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criticalfai1ure · 6 months

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kees!lives au :

it’s steadfastly the aftermath of the battle. cyrus holcroft is dead. cornelius smeenk is decidedly not, with much gratitude to ingvild and her ferality for drawing holcroft’s ire.

in this calm, kees find something deeply unsettling roiling in his belly — fury. hot and overwhelming and, for the first time in their lives, directed at august. kees is alive and he is fuming. every life lost, every second of torture he and ingvi had endured in august’s stead ( and would again and again ), all of it could have been avoided years ago, if only auggie had taken holcroft’s threats to heart.

the bosun lays into the captain that night. angry and mean.

death has changed ingvi and there is a stillness and calm that had not graced her before. she stands as a statue outside of the captain's quarters, godsword on her hip, smirking faintly at kees as he stalks out. “so you'll let me kill them next time, right?” she says, dryly.

kees answers quickly, still hot from his argument, “don’t.”

she reaches out, then, softening, and catches his arm "hey. we're here. we're still here. and he has to live with the memory of what happened for the rest of his life."

kees runs a hand over his face and sighs because he knows she’s right. but he’s already woken up with the ghost of the rope around his neck and, he won’t admit it yet, not fully, but he knows deep down that he wasn’t meant to make it through that encounter. “without your gods, where would we be?” fingers tug at the neck of his shirt, “i will forgive him because i -” his lips twist and he looks away from ingvi to stare up at the sails, “- but i would be lying if i said it didn’t feel good to make him hurt a little more for a little longer, and if that makes me a terrible friend, so be it.”

"oh, if you think i am not going to use dying for him as an excuse to do literally anything, you have too high an opinion of me." she steps closer, sliding her hand down to his and squeezing it. "knowing you're going to die for your captain and actually doing it are pretty different experiences. i think we have the right to be terrible."

— • —

it’s noon the next day and august is still sequestered in his cabin but kees refuses to be the one to check on him. suyu has the shift and brief orders from the captain to retain command through the night, so when kees approaches him, he dismisses the bosun's worry.

by the dinner bell, kees' guilt has begun to eat away at him ten-fold, but every time ingvi looks at him, he pretends he doesn’t notice. by midnight, when the door hasn’t even cracked and kees doesn’t want to sleep even if he could, he wanders out of his quarters to sit outside of the cabin. his guilt has been fighting his anger all day, and he finds this little acquiescence assuages some of his inner turmoil.

atsuyuki prods kees with his foot the next morning, pointedly looking at the captain's quarters, "mister smeenk, if you wouldn't mind checking on the captain this fine morning?"

kees clambers to his feet, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he glances between suyu and ingvi. the quartermaster excuses himself for the bridge with a slight bow of his head.

ingvi gives an uncertain, "how badly did you chew him out?" as they stare at the doors only for kees to shrug. “he deserved it.” but he doesn’t sound as sure as he had the night in question.

"i don't doubt it, but this is the longest i've ever seen you two not speak."

he scoffs. he's sure there's been time they've gone without speaking. then again, he's never brought a fight to his friend, so maybe not. “he’s probably just angry at the truth being laid out,” kees knows he’s lying to himself. “d’you think pax has brought up any food?”

"... i'm sure he's tried, if anything. i'll ask." after another beat she heads off to the galley.

it feels like ages when it's barely been minutes as kees' impatience overcomes him, finally drawing him to knock. after a moment of silence he knocks louder only to have august shout for him to go away. his worry shifts, then, because he’s got a sneaking suspicion he knows what he’ll find when he opens the door. when ingvi returns, he asks her to have pax bring up a strong pot of coffee to which she just gives a sharp nod and returns belowdecks.

it's been two days but the smell of alcohol has gone stale without an open window to circulate the air. guilt clashes with the anger in his chest as kees enters the room, sharply closing the door behind him to catch august’s attention.

“did you not hear me? go away,” the captain slurs. he is sat hunched over his desk, bottle of rum drained, rolling on its side with the sway of the ship.

“auggie…”

“don't - don't auggie me, kees. just -” and here his voice breaks, “just leave me be.”

rather than listen, kees crosses the room to kneel at his captain’s side, looking up at him with a sadness in his gaze. “what have you done, mijn hart,” a whisper, “forgive me my anger.”

tears spring to august's eye and he turns to hide his shame from the bosun. “i lost you, kees. i lost you both -”

“and yet we are still here. with you. you won't be rid of us so easily.”

ingvi's knock comes quicker than expected and august looks up, brow pinching with annoyance. kees watches auggie a moment longer before pushing to his feet, bidding aug to look at him and pressing a kiss to his forehead before calling out for ingvi to enter.

as the door creaks open, kees crosses to the back of the cabin, propping open the windows for the sea breeze. ingvi enters silently and eases the door shut behind her. she carries the coffee to the desk, pours it into one of the three mugs pax had provided on the tray and sets it in front of august. instead of pouring one for herself, she glances around, wordlessly setting to put things back in order.

august grimaces at the strong smell, sliding the mug further from him until kees tuts, taking a seat opposite. “drink up, mate.”

“ik ben geen k-kind.”

“and when you can admit as much without slurring, perhaps we’ll believe you.” kees crosses his arms, expectant, and after a long moment of trying to wait it out, august finally relents and sips at the coffee, grimacing again. after another moment, kees quietly asks, “is this… because of me?”

august sips the coffee again, unwilling to meet kees’ gaze and instead watching ingvi tidy up. embarrassment colours his cheeks upon realising the mess he’d made but he shakes his head. “nee. or, not because you shouted.” he pauses, eyes falling shut as he leans back in his chair. “i was wrong, i should not have allowed my feud with cyrus to bleed into our lives as much as i had – shouldn’t have underestimated his ire.” a shrug, and his words come out choked, but he looks to kees and then ingvi, now, “i nearly lost you both, we did lose you, ingvi, brief as it was. and if your gods were not with us?” a tear slides down his cheek and he does not brush it away. “i am a disgrace of a captain. a continued lapse of judgement proves as much.”

she does not need the reminder she died; she has woken every night so far with the memory of the chill, of her blood coating her skin. it is not something she will soon move past. "why do you concern yourself so with wondering what would have happened without my gods' interference?" she doesn't mean the words to be as sharp as they come out. "they were with me. they are with me." fingers brush the gold mark still shimmering high on her forehead. "disgrace or not, you are still the captain we choose to follow. if the gods can make the mistake of letting me die in the first place, you can allow yourself mistakes as well. finish your coffee."

an anger not quite as hot as when he fought cyrus bursts through him in an instant and he stands, chucking his mug at the far wall. hands fall to his desk and he sneers at both his best friend and his surrogate daughter, “why do you insist on following a man who selfishly chose a game of cat and mouse over the people he cares for most? all because he thought so highly of himself, he could have never imagined that which has come to fall?”

kees stands then, too. albeit lazily. scorn bleeding into his tone, “our blood is on your hands - i said as much the other night. is that what you’d like to hear? sober up, kapitein van de hoek. dat is een bevel, ja?”

“an order?” august scoffs. “misschien had je moeten…” but he trails off before he can finish his sentence shame flooding him as he dared allow the thought to take shape. kees pales, more than able to hazard a guess at the unspoken word.

“fuck you, august,” he spits, turning on his heel and stalking out of the cabin. the door slams behind him and august sinks back into his chair, face in his hands.

“het spijt me,” he mutters, hands then falling into his lap. shaking, penitent, he reaches for the pot of coffee, “i am not myself, ingvi. please relay to mister nakamura that he has the command until we reach england.” as, clearly, he cannot be trusted to speak to his crew.

she doesn't leave straight away, her own anger spiking at his. but it is no longer the hot, bright flash that it used to be, instead burning through her veins like lava, like ice. she stalks up to the desk and leans over it, hands braced slightly wider than her shoulders, bringing her face very close to his. voice a low snarl, "when I joined this crew, you told me I would die on this ship, same as any other man in the crew. that was an eventuality i accepted. dying hurt, and i remember every second of it, and i would do it again for you. because you, august van de hoek, saw me. you understood me in a way no one, no one else in my life ever has. that is why i follow you. failures, mistakes, and all. and i will not have you acting like it is foolishness on my part to do so." she straightens, still viciously cold. "i am your attack dog. do not muzzle me again."

august tries to play at being himself, at being sober and unflinching. but his eyes keep darting up at ingvi and he can’t steady his hand enough to pour the bitter drink into a second mug. “you have my word,” a whisper as she stalks away.

it is only a few long strides to the door, but it is enough to calm her anger. she pauses at the door. "give him time to calm down, but you have to go to him to apologize. do not wait too long. the longer you leave his heart broken, the harder it will be to mend it."

blurry gaze trains on her at mention of kees. “his… heart?” as if he doesn’t know why she would mention it. she merely gives him a long, pointed look, then leaves in search of suyu.

— • —

they’re a day from where they will make port and a full day past his words to kees. august suspects they may not have been travelling at full sail for the majority of it, but he isn’t about to question his quartermaster’s command. he has sobered, weathered the worst headache he’s ever had, and had ingvi’s parting words repeat on him ad nauseum in every space between his breath. and yet he waffles.

the bell tolls for the shift change and, for the first time since he’d secluded himself, august opens his cabin door, hands folded behind his back until he spots kees. “master smeenk, a word, if you will.”

there is a moment - a tense one - where kees considers insubordination. august can see it in the way he rolls his shoulder, tilts his head, but the crew is watching. so he obliges.

the door snaps shut behind him but he doesn’t move further into the room, arms crossed, he is closed off. august stands in front of his desk, lips twisting with all the words he’s planned on saying but seem to refuse to spill.

a long moment of silence stretches before kees pipes up with, “if that’ll be all, kapitein van de hoek?”

“kees…”

“no.”

august propels himself several steps closer, “kees, het spijt me, alsjeblieft. i never… you’re right to hate me. that wasn’t me, that was…”

kees rolls his eyes. “a drunk mind speaks a sober heart,” his reply is quiet and he turns, as if to leave.

august finishes crossing the room, reaching for kees, his hand coming to rest on his arm. “cornelius, please. ik heb je nodig, you know i do. i… i always have and always will.”

kees scoffs, but he doesn’t pull away. “you haven’t needed me in years.”

“that is wholly untrue.” and august shifts, hand moving to brush kees’ cheek. “i am sorry - for not heeding your advice years ago, for underestimating cyrus, for failing the crew and for failing you most of all. i am sorry for my words and for my shortcomings. and i am sorry cyrus dared use you as a pawn against me. het spijt me, and if you never forgive me it will be too soon. i l- hmm…”

kees meets his eye, arms falling to his side, “say it.”

“i love you, cornelius.”

“je bent een idioot, august.”

auggie laughs softly leaning down to rest his forehead against kees’, sighing deeply. “het spijt me.”

“week ik. ik houd ook van jou.”

#001 ( ❖ ) ─── general ( august van de hoek ).#002 ( ❖ ) ─── dynamic ( cornelius smeenk ).#002 ( ❖ ) ─── dynamic ( ingvild vik ).#003 ( ❖ ) ─── writing ( august van de hoek ).#credit to ingvi dialogue/actions goes to :#champagneprobllems #please forgive my use of dutch. i did have to google *some* terms bc i haven't learned past tense yet lmao. translations :#ik ben geen kind = i'm not a child #misschien had je moeten... = maybe you should have...#het spijt me = i’m sorry #alsjeblieft = please #ik heb je nodig = i need you #je bent een idioot = you are an idiot #week ik. ik houd ook van jou = i know. i love you too #turns out i just needed to spiral about my pirate captain and his bosun best friend ( and their adopted daughter ). :)

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silverloreleysfanfics · 11 months

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Act 1

I promised myself I wouldn't start another WIP when I already have so many and also I didn't make any breakthrough with my thesis in so long, but... but the first chapter of the TTEOTM x LBFAD fic I outlined here basically wrote itself, so here it is.

It's in draft form, it's long and unedited (I need to study some things more and fix a few others), no beta we die like Pian Ran (too soon?) Chu Huang (it’s already a tag on AO3 lol) and I also have no title yet.

Also, no promises I'll continue this anytime soon, be aware of this.

That said, here it is (first part out, the rest under cut):

§§§

It was cold. Heavens above, it was so cold, and all hurt so much, her eye, her head, her whole body. Her soul, even.

Li Susu tried, she tried to endure the pain, the disappointment, the guilt.

Oh, the guilt, the neverending guilt towards a world she couldn't save no matter her efforts, towards her family still destined to die, one by one, in front of her future self, towards herself for forcing all that pain and ordeals only to fail... and even towards him, her treacherous heart screeched, the one who loved her so strongly and yet she had to betray for everyone's sake, unable to find another route sooner, incapable of looking for one where they all could live.

She berated herself, for her mistakes and the pain in her heart alike, a pain she wasn't supposed to feel, not for him and yet... yet...

No, she had to push forth. It didn't matter what the God of Time said, that they were always destined to that, that there was no other choice, no other route, she had to complete the immortal essence for him, no matter what.

After all, she had been ready to die when she departed from her time. It wasn't like she had any hopes for herself to begin with. Her only wish was to fix things for everyone else.

Distracted and too tired to go on with the cultivation, she acknowledged she had to stop for the day. Eating and taking care of herself in the Cold Palace were ordeals that consumed much of her physical strength, so she tried to do the least possible, her mission the only thing that counted, to complete the cultivation and exchange the Evil Bone with Immortal Essence. Then she could rest, die with heart eased by knowing she'd done all she could.

Somebody had brought her food, as it often happened. Li Susu suspected either Pian Ran or her brother were doing so behind the emperor's back because the foods were usually good, and Pian Ran herself showed up with medicine every two days.

Somebody must have been helping her with other things, she suspected, although she had no idea who or why, her hearing and eyesight too bad to catch a glimpse of them even when she wasn't focusing on cultivating the essence.

Gratefully, she grabbed some of the food, munching it down in slow bites. It wasn't as good as always, or perhaps her taste was declining as well. It felt a little bitter, but so did the water, somehow.

It mattered not. She finished eating and went to sleep, the coppery taste of blood on her tongue overwhelmed her taste buds soon, as it often happened, and just as it often was, exhaustion claimed her quickly.

Yet, that time, that broken body didn't wake.

From the depth of the prison, Ye Bingchang waited for news of her sister's death, unaware she just caused the end of her world with her selfish envy.

Xiao Lanhua didn't often go back to the original Siming Hall, as her replica of it in Xishan was more than enough a home for her, as it was for the 500 years she waited in there for her love to return to her.

But, as Siming herself was exiled and the old Goddess of Fate never had other apprentices, Xiao Lanhua felt it was still her duty to take care of the destiny books, even more so now that with her powers as the Goddess of Xishan she could repair the damaged ones with more ease that she ever did.

Therefore, once in a while, she warned her husband she'd leave for a while, ignored his scoffs and whining not to go, and went to her old home to see what she had to do.

Siming Hall was almost abandoned, although Danyin had made sure to install a few guards there ever since she became the Goddess of War to make sure no one would steal or damage further the books, a little courtesy between the two former fairies now Goddesses who were also sisters-in-law.

In the past centuries, the plants Xiao Lanhua had helped with their cultivation had become able to get a mostly stable human form and took upon themselves the task to gather the fallen books and clean up the place so that Xiao Lanhua would find it pristine and liveable as it was when she inhabited the place full time.

As such when, one visit like any other, Xi Yun descended onto the front entrance of Siming Hall, the guards greeted her with the usual respect, she nodded back at them and entered, suspecting nothing out the ordinary.

At least, until she got closer to the Destiny Tree.

She felt it before she saw it.

One tiny bit of something misplaced, not in the wide area she worked on, but up on the tree itself. A leaf different from the rest. A Destiny Book she had to check. She looked up, ignoring the small pile of damaged leaves gathered for her on the desk, searching for the book that called for her, with an urgency at her core that told her to see what was going on impossible to ignore. Looking for the cause of the thin spike of worry puncturing her heart.

She located the book with ease and called for it.

It was like any other at first sight: a golden leaf, with a human's name, a mortal. The name meant "cinders", a strange one, as humans believed the names they gave to their children carried meanings and expectations and that was a humble, if not ominous, one.

And then she delved into it and saw what was wrong. The glowing veins didn't shine a bright gold, but red: crimson filaments engulfed a fate that was just beginning, the same sick, awful tinge as...

"Tai Sui?" she whispered, incredulous.

No, that wasn't possible. Xi Yun had destroyed the Evil God, she had been ready to give her all, Dongfang Qinchang had given his all, to destroy it and never have its poisoning presence taint the Three Realms again.

Tai Sui has been gone for over six hundred years, he couldn't be back.

And yet.

Over that mortal life hanged the grasp of Tai Sui, the boy's destiny was to grow into the Evil God, to become the Evil God himself, the vessel Tai Sui had been looking for ever since he lost his physical form.

She looked further in the book: his mother dead in childbirth, he was to be discareded by his father and seen as misfortune and a murderer before he could even emit his first cry, the nurses would find he already had teeth at birth and consider it another omen of disgrace, and that he wouldn't be able to express feelings, or even have them.

Perceived as different by other mortals, he'd be hurt and mistreated his whole life long, destined to suffer one abuse after another and eventually he'd die, widowed, in a cold snowy night, after which Tai Sui would be able to take control of his body and start the path towards the destruction of the world he so craved with the madness and pain imbued in the young man and the army of demons freed from the Barren Abyss.

Not even the Goddess of Xishan would be able to stop him, not this time.

She considered, for a moment, to pretend she never saw it, remembering her shifu's teachings about not changing mortals' fates, but that was too important. This was a fate that had to be changed, no matter what, no matter the price. The Tianji Mirror lit up with a soft orange glow right that moment. Xiao Lanhua had never seen it open in person, and dreaded what she could see in it.

"Xi Yun, Goddes of Xishan" a voice called from it.

She frowned and got closer. It didn't seem like a vision of the future, as she had been told those were silent, while this one called her by name. The mirror didnt't show much, just an opaque outline of a male figure with white hair.

"I am. Who are you?"

"I'm Ji Ze, God of Time"

Her frown ran deeper. Everyone in Shuiyuntian knew the story of how the gods had perished, long before the war between the fairies and moon tribe, how the only god left had been Ming Ye, God of War, who had also disappeared, consumed by his own grief, they said.

Yet, perhaps, the God of Time could reach past and future. Yes, that would make sense.

"I need your help, Xi Yun. Only you can set in motion what's needed to change the Fate in your hands"

"How?"

"The Devil Fetus' fate is written in that book, but it can be changed. You altered destinies before, you must find a way for this too. Another tried and almost managed, yet couldn't complete her mission and shall go through that mortal life again. Help her, Xi Yun, help Li Susu"

"What do I do?"

"The reason the Devil God can reform is an Evil Bone. Destroying the Evil Bone is the first step towards salvation. Li Susu knows how to. Please, do what you can to save the Three Realms and Four Continents"

"It's my responsibility, as the Goddess of Xishan, to finish what I started and destroy the Evil God for good" she replied and could almost hear the relieved sigh coming from the old god.

"Thank you. I'll leave it to you"

The Mirror dulled again and disappeared from the trunk, hidden as always.

Filled with dread, Xiao Lanhua tried to look for Li Susu's book, but she couldn't find it, not on the tree, nor among the ones to repair. A life not yet existing, or one already destroyed?

Xiao Lanhua hoped for the first.

After hiding the future Devil God's destiny book in her clothes, she penned a message to alert the Goddess of War, sending it with her powers through the air, hoping it would reach her as soon as possible.

She was certain Dongfang Qingcang was already on his way to Simingdian, as he seldom was able to let her stay on her own for too long and often showed up unannounced while she was working. She half-suspected his impromptu visits were also to annoy Lord Yunzhong, who couldn't deny the Yuezun to see his wife.

Therefore, she left on the desk another message for her husband to find. She couldn't wait to gather everyone there. Minutes in the immortal realms were days in the mortal lands, if she wanted to do something about it, provided there was something to do, it had to be done immediately, so she left for Yunmengze.

Changheng, under the pseud of Xiao Run, owned a teahouse in Lucheng those days. It was one of the activities he had tried his hand at in the years he moved to the mortal realm, after the fall out with his brother had become too grave to keep living in Shuiyuntian.

Lord Yunzhong would have wanted Changheng to marry, as he insisted the God of War's true potential could be achieved only through a powerful marriage, and had started to line-up potential matches against his will. Changheng's refusal to stay the God of War, going as far as to recommend Danyin to take his place, had caused a rift between the brothers that, added to their other issues, became a permanent break in about two centuries' time.

Therefore, Changheng seldom came back to Shuiyuntian nowadays and kept switching identies and jobs every few decades, to try the whole spectrum of mortal life.

It didn't help that Changheng had, once again, defied his brother's will in order to follow his heart. First his broken heart, which refused to tie itself to anyone, after he lost his first love.

Then, time later, out of love for himself, that made him realize how little he had valued his own life, and how childish his infatuation had been. How much more he loved life when he was free to decide for himself.

His friends and former enemies had turned into his family: Danyin was both his sworn sister and student, Xiao Lanhua had become a cherished sister as well, Dongfang Qingcang had gotten used to be his sworn brother again, and even Xunfeng sometimes slipped and called him with familiarity.

All of them were welcome to find him at any given moment, his house and any property he owned were open for them at all times.

So he didn't wonder why Xiao Lanhua - who everybody in Lucheng currently believed to be his sister - appeared in the teahouse unannounced.

He did, although, worry when he saw how she carried herself. Long time before, any feeling could have been read on her face with extreme ease, and it still was the case, when she was relaxed. But when she wasn't, only Xi Yun could be seen, the algid, perfectly controlled Goddess of Xishan.

Her friends and family knew when Xi Yun took over there had to be some issue she was struggling with. Xiao Lanhua hid behind her goddess persona when things were too hard to bear, she had for most the 500 years after Tai Sui's destruction and, at times, even after, because she didn't trust herself enough to deal with certain matters as her old self, the little plant with the damaged root she had been for most her life felt inadequate, no matter how much she'd grown and how many things she went through. Some scars never healed, it turned out. Judging by how controlled her every movement was and how no trace of a smile could be found on her lips or eyes, the matter had to be grave indeed.

"Is something wrong?" Changheng couldn't but ask, and Xi Yun nodded once. "Everyone else should be arriving soon, I need some time to think it through before I explain it all" was her reply.

Changheng didn't ask more and led her to one of the private sitting rooms, the kind reserved for important meetings, with thick walls and sturdy doors to grant secrecy.

Danyin arrived two hours later, which must have been no more than a handful of minutes in Shuiyuntian.

"What happened?" the Goddess of War had asked, worried by the sudden convocation.

Unable to give a proper answer, Changheng had pointed her to the room and waited for the rest to come around.

Xunfeng appeared soon after, a raised brow and a tad of disappointment at not having been convocated in person. Danyin scowled his way when she saw him before he could utter a single word and shook her head, at which he merely scoffed and sat by her side, his impatience hidden with the ease of his diplomatic ability carefully cultivated in the past centuries as interim Yuezun.

Quicker than expected, Dongfang Qingcang strode in, followed by Shangque and Jieli, his first act falling on a knee by his wife's side and cupping her face with both hands, antsy at the sight of her darkened looks.

Xi Yun instantly relaxed a bit, leaned on the soft touch of her love, but the tightness in her features didn't disappear, making all of them even more worried.

"What is it?" the Yuezun stared at his wife, who shook her head and silently prompted him to seat.

Changheng closed the door behind him and sat too.

"You're all here" Xiao Lanhua whispered, relieved.

"Your message seemed urgent, did something happen?"

"Not yet, but..." she put the destiny book in the middle of the table, pinning it with her index finger, as if afraid it could disappear from her sight if she didn't keep holding onto it.

"This is a mortal's book," she began "I felt something wrong when I visited Simingdian earlier, and the reason is this" she activated it, showing the red tendrils that entangled the bright words.

Xunfeng tilted his head "What is that supposed to mean, a-sao?"

"Immortals' destiny books have their own peculiar glow. Mortals' books are less intense. But this never happened before, I had to know why, so I checked it out" she took a breath "This mortal will be the reincarnation of Tai Sui"

"What?"

"Impossible!"

"You destroyed him!"

"I thought so too!" she replied, quieting them "Some part of him must have stayed hidden somewhere, perhaps in the mortal realm, and now it'll come back, taking the body of this mortal upon his death"

"How long?"

"Not much. A couple decades, I guess. He'll be married but he'll be still young when he'll die. Widowed, actually"

She then read the prophecy aloud: "Marred with the sin of his mother's death, he'll be rejected by blood and kin, not a soul moved by love. Torment will follow and pain will court him. No glory will last, no happiness will stay. The day of his wife's death, he too will perish in the snow, to awaken as the bringer of the world's end. The Barren Abyss will open anew, the demons will find him and recognize him as their Lord, and all shall be bleak"

"What can we do?"

"Kill him, of course"

"We can't kill a child, he's innocent right now"

"He's a mortal, how long can he stay alive? A century at most and he'll die anyway"

Xi Yun explained again: "We can't, didn't you hear it? It will be his death that will mark Tai Sui's return"

Danyin pursed her lips "We need to get ready to fight him again, then"

"The best option is to fight him here, before he can reach the immortal realms" Xunfeng reasoned, already planning the next step.

"Unless we can prevent Tai Sui from taking over" Xi Yun then retold them about Ji Ze's message and the existence of the Evil Bone.

"Why did he tell you that?"

"He asked for my help. He said I'm the only one who ever altered people's Fates and I must try to do so again"

"But immortals are not allowed to tamper with Fate" Danyin reasoned "The consequences..."

"I know, but what else can we do?" Xiao Lanhua sighed.

"Certainly not risking the Three Realms' safety" Shangque nodded "Should Tai Sui come back, it would mean certain disaster"

"What would happen if we didn't allow this mortal to fulfill its fate?" Xunfeng asked, pragmatically.

"His soul could turn to ashes, but it's more likely he would reincarnate and start anew. This wouldn't stop Tai Sui from taking his body anyway, it could either prompt the possession at once or just give him another chance in a short time"

"We'd only delay the inevitable at best, make it faster at worst" Jieli summed up.

"So what? We just let him?"

"Never" Xi Yun replied, grasping hard Dongfang Qingcang's hand. He squeezed back. It had been far too short since he came back, the pain of their parting was still strong in both of them. Neither had any intention of repeating the past, of having to make the same sacrifices, this time with no certainty Tai Sui couldn't see through their plans and prevail with his own plots.

"We have to find a way to destroy the Evil Bone, whatever it may be"

"Who is this Li Susu?"

Xiao Lanhua shook her head "I don't know, I couldn't find any book of destiny with that name. It's possible that this person doesn't exist yet"

"So we can't kill him, nor we can neutralize the Evil Bone until we know how, and we won't know how until we find Li Susu"

A heavy silence fell. It seemed like a no-choices situation.

"We must take the child" Changheng said at last "Bring him somewhere else, away from the causes of his fate, and see if we can do something about this Evil Bone on our own"

"Take him where? In Shuiyuntian?!" Danyin springed up "Would you risk to turn like Rong Hao and Chidi Nuzi? Because that's what will happen..."

Xiao Lanhua bit her lip in contemplation "I think it may work" she said.

"You can't be serious!"

"Xiao Huayao, that's madness"

"Wasn't it madness offering yourself to Tai Sui just to trap him into your Sea of Heart? And yet you made it! To defeat Tai Sui we must take a risk he wouldn't expect us to, and altering his fate is surely one"

"We'll need to know what to change, though" "Just how will he become the Evil God?"

Xiao Lanhua took the book again and opened it. A cold night, snow falling, a young man with sharp features and uncanny gauntness kneeling on the ground, then fainting. Then a red glow and he'd wake up with red irises and a new strength.

"He'll die and then awake again as the Evil God. That's all the book shows me. Whatever will happen, it will be from within him"

"We must avoid that, then. If his early death will be the beginning of it all, we must at least postpone it until we find Li Susu and figure how to destroy the Evil Bone"

"We can do it. Take the child, protect him, make sure he doesn't fall into the Evil God's path, or at least that he knows he shouldn't trust Tai Sui and give up his body..."

"We can't take him to the immortal realms," Danyin repeated "A mortal child raised in Shuiyuntian will be exposed to mockery and ridiculous at best, to hatred at worst, provided Yunzhong dijun won't decide to try his luck and execute him, and that would call on the Evil God quicker"

Xiao Lanhua grimaced at the thought "Danyin's right. You may not know all of it, but they weren't nice to me when they believed I was weak fairy with a damaged immortal root, I can't see a mortal child be treated much better, even with all of us by his side, his fate would be the same here"

"In Xishan, then. Or Changyanhai, as long as he grows up well..."

"Run-lang, it's too much of a gamble, and you're a terrible gambler, if this Danyin can remind you"

A ghost of a smile passed over Changheng, the memory of Xiao Run and his terrible habits now more a fond memory than a reason for embarrassment.

"I believe, if he's raised right, we could steer him in the right direction" was his reasoning "We may not be able to prevent his destiny entirely, but we can postpone it for quite some time, if we play our part well"

"But how?"

"By raising him ourselves, or having the immortal sects handle his education"

"Not the immortal sects. Sooner or later, they'll recognize who he is and could decide it's not worth the risk"

Surprisingly, Xunfeng seemed to agree: "It's not like we have a better plan, so we should take him. Besides, if this one is already destined to become an immortal..."

"Uh?"

"The Evil God is still a god, no? He has a potential for immortality already, other mortals will feel he's different somehow, although they won't be able to tell in what regard. He won't fit among them either way. Isn't that so, a-sao?" he pointed towards the destiny book on the table in the middle of the room.

The Goddess of Xishan nodded, having read it in depth and knowing the mistreatment and pain he'd have to go through at the hands of other mortals. In all honesty, it had hurt her heart to see it, it was a sad and painful destiny, filled with hatred and disappointment, betrayal and loneliness. She too wished to change it, despite the risks, and no, it wasn't only about Tai Sui's possible return.

There was a bit of herself in that mortal book's story - loneliness and mistreatment, growing to become powerful beyond expectations -, and a bit of Dongfang Qingcang - emotionless, raised like an object, separated from anyone when it came to the most important things -, a bit of Jieli and Shangque - orphans and needing to fend off for themselves, going hungry and mistreated at young age -, a bit of Xunfeng and Changheng, even - youngest brothers, always second in line, talented but dismissed for faults not theirs -, and of Danyin too - angry at the world, needing to keep a façade of perfect calm to protect themselves - and taking out the equation all that pain could help a lot that boy not to give in to Tai Sui's tricks.

But would that be enough? Would they be enough? Could they really prevent that dreadful fate just like that?

"Love is the only thing that can change Fate" Dongfang Qingcang recalled at least "Siming said that and we know it's true. We won't have to just raise the child, we'll have to love him. Can we do this?"

A heavy silence fell.

Could they love a monster in the making? Could he love them, in any way or measure? Love each other enough to change fate?

"Oh, what are we discussing about?!" Jieli scoffed "It's a child, a baby, but won't be so for long, we need to get a move or we won't be able to fix anything"

"Jieli..."

"No, here, listen. Shangque and I took in lots of children, and we know how they are, don't we? They grow how they're raised, for the most part. Sure, they all have their character and little things that are unique, but how they are raised does a lot"

Shangque nodded "It is so"

"And if we fail?"

"At least we can say we tried, duh. But if we stay here, discussing like old people having tea without taking action, we'll waste too much time and there will be nothing to do"

"What about letting him stay in the mortal realm, then? The child belongs here, he'll be far from the immortal realms and no one but us will have to know"

"I can do it" Changheng suddenly said.

Dongfang Qingcang rolled his eyes "You can't be serious"

"I got used to live as a mortal, I know the Four Continents well enough thanks to my travels, and I have connections and knowledge, I can raise the boy here and you can visit and help at need"

"But then you will interfere with his mortal destiny directly" Qingcang reminded him "You could shatter your soul, like Chidi Nuzi when she chose to take in Rong Hao"

Changheng's stance didn't change. It was the right thing to do, the best option for everyone.

"It's a risk we have to take, if his destiny is to awaken as the Evil God, no sacrifice will be too much"

"You'll be destroyed!" Danyin almost got up again "The payback will be devastating..."

"If you're certain, we'll all take a part of the burden" Dongfang Qinchang assured. They all turned his way, surprised by the sudden change of route, but the Yuezun must have seen something, or understood something, and his stance was clear.

Xiao Lanhua squeezed his hand, a similar determination in her eyes "Ji Ze asked me directly, and defeating Tai Sui is my responsibility, we won't leave you on your own. And if that will make our demise, so it will be"

"The old gods did the same and gave their lives for the cause. We won't be any less" Shangque affirmed, Jieli nodding by his side.

On his side, Xunfeng tilted his head "So be it"

Danyin looked at the others like they had gone mad, then pursed her lips and straightened her back "Then, our fight starts now. I, Danyin, Goddess of War, declare we will do our outmost to prevent the return of the Evil God"

§ The carriage that brought the captive prince of Jing from his kingdom to Sheng's capital was a barely decent one, good enough for a lesser noble, perhaps, if it had been in pristine conditions, which it wasn't.

It could seem a show of humbleness, sending someone as precious as a prince with such means, but Yue Yingxin knew the truth. The king of Jing had no interest in having his child have any comfort, no matter what. In fact, using the boy as bargaining chip, offering him as captive, was the last show of cruelty from a man who didn't deserve the name of father.

In the best case, Tantai Jin would be graciously hosted in the foreign land, not mistreated or hurt but never free either. In the worst, the king of Sheng would kill the child in retaliation for any slight, imagined or real, coming from Jing.

Unaware of it all, the little boy sat quietly in the uncomfortable carriage, wearing simple clothes that showed none of his noble birth, entertaining himself with a scroll one of the Sheng guards had given him once they took charge at the borders.

The scroll contained the protocol the captive prince would have to follow in Sheng, and the little boy was studying it with the same sharp eyes and attentive mind he did everything.

It was scary how focused such a small child could be, how his questions seemed above his age, how uncanny the look in his eyes was.

Yingxin was terrified of him, and even more so she was terrified of the life awaiting her in Sheng. She wanted to go home, to run away from all that, to curse Lan'an for leaving and not taking her with her, abandoning the child at the first chance.

"Yingxin, what does that one mean?" Jin asked, taking her out her thoughts by pointing at one of the characters. The boy had been barely taught how to read and couldn't recognize most characters, and had been repeating the questions with the same monotone tone and the same gesture multiple times already. At that point, Yingxing mused, she might have well read the whole text to him herself.

She leaned forward to read when the carriage stopped abruptly.

"Have we arrived?" Jin asked, craning his neck to see.

"I don't know, prince" she replied, but the guards fussing outside and the lack of any sounds normal for the outskirts of a city were worrysome.

And then it started all at once: the guards shouting something, the clamor of unsheated weapons, roar of fire and horses whinning in fear as the smell of smoke started to fill the air.

Yinxing realized two things: one, they had been attacked, likely by bandits. Two: Tantai Jin wasn't scared.

Another person, with more experience and less prejudice, would have thought it good that a young boy was not frazzled and she could coax him out and to safety without panic involved, blaming his calm to his lack of knowledge.

Yinxing only thought how dreadful it was that not even an attack could make him feel anything, not even fear for his life.

If the bandits would realize there was nothing to steal - and the appeareance of the child would never made anyone think he was valuable in any way - they'd just kill everyone.

But she didn't know what to. She couldn't fight, nor she had anything to bargain with. The dread filling her more and more prevented her to see that her precious charge had his hands cupped in front of his face, watching a cricket like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

"Yinxing, we have to go" he said at last.

"Go?"

Jin nodded "A bad one attacked, the cricket told me. If we leave now, he won't catch us"

"The cricket...?"

Oh. "Oh, the prince has the Yiyue tribe's gift," she thought with a relief she didn't think she could feel at such moment.

Yinxing let the boy grab her hand and risked looking out the carriage, moving the drape that closed itever so sligthly to see if the way was clear.

Aside from the dead guards, it was. The clamor of the fight was all in the front of the carriage, the way back was free. Weird, but lucky.

The prince, with the cricket on his shoulder, started to climb out and Yinxing followed, sprinting in the woods and away from the fight.

She dared to look back once.

It was enough to freeze her blood and tighten her chest in fear.

What they left behind was in an inferno of fire, blood and fallen men, at the dead center of it a single being stood, horns like vines on its head, and more around his torso, glowing red and engulfed with black smoke, a billowy cape covered in fire yet not burning, and a sword dripping with the blood of the last man it was extracted from only to plunge into another with innatural, perfect martial precision.

A demon. They had been attacked by a demon.

Yinxing almost fainted but forced herself to move forth and run faster, hand in hand with the child who was guiding her, changing directions as if he knew where he was going.

He was, in fact, following the cricket's directions. He wasn't sure what had happened. He registered the odd smell and sounds, the worry coming from his nanny, and little more.

But, unused to run as he was, on top of his fragile, malnourished body, he got tired soon. On the grass of unknown woods - as if he ever knew any woods before - his legs gave in and he fell over.

He would have stopped moving, had a thin, almost imperceptible voice near his ear not whispered: "Get up and run, young one, run away! Don't let the demon catch you!"

Faintly, shaking like a leaf, he tried to but couldn't manage, and fell limp on the ground, unconscious.

Yinxing was hit by a thought. A truly horrible one, but one nevertheless.

If she left him there, she'd have better chances at running away. Everyone would assume they both had died in the demon's attack, no one would look for a miserable nanny, a mere servant wouldn't be worth a search, especially if they found the prince there...

She could be free, go home, like Lan'an. Or another place.

She could... she could....

[In one universe, she did. Left him on the ground, ignored the guilt, ran for her life. Or rather, to her death. Her original destiny was, after all, to die after betraying and forsaking her charge. It just happened faster, that time around, with less pain, without going mad, without wounding him by her own hands with a cursed sword. She'd be found at the bottom of a ditch, a week later, body broken by the fall. But this isn't that story]

She went back on her steps and picked up the child, hugging the tiny frame close to her chest, as she had done a million times. And then she ran.

It wasn't a long sprint, anyway. The clamor of the fight was gone, left behind, by the time she got near a river and nothing more than the sounds of the forest and the running water could be heard.

Yinxing let herself collapse to the ground, next to a massive tree. They weren't out of danger, they never would be for good, but she was too tired to go on.

She lied the prince next to her, slumped on the trunk, and let herself drift off.

They had escaped the demon, but he was hungry and hurt, chilled to the bones in a way he had not felt even in the Cold Palace.

It was then that he heard the cold voice the first time. But he was too dizzy and hurt to understand what it was saying. It was talking for sure, something about being abandoned and miserable, that such would be his destiny, but the child cared not.

Then, as quickly as it came, the voice was gone and so was the dark landscape under his eyelids, replaced by a gentle, warm light.

"Here you are" someone said, a woman, her voice gentle beyond his every expectation. It was the kindest tone he ever heard, a stark contrast with the cold voice.

He opened his eyes, heavy as they felt, and saw a beautiful lady with golden flowers in her hair and kind eyes, smile to him. She put a warm hand on his chilled face and he immediately felt better.

Someone picked him up from the ground, not the lady, as she still had her hand on his forehead. A faint smell of flowers joined with one of smoke and jasmine, more warmth added to the mix. Hushed voices he couldn't tell apart whispered around him, none unkind nor cold.

He fell in a peaceful slumber, feeling safe and warm for the first time in his life.

"How is he?" Changheng asked. He had picked the boy from the ground and was surprised by how little he weighted. He was small even for a mortal child, pale and thin in a way that told of hardships older than the current day's events.

Xiao Lanhua retreated her hand from his forehead "He's weak but not ill, nothing some good food and lots of rest can't fix"

"We almost lost him"

"I know, when he fainted I worried I couldn't use the cricket to guide him to us anymore" Danyin retold "But we have him now and it's all that matters"

Xunfeng gestured with his head towards the nanny "Should we keep the servant too?"

"We'll let her choose" Changheng replied "I could use a hand with childcare, Jieli and Shangque can't stay here in the mortal realms too long, as can't any of you, given your duties. Besides, he grew up with her, a familiar face will do him good"

"Or not" Xiao Lanhua muttered, refusing to elaborate. Nevertheless, she went to check the woman's state, finding nothing but fatigue and, like the child, lack of nourishment.

It had been a suffered decision, to make an ambush like that. They didn't want to accidentally restart the just-ended war between the kingdoms of Sheng and Jing, but they couldn't let Tantai Jin be taken in as hostage and suffer as much as he would. It was bad enough that they couldn't help him in his first years of life, those times would become scars they couldn't remedy to, they couldn't allow it to go further, if they wanted to prevent the end of the world.

Fine, it wasn't the only reason.

Xiao Lanhua was transparent enough they all knew she was genuinely pained at the thought of what the mortal boy would have to go through according to his set destiny, but none of them understood to what extent until they witnessed it in person, when they snuck in the Jing palace to see him the first time.

The place he lived in, the way even servants shunned him, how he had to catch fish from the pond barehanded or dig in the kitchen's scraps in secret just to eat, all the mistreatment and mockery from adults and children alike, chilled them all to the bone.

Jieli and Shangque who knew poverty and hunger, whose thoughts went to the children of their orphanage and compared even the worst of them had had it better when they found them.

Xiao Lanhua and Danyin, who knew mockery and mistreatment, albeit from different steps of the social ladder, and knew the emotional scars that came from it all.

Dongfang Qingcang and Xunfeng who, even with the knowledge of their father's wrongdoings, could still remember the old Yuezun being a loving parent and wondered how could the king of Jing be so unreasonably cruel with his own son.

Changheng too, who grew without a mother, with an absent father too busy to even see him, with a tyrannical brother with a cruel streak and yet never as malicious to him as the older princes of Jing were to their youngest brother. Changheng who had witnessed the ugly parts of Shuyuntian and yet couldn't fathom how much worse a prince's life could be.

Hearing the news the third prince was to be sent away made the plan form itself. Demons were a common enemy for mortals, making everyone believe a demon was the cause for the disappeareance of the hostage would be a perfect way to have no blame on either kingdom, as long as it happened in Sheng.

Dongfang Qingcang had had great fun playing the role, if the spring in his steps and the pleased smile he sported when he joined them was any indication. It had been centuries since he could terrify someone properly and, although his worst tendencies had been abated, he still relished in scaring others.

He had not killed anyone, as per his wife's request, since death would have altered those mortals' destinies for good, but hit with clinical precision to incapacitate and stun all guards while giving Danyin the time to goad the child out the carriage and to them.

Simple enough.

The maid had been a surprise, none of them imagined the boy would have dragged her with him. Out of reflex or imitation of the care he received, it was a good sign for their task. Nor Xiao Lanhua expected Yingxing to help the little prince and not run for her life.

They left the forest soon, the idea was to reach a nearby town and pretend they found the child by accident. Knowing no one would be looking for him too soon, as it would take at least a day for Sheng's palace to be informed and start the search, they would leave the kingdom before the following dawn, never to be seen there anymore.

Or such was the plan.

#tteotm/lbfad crossover #My writing #it's long and unedited so please be nice #if you see issues just tell me #especially with the chinese terms I tried to use #I may just decide to translate everything in plain eng and stop #but I feel some of the original terms carry a better meaning #and so does a little of the grammar structure #so idk yet #till the end of the moon #love between fairy and devil #I forgot to tag them at first and then I was surprised this didn't show in the main tags #I'm an idiot LOL

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claire-starsword · 9 months

Text

Shining Force World Book translation - part 6

Previous part here

This is it for this book for now, there’s an interview with the developers as well but that kind of stuff is always harder for me to translate, and I have other things I want to be doing, so I don’t know when I’ll be getting to it. There are also sections on items and magic but they don’t really say anything interesting.

Full Guide to the Continent of Rune

A huge continent where many countries big and small prosper together

There are nine countries in the continent of Rune, where the adventure takes place. Most countries are in the western side where civilization has developed more, creating a huge disparity between it and the eastern side.

Compared to the western side, which has grown for a long time centered around Guardiana, the eastern side has many undeveloped regions. Among them, only Runefaust has for some reason began to suddenly increase their military power in an intense way.

Ancient History of Rune

It was around a thousand years ago...

The continent of Rune was controlled by people of a highly advanced civilization. However, none of them realized how, in the shadow of that prosperity, darkness also began to grow in power once more.

And one day, in order to release its power, this darkness became Dark Dragon and came to the surface. With its enormous destructive power, the land was engulfed in flames in the blink of an eye.

The survivors mustered all of their strength to oppose Dark Dragon. After a long battle, finally they achieved victory, and placed a strong seal on Dark Dragon, so that it wouldn't ever return to this world. "I shall revive upon a thousand years...", those were its last words...

Guardiana

A country of long history which respects the military arts, and has a duty to protect a secret treasure of the Ancients

The "Legacy of the Gods" is said to be a frightening beast and a superweapon. Guardiana has for a long time inherited the duty of protecting this legacy built by the Ancients. Perhaps because of this noble sense of duty, they don't place much value in idle amusement, and maintain a warrior-like disposition. To be a role model for the citizens, the royal family also keeps a modest way of living.

The 18th King of Guardiana Since he keeps good politics, the people of the country adore him.

A small castle town that still has everything the country needs

It you peruse the town's shops, you'll find medical herbs, swords, bows and many other indispensable items for adventurers. Since green is the national color, the knights can definitely be seen sporting it, and the townspeople favor it in their clothes as well.

A tranquil country, with the huge ocean spreading across its sight

With the ocean right ahead and plenty of wilderness around it, it could expand its territory at any time. However, because of their duty to protect the Legacy of the Gods, they have not invaded other countries or such. They protect an ancient castle to the east.

-The neighboring country to the north is Alterone. Since there's a road through the whole way, traveling to it is not very difficult.

Population: 2602 inhabitants Area: 3259 km² Climate: Warm and humid Main industry: Agriculture

[The other guide says 3000 inhabitants, which is close enough i suppose. enjoy this coherence while it lasts.]

Alterone

A country that seeks nothing but wealth, living off rare metals

A country allied to Guardiana. Due to having recently discovered rare metals in their mines, they've acquired enough wealth to be flooded with paintings and sculptures and other works of art, and boast some of the best military equipment in all of Rune. However, the people's hearts have been corrupted, and the soldiers especially lack dedication, so it's not a country that can be relied upon right now.

The 4th King of Alterone

He's obsessed with gold and high class things, but the citizens also have plenty, so he doesn't seem to be a bad person.

The goods are plentiful, but on the other side the people's hearts have become poor

Since their own country is wealthy, they look down on people from other countries. Because of that, the products on shops geared towards travelers are not too good. The national color tends to be blue.

The prosperity of the country is tied to the prosperity of the mine

Since the country's wealth is closely tied to the mines, they don't reveal their location. Thanks to the road built with their money, and huge river nearby, they carry on as a plentiful kingdom.

-To the south is their allied country, Guardiana, and to the north is Rindo. There are no enemies nearby, so they're very used to peace.

Population: 2942 inhabitants Area: 5056 km² Climate: Continental Main industry: Manufacturing

[The coherence lasts no longer, the other guide book says 5000 inhabitants. They must have expanded a lot between the two census.]

Rindo

The center of business in Rune, a country built by traveling merchants of different countries

Long ago, merchants from different countries gathered there to start business. Eventually they made a guild, and now Rindo has become a whole country. The town has a bunch of shops in a row, and they work with no care as to when it's day or night. Also, they have a great harbor, so they can sell goods and strong weapons to other countries.

The mayor of Rindo

He is more of a merchant leader than a king. A strict man who doesn't tolerate unfair business practices.

The citizens all have business spirit, impartial in their deals

As the scales in the country's crest show, they're fair in their business. They'll deal with anyone as long as they have the money. The national color is gold, as expected of merchants.

The center of Rune in geography and more, maintaining the harbor

The place used to be nothing, yet through the merchants' hard work and the harbor, a great urban area was born. Built by immigrants, the building are either rectangular or like tents. It has a unique atmosphere than other countries.

-The countries close by are Alterone and Manarina. Anyone can visit from anywhere else through the harbor.

Population: 2130 inhabitants Area: 1934 km² Climate: Mediterranean Main industry: Commerce

[The other guide says 3000 inhabitants.]

Manarina

A small country ruled by magicians perfecting secret arts deep in the mountains

A country deep in the mountains built inconspicuously by powerful mages who disliked to be used by others, even kings. Though called a country, it is as small as a fortress. With the research facilities provided in the castle, the mages can continue with their studies day and night. It is heaven to them.

Otrant

He works hard so that each citizen can continue on their beloved studies.

A kingdom of ambitious people trying to discover new magic

There are those doing useless research as well. However, many there are extremely passionate about magic. Their crest, using their theme purple color and a snake symbolizing wisdom, tells everything one has to know about the citizens' values.

[Yes the crest looks very much dark green and not purple to me too, don't ask me what happened here]

With a deep history, this is the holy land of mages

The country has a deep history, as it seems mages have been doing research on this land since quite long in the past. So despite looking like nothing special, it is possible that this land holds some sort of secret.

-Rindo is their main neighbor, but the mountainous path makes travel difficult. They don't communicate much with other countries.

Population: 238 inhabitants Area: 15 km² Climate: Continental Main industry: Commerce

[The other guide says 200 inhabitants, which is pretty much just rounding.]

Bustoke

The only homeland in this world for those of mixed beast blood

A kingdom in the huge forest regions of northern Rune. The country's activities are centered around forestry, and lumber is their main exported good. The citizens enjoy a simple lifestyle, and their activities makes them almost entirely self sustained. Being a country built by half beasts, they don't interact much with humans from outside. They apparently aren't allied to any other nation.

Zylo

King of the people with werewolf blood. His wolf heritage is greater than anyone else's.

A beautiful country living in harmony with nature, using their plentiful lumber

The country's economy is centering around the exportation of building materials obtained through forestry and mining at the quarry. The town is built utilizing well the natural resources, with buildings made of wood without any stone. It's an environment that puts your heart at ease.

A natural fortress surrounded by stone and forest

Thanks to the dense forests, it is hard for a big army to cross the region, and thus the country is easily protected. The plentiful forests also provide riches in the form of lumber. You can call it the biggest treasure of the people with werewolf blood.

-If you go east, you'll reach the huge plains of Pao. Going around Shade Abbey is shorter, though.

Population: 453 inhabitants Area: 1189 km² Climate: Siberian Main industry: Manufacturing

[contradiction time let's goooo i'm putting these guide books to fight in a pit, there's not a single thing they agreed on with this one. According to the other, it is forbidden to cut lumber from Bustoke's forests, which is why they build their houses in the mountain walls, something that is weirdly not mentioned at all here?? We do see a couple of regular buildings in game though.

The other guide also mentions a joint business venture between Bustoke and Rindo, meaning it's not as isolated as this one says it is

This one also seems to be treating everyone in the country as a wolfling which is just, wrong.

Population in the other book is 800 inhabitants.]

Pao

The unique grounds of the free people who run through a massive land

A nation of nomadic people who move freely, camping across all the wide territory of Pao plains. The people of Pao are raised as resolute warriors since childhood. That's how they've survived conflicts with other countries while moving through the plains all their lives. Hunting is their main activity, but they also raise grazing livestock.

Queen Koron of Pao

She lives freely, with her own tent. You could call her the symbol of Pao.

A fighting force quietly managing their pastures, while having strong troops

They live a tranquil life, letting their paopigs, animals similar to sheep, graze in their camps. When peace is disturbed, they can endure due to their past as a warrior tribe, and their strong troops.

The nation's capital moves, following its people

In order to move as they please through the plains along with their leader, their capital has no fixed location. The country's symbol colors are green, white and blue, representing the plains, the sun and the wind. It is clear that they deeply love the plains.

-A wide plain region that doesn't fully fit in the screen. To the west are Bustoke and Shade.

Population: 562 inhabitants Area: 26985 km² Climate: Continental Main industry: Agriculture

[Population in the other book is 130 inhabitants.]

Waral

The unique pirate country, started from a bunch of thieves

As seen from the use of waves in their crest, their connection to the ocean is deep. These people gathered to build a country in a small island because in the distant past, they were a group of pirates. Since then they've quit the pirate business, and live mostly off fishing. The harbor is filled with shops selling marine products, and the town is bustling with life.

The 5th King of Waral

It is said the ancestor of the royal family was the chief of pirates that constantly assaulted various continents.

A town full of life wisdom, and the birthplace of fishermen

The buildings have small windows to cope with the harsh sunlight. The castle is proudly decorated with spoils of battles from their time as pirates, and the history of the country's foundation comes across from every corner.

An archipelago of big and small islands

The territory is formed by islands of all sizes, and there are plenty of small ones, save for the one with the castle. The country's economy relies on fishing, yet the boats they use are generally small. But there are many of them, so extracting marine resources is still no trouble.

-There's always some danger in traveling by boat, but access to the country is still easy due to facing the ocean in all directions.

Population: 1536 inhabitants Area: 429 km² Climate: Temperate Main industry: Fishing

[round two of the pit fighting! the other guide book claims Waral was founded by fishermen from Rindo. Also its population there is only 300 inhabitants.

I also find it very weird that this one does not bring up the mermaids in the country at all.]

Prompt

The mysterious country that suffers in poverty, yet is inhabited by descendants of the Ancients

The buildings are of poor quality, and it cannot in any way be called a lively town. It's only saving grace is that the townspeople are still somehow happy and friendly. Rumor has it that the descendants of the legendary Ancient people live there, and the citizens are all sages, hence why it is also called "the country of sages". There might be clues about the Ancients somewhere in town.

King Kusko

A sage who treats visitors from outside harshly, so as to protect his historical country.

The sad country of the descendants of Ancients, having survived many disasters

The choice of the owl as national crest and platinum as national color are also both tied to their relation to the Ancients. Both represent the deep wisdom they've inherited from that civilization.

Complex nature protects this historical country

Runefaust is a neighboring country with massive military power, yet they have not been attacked. Perhaps they've been looked down at as "unworthy of being enemies", or maybe the real reason is that they're surrounded by steep mountains and deep forests.

-Runefaust is close by to the south, but they're protected by the surrounding terrain.

[Note: this is the only screenshot map that points out places not named in game as far as i recall. To the north is Sirius Mountain, previously mentioned as Gong's place of origin. To the east is Conga Basin, which i don't recall being mentioned anywhere, but is probably the space between mountains where the Tower of the Ancients stands.]

Population: 952 inhabitants Area: 2351 km² Climate: Continental Main industry: Agriculture

Runefaust

East Rune's leading power, boasting great military might over good policies

Ever since the current emperor ascended to the throne, he has relocated the castle, increased military power, and imposed harsh policies. With that, it turned into a military superpower incredibly fast, and has made unsettling moves such as aiming for the Castle of the Ancients. It has annexed the undeveloped areas near it as allies, and as it keeps improving its superior force, the citizens have been putting up with many struggles.

Emperor Ramladu

He enjoys demon-like decorations like monster statues and eerie paintings.

As it builds up superior military might, the citizens suffer with heavy taxes

Having to pay for the country's huge expenses, the people have been suffering a lot. With that, the streets also look plain and without much embellishment. The national colors are red and black, representing chaos and power.

A country in East Rune whose real power is still unknown

Civilization in East Rune hasn't developed as much as in the western side. There's no much communication between the two sides. Because of that, they have a history of being treated as "savages" until recent years.

-To the north is Prompt, and beyond the ocean is Guardiana, which protects the Castle of the Ancients.

Population: 2950 inhabitants Area: 3289 km² Climate: Temperate Main industry: Commerce

Other Cities and Villages

Fort Uranbatol

A fort to serve as base for Runefaust's invasion of the western side of the continent. Despite being still under construction, it already has considerable forces stationed in it. Commander Balbazak is the one responsible for it.

Village of Rudo

A small village at the foot of the holy mountain Dragonia. Despite its size it still has establishments such as a church. They're of a minor religion that worships the Sacred Dragons who live in Dragonia. They have some knowledge on the Ancients.

[Note: I assumed there was a typo on this one. It is the only place I've seen referring to Bleu's race as "真竜" (real dragons) instead of "神竜" (sacred dragons). Both are read as "shinryuu" which would explain the mistake.]

Shade

A village between Rindo and Bustoke. Being close to Rindo, the people there make a living out of guiding travelers to Bustoke through the twisting mountain paths.

#shining force #shining series #shining force world book #sf ramladu #long post #did you know that i've translated this book some days ago and have only been posting slowly? and i didn't backup things before?#anyway my elderly notebook just freaked out for some hours here #i'm an idiot #anyway rip emperor ramladu you would have loved shadow the hedgehog

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