Dante (
strawberryredgrave) wrote in
melodiesofeternity2019-04-23 06:18 pm
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[Open/mingle] Alexa Play The Completionist's Theme Song
Who: The Heroes of Light
When: Post-time loops
Where: Myste Aura, particularly the hot springs
What: Mingling! Celebrating both a job well done and 100% completion of the game
Warnings/Notes: Hot spring antics, hot wing antics, potentially washtubs

Everyone knows the Heroes of Light by now. They took the world by storm over the last few days (over and over and over the last few days) and with the calamity averted and Bahamut fended off? They needed a vacation. One on a brand new day would be great; the past few became a little too predictable for anyone's taste. The solution? Celebrate a brand new day at a place they're sure to be welcomed and are least likely to be thrown out. A job well done is well and good as a hero's reward, but a person's got bills to pay and feet to get off of now and then, so the ultimate destination place was an obvious one: the Myste Aura hot springs.
The invitation's an open one and Dante's one of the first to arrive, primarily to get the cooking all set up. There's a lot of it to be done, but given the zora's amused smirk through it all, he's having a good time. It's as much for him as it is everyone else. He could only bring enough for cooking and serving, so no vacation gear here! Gotta bring your own or pick some up on the way over. Either way, it's a stress free time that everyone really needed. Oh...and the invitation insists that the heroes bring along their Calm Deity Masks for an unmentioned reason...
THE HOT SPRINGS
Without a doubt, the main attraction of this trip. The hot springs are world renowned for a reason! Take a dip into the waters and see for yourself. The bubbling warmth of the natural waters are more than enough to let weary heroes and travelers alike unwind and let their troubles melt away for a little while. Some people have actually fallen asleep while settled in these, so be careful to keep your head above water!
Waterside refreshments are also available, particularly beverages. Remember: no underage drinking!
FOOD STANDS
There is. A lot of food. Including the shawarma Dante promised! He's got a few volunteers willing to help keep things clean and organized, but a majority of it is self serve with various kinds of cuisine for all kinds of tastes! As thanks for all the shenanigans Bass puts up with, there's a separate food table for moogles and dishes incorporating kupo nuts. Appetizers, entrees, desserts, it's all here. Dante himself is manning the shawarma station and offering anyone who asks a good, hearty slice of cooked Ochu meat. Trust him, guys; it's so good, it doesn't even need a sauce.
LIVE ENTERTAINMENT
The nice thing about being this close to Myste Aura is that the Bard's Guild is nearby. Once word got around that the Heroes of Light were gonna take a vacation in their neck of the woods, a few enthusiastic volunteers were more than ready to perform as a show of thanks for all they've done. Enjoy the concert of songs, some classics, some composed in honor of the heroes themselves. Naturally, there's little to stop anyone who wants to hop on stage and perform themselves. Hell, the bards would be proud to perform alongside a hero of light! Just don't mind the spotlight you'd be under.
COLLECTIBLES
So remember the whole thing about bringing your Calm Deity Masks? Surprise! Everyone who approaches the table of bagged goodies wearing their masks receives one! Each bag has a collection of goodies inside, from toy crystals to even figurines of the heroes themselves! Were you lucky enough to get yourself or your friends? Nothing's stopping you from trading until you get the one(s) you want!
Along with each bag is a free t-shirt. They have several different sizes just in case and all of them bear a familiar logo as a reminder of the great deed the heroes accomplished.
Wildcard
We're all kicking back and relaxing, I'm not gonna tell you what to do. Have fun, go nuts and remember to clean up after yourself.
(Make toplevels! Relax! Have fun~))
When: Post-time loops
Where: Myste Aura, particularly the hot springs
What: Mingling! Celebrating both a job well done and 100% completion of the game
Warnings/Notes: Hot spring antics, hot wing antics, potentially washtubs

Everyone knows the Heroes of Light by now. They took the world by storm over the last few days (over and over and over the last few days) and with the calamity averted and Bahamut fended off? They needed a vacation. One on a brand new day would be great; the past few became a little too predictable for anyone's taste. The solution? Celebrate a brand new day at a place they're sure to be welcomed and are least likely to be thrown out. A job well done is well and good as a hero's reward, but a person's got bills to pay and feet to get off of now and then, so the ultimate destination place was an obvious one: the Myste Aura hot springs.
The invitation's an open one and Dante's one of the first to arrive, primarily to get the cooking all set up. There's a lot of it to be done, but given the zora's amused smirk through it all, he's having a good time. It's as much for him as it is everyone else. He could only bring enough for cooking and serving, so no vacation gear here! Gotta bring your own or pick some up on the way over. Either way, it's a stress free time that everyone really needed. Oh...and the invitation insists that the heroes bring along their Calm Deity Masks for an unmentioned reason...
THE HOT SPRINGS
Without a doubt, the main attraction of this trip. The hot springs are world renowned for a reason! Take a dip into the waters and see for yourself. The bubbling warmth of the natural waters are more than enough to let weary heroes and travelers alike unwind and let their troubles melt away for a little while. Some people have actually fallen asleep while settled in these, so be careful to keep your head above water!
Waterside refreshments are also available, particularly beverages. Remember: no underage drinking!
FOOD STANDS
There is. A lot of food. Including the shawarma Dante promised! He's got a few volunteers willing to help keep things clean and organized, but a majority of it is self serve with various kinds of cuisine for all kinds of tastes! As thanks for all the shenanigans Bass puts up with, there's a separate food table for moogles and dishes incorporating kupo nuts. Appetizers, entrees, desserts, it's all here. Dante himself is manning the shawarma station and offering anyone who asks a good, hearty slice of cooked Ochu meat. Trust him, guys; it's so good, it doesn't even need a sauce.
LIVE ENTERTAINMENT
The nice thing about being this close to Myste Aura is that the Bard's Guild is nearby. Once word got around that the Heroes of Light were gonna take a vacation in their neck of the woods, a few enthusiastic volunteers were more than ready to perform as a show of thanks for all they've done. Enjoy the concert of songs, some classics, some composed in honor of the heroes themselves. Naturally, there's little to stop anyone who wants to hop on stage and perform themselves. Hell, the bards would be proud to perform alongside a hero of light! Just don't mind the spotlight you'd be under.
COLLECTIBLES
So remember the whole thing about bringing your Calm Deity Masks? Surprise! Everyone who approaches the table of bagged goodies wearing their masks receives one! Each bag has a collection of goodies inside, from toy crystals to even figurines of the heroes themselves! Were you lucky enough to get yourself or your friends? Nothing's stopping you from trading until you get the one(s) you want!
Along with each bag is a free t-shirt. They have several different sizes just in case and all of them bear a familiar logo as a reminder of the great deed the heroes accomplished.
Wildcard
We're all kicking back and relaxing, I'm not gonna tell you what to do. Have fun, go nuts and remember to clean up after yourself.
(Make toplevels! Relax! Have fun~))
no subject
As the wings settle back, one of them folds over Tilly; since she can't throw an arm or something around the other girl, this will have to suffice for the time being.
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The only other dragon I know of is archbishop Luxenheim. I've been told about his grudge against my father and that it probably extends to his bloodline. I usually avoid him."
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Hearing about this archbishop however causes her to frown, inwardly at least since her Water Dragon face isn't capable of much expression. "I understand he must have his grievances based on what you've told me about who your father used to be, and that's fair, but..." Her head shakes. "Children should never be held accountable for the mistakes of their parents. It's not fair to them; we choose who we want to be, but we don't choose our parents." Though after a moment on reflecting on her own life to that point, she hesitates. "I don't know, maybe I'm the last person who should say that, though."
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"I agree with you either way. It's not their fault what they were born into, but the grudge bearers won't care. They were hurt and they'll deal it right back tenfold." She pauses. "There was a time when that grudge reached its peak and lead to the mass hunting of black dragons. People were so consumed by hate that it caused an epidemic of Festering Anger. It's a disease that feeds off of long time grudges, eating away at the body and giving the infected great strength and blind fury..."
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...Takumi too, for that matter. He also carried a grudge, and the pain that came from her betrayal. Maybe this "Festering Anger" isn't unique to Tilly's world after all, though the effects are markedly different in Corrin's case.
"If that's true, then at least we don't have anything to worry about. What happened to my father won't happen to Xander, or any of us. We're united by love and trust, not divided by hate and jealousy like our parents were." That at least is a comforting thought. "But I appreciate your understanding, Tilly." This is accompanied by another affectionate head-bump. It really never ceases to amaze her just how similar the two of them are, but she's grateful for that; having someone who understands her so fully, and Corrin understands in turn, has been a great help and comfort.
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Corrin and her family - her Nohrian family, at least - had Garon's shadow looming over them. Tilly counts herself lucky that her father was able to undergo such a transformation and wonders if it's because he went in the opposite direction. Garon was a man who became a shell of who he once was and Wastirek's empty life was steadily filled with more than revenge and greed...
...Though as she thinks about it, the void dragon nudges the water dragon. "That reminds me: I don't think you told me about your siblings besides Xander. I...think I said something to remind you of him during the battle; from what I know, I could take a guess. What are your other siblings like?"
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When Tilly asks about her family, Corrin perks right up. "That's right, you did!" She remembers. "What you said about not treating it like a mock battle...it's very similar to something Xander used to tell me before we sparred together while he was training me in the Northern Fortress. He always wanted me to give it my all, even in training."
But Tilly asks about her other siblings. "Well, let's see..." She begins. "The baby of the bunch is my youngest sister Elise. She was still very young when all the in-fighting in court was going on, so it mostly passed her by. I think that's a big reason why she's got such a bright, sunny disposition; she's only ever known us after Xander and my big sister Camilla decided to put an end to the fighting between the remaining royal children and foster a more caring, familial relationship between us all. She's mostly a healer but she learned how to fight when she has to during the war; Elise was pretty much the backbone of our medical corps once the fighting really got started. She even took it upon herself to look after my little Hoshidan sister Sakura after...after we captured her near the end of the war. It was very hard on her, but Elise made sure she was looked after and that none of the men loyal to the King mistreated her. They're actually becoming very good friends now that the war is over. I think Elise was talking about the two of them performing a good-will concert since Elise is a master violinist and Sakura plays a Hoshidan instrument called a koto." It idly occurs to Corrin that at present Elise might know Sakura better than she does, but seeing the two of them get along so well after everything that happened-and Elise declaring Sakura her "archnemesis" during the dinner at Izumo-well, it gives her hope. And there'll be plenty of time in the future for Corrin to be a proper big sister to Sakura, too.
"She was kind of my rock, support-wise after I returned to Nohr. When the King sent me on a suicide mission alone to "prove my loyalty" by quashing a rebellion, Xander sent her after me along with Silas and a handful of other troops to help keep me alive." After all, the King had forbidden her from taking any troops with her, not Xander using his authority as Crown Prince to send some to help her after the fact. It almost hadn't worked after Iago blabbed to him about it, but in the end Xander was able to convince the King to relent. "She never left my side after that, and...I leaned on Elise a lot, maybe more than I should have, but she always made time for me and never complained once." The longer the war dragged on and the more pieces of her soul Corrin had to give up to bring it to an end, the more people she ended up relying on-her other siblings and Azura, Silas, Kaze-but Elise was there from the beginning, without having to rebuild their relationship the way she and Silas did. Corrin has always been grateful for that.
"Honestly, Elise is pretty much my hero." She finally admits, a bit sheepishly. "She's exactly who the new Nohr we're going to build will need."
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"She sounds wonderful. No part of war is easy to deal with, especially the medical side of things. It sounds as though she treated more than just your injuries throughout. Perhaps you did the same for her, too; no one wants a child to face war, but she had her older sister looking out for her in turn."
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Corrin cranes her long neck to look at Tilly. "Now I could go on about my little brother Leo, but how about a little tit-for-tat here? You've mentioned other companions of your own before, and I can tell they mean a lot to you, and I'd love to know more. Tell me about one of them, and then I'll tell you about Leo, and we'll go on like that. Deal?"
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Like Corrin, Tilly adores her adopted family. They didn't care that she was Wastirek's daughter; they saw her for who she was and still loved her, still raised her right. It's hard for her to imagine how her life would've been if they never found her. The question is who to talk about first. She needs a moment to think about it, but after a while...
"The ones who took me in would eventually be known to Vel la Moore as legendary heroes; if I had to pick one who truly had a hero's heart, it'd have to be Felena. Felena DelMonaco. She's of the ratfolk and possibly the source of the expression 'speak softly and carry a big stick.' She had a family I never got to meet and losing them put her on the path to becoming a paladin. She swore an oath to the gods to make a world where something like that could never happen again, but to do that, she had to be the change she wanted to see. She committed herself to being the voice of reason, the brave face who smiles through everything she endures. Even through her own heartbreak.
She kept a lot of her worries and doubts to herself to do this, but even even, she remains one of the kindest people I've ever known. When her companions were down on their luck and morale, she would keep them going. Felena is fiercely protective of her loved ones, but rarely lets anger take her. Even in battle, she would move with grace and composure, compelled to turn her own pain into something that would inspire others. In several ways, she did.
After she and the others defeated my father, she founded the Holy Sword, an order meant to carry on her ideals of protecting the people, help them live their lives and no longer live in fear. The holy sword in question was...actually her signature weapon, the Distant Thunder. A shotgun, actually. An enormous one I'm not sure how she wielded so efficiently, but it was one of the earliest firearms. Felena embraced this kind of change and inspired generations of gunslingers and the culture the world has today. They even changed the order's name to Our Lady of the Holy Sword in her honor.
But if you were to ask her, her proudest legacy wouldn't be the order, but a dragonborn named Zori Savato. Her first and only pupil. She passed to him her wisdom, her techniques and even the Distant Thunder itself. Eventually, he would meet a skeletal kobold calling himself Wastirek...and they still travel together to this day."
Tilly sighs , but it's with a smile. "Felena's still around. She's more at peace now than she ever has been, but one look at Zori and you'd see why."
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The part about carrying a shotgun is admittedly a bit of a surprise; she's learned about firearms since coming to Vaikuntha but they've never struck her as the sort of weapons one would associate with a holy warrior like a Paladin.
"One of the greatest joys I think there can be in life is the act of passing down your skills and knowledge to the next generation." Corrin notes. "Zori sounds like he does her credit. She must be proud of him...and you, too."
"I think Felena and I would get along very well." Corrin notes, finally. "She sounds like a true hero. Now then,," She says with a flick of her tail. "I guess it's my turn again to talk about Leo, isn't it?"
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Tilly playfully nudges Corrin. "I think it is your turn...but that depends: you've told me a bit about Xander before. If you want to count that, then it's back to my turn."
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"Felena was undoubtedly the heart of the group, but I'd have to say the muscle was Carys Inari. A wood elf and fighter, Carys had the most determination out of everyone else. She's the type of person who listens to her heart and fights aggressively for her beliefs. She and her family were sold into slavery and was forced to watch my father kill her parents. She lead a rebellion and escaped with others; it was her desire for vengeance that lead her to Felena and the others.
Carys is a good person, without question; she's just...always had issues with anger management. For as patient as Felena is, Carys isn't. More than anything, she wanted to kill Wastirek and put a stop to his reign. She pushed herself to become better, to fight harder and harder because didn't want to see anyone else die. Carys is a survivor and will fight on through sheer force of will if she has to, but that makes it all the harder on her when others die. Too often does she blame herself for others' deaths.
She stood by me the most after Wastirek's defeat, but had the most difficulty moving on after that. Felena founded the Holy Sword, Lionel lived a full life and Samiah didn't survive the final battle. Carys still blames herself for that and decided to eliminate all the dregs of Wastirek's rule. I joined her after I became comfortable enough with my powers, but I had to watch her keep putting one fight after another in front of her because she best understands what's right in front of her.
She...took my father's return the hardest. She tried to kill him at least once, but found herself at odds with Zori because of their contrasting beliefs. She's stopped trying to kill him, but seeing the world slowly accept him back has been a painful blow to her. What was the point of all the fighting she and the others did if he'd be welcomed back? Why does he get a second chance when others who died deserve it more? How much did she accomplish in her life? Thoughts like that still haunt her. I'm not sure what to do for her anymore. I want her to move on and live her life, but fighting is her life. And with what she fought against coming back and being praised as a hero..."
Tilly hung her head through this, but clears her throat and perks up. "She, uhh...she's still alive. Unlike the others, she hasn't really found someone to pass down her knowledge or skills. Still too determined to do things herself. She hasn't lost her touch, though! Her signature weapon is the Solar Flare, a dual bladed staff empowered by the void. I have to give her this much at least: her physical prowess matches her determination. I've heard and seen her cut enemies to ribbons in seconds. Fast, powerful, strong willed...she might hate when anyone calls her a hero, but she's as much a hero as Felena and the others."
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She doesn't blame them for that; her actions no matter the motivation behind them, are inexcusable. To save Hoshido she had to conquer it for Nohr, and while she did her best to limit the amount of casualties, hundreds, if not thousands of Hoshidans lost their lives anyway, especially once the King and his henchmen arrived to take direct command of the invasion. Hinoka and Sakura have forgiven her, and gives her hope for future reconciliation...but she doesn't think Prime Minister Yukimura and she will ever be friends. Or Sakura's retainer Hana, both of whom were taken prisoner after the battle at Fort Jinya. They might accept the reasoning behind her actions and that the outcome was ultimately favourable, and that her sisters forgive her and accept her despite her decision to remain in Nohr, but that does little for the dead. It's something she struggles with, especially when she lies in bed at night with nobody but her thoughts to keep her company.
"It's such a difficult situation, for them both." Corrin says finally. "The way you speak of Carys makes her inner nobility clear, and as much as your father is right to seek atonement, I think Carys is equally right to not be willing to grant it. It's messy, and complicated, and there isn't a right answer, but I'll hope she finds a way to navigate it. She deserves peace and I hope she finds it one day."
Corrin cranes her neck to look at Tilly. "Well, I do believe that makes us equal now." She says with a chuckle. "So I'll give you a choice; my little brother Leo or my big sister Camilla, Tilly. Who do you wish to hear about next?" As though she couldn't talk about her family all day, really.
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...but she spent enough time making the mood heavy with Carys' story. Tilly nods. "You brought up Leo before, so I'm curious. I'll trade my Lionel for your Leo." She jokes and playfully sticks her tongue out.
no subject
"Leo is...precise. He abhors needless destruction or wasteful loss of life. He'd like you to believe, if you were to meet him, it's a matter of sheer pragmatism that he does this; there's no need to expend more resources than necessary, or to destroy what might be useful later on. Or maybe he'd just complain that it upsets me and causes Camilla and Elise to give him a hard time about it." She chuckles fondly. "But that would be a lie, of course. He does care about people, and mercy, but...in the old Nohr openly expressing those sentiments would have been a death sentence, even for a prince of the realm. All my siblings learned various ways of coping with the brutality of the King, but I think Leo was by far the best at it. When the king ordered all the singers in the city of Cyrkensia be killed, Leo took charge of the search for them. I was still trying to come to terms with everything so I thought-just for a second, I'm not proud of it-that he was actually intending to go through with it. But he had a plan, oh yes he did. Formed it in seconds after the King gave the order, which he told me after we left to begin the search. Under the pretext of conducting a "thorough" search, we were able to take our time, searching the opera house first even though thanks to a battle that had just been fought there with some Hoshidan troops it had already been pretty much evacuated. And then we spread out into the city, and whenever Leo and I found a singer that hadn't been able to get away, he told the soldiers we would deal with them for our father's sake...and then we would help them escape. Or get into better hiding until we cleared out. Little things like that all my siblings did to try and keep as much of their souls intact; we couldn't be everywhere and the King had men of his own searching, so...some singers still died. But our delaying actions while giving the appearance of loyalty gave more singers enough of a chance to escape the purge than would have been possible if we...if Leo, actually...hadn't been there. He saved those lives, not me; I was too overwhelmed and distressed by the brutality of it all, I'd never have been able to come up with the plan he did. He can be ruthless, I've seen him kill enemies that were already beaten, but if Leo has come to the conclusion that someone needs to die, it's because they've given him plenty of reason to. I still...don't like it when that happens, but I also know he's not wrong if things have gone that far." He killed Zola in Izumo, even though the illusionist was beaten and begging for clemency. Not only were his tactics cowardly and dishonorable, but as he'd explained to Corrin, if they'd let him live, tried to keep him as a prisoner, though he might have feigned otherwise, he would have ratted them out to the King as soon as the opportunity presented itself, and the stakes were far too high to risk it. And Iago too, had ultimately died at Leo's hands. It wasn't that Corrin had been unwilling to do so, she's not proud to admit she was indeed ready to end the sorcerer's life, but his pathetic begging and pleading once Hans and his other soldiers were dead to try and save himself left Corrin too disgusted to actually go through with it. Leo had no such compunctions, and Iago's crimes at that point certainly warranted it. Nohr could never be healed and rehabilitated if a man so callously cruel and who took such delight in committing even the pettiest of cruelties, was allowed to live.
"He still likes to project that image but now it's mostly so people will take him seriously while he works to enact Xander's reforms, not because he has to mask his actions. I'm certain Xander plans to officially name Leo as his chancellor and chief adviser; he's the best candidate for the job and we all know it. He's had combat training like the rest of us, and he's...okay with a sword. He could be better, but he prefers to focus on magical combat to stand out a bit more from Xander and I. He also bears one of the other two Divine Weapons of Nohr, a tome of dark magic called Brynhildr. It attacks primarily by stimulating plantlife in the area; you'd be surprised how much it can hurt having a fully-formed oak tree burst out of the ground beneath you, knocking you senseless; Brynhildr does that." A pause while she thinks something over. "...And it helps him grow his tomatoes. Leo...really likes tomatoes." Which is actually kind of putting it mildly.
"I tried to learn what I could from him to better run the army and keep my people safe in battle, and I know I did well under his tutelage, but I'm still nowhere near his level. Still, I think I've put what Leo taught me to good use here, wouldn't you say?" Certainly no one has died on Corrin's watch in Vaikuntha, and that's down to the lessons Leo taught her about tactics. He was an unforgiving instructor, but his training worked.
no subject
"It must've been so difficult, for you and your Nohrian family to tolerate Garon for so long while quietly working against him. Times like that can bring out the worst in people, but it can also bring out the best, I've learned..."
no subject
After a moment, Corrin stretches languorously. "Anyway, that's Leo. Tell me about this Lionel friend of your's now. "
no subject
"Lionel Lightfang was both the only human and the only guy among the legendary heroes. As a ranger, he lived with nature and among his peers, I'd say he had the most purpose. The Lightfang are a prolific family in my world; generations before him, a cleric named Tyto Lightfang was chosen by the god of light and rebirth, Lathandar, to put an end to Wastirek's reign. With his god's blessing came what would become the family heirloom: the Virtuous Legacy. Tyto realized that his efforts alone wouldn't be enough to succeed in his quest. Even when my father struck him down, he knew he himself wasn't meant to complete this task. He would hand it down to his daughter, Namir, who would hand it to his son, then to his daughter, with the the Virtuous Legacy growing stronger with each generation, bearing the will of its previous wielders.
Lionel was the fifth to inherit the weapon. Unfortunately, the Lightfang's reputation with the people was well tarnished by this time; Wastirek and his cult framed Namir for the destruction of the city, leading the people to hate their entire bloodline for inciting the Great Wyrm's wrath. Lionel had all but abandoned the family responsibility by the time he met the others; much of his relief came from being away from crowds, tolerating them enough to bury his troubles with alcohol. Carys, Felena and Samiah were among the few who didn't bear such a grudge against his family. Over time, they became his greatest allies.
Despite what he endured, Lionel was a fun loving man. A gentle giant, almost, and really enjoyed himself when the situation allowed. He was certainly talented, with his knowledge of undead and dragons a great boon for his companions. He was able to understand Samiah perfectly; she was an oracle with foresight almost too powerful. She would speak of random things in random languages that had barely any involvement, but Lionel could always make sense of it. No one ever understood why. He...carried an understandable grudge against my father, so when he and the others discovered my egg, he was the most hesitant in getting to know me. He did, eventually, and I was able to see in him what the others did.
After five generations of Lightfang, he was the one who finally accomplished his god given task. Public opinion towards his family completely changed afterwards, something he...didn't appreciate. Those who jeered at his presence suddenly praising him? He didn't care for it. His greatest motivation was allowing his future descendants to choose the kind of lives they wanted to live, rather than endure the task he and his ancestors shouldered. He lived out the rest of his life peacefully and with children: his son, Owein, and his daughter, Selene. Though my father's previous cult, the Black Talon, still acted against them, Selene and her nephew still remain. She's...actually been able to reconcile with Wastirek somewhat. Ironically, he helped her break away from a life of hiding and return to adventuring. She's old now, but you should never underestimate a monk, no matter their age!"
no subject
This Lionel though, he sounds like the sort of heroes Corrin has heard about in the old mythic cycles; a divine mission, a heroic weapon, and a lineage to match. Even the part about the Lightfang family being persecuted due to Wastirek's manipulations is a similar story device she remembers reading about by candlelight in her old room in the Northern Fortress.
"He sounds like a good man." She says. "Trying to do good when you suffer from an ill reputation can be...difficult. It weighs on you, and sometimes it can be quite a heavy burden to bear. Having comrades to help share the load with, friends who see past the lies for who you truly are and understand your goals...such friends are worth their weight in gold, and are just as precious."
"I hope when my time comes I can meet it with the same contentment and grace that Lionel did. To be able to look back on a life well-lived and be satisfied with everything you've accomplished...well, who can ask for more?" It seems a simple thing, yet how many people can actually say that they've done so at the end of their lives?
After a moment however, Corrin giggles. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to laugh, I just remembered something funny. Red Savarin ended up getting dropped into one of my memories once, a battle between both my families and he got a little...confused by all the named weapons that belong to them." Come to think of it, the Virtuous Legacy shares more than a little in common with the five Divine Weapons; a gift from the gods, passed down by bloodline, their wielders marked for greatness... "He'd find one more named weapon to keep track of a real pain!"
no subject
Though mentioning Red snaps her out of that train of thought while she giggles as well. "Poor Red...I certainly wouldn't help in that regard, if I told him about the heroes. Carys' Solar Flare, Felena's Distant Thunder, Lionel's Virtuous Legacy, Samiah's Road to Babylon..." Those are the big ones from home. Still, that almost doubles anything he'd know from Corrin's world. "I don't think I've mentioned the last one before. Maybe a tiny bit about Sam, but what about your sister, Camilla?"
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"Well, she's the second-eldest of us all, and like Xander she's old enough to really remember what it was like when the feuding of the royal mistresses was at its worst." Corrin begins. "Leo was still quite young, Elise barely a toddler, and I was stuck in the Northern Fortress, but Camilla, as the eldest daughter, was right there in the thick of it." For a moment, Corrin hesitates. "I know she did things to survive that she's not...proud of. I've never asked because I know how much the memories pain her, but I know that the mistresses used their children as pawns in their schemes against each other. It often ended violently. I know that at least a few of the other siblings that died during the in-fighting did so at the end of Camilla's axe."
She look over at Tilly. "I know how that sounds, but she wasn't Xander, she didn't have the protections being the Crown Prince afforded him, but she was the next-biggest target. She did what she had to do to survive, and I'm glad she did, but I know she carries a lot of guilt with her. When the dust cleared and all the mistresses and the other siblings besides us five were gone, that's when she and Xander called a truce between themselves; I don't think they'd actually been very close before that, but it was mostly because the situation wouldn't allow for that. When there was no one else forcing them to fight, they stopped, and vowed to make those of us who remained a true family. In that, they succeeded greatly, and I think in a large part that was due to Camilla. In a lot of ways, she was more of a mother figure to me, Leo, and Elise than we'd really had to that point. Me, especially, she doted on me growing up. She still does to a certain extent, but she's also accepted the reality that I'm a grown woman with a family of my own now." They'd had that talk about boundaries, and that, along with Corrin's assurances that she would always have time for her big sister had helped tremendously. "But when I was still confined to the Northern Fortress, she did everything she could to make it feel less like a prison and more like a home. It turns out-I'd actually completely forgotten this incident until Camilla told me about it-but at one point she took over the kitchen to make some cookies for me but some of the younger serving staff, including Silas, apparently, didn't realize that they were intended for me and ate them all. When I showed up looking for them, Camilla was forced to tell me that they were gone and I...I said something very cruel to her. I said, "thanks for nothing, my so-called sister", and then stormed out." Corrin's wings ruffle slightly. "I was a child, and certainly acting like one, but I didn't realize how badly that hurt her. I guess it made her think she'd been as cruel to me as her own mother had been to her, and she resolved to never do that to me again. Hence why of all the younger siblings she tended to pay closer attention to me. I felt so terrible about the whole thing when she told me about it years later, long after I'd forgotten, but Camilla had no regrets. She likes who she is now, and I guess that incident went a long way in shaping her to be that way." It's still not ideal, especially since Corrin often suspects that Camilla won't hesitate to place her younger sister's happiness and well-being above her own, but that has died down a little as she's come into her own and they've started their own respective families.
"She's much like Xander in that her family is basically everything to her, but as she doesn't have or particularly want the responsibilities Xander also carried from being the heir, that meant she could be more relaxed and approachable than he was. When we were growing up, when we had problems to talk about we often went to Camilla since she was so good at sorting them out. Not that Xander wouldn't help us out either, because of course he would, but his responsibilities kept him a bit more distant from us and we didn't want to add to his troubles. She'll also...do what she has to do to protect us, and she'll do it without regrets." Of all of them, Camilla was the most comfortable with casual murder, at least on the battlefield. Fighting her other siblings for her own survival was one thing, but protecting the ones who remained, the ones who were truly her family from harm? There was no conflict there. It had been an eye-opening experience for Corrin when she saw her beloved big sister mercilessly cut down two Hoshidan soldiers with little more than a condescending smile from the back of her wyvern, just because they had been defending themselves in a battle Corrin's own forces had initiated thanks to that brute Hans. She also had the least problem with keeping her head down and following the King's mad orders, especially since to do otherwise would risk the deaths of her beloved siblings. She wanted to change things of course, but the protection of her loved ones came first, before all other considerations.
"She's a demon with a battleaxe and almost unstoppable when she's on the back of her wyvern; those creatures are not easy to tame, but she handles hers with unparalleled grace. She can use magic, but not as effectively as the rest of us so it's more of an emergency weapon for her when an axe of some form isn't enough. She enjoys battle as a past-time but she also enjoys family life so now that there's peace I have a strong feeling she'll happily hang her axe up to devote herself to that. I wouldn't be at all surprised if she renounces her royal title before too long; I don't think she gets anything out of it, and now that Xander's in charge and Nohr is changing there's little reason for her to keep it. Sometimes I think, given the emphasis she placed on me above all else before I returned to Nohr, I think if I hadn't, if I'd defected to my birth family in Hoshido, it would have...done things to Camilla. Emotionally, I mean." Caring for her siblings, and Corrin most of all, had been most of Camilla's identity, something she clung to to try and atone for the things she did growing up during the worst of the courtly intrigue. If that had been snatched away from her...if Corrin had no longer been there, if Camilla thought she'd been replaced... "Well. One more reason to be glad of the choice I made." She says finally. "I love Camilla too much to want to be responsible for doing that kind of harm to her." Hinoka had obviously been hurt by Corrin's abduction, but she had compensated by taking up the lance and pegasus husbandry, to become strong enough to one day rescue her little sister from Nohr. She had learned to survive the tragedy that had befallen their family; Camilla wouldn't have been able to refocus herself like that. It would have been bad.
"Anyway, there they are, Tilly." She says finally. "My beloved, precious siblings. It still hurts to be separated from them after everything I did to be with them again, but I know they're waiting for me and that I'll see them again when this is all over. Hinoka, and Sakura too; I have a standing invitation to visit them in Hoshido whenever I want that I am far past overdue taking them up on! We have a lot of catching up to do, and relationships to rebuild. I'm very eager to get started on that." Plus Hoshido is just a beautiful country to begin with, and to be able to see more of it not ravaged by war, rebuilt and prosperous again will be a sight to see.
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"You have an incredible family, Corrin; Nohr sounds so cutthroat, from your descriptions, but I can't say mine had a better standing. I'd ask about your Hoshidan family, but I think that'd require another tradeoff. For that, I could tell you about my blood siblings."
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Cruel to her enemies, sweet to the ones she cared about. It was heartening to see Hinoka go from one to the other.
Corrin nods at Tilly's offer. "Absolutely, Tilly. I might not have had a chance to spend much time with my birth-sisters yet, but I know all the important things about them. I'd be delighted to tell you about Hinoka and Sakura. And my brothers too, but..." For a moment Corrin falls silent. "Those stories aren't quite as happy as the others." She admits, finally. "But I still want to remember and honour them and how they lived, and I think I can do that by telling you about them. So, yes. I'll tell you about Ryoma and Takumi too. But why don't you start? Tell me about one of YOUR blood siblings."