Suikoden VII

Chapter Five: Part One

Note: Welcome to Chapter Five!

And shoutout to f4tl0l for lighting a fire regarding generating AI images regarding True Runes. I gave up after not having luck, then decided to try again and had better results. You can see the True Runes, character images, etc on my deviantart page.

I'm also going to be changing the physical appearance of the Shining Rune. I'll make changes to that chapter once it's finalized.

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Chapter Five: Part One

Astraea brought the group back to the castle. Futch was beyond thrilled to see Daunte, and even Bright was overjoyed to see the young man. The dragon wrapped his head and neck around Daunte as if trying to hug him! It had certainly been an interesting sight.

"Are you Arin?!" Futch exclaimed, looking at the black-haired boy with wide eyes. "You've gotten so big!"

"I'm as big as Brother now!" Arin said with a proud smile, puffing out his chest slightly.

Astraea was confused by his statement but then Dawa shifted forward. "Are you both twins?" she asked.

"No, Miss," Daunte said.

"Daunte is my big brother," Arin added.

Astraea's brow rose. Big brother? They look the same age!

"I'm Gygax and this is Swift," Gygax greeted them with a genuine smile. "I heard all about you, Lord Daunte!"

The older man who traveled with them was their father, Nakula. When he introduced himself, Astraea saw that he had a Shiba Inu with an orange and white coat tucked under his right arm. The dog had big eyes full of emotion and he wagged his tail happily. "This is Kibbeh," Nakula said.

"And this is Maamoul," Daunte said, and Astraea noticed for the first time that Daunte held a dog in his arms. It was another Shiba Inu with a brown and white coat, bright green eyes, and a large round tummy. "We found her while traveling the Grasslands and, ah—Kibbeh and her became friendly with each other," he explained.

"She's going to have puppies!" Arin clarified.

"She wasn't feeling good, so I casted a healing spell to help make her feel better," Daunte added.

Astraea remembered the power she had felt earlier. She looked down at her right hand and then looked towards Daunte's hands. He wore black fingerless gloves, and she was horrified to see fingers that were mangled and slightly crooked; not entirely disfigured but not entirely straight. She quickly looked up, feeling mortified for staring. "Your rune," she said, swallowing thickly. "Is—"

"I would recommend we take our conversation back to the castle, Your Majesty," David gently interjected.

"'Your Majesty'?" Arin echoed, his brow rising.

"I agree," Astraea said.

When the group reached the castle, Astraea was surprised to see Pesmerga standing in front of the steps blocking their path. His arms were folded over his chest and Astraea couldn't see his face, but he appeared to be...smiling? "Heh," he said in greeting.

Astraea looked at Daunte, but Daunte was looking at Pesmerga. He quickly hurried forward. "Pesmerga? What are you doing here?"

"Waiting for him," Pesmerga responded.

They know each other? Astraea wondered. But before she could say anything Pesmerga quickly walked past all of them and back towards the city.

"Where exactly is he staying in the city?" Dawa wondered aloud.