Chapter Text
Windmire lay in ruins. As the streets blazed, Severa could just make out the ominous shape hovering in the sky above the ruined city. It was the same shape that had haunted her memory for as long as she could remember. The ominous shape of the Fell Dragon, Grima.
"Foolish child. Did you truly believe that I would allow you to run away and live with your failure. While the idea is amusing, I would much rather come to claim what is mine and lay waste to everything else."
Suddenly, Severa's left hand began to throb, and a mark on the back of her hand, almost identical to the one her father bore, began to glow ominously.
"Did you truly believe that you could use Naga's power to escape my wrath? Whatever Naga could do, I can do better. In this case, it was as simple as following the scent of my own blood. Yes, that's right child, my presence here in this land is ALL YOUR FAULT! Now... it is time that you stopped running. It is time you joined your father and sister in me. It is time... you proceeded your way into OBLIVION!" and he lunged forward.
Selena woke up screaming.
"Selena darling, whatever is the matter?" asked Camilla, who was now standing at her retainer's bedside. Selena stared at her for a moment, then lurched out of bed and ran to her patio door and looked outside. She was still in her room in Krakenburg, and the city was intact.
Selena breathed out a sigh of relief, and then, body trembling, she walked over to her spare chair and collapsed into it. She then proceeded to start sobbing. Camilla respectfully held her tongue and asked no questions. Not until her darling retainer was ready for them.
Beruka, on the other hand... "what's that on your hand?" she asked. Selena looked at her hand, only to see Grima's mark staring right back at her. She lurched backwards and widely grabbed for a knife. Camilla stepped in and seized her arm and tore the knife out of her hand once it became clear that Selena had been intending to stab her own hand with it.
"Selena darling, what's wrong? Please tell me, I can't stand to have something bothering my darling retainer. So what is it? And can I kill it for you?"
Selena stared at her for a moment, then shook her head. "I... I wish that you could. But that's not... It was... I had a nightmare about my family legacy. I... there's nothing that can be done about it, and... I'd sooner forget about it than talk about it. There... there's a VERY good reason why I never talk about my past. Why none of us do..." she explained, switching from a panicked tone to a more flat one.
"Does it have something to do with that crest that just showed up on your hand?" asked Beruka.
Selena stared fearfully at her, then calmed down again. "It's... it's my family crest. And Curse. My... my late father and sister had it as well.
"Selena dear, you never told me that you had a sister." pontificated Camilla.
"I... HAD a younger sister. I... I don't talk about Morgan for a reason. Not quite for the same reason that Laslow never talks about Lucina, but... ach, it doesn't matter."
"Who's Lucina, a girl he really liked?" asked Beruka
"NO! She was Laslow's older sister. And my best friend." said Selena.
"I didn't know that Laslow had a sister either." remarked Camilla.
"And I bet you didn't know that Laslow's dad was the older brother of Odin's mom either, huh?"
"No..."
"Oh... well, now you know... Can you please leave? I... I'd rather be alone right now."
Camilla regarded her silently. "Alright darling. Come Beruka. Selena needs to be alone for a while." and with that, they left the room.
Naturally, Camilla went ahead and told her brothers about her retainer's nightmare, and the information that she had let slip.
"You know, your majesty, in the past when I did my investigation on the three, I DID notice an odd mark on Odin's arm (not that he tried to hide it), and I also found an identical one on Laslow. So, I'd always figured that those two were related somehow. That or it was a tattoo for some club they were both in. I figured that they were half siblings, or something in the related case, but I guess this works just as well." remarked Niles to Leo.
"Laslow has a mark? Where? I've never seen it." remarked Xander.
"Oh, he keeps it hidden, but he couldn't hide it from me." stated Niles smugly.
Xander's jaw locked "I'll admit, I walked right into that one. I really should have known better."
"You know, sometimes in the middle of his antics, Odin sometimes just... stops. And stares out into space. Sometimes he wakes up thrashing. When I ask him about it, he says 'I've had a fell vision, so now there is much that I must do!' I've been writing that off as more of his shenanigans, but now I'm beginning to think that he's trying to hide the fact that he's been having nightmares and traumatic flashbacks." remarked Leo.
"Laslow has a tendency to be up and about late at night, then come the morning he's really tired. I always figured that he was just pulling all-nighters for his philandering exploits, and I've given him multiple warnings about it. I always figured that he was just ignoring me, but now... does he keep himself awake at night in order to avoid nightmares?"remarked Xander
Whatever the case, I think that it's quite obvious that the reason they lack a past is because they are trying to erase a terrible one. Who knows, Selena, Odin, and Laslow could all be pseudonyms that they are using in an attempt to break away." he finished.
"Lady Camilla, if I may, I have a theory." said Beruka. They gave her leave to speak "I believe that the three of them may be that is left from a purge of the nobility in a fallen kingdom."
Leo raised an eyebrow "Explain".
"Putting aside their... odd habits, I have noticed that they all show signs of having come from a 'proper upbringing'. In fact, their habits can be explained that way. Perhaps Laslow's father was at the top of the local hierarchy, after all, nobody would bat an eye at a lord's son going around town 'messing with women'. And if Odin is his cousin from lower on the hierarchy... well, he'd still be very high up, and aren't plenty of mid-ranking nobles eccentrics? As for Selena... do I need to bring up her shopping sprees? Coming from a noble family that was on good terms with theirs could help explain that. Selena DID mention offhand that Laslow's elder sister was her best friend, and I can hardly see that title going to a commoner..."
The Nohrian siblings all considered this possibility, and Beruka added one more thing. "Also, all three have a mark somewhere on their bodies. Selena called it her family crest. Hers was glowing, so maybe it's not a tattoo but something more akin to... what it is that allows you to manipulate dragon's veins. Also, their blades don't look like something a commoner would wield, and they are possessive about them..."
"That... actually sounds very plausible. We finally have something on them now. I'd like to investigate, but I get the feeling that prying is a very bad idea. Let's wait and see if they'll reveal more information on their own." declared Xander. The others agreed.
Xander happened upon Laslow one day while he was practicing his swordplay. It was... interesting, to say the least. One minute, he seemed to be performing some sort of dance routine involving a sword. Then he switched styles completely. He also began to make quips. One of them stood out to Xander in particular, as it seemed... out of character and odd. "It's time to change fate!" There was also an added level of seriousness in his voice when he said it.
And so, he approached Laslow and asked him about it.
Laslow seemed a bit startled, then he hesitated a few moments before he said in a quiet voice "It's Lucina's style. I'm trying it out. She used to say those words all the time. It was essentially her catchphrase."
"and who's Lucina? A girl you once romanced and lost?" pressed Xander, despite the fact that he knew the answer.
Laslow gave him a somewhat disgusted look. "She's my elder sister. My late elder sister. I'm trying to remember her. Because all I have left of her is a scrap of cloth I keep sewn into my armor over my heart, and the Falchion."
"Oh, was that sword her personal weapon?" asked Xander curiously.
Laslow did a so-so motion with his hand. "Kinda. She was the last one to wield it before me, but it's technically a family heirloom. Supposedly, it's been passed down my family line for over 3,000 years."
"Really?" said Xander, impressed "it looks in great shape for a blade that old. I'm guessing it's got got the legend behind it."
"Oh yes, it certainly does. It's got quite the long and detailed history. Here's the short version. The king of the earth dragons went mad and attempted to wipe out humanity. His old partner, the queen of the light dragons, chose to intervene. She removed two of her fangs, and from them created a sword and a shield. The shield was given to the most powerful family on the continent at the time, and the sword fell into the hands of a warrior named Anri." he explained
"Using the sword, dubbed the Falchion, he defeated the Earth dragon king and sealed him away. Anri died childless, but the blade was given to his brother's family, and passed down from generation to generation forever more. There have been two other significant incidents in our history where it saw significant use fighting a fallen dragon."
"So why is it here, serving the prince of a foreign nation, instead of back where it belongs?"
Laslow froze and stared off into space. Silence reigned for a full minute before he said "...Because of our recent history. It... it can't serve any purpose anymore. He's still alive... everyone else isn't. I... I need to be alone." he said before abruptly turning about and walking away.
"...survivor of a failed war then. A war for survival. That... puts a new spin on those three and their eccentricities... Dammit, now I'm worried about their performance in the future. Will whatever happened to them pop up at the worst time?"
They were simply an ordinary gang of bandits, harassing a town in one of the outer provinces of Nohr. Odin was being overly dramatic as usual. "Come dark foes! Face your destiny, for the darkness that is Odin Dark shall send you into the light!" he shouted, along with a multitude of other similar proclamations.
Niles was rolling his eye in between shots, while Leo simply sighed and let things play out.
However, things took an unexpected turn when he saw a hidden sniper firing at Odin. He was so into his routine, he didn't notice the arrows whizzing just behind his back. Knowing that simply calling out to him would only make the situation worse, Leo surged forward and yanked Odin out of the way. His intention was to yank him away, snipe the sniper, and scold Odin about his attention span.
However, he mistimed it, and he got an arrow stuck in the shoulder armor covering his dominant arm, causing his spell to veer wildly due to the impact.
Odin noticed. His eyes grew as wide as saucers, and he completely lost it. "Your majesty! NO! You bastards! I'll send you all back to Hell for this!" he proclaimed, practically shrieking. Then he went absolutely berserk, dark magic was thrown everywhere and the bandits were annihilated within five minutes... as well as a good chunk of the surrounding property.
"Odin. What the Hell was that? It's just a shoulder wound, and not a very deep one. There is no need to freak out, it's nothing dangerous." said Leo calmly.
"Nothing dangerous? Try telling that to the Scarlet Raven, Sir Henry Corvus! You'd have a hard time doing that though, he died of an arrow to the shoulder, shielding his failure of a son. One of the finest fell mages in all the world, felled by a single arrow from a random ri-reinforcement. I will not allow such a tragedy to plague the universe. Not on my watch! Never again..." he added quietly.
"Oh... alright. I'll... I'll go get it checked out right away, Odin." said Leo.
"That would be for the best." said Odin in a subdued tone, before he wandered off.
After he had been gone for a few moments, Niles walked up to Leo and said "Why do I get the feeling that the 'failure of a son' he mentioned was him?"
Leo gave him a look, then softened his expression and said. "Actually... yea, that was my guess too. The way he said it... whatever happened to you when you were growing up, Odin?" he asked softly.
It had become clear as day just how vile and uncaring King Garon had become. Yet Xander was still insisting that they set an example and obey his every whim, making a speech about what their actions and behavior towards the king would affect the rest of Nohr.
The others, however, were having exactly none of it, and began railing him for his less than stellar life choices. Selena in particular was being especially aggressive, and was getting all in Xander's face about it.
"That sounds like treason, Selena." said Xander stubbornly "Father-"
"Goddammit Morgan! Could you shut up about father for one SECOND and think about what he's asking of you? Being your father doesn't automatically make him right. He's a powerful man, not a god!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, leaving her panting desperately afterwards.
"...Morgan? Who's Morgan?" asked Xander once he had recovered from his initial bewilderment.
Selena froze and turned deathly pale. Then, she slowly turned towards her childhood friends. They'd gone pale as well.
"You... called him Morgan... and said 'father' instead of 'your father', Selena." said Laslow slowly.
She turned even paler. "Naga help us. It's happening again. I... NO! After all this time, I thought that we had escaped that madness. But... NO!" she said, voicing cracking "It's happening again! It... It followed us here! It's like he said, we can't escape him, he followed us here! I... I can't bear to watch this happen again!" she proclaimed, backing away from Xander slowly, tears streaming down her face. Her entire body vibrated uncontrollably, fear was written across her face and her body in bold letters.
In an instant, all of Xander's anger evaporated like water in the hottest sun. He'd never seen anything like this before. Selena had always been sarcastic, witty, and tough as leather while still remaining a consummate professional.
In all honesty, he'd always kind of liked her for that, her ability to remain the professional while showing a side of her other than absolute stoicism and not have it seem like a weakness.
But now... she was afraid. More afraid than anyone he'd ever seen before. He looked at Odin and Laslow. Their composure was not much better than hers.
Laslow was not crying, but he had a determined look in his eyes, but his body... He had his sword drawn, and it was raised against him... but it didn't register as a threat due to how violently his hands were shaking.
Odin was the most composed of the three. He stood in front of his companions, arms raised behind him, as if he was attempting to shield them with his body. His body wasn't shaking like the others, but his eyes... those eyes knew the true meaning of fear as well.
All arguments concerning the king were dropped, and everyone stared at the situation now unfolding.
"What... am I reminding you all of? What... happened to you three?" asked Xander, quietly.
"Our home... our whole world... our friends, our families, everything we ever knew and held dear and cried and sweat and bled for... died. We... what stands before you now is all that is left of the populations of two entire continents. You... You're reminding us of what happened right at the end." everyone's breath caught on what he said next.
"We were betrayed. By Selena's younger sister, Morgan. She had almost the exact same rhetoric and ideology. And because of her... everyone died." said Odin. His voice trembling, turning into a whisper as he said the final line.
"...What... is your story, you three?" asked Xander in a nervous tone.
Odin closed his eyes and sighed. And then, without opening them, he opened his mouth... and spoke.