This is my very first fanfiction on the Fire Emblem series. Seeing as Fire Emblem Echoes is but a few weeks away from its release, I thought that writing could, perhaps, simmer down some of that growing hype. Well, do enjoy yourselves with this short tale I'd share with you all.

It was another day at the Astral Plains. The skies strangely warped as the sun shifted with no common pattern. The roads, though beautifully crafted, could lead to other worlds with no way of turning back. At the center of it all was a camp bearing traces of both Hoshidan and Nohrian descent.

The camp was not completely void of activity, yet certain figureheads were missing from their usual line of duty. Near the throne, an imposing tent stood with a substantial number of guards keeping watch. An approaching butler had his way barred until an affirmation from inside allowed him to enter.

Upon entering, the butler, Jakob, curtsied while skillfully maintaining a full tea set perpendicular to the ground. With a nod towards Kaze, who let him in, he made his way towards the other end of the tent where his liege was. Retainers line the table, each seemingly lost in thought.

"Here Lord Corrin, have some tea and biscuits. It wouldn't do you good to think on an empty stomach, yes?" offered Jakob.

"T-Thank you Jakob," replied Corrin. "I was getting a bit parched myself."

Corrin slowly sipped the tea, grateful for the excellent timing. Jakob's best brews could lift his mood any day, yet the predicament at hand was simply too much for the prince. Corrin took another sip.

"Umm, uh… please don't be too hard on yourself Lord Corrin. I-It wasn't your fault that things turned out like that," chimed in Felicia as she very carefully poured tea for the retainers.

"Felicia's right milord," said Kaze, standing guard near the entrance. "You had no choice during that moment. I'm sure Lady Sakura would have said the same."

Corrin sighed. Their consolations were of best intentions, yet they served only to further tighten the knot in his gut. Corrin sighed again.

It had been almost a week since the last invasion towards their encampment. The battle was won without casualty as the army displayed their prowess. However, while there was no life paid, a price was still extracted.

Everyone was already familiar with the occasional Vallite attacks ever since the first battle they encountered on the Astral Plains. Prior to this, the position of the buildings and facilities were strategically placed in order to give the defenders a combat advantage. This was proved beneficial indeed after the results of the following invasions. Leo suggested Corrin to optimize the layout to deal with the difficulties encountered during combat.

Upon exploring the lay of the land, Corrin later found out that the dragon veins were quite unstable. Without the use of dragon vein points, as Lilith called them, carelessly activating a dragon vein could lead to potential disasters. Despite the fair warnings given, Elise accidentally conjured a mountain-sized Izumite in the middle of the camp. Fortunately, no one was near the vicinity at that time, yet this spurred Corrin to hold occasional talks with his siblings regarding the matter.

Don't trigger dragon veins without being certain of how they would change the field. It could make a disadvantageous situation much worse.

These were his own words, and while Corrin's older siblings took the lesson with formality, Elise in particular felt a bit offended. After a day of visiting the markets though, her spirits went back up.

Two days later, Corrin activated a dragon vein randomly in hopes of protecting Sakura from half a dozen wyvern riders harassing her. A thick white mist enveloped the land, allowing the units who were accustomed to fighting with cover a chance to eliminate the disoriented enemy.

As everyone took a breather from the battle, the mist reeled back to reveal the army's current status. Facilities were barely damaged and the troops had no casualties, albeit the moderate injuries some bore. It would have ended there had Takumi not screamed so uncharacteristically, in a not so manly voice.

It seemed that the royal families had a drastic change in gender.

"Well, technically, it is his fault, you know?" suddenly raised Niles, enjoying his tea rather too much.

"Niles…" warningly said Kaze.

"I mean, Lord Corrin did trigger the dragon vein himself."

"Niles," called Kaze, a little louder this time.

"And that was after a lecture on, what was it again? Ah, Dragon Veins 101 the day before, right?"

"Niles!" shouted Kaze.

As if hearing Kaze's voice for the first time, Niles immediately curtsied towards Corrin, the latter quickly forgiving the said statements. At this point, Corrin felt like someone just hit him with an Astra in the face.

"W-We just have to think of a way to return them back to normal! With everyone's help, w-we can do this!" stuttered Felicia, trying to raise their spirits. Unfortunately, her careful gestures earlier lapsed when Peri asked for another cup of tea. The said cavalier was dabbing her lap with a napkin, not too keen in joining the conversation at the moment. "Maybe the effects will wear off after some time?"

"Felicia, do you remember the river where Elise triggered a dragon vein?" suddenly asked Azura. "Somewhere on the Plains of Hoshido?"

Of the royal families that were forcefully reversed in gender, only Azura and Corrin were unaffected by the said predicament. They could only hypothesize that, as the one who triggered the dragon vein, Corrin was excluded from its effects. As for Azura, she was outside the Astral Plains when the battle occurred; this could have been the reason why she too was excluded.

"Yes, heh! I couldn't forget that even if I tried to. The whole river was so deep, it was impossible for it to dry up completely! Well, without a dragon vein, of course," replied Felicia.

"And how long ago was that?"

"Well, uhm… some months ago?"

"…What about our battle at Fort Jinya? Do you remember when I triggered the dragon veins that made parts of the fortress fit for recovery?"

"Indeed! Those were life savers for the others since I was the only healer at that time. Well, what about those?"

Azura hummed mysteriously while Felicia cocked her head.

"How long was that ago?"

"S-Some months ago?"

At this, the retainers went into outburst.

"Are you telling me that Lady Camilla is bound to stay as a man forever!?" exclaimed Selena, her hand gripping the tea cup forcefully. "What are we going to do!?"

"Calm down dear Selena," cooed Arthur, his chin on his fist. "We won't get anywhere with shouting. Surely, we could think of something in the name of Justice-"

"Well, what can we do? Dragon veins are a particular tid bit of annoyance to undo," spoke up Oboro, her arms crossed over on her waist. "If we're going to go by with what Lady Azura is saying, the effects might stay for a long, long time."

"Oh? Correct me should I be mistaken, but isn't this the second time the river on the Plains of Hoshido dried up due to a dragon vein?" piped Azama. "I think I recall reading up on that somewhere in the royal library."

"See? We could try waiting for the effects to wear off!" exclaimed Felicia.

Corrin, as he sipped his tea more calmly, saw Kaze furrow his brows and shift in place. Saizo, did the same at the table.

"…That was at the time of Saizo the Third, our grandfather," said Saizo, gathering all eyes on him. "Castle Shirasagi was facing a sudden invasion from Nohr. Due to the raining seasons, the treacherous river forced the army to cross using the bridges; this heavily slowed the progress of distant Hoshido while the capital was quickly losing. With the urging of Saizo the Third, a dragon vein was triggered to dry up the river. Needless to say, the Nohrians suffered defeat."

"Uhm… I still don't get it."

"…That was over a hundred years ago."

The realization caused the poor prince to spit out his tea, Jakob already handing Corrin a napkin to wipe with. Even Azura stopped humming to herself.

"Oh, dear. Lord, no, Lady Leo won't be pleased about this," hummed Niles.

"Forget that! What will happen to the army's morale when they learn that it's irreversible!?" shouted Selena.

"Aye! King Garon won't take this one lightly; the Crown Prince of Nohr has lost his Siegfried! Our morale couldn't be much lower."

"A-Are you listening to me!?"

Niles gave lazy smile to Selena whose cheeks were already turning a shade closer with her hair.

"Oh, that would mean Hoshido's in trouble too! Lady Ryoma must have lost-"

"You have breathed your last," growled Saizo, a shuriken already in his hands; Niles, a likely target.

"Stand down! Saizo, put that away," commanded Corrin, a stern look on his face. "And Niles, stop with the japes."

After a moment, Saizo's eyes thinned as he put away his shuriken while Niles sighed as he shook his head slightly. This would not be the last of it, Corrin reckoned. He had to find a way to solve this as fast as possible; how Corrin would do that, he does not know. At the corner of his eyes, Azura gave him a knowing glance.

"…Let's continue this at a later time, everybody," said Corrin, standing up from his seat. The retainers did the same. "For now, attend to your usual duties as you would have. Should the troops ask of the situation at hand, quell any worries and stop every rumor from spreading throughout our forces. We can't let them panic lest there be discord between the two."

Hoshido and Nohr were already treading on thin ice. The enemy at hand could only be defeated with a united front of the two kingdoms. No matter how arduous the task it may be, they have to work together.

While still lost in thoughts, Corrin felt himself be pulled on the arm by Azura. The songstress had a look on her face, one that urged the prince to bare all his worries on her. Corrin was truly grateful for that; Azura has been nothing but helpful ever since that fateful day.

"Come on, let's get you to bed," urged Azura.

Corrin grabbed a biscuit before allowing himself to get dragged. Jakob's biscuits were to die for, after all. It also helps turn a bad day upside-down… most of the time.

"By the way…"

"Yes Azura?"

"For your own good, I'd suggest to keep your glances discreet."

Corrin stared at her.

"What are you talking about?"

Azura hummed, clearly amused.

"I saw you gawking at Takumi and Leo yesterday."

An outrageous claim.

"I-I wasn't! I… wasn't. I mean, look, I really wasn't!"

"Corrin, I've seen you do the same with me way back in Hoshido. Truthfully, it was only just recently that I felt comfortable with it. But to suddenly look at your broth- I mean sisters like that-"

"Azura!"

Please do share your opinion; any constructive opinion is greatly appreciated. For me, this is still a work in progress. A lot of progress. So, once again, I'd appreciate some help for that matter. Thank you for taking the time to read.