I do count the .5 chapters as their own as they're expanded chapters, this marks 10 chapters posted!
I know some readers listen to this fanfiction, so I'm keeping this section with a single * instead of the previous *****.
As always Giliath demands your power stones!
*
"Haha, now there's a voice I recognize.", General Vandyck said, only to see a much larger figure peek their head around, arriving beside me. Giliath placed me into one of his arms. I'm still finding this strange, but I think I'm getting used to this warmth of being a kid again.
General Vandyck, huh? I enjoyed his character while playing the Cold Steel games. He was massive up close, I tell you. On top of that, his weapon choice is a damn glaive. And that glaive is even taller than he is. Extremely well-built characters like General Vandyck here use powerful weapons like that in popular eastern martial arts stories of my past life. Since Vandyck is a General of the Imperial Army, I can see that image of him.
Right now, he should still be in the Imperial Army. The Hundred Days War is looming on the horizon, but that isn't set to take place until S1192. There's still a little over four years for that to happen, as it is currently approaching the end of S1187. It was presently November. There was a nip in the air. It wasn't biting cold but it was enough to tell winter was beginning.
(A/N: I'm planning to be more fluid with the passage of time. Most plot points will be custom on the timeline, unless a proper date is given. An example, Naoto's birthday is January S1186 while Rean's is May S1187. Naoto is now 16 months older than Rean instead of 12 months. And with it being November now, that makes Naoto 20 months old.)
Once that war strikes, it will cause General Vandyck to retire from the military. Since that hasn't happened yet, he's still on active duty, and a General no less.
Sadly, I couldn't even spend a moment to formally introduce myself to him. I saw my father shift his head to look at me and speak.
"This is where we will be getting off, Naoto. The rest will be crossed on foot. The distance to the airport isn't that far. Just a district over. This way, you can take in the sights.", Giliath suddenly said.
"You mean right here?", I replied, still surprised to hear that. I mean, we were still on the road. And in the middle of it. It's been causing traffic to go one way or the other. Despite my surprise, the driver was much more worried. He quickly spoke out, not allowing father to speak.
"I urge you to reconsider, General Osborne. I can take you as far as your destination. Your safety is---", The driver tried to say, only to have Giliath cut him off.
"I don't like to repeat my words twice, soldier. You've two of the best Generals in all of Erebonia. General Vandyck here will act as an escort. So instead, pick us up in two days' time at the airport lobby.", Giliath said, suddenly standing up inside the car. He placed me down at his side.
"Understood, General."
Giliath's hand held onto mine, not letting me wander around on my own. With his other hand, he opened the passenger door. I took my first steps into the gigantic city of Erebonia's capital, Heimdallr. You could just hear the hustling and bustling of everyone around us.
I wonder, will I get a chance to bark around orders like father is currently doing? I don't know if I'm a fit to be in the military...
I let that thought settle for the time being. It was more interesting to see the nearby travelers with shocked expressions. Seems like they could tell that two Generals of the Imperial Army were here. They couldn't care less about little old me. They were too surprised to even see me beside the two. Haha!
It was pretty uncommon to see not one, but two Generals together like this, right?
Still, I paid the people around us no mind. They knew not to disturb us, and likewise I shouldn't disturb them. I didn't let my eyes wander around too much. Just being here in Heimdallr was exciting enough for me!
We then saw the driver turn the orbal car back on, only to speed away from the entrance. He received Giliath's command, and knew he couldn't refuse it. All that he had left to do was to leave.
So now, it was just father, me, and General Vandyck. We tried to blend in, and began walking into Alto Street. That's something I should point out. Heimdallr wasn't your average city. It was the capital city of one of the largest countries on the entire continent. Almost a million people lived here. How scary is that?
Beyond us were rows upon rows upon rows of red-colored houses. Several districts were composed of that. Only thirteen places, aka "districts" were shown throughout the entirety of the Cold Steel games, but I have a feeling there's way more than that here. Right where we're standing is Alto Street.
There was a popular concert cafe on this street, but that wasn't the only thing here. Erebonia's only Bracer Guild branch on the east side of the city was situated here. There was another on the west side of the city, but we won't be able to head that far during this trip. The airport is just off to the side of Alto Street, and that was why father said it wouldn't take long to cross on foot.
In regards to the Bracer Guilds here, it wouldn't be a while until the Bracer Guilds located in Erebonia fall under what would be called the Assault on the Imperial Guilds incident. Many Bracer Guilds throughout the country would be attacked to lure Cassius Bright away from Liberl, all so the events of the Trails in the Sky games can take place. And the perpetrators of that is The Society, the same organization the knight woman I just saw is a part of. Their formal name? Ouroboros.
I could go on and on and on about what Ouroboros is, but in short, this group of let's say, "special individuals" isn't your typical evil organization you would encounter in other fantasy stories.
Ouroboros's primary objective, as far as I'm aware, is to "observe the world", and perform certain actions to alter whatever their intent is. Even up to the latest games, Ouroboros's true role hasn't been clearly defined. This is just my personal opinion of them. There are some members in there that aren't inherently evil, while some are. In fact, there are certain members in Ouroboros that treat each other as family on the inside.
I'm not sure if or when Ouroboros will latch onto me, considering I'm an anomaly here. And that person beside Arianrhod...
I quickly shook that doubt aside. Just the topic of Ouroboros is very convoluted. That encounter I had with them might be the only interaction I have for all that matters. So instead, I shifted back to the topic before that.
The Assault of the Imperial Guilds incident. Ouroboros was behind this incident, sure, but it won't be another fourteen years or so. That sure is something to put into perspective too huh? That's over a decade out!
Presently, the Bracer Guild here was very much thriving at the moment. I could see Bracers pop in and out of the entrance every so often as we walked by it. We were on the left side of the street. We would cross over in a while to head toward the airport.
And apart from the Bracer Guild and that popular concert cafe, there was one very particular residence here on this street. My eyes shifted from the Bracer Guild onto this building. My view was kept on some buildings while it remained paused on the one I was referring to. This didn't go unnoticed, though. I heard Giliath laugh beside me. I bet he was having a ball with how I was reacting to these new sights.
"Haha, this is Naoto's first time being in the capital like this, General. I hope you don't mind. The last time he was here was when he was just a baby.", Giliath said, speaking to General Vandyck. "Still, I didn't think you'd be the one to greet us."
"Nor did I imagine you would bring a little one in tow. Guess that makes you a father.", General Vandyck responded, looking back at Giliath in amusement. His eyes also fell on the little violet-haired boy beside him with an excited look in his eyes. Seeing his gaze, I just looked back at him.
I mean, what else could I do in front of this giant? He was huge, I tell you! And extremely well built!
I couldn't even run away if I tried. Both of these two are freaking monsters. Either one would catch up to me in no time. So I did the only thing I could do.
Introducing myself to General Vandyck. Like I said, my body isn't used to throwing out every single word in the dictionary yet seeing how young I am still, but I can at least form simple sentences. It's been about ten months since I've spoken my first words. Giliath has taught me a lot already.
"Umm. It's nice to meet you!", I said, introducing myself to General Vandyck. Just hearing that caused him to smile back at me.
"Would you look at that? Your boy's already starting to speak.", General Vandyck mused. "And you know, the kid reminds me of you, General. I don't recall your family having this color of hair, but your lineage goes quite the way back, despite being a commoner."
"Indeed. This shouldn't come as a shock to you. Naoto's been taking after me more and more with each passing day. Oh how time flies.", Giliath responded.
"And all that was needed was a little push. I'm glad things worked out between you two. Shame you can't take more time off, but we're soldiers at our core. We can only utilize so much time.", General Vandyck said.
"It truly is a shame I can't spend more time with Kasia and our two sons. I do try to make efforts to return when I can. Mostly on the weekends, unless we're on deployment somewhere.", Giliath responded. As he said that, General Vandyck paused. Looks like he was quick to pick up what father had just said.
"Did you just say two sons?", General Vandyck asked, pausing for a moment.
"You didn't hear me wrong.", Giliath replied, keeping a playful grin on his face.
"Hahaha! You sure have been busy alright.", General Vandyck retorted. He smiled, and I could see he was truly happy for father. This was a nice moment to share between the three of us.
But that got me thinking, and I recalled something.
General Vandyck played cupid and shot the arrow at Giliath and Kasia, huh? He was the one who set the two up to get married, and eventually have me and my new little bro.
What's the saying you would use here...It's a small world?
Sadly, that only lasted for a moment. I saw General Vandyck glance his eyes back our way, and his gaze turned serious.
"Still, you're back here, General Osborne. We've not received many orders as of late, so I take it something else has happened, which prompted your return to Heimdallr?", General Vandyck questioned, going to the topic at hand.