(no subject)
Title: First steps
Rating: PG-ish
Characters: Yuan, Kratos, Martel, Mithos
Summary: On the eve of battle, Yuan faces a sudden choice provided by someone he believed to be his enemy.
Notes: So I was reading the Tales wiki the other day, and I decided to actually try out the canon (or at least Tales of Fandom) backstory for the Seraphim. According to the wiki, Kratos helped Mithos and Martel to confront a leader of the Sylvaranti army that he'd encountered before, to stop an attack on the Tethe'allan capital and eventually bring the war to a halt.
Spoilers for after the story: The capital was burned down the next day. Canon says nothing about whether Yuan joined them before or after it happened.
There was a sound at the entrance to Yuan's tent, and he frowned, looking up from his battle plans for the next day to see who it might be.
A tall and familiar redhead stood in the doorway, watching him uncertainly, and Yuan drew his sword without a second thought. “You! What the hell are you doing here?!” If he'd come as an assassin, he was a singularly incompetent one, not even waiting until Yuan's lantern was out.
“Please, wait!” a voice cried from behind the other soldier, and to Yuan's astonishment, a woman with green hair stepped in front of him. “We're only here to talk with you.” Her light accent was odd, and it took Yuan a moment to place it as elvish.
Yuan sneered. “Hiding behind women now, Aurion? That's a new low even for the Tethe'allan army.”
“I am not here as a part of the Tethe'allan army,” Kratos murmured, placing a hand on the woman's shoulder and moving to guard her. “...I've left their ranks, as you suggested.”
“As I- what?” Yuan shook his head. “I told you to find something to fight for, not to stop fighting!”
“I did. ...Just not a pointless war dictated by leadership out of touch with reality. That's why we're here.”
A boy Yuan hadn't noticed before sidled up beside the woman, keeping a wary eye on Yuan as he did so. Yuan frowned in total confusion. “All right, fine, I'll bite. Why are you in the enemy camp, with women and children along, on the eve of battle?”
“We need you to stop tomorrow's attack,” Kratos replied. At Yuan's incredulous look, he added, “You're the only one I knew who might be willing to listen.”
“Are you insane?!” Yuan cried indignantly. “Just because you've turned deserter, you think that somehow gives you the right to ask me to turn on my own people, my own nation?! To sabotage my country's safety and the lives of the men under my command?!”
Kratos' eyes narrowed. “Sylvarant's safety is not in question here,” he informed Yuan acidly. “Or have you forgotten that we're on Meltokio's doorstep? It will do Sylvarant no harm to turn aside.”
“And the war must be stopped,” the woman added, her tone gentle and pleading. “The mana consumption is killing the Great Tree, and if it continues as it has been, neither Sylvarant nor Tethe'alla will survive to see victory. You must understand, this isn't about your nation or his. The entire future of the world rests on this!”
That did put a bit of a different perspective on things. Still... “And how do I know I can trust you?” he asked instead. “That this isn't some foolish ruse to confuse Sylvarant's forces and leave us open for a return blow?”
“Um,” the boy said quietly, and then with more strength. “But...it's kind of dumb for a trick, right? I mean, I could make up something better if we wanted to lie. Like pretending we knew about some kind of super-laser you'd be walking into or something.”
“That's not exactly compelling evidence,” Yuan replied dryly. “...And it doesn't change the fact that we're about to strike a decisive blow in this war. We could be on the edge of forcing surrender here, and you want me to just defect?”
“You won't force a surrender,” Kratos shook his head. “The royals have already been evacuated, I'm sure of it. You might take down some infrastructure, but for the most part, you'll be slaughtering civilians. Is that what Sylvarant calls a victory?”
“I'd think burning anyone's capital counts as a victory,” Yuan sniffed. “I'm sure your people wouldn't hesitate to burn Palmacosta, if you could reach it.”
“...And is that the war you want to win?” the woman asked him, with surprising calmness. “Each wounding the other until both sides are too weak to go on? Is that what you want for your nation, as well?”
Yuan frowned uncomfortably. “I don't answer to you. I shouldn't even be talking to you! And even if it isn't exactly ideal, what choice do we have? At this point, the Tethe'allans aren't going to stop until we've crushed them entirely.”
“And we say the same of the Sylvaranti,” Kratos responded. “Which seems a fairer criticism at the moment, considering the circumstances.”
“You-!” Yuan growled. Stop making sense! he wanted to add, but that would be admitting that they were getting to him. “...I'm one man, one commander in a vast army. What makes you think I can make this stop?”
“Everything has to start somewhere,” the woman pressed. “Imagine if everyone was continuing down this path only because they thought it was what all the others wanted. Someone has to be the first one to say 'no', to acknowledge that something is wrong.”
Yuan sighed in frustration. This was ridiculous, and yet...somehow, these near-strangers were awakening doubts that he'd barely realized he harbored. Had he truly become such a mindless follower? Without even realizing it, fighting a foolish and pointless war that would end in suffering for everyone...somehow, he'd become nearly as blind as he'd once accused Kratos of being.
“I need to think about this,” he said quietly, closing his eyes. “Leave me. ...You'll have your answer before dawn, I'll meet you outside the camp if I decide to help.”
The woman nodded in understanding. “We can give you that long. ...Come along, Mithos.” Reaching out her hand to take the boy's, she bowed once, and left the tent as quietly as they'd come.
Kratos lingered behind a moment, looking as if he had something more to say. After a moment of apparently failing to find the right words, he followed the other two, leaving Yuan alone with what he sincerely hoped would be the hardest decision he'd ever have to make.
Rating: PG-ish
Characters: Yuan, Kratos, Martel, Mithos
Summary: On the eve of battle, Yuan faces a sudden choice provided by someone he believed to be his enemy.
Notes: So I was reading the Tales wiki the other day, and I decided to actually try out the canon (or at least Tales of Fandom) backstory for the Seraphim. According to the wiki, Kratos helped Mithos and Martel to confront a leader of the Sylvaranti army that he'd encountered before, to stop an attack on the Tethe'allan capital and eventually bring the war to a halt.
Spoilers for after the story: The capital was burned down the next day. Canon says nothing about whether Yuan joined them before or after it happened.
There was a sound at the entrance to Yuan's tent, and he frowned, looking up from his battle plans for the next day to see who it might be.
A tall and familiar redhead stood in the doorway, watching him uncertainly, and Yuan drew his sword without a second thought. “You! What the hell are you doing here?!” If he'd come as an assassin, he was a singularly incompetent one, not even waiting until Yuan's lantern was out.
“Please, wait!” a voice cried from behind the other soldier, and to Yuan's astonishment, a woman with green hair stepped in front of him. “We're only here to talk with you.” Her light accent was odd, and it took Yuan a moment to place it as elvish.
Yuan sneered. “Hiding behind women now, Aurion? That's a new low even for the Tethe'allan army.”
“I am not here as a part of the Tethe'allan army,” Kratos murmured, placing a hand on the woman's shoulder and moving to guard her. “...I've left their ranks, as you suggested.”
“As I- what?” Yuan shook his head. “I told you to find something to fight for, not to stop fighting!”
“I did. ...Just not a pointless war dictated by leadership out of touch with reality. That's why we're here.”
A boy Yuan hadn't noticed before sidled up beside the woman, keeping a wary eye on Yuan as he did so. Yuan frowned in total confusion. “All right, fine, I'll bite. Why are you in the enemy camp, with women and children along, on the eve of battle?”
“We need you to stop tomorrow's attack,” Kratos replied. At Yuan's incredulous look, he added, “You're the only one I knew who might be willing to listen.”
“Are you insane?!” Yuan cried indignantly. “Just because you've turned deserter, you think that somehow gives you the right to ask me to turn on my own people, my own nation?! To sabotage my country's safety and the lives of the men under my command?!”
Kratos' eyes narrowed. “Sylvarant's safety is not in question here,” he informed Yuan acidly. “Or have you forgotten that we're on Meltokio's doorstep? It will do Sylvarant no harm to turn aside.”
“And the war must be stopped,” the woman added, her tone gentle and pleading. “The mana consumption is killing the Great Tree, and if it continues as it has been, neither Sylvarant nor Tethe'alla will survive to see victory. You must understand, this isn't about your nation or his. The entire future of the world rests on this!”
That did put a bit of a different perspective on things. Still... “And how do I know I can trust you?” he asked instead. “That this isn't some foolish ruse to confuse Sylvarant's forces and leave us open for a return blow?”
“Um,” the boy said quietly, and then with more strength. “But...it's kind of dumb for a trick, right? I mean, I could make up something better if we wanted to lie. Like pretending we knew about some kind of super-laser you'd be walking into or something.”
“That's not exactly compelling evidence,” Yuan replied dryly. “...And it doesn't change the fact that we're about to strike a decisive blow in this war. We could be on the edge of forcing surrender here, and you want me to just defect?”
“You won't force a surrender,” Kratos shook his head. “The royals have already been evacuated, I'm sure of it. You might take down some infrastructure, but for the most part, you'll be slaughtering civilians. Is that what Sylvarant calls a victory?”
“I'd think burning anyone's capital counts as a victory,” Yuan sniffed. “I'm sure your people wouldn't hesitate to burn Palmacosta, if you could reach it.”
“...And is that the war you want to win?” the woman asked him, with surprising calmness. “Each wounding the other until both sides are too weak to go on? Is that what you want for your nation, as well?”
Yuan frowned uncomfortably. “I don't answer to you. I shouldn't even be talking to you! And even if it isn't exactly ideal, what choice do we have? At this point, the Tethe'allans aren't going to stop until we've crushed them entirely.”
“And we say the same of the Sylvaranti,” Kratos responded. “Which seems a fairer criticism at the moment, considering the circumstances.”
“You-!” Yuan growled. Stop making sense! he wanted to add, but that would be admitting that they were getting to him. “...I'm one man, one commander in a vast army. What makes you think I can make this stop?”
“Everything has to start somewhere,” the woman pressed. “Imagine if everyone was continuing down this path only because they thought it was what all the others wanted. Someone has to be the first one to say 'no', to acknowledge that something is wrong.”
Yuan sighed in frustration. This was ridiculous, and yet...somehow, these near-strangers were awakening doubts that he'd barely realized he harbored. Had he truly become such a mindless follower? Without even realizing it, fighting a foolish and pointless war that would end in suffering for everyone...somehow, he'd become nearly as blind as he'd once accused Kratos of being.
“I need to think about this,” he said quietly, closing his eyes. “Leave me. ...You'll have your answer before dawn, I'll meet you outside the camp if I decide to help.”
The woman nodded in understanding. “We can give you that long. ...Come along, Mithos.” Reaching out her hand to take the boy's, she bowed once, and left the tent as quietly as they'd come.
Kratos lingered behind a moment, looking as if he had something more to say. After a moment of apparently failing to find the right words, he followed the other two, leaving Yuan alone with what he sincerely hoped would be the hardest decision he'd ever have to make.