

 

 

???: ...

 

 

???: YOU ARROGANT UPSTART SERPENTINE PIECE OF SH-

 

(Dakota switches the guard stance to have Jakob in front, and he warps them both out of the castle to where Azura is waiting by a lake outside. The castle rapidly crumbles in the distance. Dakota dismisses Jakob back to New Lilith.)

 

Dakota: Perfect, Azura! Now hurry up and make another portal. We've done all we can do here for now.

 

We're leaving, War Journal.

 

It's time so start seriously recruiting allies.

 

Real allies.

 

No more of these bond units, it'll be way too dangerous if any more of them get into the wrong hands. For all I know, they may still have Rhoda.

 

I've slowed them down for now, but they still very much have the upper hand.

 

(Azura sinks into the lake, and Dakota moves to follow)

 

First thing tomorrow morning, we head to Hoshido.

 

 

Edited May 17, 2017 by Alastor15243

[Ignominious Defeat]

Amazing work! You're doing a great job building up the tension here!

[Prince Cavvy]

I'm... 90% certain the Galen with Astra is in fact mine. I *always* have Astra, after all. Were it not for the fact that the avatar is forced to have a set personal skill, I daresay it'd be mine.

[Alastor15243]

I'm... 90% certain the Galen with Astra is in fact mine. I *always* have Astra, after all. Were it not for the fact that the avatar is forced to have a set personal skill, I daresay it'd be mine.

Yeah, sorry about that, the orb menu doesn't actually tell you which bond unit specifically belongs to who, it just lists the name of the bond unit and the name of the person without showing their profiles, which is annoying with duplicate named bond units or when they come from somebody who just uses the name "Corrin".

[Prince Cavvy]

Yeah, sorry about that, the orb menu doesn't actually tell you which bond unit specifically belongs to who, it just lists the name of the bond unit and the name of the person without showing their profiles, which is annoying with duplicate named bond units or when they come from somebody who just uses the name "Corrin".

On a side note, I literally just noticed all of them have the same facial marking. In fact, two of them look near-identical aside from their face!

[Sodium Hydroxide]

(edit: double posted like an idiot)

Edited October 31, 2016 by Sodium Hydroxide

[Sodium Hydroxide]

I've been following this since early in book 2, but it's taken me this long to formulate a response to your work. Each new entry has left me pleasantly speechless, and I always look forward to them. I especially liked the trick you pulled with Jakob and Warp, that almost had me screaming "EAT THAT ONE, SUCKER!" like a madman.

Also, some one-line summaries of the Birthright and Conquest timelines that may help those who haven't read them understand what's going on:
​Birthright - "Be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it."

Conquest - "It's a trap!"

[Guardian]

Great work as always Alastor! Really loving how you incorporated Anna so far.

[sirmola]

On a side note, I literally just noticed all of them have the same facial marking. In fact, two of them look near-identical aside from their face!

Yeah, all bond units have that marking AFIK, and no corins can have it.

[Alastor15243]

Ah man, I hate it when you have a great idea that existing canon I just kinda went along with without thinking renders impossible.

I hate how I went off the rails just barely too late to throw out the Avatar and their entire army's beyond-Batmanian ability to 100% reliably non-lethally incapacitate soldiers while using clearly lethal weapons. If I had caught on and jumped ship just a few chapters earlier then it could've resulted in this awesome and hilarious challenge run where, both because it's the right thing to do and so that the conspiracy's spin doctors don't get any further ammunition, Dakota and company would have to fight all of the mooks in chapter 8 with carp streamers and raddishes and bread.

It would have been great!

But alas, since I've established Dakota has that ridiculous skill, I can't.

Damn it.

Edited November 4, 2016 by Alastor15243