#and did some crossreferencing with real world mediterranean data

[latin-dr-robotnik]

SonAmy AU - of knights and hammers

I’m feeling kinda low on inspiration after not having completed a thing I wanted for Sonic’s birthday (should I release it incomplete? Should I actually bother finishing it?), and so I went out looking for something to write, and I found some old ideas that for some reason I didn’t elaborate on back then (maybe I was overwhelmed with exams lol.) 

Prompt: basically this old ask

Now let me tell you a story about a different time.

‘Tis an old tale, from when the modern Spagonia we all know didn’t exist, and the kingdoms that joined under its flag centuries ago were as fierce and diverse as the stretches of land they ruled. 

The old Spagonia castle was the center of the bigger of said kingdoms, and it was located on the rocky coasts by the far south reaches, where the sun runs hot and the knights all over the continent face off against each other, all for the glory of the Queen... and a hefty gold prize.

For the past five years, the tournament has been dominated by a single champion, a knight with a gift of speed like no other, able to struck its enemies several times before they even have a chance to react. Nobody knows his name or where did he come from, but they call him the Knight of the Wind. In the sixth year of competing, everything looked like it was another sweep in his favor.

“Honorable people of our glorious Kingdom! Travelers from the kingdoms all across the world!” The announcer began, as the public flooded the tournament grounds with great enthusiasm, “welcome to the final day of our annual tourney, possible thanks to God and Her Majesty’s enlightment and eternal wisdom!”

The crowd cheered.

“The last bout of today will be a match of titans! On one side we have our five times champion and man of the people, the Knight of the Wind!”

The crowd cheered even harder as he raced into the arena, waving his hand at everyone and posing.

“On the other hand, we have a newcomer that has proven to be up to par for this tournament! Rumors say she’s from the northern lands, others believe it’s God’s own answer to Knight of the Wind’s speed. We don’t know her name, but folk around here have named her the Hammer Knight!”

Some people cheered, but most of the attendants could be heard talking. She stepped in, no waving, no posing, and seemingly unarmed.

“Now, as we receive our Queen’s blessing, let the fighting begin!”

The two stood on opposite sides, not moving or anything for a moment, until the Knight of the Wind broke the ice.

“So, a new challenger, huh?” He shouted, lowering his guard in the process. “A mysterious one, no less!” He started moving slowly, keeping his eyes on her. “Oh, you think you can come here, no name or anything like me, and steal MY tournament? Ha, that’s lame!”

Hammer Knight stood completely still, on guard, as the Knight of the Wind kept half-circling around her, looking for a strategic oportunity to strike like a lightning bolt.

“What’s up, girl? Are you completely frozen inside that heavy armor?” He kept mocking, then shifted to a charging position - right shoulder in front, ready to strike. “Or is it that you just wanted to meet your hero? Look, if that’s what you want, I’ll give you a quick demonstration, but it isn’t free of charge!”

As soon as he finished talking, the Knight of the Wind charged directy towards Hammer Knight, zipping across the arena in the blink of an eye. A cloud of dust covered the entire arena, as the public loudly gasped. 

When the cloud dissipated, the Knight of the Wind was standing alone, Hammer Knight nowhere to be seen.

“Heh, might’ve crushed her so hard she completely vanished.” He uttered to himself. “Okay! Thank you all for coming, it’s been a fantastic tournament but you know I’m the only o---”

The Knight of the Wind turned around to greet the astonished public, when Hammer Knight appeared magically in front of him, swinging a giant hammer she previously wasn’t wielding. The impact sent him flying straight to a wall, with the public gasping again.

He recovered quickly. “Oh... so there you are. Nice cheating, girl, but playtime’s over!”

The battle continued for several minutes with the Knight of the Wind charging towards Hammer Knight with no results for him. She would always dodge him or counter him with her hammer, as he got more relentless - and later exhausted. The public was having a hard time processing what they were seeing.

Exhausted, the Knight of the Wind tried to spice up his tactics, now dashing erratically in an effort to confuse Hammer Knight into striking at the wrong moment. He only managed to hit her shoulder, but as soon as he stopped to catch a breath, she knocked him across the entire arena again. 

This time he wasn’t getting up. After another loud gasp from the public, they started cheering Hammer Knight, and so the announcer came back.

“What an amazing combat we’ve just watched, folks!” The announcer had problems trying to contain the excitement. “Our Knight of the Wind... isn’t getting up it seems! That can only mean... Hammer Knight is our new champion! All hail Hammer Knight!”

The Knight of the Wind wasn’t completely unconscious, and as soon as he heard that Hammer Knight was victorious, he haphazardly got up ran away. Hammer Knight tried to reach for him, but got caught in the midst of celebrations.

Later that day, the Knight of the Wind was sitting inside his personal tent, reflecting upon what happened earlier, until he got interrupted by a messenger of the Queen.

“Pardon my interruption, Sir, I have an urgent message coming from the Queen.” The messenger stepped inside, the Knight facing his back to him.

“If it’s urgent, then tell the Queen to call her new shiny friend, Hammer Knight.”

“You don’t understand, sir!” The messenger urged, “‘tis an important matter that needs your unmatched speed. The Queen needs you to lead and reinforce our troops at the northern border as soon as possible.”

The Knight didn’t move. “I already made up my mind, I’m telling y---”

Another figure stepped inside the tent, interrupting them.

“Oh... I didn’t mean to...”

It was Hammer Knight. 

The messenger freaked out. “Oh my God, it’s really you! I’ll... leave you two alone, if you excuse me.” But before exiting the tent reiterated, “Sir, please consider what I told you. We are leaving this evening, the entire kingdom needs your help.”

The Knight of the Wind wasn’t on a good mood for any of this.

“What do you want?” He let out, notably upset. “You already took the tournament and the gold off my hands, are you going to take this tent from me as well?”

“Not at all,” she softly replied, then kneeled behind him, “I need your help.”

Contrary to what he expected, Hammer Knight didn’t want to take anything from him. After little consideration, he got up and turned to face her for the first time since their battle - now without any piece of armor, just some regular knight robes. He took a long stare at her, silently admiring the one rival that managed to best him. After a minute of silence, he answered. 

“Go on.”

She nodded, then looked up to him. “A war is brewing between the three kingdoms. I’ve been travelling all across the land, trying to stop this, searching for people that could help me, but nobody would listen to me. That’s what led me to you."

“Why would I want to prevent a war, though?” The Knight of the Wind reflected. “It’s all the more chances for me to kick ass, and right now that’s all I honestly care, or need.”

“You don’t understand, do you?” Hammer Knight lamented. “Imagine how this would impact across the land. Fields and villages burning from here down to remote places like the small kingdom of Apotos. There’s a big offensive coming from the East, I bet you it wont stop at the three kingdoms, and people only seem to listen to you - even the Queen herself! Knight of the Wind, please consider the risks at play.”

The Knight of the Wind stood silent for a moment, reflecting.

“I guess the rumors were true.” He let out. “And I guess I can’t let down my people, after all, I always helped them when in need.” He lended a hand to her, she grabbed it and got up. “Just point me out to where we have to go.”

After a moment, he added:

“And by the way, just call me Sonic.”

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BONUS (bc I got pretty invested in this AU already):

After talking with the Queen, Sonic and Hammer Knight went up north, to the spagonian border. They joined the troops stationed at the border that very same night, and while Sonic was talking with everyone and sharing stories, Hammer Knight was sitting on a nearby cliff, overlooking the river that separates both kingdoms.

After noticing her abscence for a while, Sonic finally found Hammer Knight atop that same cliff, and sat next to her.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been there.” Hammer Knight commented, pointing out the valley beyond the river. “I wonder how is everyone doing... my family and friends...”

“So, it IS true, you ARE from the northern lands! I mean! Your people will likely be happy of seeing their champion back.” Sonic pointed out, trying to contain himself. “Think about it, the triumphant return of Hammer Knight! I doesn’t sound cool to me of course, but for everyone else I bet they’ll love it.”

Hammer Knight chuckled. “Oh, stop being so spiteful! There must be a silver lining to it!” 

“Well, the fact you are the only worthy opponent I’ve faced might count... Hammer Knight.”

“Just... just call me Amy, okay?”

“Fine... Amy.”

The two stood in silence, watching the moon’s reflection on the river.

Conversation came back after a while.

“So, Sonic, have you been up north before?” Amy asked.

“Well, five years of being Spagonia’s champion granted me a world tour already!” Sonic playfully answered. “I think I remember the northern lands, I would’ve visited them again on my sixth year on tour if, y’know, I had won that tourney!”

“Well, now you have the chance to tour around with the new champion!” She teased.

“Yeah... kill me, please.” He joked, and both laughed.

Amy let out a sigh and leaned on his shoulder. 

“I think I like you, oh, Knight of the Wind.”

Sonic didn’t say anything. But on his mind he started considering the thought of actually enjoying moments like that. Maybe she was a lot more valuable to him than just a worthy opponent.

The next morning, the Knight of the Wind and Hammer Knight went on their first adventure, hoping to stop any potential threat to peace.

(Author’s note: hey, got anything for me? Send it to my ask box!)