TW: Depictions of burnt corpses
You, Aether, and the others rushed to the assembly grounds.
Anna: Listen up troops! The eastern reaches of Askr are under attack! They're targeting Gnótthæð
Anna: We don't know. The soldier who carried the report is unconscious... with terrible burns all over his body. In his suffering, he repeats one phrase again and again: "the flames..."
Anna: We must find out what's going on. It's well past time we left. Make your preparations quickly and move out.
Noelle: I want to help as well, I know I'm not a knight of Askr, but I can't sit by while innocent people suffer.
(Y/N): Hey, I won't say no to extra help, but if things start to look bad, you get out of there. You may be capable, but you're also our guest. If anything happens to you, then that would reflect on us. Also, Breidablik's special capabilities only work on heroes who have formed a contract with its weilder, and there are no teleport waypoints or Statues of the Seven here. If you fall out there, that's it, the end of your road. That also goes for anyone else who wishes to volunteer.
Albedo: If you're that worried, why not form a contract with us?
(Y/N): I'm afraid it's not that simple. When a hero is summoned and a contract is formed, time stops in that hero's world so that they may aid us without repercussions. That cannot be the case if a contract is formed with someone from the same world as ours. For any of you to form a contract with us would mean to be suddenly pulled away from your duties.
Albedo: We already go through that for their grace.
(Y/N): But are you willing to go through that for us.
Everyone silently ponders.
(Y/N): You don't need to decide now. Everyone who is coming, make your preparations.
On the way to Gnótthæð, Kaeya approaches you.
Kaeya: So what can you tell me about our destination
(Y/N): Gnótthæð is a farming village. If our enemy is Embla, then it is likely they're preparing for another war by targeting our food supplies.
Kaeya: I see. You didn't mention the possibility of brigands.
(Y/N): You heard commander Anna. No brigand pyre could cause such mental scarring. I've got a bad feeling about all of this.
Your March soon comes to a halt as you arrive at what once was Gnótthæð village.
Alfonse: What... has happened? This place was famous for its bountiful farmlands, but you'd never know it now.
Sharena: We... we used to come here with Mother when we were children... This is a cruel rebuke to my memories. Beyond cruel...
Anna: Alfonse! Sharena! Be on your guard! The enemy is here!
As Anna stated, your enemy made themselves known. Three Emblian soldiers came forward and were swiftly defeated.
Anna: They're marching under the Emblian banner, that's certain.
Sharena: So it is Embla that's behind this. I'll never forgive them.
Albedo: These flames, shouldn't they be dying down?
Sucrose: I believe so, yes.
Alfonse: The prophecy... can it be?
Alfonse: A very old prophecy that tells of the end of the world. "Cloaked in flame, he crosses the sea, unquenchable, insatiable, undying flame. Trees fall, mountains burn, steam billows. The seas are swallowed. The stars become cinders, and the moon falls from the sky. The world, devoured by flame, smolders out."
Paimon: Smolders out... AS IN DESTROYED!?
(Y/N): We need to learn more. Let's split into groups. Group A will focus on combating the enemy troops, Group B will focus on finding any survivors they can.
Bennett: Hey, Razor, you've got a good nose. Can you sniff out any survivors?
Razor: Flames burning too high. All Razor smell is ash.
Group A: Anna, Sharena, Alfonse, Kaeya, Beidou, Razor
Group B: (Y/N), Aether, Kazuha, Bennett, Noelle, Albedo, Sucrose, Mona
(Y/N): It was still a good idea Bennett, and it would have worked in any other scenario.
Bennett: Enough about that, we've got people to save.
Bennett rushes to the first area to begin searching with the others. You notice Kazuha is trying extra hard to focus.
Kazuha: It's no use. The wind is of no aid to me here. If it were to whip up here, it would only serve to fan these flames, putting us and any survivors in greater peril.
(Y/N): It's okay. If I were relying on your attunement alone, I wouldn't have suggested we split into groups.
Kazuha nods and continues searching. Time passes, and not one survivor found. Only the charred remains of unrecognizable bodies looking more akin to a burnt log than a human.
Paimon: Oh. Paimon's seen plenty of tragic tales unfold while accompanying the Traveler, but did no one survive this?
Aether: I've seen many things, but this honestly makes my stomach turn.
Anna: Everyone, we're almost at the area the report came from. Get ready.
Everyone readies themselves, both physically and mentally. When you reach your destination, you are met with a shocking sight.
Anna: You! Tell me your name and affiliation. Wait a minute. Who do you think you are?
Sharena: Two commander Annas?
(Y/N): Or a shape-shifter more likely.
???: My, you are quick, aren't you?
The being changes form before your eyes.
Loki: I am Loki, loyal servant to His Royal Highness, King Surtr. Pleased to make your acquaintance. I'm even more pleased to bid you farewell. Though I must apologize, I suppose. You'll be dying here. Oh, but just look at how many of you there are. I'll need a bit more muscle to even the odds.
With that, Loki waved her staff and summoned what appeared to be 20 soldiers. The soldiers all rush at your group.
(Y/N): Kazuha! Sucrose! Scatter them!
Both Kazuha and Sucrose use their Eskils. Sucrose summons a whirling vortex that knocks the enemies flat, while Kazuha pulls the rest in before launching them and himself into the air, which he takes advantage of by performing a powerful plunge attack. The others swoop in to deal with their foes while their stunned, finishing five of them, while the rest recovered. The battle seemed to only amp up from there as these remaining soldiers were agile. As an on field tactician, it's your job to call out any threats to your allies while not neglecting your own safety. As you're fending away one soldier, you spot another charging for...
The young trainee didn't even seem to react. It was only after you saw her Breastplate shield come up that you breathed a sigh of relief before being assaulted by another soldier. Whoever this enemy is, they have certainly heard about you. Maybe it was because you were distracted or maybe their just stronger, but this soldier wasn't dealt with as easily as the last. Aether saw you struggling and slashed the soldier across the back, allowing you to push them away and finish them with a shot from Breidablik. Kaeya was in the zone, 3 enemies charge him and he swings his sword so that it moves through every gap in their defenses (rather impressive for someone wearing an eyepatch). Bennett tried his best to help, but he was scared his vision, and bad luck, would only make the fire worse, and when you rely on something as much as a vision, you tend to be lacking in skill, unless you're an avid study of your preferred weapon that is. Two soldiers had him cornered, and as one was about to strike, Beidou swooped in and countered with her Tidecaller, and because it was a counter, it powered up enough to finish them off.
Beidou: I gotcha kid. Don't worry.
Sharena, Alfonse, and Anna were in perfect sync and decimated 4 soldiers sequentially. Albedo was watching as two soldiers were charging at him, so focused on him, they didn't bother to watch their step. Albedo activates his Burst, causing Fatal blossoms and Geo crystals to burst from beneath his would be assailants. Mona was more annoyed than anything, having only dealt with one.
Mona: These soldiers are using the burning buildings as cover. HOW IS MY HYDRO NOT PUTTING OUT THAT INFERNAL BLAZE?!
Razor dealt with the final few by unleashing his own burst, swinging his claymore at speeds that shouldn't be possible for a human, a normal one at least, but there's nothing normal about this lot.
(Y/N): That seems to be all of them. Now, where's Loki?
Aether: It seems she may have slipped away in the chaos.
(Y/N): (sigh) Well, I suppose that's all we can do here. Come on, let's... Huh?
Breidablik was reacting to something nearby, emitting a light in a particular direction.
Paimon: Uh, is that normal?
You decide to follow the trail that the divine weapon was providing you, and at its end, you found a girl, unconscious and in need of medical attention, but alive. You're glad to find SOMEONE alive in this place, you don't want to imagine everyone's reactions if you hadn't, especially the youths amongst you. You bringer to the others and explain what happened, and you all agreed to bring her back to base.
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Sorry this took some time to complete, I'm new to writing in general, so writing a fight scene, especially one with so many characters, was challenging. Also, I don't have some of these characters, so I hope I got their skills and bursts right.
