Fire Emblem Fates Beta Fan-Fiction Discussion: Working Titles

[Blue Sun]

Oh damn, you are correct, that makes no sense at all. Cameos perhaps? Or just to invoke the sense of scale of the war (which is somewhat immediately dropped afterwards). I know that, based on datamining, IS tried to make the whole scene reminiscent of the Battle of Sekigahara, which was large. Guess they wanted to insert characters instead of generics.

No, there is no explanation about the Astral Realm at all. Instead of just having the kids in the My Castle, where they could be safe since no outside force can interfere and the parents periodically return there anyway, they drop them into some weird realms. I suggest just going with MyCastle if you plan to have it anyway. I think both of the Astral Realm and My Castle are ridiculous, but you can at least limit it to one.

Since all the four 4 (perhaps 5) amiibo characters aren't really the characters and just manifestations of them in a vessel, they are somewhat seen as legendary characters, heroic spirits whose tales have traveled through the Outrealms. With the dark magic Nohr drabbles in, they could come up with a way to manifest these powerful warriors for use in the war. Whether the warriors comply or not, depends on how the story goes. One short I wrote for fun was for the Nohr path, where Lazward, Luna and Odin assisted Kamui and Leon in summoning Robin, whim the latters have only heard as the "Supreme Grandmaster" and sought to summon him for increased military assets. The trio I enviosioned, were on a mission to find a way to get Robin (which was my reason why they were in the Fates world) and somewhat used Kamui and Leon. The whole scene worked like the

, where a catalyst is needed to summon the character itself. In my (very rough) short, Severa was the daugther of Robin (though Inigo or Owain could very well be his son) and carried a momento of his (as a placeholder, it was the Book of Thoron, though I would like something more personal connected the father and child), which served as a catalyst.

My money's on the "invoking the sensation of the scale of the war". That's pretty interesting to see that they based that on a real war, and it's surprising that aside of the generics that Ganz and Yukimura bring in there are none otherwise.

My Castle it is then, though I'm probably not going to want to call it "My Castle" in the stories. That doesn't sound too…I don't know what the word is.

I actually kind of wanted to split the amiibo characters between Byakuya and Nohr. Maybe Byakuya would get Marth and Ike while Nohr would get Lucina and Robin (considering you know who are aligned with Nohr). Byakuya could achieve some form of a summoning ritual different than how the Nohrians do it. Roy would probably be present only in the second story. The reasons as to why the trio are in Nohr are different than your short but the summoning method you described doesn't sound bad at all.

[Blue Sun]

Hey everyone. I wanted to reserve this post for an update on the story but I have something a little important to discuss. My college classes have now started and I'm going to be quite busy often. I also hit a bit of a creative block when redoing the retainer battles, I've only gotten Saizou and Kagerou v.s. Pieri and Lazward done. I've also discovered that a little something called Fire Emblem If Text Simulator was made...you can guess how that went ^^; (I LOVE it). I promise that I'll get the retainer battle done before Friday though, and the story shall be officially published before another week is up. And when that happens, this topic will be closed down, but another one will be opened up when that happens (this topic is for before the story gets released, once it gets released I'll start my "Blue Sun Story Station" topic which will retain the same overall functions that this thread has). I know that this isn't much but hope that it's something for those who are worried. I'm still working on the stories so don't worry, but progress might be slowed because of college among other things, so keep that in mind. If there's anything anybody wants to ask me feel free to come and talk to me; strike up a conversation or whatever you feel is best.

[Taka-kun]

I am just post here and say that you got my support. My college classes are starting soon as well but I believe I have time enough to maintain a lookout on this, especially since I have contributed a few things. :)

You should post your new topic in the Written Works thread, since now you have moved beyond the stages of beta and moved into a full-fledged fic. Best of luck to you.

[Luankachu]

I am just post here and say that you got my support. My college classes are starting soon as well but I believe I have time enough to maintain a lookout on this, especially since I have contributed a few things. :)

You should post your new topic in the Written Works thread, since now you have moved beyond the stages of beta and moved into a full-fledged fic. Best of luck to you.

Hey everyone. I wanted to reserve this post for an update on the story but I have something a little important to discuss. My college classes have now started and I'm going to be quite busy often. I also hit a bit of a creative block when redoing the retainer battles, I've only gotten Saizou and Kagerou v.s. Pieri and Lazward done. I've also discovered that a little something called Fire Emblem If Text Simulator was made...you can guess how that went ^^; (I LOVE it). I promise that I'll get the retainer battle done before Friday though, and the story shall be officially published before another week is up. And when that happens, this topic will be closed down, but another one will be opened up when that happens (this topic is for before the story gets released, once it gets released I'll start my "Blue Sun Story Station" topic which will retain the same overall functions that this thread has). I know that this isn't much but hope that it's something for those who are worried. I'm still working on the stories so don't worry, but progress might be slowed because of college among other things, so keep that in mind. If there's anything anybody wants to ask me feel free to come and talk to me; strike up a conversation or whatever you feel is best.

Good luck with your classes, both of you. I'll be looking forward to when the chapter is officially released.

[Blue Sun]

UPDATE!! The retainer battles have been finished, and now it's time to move on to bigger fish to fry: the battle between the royal siblings of Hoshido and Nohr which is the conclusion of Chapter 0 (the battle includes Kamui V.S. Corrin as well) and after the royal sibling battle the story will be officially published. Before I get to that, here is the retainer battle I finally finished up (there were some changes made with my original ideas and the feedback I got from Taka-kun):

“For Hoshido’s peace‼”

“For Nohr’s glory‼”

Further south in the plains was the rest of the army battling with one another. The general army was handling the other standard army, while prominent figures of both Hoshido and Nohr were engaged with each other. Two such figures had just gotten through disposing their enemies: a Nohrian cavalier and a Nohrian mercenary.

“Yay! Pieri wins!” the cotton-candy haired cavalier shouted in joy. “Pieri’s kill count go up thanks to Lazward!”

“I know,” the mercenary said, searching his fallen enemy for anything of use. “Remember, the dance’s effects only last a full minute just like your unique ability.”

“Pieri knows, so let’s go!”

“In a second Pieri; I just gotta get these things hooked right…” Lazward’s partner turned to him with a confused look on her face and saw him attaching the fallen samurai’s weaponry to him, more specifically three different katanas.

“What those for?”

“They’re for helping us deal with other troops. Nothing like using the enemy’s own weaponry against them eh?” After he got the three weapons attached properly the mercenary was about to hop onto his partner’s horse and give her the signal to take off, but two figures out of the corner of his eye caught his attention; an injured red-haired ninja and a yellow-garbed female ninja were trudging by unnoticed by anyone else, and the female ninja was helping carry her partner on her shoulder.

“They ninjas Lazward?” Pieri asked in a whisper readying her weapons.

“Yeah, they are,” Lazward answered. “That man is Saizou and his partner is Kagerou – Prince Ryouma’s retainers – to be specific. Lord Xander probably won’t approve of attacking fleeing parties like this, but two less Hoshidan royal retainers are two less problems to worry about.” The mercenary’s hand inched close to the flying dagger strapped to his back, slowly unsheathing it little by little and preparing to throw the katana at the injured ninja. As fate would have it though, Saizou spotted the mercenary and pulled out one of his explosive darts in a flash. Though he flung one at Lazward as fast as he could he failed to hit him. Lazward wasn’t as unfortunate in striking his opponent, hitting the ninja dead in his shoulder and rendering that arm. Pieri tried blasting Saizou with her levin sword but Kagerou deflected the magic lightning bolt. Now realizing that they had been spotted the two Hoshidans decided that there was no other option but to fight back.

“Exactly what we needed to deal with…” Saizou snarled, “More Nohrian troops.”

“Easy Saizou,” Kagerou said to her partner. “You’re in little condition to fight efficiently, and I don’t want you getting killed out here.” Proving her point Saizou clutched his impaled shoulder in extreme pain and attempted to remove the katana until it disappeared. It returned to Lazward and Kagerou inspected her partner’s wounds to see why it hurt as bad as it did; his blood contained traces of snake venom in it, and with a fierce glare Kagerou and Saizou turned their eyes to Lazward.

“You’re a ninja?” Saizou growled. “Another reason to have you dead.”

“Don’t get the wrong idea sir,” Lazward said. “I do not hail from Hoshido like other ninjas; I simply learned the trade from an individual during my visit from a long time ago.”

“It matters not who you learned ninjutsu from or why; you know the techniques of a ninja and that makes you a larger threat to Hoshido; you must be eliminated.”

“No you don’t!” Pieri called out. “Pieri kill bad ninjas so they no kill Lazward!” Ignoring Lazward’s warnings about the explosive dart’s side effects Pieri raised her levin sword to strike the weakened Saizou with a lightning bolt once again, but Saizou was quicker on the draw and flung an explosive dart at her, messing up her attack long enough for the boosts she received earlier to dissipate completely; it was enough for Saizou to narrowly dodge the lightning bolt afterward. He wasn’t fortunate enough to be able dodge a second attack from Lazward, but much to his luck Kagerou caught the flying dagger between her vambrace blades and tossed it aside before it reached him.

“Saizou, get behind me,” Kagerou ordered.

“You need me to-”

“I want you to stay safe; Hoshido and Lord Ryouma need you alive. Now do it.” Saizou didn’t like being ordered around by anyone except for Ryouma but he understood Kagerou’s reasoning and complied.

“Touching,” Lazward commented, “but wouldn’t you be as valuable as Saizou to Hoshido and Ryouma? If they lose you then Saizou’s liable to perish out here as well.”

“Are you suggesting that I abandon my ally?”

“Not at all miss, but do keep in mind that we’re here to conquer you. You can stay and fight or you can flee. We’ll give chase of course, but if you manage to escape us then lucky you.”

“I’m not so foolish to believe that I can escape you immediately; I’ll remain here and fight you both if only to wear you down.”

“Well then, you’re certainly welcome to try.” Lazward regretted his words almost immediately as Kagerou closed the distance and slashed the moderately weakened Pieri harshly with a silver shuriken. In a half-enraged half-panicked state the cavalier switched to her little lance and charged at Kagerou full speed, but her attack was parried by Saizou. Lazward saw an opportunity to attack once more but this time he used the reverse katana that he took and tried to run Kagerou through with it. Saizou saw this attack coming as well and defended his partner from it in time. The two Nohrian quickly backed off of the ninjas afterward.

“Urgh, Pieri no feel good…” the cavalier whined feeling the nauseous snake venom burn inside her.

“Those were pretty powerful shuriken that they used,” Lazward stated. “Why don’t you stay back for a little bit? I’m more experienced with dealing with ninjas anyhow.”

“S-Sure, Pieri feel sick now…”

“That evened the odds Nohrians,” Kagerou said. “Perhaps now we have an opportunity to win.”

“Oh-ho, do you now?” Lazward asked smugly. “I’ve practiced my combat against stealthy foes such as yourselves before thanks to my ninja training. And besides, we Nohrians know much about your army already, so it’s only a matter of time until we eventually prevail over you.”

“You can ‘study’ us all you want; without real training against an experienced Hoshidan trooper you have no guaranteed victory.”

“You want to test that theory my lady? Alright, let’s have at it then.” Lazward readied his reverse katana and began to approach the Hoshidan with as much skill and speed as he demonstrated earlier, and Kagerou braced herself for the attack. Meanwhile, another group of a Hoshidan and Nohrian pair squared off with each other, and the Hoshidans were on the offensive.

“Get out of our lands invaders!” a female samurai shouted as she rushed at a red-haired mercenary wreathed in a light blue wind blowing about her. She failed to hit her enemy but her pegasus warrior partner didn’t, blindsiding her with his golden naginata and quickly retreating out of her range before she could strike back. The mercenary kept her cool and lunged at the samurai with her sharp sword, though she failed to hit her enemy by a large margin; her wyvern rider partner moved in to slash the samurai with her killer axe but she too missed to land a hit on the Hoshidan right before the blue-wind aura disappeared from the Hoshidan. “Now Tsubaki!”

“Already on it Kazahana,” the pegasus warrior said, readying his lance as a blue-and-green wind aura surrounded him. His pegasus swooped toward the mercenary and despite her efforts to dodge him she was caught by a strike from his gold naginata once again, nearly choking with how close to her lung he hit her. Before she could try to get away from Tsubaki he struck her again in her left arm, grazing it when she had turned to evade. The wyvern rider moved in to protect her partner from Kazahana’s attack, but she was a tricky fighter, going around the wyvern rider to slash the reeling mercenary successfully with her rather pretty katana before backing off as fast as she could. The mercenary was patient and collected however, and the moment she saw an opportunity she threw out a swift slash at Tsubaki, successfully managing to get a hit on him. The glimmers of light that painted his body disappeared and he quickly moved to avoid getting hit by the wyvern rider.

‘What the hell?’ the mercenary cursed to herself. ‘Tsubaki’s not supposed to be this fast. He’s the least agile and mobile pegasus warrior in Hoshido’s army. What’s going on? No, focus Luna, don’t pay attention to how fast he is right now. Just clear your mind and focus your energies for a bit.’

“Didn’t you hear me?” Kazahana yelled out to the mercenary and wyvern rider. “You’re not welcome in our homelands! Leave or die!” Both Nohrians remained silent and Luna tried to stand as still as possible while the Hoshidans watched her closely to see what she would do next. In an instant, a few of the injuries she had sustained had gone away, and she felt more ready to attack the Kazahana and Tsubaki. In her surprise at what the Nohrian had done, Kazahana was not prepared for when the wyvern rider snuck an attack on her; the wyvern rider had gone up into the air when the Hoshidans were distracted with Luna’s stillness, and her killer axe came down silent and deadly on Kazahana, slicing her torso partially open and shredding some of her attire. Tsubaki barely registered what had happened once he heard Kazahana’s gasping scream and in a hurry he rushed to his partner’s aid but Luna got to her first, seizing the opening her partner created and landed a similar jump slash on the samurai, knocking her down to the ground.

“No! Kazahana!” Tsubaki yelled trying to save the woman from Luna’s next attack, but when Luna raised her sword to finish the Kazahana off something strange happened; Luna felt something very sharp thrust itself into her midsection as she was about to impale Kazahana, who miraculously survived, and she found that the samurai’s katana was jammed into her.

“I’m not telling you this again…” Kazahana growled. “Leave. Or die!” With a vicious yank she ripped her blade out from Luna tearing some flesh and bone out of Luna and sending her reeling. It didn’t last long and despite her wound Luna tried to finish off Kazahana again. Kazahana evaded the fatal swing even as she clutched her torso tight, and Luna’s partner barely missed the samurai. By then Tsubaki had reached Kazahana and swooped her off of the ground with ease. Once she was out of attacking range right behind him, Tsubaki prepared for the second attack wave from Luna and her partner while he tried to escape.

“Oh no you don’t…” Luna breathed out in a hoarse voice, climbing onto her partner’s mount. “Think you can catch them before they get away Berka?” The wyvern rider gave a short nod and signaled for her mount to give chase. Tsubaki already had a head start in retreating to a medic but he found that Berka and Luna were catching up to him and fast. The Nohrians were slightly heavier on the wyvern but his pegasus was not particularly good with handling multiple passengers. Tsubaki wondered how he could get the pursuing pair off of his tail until he remembered his shinrai naginata. He took the weapon out and tried firing off a lightning bolt with it, failing to hit Berka and Luna while Berka took out a tomahawk to throw. The large axe only missed Tsubaki by a hair and he knew that he had to play smart to get rid of the Nohrians. Not too soon an idea formed itself, and he turned to give Kazahana a warning.

“Listen, I’m going to try and lose these two but I need you to hold on to me as tight as you can alright?” Kazahana nodded her head in understanding and held the man in a vice-grip; once Tsubaki knew that Kazahana was holding on tight enough to not fall off he had his pegasus perform a quick shuttle loop while Berka was as close as she could get behind him. Kazahana did her best not to scream out in terror as she had to endure going upside down with a torn body.

“What the-? Where did they-” Luna realized what Tsubaki was doing in short notice, but she remembered too late. Berka snapped her head about to see where the man and his mount had gone only to take an electrified slash to her ribs from Tsubaki’s shinrai naginata. Staggering a little Berka tried switching her weapons to counterattack but Tsubaki was too fast to allow for it and struck her again while heading the opposite direction, this time managing to hit the wyvern as well and causing the Nohrian trio to drop to the ground.

“Yes! It worked!” Tsubaki cheered. With the three safe for the moment Tsubaki’s pegasus kicked her speed up a notch and made a beeline toward the area where the two vassals last saw Sakura. “Hang on Kazahana, I’ll get us back to Lady Sakura in no time and she’ll fix you up good as new.” His only response was a shuddering gasp but he knew that Kazahana had faith in him to fly them to safety. ‘It’s a good thing I took those tonics before we left, otherwise I may not have been able to pull off some of those things I did. I wish I took an elixir or two so we don’t have to find a healer, but we’ll be able to manage without any I suppose.’ Meanwhile, Luna and Berka were patching themselves up after Tsubaki’s surprise he had for them.

“Damn that pegasus warrior,” Luna cursed. “It’s not like they call him a genius for nothing, but still.” Luna wrapped a bandage around Berka’s midsection where she was stabbed after giving her the last of her own vulnerary. In little time afterward Berka was able to at least stand properly again and Luna – who had her own medical sash around her – helped walk her partner back on top of her treated wyvern, climbing on after Berka was seated firmly on her mount.

“Thanks…” Berka said in a low tone which hadn’t gone unnoticed.

“You’re most certainly welcome girlfriend,” Luna said with a smile. “Now let’s go find a medic before we do anything else. These bandages work well but they’re not as good as getting your body fixed up, and I don’t want to risk running into another Tsubaki.” Berka nodded and signaled her wyvern to take off, just letting the dragon remove them from the battlefield at his own pace. The manner they were leaving caught the eye of an eyepatched Nohrian outlaw for a brief moment.

“Hm? Is that Luna and Berka?” he asked while he and his partner trekked through the woods. “Looks like they took in more than what they could swallow. They’d best be careful for these bowmen.”

“Fear not Zero,” his yellow garbed dark mage partner told him, “for we Nohrians have received the blessings of Anankos to overcome our enemies. Soon the Hoshidan army shall bear witness to the vast strength passed down through the Nohrian peoples for generations.”

“…You need to stop reading those fantasy novels Odin.”

“What? I’ve never even-” Something out of the corner of his eye caught Zero’s attention; a Hoshidan archer was taking aim at the two of them from behind some trees. Cutting off Odin’s rambling Zero grabbed and yanked the dark mage to the ground, making the arrow whizz past the pair. In retaliation Zero pulled out a bow and nocked it at his sadist bow, letting an arrow fly in the direction of the archer. The projectile missed as expected, with the archer taking cover behind a tree. Odin took out his black tome in an effort to draw the archer out from hiding, casting the spell behind the tree rather than in front of it; his plan worked, as the archer immediately leapt from the tree to find another hiding point.

“Not today Hoshidan trooper!” Odin called out, running up to the archer and casting a spell on her before she could ready another arrow. Zero was not too far behind Odin when he let loose another arrow, striking his target dead on. The archer thought that the arrow was going to kill her but she somehow survived the fatal blow; she soon found out why she wasn’t killed as she was tripped to the ground while one of the Nohrians held her down as she struggled.

“Let…me…go!” she yelled as she tried to break free.

“Can’t have you poking holes into our army now can we, Miss Setsuna?” Zero said as he pulled out a chain to bind her with. “Hinoka will simply have to make do without you.” As Odin kept Setsuna pinned down Zero was just about to cuff her arms together behind her back, but as soon as her touched her the archer magically vanished into thin air. Confused, the two Nohrians looked around to find her but she was gone. “Damn it…how could she just slip away from us so easily?”

“It looked like someone took her with a Vanished Disaster baton. My guess was that it was Asama, her partner.”

“Oh for crying out loud…come Odin. We can’t let her and her ‘mystery’ savior is escape us.”

“It’s never long for the darkness to catch up to the light you know.” The two Nohrians began stalking around the woods to spot the disappeared archer, unaware that she was no longer on ground level, sitting in a tree with her monk partner who was feeding her with his a dango baton.

“Thank you Asama,” Setsuna said softly as she munched on her food, healing her damage.

“You’re most welcome Setsuna,” Asama replied. “Those Nohrians sure are a handful aren’t they?”

“Yes.”

“We’re going to need a new strategy to deal with those two. Hmmmm…I know, why not put that ninja training of yours to use and chase after them? After you attack, I’ll pull you back to me using vanished disaster; that way we can lead them around wrong turns and defeat them by wearing them out little by little. I’ll be nearby but not close enough for them to hit me, otherwise this plan has a good chance of failing. Oh, and try to focus on which one you hit and where you’ll hit next okay?”

“Alright.” With that Setsuna and Asama moved to catch up to the Nohrians who went on ahead in search of the “missing” archer, making as little noise as they could.

“Setsuna’s a rather large bother you know that right?” Zero said to Odin.

“I know,” Odin replied. “She’s got ninja training just like Lazward.”

“Exactly. That alone makes her more difficult to deal with because she’s also an archer; she’s not likely to engage you nearby because of her weapon type’s weakness, so she’s practiced how to fight efficiently from a good distance away and out of sight. And she’s tied with Suzukaze as the fastest person alive; if she were a ninja instead of a archer then we’d have even more problems against her. If we catch her though, just like we did earlier, she’ll stand little chance against us. So let’s keep an eye out for her.”

“Heh, you said ‘eye’.”

“Yes, yes, I get it. I’m one-eyed. Asama is also not to be overlooked; for a magical unit he’s the least efficient at using powerful spells and batons but he’s on the physically sturdy side, Anankos forbid that he promoted already.” Setsuna had already found the pair, and nocking an arrow at a rather loose bow she took aim. As shaky as the bow was making her aim she held fast that she would land a hit and let the projectile fly toward Zero. The arrow whizzed toward him so fast he couldn’t hear it coming, thus he took the arrow in the back of his left knee cap. Taken by complete surprise, Zero yanked the bow out of him and switched his weapon to a shining bow in haste, firing a magical arrow in the direction that Setsuna attacked him from; he failed to hit her. Recovering from his shock, Odin tried scanning their surroundings to listen for the archer and readied his spell. Setsuna noticed this and fired another arrow, deliberately aiming for the ground two trees away from where she hid. Odin fell for the trick and cast his spell behind the tree where he thought Setsuna would be, only to find no one jump out from behind it this time. In surprise, Odin then tried helping Zero to his feet while the man tried to fight through the pain of the snake venom burning in him.

“Are you alright Zero?” Odin asked in a normal tone of voice for once.

“I’ve been through worse than this, so yeah, I’m just peachy. Setsuna won’t be once I find her though.”

“She had best pray to whatever Gods she believes in.” By then Setsuna leapt to the next three trees over and took aim at Odin, letting her arrow fly straight into the dark mage’s tome arm. This time her aim wasn’t as good so she only grazed his arm, and he quickly retaliated by firing his spell in her direction. Setsuna hurried over to the next tree to avoid getting hit but that was when she made her mistake; in her haste she was loud about moving to another spot and Zero’s lone eye caught a glimpse of her through the tree leaves.

“Got’cha…” Zero said with a wicked smile forming on his face. A devilish wind gusted around him and he prepared another arrow while waiting until the archer was comfortable in her new vantage point. He shot the magic projectile at her with no warning, aiming for her leg as she did him. Setsuna barely registered that a projectile was actually headed her way and took the arrow in her knee, causing her to slip and nearly fall from her spot.

“Uh-oh,” Asama said, pouring magic energy into his Vanished Disaster baton and cast it at Setsuna, whisking her away before Odin could pay her back for scraping his arm. With his partner out of harm’s way he got to work in “healing” her with a dango baton once more. Again Setsuna devoured the treat and felt some of her strength returning to her. But they didn’t have much time to give courtesies as Zero and Odin closed in on the spot they hid in.

“Setsuna and Asama, sitting in a tree…” Zero said humorously.

“K-I-S-S-I-N-G,” Odin said finishing the joke, though he earned an unamused glance from his partner. “What? You were setting up the joke.”

“I wasn’t actually going to finish it, just letting the gravity of their situation sink into them. So, are we done with hide and seek?” There was no reply from the two Hoshidans who tried to sneak away as quietly as they could, believing that they hadn’t been spotted yet. “You know, I heard you when you cast that Vanished Disaster baton this time and we just had to come on over. As much playing around you have been doing, playtime’s over I’m afraid.” With the two found out they attempted getting away but the Nohrians weren’t having any of that; to keep the mind games out of play he decided to target Asama with a silver bow he had on him, nailing him in the back as the monk turned to escape and knocking him out of the trees onto the ground. As Zero expected, Setsuna immediately jumped down to assist the fallen monk, and Odin was just about to conjure his spell once more. Before he could attack a very sudden blast of lightning from above struck Zero beside him making him jump in surprise. Some of Zero’s attire was burnt off of him and the outlaw began to feel faint from the sheer power of the attack. Odin wondered where the lightning bolt came from but he refocused his efforts and intended on finishing Asama off with a charged blast from his black tome, not hearing Zero trying to warn him.

“By the power invested within me by the Great Anankos, I hereby banish you to the shadow realm of death!” Performing a backflip and crossing his arms Odin unleashed his charged spell at the monk.

“You fool!”

“What? I’m finishing him off!” Odin looked to where Asama was and saw that his spell struck him as he intended; it knocked Asama back down after Setsuna helped him to his feet. Enraged, Setsuna pulled out another bow and tried to attack the Nohrians, but another lightning bolt striking Odin down made her change her mind, and with both of the Nohrians in poor condition she hurried to get Asama and get out of the area.

“We’re leaving…” Setsuna said, lifting Asama so that he was on her shoulder, and the pair ran to get away from Odin and Zero. While the Nohrian outlaw was not content with his prey escaping he did not want to risk the two of them getting killed despite the fight effectively being rendered two to one. Instead he went over to Odin and yanked him up so that he could stand.

“I tried to warn you,” Zero said. “Asama has a defense mechanism that counterattacks foes while he’s defenseless. He is also known for surviving lethal attacks as with all monks and priestesses.”

“Then how come you attacked him?” Odin asked.

“I thought that I would kill him with one blow,” Zero said. “Apparently I was far from doing that, and I paid for it.”

“So, we’re just letting them go?”

“Yes, we are. It won’t happen again the next time we see them I assure you. And I’m not going to risk getting us both killed out here like this. If we kept fighting we’d both end up dead because there was at least one decently-in-shape fighter on their team compared to an entire team of almost-dying people.”

“…As much as every fiber in my being screams against retreating and letting the enemy retreat, I guess I’ll take your word for it. Mark my words Hoshidans, for we shall meet again. The darkness always catches up to the light, and when it does, night shall prevail.” Not wanting to get into another altercation with the Hoshidans the two troops made their way out of the woods through a different route than the one Setsuna and Asama took. Back in the plains the war raged on with various emotions running high between the troops of Hoshido and Nohr. One such trooper from Hoshido’s side was a woman wearing an orange colored lancer kimono, and she moved as though she was possessed by a demon of fury, cutting down and through every Nohrian trooper she came upon. A mercenary attempted to jump slash her but she dodged the attack via circle strafing, immediately countering by impaling him with her coated naginata. She pulled her weapon out from him only to finish him off with a dual-slash combo, swinging her weapon upward and then back down, decapitating the mercenary. As soon as the Nohrian dropped dead she could feel her arms grow a little heavier from using her coated naginata, and it was then that her partner – a samurai dressed in purple – had caught up to her feeling somewhat winded.

Part one of this post because the battles are too long to be contained in one post.

[Blue Sun]

This is part two of my post, though not actually part two of the retainer battle. Here's the story:

“Oboro?” the samurai said out of breath, “Do you think you can…slow down for a bit? I know that you want these guys gone and I do too but—”

“Lord Takumi said grant no enemy any quarter here,” Oboro said cutting her partner off. “If you can’t handle it then stay off of the battlefield Hinata.”

“It’s less of me not being able to handle it and more of me worrying that you’re pushing yourself too much.”

“I know that we’re partners but you should worry about yourself. I’m doing just fine.” To prove her point to the samurai she switched her weapon out to a reverse naginata and charged straight at a fighter with a dashing stab, quickly backing off of the fighter in time to dodge his counterattack. Oboro followed up her attack with a jump slash, taking the fighter’s head off with one clean stroke from her naginata. Hinata tried not to cringe while Oboro looked at him. “They're not holding back any so you shouldn’t either, otherwise you’re liable to get killed out here.”

“I know that it’s just…never mind.” Changing the subject Hinata engaged a knight with his fierce-blade, dealing a lot of damage to the knight thanks to taking the initiative and shedding some of the Nohrian’s armor. Seeing an opening Oboro quickly dashed in to strike the knight’s newly exposed area. The knight staggered for a little and steeled himself to attack, though his low speed and injuries held him back from actually dealing a blow on the fast samurai. Hinata could feel his arms grow heavy from use of his weapon, meaning he would not be at full strength for another two minutes. Oboro had one more minute until she did, and while the Hoshidans caught their breaths for a moment their opponent decided to take a swig of an elixir he had on him, waiting until the right time to use it. When Hinata and Oboro saw this they immediately kicked themselves into gear to finish the knight off for good, but the goal was postponed when a cavalier came into the picture, using a silver lance to give Hinata the worst surprise attack. With the knight back at full strength he used his own silver lance pay the Hoshidan back for making him so vulnerable, missing Hinata’s heart but scraping some of his ribs. As the knight moved to gain some distance away from his attackers Hinata in a fit of desperation lashed out at the knight’s exposed area, hitting the knight as half as hard as the knight did him. While the Nohrian reeled from the attack Hinata turned his attention to the cavalier, striking him and his horse with one swing with a fierce jump-slash and dodging the counterattack. Oboro was not too far behind in attacking the cavalier, slashing upward at mount and rider; while she didn’t evade his counterattack she did manage to strike him down for good with a good stab to his heart through his armor.

“One down,” Oboro growled, “and one more to go.” The knight decided to attack Hinata instead, being familiar with the special effects of his weapon. Hinata still evaded his slower opponent and even in his further weakened state he delivered one last blow that sealed the Nohrian’s fate, putting all of his remaining strength into the thrust to obliterate the front of his forehead and brain. The knight dropped dead twitching and Oboro walked up to him patting him on the back. “Nice one Hinata.”

“Hah…it wasn’t easy with these drops in strength and skill…”

“Still, it’s nice to see that you aren’t going soft on them.”

“I…um, thanks.”

“Don’t mention it. Now hurry up and take your breather break, ‘cause we still have some crackers to break up.”

“Goddamn racists!” a Nohrian grunts voice yelled in rage. Hinata and Oboro turned to see another cavalier suddenly break toward them with silver lance. Hinata and Oboro prepared themselves for the trooper’s attack, but the attack never came because a sky blue arrow of condensed wind tinged with green barreled straight toward the Nohrian, striking him with enough force to knock him off of his horse and dissipating after carving a hole in his chest. He landed hard with a thud, and the second he tried getting back up a lightning bolt from above forced him back down in a convulsing mass, ending him. The two Hoshidans recognized those two projectiles and turned to their saviors: the Hoshidan royal family had caught up to them.

“Lord Takumi!” Hinata and Oboro said in joy meeting his confident grin.

“You’re all here!” Hinata exclaimed in surprise. “I thought that you were battling Prince Xander Lord Ryouma.”

“I was, but Hinoka got me out of there before the other Nohrian royals could ambush me.”

“Tch, typical,” Oboro snorted. “So, what brings you all here?”

“We’re here to help you with clean-up day,” Takumi said. “Now that the whole family is here we’re ready to kick these crackers' arses!”

“Language Takumi!” Hinoka reprimanded.

“Why? I—” He was going to argue that they were all adults there until he remembered that little Sakura was there with them. “…Oops…Don’t do what I do Sakura. Keep being the innocent little sister that you are okay?”

“Um, okay,” Sakura said somewhat confused and flustered.

“No racism or swearing in front of Sakura okay?” Hinoka said. “I know that these Nohrians are very much detestable, but that doesn’t make what you’re doing any more okay. Sakura will pick up on those if you do it too often, and you’re not old enough to be swearing anyhow.”

“Oh my gods,” Takumi said in annoyance of being reminded that he’s not an adult. “Whatever sis.”

“Don’t you ‘whatever sis’ me, baby brother.”

“I—you—can you not call me–”

“Guys!” Sakura shouted, stopping Hinoka’s and Takumi’s argument from escalating. “We have a battle to win, and you’re embarrassing yourselves and the rest of us.”

“Pffft, they’re not embarrassing me,” Hinata quipped. “That’s on them.”

“Quiet soldier,” Takumi said in a flat but serious tone that he knew Hinata feared.

“Eeeep, y-yessir.”

“Lady Sakura!” Tsubaki’s voice came from the skies, his pegasus trying as hard as he could to make a smooth landing with the two wounded on his back. As soon as he touched down his rider carefully slid off of him and had his arms wrapped around the near-unconscious Kazahana. “Kazahana needs to get healed immediately, she’s dying!” As Tsubaki cautiously hoisted his partner off of his mount and carried her everybody crowded around the two of them, with Sakura inspecting her best friend’s condition to see the severity of her wound. Everyone’s heart caught in their throats when they saw her torso torn open, and Kazahana was desperately clutching it closed to keep from having her insides spill out. Sakura kept herself from crying seeing Kazahana in agony and hastily pulled out a winter festival baton; the flashing images of snowflakes and o-fuda spun swiftly around the trio of Sakura, Tsubaki, and Kazahana, and the injured samurai was illuminated in a translucent blue glow. Little by little her torso closed up in the likeness of being sewn back together, and matching the pace her body was being healed Kazahana’s features found themselves relaxing. When he opening had been completely closed Kazahana looked as tranquil as can be, and her eyes slowly opened themselves after being clamped shut for a long time. Sakura’s smiling face was painted with tears rolling down her cheeks, and she hurriedly hugged the healed woman as relief and worry flooded out from the girl.

“K-Kazahana…” Sakura cried softly, “Thank Kami that you made it through…I was scared that you wouldn’t make it…”

“It’s all thanks to you of course,” Kazahana said slowly returning the hug with a smile. “I live for you milady, if nothing else. I’d never allow myself to die so long as you have need of me. Oh, and thanks to Tsubaki and his pegasus for getting us out of there. I would have died out there if they weren’t so capable.”

“We strive for excellence Kazahana,” Tsubaki quipped. “Naturally, we’d be in fair condition to be of service to our kingdom.” Right then Tsubaki felt a stinging feeling in his arm, almost dropping Kazahana even though she could stand properly. He almost forgot about the one wound Luna inflicted on him, and Hinoka walked up to him with her vulnerary.

“Here,” she said. “This ought to heal your arm.”

“More like his polearm,” Hinata said. “Get it?” Everyone had got the joke, but only Kamui and Sakura laughed at it, finding it genuinely funny. Everyone else either gave him an annoyed look or a flat stare. Hinata chuckled nervously to himself attempting to lighten the mood once more. “Come on guys, it’s funny! It’s okay to laugh!”

“You’re not funny,” Oboro plainly stated, making Hinata groan in annoyance.

“You guys are no fun.”

“Oh, no, we’re totally fun,” Takumi said. “It’s just that your sense of humor stinks, just like something else I know of yours.”

“Hey!” That was something that everyone laughed at, all but Kamui and Sakura.

“Isn’t that a little mean to say brother?” Sakura asked.

“Yes, but it’s funny because it’s completely true.” Hinata groaned even louder, causing everyone else to laugh even louder except for—again—Kamui and Sakura.

“I think it’s about time that we go search for the others,” Ryouma said. “That way when we’re all together as a cohesive unit nothing Nohr can throw our way will deter us.”

“That may actually serve to weaken our army as a whole. With all of us together we’re very much susceptible to a trap that the Nohrians may have set for us, making us all pay the price. It would also make attacking our enemies a little more difficult given the decreased amount of space to fight with and………Actually, that might not be such a bad idea after all. Let’s go fetch the rest of our gang then, and hopefully they’re not dead already.”

Theme – Fool E1

On the other side of the Hoshidans’ side were two individuals trudging along the empty back plains, worn from whatever long trip they endured; it was a blonde Nohrian man decked out in red, white, and blue attire and a silver haired woman clad in pink and gold armor. While the woman’s appearance looked pristine aside of messy hair and a tired expression, the man looked as though he fell into a swamp. Together the two walked and managed to catch up to the rest of their comrades to pitch in and defeat Hoshido’s army.

“Haahh…haahh…Here we stand…ready to make new history…for today…is the day…that Nohr shall triumph over Hoshido, and we, the great keepers of justice, shall succeed in this mission!” the blonde man proclaimed as grand as he could despite looking much of a fool to everyone else. “Sir Arthur Pendragon, and Lady Effie Tarth, loyal vassals of Lady Elise Plantagenet, are here to bring Nohr glory and victory!” The man stood proud with a wide grin and hands on his hips akin to a superhero, and his partner attempted to get into the spirit of things and struck a pose alongside him. Their less-than-ideal appearances, namely the man’s utterly hot mess of a figure and the woman’s disheveled features contrasting her cheer, failed to inspire confidence in the other troops; it instead brought about a fit of hysterical laughter from the troops. Naturally, Elise’s two vassals stopped grinning afterward.

“Maybe we should be more direct with them…” Effie suggested.

Theme – Map C1R

“*ahem*…Alright, listen up troops!” That got them all to stop their giggle fits immediately and they stood to attention to hear their commander out. “The Hoshidan army is a force to be reckoned with, but we know that we’re more than a match for them! And for the sake of Nohr, we must win this battle! Too long have we suffered from poverty, hunger, chaos, and much more, and Hoshido denied Nohr the means to remedy these issues with no proper justification! They’ve even rejected our refugees who sought help and they’ve stolen an important person from us a long time ago when they were too young to remember it: Prince Kamui!”

“Now, are we going to stand idly while the Hoshidans continue to offend us with these grievances?!” Arthur bellowed. “Are we not the upholders of justice, or are we a bunch of cowards?!” A loud roar of “upholders of justice” rang out upon Arthur’s rousing. “We are brave men and women who fight for the greater good and punish those who would dare threaten it! I swear it by the name of the great heroes of Nohr who fought to bring us all out of despair that light shall shine down upon Nohr once more!”

“Hoshido has forced our hand to retaliate against them, and though they have done horrible things to us we are only here to conquer their land to rebuild Nohr. Justice will come to them in due time, but this battle is nothing more than bringing us one step closer to rebuilding our home and reclaiming the young prince who was stolen. With this in mind, we must succeed! For Nohr!” The two vassals of Elise raised their weapons high with a war cry, instilling the same emotions they felt into their troops, and they marched ahead of the troops to lead them into the battle.

“Hoshidan troops are headed straight toward us! Give them everything you’ve got troops! Charge!” Never had there been any mightier roars than that of Arthur’s and Effie’s platoon, and never had the Hoshidans crashed against any other foe with such force. The Nohrians threw such unrestrained fury at the Hoshidans that one would assume that they had all been possessed. In a sense the notion was true; each Nohrian were entranced by a powerful conviction of justice and victory. The area was decorated with the sounds of blades and magic clashing against each other, composing an orchestra of war.

“Taste my righteous wrath man of Hoshido!” Arthur shouted as he leapt high into the air and delivered a most devastating swing upon a ninja with his manly axe, displacing the man’s armor entirely and felling him in one attack. A samurai was rushing toward Arthur and prepared a swift overhead slash to avenge his fallen comrade, but he failed to hit the infamously unlucky fighter. The Nohrian fighter of justice quickly punished the samurai for whiffing the attack, destroying the light armor hugging the trooper’s chest with a single swing. Effie dashed out from beside Arthur and promptly drove her big lance through the Hoshidan’s chest, impaling his heart out through his back and leaving the samurai to collapse in a heap.

“Think you need some extra help?” Effie asked.

“Any extra help is always good help.” Arthur said grinning. “So, which stance shall we adopt? Dual Strike or Dual Guard?”

“Dual Guard. You’ll be the axe and I’ll be the shield.”

“The usual strategy I see. Not that I’m averse to it; we’re rather good partners in this formation.” Effie put her weapon into a sheath on her shield and held her shield to her front as she and Arthur moved like one force. A spellcaster attempted to ambush Arthur with the Rabbit God – Fourth Earthly Branch spell, but Effie halted the ethereal rabbit’s tracks with her shield, causing the animal to break into specks of light upon making contact. Arthur flashed Effie a large smile before they both ran up to the spellcaster. Arthur took a vertical slash at the spellcaster who attempted to block the attack, using the o-fuda as a makeshift shield. He paid for his mistake with his spell arm, and he immediately paid with his life when Arthur lopped his head off. Immediately afterward though, Arthur took a surprise arrow to his unarmored arm from an archer, doing nothing to weaken the man’s blow when he came for him, trying in vain to draw an arrow on his yumi as the Nohrian man closed in. While he did manage to fire the arrow he hit a piece of armor on Arthur’s person doing no harm, and he shut his eyes tight as Arthur dealt the fatal blow to him, flying as his enemy uppercutted him with his weapon. As Arthur and Effie worked together to take down more and more enemies, the Nohrian army found the number of their enemies was dwindling gradually due to the two vassals’ efforts.

“Whew, Hoshido’s army is quite vast,” Effie said with a slightly weary sigh. “Size isn’t everything though; they’ll need more than this to dent our ranks.”

“Not that we would wish for more for that to happen,” Arthur said. “I’d rather this conflict be buried between us with as little casualties on both sides.”

“As do I, but we must take care to not let our feelings get carried away…and as soon as we find a healer we’ll get that arm of yours treated.”

“Already working on it!” A familiar voice said. The two Nohrians turned around and found the royal family standing right behind them with the other vassals assembled. Elise had a heal staff on her and pooled some of her latent magic into it, releasing it as a pulse of light that bathed Arthur in it. The fighter’s arm wound disappeared in record time and it felt like it was never there at all.

“Many thanks my fair lady,” Arthur said giving a polite bow to the young princess “The entire royal family has assembled I see, though I don’t see Sirs Gunter and Jakob or Ladies Felicia and Flora anywhere.”

“Gunter and Flora are with the rest of the army up ahead, Jakob’s on his way right now, and Felicia is…” Elise trailed off not wanting to break the news to her vassals but Leo spoke up for her.

“Felicia was exiled from Nohr not too long ago,” Leo said, “and our spies have reported that the royal family of Hoshido has taken her in.” Arthur and Effie did not hear the news about Felicia earlier, nor did the other vassals, and the looks on their faces was nothing short of pure shock. “She currently serves our brother Kamui. Fitting isn’t it for a Nohrian prince to be attended to by a Nohrian vassal even while in Hoshidan custody.”

“Kamui has grounds to return to Nohr,” Xander said, “but Felicia is unfortunately prohibited from returning to us as a legal citizen. She must either be captured as a prisoner or somehow smuggled back in without father knowing.”

“How did she get exiled?” Effie asked, “and how long ago was it?”

“Father deemed her too much of a liability and a threat to Corrin after the battle at the Infinite Chasm crossing. Apparently it was bad enough for Felicia to be chased out of Nohr.”

“Oh goodness, how terrible…”

“Flora and Clear were present when it occurred,” Camilla said. “No doubt the incident wounded them greatly…And here we are, about to do battle with Felicia.”

“Felicia purportedly absent from the battle,” Leo stated. “She and another of Kamui’s retainers – Suzukaze – were injured in Corrin’s assassination attempt back in Hoshido and they’re possibly still recovering, just like Jakob.”

“What’s this talk about me I hear?” A man’s voice asked. Corrin was the first to turn her head and saw one of her loyal vassals – Jakob – looking as crisp and sharp as ever.

“It’s good to see you well Jakob,” Corrin greeted curtly with a nod of her head, though everyone knew how much she wanted to crush him with a hug instead. “I trust that you are aware of the current situation?”

“But of course milady. I shall do exactly as the butler does; tidying things up.” The butler flashed his own tableware to get his point across, and without batting an eye (much less turning his head) he flung the tableware behind him at a spellcaster who was in hiding, taking their head off with a lunar-powered toss. A second later the razor-sharp dish rematerialized in his hand, and though his arm felt heavy afterwards he knew he was fine. “For you, there shall be no other servant greater than I.”

“A bold declaration Jakob, but you do know that I prefer if you go out and prove it.”

“Now that we’re all here we should devise a strategy for dealing with the Hoshido royal family,” Luna said. “Does anyone have any bright ideas other than myself of course?”

“Me and my vassals shall have a rematch with Prince Ryouma and his retainers,” Xander spoke. “I may decide to bring a lance just in case my Siegfried doesn’t work out against his Thunder God Sword. Lazward, keep to the weapons that you acquired from the Hoshidans and battle Kagerou. Pieri, keep to the levin sword and lances you already wield and battle Saizou.”

“We ladies will seek out the eldest princess of Hoshido and her retainers,” Camilla said. “Little -Miss Hinoka won’t be much of a threat once I engage her. Luna, you will handle Setsuna; your swords beat her bows and I have this levin sword for you to use if the occasion calls for it. Berka, Asama is your target; attack him however you wish, but do be wary of when to heal yourself after his defense mechanisms activate. If possible, kill him in one stroke.”

“Me, Odin, and Zero will go for Takumi, Hinata, and Oboro respectively,” Leo said. “I’m at such an advantage against Takumi that it’s not even funny aside of him having the Wind God Bow, but that’s what I have Brynhildr for. Odin’s neutral against Hinata in the weapon triangle and Zero is at an advantage against Oboro unless she carries a reverse naginata.”

“I guess that leaves you two guys against Tsubaki and Kazahana,” Elise said to Arthur and Effie. “Let’s see what I know about fighting……Okay, I think I got it; Arthur, since your axes beat lances you’ll fight Tsubaki, and Effie, since your lances beat swords, you’ll fight Kazahana. Sounds good?”

“Basically what we planned out earlier,” Leo said. “And last but not least, there’s Kamui.”

“I’ll take care of him…” Corrin said. “He won’t last long once he feels the wyrmslayer’s bite, not to mention my own. Jakob, if Suzukaze does battle with you, show him no mercy. If Felicia does battle with you, fight her enough so that she’ll be unable to do so anymore, and once that happens we can retake her to Nohr somehow.”

“What about me your highnesses?” A rough man’s voice came. “What are my orders?”

“Ganz?” Xander asked incredulously. “But, you were reincarcerated…How…?”

“Looks like your old man still has some uses for me after all. I’ve been granted an entire battalion of troops just itching to tear up some Hoshidan hide.” The bald berserker gave each person present a ghastly look on his face that meant he was ready for a slaughterhouse. His eyes lingered on Corrin longer than the others, and he was met with a tense expression.

“Your orders are simply to do battle with the main army of Hoshido,” Corrin told him. “Take no hostages and leave no survivors, but if I ever catch you doing anything remotely similar to what you did back at the Infinite Chasm crossing…you will wish father had kept you in the dungeon.”

“And if I told you that I’m acting entirely on King Garon’s orders?”

“Then I will speak with father to confirm it, and you will be right beside me when I do.”

“Heh, as you say your highness.” Ganz looked back toward his troops and gave a thunderous command. “You heard her you lot! Kill every single Hoshidan you can find; not one of them is to be left alive!” The chatter of the troops was that of excitement among several of them, and Ganz raised his killer axe high while howling furiously in mania. “Death to all Hoshidan trash‼” Many of the troops repeated Ganz’s actions and all of them made a mad dash behind him as he charged off into the distance, leaving the royal family and their vassals exasperated.

“Father truly baffles me on occasion…” Xander groaned.

“Don’t we all feel like that nowadays?” Leo spoke in kind. “Anyways, we have a battle to take care of. Stick to the plan, and if worst-comes-to-worst be prepared to make a full-on retreat. Let’s go.” The Nohrians held their weapons in a knightly fashion and marched toward the other side of the plains’ died up river to wrap up the conflict.

That's it for the retainer battle. It's been an entire week since I said I would have this done already but oh well, at least I'm almost there now. For some reason the spoiler brackets are not actually hiding anything and nothing I did helped, but I'll have that fixed up later...I'm also takin​g an English 101 class in college (I've actually been in college for a bit but they SOMEHOW tested me for the wrong English and I had to wait for the assessment tests to start back up again), so I'll be practicing some things I learn in that class in writing this story (and the other stories). Last thing: I got rid of a lot of Japanese terminology mostly to make it easier on the reader and myself. All characters still retain their original naming themes however. That's all for now; I've been depriving myself of sleep for too long, and I'm ready to call it a day to refocus myself. I'll see you guys tomorrow for sure when I have no classes. Peace!

Edited August 28, 2015 by Blue Sun

[Taka-kun]

Nice to see you up and running. The following comments are live as I read through your draft:

-Shouldn't Lazwald be throwing a kunai at Saizou than a dagger, since we know kunai are (despite its name) originated in Nohr and have poison effects?

-I am actully glad you decided to revert to just normal titles, instead of dual ones, since it makes the text less cluttered.

-The Nohrians seem to have quite some intelligence about the Hoshidan soldiers, why is that?

-The Luna&Belka vs Kazahana&Tsubaki matchup is far better than the previous ones and you even managed to sneak in an aerial battle, I approvez.

-Unexpectedly spit out water when I read "Heh, you said 'eye'". Brb, just gonna clean the monitor.

-"Taken by complete surprise, Zero yanked the bow out of him []" It's supposed to be arrow right?

-Uh, I am not sure about the jolly atmosphere. It feels OOC for several of the characters to laugh in the middle of the battlefield, especially the commanders.

-Wut? The Nohrian family consider Kamui theirs?

-"Arthur shouted as he leapt high into the air and delivered a most devastating swing upon a ninja with his manly axe" I probably laughed harder than I should have there.

To summarize it, I think this is much better than the last time, with the battles more well-thought out with a hint of tactics and strategy behind them. I can't comment to too much on the character's personality, simply because there were so many and it was hard to pin it all down, but I think you got the most of it right, except for that "jolly" moment. You do a lot of references to the character's class sets and the weapons but don't be afraid to deviate if it aids you in the narrative. Not really much story happened really, but the battles were enjoyable on its own. Keep up with that.

Still laughing whenever I think of "manly axe" :)

[Luankachu]

This was a great battle. Aside from what Taka-kun mentioned, I'm confused about Luna's comment about Tsubaki being the "least agile and mobile pegasus warrior in Hoshido's army." Considering how Tsubaki claims to be perfect (and judging by his supports, people actually believe it), it feels odd that such and obvious flaw wouldn't be noticed.

I also love how you incorporated Arthur's MANLY Axe in this chapter already (I love this weapon's name). I was expecting the character's personal weapons to show up a bit later, but this weapon along with Saizou's Explosive-Dart and Jakob's Tableware already seemed to make an appearance.

"Corrin greeted curtly with a nod of her head, though everyone knew how much she wanted to crush him with a hug instead" ...Shipping?

Also, the last sentence: "The Nohrians held their weapons in a knightly fashion and marched toward the other side of the plains’ died up river to wrap up the conflict.". Shouldn't it be dried instead of died?

[Blue Sun]

Thanks for your comments guys! It's good to have made some more progress with this story again. Oh and before I get back to work I want to adress some of the things said here.

Nice to see you up and running. The following comments are live as I read through your draft:

-Shouldn't Lazwald be throwing a kunai at Saizou than a dagger, since we know kunai are (despite its name) originated in Nohr and have poison effects?

-I am actully glad you decided to revert to just normal titles, instead of dual ones, since it makes the text less cluttered.

-The Nohrians seem to have quite some intelligence about the Hoshidan soldiers, why is that?

-The Luna&Belka vs Kazahana&Tsubaki matchup is far better than the previous ones and you even managed to sneak in an aerial battle, I approvez.

-Unexpectedly spit out water when I read "Heh, you said 'eye'". Brb, just gonna clean the monitor.

-"Taken by complete surprise, Zero yanked the bow out of him []" It's supposed to be arrow right?

-Uh, I am not sure about the jolly atmosphere. It feels OOC for several of the characters to laugh in the middle of the battlefield, especially the commanders.

-Wut? The Nohrian family consider Kamui theirs?

-"Arthur shouted as he leapt high into the air and delivered a most devastating swing upon a ninja with his manly axe" I probably laughed harder than I should have there.

To summarize it, I think this is much better than the last time, with the battles more well-thought out with a hint of tactics and strategy behind them. I can't comment to too much on the character's personality, simply because there were so many and it was hard to pin it all down, but I think you got the most of it right, except for that "jolly" moment. You do a lot of references to the character's class sets and the weapons but don't be afraid to deviate if it aids you in the narrative. Not really much story happened really, but the battles were enjoyable on its own. Keep up with that.

Still laughing whenever I think of "manly axe" :)

• Some classes have their names changed from a Japanese name to an English one to sound a little better/more accurate (e.g. Exorcist becomes Yin-yang Master), but the weapon types and character names retain some Japanese elements; clubs and spells are different from axes and tomes so they retain those names while katanas, naginatas, shuriken, yumi, and batons retain those names due to being the same as the Nohrian counterparts but made by Hoshido, and Hoshidan characters still have their names based on the original Hepburn translations but without the macrons added in them. Nohrian characters will use their official NoA/NoE names whenever available or if unavailable they'll use their "official" NoJ names (the names used in promotional works and names found in the game's internal code).

• Lazward's using a katana that happened to be named "flying dagger" since he wouldn't be able to use daggers as those would fall under concealed weapons rather than swords (I myself have no idea what it looks like in-game but I assume it looks like a shorter-than-average katana). Thanks to Lazward having Snake Venom the flying dagger still poisons the opponent, though not to the extent that shuriken and kunai do thanks to those weapons having other types of poison in them (which are responsible for the stat decreases they deal).

• Espionage. That's the Nohrian's reason for knowing so much about Hoshido that they normally shouldn't know about. Nohrians who are not exiled can come and go as they please (unlike Felicia whose magical tag as a Nohrian was removed by Garon and after getting chased out she physically couldn't return). Hoshido on the other hand wasn't as fortunate thanks to Nohr's protective barrier keeping them out (I'll explain that a little later but at the very least thanks to Suzukaze and Rinka early on the Hoshidans found out how to get into Nohr, which is how the Hoshidan royal family only know who the Nohrian royal family is).

• The aerial battle was partially inspired by the first fight between Star Fox and Star Wolf (especially the part where Tsubaki tricked the Nohrians and lost them). Luna and Berka just went through what Wolf went through when Fox first got the jump on him.

• I hope that your monitor isn't touch screen like mine is. XD

• I did not notice that until you pointed it out to me. It's fixed now; thanks for that, my eyes and mind fail me at times. /:|

• The jolly atmosphere of the Hoshidans was meant to serve as a small break away thanks to removing a good deal of Nohrian soldiers from the plains, and while they all had a good laugh combat still comes first. This somewhat contrasts how the Nohrians are more tense. I'll elaborate on this a little later.

• In Effie's own words: "They’ve stolen an important person from us a long time ago when they were too young to remember it: Prince Kamui!" None of the Nohrians are lying per se, but the Nohrian chapters will focus around the Nohrian cast discovering the truth behind what's been going on in their country (only Garon himself knows the truth). Garon kidnapping Corrin from Mikoto is still canon for starters…

• I'd be crazy not to let Arthur use his own axe. It was too good to pass up. XD

I'm glad that you consider it an improvement. I now have an English class (somehow I got tested for the wrong one and had to wait to retake an assessment test to even get in an English class, go figure) and I'll be using some of the things I learn in the class to keep watch of my writing with whatever I write from here on out. It's actually a little difficult for me to get a solid grasp on the characters due to some of the translations being a bit sketchy and right now I'm kind of working with the bare basics that I read up on. I want to achieve a feel of the character close to their canon interpretation but just like with the story I want to try to breathe some new life into them; it should not deviate too much from their canon portrayal, rather creating another facet to them that may compliment their personality. This is similar to Corrin and Kamui already having stark differences from each other which is different and similar to the Avatar from Fates proper. Don't worry though, you won't find things like Camilla suddenly becoming a nerd or Leo falling in love with a tomato for example. Leo may like tomatoes more than most other people like their own favorite foods, but any changes to a character should not be extreme and distance them from their canon personality aside of Corrin. Since this is Chapter 0 some characters will have skills and abilities they won't immediately have once Chapter 1 of the Hoshidan and Nohrian sides take place (I'm debating if Corrin should be a Nohr Blood to go with the theme of one promoted person in the Hoshidan siblings and one unpromoted person in the Nohrian siblings). Another change that will be made to this story is that all characters will wield a weapon named after them either at one point or throughout the whole plot, and just like their personal skills the weapon will be tied to them. Their inventory will still be five items at a time, but the named weapons will be a permanently used "sixth slot". Regalia weapons will function this way as well. The story will pick up more after this chapter, though Chapter 0 was sort of meant to be a "battle chapter" before the plot begins to really take off. Thanks for your thoughts man. And save some of that laughter for some of the later chapters alright XD?

This was a great battle. Aside from what Taka-kun mentioned, I'm confused about Luna's comment about Tsubaki being the "least agile and mobile pegasus warrior in Hoshido's army." Considering how Tsubaki claims to be perfect (and judging by his supports, people actually believe it), it feels odd that such and obvious flaw wouldn't be noticed.

I also love how you incorporated Arthur's MANLY Axe in this chapter already (I love this weapon's name). I was expecting the character's personal weapons to show up a bit later, but this weapon along with Saizou's Explosive-Dart and Jakob's Tableware already seemed to make an appearance.

"Corrin greeted curtly with a nod of her head, though everyone knew how much she wanted to crush him with a hug instead" ...Shipping?

Also, the last sentence: "The Nohrians held their weapons in a knightly fashion and marched toward the other side of the plains’ died up river to wrap up the conflict.". Shouldn't it be dried instead of died?

• He's a perfectionist for sure and I'm pretty sure that in-game statistics don't really flow well with what other characters speak of each other. At the very least, Tsubaki's simply that good at what he does and doesn't let his weaknesses compromise his work. He'd have earned his "perfect" image through his deeds themselves. People tend to ignore some flaws when the good things about you are just that good you know.

• Every character with a weapon named after them wielded it in the battle; if someone has a weapon named after them and it doesn't make an appearance, they either can't wield it in their current class (like Ryouma's Practice Club and Takumi's Bamboo Blade), haven't used it yet (Xander's Guiding Lance, Camilla's Sexy Axe), it's not too useful for the battle at the moment (Sakura's Small Baton and Asama's Twisted Baton though they have those batons on them), or the person the weapon is named after hasn't made an appearance yet.

• Depends. I want all of the second generation characters to appear so I have to look at the support options carefully to see who will hook up with who. At the very least though, Corrin likes Jakob very much and was worried about him after the battle in Hoshido's capital.

• Again, thanks for catching that error. It's been fixed now.

Once I complete this chapter I will either post the entire thing up on this forum one last time or private message it to you guys so just in case you caught anything I missed then that will be taken care of. This forum will be transferred over to a new one however it can (since the story will no longer be beta), and the story will be published. I'm almost done with it so you shouldn't have much longer to wait. Again, thanks for your thoughts on the vassal battle guys :). If there's anything else you want to know about, feel free to let me know.

Edited August 29, 2015 by Blue Sun

[Taka-kun]

• Espionage. That's the Nohrian's reason for knowing so much about Hoshido that they normally shouldn't know about. Nohrians who are not exiled can come and go as they please (unlike Felicia whose magical tag as a Nohrian was removed by Garon and after getting chased out she physically couldn't return). Hoshido on the other hand wasn't as fortunate thanks to Nohr's protective barrier keeping them out (I'll explain that a little later but at the very least thanks to Suzukaze and Rinka early on the Hoshidans found out how to get into Nohr, which is how the Hoshidan royal family only know who the Nohrian royal family is).

This part: Isn't Hoshido supposed to have the protective barrier? Belka/Saizou supports mention that both sides have been sending agents towards each other for years. And well, espionage was the main role for real ninjas (but of course, assassinations Assassin's Creed style is the most awesome), so it feels weird why the Nohrians have so much dirt on the Hoshidans and not the reverse.

[Blue Sun]

This part: Isn't Hoshido supposed to have the protective barrier? Belka/Saizou supports mention that both sides have been sending agents towards each other for years. And well, espionage was the main role for real ninjas (but of course, assassinations Assassin's Creed style is the most awesome), so it feels weird why the Nohrians have so much dirt on the Hoshidans and not the reverse.

I didn't get to those two's supports yet. That's all I can say about that. The Hoshidans are not without some form of intelligence about Nohr, though it's more limited. In the stories (not the games) Suzukaze and Rinka were the first outsiders to successfully get through Nohr's barrier and they gathered intelligence about the royal family and little information about much else (and got captured in the process no less). Nohr had it a little easier with the spying having done it earlier than Hoshido and succeeded earlier (a non-cast member did so). Hoshido's magical barrier was mostly meant to keep the Faceless out as far as I know, and I'm not sure if they explain why Nohr has theirs (probably to keep out Hoshidan trash).

[Taka-kun]

I didn't get to those two's supports yet. That's all I can say about that. The Hoshidans are not without some form of intelligence about Nohr, though it's more limited. In the stories (not the games) Suzukaze and Rinka were the first outsiders to successfully get through Nohr's barrier and they gathered intelligence about the royal family and little information about much else (and got captured in the process no less). Nohr had it a little easier with the spying having done it earlier than Hoshido and succeeded earlier (a non-cast member did so). Hoshido's magical barrier was mostly meant to keep the Faceless out as far as I know, and I'm not sure if they explain why Nohr has theirs (probably to keep out Hoshidan trash).

I have never heard that Nohr has a magical barrier, but Hoshido has a barrier to keep "hostile intentions" out, meaning that sending Nohrian soldiers would be ineffective since they would lose all desire to conquer Hoshido. Instead, Nohr (at least according to Ryouma) sent Faceless, conjured from their magic, who lacks emotions and can thereby pass the barrier, while still being destructive. This is all mentioned in chapter 4.

[Blue Sun]

I have never heard that Nohr has a magical barrier, but Hoshido has a barrier to keep "hostile intentions" out, meaning that sending Nohrian soldiers would be ineffective since they would lose all desire to conquer Hoshido. Instead, Nohr (at least according to Ryouma) sent Faceless, conjured from their magic, who lacks emotions and can thereby pass the barrier, while still being destructive. This is all mentioned in chapter 4.

Day 1 of Fire Emblem Fates's demonstration in the Nintendo Treehouse has Camilla mentioning that the fortress that Corrin lived in had a magical barrier. That's probably where I got the idea that Nohr had a barrier around it as well. And a little tidbit I just heard about the Faceless, according to himynameismaurice, Faceless can work as your My Castle servants. I'm not sure what they can do exactly, but that could mean that Faceless can at least serve other purposes aside of combat.

[Taka-kun]

Day 1 of Fire Emblem Fates's demonstration in the Nintendo Treehouse has Camilla mentioning that the fortress that Corrin lived in had a magical barrier. That's probably where I got the idea that Nohr had a barrier around it as well. And a little tidbit I just heard about the Faceless, according to himynameismaurice, Faceless can work as your My Castle servants. I'm not sure what they can do exactly, but that could mean that Faceless can at least serve other purposes aside of combat.

Oh yeah, now I remember. It felt like just a handwave for me, to explain why the Hoshidans never managed to find Corrin.

Faceless as servants? Wut? Maybe they are the reason the maids and butlers are armed and trained...

[Blue Sun]

Oh yeah, now I remember. It felt like just a handwave for me, to explain why the Hoshidans never managed to find Corrin.

Faceless as servants? Wut? Maybe they are the reason the maids and butlers are armed and trained...

I've never read that part in any of the translations, but I still remembered that clear enough. I felt that it was better if the Hoshidans were just kept out of Nohr until the miraculous breakthrough (and break-in, badum-tsshhh).

Chances are it's as weird as you'd think. And I wouldn't put that theory far behind. Hell, they're probably secret servants kept away from public eyes that do anything. And I bet that it was all Garon's idea. :p

To not keep you all waiting as long as last time I'll start posting each sibling battle here when they're done. It'll be just the siblings fighting each other (with the slight exception of a small Jakob V.S. Suzukaze and Felicia). I'm almost done with Takumi V.S. Leo right now.

[Blue Sun]

Teaser for the finale, brought to you by Fire Emblem If Text Simulator:

Here's the finale up to Takumi V.S. Leo. Hinoka V.S. Camilla is up next:

Theme – Map E2R

Minutes later the Hoshidan side of the war was still faring decently against some of the Nohrian army, though they knew that they needed to pull out a game-changing move and fast. The royal family had cleared the plains of more Nohrian soldiers and were pushing back against the invasion as hard as they could while gradually advancing to the dried up river through a forest. Their army’s tactician – Yukimura – had finally arrived to join the fray and aside of the reinforcements he brought with him he brought along two other figures who were very much needed in the battle.

“Suzukaze! Felicia!” Kamui exclaimed. “You guys pulled through!”

“Thank the Divine Dragon above for a speedy recovery,” Suzukaze said. “With everyone else out here doing everything they can to halt the invasion I simply couldn’t sit this battle out.”

“I’m better off battling out here than staying behind to do some chores,” Felicia added. “And…I wanted to help pay you all and the queen back for letting me stay with you. I may be fighting against my former allies and my family, but, I won’t sit around while innocent people are in danger. And I know that Nohr needs help badly but what they’re doing isn’t right.”

“Huh? Nohr needs help?” Ryouma asked. “What for?” With that everyone’s eyes turned to the Nohrian-turned-Hoshidan maid. Felicia shifted nervously from having so many people staring at her, not helping was that she was a Nohrian in Hoshidan territory. Despite not wanting to really answer the question she knew wiser, and she took in a deep breath to explain what she knew.

“Nohr is…well, to make a long story short we’re running out of resources fast. Not enough goods can be produced at the same rate that they go away, and some of the stuff we have are hand-me-downs from previous generations, like my dress. At least two dozen others wore it before me, and that was before it shrunk to where most others couldn’t wear it anymore. Even the royal family all wear armor and clothes that someone else wore except for King Garon.”

“So let me get this straight: you Nohrians—excuse me, I mean, these Nohrians attacked us because they need resources badly?” Takumi asked. “If that was the case then why didn’t they just up and ask us for them in the first place instead of this? We’d have given them enough to get them back on their own feet.”

“I…I really don’t know that myself. The royal family mentioned something about ‘getting even’ with Hoshido, but I don’t know what that means.”

“‘Getting even’ with us? What did we ever do to them?”

“I wouldn’t know that either. Honest. You don’t seem like bad people so maybe there was just some misunderstanding.”

“Tch, if anything we’re getting even with them for these attacks, but I’ll talk about that later if we live through this…*sigh*…Anyways…is there anything you wanted to report to us Sir Yukimura?”

“Not much Lord Takumi. These reinforcement troops are the only capable ones I could gather back at the capital, and while they need some improvement here and there they’re efficient enough to assist us in this battle. Are there any specific orders you would wish for us to carry out?”

“Um, not really,” Kamui said. “You can head over to where the main army is fighting and keep a close eye on the troops. We’ll be there soon after we deal with the royal family if they’re not already headed that way. Or if you want, you can stick with us. We don’t really mind either way.”

“A nice suggestion Lord Kamui. Does anybody else have something else they wish to say?”

“I don’t,” Ryouma said.

“Nor do I,” Hinoka said.

“Do whichever you feel is the best course of action,” Takumi said. “You are our tactician after all.”

“Very well then. I believe that you are all capable enough without my help, so I will head to where the rest of our troops are and assist them against these invaders.”

“May the Divine Dragon’s protection be with you Sir Yukimura,” Sakura said to the man.

“May she also extend her protection to you all as well. Be strong everyone.” The puppeteer gave the royals a salute and with a tug of his wrist he kicked his puppet mount into gear. The mechanical beast carried its rider off into the distance, and the Hoshidan royal family decided to have one last recap before they went to face their enemies.

“Okay, so let’s see if everyone knows what we’ll be doing,” Takumi said. “Ryouma, you first.”

“Alright then. Me and my vassals will try to get a rematch with Xander and his retainers. If he decides to bring a lance then I’ll use this reverse katana on him. Saizou and Kagerou will take on his Lazward and Pieri. Focus on Lazward more first and let Saizou take the lead. When you’re down to just Pieri, let Kagerou take the lead. If you manage to take Xander’s retainers down before I take him down then feel free to assist me.”

“Roger,” Saizou said.

“Aye-aye,” Kagerou said.

“Good,” Takumi congratulated. “Hinoka, you’re next.”

“I shall take Asama and Setsuna with me to deal with Leo’s group. I'll stick to this guard naginata until Leo’s weakened enough for me to finish him off. His defense is higher than his resistance so I’ll use this shinrai naginata to seal the deal. Asama, either pair up with Setsuna and provide support for her or hang back far enough from the battle but close enough to help.”

“As you command Lady Hinoka,” the monk said.

“Setsuna, focus on taking Zero out first and take him out immediately before he gets the chance to restrain you. Next, you will move on to Odin. You told me that Odin speaks of some hidden power of his that he has yet to unleash, so take special caution with him. Stick with physical yumi throughout your battles.”

“As you command Lady Hinoka,” the archer spoke.

“Cool, so that’s two of us who know what to do,” Takumi said smiling. “I myself will go for Camilla. She’s not much of a threat with all of the yumi I’m packing against her. I’ve got my trusty Wind God Bow, though I may want to use either the mirror yumi in case she uses anything magic- based against me or either the reverse yumi or magicslayer yumi just to screw her over if she uses a tome against me. Hinata’s clearly going to go against Berka due to his swiftness over her and his weapon advantage. Take a short sword, a flying dagger, and an axeslayer katana with you, and try sticking to the axeslayer katana when facing her.”

“Aye-aye Lord Takumi!” Hinata said with a salute.

“Oboro will go against Luna. Your naginatas trump her swords, and we have one of the best weapons for dealing with sword wielders: swordslayer naginatas. Keep to that weapon since there should be no need for you to really switch, but if you want to, take a silver naginata, a guard naginata, and a shinrai naginata if you need to.”

“Your wish is my command Lord Takumi,” Oboro spoke in a sweet tone before shifting into a fierce expression on the fly. “I’ll teach those Nohrians to regret ever crossing us…”

“O-kay…that’s…quite the enthusiasm you got there Oboro. Er, keep it up.”

“Whatever this lord commands, his faithful servant shall fulfill.” Oboro finished her statement with an eerie giggle that sent chills up Takumi’s spine.

‘Yikes. There she goes again…better keep a close eye on her…’ “A-Anyways, back to strategizing…Sakura, you should hang back for a bit and let Tsubaki and Kazahana do the fighting. Help them if possible, but stay out of enemy range if you can.”

“Okay…” Sakura said. “Um, Tsubaki and Kazahana, you should fight Elise’s retainers Arthur and Effie.”

“You got it Lady Sakura!” Kazahana said. “I’ll take on Effie with a reverse katana; she may be strong but her strength is useless against someone who she’ll never be able to hit, like me!”

“In that case I’ll take on Arthur with a reverse naginata,” Tsubaki said. “Using a reverse weapon against a single weapon type user like him, coupled with his rather atrocious luck, he should have a hard time hitting or evading me. I may want to bring other weapons with me though, maybe a guard naginata and a shinrai naginata.”

“Looks like you two understand what to do,” Takumi said. “And last but not least, we have you Kamui. So, what’s your plan?”

“I’m going straight for Corrin. I’ll try using either a short sword or a flying dagger against her for an early ranged advantage. I’ll use my dragonstone only if necessary and probably as a last resort. Suzukaze, Felicia, when I engage Corrin up close, chip at her with your weapons from a safe distance. I’ll keep her occupied while you guys wear her down. When she’s too tired to fight that’s when we’ll get her back.”

“As you wish Lord Kamui,” Suzukaze said with a bow.

“Wait, we're capturing Corrin?” Felicia asked in confusion.

“Yes,” Kamui answered. “She’s my twin sister who was kidnapped from our late mother long ago.”

“Wh-What? You…you mean that?”

“Of course.”

“I…But I thought that…” Felicia was clearly confused by this revelation and she had trouble believing the man, but he went on with his explanation.

“King Garon of Nohr kidnapped Corrin from our mother, and he would have kidnapped me too had my father not been there to stop him. I'm assuming that you know Corrin judging from your reactions.”

“Yes, I do. She was my mistress back when I still lived in Nohr. She was a little cold at times, but she was always a kind person who really cared about her family and the people. I was old enough when I first saw Garon show her off to the rest of her siblings.”

“The royal family of Nohr you mean?” Ryouma asked.

“Yes. They were so happy to know that they had another sister and adored her, but then Garon said she had to live by herself in the Northern Tower to help her grow into a knight worthy of Nohr. That’s when he assigned me, my sister Flora, Jakob, and Gunter to raise her. He also had—”

“No offense Felicia, but I think you should save the rest of that story for another time,” Takumi interrupted. “We’re in the middle of something more important that.”

“Oh, sorry Lord Takumi.”

“It’s no biggie. Now, everybody has an idea of how we’re going to handle this battle right?” There were no sounds made aside of the usual cricket chirping. “I’ll take that as a yes. With that in mind now we have a solid plan against the Nohrian royals. They’re most likely still on the other side of the river so we’ve got a ways to go. We’ll split up and take each one on separately but we need to be close by just in case something doesn’t go according to plan. And if things get really hairy we might need to pull out for a little bit then dive back in when we’re ready. Everybody clear on that?” The whole group conveyed their agreement however they did, giving Takumi the green light. “Alright then, let’s kick these Nohrian invaders outta here!” The Hoshidans gave a fist pump and marched toward the river for battle, though none of them noticed that they had a secret audience. Out from behind the trees emerged their targets, already geared up for their inevitable showdown.

“How cute,” Corrin snorted. “The plebeians are capable of strategizing after all.”

“With someone like Takumi around, they’d have little problems in that department,” Leo said. “The other guy that left earlier is their actual tactician, Yukimura. Guess where Takumi gets his smarts from.”

“You mean that nerdy looking guy?” Luna asked. “Eh, I’ve known better tacticians than him.”

“Never underestimate any prestigious tactician Luna,” Lazward said. “They’re infamous for accomplishing the seemingly impossible.”

“Especially if they’re the type that fights in the forefront of the battle,” Odin said. “Those types are pretty confident that they’ll win if they’re doing that.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” Luna said. “So, when are going after them?”

“Let’s give them a minute to ease themselves,” Leo said. “They won’t expect us coming from behind since they don’t know that we already crossed over.” The Hoshidans had a comfortable pace making the Nohrians rather impatient for Leo’s signal, but he would not keep them there for long after half a minute passed. “Aaaannd………right about………now. Alright people, they’re about to cross the river. Let’s get a move on.” The Nohrians slowly made their way out of the forest and maintained a slow pace to not cause alarm so soon. Once they got closer Leo gave them the command to break into a sprint. The Hoshidans were just about to cross the river when Kamui heard the sounds of feet trotting, hooves galloping, and wings flapping rapidly in unison.

“Hm? You guys hear that?” Kamui asked. “That sounds like a lot of soldiers making speed.”

“I hear it too,” Ryouma said. “It’s getting louder.”

“And it sounds a lot like it’s coming straight for—”

“Move out the way!” Takumi said cutting Hinoka off. When everyone turned around they saw the Nohrian royal family gunning for them, catching them by surprise. They ran as fast as they could to avoid getting struck down by the incoming party and moved to the side. The Nohrians kept going into the dried river and put on their brakes so that they could face their opponents.

Theme – Crisis E1

With both parties finally in each other’s presence there were many glares to be had between the differing factions, with the atmosphere immediately tensing up.

“We meet again, Hoshidans,” Xander spoke. “I hope you haven’t forgotten that we have a score to settle with one another.”

“Damn straight we a score to settle!” Ryouma yelled. “The duel may have been ruined earlier, but you being here is a sign that you didn’t turn tail and run after all.”

“We never run from a battle unless absolutely necessary,” Camilla said. “We always get the job done.”

“That doesn’t make you any more honorable, Nohrians,” Hinoka said.

“Maybe, but we’re no less than you in any case,” Leo countered. “We’re probably more so given the circumstances between us as of late.”

“You, more honorable than us?” Takumi scoffed. “You’ve no right to claim any sort of honor you treacherous blackhearts!”

“Hey, we’re no blackhearts!” Elise shouted. “Sure, this is a thing, but I swear that we have some proper justification for this!”

“Then what is it?” Sakura asked. “What could possibly justify the horrific things you did to our people? What have they done to deserve this?!”

“You know exactly what you’ve done…” Corrin snarled at the Hoshidans with toxins laced in her voice. “I won’t waste our precious time explaining to you what you’re responsible for. We’re conquering Hoshido and we’re taking back everything you robbed our people of.”

“We have no idea what you’re talking about,” Kamui said, “but we’ll find out about that after we defeat you. The Kingdom of Hoshido will not fall to your forces!”

“Are you truly certain of that?” Xander questioned. “You have yet to fully prepare yourselves to face the wrath of Nohr’s elites. Brothers and sisters in arms…attack‼”

Theme – Map E3

At Xander’s command the Nohrians rushed at the Hoshidans from the river while the latter braced themselves for impact. The former went straight for their specified targets and began pushing them apart from each other with their attacks, singling them out. Immediately Takumi realized what they were doing and tried to fire a wind arrow at Camilla who was headed for Hinoka, but Leo brought him back to reality by casting Brynhildr at him, nearly hitting him and causing him to jump for cover.

“Not happening pal,” Leo said. “I’M your opponent today.” The dark knight prince emanated a devilish wind around him and a violet flame barely hugged the outlines of his body. Just as Takumi had perceived his kind, Leo looked like a demon out to torment him.

‘Damn, this is not good,’ Takumi thought sourly. ‘Our troops can’t break away and get to their targets. The Nohrians clearly planned a counter against each of us. I hope that they can think this one through.’

“Is that your reverse yumi over there?” Takumi was confused for a moment and looked off to the side, where his weapon had apparently dropped. The archer didn’t try to immediately retrieve it figuring that Leo had a trap waiting to spring on him. “I guess it isn’t since you don’t look like you’re in a hurry to go and grab it.” Takumi refused to answer Leo and prepared to fire an arrow from his magicslayer yumi, his feet ready to bolt toward his dropped weapon after he hit Leo. With a simple flick of his wrist the dark knight cast Brynhildr again, but he didn’t aim for Takumi; he aimed directly for the reverse yumi that Takumi was sure to use against him, destroying the weapon with the magical trees. Shocked at seeing one of his biggest saving graces gone so easily, Takumi turned to the other prince glaring daggers into him while his enemy had a smug grin on his face. “I guess it was yours after all judging by your expression. Oh well, I guess you didn’t really need it did you?”

“…I suppose not. I only need one yumi to drop your pale arse anyhow.” Takumi readied a magicslayer arrow and it became engulfed in a green wind aura. Takumi knew that Leo would try to dodge if he aimed directly at him, but he pointed his arrow toward his tome side anyways. As soon as he made it look like he would let go Leo shifted his body’s position to avoid the arrow, but Takumi outsmarted the other prince and altered his aim slightly before actually letting go of the arrow. The projectile hit the prince’s other side just as Takumi had planned.

‘ Clever dick…’ Leo thought. ‘I guess he’s no ordinary archer even though he should have little chance of actually hitting me.’ He didn’t waste any time charging Brynhildr up to cast on Takumi, but the Hoshidan archer was already geared into evade mode. Seeing this Leo held his spell back for as long enough until he spotted an opening. Looking carefully he saw that Takumi would attempt to dodge to the left, but remembering how Takumi tricked him seconds ago he tried guessing where he would go to next. Takumi had another arrow ready for him so he had to think fast; remembering the number one weakness of any bow wielder Leo signaled to his horse what they were to do next. Getting impatient, Takumi decided to attack Leo thinking him to be lost in thought, but before the arrow was sent flying Leo’s steed was closing in on him. In a hurry he fired the arrow but it missed Leo and the dark knight cast his spell, though in a much different manner than he had previously. The spell was used on his free arm, coating it in wood and leaves to shape what looked like a spear, and Leo stabbed Takumi with the natural weapon in his bow arm.

“ Gahhh‼” Takumi screamed out, almost dropping his weapon. Leo switched his weapons from Brynhildr to a levin sword immediately, though he didn’t immediately attack Takumi again. With the levin sword in Leo’s hands, the violet flames around him slowly dissipated until it vanished completely; this would hinder Leo to some degree but he didn’t mind the loss much. Knowing that he had no true advantage against his enemy anymore, Takumi switched his magicslayer yumi with his Wind God Bow, feeling a little more at ease with his trusted weapon in his hands again.

“Oh, so now you want to use your hollowed treasure against me. Oh well, not that it’ll do you much of any good. I may be wielding a magic weapon but that magicslayer yumi only effectively works on spells and tomes.”

I don’t care; I’ll just switch back the moment you pull your tomes out on me.”

“And if I don’t?”

“Then I’ll just keep using this against you. Plain and simple.

“Fair enough, but I possess the acumen of a bowbreaker, meaning that I’m granted faster reaction times against those who wield bows against me whenever I attack them or when they attack me. Though you caught me once, I promise you that it won’t happen again.”

“Really now? Well then, let’s put that guess to a test shall we?” Attempting to prove his point Takumi tugged on his Wind God Bow’s string and conjured a wind arrow from it. Leo’s eyes could track the archer’s movements nearly twice as fast as if time slowed down and can act accordingly, but Takumi was already very quick on the draw. He tried dodging the archer but he was too late, taking another direct hit in the chest. To strike back Leo raised his levin sword and fired a lightning bolt at Takumi before the archer had a chance to dodge, but the lightning bolt missed very slightly. Takumi did not let up on his assault either, quickly drawing another arrow from his bow and letting it fly at its target, striking the dark knight once again. After the second arrow hit him, Leo noticed that he felt more frail than usual; he then remembered that Takumi once trained as a lancer, which meant that he could lower another’s defenses. Taking that into account Leo switched to Brynhildr to dispel his evasion decrease from his levin sword. The moment he did so Takumi was preparing to switch to his magicslayer yumi but Leo was having none of it.

“Oh no you don’t.” Leo cast his spell at the Hoshidan while he was occupied and managed to land a hit on the archer, impaling him with five sharp roots. However, one of the roots had hit anything vital inside of Takumi, and even in his injured state Takumi was able to fire another wind arrow at Leo. It missed due to Takumi’s aim being messed up from Leo’s attack and due to Leo able to evade him properly. And while he couldn’t see it from where he stood, his magicslayer yumi was ruined from Brynhildr’s attack, so the only weapon he was left with was his Wind God Bow. “There. That ought to remove any advantages you may have had against me.”

“That won’t net you a victory Nohrian cracker.” Immediately after Takumi spoke the roots that were still inside him grew thorns, impaling him even more before they ripped themselves out of him. He shot a glare at Leo who was giving him an intense scowl himself.

“I’d like if you didn’t spit out racist remarks at me.”

“Yeah, well to Hell with what you like. You’re pure scum, and I’m going to treat you like it.” The only response Takumi got afterward was an exasperated sigh.

“…Oh well, there goes your last chance of experiencing a merciful death. Hope you’ve written a will somewhere.”

“My will is for all of you Nohrian crackers to burn…”

Edited September 3, 2015 by Blue Sun

[Taka-kun]

Man, didn't know that some sprites would make everything so much more immersive. Though I imagine it must be a real hassle to make it.

[Blue Sun]

It really does doesn't it? The only real hassle is connecting Kamui's dialogue after Corrin's because you can't have two different Avatars (like a male and female Avatar or just different looking Avatars of the same sex) talking at the same time. I used Microsoft Paint to put the pictures together for when Corrin switches over to Kamui. Also, the Xander and Leo are using their official English names in the story but trying to make their names display as such in the simulator would make things look weird so I left them alone .

Edited September 4, 2015 by Blue Sun

[Taka-kun]

Just some comments about your prototype chapter:

- The dialogue in the beginning is too long, especially when it comes to the part were they start strategizing. It would have been better if you interspersed some non-dialogues inbetween them, as personally, just reading dialogue after dialogue makes me lose interest in the content of it if there is nothing inserted which might be relevant. The part with Felicia was good, since it gave us some background about Nohr, but else the exact details of the individual battle plans were unnecessary. I suggest incorporating into the actual fights instead, like Takumi in his thoughts mentioning that he was going to fight Camilla but ended up intercepted by Leon. All but Kamui and Sakura have battle experience so they should just be entrusted with their task unless they work together.

- You are explaining too much in regards with the stats as well. I know you have a more light-hearted atmosphere but I find it difficult to believe that Tsubaki, a veteran fighter, would rely on the opponent's unluckiness in his tactics. Again, have it play a role in the actual battle, don't just talk about it.

- I know you are going for gameplay replication but my mind just boggles when the characters just switch around with the weapons as if all possess a hammerbag, I am a nitpicker for logistics.

- Takumi being nice to Felicia? Umm, okay. She is still a Nohrian though.

- "There were no sounds made aside the usual cricket chirping". Umm, I believe they brought their army with them?

- Man, Corrin is mad. Serious communication failure.

- So, uh, is it FE style combat now? With the opponents standing across each other and just casually taking hits or avoiding? Sorry, just being too nitpicky.

- Neat trick with Leo.

- I am not a fan of "Explaining your attacks" tropes so I will not comment on that.

- "However, one of the roots [...]" I believe it's "none".

I must say, the previous battle had better flow and I am being put off by the long dialogue that I forgot who was speaking. I suggest taking it apart and incorporate it into each individual's battle instead, as it allows for better flow and tracking of who is doing what. Aside from that, the whole atmosphere is dripping with hatred from both sides. I am not sure how I feel about that but it's probably because we haven't gotten proper characterization of the characters yet. Unfortunately, I cannot say I am entirely positive about this chapter part but I know you have done good revisions before so keep it up. You obviously have creativity embedded, it just that it comes out sporadically.

[Blue Sun]

Just some comments about your prototype chapter:

- The dialogue in the beginning is too long, especially when it comes to the part were they start strategizing. It would have been better if you interspersed some non-dialogues inbetween them, as personally, just reading dialogue after dialogue makes me lose interest in the content of it if there is nothing inserted which might be relevant. The part with Felicia was good, since it gave us some background about Nohr, but else the exact details of the individual battle plans were unnecessary. I suggest incorporating into the actual fights instead, like Takumi in his thoughts mentioning that he was going to fight Camilla but ended up intercepted by Leon. All but Kamui and Sakura have battle experience so they should just be entrusted with their task unless they work together.

- You are explaining too much in regards with the stats as well. I know you have a more light-hearted atmosphere but I find it difficult to believe that Tsubaki, a veteran fighter, would rely on the opponent's unluckiness in his tactics. Again, have it play a role in the actual battle, don't just talk about it.

- I know you are going for gameplay replication but my mind just boggles when the characters just switch around with the weapons as if all possess a hammerbag, I am a nitpicker for logistics.

- Takumi being nice to Felicia? Umm, okay. She is still a Nohrian though.

- "There were no sounds made aside the usual cricket chirping". Umm, I believe they brought their army with them?

- Man, Corrin is mad. Serious communication failure.

- So, uh, is it FE style combat now? With the opponents standing across each other and just casually taking hits or avoiding? Sorry, just being too nitpicky.

- Neat trick with Leo.

- I am not a fan of "Explaining your attacks" tropes so I will not comment on that.

- "However, one of the roots [...]" I believe it's "none".

I must say, the previous battle had better flow and I am being put off by the long dialogue that I forgot who was speaking. I suggest taking it apart and incorporate it into each individual's battle instead, as it allows for better flow and tracking of who is doing what. Aside from that, the whole atmosphere is dripping with hatred from both sides. I am not sure how I feel about that but it's probably because we haven't gotten proper characterization of the characters yet. Unfortunately, I cannot say I am entirely positive about this chapter part but I know you have done good revisions before so keep it up. You obviously have creativity embedded, it just that it comes out sporadically.

Thanks for the feedback. I actually went over the story the moment I read this and I made a few changes, but I'll reply back anyways to give you my two cents on the points you made.

• I do have this tendency to draw out dialogue, sometimes I catch myself and other times I don't. I cut some of the unnecessary dialogue out (I left the tidbit of Nohr's history alone).

• The stats part was meant to give the readers an overview of how some characters are, but I should tone that stuff down like you said. And while I wouldn't say that Tsubaki would rely on his enemy's unluckiness, it's Arthur man. Who wouldn't exploit the hell out of it if given the chance? That's just what you do. The bad luck would definitely affect Arthur's accuracy and evasion, and a reverse weapon against him is a no-brainer. I did remove the part about Tsubaki talking about it though.

• They don't have a hammerbag :p. They just attach their gear to themselves though holds and hooks on their outfits and switch things around. It's like someone having multiple scabbards for multiple swords. Sorry if it came across that way.

• He's trying to restrain himself around her, not exactly being nice per say but not being as much of an ass. She did risk her life fighting off her former kinfolk earlier at the capital and she seems genuinely pleasant unlike the Nohrians who attacked the capital, so that helps him do that a little. He did seem perfectly fine working with Crimson later on but that's another story.

• Yeah, that did seem odd too.

• Most of the Nohrians don't like the Hoshidans either, though Corrin really hates them and she's more overt about it than most other Nohrians are (Hoshido is to her as Goku is to Vegeta). Corrin felt that Sakura was playing dumb (but she really isn't), so that's why she reacted the way she did. She's still generally reasonable, but Hoshido in itself is usually enough to set her off.

• I wanted to capture the feel of how battles actually go in Fire Emblem in terms of the gameplay itself but write them out to feel a little more realistic. If that doesn't work out then I'll try something else.

• Thanks.

• It's gone now.

• And that's been corrected.

I do need to tone the dialogue down when it's fight time, so thanks for that advice. The atmosphere is definitely charged with hatred on both sides, and some characters are acting different because of the fact that they're now at war against the object of their hatred. We'll see their usual personalities once we get to the next chapters. Again, thank you for your feedback. I'll have Hinoka v.s. Camilla up pretty soon.

[Luankachu]

Sorry, I'm late. I didn't even notice that you posted an update for the story.

"Saizou and Kagerou will take on his Lazward and Pieri" I think there should be a word like "vassals" or "retainers" between his and Lazward.

Aside from that, Takumi is too nice to Felicia, as Taka-kun mentioned. Considering how he acted in-game towards Azura despite the fact that they grew up together, I think he should be a little meaner, as Felicia is new to Hoshido and he doesn't know her that well.

I really enjoyed reading it.

[Blue Sun]

Sorry, I'm late. I didn't even notice that you posted an update for the story.

"Saizou and Kagerou will take on his Lazward and Pieri" I think there should be a word like "vassals" or "retainers" between his and Lazward.

Aside from that, Takumi is too nice to Felicia, as Taka-kun mentioned. Considering how he acted in-game towards Azura despite the fact that they grew up together, I think he should be a little meaner, as Felicia is new to Hoshido and he doesn't know her that well.

I really enjoyed reading it.

It's alright if you showed up late. Anyways, some things about your comments:

• I actually removed that discussion as I felt that it was unnecessary based on Taka-kun's earlier critique (it's still up here but in the actual document I'm writing it's removed). But thanks for catching that error anyways.

• I'm getting the distinct impression that the line "It's no biggie" from Takumi is giving you guys the idea that Takumi's nice to Felicia, even though he doesn't say that to her anymore in the revision. At least not early on in the story, he's not remotely nice to her at all, but he's not intensely spiteful if only to keep her from bailing Hoshido because he finds her very useful for combat (he's pragmatic and practical with her) and that's the vibe I'm trying to set, though I probably used the wrong wording. At least a few other people alongside him had aversions to Felicia staying in Hoshido as a citizen let alone as Kamui's retainer (Saizou, Oboro, and Rinka to name some), so Mikoto has Hoshidan guards watching her 24/7 if only to ease the dissenters worries (and this happens before the infamous capital attack). With Felicia almost getting killed in the fight fighting against the invading Nohrians, it's somewhat easier for Takumi to not be as hostile toward her (he eventually opens up to her later in the story, especially after a certain event). I know how he was with the Avatar and A(qua)zura, and while I can understand why he acts that way toward them his interaction with A(qua)zura still pissed me off in any case, and I'm glad that he got over those issues in the Birthright and Invisible Demon Kingdom routes (it's fine that he didn't in Conquest if only because that makes him more of a personally invested antagonist). But getting back to the discussion, that's his reason for not outright treating Felicia with absolute hatred 24/7; this Takumi is meant to be just as intelligent as his usual self and not let his emotions get in the way too much.​

I hope that that cleared up the whole misunderstanding of "Takumi being nice to Felicia" for you guys and any future readers.

[Blue Sun]

UPDATE: More of the story has been finished. I'll post revisions I've made since Takumi V.S. Leo once I complete this chapter. And a pre-battle Jakob V.S. Felicia and Suzukaze teaser via the Fire Emblem If Text Simulator is coming up very soon (it's the part I'm currently working on by the time I've written this, and after that it's Kamui V.S. Corrin, the last part). Here's the parts I finished.

As Takumi and Leo were about to clash more, Hinoka circled around Camilla in the sky, ready to strike should she see an opening. Green winds gusted around Hinoka and a violet flame hugged Camilla’s figure tightly, and the image the display brought created an even more stark contrast between the two princesses.

Hinoka’s pegasus charged at Camilla while she brandished a guard naginata, but Camilla barely moved herself out of the way, taking a stab to her leg. Camilla attempted to counterattack Hinoka with a brave axe, but she missed by a large margin. Hinoka successfully struck Camilla in her torso when she came back around, almost causing her to falter.

“Oof…well now, you certainly aren’t playing games are you?” Camilla said ignoring her injuries. “I’m almost impressed princess.”

“Keep your patronizing noise to yourself,” Hinoka responded.

“As you wish. Compared to what I have seen however, you have a lot of training to do before I consider you particularly powerful.”

“You…!”

“Don’t be so upset Hinoka; I’ll gladly give you a kiss of what superior strength feels like so that you’ll know what to strive for, whether in this life or the next…” Camilla flashed a sinister expression at Hinoka as she readied her next attack. The violet flames surrounding Camilla grew brighter, hotter, and larger, and they began to mix with her and her wyvern’s breaths. In what seemed like a split second to Hinoka, Camilla’s wyvern lunged at her before her pegasus could attempt to move a significant distance away. In a desperate effort Hinoka tried ducking to avoid being hit, but Camilla altered her swing’s direction and angle, slashing Hinoka and her pegasus in their sides. The Hoshidan pair reeled from the attack, and they could feel the flames seep into them from the blow. “Oh come now, are we finished already? T’was only a lovetap darling.”

“Don’t you mock me!” Hinoka yelled, lashing out at her enemy with her guard naginata. Camilla made no effort to move, taking the full force of the attack as the weapon impaled he through her stomach. Again, the violet flames increased in their intensity and size, now becoming a blistering blaze.

“Hmph…you honestly think that this hurts me child?” Hinoka looked up at Camilla’s face when she heard the words and found the older woman smiling; Camilla’s smile was an eerie one and it made Hinoka shudder upon seeing it. In a flash Camilla grabbed Hinoka by the arm before leaning in close, pushing the naginata further through her. The act terrified Hinoka and she tried to pull away, but Camilla’s grip on her was too strong. Camilla’s lips were now a breath away from those of Hinoka’s and she began whispering to the other woman. “I’ve been in quite the skirmishes and I know what pain is; this is but a mere flesh wound to me. I can show you what it’s like to feel excruciating pain; it is my specialty…” The faux-maternal tone Camilla spoke with only served to heighten Hinoka’s fear of her. Before she could attempt getting away something sharp hacked its way into her side. Her face immediately went pale and blue at the same time, and she didn’t need to look to her waist to find Camilla’s brave axe buried into her.

“Tell me, how badly does this sting little princess?” Camilla asked Hinoka. “Does it sting as much as I hope it does?” The Nohrian’s reply was a wet cough from her enemy splattering blood onto her. “That’s what I thought. I hope that this hurts you as much as what our people had to go through under your people’s treatment.”

“What?” Hinoka questioned. The accusation sounded ridiculous to her, but she knew better than to call the older princess a bluff. “What are you…urf, what do you mean?”

“You know exactly what I mean princess.” Camilla’s smiling face turned into a mildly upset glare; her serene expression concealed the fury that burned inside of her and all other Nohrians. “We had little means of healing our stricken people, yet when they came at Hoshido’s doorsteps looking for comfort they were turned a blind eye by the so-called peaceful kingdom.” The statement made Hinoka’s eyes widen in confusion and shock, but she winced when she felt the weapon still in her partially inch out from her, reminding her that she was still in battle. “We’ve heard of deportations and imprisonments for refusal to leave from my father and his men. We even have a few select witnesses who can recount the tale of their time spent in Hoshido.”

“That’s—that’s preposterous!” Hinoka tried to say in a dignified manner. “We would never do such a thing to anyone!” ‘I know that Felicia mentioned “getting back at us” but if there is truly a slight between us we must correct it.’

“Yet it happened regardless of your claim. Either you are bearing falsehoods at me or you are ignorant of the matter. It makes no difference which is the case however; if your people will not assist Nohr in rebuilding itself then we will simply take what we need for ourselves.” Deciding that she was done talking Camilla slowly dragged her axe out from Hinoka before yanking it out of her. Camilla noticed that she kept her grip on Hinoka’s arm the entire time, and she found another way to cause the princess distress. Before she could do so, Hinoka lashed out with a vicious headbutt, pushing the older princess with the surprise of the action. While Camilla was distracted, Hinoka yanked herself and her weapon free from her enemy, and her pegasus flew away from the Nohrian pair to allow her some breathing room.

“If you call off this attack…we will investigate the matter of this and I will see to it that Nohr gets the aid it needs.” Hinoka spoke as she applied her remaining vulnerary to her sides. “If not, then I’m afraid I will have to fight you off.”

“You know that that is an unwise decision,” Camilla replied without skipping a beat. “I have many reasons to not allow you that chance, and even if we backed out imagine the backlash this would have on our people. Father would also be very cross with the decision. I suppose this means we must fight.” ‘A shame really. She appears to be an earnest young woman. If I cannot avoid killing her then I’ll at least make her death merciful.’

“I had a feeling you’d say that. I wanted to avoid this but fate had other plans.” ‘Why can’t we talk this one through? I feel that there is more to this war than what it seems.’ Hinoka cast a quick glance toward her comrades who were engaged with their enemies minus Sakura, and it seemed that no one was in any mood for civility barring Kamui. ‘He’s always the civil one, but Corrin’s in no mood for talk.’ Refocusing on the battle, Hinoka readied her weapon and gave another charge at the revenant knight; Camilla saw the attack coming and prepared for a dodge. The attack was a feint; Hinoka’s pegasus dove downward instead of forward and swerved back upward behind Camilla, and Hinoka took a swift slash at Camilla’s sides before her mount swerved away out of attack range. Camilla still showed little signs of pain while the flames around her grew, though Hinoka pressed on with a second strike.

“I don’t think so…” Camilla reached for the hand axe on her person and wound up her arm for an attack. Hinoka noticed it and had her mount dodge the attack, but Camilla didn’t throw the axe, waiting for Hinoka to attempt a counterattack. When the Hoshidan princess managed to land another blow against Camilla’s back, the Nohrian princess’s mount swiftly turned around as Camilla swung her hand axe at Hinoka’s head with lethal intent. Hinoka quickly held her naginata in place to deflect the blow. While Camilla failed to kill her enemy she was a quick thinker, and she used her hand axe to yank the naginata out from Hinoka’s grasp. After disarming her foe Camilla tried to end Hinoka again, but her attack was ducked under while Hinoka’s pegasus flew out of enemy range once more. Thinking quickly, Hinoka hatched a plan to disorient the revenant knight, and without warning her pegasus took off on the opposite direction. “And just where do you think you’re going?” Camilla’s wyvern gave chase after the Hoshidans and Camilla switched to a tomahawk to snipe her fleeing opponents. Before she knew it however, Hinoka was making a large number of sharp turns while flying, and Camilla knew her wyvern wasn’t as fast as Hinoka’s pegasus nor was her aim particularly good when dealing with flying targets.

“Nice try princess,” Hinoka shouted back in a mocking tone before making a sharp dive bomb toward the ground. Camilla mimicked the action and found herself headed straight for Nohr’s own soldiers, right in the middle of the outlaw line units. With the memory of her last encounter with a bow-wielder fresh in her mind she abruptly halted her descent right above them. Hinoka on the other hand made a bold maneuver through the soldiers at a low altitude, cleaving through a few of them with her red naginata. Camilla could see the other princess’s movements as she weaved through the crowd and gave chase above ground. She lowered herself slightly but slowed her flight when Hinoka also slowed herself. Faster than Camilla could anticipate, Hinoka made an upside-down U-turn and stabbed Camilla in her forearm, forcing Camilla to drop her tomahawk to the ground. Hinoka wasn’t finished yet, turning around and stabbing Camilla through her other shoulder with another upside-down U-turn motion, dropping her to the ground and flying off to the rest of her siblings.

“That princess…perhaps I underestimated her,” Camilla gasped out. “But as clever as that little trick was, she’s sorely mistaken to think that I’m through with her yet.” She clutched her custom-made axe with her less injured arm and commanded her wyvern to pursuit Hinoka, nearly exploding in fire as they took off.

“Phew, at least she’ll be less of a threat,” Hinoka sighed. “I’d hate to kill her now and I must get back to my comrades.” As she sped back to the location of her original battle a whistling sound caught her ears, and a blazing figure rushed past her before stopping. Hinoka flinched from the sight, believing Camilla to be too injured to continue. “I…but, how…”

“I find it cute that you thought me to be out of commission so soon, but mistakes like that come with a hefty punishment…” Camilla put on another eerie smile as a deadly flame poured out from her lips, and she and her mount caught fire as they rose up high to slam down on the Hoshidans.

Meanwhile, Sakura kept her distance from the fighting going on. She was very much scared of dying out in the plains, yet she was much more scared of losing anyone in the war. Her fears of the latter and her dislike of being left behind overpowered her fear of dying, and they drove her to make frequent trips near the battlefield despite being told to stay away from it all. As she neared an injured Kazahana, the samurai suddenly moved out of the way of a dashing Arthur; it was less “dashing” and more “skidding along the ground face first”, making the priestess jump back a fair distance.

“Eep!” Sakura yelped. The priestess moved out of the man’s immediate sight, and much to her fortune he didn’t notice her as he stood back up. He immediately jumped back at Kazahana who dodged his attack and delivered one of her own, tearing through his once-pristine cape and his back. Sakura herself focused her magic energies into her Autumn Festival baton, surrounding herself in o-fuda and bronze leaves before transferring her built up magic energy into Kazahana. Arthur noticed the glow of revitalization and suspected Sakura to be nearby. Kazahana struck him again in his brief distraction, but he recovered from it quickly and retaliated with a clean swipe at Kazahana’s leg, following his attack up with a horizontal slash across Kazahana’s stomach. He would have struck her again had she not shoulder tackle him into the dried river, watching the man tumble like a rag-doll amidst a storm of “ow” and “ouch”. Kazahana grinned at the comical sight, but it didn’t last as Arthur had enough skill to snipe her with a hand axe in the same leg he hit earlier, causing the samurai to fall in with him.

“Kazahana!” Sakura had seen her bestie almost die once and she rushed up to the river to pull her out. She suddenly couldn’t feel herself moving forward or on the ground for that matter, and before she knew it she was magically whisked away by some unknown force. When her senses returned to her, she was greeted with the sight of Elise who wore a rather sad smile on her face.

“E-Elise?” Sakura asked. She wondered if it was an apparition of some sort.

“Sorry for doing this Sakura, but…” Elise apologized trailing off before resuming her sentence, “you’re coming with us.”

“Wha—But, how…” Sakura looked to Elise’s hands and found a peculiar staff in them fading from prior use. A scary thought came to her and she looked behind her; she found her siblings and comrades battling in the river but their positions were switched from when she last saw them. “Did…did you…?”

“Yeah, and I really don’t want to do it, but we have to win this war for our people.”

“But, we don’t—” Sakura was silenced when she felt a sharp chill hit her legs, and she looked down to find them frozen solid together. Obscene fear crept into her and she turned to find the culprit responsible. She saw two other figures approaching her: a lavender-haired and elderly man donning heavy armor as black as night sitting atop of an equally armored horse, and a blue-haired woman who was almost a spitting image of Felicia holding an icy-blue staff in her hand.

“I’d rather not take hostages, let alone you of all people Princess Sakura,” the woman said, “but with you in our custody this conflict will end much sooner and our people will be closer to escaping the nightmare.”

“We promise that no harm will come to you,” the elderly man said. “We do not know when you’ll be released but it should not be far off in the future.”

“No…” Sakura’s voice quivered as her captors closed in, desperately thinking of a way to escape. She remembered that she had a couple of batons on her, and she pulled one in particular out in a hurry. The two Nohrians stopped short when they saw the baton that Sakura pulled out on them, eyes widening in surprise.

“Is that the—”

“The Misfortune and Sin baton…” the great knight confirmed for the maid. “E-Easy now, we don’t intend to harm you, only to—”

“No,” Sakura said. “I will not be another kingdom’s leverage tool. Let me go, or else…” Sakura tried to sound confident but she couldn’t keep the fear out of her voice. She even pointed her baton at the Nohrians causing each one to back away from her, hoping to get her message clear. “If you don’t let me go, my brothers and sister will find me, and they will do more than hurt you. I can’t fight, but I can still do some damage with this baton.”

“I’m truly sorry Princess Sakura, but an enemy is an enemy,” the maid said apologetically. “We won’t hurt you, but you are not going anywhere except Nohr unless the Hoshidan army surrenders.”

“Fine,” Sakura channeled her magic energy into the baton and took aim at the maid. O-fuda generated around the baton’s head and a dark magic pooled out into the form of a sphere. She noticed the great knight creeping up on her and quickly shifted her aim toward him, halting his advance. With the two older Nohrians in front of Sakura, she couldn’t see Elise sneaking around the two ready to snatch Sakura’s baton. The moment she was close enough Elise’s horse lunged at Sakura while Elise outstretched her free arm. Sakura, in a startle, snapped to Elise’s direction and let the magic blast loose, hitting Elise dead in her chest and knocking her flat off of her horse.

“Lady Elise!” the elderly man yelled. Both he and his maid partner rushed over to the fallen princess. Sakura could feel the ice around her legs beginning to crack and melt, and began wiggling her legs as much as possible to free herself. The maid noticed Sakura and pointed her staff at the princess, this time aiming for her arms. It was an error in judgement; even though she meant to keep the priestess from using her batons it left her legs free to break loose from their confines. Sakura made an immediate fun-for toward the river.

“No!” the maid shouted. “Gunter, let me take care of Elise, Sakura is escaping!”

“Of course Flora,” the man responded, hoping onto his horse and chasing after the running priestess. Sakura ran as fast as she could to get away, and almost tripped to the ground, but the knight was too fast to elude forever. Right before Gunter could corner Sakura, a lone shuriken flew at him at a high speed, nicking him and his horse in an unarmored section of their attire. The shuriken immediately did a number on their aged frames, slowing them down enough to where Sakura could outrun them both. Almost out of nowhere, the bespectacled form of Yukimura placed himself and his puppet mount between Sakura and Gunter, ready to launch another shuriken at his superior’s pursuer.

“You shall not pass!” Yukimura bellowed. “Lady Sakura will not be your bargaining chip!”

“Yukimura…thank you…” Sakura smiled at the man who gave her a confident nod, and she hightailed it out of the area while he stayed behind to fend off the Nohrian great knight. Further back, Elise was brought back to full operating capacity thanks to Flora.

“Thanks Flora!” Elise thanked. “I thought I was worm food for a second.”

“You are most welcome, but do be more careful in the actions you take,” Flora said.

“Sorry about that.”

“At the very least, you’re learning how to fight like your siblings. I can calm down a little knowing that.”

“Aw…”

“I’ll stay with you from until this battle is over. Is that alright with you?”

“Sure!”

“Lady Elise?” a rough voice called out. Elise and Flora turned to the voice and found four soldiers standing attention: one was a tall man wearing thick black armor, another was a scantily clad woman brandishing a rather bloody axe, another was a young woman dressed in dark mage robes, and another was a sharp-dressed man who bore wolfish features on him.

“Sir Benoit? Miss Charlotte?” Flora questioned. “I thought you two were stationed near the borders. What is this?”

“King Garon is sending every able-bodied fighter in the realm into this fight,” Benoit responded. “We are here to aid you in the battle any way possible.”

“We may not look much for a couple of border guards, but rest assured we are capable enough to send these Hoshidans running home,” Charlotte said. “We’ve also brought two new additions to the army.”

“Oh?” Flora took a look at the two newcomers, finding them capable looking enough. She knew not to judge on appearances alone though, and had doubts that they would serve the army well. “I’m a little skeptical about this decision, but I will try to have faith in them. May I have your names?”

“Nyx Tartarus le Fay,” the dark mage said. “If you have need of me, then I will not disappoint you.”

“That’s comforting to hear,” Flora said. “And you sir?”

“Name’s Flannel Bigby,” the man said. “I’ve got my whole pack with me too just in case. They’ve been itching for a fight for a long time, and this’ll be a good time for them to bare their claws and fangs, literally.”

“You’re a Loup-garou?” Flora questioned. “Interesting. Very well then, you two are to assist us in defeating the Hoshidan army. Simple as that.”

“As you command miss,” Nyx said with a nod.

“Sure thing miss!” Flannel said giving her a thumbs up.

“Good, now let’s proceed.”

Once Sakura was safe in familiar arms for the moment she was almost swarmed by a purple-haired spellcaster and a blue-haired golden-kite warrior, the latter of whom looked especially worried.

“Are you alright little lady?” the blue-haired woman asked. “They didn’t hurt you in any fashion have they?”

“No, though they did try to take me away,” Sakura answered.

“The nerve of those hooligans. This wouldn’t have been their second kidnapping neither.”

“Ai, ai, ai…Must we despair constantly about this little scuffle my dear Yuugiri?” the purple-haired woman said. “The Nohrians are very strong, yes, but we must be even stronger in the face of adversity. They have yet to witness the true spirit of the warriors of Hoshido, passed down through our kin for many generations.”

“With all due respect Lady Orochi, we mustn’t take this battle lightly. One little slip up could cost us more than what we have lost during the battle for the capital.”

“Yes, yes, I am well aware of that. But do remember that an attitude taken to the opposite spectrum shall do us no wonders either. We must strike a balance within the center to achieve a decisive victory. Hm hm hm~…”

“Are we done dillydallying here?” another woman asked the group of three.

“Ah, Miss Rinka,” Orochi greeted. “What news do you bring us?” The woman was tanned and toned with a fierce warrior’s face.

“Feng Bei Tsukuyomi of the Wind Tribe is here, fighting the Nohrian army alongside the Hoshidan army,” Rinka said, surprising the other three ladies.

“Really?” Orochi said. “I had figured the Wind Tribe to be a neutral faction in this war.”

“They are;” Rinka answered. “Tsukuyomi’s here acting independent of his tribe’s stance.”

“Interesting…”

“Anyways, are we ready to go back out into the battle and fight? Or do you ladies need more time here?”

“We’re ready whenever we’re ready Miss Rinka.”

“And that would be?”

“Now.”

“Good. We need less talking and more crushing of these insects.” Rinka darted off with her ogre-club in hand shouting a mighty war cry, leaving the other three Hoshidans in the dust. Before they left another figure had approached them.

“Hey-oh Hoshidans,” the man greeted, sporting what looked like a fox tail and ears. “I heard that you all needed some help in driving the Nohrians out of Hoshido?”

“Why yes,” Orochi answered with a clap of her hands. “Pray tell, are you here to lend us a helping hand my good sir?”

“Mmm-hmm. My name’s Inari Nishiki, leader of the youko tribe in Hoshido. I’d feel that I wouldn’t be doing my homeland a good service if I had sat by. I’ve brought some of my best warriors for this battle to give us all that extra edge in this war.”

“Well, well, your sense of duty is quite admirable Mister Nishiki. We would all be very grateful for you and your tribe’s helping hands. Seems that the divine dragon is smiling down upon us this day are they not?”

“Looks like it,” Sakura said perking up. “Maybe we’ll win this war after all!”

​--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sound of steel gnashing against each other resounded throughout the plains more than any other sound did; the blades themselves were Ryouma’s Thunder God Sword and Xander’s Siegfried. As the two princes locked themselves in combat with each other, heated words of anger over the other’s actions spilled forth from the two; Ryouma had denied Xander’s accusations of maltreatment of the Nohrian peoples and the kidnapping of Kamui, equally having his own arguments of unjust manslaughter and the kidnapping of Corrin fall on deaf ears. After a while, neither prince was making any significant progress in defeating each other. Back and forth they traded blows that were parried with nigh impeccable timing despite how they were able to hand a single hit on each other earlier, and whenever Xander switched over to his guiding-lance Ryouma would counter him with his reverse katana, effectively rendering the fight in Ryouma’s favor in such an instance. Thus they battled on a plane equal with one another.

“I must admit Prince Ryouma,” Xander spoke striking at Ryouma only to be parried, “I’ve not met a swordsman as proficient and refined such as yourself. I daresay that you are akin to an equal of mine.”

“You’re not bad yourself,” Ryouma replied throwing out a kick and a slash that were blocked and parried respectively. “Whatever it is you Nohrians do out in Nohr, it’s clear that you aren’t playing games. You’re the closest that I can call an equal of a sort.”

“I fear that neither of us are advancing however. We Nohrians are here to be victorious, yet this stalemate is dragging out for far too long for either of us to gain any sort of advantage.”

“I don’t mind it so much. While we don’t have the upper hand yet, neither do you, and that much is good enough for now.”

“Hmph, I see. Don’t expect it to remain this way for long though. One of us will tire out before the other, and it will not be me. Nohr is the irresistible force.”

“And Hoshido is the immovable object. You can push and push against us but we will not budge.”

While the eldest royals reinvigorated their struggle against each other, two other royals were having at it against their rivals, and their vassals were about to do battle for the sake of their masters and kingdoms.

Constructive feedback and comments are appreciated. I will respond to all feedback to the best of my ability to provide my own thoughts on this section.

[Taka-kun]

You are working quite fast now, aren't you? Well, the usual then.

- Man, Camilla is creepy strong. Why is she in flames? Is it because she is hot? (I am not sorry)

- Your description of Camilla v. Hinoka has definitely amped up your skills, since you have more focus on the battle itself and less on dialogue. The dialogue you did have was not the least wasted and informative, a definite upgrade from before. I like your focus on Hinoka's aerial tactics, not too unlike movie dogfighting.

- While the writing itself is good, one thing bugs me. When they are all being close and intimate, both of them are in the air. On their mounts. Which has to flap their wings to maintain altitude. And considering the wingspan of both steeds, it's hard to be that close up without getting smacked in the way by the wings. Some trivia: In FE4 it was mentioned that the smell of wyverns makes the pegasi panic (similar to camels towards horses), as wyverns are their natural enemies. Which is why (at least in that game), pegasi are used in hit-and-run or charging in a wedge formation, relying on their superior speed. Your duel would better fit between two horsemen FYI, I am a tactics nerd

- "Snipe her with a hand axe in the same leg [...]" Uh, wouldn't that just cleave the leg off?

- I am half and half confused of why a war veteran like Gunter didn't relinquish Sakura of her batons immediately. I feel that he should know better but it depends whether they were visible (like if they were strapped to a belt or something).

- Yukimura channeling Gandalf ftw!

I'll admit that I haven't grasped the personality of the characters aside from the siblings well enough to make an assessment of your portrayal of them. But one thing for sure is that you are good with your air battles all those years playing Star Fox has paid off! Just some observations and remarks. I really don't have nothing more to add since this part is an improvement from before. Keep up the good work!

Edited September 11, 2015 by Taka-kun

[Blue Sun]

You are working quite fast now, aren't you? Well, the usual then.

- Man, Camilla is creepy strong. Why is she in flames? Is it because she is hot? (I am not sorry)

- Your description of Camilla v. Hinoka has definitely amped up your skills, since you have more focus on the battle itself and less on dialogue. The dialogue you did have was not the least wasted and informative, a definite upgrade from before. I like your focus on Hinoka's aerial tactics, not too unlike movie dogfighting.

- While the writing itself is good, one thing bugs me. When they are all being close and intimate, both of them are in the air. On their mounts. Which has to flap their wings to maintain altitude. And considering the wingspan of both steeds, it's hard to be that close up without getting smacked in the way by the wings. Some trivia: In FE4 it was mentioned that the smell of wyverns makes the pegasi panic (similar to camels towards horses), as wyverns are their natural enemies. Which is why (at least in that game), pegasi are used in hit-and-run or charging in a wedge formation, relying on their superior speed. Your duel would better fit between two horsemen FYI, I am a tactics nerd

- "Snipe her with a hand axe in the same leg [...]" Uh, wouldn't that just cleave the leg off?

- I am half and half confused of why a war veteran like Gunter didn't relinquish Sakura of her batons immediately. I feel that he should know better but it depends whether they were visible (like if they were strapped to a belt or something).

- Yukimura channeling Gandalf ftw!

I'll admit that I haven't grasped the personality of the characters aside from the siblings well enough to make an assessment of your portrayal of them. But one thing for sure is that you are good with your air battles all those years playing Star Fox has paid off! Just some observations and remarks. I really don't have nothing more to add since this part is an improvement from before. Keep up the good work!

• The flames is Vengeance being active. I just remembered that it has a lower rate of activation and that the skill cap is generally lower than it was in Awakening, but for now I'll just leave it be here. Camilla, being one of the physically toughest ones of the Nohrian siblings, is a little more resistant to pain here; the spikes and arrow combo from earlier actually hurt her a great deal, but everything else mostly just lightly stings her.

• Thanks. I'm trying to keep the "battle" portions of battle scenes mostly descriptive of the fighting itself with a few dialogue here and there; the "dialogue" scenes are for the dialogue bits to take hold and the talk the two princess had serve to give a little more insight behind some of the things happening (Jakob's dialogue will be more informative in that regard). Funnily enough, I don't remember watching any actual war movies, so my knowledge (if it can be called that) is mostly from some games I've played and some reasoning on my end. Probably just the bare-bones basics of warfare.

• When I was writing this scene, I was actually planning to have either Camilla snatch Hinoka off of her pegasus before getting freaky (who would probably be named Maasha) or have Camilla's wyvern (who's definitely going to be named Iðunn) keep the pegasus still. Thanks for the little tidbit of pegasi and wyverns. Robin would like to have a word with a fellow tactics nerd.

• Sakura's Misfortune and Sin baton wouldn't be generally visible (it's on her back for surprise reasons), and when the Nohrians did try to take it from her she was already in the middle of aiming at them with a fully charged baton. If one of those two was hit instead of Elise, the other would have certainly snatched the baton from Sakura.

• Somebody has to XD. Yukimura seemed the most apt to say such a legendary line to me.

Thanks for the feedback man. I also actually only ever played Star Fox 64 out of all of the games in the series and only barely and recently, but eh, no real harm done to the air battles I suppose XD. Before I forget. Here's the teaser for the Jakob V.S. Felicia and Suzukaze fight.

The image was uploaded via Imgur and I want to know how to get rid of that "grainy" look. And spoiler reasons make the dialogue between Felicia and Jakob very ironic. Lastly, I noticed some errors in the dialogue itself; they've been corrected as of now.

I can't wait until I get to writing about the part where Corrin finds out who her real family is (it'll be stressing and tragic for sure). Though I'm not sure how I'll make it tragic given that I've not felt her pain before.

I've just been told who my real biological father is in the 20 years of my entire life just minutes ago, so while I'm probably stressed out right now (key word probably) I don't know real tragedy in that department.

Edited September 12, 2015 by Blue Sun