Hi there, it's TheOneAndOnlyT, and I'm back, thanks to all of you who reviewed my first story. This time, I'm going to be focusing on a character that doesn't get many stories written about her: Ninian. It's not first-person (I can't write first-person for my life) but the story will follow her experiences nonetheless.
Those of you who have read my other story know that I love putting fluff/romance in my stories. This one isn't going to be any exception. The pairing is rather obvious to those of you who have finished the game (not like Ninian would end up with anyone else anyway).
So sit back, relax, and enjoy Fire Emblem from Ninian's point of view.
Chapter One
Calling
Somewhere, in a small temple, a young half-dragon girl was crying.
She was a small ice dragon, about ten feet in length. Green scales covered her body, turning white near her neck and flaring into yellow markings protruding around her head. Short wings hung limply from her back as she cried.
"Ninian?"
She looked up, staring at her younger brother before her. Nils looked similar to Ninian, but he was smaller and the scales on his head and neck were green instead of white, identifying him as a male.
"Ninian?" he repeated. "What's wrong?"
She stared at him silently. If she spoke a single word, she knew she would start sobbing even harder.
"It was those flame dragons again, wasn't it?" he asked.
She looked down at one of her forelegs, at a blackened patch of scales, before the full memory of what had happened came back to her.
"Why don't you just get out of here?"
She stared silently at the trio of flame dragons in front of her. They were the same size as her, with red scales and wings that looked like moving flames. They were her age as well, a little over a thousand years old, adolescent by dragon standards. As such, they loved causing trouble and making fun of others. Ninian seemed to be their favorite target for the latter.
"Yeah, go back to where you came from, halfling!"
Halfling. Their name for her and the others like her. The few humans that inhabited the dragons' realm were regarded as somewhat inferior by the dragons, but any mixing of the two races was considered much worse. Ninian and her brother were the results of one of those mixings, ice dragons with human blood coursing through their veins. They had the ability to assume human form, but in the world they lived in, staying as a dragon was much more desirable.
The third flame dragon didn't even say anything; instead, he just laughed and blew a small ball of fire at her face. It wasn't much; their kind would have barely noticed it had it hit them, but as an ice dragon fire tended to hurt her. A lot.
She brought up one of her forelegs to shield her face and the ball of flame struck it. She cried out in pain as the fire burned her scales.
The flame dragons just laughed.
Her eyes welled with tears, and she ran away, the flame dragons' laughter echoing in her ears.
She nodded, and Nils sighed.
Nils was the only person in the world Ninian could turn to for comfort. Their father, a human, had passed away only a few decades after Nils was born, victim of the humans' short life span. Their mother, an ice dragon, had died shortly afterwards out of grief and sickness. Both dragons and humans looked down upon them, and they did not know of any other half-dragons.
Ninian wished that life could be back to the way it was before the Scouring.
That was the name the humans had given it, anyway. Always looking upon themselves as the upholders of good, they had "scoured" their world of the "evil" dragons. Even to this day Ninian wasn't sure what had caused the war between dragons and humans. All she knew was that it had led to their retreat into this realm, through the portal known as the Dragon's Gate.
The Dragon's Gate...a portal between worlds. Ninian and Nils lived in the temple containing it. Their mother had been the guardian of the Gate, making sure that no one passed through. When their mother had died, the task of guarding the Gate had fallen to Ninian and Nils. They alone knew how to open and close the Gate, and although they longed to see their birthplace once again after so many years, they knew it was forbidden.
Oh, is that so?
Ninian gasped as she heard a deep, masculine voice reverberating in her head.
That's too bad. The war ended long ago, you know.
"Who's there?" Ninian asked out loud. Nils was looking around frantically. Apparently he had heard the voice as well.
My name is Nergal, the voice said. I have heard of your plight, and I wish to help you.
"How do you know about that?"
I have my ways.
"Then...how can you help us? Where are you?"
I am on the other side of the Dragon's Gate, Nergal explained. It is taking me tremendous power to talk to you, but I am the first human that has contacted a dragon since the Scouring. We humans...we realized our mistake in driving out dragons long ago. We wished to apologize, but...we had no way of contacting dragons...until now. We want to allow dragons back into our world.
Ninian was in shock. "R-...really?"
Yes. And you have the power to allow them back in, I believe.
Ninian was filled with joy for a moment at the prospect of seeing her birthplace once again, before her suspicion caught up with her. "Wait," she said. "How do I know...that humans aren't waiting there to invade our world?"
What would we gain from that? Nergal asked. There are no humans here besides me, and you know how short humans live. Nobody in this world even remembers the Scouring.
"Then what guarantee do I have that nothing will happen?" she asked.
There is no guarantee. You will just have to trust me.
Ninian looked at Nils.
"I...suppose we could go through, then close it immediately," he suggested.
"Are you sure?" she asked him.
"No," he replied. "But..." He smiled. "I would like to see our home again, wouldn't you? Even if...only for a little while..."
That is acceptable, Nergal said. Come through the Gate, then close it. Then I can show you that everything is fine.
Ninian took another look at her brother before walking over to the great blackness that was the Dragon's Gate.
"Very...very well..."
She closed her eyes and concentrated. At once, the blackness began to brighten and the ground shook. After a few seconds, the Gate had become an eerie orange. Ninian opened her eyes.
"Come on, Nils," she said. "Let's see our homeland again."
Nils smiled and walked toward the Gate.
And together, they went through.
Ninian had a strange sensation of falling for a few seconds before she came out the other side in a temple much like the one she had just been in. Once again, she closed her eyes and willed the Gate to shut.
She instantly regretted that decision.
No sooner had the Gate closed than she felt all of her strength suddenly disappear. She collapsed to the ground in a heap, unable to move, and saw Nils do the same nearby. The last thing she heard before passing out was a maniacal laughter...
"Get up," she heard Nergal's voice say in a tone much less kind than the one he had originally spoken to her with.
Ninian's eyes slowly fluttered open, and she saw a man towering over her. He had dark green hair, but most of it was covered by a black turban that also covered his right eye. He wore all black.
Ninian suddenly regretted coming through the Gate.
"You...are...Nergal?" she asked weakly.
"I am," he growled. "Now get up. And put this on." He tossed her a small black dress. Ninian wondered for a second how she was going to fit into that...
Then she looked down at herself.
She had somehow unconsciously reverted to human form. Looking to her side, she saw that Nils had done the same. He had become like a child, looking like he was ten years old at best. He now had messy light green hair and crimson eyes, and was only a little over four feet tall. He was wearing a black tunic and pants.
Ninian suddenly realized that the reason Nergal had given her the dress was that she wasn't wearing anything. Dragons, of course, never wore any clothes, but she wasn't a dragon anymore. With a slight gasp, she hastily put on the dress and stood up.
She nearly fell back down. She felt like she didn't have the strength to do anything.
"What's...what's wrong with me?" she wondered aloud.
"An unexpected side effect," Nergal explained angrily. "Your dragon form was accustomed to breathing the air of the world beyond the Dragon's Gate, not of this world. Your human form can survive, but...barely, for about fifteen years at best. Your strength should return in a few days...and it better," he spat.
"What?" she asked. "Why...what's going on?"
Nergal suddenly laughed.
"Did you really believe humans wanted dragons back in their world?"
Ninian's face suddenly changed from a look of confusion to one of terror.
"What...what are you going to do with me?" she asked fearfully.
"I am not going to do anything to you; it looks like it's pointless anyhow." He chuckled slightly. "No, little girl, you are going to do something for me."
Ninian didn't like being used, nor did she like the title 'little girl'. "And what might that be?" she asked, a trace of anger in her voice.
"You are going to open the Dragon's Gate for me again," he said. Seeing her eyes narrow, he continued, "and I do not need your consent. You are going to open the Gate whether you like it or not."
"What if we resist?" Nils suddenly asked. Ninian turned to him; she hadn't noticed him get up. He held a defiant look on his face, weak as he was.
Nergal turned to him as well, grinning maliciously. "I have my ways of making sure that does not happen."
The defiant look on Nils's face vanished.
"Why do you need the Gate opened?" Ninian asked.
Nergal turned back to her. "So I can do to another dragon what I was going to do to you. I will steal the dragons' quintessence—"
"Quintessence?" Nils asked.
"Its life energy," Nergal responded. "As I was saying," he glared at Nils, "I will steal the dragons' quintessence, and use it to make myself an all-powerful being. And you are going to help me do it." He laughed.
Now Ninian was really regretting coming through the Gate.
"Why did you not steal our...quintessence?" she asked.
"Because you have nearly none," Nergal spat. "Your coming through the Gate caused you to lose much of your strength, and with it much of your quintessence. I at first was going to steal yours...but as you are now, that would be pointless. So once I have enough power to open the Gate again...you will help me open it."
Ninian shuddered as Nergal laughed again.
"Oh yes," Nergal suddenly added, "don't try turning into dragons again. I have control over that now." With that, he showed them a blue, shining stone he held in his hand.
"What is that?" Nils asked.
"It is a dragonstone," Nergal explained, "and it contains the energies of your dragon form. Whether or not you take that form—" he closed his fist, "—is up to me."
He turned and walked away.
"What is he doing?" Nils whispered to Ninian. "We could just run away right now!"
Nergal suddenly stopped; apparently he had somehow heard Nils. "That you could," he said, not turning to look at them. "But you have no way off this island." He continued on his way.
Ninian looked at the blackness of the Dragon's Gate, her eyes welling with tears in despair.
What had she done?
***
So...what do you guys think?
Like my first story, this story is basically going to follow the plot of the game, with my own ideas added in. I may actually put in some tie-ins to Defiance...but we'll see about that later.
Anyway, please review and tell me what you think. I don't need a certain number of reviews to update—I just need good ones.
Please review!!!
-TheOneAndOnlyT
Those of you who have read my other story know that I love putting fluff/romance in my stories. This one isn't going to be any exception. The pairing is rather obvious to those of you who have finished the game (not like Ninian would end up with anyone else anyway).
So sit back, relax, and enjoy Fire Emblem from Ninian's point of view.
Calling
She was a small ice dragon, about ten feet in length. Green scales covered her body, turning white near her neck and flaring into yellow markings protruding around her head. Short wings hung limply from her back as she cried.
"Ninian?"
She looked up, staring at her younger brother before her. Nils looked similar to Ninian, but he was smaller and the scales on his head and neck were green instead of white, identifying him as a male.
"Ninian?" he repeated. "What's wrong?"
She stared at him silently. If she spoke a single word, she knew she would start sobbing even harder.
"It was those flame dragons again, wasn't it?" he asked.
She looked down at one of her forelegs, at a blackened patch of scales, before the full memory of what had happened came back to her.
"Why don't you just get out of here?"
She stared silently at the trio of flame dragons in front of her. They were the same size as her, with red scales and wings that looked like moving flames. They were her age as well, a little over a thousand years old, adolescent by dragon standards. As such, they loved causing trouble and making fun of others. Ninian seemed to be their favorite target for the latter.
"Yeah, go back to where you came from, halfling!"
Halfling. Their name for her and the others like her. The few humans that inhabited the dragons' realm were regarded as somewhat inferior by the dragons, but any mixing of the two races was considered much worse. Ninian and her brother were the results of one of those mixings, ice dragons with human blood coursing through their veins. They had the ability to assume human form, but in the world they lived in, staying as a dragon was much more desirable.
The third flame dragon didn't even say anything; instead, he just laughed and blew a small ball of fire at her face. It wasn't much; their kind would have barely noticed it had it hit them, but as an ice dragon fire tended to hurt her. A lot.
She brought up one of her forelegs to shield her face and the ball of flame struck it. She cried out in pain as the fire burned her scales.
The flame dragons just laughed.
Her eyes welled with tears, and she ran away, the flame dragons' laughter echoing in her ears.
She nodded, and Nils sighed.
Nils was the only person in the world Ninian could turn to for comfort. Their father, a human, had passed away only a few decades after Nils was born, victim of the humans' short life span. Their mother, an ice dragon, had died shortly afterwards out of grief and sickness. Both dragons and humans looked down upon them, and they did not know of any other half-dragons.
Ninian wished that life could be back to the way it was before the Scouring.
That was the name the humans had given it, anyway. Always looking upon themselves as the upholders of good, they had "scoured" their world of the "evil" dragons. Even to this day Ninian wasn't sure what had caused the war between dragons and humans. All she knew was that it had led to their retreat into this realm, through the portal known as the Dragon's Gate.
The Dragon's Gate...a portal between worlds. Ninian and Nils lived in the temple containing it. Their mother had been the guardian of the Gate, making sure that no one passed through. When their mother had died, the task of guarding the Gate had fallen to Ninian and Nils. They alone knew how to open and close the Gate, and although they longed to see their birthplace once again after so many years, they knew it was forbidden.
Oh, is that so?
Ninian gasped as she heard a deep, masculine voice reverberating in her head.
That's too bad. The war ended long ago, you know.
"Who's there?" Ninian asked out loud. Nils was looking around frantically. Apparently he had heard the voice as well.
My name is Nergal, the voice said. I have heard of your plight, and I wish to help you.
"How do you know about that?"
I have my ways.
"Then...how can you help us? Where are you?"
I am on the other side of the Dragon's Gate, Nergal explained. It is taking me tremendous power to talk to you, but I am the first human that has contacted a dragon since the Scouring. We humans...we realized our mistake in driving out dragons long ago. We wished to apologize, but...we had no way of contacting dragons...until now. We want to allow dragons back into our world.
Ninian was in shock. "R-...really?"
Yes. And you have the power to allow them back in, I believe.
Ninian was filled with joy for a moment at the prospect of seeing her birthplace once again, before her suspicion caught up with her. "Wait," she said. "How do I know...that humans aren't waiting there to invade our world?"
What would we gain from that? Nergal asked. There are no humans here besides me, and you know how short humans live. Nobody in this world even remembers the Scouring.
"Then what guarantee do I have that nothing will happen?" she asked.
There is no guarantee. You will just have to trust me.
Ninian looked at Nils.
"I...suppose we could go through, then close it immediately," he suggested.
"Are you sure?" she asked him.
"No," he replied. "But..." He smiled. "I would like to see our home again, wouldn't you? Even if...only for a little while..."
That is acceptable, Nergal said. Come through the Gate, then close it. Then I can show you that everything is fine.
Ninian took another look at her brother before walking over to the great blackness that was the Dragon's Gate.
"Very...very well..."
She closed her eyes and concentrated. At once, the blackness began to brighten and the ground shook. After a few seconds, the Gate had become an eerie orange. Ninian opened her eyes.
"Come on, Nils," she said. "Let's see our homeland again."
Nils smiled and walked toward the Gate.
And together, they went through.
Ninian had a strange sensation of falling for a few seconds before she came out the other side in a temple much like the one she had just been in. Once again, she closed her eyes and willed the Gate to shut.
She instantly regretted that decision.
No sooner had the Gate closed than she felt all of her strength suddenly disappear. She collapsed to the ground in a heap, unable to move, and saw Nils do the same nearby. The last thing she heard before passing out was a maniacal laughter...
"Get up," she heard Nergal's voice say in a tone much less kind than the one he had originally spoken to her with.
Ninian's eyes slowly fluttered open, and she saw a man towering over her. He had dark green hair, but most of it was covered by a black turban that also covered his right eye. He wore all black.
Ninian suddenly regretted coming through the Gate.
"You...are...Nergal?" she asked weakly.
"I am," he growled. "Now get up. And put this on." He tossed her a small black dress. Ninian wondered for a second how she was going to fit into that...
Then she looked down at herself.
She had somehow unconsciously reverted to human form. Looking to her side, she saw that Nils had done the same. He had become like a child, looking like he was ten years old at best. He now had messy light green hair and crimson eyes, and was only a little over four feet tall. He was wearing a black tunic and pants.
Ninian suddenly realized that the reason Nergal had given her the dress was that she wasn't wearing anything. Dragons, of course, never wore any clothes, but she wasn't a dragon anymore. With a slight gasp, she hastily put on the dress and stood up.
She nearly fell back down. She felt like she didn't have the strength to do anything.
"What's...what's wrong with me?" she wondered aloud.
"An unexpected side effect," Nergal explained angrily. "Your dragon form was accustomed to breathing the air of the world beyond the Dragon's Gate, not of this world. Your human form can survive, but...barely, for about fifteen years at best. Your strength should return in a few days...and it better," he spat.
"What?" she asked. "Why...what's going on?"
Nergal suddenly laughed.
"Did you really believe humans wanted dragons back in their world?"
Ninian's face suddenly changed from a look of confusion to one of terror.
"What...what are you going to do with me?" she asked fearfully.
"I am not going to do anything to you; it looks like it's pointless anyhow." He chuckled slightly. "No, little girl, you are going to do something for me."
Ninian didn't like being used, nor did she like the title 'little girl'. "And what might that be?" she asked, a trace of anger in her voice.
"You are going to open the Dragon's Gate for me again," he said. Seeing her eyes narrow, he continued, "and I do not need your consent. You are going to open the Gate whether you like it or not."
"What if we resist?" Nils suddenly asked. Ninian turned to him; she hadn't noticed him get up. He held a defiant look on his face, weak as he was.
Nergal turned to him as well, grinning maliciously. "I have my ways of making sure that does not happen."
The defiant look on Nils's face vanished.
"Why do you need the Gate opened?" Ninian asked.
Nergal turned back to her. "So I can do to another dragon what I was going to do to you. I will steal the dragons' quintessence—"
"Quintessence?" Nils asked.
"Its life energy," Nergal responded. "As I was saying," he glared at Nils, "I will steal the dragons' quintessence, and use it to make myself an all-powerful being. And you are going to help me do it." He laughed.
Now Ninian was really regretting coming through the Gate.
"Why did you not steal our...quintessence?" she asked.
"Because you have nearly none," Nergal spat. "Your coming through the Gate caused you to lose much of your strength, and with it much of your quintessence. I at first was going to steal yours...but as you are now, that would be pointless. So once I have enough power to open the Gate again...you will help me open it."
Ninian shuddered as Nergal laughed again.
"Oh yes," Nergal suddenly added, "don't try turning into dragons again. I have control over that now." With that, he showed them a blue, shining stone he held in his hand.
"What is that?" Nils asked.
"It is a dragonstone," Nergal explained, "and it contains the energies of your dragon form. Whether or not you take that form—" he closed his fist, "—is up to me."
He turned and walked away.
"What is he doing?" Nils whispered to Ninian. "We could just run away right now!"
Nergal suddenly stopped; apparently he had somehow heard Nils. "That you could," he said, not turning to look at them. "But you have no way off this island." He continued on his way.
Ninian looked at the blackness of the Dragon's Gate, her eyes welling with tears in despair.
What had she done?
Like my first story, this story is basically going to follow the plot of the game, with my own ideas added in. I may actually put in some tie-ins to Defiance...but we'll see about that later.
Anyway, please review and tell me what you think. I don't need a certain number of reviews to update—I just need good ones.
Please review!!!
-TheOneAndOnlyT