DRAGON.

dragnor castle - 2012

galar dragon castle thing - 2019 

              “ DON’T LET THEM IN O-RAN! ”

              the last order by his Lord and he had failed               dragged out of the burning room, despite his own protections; his Lord was dead. What was a samurai without his lord; his master? more ash and flame than man stumbled and half-carried back. he had wanted to die then, yet there had been cool hands pressing cloth to his forehead, conscientiously wiping away his fever. 

              someone had wanted Ran to live; though how shamefully. his body aches, the burns have scabbed over and pains him when he moves. robes soft, like cotton and warm. outside there are shadows speaking, he knows that they are in Azuchi, there are meetings behind closed screens and money exchanging hands. they will crown a new master soon and unification will continue without his Lord Nobunaga, this he has heard when they thought him, asleep and dreaming. 

             Human life lasts only 50 years              Contrast human life with life of Geten              It is but a very dream and illusion.

              there's a wave of anger simmering under his skin, like a blade through his belly and he wants to scream. one shadow lingers and he fixates because he has time now. they will go on without him, Ran knows -             he was nothing without his Lord and will become nothing again. Lord Ieyasu and Lord Hideyoshi will fight over the throne of the Demon King and here he will remain, forgotten like so much debris. 

                the door slides open. 

                Unless we consider this a very seed of awakening;                 it is a grievous truth indeed.

It seemed like God felt the need to mess up with him this time around.

They were completely thrown out of their route to their destination, thanks to an unexpected storm. Now Drake and his shipcrew they found themselves in an unknown land.

Not Surprisingly they didn’t go unnoticed by the locals, leaving his crew behind Drake had been approached and escorted by what seemed to be guards in order to talk to their Leader.

It was as though Drake had just entered a whole new world.

Now he stands in front of the Warlord- their leader, chief? Truth be said, Drake wasn’t quite sure what it meant. But seeing the Dragonair by the stranger’s side, it seemed like they were an important figure around these lands.

There were many new words, unknown words. Used by the stranger- from all of them the word Ransei stood out to him the most.

The captain is smoking on his pipe, standing with his arms crossed over his chest. He isn’t quite sure what to think of them thus far- once they were done talking Drake finally got to speak.

“We mean no trouble sir. . We were caught in a storm, and it somehow dragged us to’ere. Yes, ye could say we’re lost. Our stay should be brief- we just need to repair the ship, then we will take off sir.”

There is a brief pause as he stared at the man sitting on the throne.

“Would ye mind…Repeating the name of these lands? I don’t think I’ve ever heard such name before.”

   ❝ Ransei, ❞ he repeats kindly. ❝ It’s the name of the island, legend has it in the South that Arceus forged this land in his own image. It’s quite understandable if you’ve never heard of us before, we haven’t really had much contact with the outside world for ... as long as I can remember, ❞

   he gestured for the man to sit once more. no doubt they must be tired and famished from the trip, the winds were not kind towards travelers this time of year especially. plenty of fishermen from Nixtorm and the other provinces had to be rescued by their dragons due to the treacherous cliffs surrounding their kingdom. 

  ❝ you are welcome to stay for as long as you need. you mentioned... - do you have other men who traveled with you? where are you and your men from? ❞ now curiosity enters his voice; he’s been to Sinnoh and Kalos before, after the war had ended. 

The girl, or, well, man as he would have it, was quicker on the draw than his father. Sacks of gold and stacks of guns blinded the most clever as long as that’s all they looked at, and Yoshinari had enough tunnel vision to mine for centuries.

“You wound me,” he teased, a hand over his chest in mock offense, “would I lie about a name like Shigehide? Not the prettiest name you could get stuck with. I would be Nobu-something or other if I was looking to impress you.” Which, he could tell, he was not at all.

“That depends on who you think I am, I guess, or what you want. I’m not a woman, I can tell you that off the bat.”

his brow creased in annoyance at that flippant, shameless answer. a conman then, but at least an honest one which was more than what could be said about his father talking up the Mori fortune - indeed a sizable one, but one marries into the Mori for their political and military rather than financial capital. 

     ❝ Your clothes are practical for our weather, so that rules out most of the South. You used the wrong fork by Dragnorian standards - the smaller fork on the left is commonly used for spearing fowl, though there are none in Dragnor so we’ve adapted that for salads. And with the prefix, Shige- hm...you’re from Avia, aren’t you? ❞

  ❝ You’d never succeed in impersonating an Oda, ❞ Shigehide’s comment about the Oda - well, anyone worth their research would know that Yoshinari would rather commit seppuku than ally with them (to Ran’s eternal chagrin) --       though was his admiration for Nobunaga really that obvious?

Takamoto returned the kiss as best he could under the beak of his mask. At least the nose of a Dratini was not as harsh of that of his father’s Haxorus. The wings on the side of his crown still made him feel like as much of a fairy as his wife and baby sister, but he would keep the air of sophistication that a dragon demanded.

“You look like a thousand dreams, my love,” he whispered into his cheek, hands finding his sweet fairy’s as he fret over his costume. Was he not put together enough by Dragnor standards? Whatever would he do when he met them without a mask if he was so out of shape?

Tsubone curtsied beside her brother, or at least as well as she could while holding Nii-san’s hand. “You look very nice too, Ran nii!” She chimed, but quickly covered her mouth. Everyone had fake names tonight, didn’t they? “What do we call you tonight?”

    Ran takes his hands, entwining his and Takamoto’s fingers together; familiarity and sweetness and he takes the other’s palm before pressing it to his own cheek, next to the curl of hydrangeas and hyacinth festooned in his hair. ❝ You should say pretty things like that all night, my love - ❞ it was actually quite fortunate that there were not too many people from the North around in retrospect, why he recognized had immediately recognized the warlord of Greenleaf by his own ceremonial armor -     - and watching Moto clad as his own dragon, well … how enchanting.

     though they really should enter the main hall rather than mingling in the hallways.

       ❝ You look good, ❞ he breathes with full appreciation; he would rather be there without these masks proclaiming his adoration greedily for his prince to the world and yet - there would be time and time again afterward when the battles are over. ❝ How do I look? ❞ he asks cheekily, fishing for a compliment which is owed more to the seamstresses of Greenleaf but it takes so little effort to tease the other and watch Takamoto’s cheeks flush like blossoms during the spring was divine. 

    ❝ I'm a man. And you’re no Count, Shigehide or whatever your actual name is - so tell me who are you, really? ❞ // @magonumberfive

“Ranmaru-sama, I understand that spirits can be unsettling. But not all of them mean to be scary. Misdreavus here came all the way with me to make friends. Will you say hello?”

       a ghost!! absolutely not, this brother-stealer brought an accomplice to kill him no doubt. she was worse than Mitsuhide who despite his preening had little opportunities to actually steal his soul. granted the ghost that she brought was adorable. 

           And Kagekatsu had the idea of bringing them here - to Hideyoshi’s wedding, a moment of levity and celebration during the war for everyone but the bridesgroom it seemed. 

  She falls silent, her gaze staying fixed on him. In the countless times Hisahide went over the details of this very discussion with her, it was the one point he made sure to stress; stick to your story and don’t look away. If you look away once, he’ll doubt everything you’ve told him. Struggling to swallow, her hands clasp tight in her lap.

   “It’s where I’m from, but I don’t have anyone to go home to there. No family, no real friends. Nobody’s going to miss me if I don’t return - so if Dragnor would have me, I’m glad to stay here.”

   “If you find me useful, then that’s all I can ask for. I want to build a future somewhere I can have a purpose. Whatever good I can do for Dragnor, that’s the kind of role I’d like to play.”

            he takes a sip of his tea while pondering her answer. another casualty of a war that could not end quickly enough. there was something a little bit odd about her answer, that brief moment of hesitation though it was probably more-so due to the unpleasant memories of the war. 

             ❝ Welcome then, Ruolan - ❞ he replies, flashing her a quick, amicable smile.  ❝ If you’d like I can show you the barracks where you’ll be staying, there’s quite a number of other people in your circumstance - we take care of our own here, ❞