Solace

Song of Betrayal | Fire Emblem

time
to kick
ass

Don't quote me plox

Song of Betrayal | Fire Emblem

"Hmph, I gave you my name. That was the favor." Zaino chided, scowling as he folded his arms in a grumpy and childish manner. He turned to take a gander out of the window, seeing that the day had already shifted to the dusk and painted the sky with sprinkles of silver. He would've sat there to marvel at the stars' beauty, but did that hold any significance in their cruel world? Maybe it did one time, but that was all the shadow of a past that now haunted him.

Zaino scanned around the malignant room for his sword, seeing that it was nowhere to be found and narrowing his eyes. He mumbled to himself, "Where's my sword?"

That was when he caught sight of a cobweb located remotely at a corner of the room, where a spider rested. This caused him to fumble off of the bed and hit his head against the side, producing a loud banging sound. With a flaming passion, he held a great dislike for arachnids; he wasn't sure when or how it had surfaced, but the fear was more or less there. On instinct, he dove towards the spider and its web armed with a pillow like a predator catching its prey and crushed it against the wall, applying extra force to make sure it was dead and generating even more noise.

"Whew..." Zaino breathed, letting go of the pillow and letting it stand against the wall. He turned to the woman who had entered the room, scratching his head. "Do you have another pillow?"

---

Xanxus yawned once again at Darrian's statement on bastard children. While the possibility was a reality for the two of them, it didn't really concern him as much; he didn't intend on becoming a father now, or anytime soon, like Darrian had insisted with what he'd done for him. The idea of toddlers bearing the Mark of the Exalt amused him. "Heh. You got me there."

Now for the statement that was half of a possibility, something that Xanxus knew was untrue in his case. He'd known Darrian ever since the man took power as the new reigning Exalt of Ylisse, and he was the only person to ever match him in a duel. He'd never been defeated, and the idea of being tied against someone had been foreign to Xanxus until the nineteen year old crossed swords with the eighteen year old Prince. Every now and then, they'd hold friendly contests with one another where no true winner was held; Xanxus didn't care about being the best at anything, even though it was what he was known for. Regardless, he sarcastically complied, "But of course, 'Your Majesty.'"

"I sent two assassins to join my kid brother and feign their friendship after destroying the eight barracks," Xanxus shrugged. "Who knows, maybe grumps killed them and is still out there, crying over a spider."

Song of Betrayal | Fire Emblem

Xanxus had been asleep until Darrian made his sudden appearance, his Iron Sword resting beside him. He had always made it clear for everyone to not disturb his slumber; there had been multiple instances where a soldier would do so and collateral damage occurred, but he didn't care. It was their fault for not heeding his words, and at least, his own men was able to comprehend his request. Sleeping beside his sword had become a part of his lifestyle when an assassin attempted to kill him in his sleep as a teenager, and he woke from his senses being disturbed in the act.

"Oh, it's only you." Xanxus said, almost disappointed as he retracted his sword only inches away from Darrian's shoulder and bringing his other hand to his mouth, yawning. Normally, he spent a large portion of his day resting to continually build up his already-high reserve of energy, though he preferred to have something to do other than laze around. It was a key factor as to why he seemed restless and constantly on the move to others; whenever he was awake, he was unable to stay in a single spot or position for more than a minute. During battle, one of his men had compared him to a force of nature: continuously at the heart of the attack, the furious storm never rests, though he found that poetic viewing of himself to be ridiculous. He leaned back, tossing his sword back to his resting spot and crossed his arms. Xanxus found it somewhat humorous when he saw how uniform Lantus was towards Darrian, whereas he himself was casual and not formal. "You're finally out of the throne room; it's been a while. Congrats. So, did you accidentally have yourself another child?"

---

As Ambra explained herself, Zaino raised a hand to his forehead, glowering from its aching. It was just a dream, but why did it seem so real? An image of Xanxus severing his right arm and the screams that followed pierced his thoughts, a stinging sensation arising from his shoulders. He shook his head slightly and felt a bit sick from the sight of all the blood, but recuperated soon after. His violet irises refused to meet with Ambra's eyes, his suspicion of her and the rest of the "survivors" lingering, but still...

"... Thanks." Zaino mumbled, looking down at his bandaged wounds sheepishly. His view averted to the one where he had been poisoned and squinted in a tense fury, gritting his teeth and balling up his fist at the thought of the betrayal. If anything, he didn't actually look infuriated; upset was a better word to describe his expression. He scooted back and sat upright, briefly cringing at the pain in his torso and bringing a hand atop of the wound that had contained the poison. It was then that he raised his violet eyes and looked back at Ambra, studying her face while she continued to speak. "I guess I owe you... Ambra, was it? Zaino."

Song of Betrayal | Fire Emblem

phillmyster said
So its darius, xanxus , lantus and a guard in order in that pic

no

Song of Betrayal | Fire Emblem

Another dream...

Yet, something was different in the air this time around; Zaino stood behind what seemed to be a violet barrier composed of dark magic, and faced three other people on the other side, almost as if he were spectating a duel within an arena. The atmosphere seemed to sap the air from his lungs and suffocate him, having difficulty in breathing. To the left, there was a fairly-armored man with his back to Zaino knelt down beside another unarmored person whose body was sprawled on the ground.

Surrounding the one who laid, blood stained the tiles of an intricate design that almost resembled that of an eye. The other one who was slightly wounded, after exchanging inaudible conversation with his partner, collected a tome and rose to his feet as his front came to view, revealing a mask. Opposite to them, a lone figure adorned in a crimson coat stood almost unscathed, chuckling just loud enough for Zaino and the other two to hear.

"I'll destroy the very meaning of your existence, and you'll see just how much of a gap there still is between our strength." That voice!

"Don't mock me, Xanxus!" The masked man retorted, tightening his fist as a red aura that sparked like lightning swirled around his body. Latched on to the left side of his belt was the dying man's Thoron tome, and on his back, a Tomahawk and a foreign blade that Zaino couldn't recognize crossed one another. "I still haven't forgotten any of these two years. All of the people you killed... All of my friends you've slaughtered!"

"Friends?" Xanxus scoffed, readying yet another foreign sword as the masked man charged at him with sword in hand. "I told you once a year ago; didn't you learn your lesson before?"

As the two clashed weapons, Xanxus effortlessly parried the masked man's attacks and locked swords, staring down at him. "The more friends you make, the more you suffer when they die!"

Stepping back from the collision, the masked man sheathed his sword and wielded the Tomahawk briefly before bringing it back and hurling it in a powerful throw towards Xanxus. As the axe was halfway towards its target, the masked man swiftly used his left hand to lift the Thoron tome from his belt and, opening it, conjured a mighty beam of thunder from his right hand aimed at Xanxus' right side; a preemptive strike. As this occurred in the course of two seconds, the masked man rearmed his sword and proceeded to attack from the left, almost as if he had been expecting Xanxus to be there.

"So, this is the power of the Dread Scroll you sacrificed your swordsmanship for," Xanxus said as he emerged from the side where the Thoron spell had been cast to. The masked man, surprised, was too late to react as Xanxus dealt two swift slashes to first the man's front and then shifted to the back, turning his back to him as he leaped into the air with a flip. Before the man could move out of the way, Xanxus aimed the final downward slash at the shoulder of the man's right arm, severing it as he landed on his feet in front of his opponent.

The man howled and recoiled in pain as Xanxus turned his back to him, first falling to his knees before his entire body slumped to the floor, quickly soaking in his own blood. The mask that covered his face, turned towards Zaino who could only watch in horror, cracked into several pieces until it broke off completely and revealed his face to him. "A shame that you were unable to avenge your Shepherd friends once again, but hopefully, I've ended your suffering this time. Goodbye, Zaino."

---

Zaino awoke in a brief tantrum as chills ran down his spine in a nervous sweat, his eyes wild with fear. His fear and anxiety was soon replaced with realization as he got a sense of his bearings, no longer feeling as exhausted and hurt as he had earlier, though his head was pounding. What the hell did I just see... It was then that he was able to notice that he was now laid in a bed that smelled rancid, and figured that he'd been taken to an inn when he collapsed earlier. "As long as I'm away from those people, I'll be-"

Zaino gasped and had nearly fallen off of the bed as he, half-naked, saw Ambra wrapping a bandage around his leg. He reached to his right for his sword, but only grabbed the air, quickly hiding his embarrassment. There were more bandages wrapped around his chest and arms, and he could see that he'd also been cleaned up of the blood and grime. "Wh-what are you doing?!"

Song of Betrayal | Fire Emblem

what

Song of Betrayal | Fire Emblem

Just to clarify, Phil
Zaino never gave his name out to anyone yet. >_>

Song of Betrayal | Fire Emblem

I eat dinner in at least 11 minutes and after that I'm gonna crash
yeee now for the last dreamlike vision thingy and Zaino can finally wake up to the awkward situation

Song of Betrayal | Fire Emblem

These avatars make me cringe

Song of Betrayal | Fire Emblem

One of these twenty pages
I don't remember exactly when

found it
Last IC post by him was 5 days ago.