Wheels of Fate, BoF II novelization.

Summary: Novelization of Breath of Fire II: Shimei no Ko (The Destined Child). Some events altered. Strong language will be in play.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters; they belong to Capcom, as the game does. I own nothing, hear ye, lawyers. But that doesn't get you the permission to publish this as a book without the proper written and legally signed consent of whoever holds the copyright. Other characters belong to other companies, unless specifically said that they'd be my creation.

Additional Note: I hereby declare that in no way whatsoever I encourage relationships of this kind between a minor and a legally declared adult (I'm assuming legal age to be 18). You have to consider that in a medieval-fantasy setting the princesses and noble girls were used as 'commodities' for securing alliances between kingdoms; they usually ended up promised in marriage at five years old, and ended up marrying at 14 or 15 years of age; anything beyond 20 years, and for all purposes they were considered old maids.

Interlude: Serve for another war.

Fifteen years ago, Urkan Tapa region.

The military encampment was in total calm and control by the watches after the curfew had been put in effect. The general and his council, major Turvoe and Shupkay of Highland's mercenary elite division, had their attack plans decided. Even after all the details had been smoothened, the general had his doubts. He, as the rest of most of the people of his nation, resembled a hominid with a simian look, with longer limbs than those of other variety of sentient anthropomorphic species.

The fortress they had under siege had a barbican with a nearly impervious double door made of star-metal after the main portcullis, and a drawbridge over a moat which was not that wide, but it was deep and dry, full of stakes and impaled corpses.

'Hah! Seems like there is no other option than the good old massacre. No way around it, and only the ones starting it might hold the upper hand in the end, leading to a slightly minor number of losses, be by wounds or death.'

A voice in his mind, replied to his thoughts,

~ That's unusual, old friend. You're reconsidering… ~

'No, my friend Yphreet. I've been already eighteen years in the army and with barely thirty years, designated as a general and sent into this mission by the crown. The task is grim, to exterminate a blighted clan, the red ogres. All paid and requested by the Urkans, who wish to take control of those lands, and also destroy the threat of necromancy that it's said those ogres' practice.'

~ So, what is the problem? Those urkans are paying your country. ~

'Our current enemy does not worry me. I care about our people, those who won't be seen again by their families, or we may be taking their remains and ashes to their loved ones, or those who will end up so destroyed, that the only thing they would be able to do, is to collect a pension… which at least we know they will get it.'

~ Since we met in the desert some years ago, it has been that way. One fight after another, killing and slaughter in the wake of the disaster mankind has dubbed as war. I recognize that you were always using plans, tactics and strategies that would minimize losses on your side and complete the missions. I do ask you now, Stenarius… Will you go ahead with your own personal plan? ~

'Of course, my friend. I'm very sure the war machine will not stop working because of my absence. And as far as I can see, Turvoe is ready to ascend to general… ok, I concede the point that he might be a bit impulsive, alas with a good set of military advisors, and when the princess ascends to the throne, she will be able to control his impulses. On the contrary Shupkay is too bloodthirsty, even for our reputation of having no qualms at all about the jobs our army takes.'

Moderate him, you say? He will dance on the palm of her hand, if that makes her smile. And I agree about that Shupkay gal… something smells very wrong on her, yet I can't say what that would be. And you… what will you do about the princess? You love her, you can't deny that to me, and you know that you will hurt her a lot if you don't go back after this mission. ~

'She is strong, she will know how to overcome a lowly monkey like me, as long as I'm dead to the world. Besides, some snotty high lords oppose marriage between the royalty and a simple commoner born in the desert sands, maybe even with sand beneath its fur no matter how carefully he combs it, or if he is a hero with enough medals to use them as armour. Also, don't forget that you also left everything back there in that village of your fellow shamans.'

~ I got tired as well of the way of living in a small town, I'm a widower who has not gone back in fifteen years… and we both have helped each other during the time we have been fused. I thank you for sending part of your earnings to the ancient druid Gigli, making sure my name does not appear there, because she would have refused the money, and the village needs it. There is just a bit of water and some insufficient crops. Yes, I've had my fill of war, glory and slaughter. And I got word that a little bit less than three years ago, my youngest great-granddaughter was born, Sanamo they named her. ~

'So you were busy back in the day, naughty ancient spirit.'

~ Look who's talking about naughty. Back to the child, when she was born, the flame heart in the village started shining by itself, as I felt a flare coming from the sun. Do you remember that hot scorching summer about three years ago, that one with the severe drought in Highland, Urkan region and Farma? Well… that's the power of the eternal flames. Anyways, she won't be able to use her power unless I return it to the astral world so she can receive it, and that as you would have figured out, the key to that is my lifeforce. She won't be able to access her powers in full until she reaches fourteen years old, and still will need a lot of training to be able to use the supreme fire magic, the Calamity Blast. ~

'Ah yes, there can be only one elemental shaman of Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Light and Darkness, each one inheriting part of the power of the unfading ones for higher level magic. Well, like it or not, it's our history, and I've taken my time studying it, and many of my so-called victories have been because of your strength, knowledge and mentorship, and I have tried to pass as much of it as I could. Well, let's go to sleep, at dawn we start waking up the boys. This siege has lasted for too much time because somehow, they count with some lost technology, not considering the undead that are supposedly waiting to spring if we charge. Thanks to those we've had too many losses to count.'

~ You know what I like about necromancers? The fact that for their forces to be effective, they need to be awake. If they are asleep, and too many of their controlled or reanimated entities are destroyed or dispelled in a short time, they will not be safe from magical backlash, and it will be hard. It would be so nice to combine the power of a Celestial Star and a Calamity Blast against a large army of undead unattended by their masters, or too many controlled by a single one. ~

'Interesting piece of knowledge… I'll be sure to remember it, even if I'm not going to study war anymore. This time, we have already a strike team ready to assault on a descent from the mountain, so we will have to be the bait for them to be successful, and really coordinated at it.'

~ Well, you old and cynical monkey, it was a nice chat. Go and dream with ladies for me, so that you don't waste the night. That way I'll be sure to have a pleasurable memory when I transcend and the only thing left will be a figment of my essence. I'm tired of war as well, and of life itself… sixty years in this harsh reality do take their toll. ~

'Just to fuck around with you, will be young lads already of age. You see… an all-boys-club in the army really can entice, and well… everything is playground!'

~ Haha, very funny, monkey boy! At least if it gives you pleasure, whatever floats your boat goes. I don't have another choice than going in for the ride. Have your dreams your way. Good night. ~

'Good night old friend. If all goes well, we won't meet again in this lifetime.'

xxXXxx

The vision the warrior had was showing him the coldest hour in the morning, that one previous to dawn, when the morning star could be seen shining brightly from afar, announcing the coming of the sun. 'Just a couple hours and I'll start everything in this camp, to assault at dawn the fortress of the red ogres. They are some of the best military units we have, ready to go in half an hour, and we make sure they'll even have some rations before walking into the valley of death. If you are going to try and cheat the reaper, being hungry will not help you,' the highlander general was so submerged in his own thoughts, that he did not notice the absence of Yphreet.

He saw beyond the esplanade the moat of the fortress, and the, and a crude but solidly built door made of dark steel laced with star-metal at the barbican almost impervious to the rams they had used to try and force it open, a bad omen taking hold of his being, as if the plan would fail inevitably… Then he looked to the sky, and the clouds were taking a darker tone covering the stars, as if a storm were to unfold, and the few traces of starlight that were coming, started to become crimson as blood.

His hopes were about to vanish, when suddenly he heard a mighty roar of pain and agony… and then another of fury that compelled him to look again at the sky, and he could see some shiny purple and golden strands of light fighting and taking over the crimson ones, until the starlight shone again between the clouds.

He looked again at the door, and he saw a large shadow, flying around and circling around where he was, and felt the air itself taking hold of him and making him fly, feeling the exhilaration of being able to control the flight until he felt a presence next to him. He saw a large slitted eye, larger than tall he was, with a green iris, and as the slit expanded, a dark sky full of stars. Unbelieving, he closed his eyes and opened them again, seeing the owner of them quickly taking distance from him…. And he could gaze upon a large being, straight from the age of myth, from the ancient dragon war if the legends were true. A large dragon covered with light and dark purple scales, save for the chest plate which had golden scales, so large that it could have swallowed several red ogres as if nothing.

The dragon roared once more, as if it were a call to arms, and the warrior did hear some voice telling him 'There is always a way,', as he saw the dragon open his maw to spit a gigantic flaming rock, one that impacted on the metallic gate… after the explosion it still stood, unfazed save for a slight blackened mark, but the rest of the barbican was nearly reduced to rubble. The dragon spat another flaming rock towards the drawbridge of the fortress, from above, and it was another symphony of destruction, obliterating the section of the wall that held the drawbridge, making it fall, slightly scorched and splintered, but the impact made the undamaged door fall on top of the bridge… creating a makeshift solution that would allow the invading troops to pass.

'Well, I don't have dragonfire, but a really nice amount of some magical and experimental explosives, and yes… Calamity Blast, and just maybe, a little something. We will make it.'

- o –

The veteran woke very startled, made a quick calculation of the hour and quickly went to check. There was one hour yet for the morning star to be seen. The hour of less vigilance of the living, and maybe… just maybe it would work, because some necromancers would just receive backlash and be asleep when it happened. And it would be a merciless attack, without quarter. The red ogres were cannibals, and they had necromancers.

~ Well my friend… Dragons? What kind of pranks is your subconscious mind playing? ~

'Definitely I have no idea, but…. You know? I think we are going to make it. War no more for us, it will be. The only thing is that we prepare now for attacking when the morning star appears, or earlier. I'll have Shupkay charge with me. I'll give a review to the tactics, but it'll be a big boom.'

~ Remember that we could also become the Knight of Fire… ~

'As the last resource, because without the Wind of Hope as a stabilizer we will go in a blaze of glory, and hopefully allow us to sing war no more.'

~ I like your crazy idea, Let's go! Come on you ape! Do you want to live forever!? ~

- o –

Day after Wulfheim

The veteran, considering himself a deserter according to every single military principle he knew, felt that war no more, was finally a reality. Now he would travel the world, in relative peace and tranquil, far away from the horrors of war, but he had to fulfil a promise.

In his hands he carried a crystal, which at first sight would have been a magical explosive device, but if someone looked at it, would've seen a necklace with a rune inscribed on it, Flam, and its meaning was fire. The crystal if activated, would not just have been a large and explosive fireball, but would've been more of an inferno that turns living being into ashes.

Yphreet had told him that only someone with the guidance of the dragon god, or walking after the path of the unfading ones, would be able to guide the energies in the crystal, and avoid a certain death.

The deserter arrived to where he was supposed to store his remains, an old looking treasure chest, but incredibly sturdy. Honouring the wishes, he left the crystal inside and closed the chest. It clicked magically, and the emblem he knew so well since his infancy appeared, but also slightly different… a gilded long dragon coiled upon itself around a gemstone of a dark blue hue with stars on it, the dragon tear. He knew that nearly no one would be able to move or open the chest.

Now with his memories left behind he went onwards to see what destiny had in store for him. He had some savings in the bank, not a huge fortune, but it would be helpful for living. Well, soldiering allowed him to learn how to juggle knives and pines to an extreme level of mastery and some other parlour tricks, not to mention knowing how to win at cards and dice. That definitely would be helpful in the years to come.

- o -

Present day, one day before Ryu and his friends arrive to Wyndia.

The trickster had just finished his performance near the lower sector of Wyndia. A lot of enthusiasm of the people and children, but very little money to be had after juggling the pines and the knives, even some flaming torches as he chanted a song about the knight of fire of his country, making a spectacle of it, even making appear an angel made of fire in the sky just to please his public. Well, he did not use the trick of the box, that one would have left him ruined. Anyways, it would be enough for some more days in Wyndia, the city closer to the sky.

Yet, he wanted to make more money, for that he would need to impress some of the rich merchants and nobles, the wealthy people. The sector would be off limits even if the king had proclaimed years ago that trade and artistry inside the city, as long as if it were legal would be respected, for there were some elements within the city guard who were looking for excuses to charge very hefty bribes in advance and after, for some reason or another… unless he had some major manoeuvring acquaintance, which was not his situation… if it were such, he would also most likely have had a passport.

That document… the magic piece of work that allowed travellers and caravans to use the Wyndian bridge to cross the dangerous P'ung strait safely, but there were heavy tolls on it, much lower if you had a passport, but it was something really expensive to get for common people. Thanks to those details, Wyndia was a very wealthy kingdom. Yet, for him there was no way to get one in the short time he had been spending around here.

Every time he had required to pass that boundary, he resorted to the sea cliffs on the southern side of the P'ung strait, where someone with enough training and dexterity could just jump between rocks or use some ropes in some of the posts to have a lifeline. His limbs which were longer than the ones of any other hominid, added to the natural exceptional dexterity of the simian Highlanders, and the phantoms of his past, made that path quite easy for him, if he took the right precautions against the sudden gusts that could appear while a traveler was jumping from one rock to another.

Going and sightseeing around Wyndia was allowed freely, while he didn't do anything stupid, or tried to go through the bridge. So, after a while, he arrived to one of his favourite places, with good food and drink at reasonable prices, ran by a highlander woman who married a wyndian, they had the virtue of not asking any questions if the money was good, and as a jest they called their place the 'Monkichi tavern'. He asked for the daily special and some water instead of beer; today was a day for being sober, he thought.

While eating, he saw a couple that called his eye, a regular blond haired bearded wyndian with white wings and a slight scar around one of his eyes, sharing food and ale with a most curious character: a woman with a slight desert tan, having long blue hair tied into a pony tail, wearing some red form-fitting light armour as far as her travel cloak allowed him to see, but the most curious feature were her wings, like the ones of a large bat, and with a dark blue hue, and seemingly scaled.

'Inquisitive monkey, someone would have told me years ago'. Between his skill to read lips, and being really intent on focusing his hearing, he was able to discern some of the words, so he learned that she was going to Capitan in the Rhapala region by the next day, but that she would also go for some of the jewellery of wealthy people that just hoarded and hoarded, having more money than what they could spend in their entire lives, so a little bit less, would not hurt them. And that there was a certain courtier called Marianne that had some shady business going around, and maybe some interesting things and treasures in her vault.

After getting all of the useful tidbits, he looked around himself and saw a reward notice for a criminal, a serial killer with a preference for little children, with a very nice-looking sum as a reward, paid directly by the crown, and with some lines hand-written: to filth like this one, harsh justice will be dealt. Hina Windia. And with a seal of a steel gauntlet over a winged castle. Just in case he memorized the ruffian's features and went for another walk.

After drinking from one of the public water taps the city had, he noticed something by the corner of his eye, an auburn haired white winged girl seemingly barely out of her wing day, clothed in a simple and well-made dress carrying some groceries, was being followed by a man who had slight red hued wings, with some sort of evil glint in his eyes, and after the monkey turned to look in more detail, he noticed that the man was using a fake beard, nearly impossible to see save to a trickster trained in the art of such details. So, he decided to follow at a safe distance.

Suddenly, near some dark alley the man captured the girl, covering her mouth and rendering her immobile he took her to a dark alley. As he followed them, he thought, 'Ah, the typical dark alley likely to have some tunnels to disappear easily from patrols… and then there would be another corpse in his wake. Well, If I have a say, there won't be a little casket filled with a young wyndian on this day.'

He hears the man yell in pain, and then notices the girl running for her life nearly going to crash on him, but he lets her pass, dodging with an elegance worthy of a master circus performer. The criminal, holding his right hand on his left one follows after the child, but when he passes next to the highlander, a swoosh and a horrible sound of something cracking is heard and the man falls crying in pain and with his leg at an unnatural position since it had been broken by the knee, the highlander holding one of the wooden pines he used for juggling.

He dragged the wailing criminal outside the alley, and put some pressure in a couple of points in the back of the guy near his wings, with a bit more of strength that would be advised for those, maybe out of anger, and left him without being able to move, pained but barely able to speak or uttering a sound. Then, seeing that people started gathering, he ripped the fake beard from the would-be murderer, to show that he had captured the criminal, and wait for the authorities.

xXx

"So, Sten Legacy, do you really wish only for half of the reward but a permit signed by me to be able to make your parlour trick show in the wealthy sector of Wyndia, even outside of the castle itself, or the announcement plaza?" asked the chief of the elite guard, Davan Skye. The case got assigned to his unit, after the queen heard that around twenty persons had been killed and ten of them being young children asked him personally to oversee it, and even added the signature to the reward notice.

"If it were not too much to ask, my lord Davan Skye."

"Well, master Legacy, in the name of the Wyndian crown, I thank you for your services.", and he hands over a pouch with around three thousand zenny in silver coins, one hundred per piece. Then he picked up some parchment and a quill, scribbled a bit, signed it and when it was dry, he handed it over to the highlander. "With this you shouldn't have issues with the city guards, just so you know, I'm sure the crown would appreciate learning more about city servants going outside their attributions, if that were the case. By the way… Legacy? I only have heard of a very famous one… Do you know of the red demon of highland, the general Stenarius Kohng Legacy?"

"Oh, that general… He was a warrior who died in battle around fifteen or so years ago, Wulfheim or something like that. I was in my mandatory ten year draft on those years, destined to another unit near the Farna region. Also, Legacy is a very common surname around there, kind of Smith in some parts of the world, or Whitewing here in this magnificent kingdom," the highlander known as Sten answered, smiling amicably. "With your leave, I'll retire to rest and prepare my show for tomorrow. It will amaze all those who see it, I would be honored if you could watch it."

"We will see what our schedule has to say about it, may you have a great audience tomorrow.", Davan replied, while shaking the highlander's hand.

End Interlude.

- o -

- I tell you Sylvana, it was him. There is no mistake on the technique used to break the bones nor its result, saw that too many times for what is good for my peace of mind. Nor we can forget about the intensity of the handshake, it was the same of that time... when Kenneth signed the peace treaty, just one week after the mad king had been assassinated. I'm very sure he recognized me as well.

++ Well, old soldier… you found one that made you sweat back in your time. Now it's my time to make you sweat.

- What?

++ I'm… pregnant.

- That's wonderful! I love you!

++ I love you too!

- But?

++ Your sister, my queen… was the first to find out. We are invited to have a late dinner with her after the ball.

- o -

Author's Notes:

No chapter yet. Writing in Spanish first and then English, so updates will be slow. When I get to finally post a chapter, will post intermissions before… you can avoid them if you think they are filler… but in my take, they add depth to the world/universe.

Special Thanks:

- Ryusui, for his Retranslation.

- Lady 'Kestre Wynde'; thanks for reading my ramblings... and helping me to get some order and readability out of it.