Fire emblem:

Madness rekindled

By Mr. Stranger

Chapter one

The box

The land of Tellius a land of previous chaos. A land recovering from its self-induced mayhem. Or so it seemed.

Off the coast of Crimea along its icy cliff line, not two miles from the town of Cantus.

A large vessel lay anchored rocking in the pulsing waves of the freezing water.

The ship was a battered vessel bearing the mark's of many years' of hard sailing bore tattered grimy white sails and bearings atop the crow's nest platform a black flag marked with a white skull with pointed teeth crossed with two spears.

On the sides of the hull the wood was painted green naming it of foreign origins.

Upon its bow a name had been carved savagely into the wood. Anyone familiar with the name would have their blood run cold at the sight of THE HAVOC'S MAIDEN.

And that's how her captain liked it.

From the deck of the bowstring he stood staring at the cliff line immersed in his own thought's rotating around the cargo he carried. Captain Harteg was a tall man with hat made in the shape of an arrow, fashionable along the tropic dragon coasts. His black hair falling to his neck. His thin mustache and goatee furrowed easily from years of quick thinking.

His clothing matched his hat tropical, and uncommon to this area. Hanging from his frame loosely the silky material hid many qualities from those unfamiliar with its origins. While still looking fancy it would have stopped a dull arrow from penetrating it.

A cutlass hung at his hip perfectly fitting and custom made along the fire Islands near the Goldoa coast. He had several other smaller weapons hidden throughout his person, including a strange handle that hung on his hip. With a small leaver on the top, and a strange curve of steel that hung at the bottom. It had been the last of its kind. Its masters losing the trade in a fight against compotiton that had killed the whole lot off.

The captain carelessly looked at the giant crate on his deck. Giant was an understatement, the box was at almost four stories high.

That box had been the sole reason that he and his crew were out here. how he had gotten this box would have been deemed mysterious if he had cared to label it as so. As always he'd been given an offer That he wouldn't refuse. It had happened while he was docked for supplies at a small smuggler island off the coast of Goldoa and Phoenicis when he was approached by a young Begnion officer offering a "special" job.

His appearance hadn't surprised him, everyone this side of the criminal world knew the love of certain "merchandise" was well loved in Begnion just as much as any of the other countries, maybe even more.

No, what had surprised him was the task at hand or at least what it involved, they were to release the content's of the crate at Crimean coastline immediately and return to receive his payment, which had instantly achieved his services, a large pile of arms and goods, straight from Begnion.

What was in the box was obvious and only slightly dampened his enthusiasm.

The official seemed to think him ignorant of this knowledge, even after the incident while getting the box on board in which a loud roar had been produced from the monstrous crate and a group of petty magicians' had to pour large sacks of blue, what looked like some sort of tranquilizer powder. When the noise subsided and a large bonus had been unnecessarily promised (the captain loved it when people underestimated he and his crew). As soon as they were off port, he had the sack's that the Bengion mage had given him at back at the dock tossed over board, along with their direction's on when to pour and how much.

He then had five different boxes' of his own narcotics poured into the crate.

The captain grinned

The monster had only snorted once the entire trip.

Hartegs thoughts where vaguely interrupted by a croaky call from above him.

"Win's fool blow west cap'in "

Shrieked a croaky voice from above him followed by an equal harsh voice calling

"A'int gonna blow enny har'der Cap'in"

This was followed by a chorus of raucous caws and croaks of laughter.

The captain grinned as the two mangy crows flew around his flag, just in time. He turned his head. "Shark tooth!" a vicious looking laguz turned at the call.

"Aye cap'in?."

"Open the box"

The laguz sneered wolfishly displaying rows' of sharp jagged teeth. He then turned to his mates barking orders to several members of the crew, then picked up a nasty looking axe and hacked at the four thick woven lines of rope cutting it down to the last finger thick strand which he promptly bit in half. The other three, a Beorc wielding two heft cutlass's, a cat with one eye and a ring in his ear, and his own first mate an enormous mountain of a man the only thing marking him unique by race was his small round furry. The ears of something further north than the sandy beaches of the Goldoa, Phoenicis islands. It some huge animal with matted black hair and beady eyes. The first mate simply snapped the rope like string in his large hands then turned and sat back down. Expecting trouble, the rest of the crew took cover behind anything and everything, finding vantage points in case of trouble.

The captain then nodded at a scared rogue, who moved forward carefully to a smooth stone slate nailed to the side of the box. He raised his left hand, or at least where one should have been. In the place of a limb were two bars of iron that continued from where the bones left off, at the end five needle sharp hooks each replaced the missing fingers and thumb. He proceeded to set the deadly limb against the slate and slowly began to drag it down the stone producing a mind numbing shriek that caused many of the crew, Laguz and Beorc to cover their ears in pain.

The captain waited unfazed. The man continued to drag the claw grinning nastily; it seemed to have no affect until-BOOOM. The crate exploded sending the clawed man flying smashing him through the railing just barely catching himself on the deck with a hook. As a blur massive of red death, launched it's self from the box roaring in thunderous rage, fire expelling from its monstrous jaws.

It turned paying no mind to either the ship or the crew spying the shore it pumped its sail sized wings, sending it speeding at incredible speed's toward land.

When it was gone the captain, unmoved motioned to his first mate who lumbered toward him.

"Move us closer to shore and drop anchor we'll wait for this to blow over"

The massive giant nodded and lumbered toward the helm,

"Someone go help Cass and get him to Calico"

He ordered to anyone in general and gazed at the path the monster had flown. With a grim smile a plan was forming, one that would make this work for him and his mates even more. He grinned even more. Oh yes. Crimea was in for one devastating surprise...