33 33. Visions Of the Past
-Jeanne-
Jeannes vision dimmed, and suddenly she found herself in a vast field overlooking a valley which had a settlement at the bottom.
The settlement was smoking, a huge plume rising into the sky. flames rose to the sky from burning thatch roofs, and screams filled the air as the small town was destroyed.
Jeanne ran down the hill she was on, hoping to help the residents of the town save themselves.
Screams of women and children sounded, as people ran from the town into the woods, hoping to escape the horror that happened in the village.
She entered the town, dodging and weaving through people who ran the other way.
It was a massacre.
Knights in armor cut down any man, woman and child in their path, leaving bodies in their wake. The settlement was now glowing a deep orange as the houses burned, blocking out the sky and sun with its smoke.
A man snarled as he swung his sword at Jeanne, but she ducked under the blade, leaving the man to bury it in the wooden support beam of the house she was standing next to.
As she dodged, her feet sliding through the ash and dirt of the victims and homes, she grabbed her spear with both hands and lunged.
Her spear took the man in the throat, feeling his pulse on her shaft as he died. With a grunt she threw the body off of her weapon and continued to walk deeper into the village.
She noticed that none of the Knights seemed to notice her, but were solely focused on the villagers running away from them.
None of the villagers seemed to see her either, so she quickly deducted that this was thanks to Shakespeare's Noble Phantasm.
A young woman was holding a child to her chest as she ran, only to be tripped by one of the knight's. He laughed as she hit the ground, and died laughing as Jeanne plunged her spear through his head. The knight's companion ignored Jeanne as he focused on the young woman on the ground, a devilish grin finding its way on his face.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" He asked as he licked his lips. His grin turned into an agonized grimace as Jeanne stepped in front of him, and kicked out with her right leg.
His left knee bent backwards, causing him to cry out as he doubled over, trying to keep his balance. His neck then completely broke as Jeanne brought her left knee up to meet his face, killing the man instantly.
She looked at the young woman, who had scrambled to her feet with the child, and began running away.
Jeanne made her way deeper into the village settlement killing any knight unlucky enough to find her as their opponent.
As she reached the center of the village, she saw a woman dressed in pitch black armor, letting her white hair that was braided flow out of her helmet and down her back.
The woman stood with her hands on her black sword that had its tip buried in the ground, looking around her as she took in the slaughter around her.
A man in golden armor that was themed like a goat walked over to the woman and knelt.
"Anthrax, what do you bring me?" The woman asked.
"My lady," the now named Anthrax said to the woman. "We have found nothing of value here. Only a number of slaves, and two food stores."
The woman seemed to not care about the man's words, but responded to them anyway.
"Very well, bring the slaves here, and burn the rest." She said to the man. He nodded, then stood up and walked away.
Jeanne walked forward to put an end to what was happening, but was stopped as she walked into an invisible barrier. She stumbled back, but was able to catch herself. She felt out with her hand, touching the wall. It was impenetrable, meaning she couldn't interfere with the world it encased. She would have to watch what happened, unable to stop it.
A gaggle of people were herded into the small square, and separated into the useful, and the dead. Those who were useful would either be sold off, or kept as workers for the victor.
Those who would be killed were sorted into a second group, mainly the elderly, and those too young to be of any use. The first group were led away, weeping and calling out to their God's for help, but nothing happened.
"Kill the rest." The woman said.
There were only a handful of people that had been deemed too old or unfit to work, and now those people would die.
"Move!" One of the knight's said as he shoved an elderly man toward the center of the village. Another of the knight's had brought a large stone, and now set it on the ground to be used as an execution post.
The old man fell to the ground, too weak to fight back. He groaned as the first knight grabbed him by his neck and dragged him to the stone and placed his foot on his back to hold him still.
The second knight drew his sword, and with one clean strike, separated the man's head from his body.
Blood covered the stone now, and flies started to gather on the man's body as it was thrown away.
"Next!" The first knight shouted.
Like this, Jeanne was forced to watch as first the old were killed, then the young. An old woman was holding a child that was ripped from her arms before it was spitted on a spear, it was then planted as a bloody flag of victory. The woman was then killed on the stone, leaving fewer and fewer people.
Soon there was only one child left. A boy with short golden blonde hair had tears in his eyes as he looked around him for his mother, or caretaker. The child couldn't have been more than three or four years old, but was left for last.
"Hold!" The woman said, raising her hand up into the air.
"We must leave one alive, to spread the horror of what happened." She said.
Her men began to laugh and jeer at the child, making him cry even harder as he shrank from their scorn.
Anthrax, who was standing next to the woman, shook his head in disgust, and walked away from what was happening.
He walked towards Jeanne, and passed the barrier where she was standing.
"What's happening?" Another voice said from behind Jeanne.
She turned around to find a woman dressed in sleek black armor, with two daggers at her hips.
"The Warlord has found her survivor." Anthrax said in disgust as he gestured towards the gathered crowd.
The woman looked to the gathered crowd and saw the child being dragged into the center of the village, and spat in disgust.
"It was one thing when it was a grown man, but now she's targeting children?" She hissed.
"Anthrax," She said, placing a hand on the big man's chest.
"I don't wish to take part in this anymore. We have to leave." She said.
"I know." The large man said as he gripped the woman's hand, bringing It to his bushy beard that was left open under his helmet before kissing the hand.
"No you dont. You keep saying that we will leave after the next big score, but it never happens." The woman chided the man, ripping her hand away.
"What do you want me to do Noel? We can't exactly leave the Warlord right now." He said to her.
"What if…" Noel stopped her words and looked the man in his eyes.
"What if we went to the King?" She asked. "I'm sure that he would welcome us, coldly I know, but still welcome us." She said.
Anthrax looked down at her and sighed. He looked back at the gathered crowd, seeing the horror that took place.
"See if you can contact King Arthur, and disappear. I'll follow after you, once you give me the word." He said to his lover.
"Are you sure? Can't we just leave now?" She asked him.
"We could, but then we would be hunted as we ran, and I don't fancy facing Monty's bow when we are at range." Anthrax said.
"Alright, I'll see what I can do." Noel said as she turned from Anthrax, walking into the forest.
Anthrax closed his eyes and said a prayer under his breath.
"Mithras help us." He said before walking away as well.
Jeanne heard the two conversing, but after they left, she turned back to the crowd of soldiers.
A log was found, and stuck into the ground. Chains were then fetched from one of the horses, and the child was brought to the stake standing from the ground.
"No!" The child cried as he was stripped of his shirt and chained to the post. The soldiers all laughed and jeered at the child, which only made him panic more, pulling at his restraints.
One of the knights grabbed a whip from his pouch on his horse. It was a vicious work of leather that had bone, metal scraps, and other things sticking out of it.
He stood behind the child and cracked the whip, making the young boy hide his head under his raised arms.
"Stop!" The woman shouted. The soldiers stopped and looked at her, confused as she walked to the knight.
"I will do it." She said as she took the whip from the man.
She looked over the length of the whip, running her hand over it.
"This is fine craftsmanship." She said to the knight.
"Th- thank you my Lady." He stuttered out.
The Warlord then took the whip and cracked it once more, making the boy cry out in fright.
"Don't waste your tears now child, there will be plenty of time for crying in a moment!" She said with a laugh.
*CRACK*
Blood sprayed from the child's back, causing him to scream with all his might.
He began to cry even harder as his nails dug into the wooden stake.
*CRACK*
The boy screamed until his voice went hoarse, his feet digging gouges into the dirt as he tried to turn his body away from the woman, only exposing his bare sides to her.
*CRACK*
*CRACK*
*CRACK*
Jeanne turned away as tears streamed down her face, feeling hopeless as she heard the pleading from the child to stop his torment.
The knights laughed as the whip bit into his skin, and heard his cries.
Jeanne stopped counting after thirty lashes, and she could no longer hear the boy crying.
Soon the whip stopped, and the Warlord spoke.
"Brand him, then prepare to leave!" She shouted at one of her men.
The knight nodded, and went to one of the wagons. He pulled out a steel rod with a symbol on it, and placed it in one of the fires of a burning house and waited for it to turn white. He then pulled it from the fire and approached the boy.
His back looked like a messy chess board, jagged lines going every direction.
Drool came from the child's mouth as he lay motionless against the stake, only letting out a small moan of pain as the man placed the brand on his back.
The knight held the brand there for a good moment, then pulled it away, pulling burnt skin with it, leaving Camelot's crest of a Dragon on the boy's back. The Warlord watched in satisfaction, seeing the process, and knew it would infuriate her daughter Artoria.
She would brand the survivors with the crest of Camelot as a mockery, and now that it was done, prepared to leave.
The Warlord turned around, prepared to leave, but suddenly stopped.
Jeanne was staring at the woman with hatred after seeing what she had done, and now waited for her to cross the barrier.
"Who are you?" The Warlord asked.
Jeannes eyes narrowed as she looked at the woman, not understanding who she was talking to.
"You, who are you?" The Warlord asked, pointing to her.
"You can see me?" Jeanne asked, her voice betraying her fury.
"I can, again I ask, who are you?"
"Come over here and find out." Jeanne snarled as she lashed out with her spear, striking the barrier.
The Warlord cocked her head to one side, not understanding what was happening.
She slowly walked to the place she thought the barrier was at, and swung out with her hand. Nothing happened.
"Strange." The Warlord said as she walked past where the barrier was.
Jeanne lashed out once more with her spear, but the Warlord casually dodged it.
"If it's a fight you want. Then a fight you shall have." The Warlord said, grabbing her sword in both hands.
Jeanne lunged forward with her spear, but it was knocked to the right as the Warlord parried.
The Warlord brought her blade back quickly, but Jeanne leaned back, watching as the blade passed above her face.
Recovering, Jeanne darted out with her spear, making three quick jabs at the Warlord, which were all deflected.
The Warlord was now on offense, stepping into Jeannes range as she swung the sword with all her might.
Jeanne parried with her spear, but she had fallen into the Warlords trap.
The Warlord had deliberately aimed her sword strike at Jeanne's spear, so when the two weapons met, the spear was knocked away.
Fast as lightning, the Warlord stepped forward and made her first lunge. Jeanne was able to twist away at the last second, but it wasn't fast enough as the Warlord's sword bit deeply into the left side of her ribs.
As Jeanne twisted, she brought her spear around, and knocked the blade away, leaving the Warlord open.
Jeanne lunged once more, and buried the shaft of her weapon into the Warlord's stomach, sending the woman into one of the burning houses.
Jeanne looked down at her left side, bringing a hand to her ribs as she applied pressure to her wound. Her hand came away bloody, but she knew it wasn't as serious as she first thought.
Laughter filled the air as the Warlord walked from the burning home, letting it collapse around her as she did.
"Now this!" She said, pointing her sword at Jeanne. "Is Fun!"
Jeanne ran at her, leaping into the air at the last moment to jump over the crazed woman. She swung out with her spear as she flew over the Warlord, striking her sword as she did.
Jeanne landed on the ground, but leapt into the air once more, bringing her spear down on the Warlord with all her might.
The ground around them shattered as the Warlord caught the blow on her sword, falling to one knee as she did.
"You care for him that much? Enough to lose your composure?" The Warlord said to Jeanne across their interlocking blades.
Jeanne knew what she meant, but didn't reply. She had her suspicions about who the small boy was, and her heart burned with rage.
Suddenly breaking their engagement, Jeanne swung up with the butt of her spear, knocking the blade from the Warlord's hands.
Now seeing the Warlord defenseless, Jeanne lunged with her spear, only for the Warlord to step to one side.
"Your anger makes you predictable!" The Warlord snarled as she slammed her fist into Jeanne's upper back, while simultaneously bringing her left knee up into Jeanne's face.
Blood poured from Jeanne's nose as her head snapped back, before the Warlord grabbed her by the base of her long braid.
She then lifted Jeanne into the air and drove her gauntleted fist into the young woman's stomach.
Jeanne had the breath knocked from her, before a second strike sent her flying towards the center of the village square.
She landed hard, carving a deep gash into the ground.
"Jeanne-" She heard her name whispered. She rolled over to her stomach, and pushed herself up to her knees as she looked around her. She finally locked eyes with the young boy still chained to the stake.
His icy blue eyes stared back into deep blue ones.
His voice was so faint, almost a whisper, but she heard what he said.
"Win." He said.
She clenched her fist as she stood up, and brought it to her face as she wiped her nose of the blood that had started to fall.
The Warlord kicked her spear over to her before she picked up her own blade, then marched forward.
Jeanne took a deep breath as she watched the Warlord approach, holding her sword with both hands on her right near her chest.
Jeanne had seen Godrick perform the same move a hundred times as he sparred with Siegfried and Mordred in Yggdmillennia castle courtyard. He had found a sword in one of the studies, and had decided to practice with it.
And he always, aways started out with this move.
Jeanne gripped her spear in both hands, prepared to make her move.
The moment the Warlord was in range Jeanne struck with her spear. And the Warlord did exactly what she thought she would. One great cleaving blow from the right, used to crush any attack or armor. Designed to kill or demolish anyone or anything.
But the Warlord was lacking something that Godrick was not. Physical strength.
When Godrick used this move, it was like the Gods themselves descended to the mortal realm to wield the blade, cutting down anything in its path.
But when the Warlord struck out, Jeanne simply twisted her spear, letting the Warlord strike her weapon.
Jeanne now held her spear butt point first, and thrust forward. One clean lunge, and it was over.
The Warlord looked down at her chest in shock, though her expression was hidden behind her helmet.
"If we ever meet again as Servants in a Grail War, I'll rip your spine out of your body and whip YOU with it. You will never hurt him again." She snarled into the Warlord's helmet.
The sword dropped from the Warlord's nerveless fingers as she gasped for breath, but soon she went still, and Jeanne kicked her body from off her spear.
She took deep breaths as she calmed herself, saying a silent prayer to the Lord to give her strength.
She turned around as she looked at the young boy, and started to walk towards him.
She saw the lines in his poor little back, and saw the brand as well. When used on a grown man, the brand would take up little over half of his back, but on a young boy…
The world around her started to bleed away, before being replaced by another one.
She was now in a room of stone filled with furniture. On one side was a large bed big enough for five people on top of a lavish rug of a large Boar. A figure stood at the other side of the room, his back facing her.
His back was covered in the scars he had received when he had been whipped, though his long golden hair covered most of the upper ones.
It did not however, cover the large Dragon brand that encompassed his back, now somewhat deformed due to his growth.
Godrick reached up and ripped the bandage off from around his throat. He let it drop to the ground as he stared into the large silver plate that had been beaten flat to be used as a mirror.
Jeanne saw the bandage was covered in blood as Godrick dropped it to the ground.
Suddenly Godrick brought his right fist back, and threw it full force into the silver mirror.
The ground shook as his fist met the silver, deforming it. He continued to punch the wall, until the silver was so bent out of shape, it finally dropped from the wall. He continued striking the stone behind it, not caring that his fist became bloody from his rage.
The stone cracked, and Godrick stopped striking it, only to grab the halberd that was leaning on the wall next to him. He flung it deeper into his room, destroying the large bed and end tables.
Jeanne could see blood pouring from his throat down onto his chest as he rampaged, grabbing a nearby table and flipping it over. He then used both fists to strike the vertical face of the table, shattering the two legs that kept it upright.
Grabbing a nearby candle stand, he snapped it over his knee before throwing the two metal pieces to the ground before sitting back on an undamaged chair behind him.
"Finally done?" A woman dressed in a blue dress and holding a staff in one hand, and a box of medical utensils in the other said as she entered the room.
"Oh Godrick, your mother is going to be furious when she finds out about this." The woman said as she looked the room over.
Jeanne had stepped to one of the corners of the room as Godrick rampaged, leaving her unscathed.
Godrick looked up at the woman and tried to speak, only for nothing to come out.
"It wasn't your fault that your sister left." The woman said, before she put the box down. She grabbed one of the bandages from the box, as well as some cleaning rags. She dipped the rags in some water a servant had brought, and proceeded to clean the blood from his chest and neck.
She then bandaged his wound, while speaking to him of his sister.
He could only sit and listen as she spoke, but Jeanne could see that he had nothing to say anyway.
Soon the pair left, and Jeanne saw no more.
She opened her eyes and found herself looking into the great hall of the Hanging Gardens, though it was off. She saw a huge magic circle forming in front of the Greater Grail.
'That's strange.' She thought before she felt herself be pushed to her left. She crashed into the wall, but a moment after, she felt a great magical wave coming her way. It missed her by mere feet, but she suddenly felt her connection with Godrick dim to an alarming level.
She picked herself up from the ground and looked around her, seeing a massive hole carved where they had been standing not a moment before.
"Well." William said.
"That certainly didn't go as planned."
