'Love Conquers All' The True Ending of Fire Emblem: The Sacred StonesChapter 1Seeking Solace

Eirika stood on an outcropping of the steep hill they'd chosen to camp on, slightly apart from her friends. The chill wind that was eternally existent in this bleak and forbidding landscape picked up strength, whipping her long blue hair into disarray, and making her short cape fan out behind her. She stood facing the Dark Temple, where, long ago, the Demon King Fomortiis had been defeated and sealed away inside the Sacred Stones. It was also where, if they succeeded today, he would be defeated again. But, if what she feared came to pass…It could never be a true victory in her heart. A loud noise from the camp caught her attention, and she turned around and headed back towards the others…after all, perhaps her brother could give her aching soul some solace. They'd picked the hill as the place where they would charge from because of its duel strategic advantages-their elevated position would make it hard for anything but flying monsters to reach them, which could easily be picked off by archers, and the second advantage was that it offered a clear view of the battlefield below. One sad fact about the hill, however, was that for some unknown reason the stink of the rotting, fetid undead and other abominations settling in to battle formation around the hill's western base seemed to be particularly thick here. She could hear Dozla talking about this woe, his rather demented, rolling laughs easy to identify even above the clatter of an army preparing to fight."Gwah ha ha! Sure does stink up here, doesn't it, Rennac?" Rennac was, like the others, preparing for battle. He was kneeling on the grass, sharpening his dagger with a stone he carried specifically for that purpose. With a grunt of satisfaction, the rogue set it down on the ground beside him and picked up his sword to treat it the same way. "Can't you see I'm busy, old man? Now go-Crunch-Argh, what have you done NOW?!?" In his rush to talk with Rennac, Dozla had accidentally trodden on the freshly-sharpened knife, snapping it with his immense bulk. He lifted his foot and squinted at the two pieces firmly squished into the leather of his boot, and peeled the fragments off, offering them to Rennac. "Gwah ha! Sorry, Rennac! I'd give you one of my axes, but their bigger then you are! Bwah ha ha!" Rennac glared at the cheery, wrinkled lines that were Dozla's eyes, sealed shut with laughter, and then sighed in exasperation."Forget it, old man. Just stay away from me, alright?""Gwah ha ha! As you say, my fellow vassal of L'Arachel!""I'm NOT L'Arachel's vas-!"Similar incidents were occurring all over the camp. Friends, relatives, and lovers all sat in their own little groups. Ewan sat between his sister, Tethys, and his teacher, Saleh. Gerik sat on the other side of Tethys, with Marisa standing nearby. Amelia, Ross, and Ross' father Garcia were near Ewan, practicing battle maneuvers, as usual. Syrene and Vanessa chatted happily from where they sat astride their gleaming, white-winged pegasi. Cormag and Duessel stood about idly, talking about the Grado they remembered. Cormag stroked the snout of his faithful wyvern to calm him, as the dragon-like creature raised its head in agitation at the strange scents of mauthe doogs, giant, spider-like baels, and other dark creatures drifting through the air, while Duessel likewise reassured his steed. Lute, meanwhile, was enjoying her hobby of 'monk-watching' as she intently stalked Artur around the camp. He knew very well what she was doing, but it only brought a smile to his face. She spotted several more clusters-Seth, Gilliam, and Moulder, discussing military maneuvers that would have put her to sleep if she'd had to listen to them, Franz, Forde and Kyle, happily nagging at one another's inadequacies, Neimi crying after Colm had chastised her and Colm frantically trying to calm her down, and Joshua once again trying to convince Natasha that gambling wasn't THAT bad… She wondered if they, to, were thinking about how, if the battle went awry, they might never see the ones they loved again after this day…She did not fear death, though. He had been willing to sacrifice everything for those he loved, and she wouldn't be worthy to call him her friend if she hadn't been willing to do the same for him… And then she finally spotted her brother. He was standing with Tana, only a few yards away from her, with Myrrh hovering nervously between him and Saleh. Like her and many of the other usually horse-riding troops, he was no longer on his horse. Only a few of the most reliable animals had been brought to the final battle, for fear that the more skittish or young ones would bolt at the sight of the forces arrayed before them. They'd been loosely tethered in a grove some distance from the battlefield. Everyone with a horse had insisted on the loose tethering-if the fight was lost and they died, they didn't want their heaven-bound souls to feel guilty about horses left helpless in the woods. The way they were tied, they would be able to pull free of their ropes if they should get overly hungry or frightened. She started towards him, wistfully realizing that, unlike the others, she had spent the last hour alone. She did not want to spend much time with the others right now, not even with her brother. The one person she most wanted by her side right now was the one she was shortly…going to… have…to… She pushed the thought from her mind, refusing to give in to the wave of sorrow that threatened to engulf her, and suppressing the urge to weep. She would do what she had to…for him… Then she saw Innes near Tana, and naturally, wherever Innes went, one could also find L'Arachel. She was standing nearby, gawking at his slim, albeit muscular shoulders, which she'd recently become infatuated with. A question popped unbidden into Eirika's mind, one that only the eccentric valkyrie could answer…