A small continent, surrounded by the oceans… their waves pushing back and forth in a rhythmic cycle. The smell of salt lay in the air… and noses of all the towns folk love it so. Ships slid into and out of port to trade, and the town was ripe with beaming faces. A young man ambled on the grass, atop a supple hill overlooking the gloaming town, the wind blowing in his face; He wore a perplexed look… deep in thought and none too pleased. 'It's bright and beautiful… just like… 'that day,' he thought. His thoughts drifted into the past, a past, originally filled with peace. Filled with days like this…bright and hopeful... however… bad memories flooded his mind and he grunted, with a darkened face.


"Father," the young, blue haired boy began, "you called me? I assume it's urgent…"

The father, with his large stature and small, yet unmistakably white puffy beard, regarded his son with stony eyes that hid meaning, and wore a face that could show no stress. "I take it you've heard the news." It wasn't a question, or at least wasn't phrased as one, "the Dolhr empire… has returned…" he paused, assessing the boy, "and they have managed to find an ally in Grust. War is coming." Those words put a chill to the room that made the boy stand still; he'd known already, OF COURSE he'd known… but for his father, a man of great convictions and bravery, to feel the need to tell him in person… it must be worse than he'd heard.

"You can't mean… we're going to war…"

"I do, Marth." They both stood quietly, taking in the news as if it was really news, "I will be taking forces tomorrow morning, and, while I'm out there, with the army, actually fighting," once again, his words turned ice cold, almost depreciating, "you will be forced to begin learning advanced swordsmanship."

He looked up in worry, dread, and desperate defiance, "no, please, you can't mean that! I- I have no talents for it! Nor do I wish to carry a weapon, much less use one on some foe! Recons-"

"My decision is final," he cut off his son, "you will be taking lessons from Jagen starting tonight after your studies. Meet him in the courtyard, end of discussion!" With that, he beckoned Marth out of his quarters and shut the door. A stupefied Marth is all that was left outside.

"Oh my… what has he done this time to put you in such a mood?"

The boy looked to his right and instantly straightened, finding it was his mother, Liza. "It's nothing, mother, please do not worry about me…"

"Now, you're my son, I wish you'd be more upfront with me about things." She almost demanded.

He looked away, unsure, "it's just… father has bidden me to start practicing advanced swordsmanship… when I don't wish to… I do understand why though… he wants a son who can do more than, care for the wildlife that trounces into the garden, and be a good student… he wants a warrior… not only that… he wants me to be able to protect myself, he may need me soon if we're going into war.

Liza's face soured, "ugh…" she let out, clearly upset.

"Ah, I'm sorry mother, I have distressed you, please, let me get out of your hair, I have some things to do anyway."

"Wait first, though," she called before he disappeared, "… you know your father loves you… right? I assure you, he does, he loves you, just as much as he loves your elder sister, Elice. Never forget that, especially since he's charging at first light."

The boy looked down, unsure of what to say. "Of course, I never thought otherwise, I love you both as well," and he turned to leave.

KNOCK KNOCK! A grumpy voice sounded from the bedroom.

"I assume it's okay for me to come in," the mother lets herself in. "So, you're forcing Marth to take more sword lessons?"

"Don't even try to fight me on this."

"Cornelius…" she looked at him, worried, "I don't find your decision wrong… I take issue with how forceful you were… you know he hates it when you do that. You love your son, you should act like it to try to remind him."

"I know, Liza, it's just…" he sinks to the burgundy floor, "I can't shake the feeling… there's more to this coming first battle then meets the eye…" he stares at the floor… then into her eyes, full of concern. "We've received a messenger from Gra. He'll guide us to the rendezvous point, which is where we'll attack the enemy… the journey should take us three days or so." He thought inwardly for a moment, "I know Marth learned simple swordsmanship before, and simply couldn't really get into it… but he may need it now more than ever…"

"…I'm sure, deep inside, he understands your choice and respects it… we'll all miss you…" Liza sat down next to him, sadness on all her countenance. "No matter what happens, know, that through it all, I'll always love you, and so will our children, even if you are… rough sometimes." The two kept sitting for minutes in silence, simply being in each other's presence was consoling enough for them.


The garden was one of the most beautiful sights to see in the castle. Among the shrubbery and trees of a multitude of colors, there was a plethora of animals that had appeared from time to time from different places. The blue haired boy was with them, musing on about his current predicament; it was a place he'd constantly go to think. "Tsk. What am I to do… sigh… I'm not strong enough to wield a sword against someone else…" At the raising of his hand, silky white doves flocked to the feed in said hand.

"Ah, this is where you were…" a soft voice sounded behind him; she had long blue hair, and a face that almost embodied beauty, as some poets of future generations might say. Her clean, white dress, which was ornamented with subtle floral patterns fluttered in the wind.

"Elice! W-what are you doing here?" He tried to stay as calm as possible, as to not scare away the birds.

"Well… I heard from mother that you stormed off from father's room after being told something… is everything all right? Her voice continued to console in a hushed tone.

He thought for several seconds, "did mother not tell you then of what father commanded me to do," his face became pained. She shook her head no, "Father has said that as he goes out to… war… I must learn advanced swordsmanship from Jagen… swordsman ship meant for killing… not simple dueling in good fun…" he grunted in displeasure. "Did he not already understand that I'm not fit for the sword? Yet he persists…"

"Knowing father, he must have a reason for this," He was about to speak up when Elice cut him off, "besides the obvious application of it… not just for protecting yourself, something more." The two were silent for some time. The birds had finished eating and flew away back to their nest.

"Those birds…" Marth thought aloud, "they hail from the Archanean capital… is it so bad that even the wild life was forced to flee?" His face wore a look of worry.

"Marth… trust me… better yet, trust our father… I believe he will prevent this uproar from going any further… I'm just as scared as you, but we must have faith." At this, she embraced Marth out of love and mutual terror in an effort to comfort one another. "Trust…" Marth accepted the hug silently, thinking what this ill omen could possibly signify.


The courtyard blushed in the nighttime with the glow of countless torches. Altean castle, though belonging to one of the much smaller countries of Archanea, was known for it's illustrious beauty, whether it be day or night. The castle guard was well equipped and ready to defend at a moments notice, but one couldn't help but look in awe at the clear night sky as it displayed the moon and the castle in all its glory in equal measure. One young man, however, wasn't quite in the mood for such pleasantries.

"Ah, Prince Marth, it's a pleasure to see you've made it here on time by your father's specifications." The ancient knight greeted the approaching distressed boy.

"Yes… of course Jagen… I wouldn't want to keep you waiting…"

The knight in question was in his usual imposing purple armor. The most notable part of them were the spikes upon the shoulder parts… it always seemed to grab people's attention who first laid eyes on him. "Lord Marth… I hear you aren't very happy about this training… I can see now too. I promise you," he put an encouraging hand on the youth's shoulder, " it will all be worth it. While I pray you won't need to ever use the sword to take another life, the extra security you'll have for yourself will be welcome. Not only that, but, because of those standard practices, we we skip the bare basics, you're much older now too… truly, you've grown up before my very eyes… I have faith in you! Faith in the man you have become , and the man you still will become!" Most would see the usually steadfast knight as scary and unkind, but he was quite the opposite. In truth, while known for being quite strict, almost all of the Knights that knew him looked up to him as inspiration because of not only his bravery, but also his kindness.

Marth's face cracked a smile, part of it were the thoughts of Jagen's legacy, the other was a growing determination. "Thank you for your faith in me Jagen!" The young man looked up to his retainer just as much as the Knights did, "I promise I will try my best!"

The knight cracked a smile, "then let's begin."


The morning came swiftly. Training had ended with little more then a sample of sparring to get Marth readjusted to swordplay. Now, however, was no time to be thinking about last night. Marth looked from his window to see hundreds of knights making any last arrangements before heading out. Ahead of them was King Cornelius, and next to him was a strange, plain-faced man… this must be the messenger from Gra that he'd heard about here and there.

Each knight carried different weapons, from swords, axes, spears and more, each one seemed to excel in a certain field, though some definitely looked more green than others. When it looked like each knight was just about ready, Cornelius yelled as loud as he could, "ALRIGHT, WE MARCH TOWARD THE RENDEZVOUS POINT! MOVE OUT! And with that, the sea of different colored armor, ranging from green, red, and blue, moved in an orderly way that almost seemed to mirror an actual current. He also noticed the weather, it had went from a bright sunny day like yesterday, to a windy, rainy, and cloudy sky in mere minutes.


"The weather has become rather bad…" a tall blond-haired man spoke softly as he looked out the window.

"Yes, yes. What about Altea? Are they on their way?" A much older man sounded with impatience.

"Indeed… Altea is following the messenger to the specified point…"

"Heh heh… good…"

"Don't get ahead of yourself, General Jiol," the man warned, "you do this for our… 'new king'… not yourself."

"Ahem! Of course sir, of course." The clatter of silverware could be heard.

A flash of light followed by a sharp howl could be heard from outside the window, "truly… this weather just keeps getting worse and worse…"

Hello all! This is my first novelization (so don't expect it to be crazy or something). It's an adaptation of Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon. In reality, I wrote this some time ago, and I was meaning to upload it for awhile, but never got to it... Oops. Well, anyway, I hope I don't take too long with doing the next chapter...

Why did I choose Shadow Dragon? Well, mostly because, I really like the story of Archanea, but Shadow Dragon didn't really do it justice, since, you know, it was pretty much just the NES game with a new coat of paint. So, I though, maybe I could breathe some life into this story. My main inspirations for this are the game of course, and the Dark Dragon and Sword of Light manga.

Also, just wanted to say, Shadows of Valentia has quickly become my favorite in the Fire Emblem series because the story is told so well and the gameplay is sooooooooooooooooo addicting. Even more than Awakening (I didn't like Fates too much, though). Without further ado, I hope to get the next chapter out sooner or later... May Naga and God bless!