I've started this off gods know how many times, and ended up deleting all of them save this. Let's see where things go from here ...
AN: Still ord's fault ^_^.
Well, this was heartening, all things considered.
The problem, though, was the simple fact that time had passed, and despite being secure from the ravages of the elements before the place he'd ended up in was, there and then, falling apart around him.
Almost literally.
The last departing energies of the Great Spell sizzled in the air around him, even as they faded into nothingness, signaling the rite's completion ...
... about damn time, too.
He could feel it. Feel it in his blood, feel it in his bones, feel it in the back of his mind and in the flickering reflection of this Reality left on his retina after he'd stepped into it.
He had finally reached his destination.
... mostly.
He looked down towards the violently swirling waters below. He'd gone around this damn island so many times he'd just about lost track, and there was no living soul to be found.
Plenty of dead ones, though. Recent as well, if the bones were anything to go by.
So, here he was, sitting on little more than a giant hunk of rock and ruin in the middle of the Persian Gulf sometime around the 6th century AD ...
Oh, well ... not the gravest situation he'd ever been in even by a longshot. Although, just in case worse came to worse, he really should see about trying to scavenge enough to put together a boat.
He cast another baleful look at the dilapidating fortress.
Well, alright, maybe a raft.
---
Fate/Split Daybreak
02: The roads we walk.
---
'The journey of a thousand miles is said to begin with a single step, hence, most think of that as the most important step.
It isn't.
To walk a thousand miles, you have to endure. It isn't merely that first step, that initial decision. Every step is a decision, an exercise in endurance ...
And how you walk every single step is just as, if not more, important as the destination.'
Looking at it evoked a ... decidedly odd sensation in the king's chest. Was it foreboding? A shadow of the future?
"My liege? Is something wrong?"
"Did you feel that?"
"Feel what, my liege?"
The king frowned.
"No, it was probably nothing," a brief shake of the head, as if to banish the sensation. It lessened, but didn't quite give way. "It's certainly impressive."
"King Leodegen is somewhat ... enamored with grand gestures. I am quite familiar with this particular piece," the adviser shrugged. "I do believe, though, that ignoring the bride in favor of looking over the dowry can be considered ... bad form. When done for too long at least."
The king grimaced. Yes, there was that, wasn't there.
"Oh, come now, I hear she is quite comely."
"Do not bait me, Magus. It's frustrating enough as it is, this situation."
"I did warn you, did I not? The person to pull the sword from the stone will become the king of Britain, I said. Well, there are some fictions one must adapt, after all. We all have our crosses to bear, Arturia."
"And since when did you become a devout Christian?"
"Since it suited my needs," Merlin offered an unconcerned shrug.
"Wonderful," Arturia pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation. The irascible magus had a way of getting to her, and not in a good way. Still, his advice was more often than not sound.
"Alright," the 'king' of the Britons sighed. "Let's go see to meeting this sacrificial lamb I've been sent."
"Must you be so grim about this? 'Tis a grand occasion, I assure you."
"Yes, imagine how she must feel," Arturia retorted, droll.
"Just one question."
Arturia rapped the knuckles of one hand against the back of her advisers skull. "No, you can't watch, you damned lech."
As the king and her adviser left the grand hall, one of the high backed chairs set by the great round table that had just been set up inside it briefly shuddered, before a faint glow briefly outlined a pattern in the back of the backrest, then faded out.
***
ETA: humorous doujin linkage ahoy. Read it: www.chiyochan.net/fate/res/17817.html
When tact is required, use brute force. When force is required, use greater force.
When the greatest force is required, use your head. Surprise is everything. - The Book of Cataclysm
AN: Still ord's fault ^_^.
Well, this was heartening, all things considered.
The problem, though, was the simple fact that time had passed, and despite being secure from the ravages of the elements before the place he'd ended up in was, there and then, falling apart around him.
Almost literally.
The last departing energies of the Great Spell sizzled in the air around him, even as they faded into nothingness, signaling the rite's completion ...
... about damn time, too.
He could feel it. Feel it in his blood, feel it in his bones, feel it in the back of his mind and in the flickering reflection of this Reality left on his retina after he'd stepped into it.
He had finally reached his destination.
... mostly.
He looked down towards the violently swirling waters below. He'd gone around this damn island so many times he'd just about lost track, and there was no living soul to be found.
Plenty of dead ones, though. Recent as well, if the bones were anything to go by.
So, here he was, sitting on little more than a giant hunk of rock and ruin in the middle of the Persian Gulf sometime around the 6th century AD ...
Oh, well ... not the gravest situation he'd ever been in even by a longshot. Although, just in case worse came to worse, he really should see about trying to scavenge enough to put together a boat.
He cast another baleful look at the dilapidating fortress.
Well, alright, maybe a raft.
---
Fate/Split Daybreak
02: The roads we walk.
---
'The journey of a thousand miles is said to begin with a single step, hence, most think of that as the most important step.
It isn't.
To walk a thousand miles, you have to endure. It isn't merely that first step, that initial decision. Every step is a decision, an exercise in endurance ...
And how you walk every single step is just as, if not more, important as the destination.'
Looking at it evoked a ... decidedly odd sensation in the king's chest. Was it foreboding? A shadow of the future?
"My liege? Is something wrong?"
"Did you feel that?"
"Feel what, my liege?"
The king frowned.
"No, it was probably nothing," a brief shake of the head, as if to banish the sensation. It lessened, but didn't quite give way. "It's certainly impressive."
"King Leodegen is somewhat ... enamored with grand gestures. I am quite familiar with this particular piece," the adviser shrugged. "I do believe, though, that ignoring the bride in favor of looking over the dowry can be considered ... bad form. When done for too long at least."
The king grimaced. Yes, there was that, wasn't there.
"Oh, come now, I hear she is quite comely."
"Do not bait me, Magus. It's frustrating enough as it is, this situation."
"I did warn you, did I not? The person to pull the sword from the stone will become the king of Britain, I said. Well, there are some fictions one must adapt, after all. We all have our crosses to bear, Arturia."
"And since when did you become a devout Christian?"
"Since it suited my needs," Merlin offered an unconcerned shrug.
"Wonderful," Arturia pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation. The irascible magus had a way of getting to her, and not in a good way. Still, his advice was more often than not sound.
"Alright," the 'king' of the Britons sighed. "Let's go see to meeting this sacrificial lamb I've been sent."
"Must you be so grim about this? 'Tis a grand occasion, I assure you."
"Yes, imagine how she must feel," Arturia retorted, droll.
"Just one question."
Arturia rapped the knuckles of one hand against the back of her advisers skull. "No, you can't watch, you damned lech."
As the king and her adviser left the grand hall, one of the high backed chairs set by the great round table that had just been set up inside it briefly shuddered, before a faint glow briefly outlined a pattern in the back of the backrest, then faded out.
***
ETA: humorous doujin linkage ahoy. Read it: www.chiyochan.net/fate/res/17817.html
When tact is required, use brute force. When force is required, use greater force.
When the greatest force is required, use your head. Surprise is everything. - The Book of Cataclysm