The Dragonblade [On Hold]

Prologue: Coup

The clash of metal on metal was audible from miles away. But there was no one there to hear it. If someone had heard it and followed the sound to its source, they would have come across a scene from hell.

The metallic stench of blood filled the air as Matabei Shunji, a captain in the imperial army, withdrew his sword from the corpse of the man he had just outduelled. He never enjoyed killing, but he knew that there were people in the world that only spoke the language of violence.

He stepped forward and engaged another enemy, this time a man wielding a battle-ax. He dodged the first attack and twisted his sword at the ax. It deflected the stroke, the ax thudding into the ground below. The axeman pulled his ax out of the ground and blocked Matabei's slash.

He swung his ax in a cut that would have cut the captain in half, had it connected. Matabei brought his sword up in a parry, then followed through with a perfect riposte. Like a snake's tongue, the blade flashed out in the space of a second. Unlike a snake's tongue, it bit, and it bit hard. The axeman fell to his knees and slumped to the ground, dead.

Matabei withdrew his sword from the axeman's body. It was the last thing he would ever do. Whistling through the haze of the battle, an arrow flashed through the air and buried itself in Matabei's throat. He was dead before he hit the ground.

The bowman stood there, seventy-five meters back from where the body of Matabei Shunji was. He already had another arrow nocked, and he drew back and released in a matter of seconds. He moved with the practiced ease that signified that he was a complete master at what he did. The arrow struck home, and fifty-six meters away, another target fell, an arrow in his throat.

The man stood there and surveyed the battlefield, nodding in satisfaction as he saw that his plan had worked perfectly. The imperial army had been outnumbered, and the attackers had the element of surprise. They had fought valiantly, but there were just too many of the enemy.

One thing marred his victory though. The very reason for the ambush was for him to capture one man. One person was all that stood between him and a perfect victory. The only problem was, that one person was nowhere to be seen. He nocked another arrow and spoke an incantation, drawing back the arrow as he did. A blue aura surrounded him, and he stood there for a second, outlined in blue.

He released the arrow.

The arrow flew forward, enveloped in the blue aura that had previously surrounded the bowman. It flew forward and hit an imperial soldier, killing him instantly.

Immediately, two intertwined forms burst forth from the arrow, glowing blue from the pure energy that they were made of. The dragons of the south wind had arrived, and they were thirsty for blood.

The dragons surged forward, instantly killing anyone who stood in their way. Thirty meters away, the bowman smiled. It was an ugly, merciless smile.

In the back ranks of the imperial army, there was a commotion. A single warrior was pushing his way to the front. He was dressed in lacquered leather armor, like everyone else. However, the make of the armor, and the blade of the sword in his hand, indicated that this man was not just an ordinary foot soldier.

He spoke an incantation, and the sword in his hand began to glow green. The man charged towards the two dragons causing havoc in his army. When he was 5 meters away, the man leaped forward and brought the sword down on the dragons.

Another form burst from the sword, this one glowing green instead of blue. The swordsman pointed towards the dragons of the south wind, and the form charged forward to challenge them.

The dragon of the north wind was here, and he had come to stop his brother.

The two armies stopped fighting and turned to watch the dragons do battle. As they fought, the swordsman walked forward, away from the dragons, and spoke.

"Brother! Come down here. We need to talk. No one else has to die today."

The bowman in the back smirked, then walked forward, shoving aside those in his way. He came across a small clearing, where the two armies had backed up. He stood there, facing his brother.

"You're wrong, Genji. Today will only end with your death."

"Brother, let's try and be civil." The swordsman sheathed his sword. "Hanzo, I know you want the throne. But is this-" He said, gesturing his arms at the battlefield around them. "-really necessary?"

"You know that I have to do this, Genji," Hanzo replied. "But you can make this easy. Come quietly, and I won't kill the rest of your men. We have you outnumbered three to one; there's no way that you can win this battle."

"And what if I don't go with you?" Genji asked. 

"Then I'll kill all of your men, and then I'll kill you anyway," came the reply.

Genji smiled. "Brother, I know that you feel like you've been cheated out of your birthright. But as the oldest son, it is my duty to take on the throne when our father died. you know this. It is how it has always been."

 Hanzo's eyes narrowed. "You don't know what you speak of, brother." He spat out the last word, anger in his voice "You stole my throne, my birthright, my place in the world when you were born before me."

Genji sighed. "Brother, I have said this before, and I probably will say it again: it is not my fault that I was born fifteen minutes before you."

"Yes, it is." 

"I can see that trying to reason with you would be pointless. However, know this: as long as you don't have the dragonblade, you will never be a true emperor," Genji said, his voice even.

"I will have the dragonblade, brother, even if I have to rip it off of your dead body," Hanzo replied.

"Very well then."

Genji unsheathed the sword and held it in front of him. He began to chant. Horror dawned on Hanzo's face as he realized what his brother was doing. "STOP HIM!" He yelled while drawing back an arrow and shooting his brother.

They were too late. The sword flew out of Genji's hands into the air and hovered there for a moment. The sword shattered, breaking into four pieces. Those pieces disappeared in a flash of light.

Genji looked up at his brother through a haze of pain, over the arrow that was sticking out of his stomach. "You lose, brother, he said softly, before pulling a knife from his belt and stabbing himself in the chest.

Hanzo looked over the corpse of his brother, then let loose a guttural roar that echoed through the surrounding mountains. "Lieutenant Suzuki! Come here!"

The lieutenant was a short, stocky man with a shaved face. He knelt in front of Hanzo and said, "you called, my lord?"

"Yes, lieutenant, I did," replied Hanzo. "When we get back to the capital, I want you to send out teams to search every bit of the kingdom. I have to find the four pieces of the dragonblade. Have the men form up into their ranks. We march in an hour."

"Yes, my lord," replied the lieutenant. "And what of the prisoners?"

"Kill them all."

Author's Note: As you can tell, the two brothers in my story were inspired by two of the members of the Overwatch cast, Genji and Hanzo Shimada. All credit goes to the creator of Overwatch for the characters.

Also, just for the record, this is not a fanfiction of the Overwatch universe. This universe is an entirely different thing, I just based some of my characters on the Shimada twins from Overwatch. Anyone who says otherwise is WRONG.