The sun sets as the battle ends, and as night descends upon Windbluff Tower, only three figures stand at its summit: The corpse of a traitor, a pawn of Destiny, and shattered-will Mercedes Marten who can only stare at the ground with her fists balled to her sides. While the day was filled with the sounds of rebellion, the night is silent, but not calm as tensions from the aftermath still run deep.
The Arisen, like so many times before can do nothing but watch this woman break. Mercedes Marten stands unmoving. Alive, yes – but not by her own hand. She had to be saved – Another testament of her weakness on a growing list. Her eyes never leave the cracked stone floor, and through clench teeth she can only bite out
"I must look a sorry sight." The Arisen does not respond, Marten takes this as confirmation. The once proud captain spills all her fears aloud – She knows she is weak, she knows she was sent to Gransys as meager aid in name, she knows her father is ashamed of her, but still she wanted to believe otherwise, and if not that, then change things for herself with her own two hands.
But politics are a knight's bane, and try as she might, she can't overcome that world of lies, so the only option left was to surrender – to admit defeat, and to return to Hearthstone a failure – but at the very least to bring back real reinforcements. She owes that much to this Arisen, this only kind face in Gransys. At the end of the day, the only pride she has is in the fact that after all of this, she did not cry.
After telling The Arisen her plans, Mercedes turns to leave Windbuff Tower, and this wretched kingdom all together, but halts when she feels a tug at her fingers. The grip is soft and feminine, though calloused from wielding a blade and using it true. The touch moves further up the knight's arm until it forces her whole body around and envelops her – a hug. Mercedes does not reciprocate, she only stands there confused, and still defeated. The body holding her starts to tremble, and Marten realizes that the Arisen is crying. No words pass in the moment, save for three which come out cracked "Please" "Don't" and "Leave".
The Arisen used to wake up to smiling faces and loved ones, until she woke up with her heart stolen. After that, she had to leave the village, had to journey to the capital, had great honor and responsibility bestowed upon her fisherman's shoulders. The farther up north she went, the colder people seemed to be. City goers were a much different ilk than villagers. More merchants of all kinds yes, but many more thieves – both in the slums and the worst of them were Gran Soren officials.
She became a woman renown by title but not name, in fact – so little people knew her name. She was The Arisen, and that was how all referred to her, save special individuals. As time went on, she found that there were so few people who truly cared about her anymore – She would not forget the sting when she woke up to Adaro talking about her as though she were a stranger. The duchess fell smitten a bit too fast for The Arisen to consider it genuine, and Madeline sent nothing but mixed signals, leaving the poor hero hopelessly confused. Even Ser Julien, a man she had come to respect as a noble knight turned out to be a traitor, and she had no choice but to put him to the blade.
There were those who did still care though. Quina for one always said The Arisen's name warmly, and would giggle as beautifully as the very flowers she blessed. Then there was her pawn, though that was hardly authentic. Her pawn was merely duty bound, and The Arisen must constantly remind herself that the shell beside her is not real, but sometimes when she is desperate, she wants to let herself fall into the Pawn's commanded comfort.
Selene also waited within the Arisen's home, eager for her beloved's return. She too knew The Arisen's name, and spoke it with honeyed love. Initially shy, when around her champion her voice would warm, and head would meet and adoring tilt. Whenever she had time, the Arisen would make a detour to Cassardis, and tell her about adventures. Sometimes the two would hear laughter through the thin walls, and Selene would look parts curious and envious, and The Arisen would encourage her, tell her that these people were nice, and Selene would always promise that she would try and overcome her fears some other time.
And then there was Mercedes, who at the very least was a friend, was she not? She welcomed the newly Arisen to the fight against the dragon, as fellow woman and a warrior, and made a trek to the capital with a hydra's head in tow with the intent of giving all the credit to The Arisen. She cared for the sellswords she trained even briefly, and entrusted the Arisen to keep them safe and alive against the griffin. And when the two had time, they could find each other's company enjoyable with a gift of cloudwine. Mercedes was a good person, a rarity in Gran Soren, and she was leaving.
The Arisen had watched previously as the woman destroyed herself and did nothing but stand idle. The Arisen was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders against her will. The Arisen had few left that she could deem trustworthy, had to watch the brave and innocent die, and was watching now as another left in shame. The Arisen refused to allow that to happen, and without thinking, reached out for Ser Marten's hand.
The knight knew not how to react, and stood still as the shaking figure grasped her tight. Affection was not a common occurrence in the house of Marten – Neither from her father or her brothers. The opposite in fact, they sneered at her, a woman taking up arms instead of dowry. The lack of affection made this one all the more effective, especially coupled with the request to stay by this champion's side. She hadn't the heart to deny it, and she felt that she neither had the strength to do so either.
Perhaps she didn't, but The Arisen would make sure she found it, make sure she would fight the dragon with Marten by her side. She was tired of standing by and letting things happen, letting villains monologue as they let loose the undead upon its own members, letting Mason murder a man, letting Fournival throw people out of their homes, letting a guard toss her in a dungeon for an adultery she didn't commit. She was going to take action. She damned well was going to take action.
A hot tear rolls down the Arisen's cheek, and when she presses it against Mercedes, it wets her's too.
"Okay." She says, moved. "I will fight with you, Arisen."
-Who then responds by shaking her head. She moves her lips to Mercedes ear, and whispers a secret: Her name. Mercedes nods, and the two break apart, the knight now standing firm with renewed resolve. The Arisen turns away from her and makes way to the fresh corpse of the traitor – Today she would start taking action. She knelt before him, and brought a sacred stone from her inventory, one that could revive the dead. She didn't want to part with it, having it on her person provided a great comfort – but she would not let tragic man slip by. Such would be a waste. The stone glows, then shatters, and the man opens his eyes. Julien rises slowly, testing his existence, then everything clicks together. His gaze turns to the Arisen, his killer, and his savior, and he too, admits defeat, the second person to do so today. It's almost as though he is a different man, the noble that he came to respect, and declares that he will go turn himself in.
She stops him by the arm too, and with hard eyes, tells him "No". He complies. For what he did, he had his reasons, he knew this country would fall to The Dragon with this duke at the helm. She needed allies, people to fight with her who were more than pawns, people who knew of the lies that spread within aristocracy and these corrupt officials after their own interests, and who loathed it as much as she.
Starting with two more comrades, this is the day The Arisen started taking her own actions.
A/N: The game made me sad, so I wrote a fanfiction about it. I had never gotten this far until now because of a data bug, but I'm glad I could finally make it. As I side note, I can't believe Aelinore is in my house now, I shouldn't have bothered with her damn quest line. Geez, even after giving Selene my Arisen's bond and everything…