#🏹 ᴠ.ᴀᴜ02 ɪ ᴡᴀs ᴅᴇᴀᴅ ᴡʜᴇɴ ɪ ᴡᴏᴋᴇ ᴜᴘ ᴛʜɪs ᴍᴏʀɴɪɴɢ

[hoshidanroyal]

▌ HEADCANON • • • ► Conquest AU ▌    ↳ REPOSTING FROM MY OLD BLOG. In short, an AU where Takumi survives the events in Conquest due to being exorcised by Sakura, develops the powers of a necromancer, and becomes the King of Hoshido who helps cleanse the lands of the spirits still stuck on earth. Credit to the wonderful @gentlexbloom for helping me with anything dealing with Sakura.

After falling into the Bottomless Canyon, Takumi was found wandering the woods several days later by Hoshidan soldiers, clearly in a strange hypnotic state. After taking him back to the nearest camp and allowing him to rest, the trance appeared to have worn off. Day by day as the war continues, Sakura is the only one to notice that there’s a difference in her brother;there’s changes in his mood, his mannerisms, the way he holds himself, the way he fights. It can’t be chalked up to the war; that war makes everyone and everything change. With Hinoka and Ryoma currently away leading their own troops, she doesn’t know what to do. Her training as a shrine maiden has granted her the ability to detect spirits, and she knows something has hidden itself inside him, but there isn’t a way to help without truly knowing what it is she’s dealing with. The spirit can’t dwell for long either, which causes the sporadic ups and downs he displays, and he constantly gets stabbing headaches due to the constant slipping in and out of his mind. The voices inside Takumi’s head are too strong to ignore after the battle trying to protect the Hoshidan capital. That, combined with the bitter loss to the Nohrians, Corrin’s refusal to side with Hoshido, and the news that Sakura had been taken prisoner, causes him to collapse into tears, his mind and body breaking and giving itself up for Anankos to fully take advantage of. To get the prince away for his own bidding, the spirit forces Takumi to throw himself off the city’s wall. It also forces his body to get right back up through the pain, forcing bones to mend and leading him back to where Garon has been stationed not too far from where Corrin’s camp had been. Again, the possession fades in and out, depending on the dragon-spirit’s mood. During a brief spell where the prince is fully himself, he hears of Sakura’s whereabouts. Despite the risk, he manages to escape when Anankos is focused purely on Garon. It takes a few days to fully stake out Corrin’s camp, but after mapping out an entrance and exit, and waiting for most of the soldiers to leave on a small campaign, Takumi rushes into action to free Sakura from prison, even if it does end in the guards’ lives. He and Sakura manage to make shelter in an abandoned shrine on Hoshido’s countryside, the village already empty and destroyed from the war party that had passed through weeks before. Due to still being in a considerable amount of pain, Takumi can’t fully help set up camp. Seeing that Sakura has moved up in rank to become a priestess and has begun training with the bow surprises him, and also regrettably makes him jealous that he wasn’t there to teach her and guilty over how much work she had to do just to help him. The pang of insecurity is enough for Anankos to sense, and the spirit once again secures its place in his mind, causing him to violently lash out against his sister against his will. It’s then that she has to take Takumi down (easy because he’s physically weak at the time) and perform a harrowing exorcism that lasts for several days and nights. By the end, both are fully exhausted, having to stay one more night in the old shrine to rest. While the spirit of Anankos is fully gone after the exorcism, Takumi’s physical appearance is permanently altered due to the evil tainting him and his brush with death. His skin is sickly pale, almost marmoreal, and cold to the touch, while his eyes have changed from red to purple. After being exorcised, and due to already being dead once before, he can no longer fall to the ways of evil or become possessed again. The Fujin Yumi also remains purple. Due to the bow being a holy weapon, it couldn’t fully become corrupted and take on the color red. It is, at times, stronger than the wielder in this regard. However, once it’s been infected, it can no longer return to its once vibrant blue. While previously the spirit was able to get into Takumi’s mind, it didn’t have an exact location of where the prince was. The severity of the exorcism, however, allowed Anankos to perfectly pinpoint his and Sakura’s location. King Garon sends a small group of forces in their direction to take care of the pair, only to be met with powerful resistance. As Takumi begs Sakura to flee, he’s overwhelmed by headaches again, and this time not because of the dragon-god. Spirits and corpses rise, allowing him to tune into their force and realize that he now commands them. Their cry to be free and kill the Nohrians is a will he feels the need to carry, and immediately he sets them onto the Nohrian soldiers. However, due to to not being able to fully control his new power, the corpses run amok in their own anger, causing destruction. Sakura and Takumi have to flee before they’re also killed. After Ryoma’s death, Takumi is physically ailed, having to pause their travels to vomit and overcome chills and a high fever. Even when he doesn’t feel the need to cry, tears still push their way from his eyes. His new necromantic powers make him overly-sensitive to the deaths of those close to him for now, making him feel weak and vulnerable. Not long after his death, Ryoma’s spirit appears before him, stating he wanted to see Takumi and Sakura; to help in the war one more time before he has to move on. Despite his begging, he doesn’t have the strength to force his elder brother’s spirit on,a and must accept his duty to fulfill the spirit’s final wish. After Corrin defeats the husk of King Garon, Takumi finally returns to get his revenge. Ryoma’s spirit appears behind him with similar features—glowing purple eyes, and the Raijinto has changed color to match as well. Outside the walls, the fight continues, as more spirits and corpses had been raised to help aid in the fight. There are two variations for this battle, with the first being the main:

Corrin is taken by surprise at the sudden attack, and the Nohrians are temporarily defeated. After they’ve retreated, Corrin must find a way to defeat the newest addition to the Hoshidan army before attempting another battle. The next time, Hoshido loses, but is spared by Corrin and Prince Xander.

Despite being taken aback, Corrin still manages to win the battle, although barely. Takumi begrudgingly surrenders, and he and Hoshido are spared.

Afterward, an uneasy truce is settled between Nohr and Hoshido. The crown passes to Takumi, mainly due to Hinoka feeling like she couldn’t be Queen and because Takumi had been raised to lead in similar fashion to Ryoma. Hinoka’s rank, however, rises to that of military advisor. There are two options for the position of royal advisor, with the first being the main:

Sakura. She has proven time and time again to be Takumi’s most faithful companion. He trusts her guidance, especially in areas where he usually relies on instinct. If it wasn’t for her, he wouldn’t be the person he is today. Considering himself forever in her debt, he feels this is one of the best ways to repay her, and will always find ways to prove his thanks.

Saizo and/or Kagerou, if they’ve survived. They’ve both proven their loyalty to the royal family, no matter what. Despite being his elder brother’s retainers, they’ve known Takumi and his sisters for many years, and he still remembers when Kagerou was his mother’s retainer. He trusts Saizo as much as Ryoma once had, and believes the ninja to be a priceless ally no matter what’s been thrown in his way (for example, fighting against his twin brother on the battlefield). Kagerou has always been like an older sister, providing guidance since he was a child. Considering Saizo is similar to Takumi in that he relies on instinct whereas Kagerou relies on patience, it would allow the king to get differing opinions and weigh his options.

Due to the war being over, Takumi feels it’s necessary to cleans Hoshido and the neighboring neutral kingdoms of the spirits who lost their lives during their campaigns. With some of the monks and shrine maidens from the capital, he travels to various villages and battlefields to help the spirits pass on. He takes it upon himself to relay any messages to deceased’s family members as well, even if they were Nohrian. Eventually, under his royal advisor’s suggestion, he extends the offer to King Xander to travel to Nohr and release their spirits as well. As a way to tighten their bond, he also eases the spirit of King Garon off to the afterlife properly, away from the reach of any evil similar to that of Anankos.

[hoshidanroyal]

▌ 💠 • • • ► @royal-botanist ▌

Dusk fell quicker in Nohr, but they couldn’t stop moving. Not now, not when they were so close. The throbbing within the necromancer’s mind heightened, guiding them through the gnarled and leaf-blanketed woods toward the source. Regardless of what had transpired between the neighboring kingdoms in the past, the treaty must be tightened; a promise kept to extricate every spirit chained to the lands from their battles. Even if it took a lifetime, it could be done—would be done. If only he’d been given a better travelling partner, though… Immediately he’d inveighed against Xander’s word, but the decision had been made long before he’d arrived to the palace. Next time, the Nohrian King had promised, he’d find a more suitable companion, but for the next three weeks, Leo was to follow and grant any help he could. The only thing he’d seemed to help with in the past forty-eight hours, however, was to dig himself further into Takumi’s side like a dagger to the ribs. Malcontent at the company given was the understatement of the century. ❝ Remind me again why your brother thought it fit for you to come along. ❞ he distractedly muttered, a plume of smoke escaping in a tired sigh. Despite the bad blood between them, Takumi still respected the elder’s ability as a sorcerer, but there was a nagging doubt he’d be ready to handle what could possibly transpire on the road. ❝ He’s notorious for making wise decisions, yet this one is as foolish as they come. ❞