PARAGON
Remnants of the Great War Arc [37]
Chapter 46 : The Great War
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“Your Grace, our men are working as fast as they can, but it simply isn’t possible to—“
“I don’t care!” King Azett snarled, his eyes bloodshot. “The army’s size has doubled, and every soldier needs a set of armor and weapons! Do not fail me, minister. Think of your children, no, think of your children’s children. If you do not want their future to be swallowed in unparalleled desolation, you will carry out your orders as instructed.”
His minister wiped his forehead with a handkerchief and nodded weakly, before scurrying away.
Azett slumped back in his throne. The iron crown on his head sat heavy, the weight of his duties threatening to crush him, yet he kept his head aloft. Failure was unacceptable.
This effort had started around six months ago, when Azett glimpsed a vision of the future. The arrival of the so-called ‘Paragons, and what came after. The return of the Age of Carnage… Whilst I draw breath, that reality will never again defile this world with its depravity.
Toward that end, Azett had turned Kalos into a true empire, expanding its armies, doubling the production of grain, and forging weapons to crush any hint of pokémon activity within his territory.
But most importantly, he’d begun work on a secret weapon. An ultimate weapon, the designs of which had been enlightened upon him by Arceus’ Plate. In the intervening time since he’d become a Platebearer, he’d learned much about what it could offer him. When he demanded an answer from it, it provided. And when he’d demanded a weapon that could fell the Paragons, the blueprints of that machine had been etched upon his mind dutifully. His hands had moved across the parchment nearly autonomously, as he sketched out the design revealed to him. When he handed them to his engineers and ordered them to build it, they looked at him in abject confusion, not even knowing what it was they were looking at. But how could they? This was wisdom imparted to him directly from the creature that had designed the very universe, according to Zagreus. And that wasn’t the only knowledge that man had enlightened him to…
When the Paragons came, he would be ready.
The air in the throne room seemed dark and crimson, as did the rest of Kalos. Where once, laughter and mirth had filled its cobbled halls, now, only the iron conviction held by its king remained. The half-assed ‘utopia’ from before did not exist anymore. Now, all citizens of Kalos were expected to contribute to Azett’s grand mission. He was well aware of the cost, but it was a trifling concern compared to the threat of the Paragons.
Even Floette had vanished about a week ago, shortly after Azett had issued the order to cull the many pokémon gathered to fuel his ultimate weapon. She normally came and went as she pleased, but her absence this time was noticeably longer. For some reason, even the Fairy Plate, as he’d learned it was, did not reveal her whereabouts to him. But, her disappearance was an easily forgettable matter with everything else at hand. Surely she’d reappear soon.
The doors to the esteemed throne room burst open. Everyone gathered turned toward the sound of the doors slamming against the stone walls, and one of his messengers pushed his way between them impatiently, before kneeling before Azett.
Azett frowned upon noticing the urgency of his messenger. His skin was slick with sweat and he was visibly shaking. His guards moved to intercept the man, but Azett put his hand up. “Fetch him a flask of water.”
Once it was brought, the man drank it down greedily, emptying the flask in mere seconds. After catching his breath he turned to his king once more.
“Speak,” Azett ordered.
The man swallowed. “W-War, your Grace. T-The Guardians of Rota…have declared war!”
“What?!” one of the ministers shouted.
“So they finally show their hand!”
“Those despicable Guardians! After his Grace visited them personally!”
“Silence!” Azett boomed. “What is the rest of the report?”
“Guardians in the southern lands launched an attack on our outposts! They set the pokémon free and burned our ships! As I speak, a host of mounted flyers are on their way to Kalos now from across the sea!”
Disturbed murmurings erupted through the throne room. Notably, the military generals seemed to steel themselves, preparing for conflict.
“It is as I said,” a voice came from behind Azett. “They mean to destroy you.”
Azett turned just as Sir Zagreus stepped out from the shadows.
“They fear Kalos’ strength!” Zagreus proclaimed to the whole room. “If they cannot possess supremacy in this world, then no one shall!”
The gathered officials paused their panic to listen to the Guardian. They glared at him. They never did trust him, and disliked how close he’d gotten to their king. Yet he was proving his loyalty now. Their eyes shifted to their king, awaiting orders.
Rage burned in the Kalosian king’s eyes. Aaron… Do you truly mean to force your wretched dream on the entire world? On me?
He rose to his feet and stepped down the steps to his throne slowly. “Rota flies toward us, intent on killing us. They have betrayed me, and allowed themselves to be led astray by illusions of power and dreams of unity.” He clenched his fist before him. “Kalosians! We have prepared for this day! Our army is larger than any other, and our fleet is unparalleled! Deploy the armada to intercept these Guardians who would sooner defend monsters over their fellow man! Send word to Unova and Galar to muster themselves for war!”
A cacophonous battlecry rang throughout the throne room, before generals and ministers both began rushing this way and that to carry out their new orders. At the same time, Zagreus slid in beside Azett.
“Surely you can feel it too, your Grace. The Guardians will not be the only enemy. Others will take advantage of the coming chaos. Other Platebearers, and those seeking the Plates.”
Azett’s glare never wavered. “Of course I know that. But thanks to your knowledge, I have borne my Plate longer than any of them. If they come, they will die by my hands personally, Platebearer or not.”
Zagreus smiled and nodded. “Then the only thing I have left to impart to you are my well wishes. For good fortune in battle.” He bowed dramatically.
Azett crossed his arms. “Pokémon… The Paragons are the true enemy. I will end this farce of a war quickly. It must end before the Paragons arrive. And then, I will fulfill my divine purpose and defend this world from them once and for all. That is my decree. And let any who stand against us be branded as enemies of humanity!”
In his valiance, King Azett did not notice Zagreus’ deathly smirk, or the dark glint in his messenger’s eyes that betrayed the evil Guardian’s control over him.
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“My King!”
An Aura Guardian ran down the wooden pier and quickly clutched a fist and bowed.
Sir Aaron frowned at his haste and stopped, one foot away from stepping onto his Kalos-bound galleon. Rota had no navy, landlocked as they were, so they’d hired a captain in Vermillion for the journey east.
“What is it?” he said, concern already lacing his tone.
“The Kalosian Armada has set sail and is heading west! Our scouts say they’ve assembled for war! Their men are armed and armored, and they have an army of trainers aboard!”
Sir Aaron’s brows furrowed. “War?” He glanced away. Is this related to our presence in the Hoenn Region? I’d increased our presence there after learning that many of the pokémon from their massacre were captured there. But would Azett really escalate to war over something so trivial? He turned around and looked out over the ship, across its width, at the open ocean to the east. His messenger was still babbling on but honestly, his voice had faded into the background. You shredded the chance of an alliance with your wanton bloodshed, Azett, but I intended to find the truth of this darkness by going to Kalos myself. Are you telling me you won’t even allow that anymore? Your pure heart, which wished so deeply for the abolition of fear…could it have been blackened so much by fear, in turn, of the Paragons…? Or was it the seduction of the Plates?
Or was your true desire all along to claim limitless power so you could shed yourself of such fear?
“My King!” the messenger squawked, breaking him from his thoughts.
“What?!” Aaron growled, wheeling on him.
The messenger raised his arm and pointed at the eastern sky. “There, my King! We’re under attack!”
All around him, Guardians were beginning to point and shout, with some withdrawing their pokéballs.
Sir Aaron grit his teeth. No time to think! Ripping a pokéball from his own belt, he expelled its contents onto the pier beside him, and the energy within quickly coalesced into a regal Dragonite. It snorted, sensing the incoming threat immediately, and its head jerked to the east, glaring.
“Defensive formation, Guardians!” Aaron roared. “On me! Do not engage until I give the order!”
“What’s going on out here?” a gruff voice demanded. A man with a dark gray beard and sea-crusted coat stomped across the wooden deck of the ship, coming to a stop next to Aaron. He eyed the Dragonite warily, fear evident in his eyes.
“I’d get below deck, captain,” the Guardian King warned, mounting Dragonite. “Seems King Azett has gotten impatient and is coming out to greet us instead.”
Without another word, Sir Aaron kicked Dragonite into the skies, and a moment later, his Guardians joined him, circling around him atop their own flyers. In the far distance, a horde of black dots danced above the horizon, growing larger with each passing moment. As they neared, their edges became more defined, taking the shape of avian pokémon, with riders on their backs.
There must be fifty…no, closer to seventy of them. With their numbers, and at the speed they’re going, they clearly intend to attack us. Sir Aaron’s eyes narrowed as the wind cut past him. Since when did Kalos become so familiar with pokémon?
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When they were nearly a minute away, their forms became clear. However, it was difficult to identify the pokémon due to steel plate armor that covered most of their bodies. Most looked like Talonflame, though Aaron couldn’t be certain. Was it when they decided to start using them as weapons of war? he thought grimly. With one hand clutching Dragonite, he clenched his fist, igniting a surge of Aura within him.
Suddenly, a high pitched keening screeched across the sky, and Aaron nearly let go over Dragonite to clamp his hands over his ears. Through gritted teeth, he saw the unmistakable ears of an armored Noivern glide up from behind its comrades, the air shimmering in front of it from the attack.
“Take evasive action!” Aaron commanded his Guardians, banking down to escape the cacophony. “Twister, Dragonite!”
Dragonite roared, unleashing a storm of crackling energy into the seas below. A moment later, a giant tornado of seafoam ripped into the skies, shooting up from beneath the attackers. Over half of them were swallowed up by the maelstrom or cast off target by its violent winds.
At the same time, the Guardians crashed into the attacking force in midair, the screeching and screaming of pokémon and man alike filling the air. Bursts of Aura and elemental attacks flew through the air, both whizzing past the attackers and slamming into them, sending them plummeting down to the ocean below.
As Aaron swept beside the massive shadow cast by Dragonite’s Twister, he urged his mount up, aiming to come up behind the host. Just before he crested over the top, Aura roared to life on his arms, and his eyes were already flooded in azure. In an instant, he identified friend from foe in the chaotic battle raging before him. As Dragonite leaned forward, allowing him a stable mount, Aaron threw his arms outward.
A wave of Aura, like shimmering mist, bloomed out from him, engulfing the entire midair battle. It passed harmlessly over the Guardians, but the enemy Talonflames squawked and reared back, tossing their riders, who themselves had already been knocked unconscious, before passing out instantly, falling from the sky in a storm of wings and clanking armor. The armored bodies of the Kalosian knights fell like ragdolls, peppering the sea in blooms of seafoam/
The Guardians around him calmed as they saw their foes falling in defeat.
The first battle had ended in their unequivocal victory.
“Retrieve them,” Aaron said, already urging Dragonite back to land.
When he landed on the pier again, the captain was waiting for him stone-faced. “I’m afraid I’ll have to renege on our arrangement, your Majesty. You can’t possibly expect me to sail straight into a war.”
“Of course not,” Aaron said. “I doubt we’d be received warmly after what just transpired.”
The captain took off his cap and rubbed his bald head. “Agh. War. Terrible for business. I think I’ll head south and wait it out.”
Even that may not be far enough, Aaron thought, though he didn’t say it. “No matter what you decide to do, I imagine you’ll want to decide quickly. That was just an advance force. Kalos’ pokémon aren’t strong enough to migrate all the way from east to west. They will have dismounted from warships several miles out. And those warships are still on their way.”
The captain scoffed in disbelief. “That many? Just an advance force? What did you do to piss ‘em off so much?”
Aaron sighed. Even if tensions have been rising, that could never explain such a forceful attempted ambush like this. “I wish I knew.”
His Guardian brethren started landing around him, carrying the soaked bodies of the Kalosians and their pokémon with them. Because of the modest size of the port, they were able to spread out across the grassy hills around the port, dumping their payloads onto the ground unceremoniously.
Aaron nodded in farewell to the captain, and walked briskly toward his men. A senior Guardian stepped down from his Fearow and bowed curtly.
“The result?” Aaron asked.
The Guardian’s eyes scrunched in dismay. “They killed one of ours and injured two. We took one of theirs.”
Dark storm clouds hummed in Aaron’s mind, and he closed his eyes. “There’s no turning back now,” he said quietly.
“We should return to Rota with haste, my King,” the Guardian said. “We must prepare ourselves for a ground invasion from Kalos’ navy.”
Aaron nodded. “Their warships off the coast are less of a concern to me right now. What we must truly grasp are the intentions of our foe. What is their goal, and how far are they willing to go to reach it? Learn that, and it will become clear how expansive and protracted they intend this conflict to be.”
“I’d say they intend on a war that is quite expansive and protracted. Based on what they’ve already done.”
“I fear that what they’ve done so far isn’t the worst of what they’re capable of. Our scouts report rumors of a top-secret project ongoing in the bowels of Kalos, and the massacre of the hundred thousand pokémon seems likely to be related to it. If Azett has somehow learned how to harness the power of Aura from the corpses of all those pokémon, then it is absolutely imperative that we find and shut down said project immediately, whatever it is.”
The Guardian nodded grimly. “These words should be heard by all your captains.”
“Indeed,” Aaron agreed. “I will go on ahead to Rota. I entrust you with handling our enemies here. Transport them back and we’ll confine them to the lower keep for now.”
“Yes, my King.”
As he moved toward Dragonite, Sir Aaron could almost hear his blood pumping itself sluggishly through his veins, as if resisting their current reality. Azett…how did it come to this? He could already tell the coming years would not be kind to him.
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Six years later, Land of Rota
“Advance, you bastards! Strike down every Guardian you see!” King Azett roared, stepping forward with a dark iron broadsword in hand. Kalosian wielders raced forward around them alongside their pokémon, swiftly disappearing into the dark forest before the Palace under the cloak of night.
Finally, they had cracked into the heartland of the Guardians. After the Guardians had repelled their initial attack six years ago, an impenetrable defense had been established around Rota, with all roads and ports locked down. But Aaron was even more thorough, defending the skies from attack as well, and his own formidable command of Aura had proved to be a match against the might of his Fairy Plate.
War had broken out across the world as those who flew their respective flags seized the opportunity to claw their way up from the dregs. With their protection from Rota and Kalos now in jeopardy, villages and towns had risen up against their neighbors, determined to carve out their own place in the world. And due to the imperial nature of Kalos and Rota, those local conflicts had become proxy wars as the two superstates fought for supremacy across the world. Aaron and Azett were both well aware that striking the opposing capital city would bring the swiftest end to the war, and allowing the other to take control of even small towns only inched the dagger closer to their throats.
And throughout it all, the other Platebearers whispered their influence across the myriad battlefields, channeling the flow of the war around them. But the omniscience granted to Azett by the Fairy Plate granted him, and him alone, an absolute advantage against the rival Platebearers. How many had already fallen to him? He always offered to spare them in exchange for their Plate, but stubbornly, they always refused. They would rather die than surrender Arceus’ divine power.
Nevertheless, Azett’s ruthlessness had finally borne fruit. While the Guardians had already cut through Unova and Galar from behind, and had gained a beachhead on Kalosian shores, he had reached Rota first. After six long years, the race against time had ended in Kalos’ victory.
And not soon enough. According to the wisdom of the Fairy Plate, the Paragons were set to arrive later this year. Azett didn’t know precisely when or where, but he was certain it would be this year. His men had readied the ultimate weapon, and when they arrived, he would be ready. He would not let the vision he saw six years ago play out.
But first, Aaron and the Guardians needed to be ground down to dust for their despicable betrayal.
Red lightning lanced across the black sky with a thunderous crack, illuminating the regal Cameran Palace for a moment. Up ahead, Groudon stomped over the forest, magma leaking from the gleaming runes on its crimson skin, and it roared its fury to all within a ten-mile radius.
Three jets of Aura shot out from the forest and impacted against Groudon’s chest, but the behemoth simply snarled and roared even louder, swinging its gargantuan arm and releasing a tidal wave of lava over its assailants. The night became a frenzied blaze of war and fire and the roars of man and monster alike.
Azett didn’t slow his pace at all upon entering the forest, now an inferno of cinders with chaos all around him. He grinned, saliva leaking from the corners of his mouth, as he saw a Guardian running toward him, his hands alight with Aura. The Guardian’s Electrode rolled beside him, tumbling over burned roots with gusto. The Guardian shot an Aura Sphere at him, but Azett easily dodged, then sank his armored fist into the young man’s face, pulping it to blood and bone in an instant. Then, without losing a step, he spun on the ball of his foot and swung his sword in a wide horizontal arc, cleaving the Electrode in half just as it sailed into the air in front of him. The two hemispheres ignited, combusting with an ear-shattering bang and blinding nova.
Azett stepped through the explosion, soot covering his face, smoke trailing from his grinning mouth. “Kill them all!” he spat. “Bury every wretched Guardian you see!”
He couldn’t believe he’d once entertained the idea of allying with these craven freaks. Coexistence with pokémon? A pipe dream. No, a nightmare.
The war raged on and blood and smoke continued to fall upon his body, but several hours later, they finally emerged from the forest. Cameran Palace stood tall, though its regal silhouette looked tiny against the towering Tree of Beginning, which glimmered beneath the pregnant moon.
Where are you, Aaron? Though he wasn’t overly curious, the wisdom of the Fairy Plate granted him an answer anyway, and he frowned. The Tree of Beginning? Is that why it still shines so brightly despite the conflagration raging around it? He sneered. I knew you’d never abandon Rota with us so close, but to think you do not deign to even greet me on the field of battle… Your arrogance will be your undoing.
The Guardians were a slippery bunch. He’d learned that many times over the past six years. Despite his nigh omniscience, he was still only one man, and the Plate only responded to specific queries. They’d been surprise-attacked more times than he could count, and even when the Guardians appeared to have their backs against the wall, their power of Aura could turn any situation around in an instant.
Even now, with victory literally in sight, defeat was not out of the question either.
“Your Grace,” one of his generals strode up next to him. “We’ve received word from the capital. They’ve nearly reached the southern gates. Our Galarian allies are harassing them, but it doesn’t seem to be enough to stop their advance.”
Azett closed his eyes, and cosmic intelligence filtered into his mind at will. “You’re wrong,” he said, opening them again. “They’ve already breached the southern gates and are on their way to the keep now. The next few hours will decide the fate of this entire war.”
His general shifted uneasily. “To think it’s gotten this close. This is an unforgivable blunder.”
“Not so. On the contrary, you’ve performed admirably against an opponent with such a formidable advantage. And you continue to do so to this day, to this hour. For that, I thank you, General.”
“I am unworthy,” he bowed. “But if the capital should fall…”
“I have a contingency, of course. Our minister of finance has been instructed to flee the keep with as many allies as he can in the event of a total defeat. He alone knows the location of all our treasuries, and will have the resources to reform our forces.” His eyes narrowed. “Lord Errol Vandrick has always served my family faithfully.”
His general nodded. “And…the weapon?” he asked in a lower voice.
“Will be utilized when the Paragons arrive. Not a moment before or after. I entrusted the custody of that task with your men alone. For only a warrior would have the strength to see it through.”
His general slammed his fists together. “And we will not fail you.”
As his general bowed, then left to rejoin their forces, Azett glanced back over at the Tree of Beginning. What is this feeling of unease?
As the hour of the Paragons’ arrival inched closer, Azett’s anxiety rose, and he felt himself becoming more and more paranoid by the day, always thinking it was just seconds away. The feeling had nearly torn him apart, yet, ironically, with so much of his attention focused on the war, his sanity remained intact.
Yes…the war.
Fate was a curious creature. Perhaps nothing happened by accident. It seemed, at times, that this war, a mere prologue to the arrival of the Paragons, was exactly what Azett the hero required. One final trial on the mortal plane before the advent of the divine.
In the distance, the Tree of Beginning suddenly grew brighter. The sky overhead rumbled and gurgled as if choking. Dark lines began to spread across the black expanse, somehow even darker than the night itself. Amidst the abyss, the Tree of Beginning shined like a beacon, casting its light over all of Rota, along with a keening, otherworldly hum.
His body moving on its own, Azett began sprinting toward the Tree, down the grassy hill, through his soldiers’ lines, ignoring the Guardians completely.
No…
Thunder screamed across the sky, high-pitched and bloodcurdling as if something alive had made the sound instead.
It can’t be…
The power of the Fairy Plate flared, and Azett rocketed through the air, moving on instinct alone. The air suddenly became humid, moisture coalescing on his blood-stained skin and clothes like breath on a cold day, but if anything, the temperature seemed to have just risen.
It’s too soon…
As the sky burst apart, sound and sight both rupturing into blindness and silence, Azett saw the Tree of Beginning ignite, casting a rippling nova of azure light outward. His body jerked in midair, though he could not say what caused it.
For the first time in years, cold, clawing terror engulfed Azett, and along with it, the Tree’s light, and the sky’s night.
Next — Chapter 47 : Remnants of the Great War
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