As he kneeled before his emperor, Glen couldn't help but wonder. It had been only five months since the invasion of Renais, but those five months were enough to send everything he had ever known into a whorl of confusion. They'd attacked their closest ally, murdered her king, devastated her army, refused to help her people, and even now continued pursuing the remnants of the direct royal family.
"General Glen of the Grado Imperial Army, also known as the Sunstone…"
"Yes…"
Glen purposely did not address him with the proper formalities. If Vigarde were the same man that he knew, he wouldn't make any remark about it, but he would raise an eyebrow at the disrespect. However, this time…
"Your orders." When Glen snuck a peek, Vigarde's expression remained as stony as ever, and Glen's blatant disrespect did not seem to stir him in the slightest. "Capture the leader of the rebel army in Carcino. Capture Eirika."
Eirika.
Glen kept his eyes on the steps leading to the throne, afraid to lift his eyes lest they betray his thoughts. "Eirika… Do you mean the princess of Renais?"
"Eirika invaded Carcino. She massacred the citizens of Port Kiris. Then, she fled south. Glen. Go. Crush the rebels who brought ruin to Carcino."
Glen stepped out of the throne room. As the soldiers guarding the entryway pushed the heavy doors shut, he snuck in a quiet sigh, hoping the loud creaking of the doors would cover it up. He walked down the hall, and saw a mess of blonde hair that matched his. Cormag was waiting for him. Upon hearing his footsteps, Cormag turned his head to face him.
"What did the Emperor say, Brother?"
Glen put on his best neutral face to show Cormag. As the elder brother, he had the duty of guiding his younger brother. He had to be Cormag's ideal mentor and general, showing no hesitation or doubt in his duty… regardless of his true feelings.
"I've been ordered to kill the princess of Renais. Cormag, I want you to remain here in the capital. I'll go alone."
"Brother."
His voice carried a tone of concern that Glen wished wasn't there. As usual, Cormag saw right through him. However, he didn't expect the words that came out of Cormag's mouth next.
"I'm going with you."
Cormag always obeyed anything he said without question, looked to him for guidance. Never before had Cormag openly defied his instructions, so Glen was well aware of the open shock on his face.
He didn't know how Cormag interpreted his expression, but the younger brother continued. "You've been hesitant lately. Uncertain. This isn't like you."
Glen clenched a hand, which were placed behind his back so Cormag couldn't see, into a fist. It was true, certainly, but hearing it so plainly made him wonder just how badly he was masking his emotions. Hopefully, it was only Cormag who saw through him so easily…
And how could he tell Cormag "I need you to stay here?" He and Cormag both knew that if it were up to him, he'd have Cormag by his side forever. He told Cormag to stay behind for one reason: to give him a reason not to defect from Grado.
He'd been at his limits for how much atrocities he could tolerate having a hand in, but his emperor calling Princess Eirika a murderer who massacred citizens of a city? This was simply in the realm of blatant lies, if not complete madness. Normally, he would have no problem apprehending anyone who displayed such behavior, like Valter before he was reinstated into the Grado army. But he'd met Eirika some years ago, and she was a girl of great kindness. He doubted that, even in the face of war and all that Grado had done to her, this part of her being would ever be shaken.
And, in the light of all Grado had done in the past several months, leading a liberation army against them sounded more reasonable than whatever he was being ordered to do. It pained Glen to admit this, but if he had the chance, he would defect from Grado. A part of him wished he had Selena's determination to follow her emperor to the end, but both his heart and mind screamed at him that everything they were doing was wrong. Where was the compassion Vigarde had shown to him when he was a child, taking him and Cormag out of their barren fields and giving them a place in the army? Where was the mercy Vigarde had shown to Selena and her village, when he pardoned their inability to pay taxes and even sent them relief?
Nowhere. The Emperor Vigarde that he pledged to serve was nowhere to be found, even if his body and flesh were in front of him.
Because of this, Glen ordered Cormag to remain behind. Because of Cormag stayed in the capital, it was effectively turning Cormag into a hostage in exchange for his continued loyalty to Vigarde. There was nothing left for him in Grado otherwise. Nothing to stop him from defecting.
"—If you can't do it, then—"
Glen realized that Cormag was still talking to him. He didn't want to hear any more. He was given his duties, and he'd accomplish it, whether Cormag came with him or not.
"Fine. If you want to come, then follow me. We depart at dawn." He cut Cormag off and brushed past him, not bothering to look his brother in the eye.
Even though he was the one who treated Cormag so curtly, he felt a slight pang of loneliness when Cormag didn't chase after him.
When he entered the war room, Caellach was lounging in one of the sofas, talking to the standing blonde-haired man whom Glen knew to be another former Jehannan mercenary: The Great Knight Aias, a talented strategist whom he had in fact clashed with once, before the war. Aias gave Glen a curt nod of acknowledgement while Caellach flashed a smirk.
He and Caellach got along surprisingly decently; perhaps it was their mutual distaste for Valter and Riev, and because he didn't hound Caellach over anything. They weren't on the line of friends, and Caellach certainly wasn't Glen's first choice for anything, but they respected each other's strength. And again, Caellach wasn't Valter.
"You look to be in a hurry."
"I have orders from His Majesty. The sooner it gets done, the better."
Caellach gave a slight shrug with one arm in agreement, and Glen looked at their map of the continent.
There were various pieces strewn around the map, representative of their forces and the forces of other countries. Eirika, signified by a Queen piece used in chess, was on Port Kiris. If the intelligence they received from Councilman Pablo was correct, two forces from Frelia Castle had moved to pass through Carcino; one led by Prince Innes that was going through Carcino to Jehanna, and the other led by Princess Eirika. It seemed that Eirika intended to travel to Rausten, and Councilman Pablo had his mercenaries move to arrest her in Port Kiris.
Furthermore, Councilman Pablo reported that he and his mercenaries would cut down Prince Innes' forces for Grado's sake. But could he really follow through on that? It wasn't too long ago that Frelia's army, under that same Prince Innes' command, had halted even Grado's assault. Glen wasn't there for most of it; when he received news that the assault was faring badly, he had rushed in to take over command and organize their retreat. In the brief moments of their clash, Prince Innes established himself a formidable opponent, both in tactical command and on the battlefield.
On top of that, the Grado army had sent a couple of troops to Carcino to aid in Councilman Pablo's arrest of Eirika. They had orders to return if it seemed that the mercenaries weren't doing well, but none of them seemed to have returned. It was unfortunate, but they were likely killed in a clash against Eirika's forces. As soldiers, death constantly loomed over them, and Glen could accept their deaths as a matter of war. Vigarde had claimed, however, that Eirika invaded Carcino and massacred civilians. Yet none of the intelligence Glen had received indicated such. If anything, Carcino lured Eirika into a trap, and Eirika had fought in self-defense.
At the same time, in all the time that Glen had served Emperor Vigarde, His Majesty never spoke a falsehood even once. On that account, he had a duty to believe Vigarde's words and obey Vigarde's commands.
But His Majesty is a completely new man… All the evidence I have say that the words he spoke to me are lies… Could His Majesty have some way of finding out information that our spies cannot?
"You look like you're thinking about something mean, aren't'cha?" Caellach's bemused remark broke Glen out of his thoughts.
Glen masked the thoughts running through his mind, more for himself than anyone, asking, "Have there been any more reports on Prince Ephraim, Prince Innes, or Princess Eirika?"
Caellach turned to Aias, who spoke for him. "Prince Ephraim and his forces seem to have conquered Fort Rigwald. The commander has been killed, and the remaining forces surrendered. Generals Duessel and Selena have been dispatched to face Ephraim at Bethroen. Councilman Pablo launched his assault on Prince Innes and has cut through most of the Frelian forces, but the Prince and some of his mercenaries remain in a fort and are holding out. Princess Eirika has abandoned her route to Rausten in favor of reinforcing Prince Innes."
"General Duessel and General Selena to Bethroen, huh…?"
I have a sinking feeling that Selena isn't there to aid Duessel… And sending Duessel after Prince Ephraim, whom he mentored before this whole war? …Is this a test for Duessel? If that's a test, then my orders are…
"I'm telling you, Aias, the Imperial Three have it rough." When it was clear that he had Glen's attention, Caellach continued, looking straight into Glen's eyes. "Isn't that right, Wyvern General?"
"Think what you will."
Before Glen could make a move to leave, the door to the room opened and Valter stepped in, lance by side. Aias shifted, perhaps to move closer to his axe that currently laid against the sofa. Caellach leaned back in his sofa, as if in anticipation for the inevitable confrontation between the two wyvern generals.
"Oh, so this is where you are, Glen." Valter's mouth twisted into a sneer. Glen opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by Valter continuing with "You left your dear little brother in a twist back there, didn't you?"
Damn! I should've known he would be listening in…
"My issues are not yours to hear, Valter," Glen spoke carefully. Did he say something to Cormag? Did he report them to Emperor Vigarde? He carefully analyzed the other man, who stepped closer to him, and shifted his hand closer to the sword that hung by his side.
"Is that, now? Perhaps you shouldn't speak so openly if you don't want to be heard. What if His Majesty heard that you're having doubts about him? Even Cormag sees it. Did you think you could hide it for long?"
"Perhaps you've forgotten," Glen shot back, "That it was His Majesty who granted you leniency years ago, and merely had you exiled instead of executed for a capital offense. What lies have you told to receive both pardon and reinstatement at the same time?"
"Our beloved emperor felt my skills were needed, and his word is law. His Majesty has earned my sincerest and most undying gratitude." Valter chuckled. "And then we have you three. Duessel, Selena, and you… The three of you have proven to be unreliable time and time again. We were brought in to plug the holes, don't you see? You ought to thank me, Glen!"
Glen scoffed, but spoke no further. When he moved to pass Valter, though, Valter suddenly raised his lance, and Glen leapt back to put space between them.
"Is this how you treat your peer knights of the realm, Glen? Ignore them when they teach you something? Perhaps I ought to make sure you can't forget…"
"What are you playing at, Valter?" Glen placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, preparing to draw it in case.
Before the situation could escalate further, the sound of an object being thrown caught their attention before a hand axe flew between them, embedding itself in the wall. Caellach tsked from where now stood, having gotten out of his sofa to throw the axe.
"Now, now, no fighting among ourselves," he remarked in a patronizing tone. He jabbed his chin at Valter, indicating who he was speaking to. "Besides, what the hell is 'we were brought in to plug the holes'? Weren't you supposed to capture Prince Ephraim at Renvall? What happened there? You had a battalion and a traitor from their side, and three men still escaped you. Which hole're you plugging up, your ass?"
Valter glowered at the interruption and insult, but fell silent, and made no move to stop Glen when he walked past. Glen opened the heavy door, then turned to Valter, whose back was turned to him. "Mark my words, Valter: your crimes are neither forgotten nor forgiven."
As the door closed behind him, Glen registered Valter's quiet "hmph" and knew that the man was glaring at his direction even if he couldn't see it. But he had greater concerns to deal with, though he kept a hand on his hilt just in case.
At sunrise, Glen felt vaguely surprised when he found Cormag among those waiting for him at the wyvern stables when he arrived. Glen picked two other wyvern riders, Matthias and Justus, to accompany him north, and they were finishing the preparations for their wyverns as well.
"You ready?" Glen gave a hearty thump on Cormag's back, and to his relief, Cormag shot back a grin.
"You really need to ask? Genarog and I are always ready."
Matthias looked over from where he was packing Larissa's bags. "You mean that Genarog's always ready to bite someone's face off?"
Cormag smirked. "Shouldn't've played games with his meal if you didn't want to worry about him eating you instead."
"Larissa isn't even half as mean as Genarog," Matthias complained. "Isn't that right, Larissa?" His wyvern screeched, though apparently Genarog took offense either to Matthias' remark or whatever Larissa may have said, as he screeched back at them.
"Gods, what is Genarog screeching about now?!"
"Don't piss him off, Matthias!" Justus teased, calling down to Matthias from where he sat atop of Andrassy. "He might actually eat you this time."
Genarog screeched what seemed to be an agreement, earning him a chiding from Cormag. "Hush, Genarog! It's too early for this. C'mon, let's get ready to go."
Glen had already packed everything for Sieghart earlier, so he mounted the saddle and patted his wyvern's head. "We move out!"
"You left your dear little brother in a twist back there, didn't you?"
Valter's words rang in his mind as they set of for Carcino. Matthias and Justus knew Glen's plan—he told them, as fellow riders disgruntled by the army's recent actions—but Cormag didn't.
You've looked up to me as a model brother and general all these years, Cormag… Forgive me…
"Brother…"
Cormag shot Glen a questioning look, a verbal warning of sorts. They'd tarried in Renais territory for nearly a day now, cleaning up bandit groups. Most of them were strong enough to harass villagers, but not organized enough to take on trained military personnel, so they were easy to mop up.
"I know, Cormag. We're just passing through the area."
"This is the fifth bandit hideout we've tackled."
Matthias laughed at Cormag's annoyance as he waited for Larissa to finish drinking from the stream. "That's some pretty good time, isn't it?"
Cormag shot him a glare. "This isn't our mission. Even if we are helping people," he admitted.
"Who cares?" Matthias shrugged. When Cormag stared at him this time, he continued, "Don't look at me like that. There's nobody around to help them now. We may as well."
"Didn't His Majesty assign someone from Renais to handle things around here?"
"Sir Orson. A traitor to the Knights of Renais. He doesn't seem to be doing much of anything, though," Glen scoffed.
"Still—"
Justus placed a hand on Cormag's shoulder. "Don't worry so much, Cormag. His Majesty never said we can't help 'em. Princess Eirika won't vanish into thin air."
Glen gave a dry laugh. "Not unless Valter decides to reach her first. Well, she'll probably wish she could vanish into thin air if he did."
Andrassy suddenly shifted, catching the attention of the four men. He backed away from a bush, and some rustling could be heard. Justus looked at the others and nodded before approaching with lance ready at hand.
A tense several seconds of silence passed, and then Justus' voice rang out with a cheerful "Oh, 'ello there! No need to be afraid!"
Another voice that reacted to his, while they couldn't see its owner, definitely belonged small child. True enough, a little girl no older than five and another girl who looked to be around ten crawled out from the bushes. The little girl seemed fascinated, though the older one held her close. From their shared heart-shaped faces to their earth-green hair to their bright blue eyes, they were surely sisters. Their plain clothes revealed them to be commoners, likely scrounging the area for food now that their country was in shambles.
"Woah!" The little girl tried to escape her sister's grasp, to no avail. Settling for just staring at the object of her interest, she continued, "Dragons!"
"Wyverns," her sister corrected. Her voice was clearly gripped by fear, but Glen had to commend her for having enough self-control to keep herself from physically shaking and having enough strength to restrain her sister, especially given her apparent age.
"She's right." Matthias walked over to them and bent on one knee to get closer to their eye level while Justus kept a look out to ensure it wasn't a trap. "These are wyverns. Wanna say hi to one?" When the younger girl gave an eager nod, he waved Larissa over. "This is my wyvern. Her name is Larissa. Say hi, Larissa!"
Glen was glad the girl had no interest in Genarog, who had walked behind Cormag in an effort to hide himself from this loud, curious intruder. Larissa was much friendlier and simply peered at the girl curiously before allowing herself to be pet by eager hands.
"Mary! They feel funny!" The girl looked back at her sister even as she pet Larissa.
Mary nodded nervously, and with responded with a small "That's good." She spotted one of bandit corpses, and gasped. "Mira!" She yanked the girl away from Matthias and Larissa, shielding her sister with her body.
Matthias raised his hands and motioned with his head for Larissa to back away slightly. "Woah, woah! We're not here to hurt you. These guys here were bandits. Probably not the sort you want around."
"Bandits…?" Mary's eyes widened. "Have you—have you seen a man with dark brown hair? May-maybe wearing a golden pendant?" Her face fell when she was met with uncertain looks.
Cormag pointed to his left with his thumb. "I think they had a treasure stash over there, but I haven't seen any prisoners or anything."
Mary stood up quickly, while Mira looked between her sister and Larissa in confusion. Glen looked away and closed his eyes in pity. He could make out the situation—their father was probably abducted by bandits, but Mira was still too young to completely understand the situation. "Please," Mary pleaded, "can I see?"
Cormag nodded and the two sisters followed, though Mira stole glances back at Larissa. When the three were out of earshot, Justus shook his head. "I feel bad for them. Don't think they're gonna find anything."
"Not to mention that foul odor in the opposite direction," Matthias added. "Not too many guesses as to what any prisoner's fate here was."
Glen looked to the sky. It was quickly approaching dusk, and he wasn't sure where the girls lived. On one hand, he didn't want them to have to return to their village by themselves and risk getting attacked, but on the other hand, he and his men were still Grado soldiers. Mingling too much with them could potentially lead to a dangerous situation for either party. He didn't have much time to dwell on it, though, as a wail rose from the direction of the bandit's treasure stash and confirmed their suspicions.
When Glen arrived at their location, Mary sat on the ground, sobbing into her arms that rested on the wooden crate. From her clutched hand was a gold chain, undoubtedly part of the pendant she had pointed out earlier.
"Mary? Where's Papa?" Mira didn't register all the implications, instead tugging at Mary's sleeve with tear-rimmed eyes. "You keep saying Papa, but I don't see him!" Hearing no response from her sister, she continued, "Mary? Why are you crying? Where's Papa?"
Cormag looked at Glen, at a loss for what to do. Glen motioned for Larissa to come to him before walking up to Mira and bending on one knee.
"Mira." She looked at him after rubbing her eyes dry. "Mary is talking to Papa in a special way right now," he explained. "Here, sit with Larissa for a while until she's done. Larissa will stay right here, so you can see Mary, okay?"
Wyverns were smart creatures, and Larissa appeared to have picked up on the situation, laying down so it was easier for Mira to stay by her side. Mira sat next to Larissa and continued stroking the back of her neck, though she kept an eye on her sister's figure, still shaking from sobs.
Matthias elbowed Glen once he stood up. "I take it we're setting up camp for the night?" He nodded, and Matthias left after beckoning Cormag to follow, leaving the three alone.
It was a while before Mary's sobs subsided, leaving only sniffling and an occasional hiccup from crying too hard. Glen looked away even though there was no need to, mostly because the sound dredged up memories of his own mother when his father had died many winters ago. He looked back when he heard the shuffling of fabric, and saw that she had sat up.
"Oh…" Mary looked at her sister, who had dozed off on Larissa. "It's almost—it's almost dark, isn't it?"
Glen tossed a glance upwards. "Pretty dark, I'd say. Are you sure you can get back to the village like this? I'd accompany you, but…"
"It's alright." Her weak smile made him avert his eyes for a second. "I'm sure the villagers are worried. Someone's probably looking for us. Mira, wake up."
Gently shaking her sister awake, she picked up the girl when it was clear that Mira was still too drowsy to walk. After placing the pendant into the pouch by her waist, she mustered a tired smile. "Thank you. If it weren't for you, the bandits would still be here—and I wouldn't have found Papa's pendant."
Scrounging up words to say, Glen responded, "It's the least I could do." He paused. "We're the reason why this all happened, anyways."
She turned to the rest of the treasure stash. "I know some of the other stuff in the pile. I think they belonged to other people from my village… I'll tell the elders when I get back. I'm sure they'll want it… Thank you. Even though you're from Grado, you're nothing like your emperor."
Glen's voice caught in his throat, and he could only nod and see them off as they disappeared into the trees.
When he rejoined his companions by the fire they'd set up, Justus held out a piece of roasted meat to him. He took it and ate it in silence. Matthias gave Larissa a rough pat on her snout with a "Ya did good, Larissa. Didn't bite her head off like Genarog would," which earned a small chuckle among the others.
Cormag watched his brother for a little bit before piping up. "We should probably leave early morning. Mary was understanding, but I dunno about the rest of them." Glen nodded, and before Cormag could say anything else, Justus gestured for him to stop, and Cormag didn't say anything else to him for the rest of the night.
Even though Justus was on night watch, Glen found himself unable to sleep. Finding the ground too uncomfortable to lay on, he sat up in his blanket and leaned against Sieghart, who was also still awake.
Mary was only a child who probably knew nothing about the world outside her village. She had no idea what Emperor Vigarde was really like. But at the same time, it was for those two reasons that her words pierced more than any jab that Caellach or Valter could throw at him.
"Even if you're from Grado, you're nothing like your emperor."
The more that phrase repeated in his head, the more Glen became uncomfortably aware that he hadn't even protested it. He could brush his failure to defend Vigarde's name on the fact that Mary was a mere child who just discovered her father's passing. But the bigger issue was not only did he not say anything to defend Vigarde, he found himself agreeing with her.
Some general I am. In times like these, when I'm supposed to follow my liege to the death, I'm instead entertaining ideas of treason… If only I had Selena's determination.
So distracted was he by his thoughts that he hadn't noticed Justus' approach until Sieghart smacked him with his tail.
"Sie—oh, Justus?" He kept his voice at a whisper as to not awaken his snoring companions. Justus' dirty blonde curls were illuminated by the fire, and even though most of his face was framed by shadow, Glen could tell he was suppressing a chuckle. He moved to sit next to Glen, and Glen shifted on his blanket so Justus could sit on it.
"Well, General, do you have a Plan B in mind?"
"Plan B?"
"If Princess Eirika doesn't believe you. Or I guess, how are we going to know who's telling the truth? If we just asked 'Did you actually murder people,' obviously she'll say no even if she did, you know?"
He nodded. There was always a slight chance that his intel was wrong, and Emperor Vigarde was right all along. After all, Prince Innes also commanded an impressive intelligence network. The possibility that he had agents feeding incorrect information to Grado was there. But… he wasn't sure which outcome he wanted. If it was all a lie, then he could follow Vigarde's orders without hesitation, but he'd also have to tolerate all the other atrocities Vigarde had committed and would probably continue to commit. If his suspicions were correct, then he'd have to betray his oaths and his homeland, but he'd be choosing the just side… And then there was the matter of Cormag. Cormag usually followed his orders, but as his presence here proved, he was starting to do his own thing. Glen was glad that Cormag was being more assertive, but of all the times to start, why now?
Another chuckle broke him out of his reverie. "You're doing it again."
"What?"
Yet another chuckle. They both knew what Justus was talking about, even if Glen was being stubborn and refusing to admit it. "Stop worrying so much. You're getting really bad at hiding it. And you used to have such a good straight face, too!"
Seeing that Glen's gaze was fixed on Cormag, and his mind likely drifting to his worries again, Justus sighed. Most people saw Glen as a prodigy and a brilliant tactician, which to be fair, he was, but as a result, Glen was a worrywart. He was only 31—and a baby-face who looked even younger than that—and was already a general for around ten whole years now. The only other person in recent history who had a similar claim to fame was General Seth, the Silver Knight of Renais. Because Glen started bearing a large amount of responsibility and pressure at such a young age, being concerned over every little detail of a decision was basically ingrained into him now. On one hand, it was because of this that he was such a good strategist. On the other hand, it also resulted in a lot of sleepless nights and a myriad of other woes.
"Glen." A sound came from the man's throat, indicating that he heard, but his eyes remained glued on Cormag's sleeping figure. "C'mon, you need to be at your best tomorrow. Stop thinking and go to sleep."
"Easier said than done."
"Listen." Justus leaned forward to put himself in Glen's field of vision until Glen finally looked at him. "Matthias and me aren't here because we intend to sell you out to Grado. We're sick 'n tired of this damned war just like you and General Duessel are. Even if your plan doesn't work, we're not gonna go back to Grado anyways. If we die as traitors, so be it."
He stole a glance at Cormag, waiting to see if Glen would say anything. When he didn't, he continued. "Maybe this one will be pissed at you for a while. Bu'tcha know what? He's a big kid now. You can't mother him forever, y'know? Don't worry how he's gonna react. Trust me, he'll follow you even if he does it complaining all the way."
Glen looked into his eyes this time, and gave a small, wry smile. "Thanks, Just."
He fell asleep this time.