Kratos Aurion (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
simulsimul) wrote2016-11-02 07:40 pm
simulsimul) wrote2016-11-02 07:40 pm
a thing; w/ ruinsprofessor & conductingresistance
canon
breached
confessed
dadly
future
grigori
mercenary
MEover
origin
reversal
titans
scenario list
canon: Kratos needs to stop running off
confessed: wing reflex
confessed: actual wingpull
confessed: turning Renegade
confessed: son meets father
dadliness: confrontation
dadliness: awakening
dadliness: illness
dadliness: a fundamental lack of understanding on the word 'abducted'
dadliness: updating parameters
dadliness: assassination assignation
mercenary: hiding in the library
mercenary: aftermath of librarian saviour
reversal: oracle destroyed
titans: storming the tower
titans: safety in the canyon
titans: night horrors
canon
- combo of Kratos and Zelos ending
- Zelos does the stupid thing, but not so far as his death, and is still the eighth member of the party to Derris-Kharlan.
scenarios
scenario one: Yuan tracks Kratos down at Dirk's.
breached
- canon right up until after Botta’s death
- no one uses Yuan’s name around Mithos so Mithos walks right into the Triet base with them
- cue an epic OH SHIT in which Yuan gets a lil bit beat up while covering the evacuation of the rest of the base
- until Kratos appears to intervene and have the Chosen group get Yuan out of there
- Mithos gets Kratos tho and he’s a bit mad cos, yanno, traitor and all
- time to be locked up and punished and need to be rescued
- kind of puts a crimp in the creation of the Eternal Ring plans
- mostly cos Mithos turns Kratos lifeless, with some armour to regulate his mana so he remains a seraph. can't have the seal becoming less powerful, yo
- it does mean he can only obey orders tho
- the first rescue fails miserably but at least no one dies and they know they need to reforge his key-crest
- the second rescue attempt (circumstances of canon-point under percolation) goes a little better, though Yuan almost gets killed by Kratos trying to attach the key-crest
- luckily that and the first telepathy in a while gets through and Kratos manages to break out a la Colette, and heal Yuan enough for Raine to get there
- after which, angreh father-son beatdown on Mithos.
scenarios
None yet.
confessed
- almost successful assassination lands Kratos as an injured stranger in Iselia (1-2 years pre-canon)
- recuperation leads to accidental-on-purpose 'holiday' in Iselia
- doubts result in a request for Dirk to make a key-crest like Kratos' own
- oracle room undergoes some stealth sabotage
- regeneration journey is slightly delayed, prompted by Genis and Lloyd being discovered at the ranch
- Triet is awkward. so very awkward. for the Renegades -- whose side is Kratos even on these days and why was he vanished for two years?
- initial overall journey similar to canon, save that Kratos is a bit less circumspect about advising Colette on how to cope with angel transformations
- there are more overt Dun Wanna Feelings
- then Luin, wherein things happen and the group is in town during the Desian attack. the others naturally want to fight but tis a mite difficult against an army and building-destroying magitech. luckily, angel on their side. unluckily, wingpulls in order to muster the power to cover the townspeoples' retreat
- questions and confessions ensue
- Colette rejects the key crest (for the moment) so there's still hopefully maybe ambiguity about Kratos's position re the last seal
- it wouldn't fit anyway, it's modelled for the hand like Kratos's is because he was a derp and did not specify otherwise, so Lloyd needs to make a thing to make it fit
- slow protective retreat toward Asgard.
scenarios
scenario one: Kratos confesses before Salvation; Raine wants to follow up.
scenario two: Raine's examination of an angel; and also Kratos realises how far he's put his foot in it.
scenario three: Kratos goes to taunt Yuan a little, and also ask for his help.
scenario four: in which Raine makes Kratos tell the children all the things, and Yuan takes too much amusement from it.
dadliness
- Kratos retires in Iselia under the name Irving to raise Lloyd after the death of his wife
- no exsphere. ageing occurs! so does a beard and a braid
- teaches Lloyd swordplay, but on the sly, to avoid the other villagers noticing. his daytime job is weaving
- Lloyd finds the box of their exspheres and wants details. after some prodding by Dirk, Kratos explains how exspheres are made and that one is Anna's life. Lloyd is too young yet, but when Lloyd comes of age (~15) Kratos lets him make his own decision re wearing it
- Lloyd chooses not to wear the exsphere
- Genis befriends Marble and Lloyd meets her, as in canon; this happens before the journey begins, with the fallout
- difference being that Colette is still in the village so they can't be too horrible, so they just demand Lloyd be turned over for a flogging
- Kratos stands in his stead because natch. luckily, they're only mooks and don't recognise the bearded weaver as anyone important
- gives Lloyd his guilt complex early tho
- the oracle happens much the same way except Botta doesn't quite recognise the weirdly familiar bearded swordsman
- he does when he's reporting to Yuan tho
'there was an exceptionally skilled human'
/brief physical description/
/did x other faintly recognizable thing/
and both he and Yuan are aware that Kratos has been awol for a while, so there's a moment of pure silence and dawning 'no, it couldn't be'
- but then obviously one of them has to go make sure
- cue an interruption just out of Triet.
scenarios
scenario one: Yuan feels the need to investigate; this results in Kratos injured and abducted.
scenario two: Yuan realises he can't kill Kratos with his own two hands; Kratos gets mothered.
scenario three: Kratos gets sick on the heels of his recovery. Yuan mothers him some more. Botta disapproves.
scenario four: Kratos recovers and makes an escape attempt. Sort-of.
scenario five: Kratos recovers more and talks to Botta, when not needling Yuan about his lack of preparedness.
scenario six: Sheena's contract takes a slight shift into undercover instead of assassination work.
future
- Aselia is Earth ~10,000 years in the past
- all is peachy-keen except the tree is now underground and the elvens/half-elves/some humans are in hiding in the centre of the planet, hidden thanks to the summon spirits
- Colette is working with humanitarian aid in various impoverished nations
- Zelos is a diplomat in West Asia / Middle East trying to keep the peace
- Yuan is a crotchety lecturer at Cambridge who's also HUGE into environmentalism
- Lloyd and Kratos are having family time in space
- occasionally the trio on Earth meet reincarnations of people they used to know
- but rarely at the same time and almost never in a position where they meet
- but then they start meeting them
- lots of them
- all in the same span of years
- they're starting to think something's hinky
- until the space-elves attack
- and then they know something is hinky.
scenarios
None yet.
grigori
- at some point significantly before canon, Kratos actually calls it quits
- the Church's institution calls him a fallen angel of vengeance
- really he's just going around trying to help people and avoiding being taken back to Cruxis
- assigns himself to the Chosen parties whenever he can, up to Colette
- ????? idk some kind of profit somewhere
scenarios
None yet.
mercenary
- when Yuan visits Kratos at the beach when Lloyd is 3 months old, he does not manage to escape before Anna and Lloyd return
- accidental attachment to this kidlet who likes pulling his hair
- three years later, Yuan can't stand to hold back while Kratos fights Kvar, so he throws caution to the wind to help
- Anna is still killed but they rescue Lloyd and Noishe and both are branded as traitors
- Lloyd is raised as a Renegade with Dad, Uncle Yuan and the extremely reticent Uncle Botta (how dare)
- meanwhile in Tethe'alla Yuan infiltrates the castle as the library archivist
- stays out of sight, mostly, but has a good ear around the politics thanks to recruiting Princess Hilda
- also happens to stumble on Zelos hiding in the library right after his mother's death
- look he's got a 'nephew' he can't just do nothing (even if all he meant was to recommend a book)
- unwittingly accidentally 'adopts' the Tethe'allan Chosen by virtue of being the only one who doesn't treat him like the Chosen
- sometimes Kratos brings Lloyd to visit and basically they're all separate pairs of exasperated bros
- by canon Lloyd and Kratos are wandering mercenaries, helping people on the sly while gathering intel to send back to the Renegades
- Yuan and Zelos are actively building resistance to the Church using inside knowledge
- the ninja are all Renegades
- Colette is escorted by Raine and by the priests
- yes the 'chain up the Chosen and drag her to every seal if necessary' priests
- she meets Lloyd randomly in Triet but Lloyd doesn't know her as the Chosen. they're a bit out of touch on the Journey of Regen timeline
- stuff happens and they keep missing each other up until Palmacosta, which is a warzone between the Desians (and Dorr as their figurehead) and the Renegades (with Neil as their leader)
- Colette wants to help; priests say no
- out come the chains
- Raine objects, but she has no exsphere so what can she do
- btw Genis got caught in the Iselian ranch and tossed in as a traitor to be made a host
- he gets sent to the Palmacosta ranch
- right after Neil manages to take the city, after Colette and Raine leave it, Botta takes the Palmacosta ranch and rescues Genis, among others
- Genis becomes his little shadow and is much preferable to Lloyd, in Botta's opinion
- Lloyd and Kratos are still trying to catch up to Colette to rescue her when they drop by
- Genis hears what they're trying to do and insists on coming along.
scenarios
scenario one: in which Yuan accidentally adopts a Chosen instead of a book from a library.
scenario two: in which Yuan is accidentally-deliberately adopted by the Meltokio Castle Knights.
MEover
- Mass Effect crossover someplace in the realm of 15,000 years after TOS canon
- except started before then, cos elves are really from Feros, planet of the cranky telepathic plant
- got decimated by the protheans trying to assimilate them into their empire
- elves objected, got killed a lot, fled Feros and got stuck in Aselia's orbit
- kinda forgot a few things but planted a seed from the Ferosian mother plant on Aselia
- Origin hasn't forgotten tho, kinda has a grudge against grumblegrumbleprotheansgrumble
- the entirety of TOS happened, and then some
- Kratos, Yuan, Lloyd, Colette and Zelos are the only ones left, but tis okay, they have each other
- somethingsomething natural space disaster, Aselia is destroyed but they manage to move Yggdrasill onto Derris-Kharlan and do a quarian by becoming a roaming ship
- mana is a variant of eezo lbr
- Derris-Kharlan's too big to use the mass relays, but c'mon it generates its own mass effect field so they develop tech to do hops on their own
- they're in no hurry tho, i mean lbr primarily angelic, elf and half-elf population
- so they're just bumming around their local clusters doing thorough investigations on all the things
- so much eezo on their ship
- so much
- suddenly the Normandy running from a reapers comes along to hide behind them
- reapers start shooting
- everyone on Derris-Kharlan objects
- JUDGEMENT IN SPACE
- so much profit and judging of reapers.
scenarios
None yet.
origin
- Kratos tells Lloyd the dad thing in Triet
- dad and son feelings ensue
- they culminate at the Tower of Salvation in Kratos stabbing Yggdrasill in the back
- unfortunately he does not quite die but impales Kratos against a wall and goes berserk on the Chosen party to the point of Yuan stepping in to help
- that is, by threatening to stab Kratos in the back while he's vulnerable (with Kratos's permission)
- Yggdrasill calls his bluff and fails, and Yuan does the thing
- while Yggdrasill is distracted the Chosen's group nail him but good and he retreats
- luckily while heart-stabbing happened, Kratos's cruxis crystal is still intact, and between Raine's healing and Yuan's mana transfusion he survives long enough to be taken to the Triet base and a refresher
- stuff happens in some fashion or other up until opening Origin's seal
- as it turns out, the mana tranfusion has fused the lock, so to speak, and Kratos can't unlock the seal even voluntarily
- only way to get Origin out at this point is to let him fuse with Kratos, so Kratos becomes Origin
- stipulation of this: Kratos refuses to let go of his humanity
- luckily Yuan already has a literal bond with him thanks to the mana transfusion, so with him as his summoner Kratos can keep his humanity, and only use Origin's powers when Yuan summons them
- commitment like woah for a literal eternity
- but hey, they messed up but good and it's the only way they can reunite the worlds.
scenarios
none yet.
reversal
~ 2000 years in, Kratos and Yuan conspire to kill Mithos and succeed, sorta
- he's stuck inside his exsphere, possessing people
- but he manages to survive and while Kratos and Yuan claim Derris-Kharlan for their base, he takes most of the angels as 'fallen', as well as the Eternal Sword
- most of his bases are hidden behind dimensional slips created by the sword - Iselia included
- Origin refuses to trust either Kratos or Yuan with the job, anyhow, and they don't have a summoner
- instead they're forced to fight Cruxis, embroiling the worlds in an angelic war between Cruxis and the new organisation of Chayim
- the Chosen bloodlines are more important to Cruxis than Chayim, but Mithos seals the seals so only the Chosen bloodline can flip the mana switch. Kratos and Yuan need someone to do that until they can reunite them, so the Journey remains an institution, just without compulsory death at the end
- there is angelification tho, if only so Chayim gets more soldiers and so the Chosen can defend themselves against Cruxis
- Kratos sends Anna and Lloyd to Iselia, because even though enemy territory, it's the safest place there is for them
- Anna get word to Kratos that the Desians are using Iselia as a long-term cruxis crystal cultivation location, and that the sword is held there
- her spy succeeds but is intercepted, and Mithos locks down the dimensional slip to prevent exit and access by angels for ~15 years
- Lloyd grows up in a town with a heavy half-elf population and believing he's training to help the good guys
- he has his own cruxis crystal as a host, but doesn't tell his mother due to the faith-based propaganda encouraging hosts not to bring it up or risk the powers not taking
- he wants to help though, so he steals a key-crest to ensure he can fight
- Yuan and Kratos plan to assault the town and shrine but Mithos uses the sword to interrupt travel between worlds, keeping Yuan in Tethe'alla and forcing Kratos to attack Iselia alone.
scenarios
scenario one: Iselia is attacked by Chayim to claim the sword, with the sword already gone
titans
- Yggdrasill captures Kratos before Kvar finds Anna and Lloyd, but after Kratos makes an Eternal Ring
- Yuan figures hell no and raises the Renegades to try and take Derris-Kharlan, rescue Kratos and solve the split-world problem
- the attack fails. a lot.
- Renegades are wiped out, Kratos is still in Cruxis's hands, but Yuan manages to escape with the Eternal Ring
- Cruxis follows him to Triet base, which gets destroyed and the few remaining Renegades scatter
- Botta is still around tho, helping out how he can
- mostly Yuan just goes searching for Lloyd and Anna
- doesn't manage to find them before Kvar does tho, and Kratos hears from Yggdrasill that they're dead
- this is slightly inaccurate, cos Lloyd still winds up rescued by Dirk in Iselia
- where Yuan eventually finds him, not knowing that he's 'supposed' to be dead
- so Yuan settles in Iselia for a bit to watch Lloyd and the Chosen
- cuts and dyes his hair, the whole shebang
- learns how to carpentry, invents a new use of magic
- winds up being Genis's role model just because scholar and magic-user and half-elf who can pass but also takes no shit from people
- is one of Colette's companions on the Journey when it starts
- he's been challenging their understanding of the Church's institution this whole time lbr
- Sheena is still a thing because the ninja have taken over the Tethe'allan base, which has survived, somewhat
- a grilling ensues
- sometime just after the Asgard Ranch Yuan does have to drop the bombshell
- about how the Journey is just a front, he and his bestie are angels, btw his bestie is Lloyd's dad
- how they're out to topple the institution of religion
- forget sacrificing Colette for the Regeneration, when they get to the seal they can do that without anyone dying
- and then move straight on to rescuing Kratos in Derris-Kharlan
- then they get to the Tower and realise Yggdrasill has Kratos under a Prometheusesque punishment a la 'impaled on the Eternal Sword to suffer the Seed's pain and watch the Chosen get murdered'
- luckily this does not happen, as they manage to rescue him and escape Yggdrasill instead, barely
- retreat to Botta's hiding-place in Asgard so Kratos can recover
- and also find out that Lloyd is actually alive
- the Chosen group goes around to make as many pacts as they can while in Sylvarant
- they get up to Aska when Yggdrasill sends his angels to attack Asgard
- cue Yuan and Kratos being unstoppable battle gods together
scenarios
scenario one: in which Yuan leads the Chosen's party to the Tower of Salvation to dismantle all the traditions ever, and find Kratos waiting for them in serious need of a rescue.
scenario two: in which being in safety reveals that Kratos is not precisely unscathed, but he's doing his best.
scenario three: in which Kratos is emphatically not okay, but with Yuan's help, could be.
no subject
Yet.
[Yuan circles Kratos again. Four thousand years and he's still not entirely equipped to approach this problem.]
You learned this pattern when you were still breathing, I assume. Again. Start from the beginning, and you can flow through it.
[He doesn't present the question about whether or not Kratos can. Only assumes it will somehow happen.]
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[But they both circle him, watching him, expecting; and Kratos finds himself watching Yuan warily, without meaning to.
[After everything, this is not what he wants -- to demean Yuan with mistrust. With a jerk Kratos looks away, and returns to his original stance. He starts with a breath, again, and proceeds with the pattern. This time, even from the start, it's obvious he's scattered, whatever peace he'd found lost by the memory of Yggdrasill treating him like ... like an inferior being. Like a traitor.]
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[There are words in a moment. Hm. You can follow me, or I can nudge you, as you prefer. This is habit, or it was. Long enough to leave a deeper mark than the other. You'll find your way back into it. Yuan would rarely describe himself as soothing; but he tries for it, vaguely.]
[The problem is Kratos juggling too many things he barely remembers at once. Yuan is convinced that with the right push all the tracks will fall seamlessly into place for one near-perfect composition, but finding the right way to push is proving trickier than he'd thought.]
[He knows Kratos. He'll figure this out.]
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[Another inhale, exhale. He starts to respond mentally, but that won't help him remember to breathe, will it?]
I'll follow you.
[His voice is a touch raw with frustration. Following would surely be easier than having Yuan hover around him, surely. Following means that Yuan can't be watching, judging.]
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[Yuan isn't lying, or if he is it's not by intent. He studies Kratos a moment longer before turning away, resuming his initial position only a little distance from Kratos.]
[He knows the form. He settles into the beginning stance, takes a deliberate breath, and moves slowly into the first steps. For the sake of correct posture, he doesn't flick a glance over his shoulder to see if Kratos is following, though the temptation to do so is more than significant.]
[He cannot hover, or expect Kratos to falter. Trust.]
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[It's slow, this beginning, slower than when they had first come outside; but it does give Kratos time to breathe between. It's a regulated thing, that breathing, and yet at this speed, without having to consider his next step, Kratos finds that he can do it. They progress through the first pattern, then the second, then the third -- slowly each time, with a fine control which would have been the envy of any swordsman. Fine control is difficult.
[But so long as he doesn't think too hard, Kratos finds that he can pay some attention to how he moves -- even if his breathing is between each step, and not combined with them. It's not the mindless peace of the first round of patterns -- but it's something.
[From the window, toast still in hand, there's at least one of the teenagers watching their slow, mirrored dance with wide, awed eyes.]
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[Nostalgia strikes him again, if only with a feather's blow.]
[The space between his shoulderblades itches, more with instinct than an actual sense, and when the pattern has them turned Yuan flicks his gaze up just to confirm his suspicions. Yes; there are children. He doesn't draw Kratos's attention to it, only glances away again and resumes the pattern.]
[It's slow, but steady, and Yuan is loath to say or do anything to break what little balance they've found.]
no subject
[And he has Flamberge. Even with the trouble he's been having, Flamberge hasn't felt awkward in his hands, in the air; all Kratos can do now is strive to once more be worthy of it. He ends in a resting stance and sheathes Flamberge, fingers tracing the familiar lines of its hilt, and exhales once more, and looks up at the sky and the expansive shading hues of the gorge's depths.]
I still have some way to go. But I think -- I can get there. If you help me.
[It's not quite a question, but it's still tentative, and Kratos can't quite bring himself to look over.]
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[He lets go the phantom sword and lets his hands rest, and it's only a moment before he's coming toward Kratos, making no effort to quiet his footsteps. It will be better if Kratos knows exactly where he is.]
Of course.
[Of course he'll help; of course Kratos can get there. At Kratos's side, Yuan offers his hand.]
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[Kratos stares at Yuan's hand for a moment, and then accepts it; but when Yuan only means it as a reassurance, Kratos turns and steps a touch closer, turning it into a hug. He rests his chin on Yuan's shoulder and exhales, slowly. I think I can get there. It had been an attempt as reassurance, Yuan as much as himself. Kratos isn't so sure. But he's willing to try, and the first step has always been to say it out loud; even when they all meant to save the world so long ago.
[He doesn't know how many scars he's going to wind up having. But he'll get there -- he promises himself -- if only to fulfill Yuan's faith in him.
[Kratos opens his eyes and only now spots the children in the window and the door, half-hovering, as if unsure whether they're allowed to come out or not. When Lloyd sees him looking he breaks into a massive grin.]
That was so awesome! That sword is so awesome! Where did you get it, Dad?
[He's acting as though Kratos hasn't been having any trouble at all. Bemused and amused and touched, Kratos draws back from Yuan.]
It's -- a long story. It's a very old friend.
no subject
[All the same, he doesn't fight it, instead brings his free hand up to reaffirm the embrace, pulling Kratos just that little bit closer to him. The weight on his shoulder speaks of trust and something not unlike family.]
[Just for a moment, Yuan closes his eyes too. The last fifteen years have seemed longer than those that came before. Perhaps it's reflective of living more thoroughly than he had before; but all the same, it was not quite right. It still isn't, but now his hopes are rising again.]
[When Kratos lets go Yuan has a faint smile hovering at the corners of his mouth, and he turns to lift a hand at the children in some sort of greeting.]
It's called Flamberge.
[Yes, this is his sole contribution.]
[Raine disappears from the edge of the window. Curious about that sword, and what kind of metal that could possibly be; but not pressing, not when everyone else is so curious at once. Genis has no such compunctions, and his eyes are wide.]
no subject
When the sun went through it, it looked like it had fire in it. Man, what I wouldn't give for a sword like that.
[Well, how can Kratos deny such enthusiasm? Kratos doesn't enter the house, but draws Flamberge again, so Lloyd can see the finely honed metal and the flame in its depths. The sun is high enough now to catch on it again, sending ripples of blue and gold shadows across stone, and Colette gasps.]
It's imbued with fire-mana, yes; it was forged from a meteorite -- a very long time ago. It's ... a family heirloom.
[One day, if he can -- he wouldn't mind being able to give it to Lloyd.]
no subject
Naming weapons in that way was important, long ago. Flamberge has no equal that I'm aware of.
How do you forge a meteorite.
[That's Genis, eyes still wide, watching the sword as much as he's tentatively feeling out the mana in it. It's serious business, right there. He's impressed.]
no subject
[Colette bounces a little on her toes, while Lloyd extends a hand, eyes wide, to gently touch the flat of the blade.]
It doesn't feel any warmer than usual. Is it because of the meteorite that it's got fire in it?
[Kratos nods at both him and Genis, lowering the sword a touch to indicate Genis could have a closer look if he wants.]
Meteorites commonly have metals in them appropriate to forging -- usually natural alloys Most meteorites are from Derris-Kharlan, and so are mana-aligned. When forged into weapons or armour by a master blacksmith, their natural mana can be brought out and instilled in the weapon as an additional attribute.
no subject
[Yuan doesn't have his weapon in hand to run a possessive hand along, but the gesture is implied in the faint tilt of his head.]
It's called Swallow.
[Genis absolutely wants a closer look. He doesn't strictly need to touch; but he does anyway, of curiosity and the wonder of it.]
Normally a lot of fire mana would make something at least a little warmer than usual. Is it just that there isn't a lot, or is there something special about the metal?
[...it's from a meteorite. Right.]
I mean, does meteorite metal conduct heat worse or something?
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[Oh, Colette. Kratos shakes his head slightly with a fondly amused smile. That, at least, is something different from Martel; and yet equally as endearing.]
More that the fire-aligned meteorite iron has a far higher temperature threshold. When meteorites enter the sky, it does so at speeds which threaten to break it apart. The fire-aligned iron which remains does so because it doesn't burn or heat as easily.
[Aionis has a higher temperature threshold -- but not by much.]
In a battle, the mana in the metal reacts to the heightened level of energy and causes the blade to heat -- though it's possible to mana-tag the sword to avoid being harmed by it.
no subject
I believe it was named for the bird. You may ask, however.
[This comes with a short gesture, turning his hand up in Kratos's general direction.]
Wait, tag the sword?
[Genis takes his hand back and gives Kratos an intently confused stare.]
Isn't that the opposite of how it usually works?
[He should know. He makes sure he can't hurt any of his friends by accident, especially not when they're in battle.]
I mean, the rest of that makes sense, but...
no subject
It is, but the sword can't tag you, after all -- so you have to tag the sword. For humans, it isn't so easy; but there is a way for a mana-infused weapon to recognise bearers. This sword hasn't been able to harm someone of Aurion blood for a very long time. Not with its fire, at any rate.
[Lloyd is looking very speculatively at Flamberge, running his fingers along the flat of it.]
I wonder if Dad knows how to forge mana-infused items. I wonder if he can teach me. Then I can make you a shield to match.
[The mention of Lloyd's other father serves to cool some of Kratos's internal affectionate warmth, but Lloyd's final statement makes it surge again.]
Just don't name it; it's important that a weapon or shield is named by someone who had no hand in its creation or its use. Yes, I named Yuan's blade.
[This is toward Colette with a smile, who had turned to Kratos at Yuan's indication and is now waiting, bouncing slightly on her toes.]
Oh! Was it for the bird?
[Kratos nods.]
That's right. Have you ever seen a swallow fly? They're quick and darting -- acrobatic. They can turn on a heart-beat. When I first saw him using it, that's what I thought of; but deadlier.
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[And he has a point about the sword not being able to tag people. It's harder for Genis to read Kratos than Yuan-- Kratos is still very new, after all. But he's forgotten, at least for a little while, to be customarily wary of the new person in his life. In their lives, really.]
[His attention goes with Colette and Kratos when the subject fairly obviously changes.]
[Yuan half-wonders if he'll need to mediate between the two fathers, given that neither of them will be going away and they don't know each other at all yet, save for their love for Lloyd.]
[What from Kratos is shining praise makes Yuan glance away. It's been thousands of years and still there's some more than faint pride in it; that he mastered the weapon no one thought he could, that Kratos had known him even then.]
[He tries to hide it, out of habit, but there's still some resemblance to a smile.]
Naming in that way is a very old tradition. I hadn't expected it, but Kratos's name stuck.
There's nothing as fancy about Swallow's forging as Flamberge, but it's been with me for a very long time.
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[Lloyd leaps in before anyone else can, looking thoughtfully down at Flamberge and then up at Yuan in confusion. Kratos answers the first part -- but he'll leave the second to Yuan to decide to explain or not.]
Because legends aren't created by the owner. They're passed down by others, based on the merit of the legend's subject. Any name worth keeping is one that everyone else will speak about with awe -- not a name created by one's own ego.
[Colette beams.]
I get it! It's what everyone else believes that makes it a legend.
no subject
I won it in a bet. More or less-- the bet was that I wouldn't be able to handle it.
[He's not going into too much detail about how things worked back then, but that's enough for the children to be getting on with; and sure enough, Genis grins.]
Obviously you won.
[Yuan is also not about to fill in all the difficulties he had in the beginning. It's nicer that they believe in how effortless it looks now.]
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[Lloyd's grinning at the idea of the bet, and surmounting a difficulty -- proving one's self to others.]
Someone had to've forged it to begin with, though -- who would design and build a blade like that? Are there any schematics around?
[This, also, is really Yuan's answer to give; Kratos slants his gaze sideways, to let him make that choice too. It seems Yuan hasn't told them all that much about his youth. Although Kratos does feel the need to add, faintly teasing:]
Someone in Sylvarant, of course. You'd never find a weapon like that in Tethe'alla.
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[Yuan shakes his head at all of them; but it's fond.]
The designer was the man I made the bet with. He didn't expect it to be wieldable.
[And Kratos in turn gets a faintly dirty look.]
You wouldn't have found its like in Sylvarant, either.
[Genis is frowning, though.]
It sounds like he was trying to make you fail.
[Maybe it's just because he expects people to dismiss or sabotage half-elves. This group is a special one, and he knows too well not everyone is like that.]
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He probably was.
[The fact that Yuan isn't giving complete answers is almost answer enough. Kratos sheathes Flamberge, cutting off the flaming line of shadow on the ground.]
Is -- breakfast over?
[It's possibly a bad attempt at a distraction, but Kratos feels better than he did just hours before, and while he might not be able to eat much, he should probably at least try. Lloyd beams, at least, evidently taking it as a good sign that he wants to do so.]
No way, there's still stuff left! C'mon!
[He reaches out to take Kratos's arm and checks himself; after split second Kratos reaches back, hardly needing to put his hand in Lloyd's before Lloyd takes it anyway to tug him inside.]
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[And it has, all hesitations and stops aside, been a good and fairly successful morning. Hopeful, all around. It's worth the trouble to watch Lloyd and Kratos hand in hand, and Lloyd's sunny smile.]
[So Yuan pauses a moment to appreciate the way things seem to be beginning to settle before shooing the children inside, following for the thought of breakfast, and making a level attempt to pretend he wasn't smiling in the first place.]