Countries of the Rift

Author's Note: This is an AU for a bunch of RPG Maker games, with each game having a country of some sort in the Rift from Middens. The reason why this is in the Yume Nikki tag is because it's mainly Yume Nikki+fangames centric.

Plus, I'm trying to take over the Yume Nikki fanfic community. I currently have 5% of the stories here. That's not good enough for domination. I mean what.

Anyway, I do not own any of the games or characters portrayed in this fic. This fic has no set schedule, so it'll be updated casually in between my main stories, like my One-Shot Compendium and that Persona story.

01: Gentle (?)

Queen Madotsuki came into power at a young age, guiding her country with a gentle hand. Even before, as a princess, she gained admirers when she had time to walk around city slums, playing her flute to uplift the spirits of citizens. She made it a point to personally visit officials in her kingdom and to take a stance against corruption and evil, inside her region and the outer portions of the Rift. The citizens of the kingdom love her, seeing her as a benevolent, gentle ruler.

However, as benevolent as she is, she isn't exactly gentle all the time.

...

In the northern part of the country, a quiet, snowy region, the good queen was just returning from a meeting with the region's governor over recent attacks on traders coming in from the industrial country in the northwest (a shipment of cow produced metal). Madotsuki walked out into the snow, not minding the cold. She looked around for her typical guardians, but could not spot them; a little late, perhaps?

Regardless, it pleased her. Under the watchful eyes of her jellyfish knights, she didn't have much autonomy. She walked through the snow, enjoying the sights, feeling the elements slosh around at her feet; ordinarily, her guards would hurry her through, as if they were guarding a treasure. She looked at the quaint igloos and the snow covered pine trees - lovely.

"Good evening, your majesty." a harsh female voice called out. Someone was walking through the snow. "Awfully cold, isn't it?"

The Queen listened closely to the voice and nearly did a double-take. The voice sounded human, but sound vowels sounded like a rough "squawk".

In the cover of the snow, a Toriningen arrived.

The Toriningen are a terror to the kingdom. Humanoid creatures with bird faces, they terrorize the land, its citizens, often robbing people, or - their specialty - kidnapping people and holding them for ransom. That is what they do in their normal state. Their frenzied state is much more malicious, more unstable, and most importantly, more dangerous.

Madotsuki allows her graceful queen facade to slip, glaring coldly at the monster before her. Just before, and many times in the past, she met with kingdom officials on the crimes of the Toriningen; one of her governors was even murdered, body taken, dumped unceremoniously in a forest, which one of her jellyfish guards later found.

"You're a fool, just walking around without your guards." The bird-woman cackled, taking steps forward, as the queen stood her ground. "Now now, my queen, I won't hurt you unless you cooperate. Besides…" She held up a clawed hand, "...we shouldn't start hurting you until we start releasing ransom videos. We have to let your stupid guards know that we mean business, ahahaha…"

Madotsuki stood cautiously. To the Toriningen, she looked submissive. The woman, surprised that she wasn't kicking up a fuss or trying to run, got into arm's range…

...and was met with a stabbing to the arm.

Underneath her sleeves, the Queen had a backup, something she always carries, something that her guards would disapprove of, something that would have people faint, knowing that her queen regularly wields it - a knife.

The Toriningen screeched, stepping back. Before she can make any move, Madotsuki swiftly made a slashing motion - her enemy was now reeling back, falling onto her back, blood gushing from her chest.

The criminal looked up. She saw the real queen, the true queen: a queen that is nice and benevolent, yet completely ruthless, capable of fighting, delivering a cold look to those she loathes.

The Toriningen screeched, eyes flickering a different color, a crazed bloodlust overtaking her, while Madotsuki just stood there…

The jellyfish guards found her safe and sound… but…

One of the servants grabbed her, concerned. The Queen's dress was clearly bloodstained.

"It's not my blood." Madotsuki said calmly, voice a bit weak from not talking in a while. "Just head a little north, there's a mess that needs to be taken care of."