The Mirror's Fate

By iGreedy

Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem. Nintendo does, and they do good work.

Part 1: The Divider of Valm

Prologue: The New Awakening

'No, no, NO! This can't be happening!'

She could only stand in shocked silence, unable to say or do anything but stare in horror at the man with the blue hair and the brand on his arm as he stepped back from her in shock. His hand gripped the source of her paralyzing fear: A bolt of energy that protruded from his chest, ominous and deadly.

'W-what did I do!?' She screamed inside her head without respite as she brought her gaze down at her own hand, still cracking with yellow lighting. She didn't want to face the truth, that in one fell swoop she had destroyed their last hope. With this same hand with which she sworn would help the man before her to save everyone. Yet now, it did the very opposite…

"This is not-" The pain-filled voice started, bringing back her wide eyes to the blue haired-man as he struggled to say what was surely his final words, "your fault…"

'No! How…How could I not be to blame!?' was all her mind could shout at him, her tongue still betraying her.

"Promise me," he gasped out, his head shaking as if he knew her inner torment and was reassuring her once again that it wasn't her fault. It was obvious his body was filled with agonizing pain yet he was still so determined to help even her of all people, the one who least deserved his forgiveness or kindness, "that you'll escape from this place…"

"Please, go…" he choked out one last plea, and then she saw his eyes grow dark and gloss over with a blank veil of death. He slumped heavily onto the cold, hard ground, unmoving.

'NOOOOOOOOOOOO!' she cried with a silent wail of despair, as everything grew darker and darker, until evil, rumbling laughter became the only reality inside her bleak and hopeless world…

. . .

"Wake up."

Her eyelids fluttered open before narrowing from the glare of the bright sun beaming down on her. Above her, the blue sky was clear with not a cloud in sight and a slight breeze washing over her. A low groan escaped her as she moved her stiff limbs, the soft sound of grass being rustled and flattened beneath her. She rubbed at her eyes like a sleepy child, wiping off the grime that had built up at the corners.

'Where am I?'

She felt the markings of a headache when she thought too deeply about- well, anything really. She felt a deep soreness throughout her body and a slight fog of weariness filled her mind, slowing it to a crawl. Already she could feel herself being lulling back to sleep to avoid thinking. The grass was soft enough and the sun pleasantly warm. She didn't even know what caused her to wake in the first place…

"Good. You have finally awakened." The stern voice of a man above her rousted her back from her drifting consciousness and gave her reason to open her eyes again, this time in alarm. She lifted a hand to reduce the sun's rays in hopes of seeing the source of the voice. She saw nothing before a shadow loomed over her, blocking the sun's beams.

"Wha…" she groggily moaned out as she tried to focus her blurry vision on the shadow. The only thing she could make out was a hand's outline, illuminated by the sun, reaching out to her. She grabbed ahold of it on reflex with one of her own. As she was swiftly pulled up, a strange violet mark stared from the back of her right hand caught her attention for a moment. She chose to put that to the back of her mind for later however - mysterious shadows came first.

A wave of nausea hit her full force as soon as she was on her own two feet, setting the world swimming around her. Her knees nearly buckled and collapsed beneath her from the potency. She remained standing only by merit of the man's shoulder, which her hands clenched onto like a lifeline.

'Which begs the question: just how long was I lying here?'

"Easy, breathe deeply. Give your body time to adjust." The man's voice swept through her confused haze with what she now recognized as, not a stern tone like she first assumed, but merely an unemotional one. Following the man's advice, she stood there as air slowly whooshed in and out her lungs. Before long, her vision returned back to normal and the world became stable once more. She took this opportunity to sneak a good look-over of her rescuer from her peripheral vision.

He had a…unique look to him to be sure. He had very sharp features –so much so that everything about him looked liable to cut you if touched- from his cheekbones to his eyebrows. His hair was like spun sliver, tied back with a high ponytail except for a thick stand that fell free before his face. He wore a black, horned head guard that encompassed the sides of his jaw and all the way to his chin, augmenting the already sharp lines of his face. His eyes were so slight as to appear closed (though maybe they were because she sure couldn't tell).

The armor he wore was different than the blue leather armor and sliver shoulder guard of the blue-haired man in her dream (at least she thought it was a dream, it seemed so real…) with black-and-gold scaled plates over flowing dark purple cloth as its make. the two Killing Edges holstered on both sides of his hip completed his warrior demeanor. He looked intimidating to say in the least.

"You need not stare so intently. I mean no harm." The man brought her wandering gaze back to reality and she realized she was still holding a little too tightly to his arm.

"Oh," She let go, her face flushing in embarrassment at her rudeness. "Forgive me for staring so much. I'm just feeling a bit overwhelmed right now. Ha ha…"

'Why am I feeling so self-conscious?' She was really out of it. This man was off-putting at how different he was from anything she knew yet he radiated calmness and poise. It gave mixed messages.

"Nay, there is no need for apologies." He paused, and then added in a softer voice, "Do you feel well enough to walk on your own?"

"Yes, I think so. Thank you Chr-" The words died on her lips as the strangest feeling ran through her spine. There was something was wrong with this scene somehow, but she didn't have the faintest idea why. She forgot what she was about to say too…

The man simply regarded her silently, a look of inquiry crossing his face briefly, but let the unfinished sentence past by without mention. "'Twould not be wise for you to linger further in this place," he told her, with what was now unmistakably a stern note. "You ought to leave now lest harm comes upon you."

Short of sounding ominous, it seemed like sound enough advice coming from this man. He was dressed for battle after all, and people like that didn't give warnings for little reason. And she felt he was an honest person, though she was still a bit confused about the whole situation. "Um, okay, if you insist. I suppose I can go…"

She came up blank…on everything! Looking around, she couldn't recognize anything surrounding her. Furthermore, when she tried to recall where she was, nothing came. Worse yet, when she tried to remember her own name, she realized she didn't even know what it was! No matter how deep she tried to dig from her memories for anything, all she found was a gaping hole of an abyss inside her head. The only recollection she had was the dream of the man!

'Who…am I!?'

"I…don't know where I am…" She grasped her head, wincing from a sudden headache that hit from nowhere. Perhaps it came from her simply attempting to force memories to materialize? "I'm sorry, but I…I don't even know my own name."

The man grimaced at her words, finally making a face that showed some emotion. "You remember nothing?" She nodded mournfully in response. "So you suffer from amnesia, and now into my hands you have fallen…"

He turned his back to her and remained silent for a time, seemingly lost in thought. After what felt like forever, he faced her and said with a note of resignation, "'Tis then my obligation to give you aid. Follow." And off he went, leaving the bewildered woman behind within seconds with his long yet graceful stride. Seeing little other choice left to her in this situation, she ran after him.

As she struggled to keep up with the man's pace, her eyes scanned the surroundings for some bearing of where she was. She discovered that where she had been sleeping had lied at the base of a grassy hill with only large plains around to view that reached out for miles. She was practically in the middle of nowhere. The only noteworthy thing in sight appeared to be a town of some sort that was a few miles off, tell-tale trials of faint smoke rose from its midst. She couldn't help but also notice that the man appeared to not be heading anywhere near the town, but rather away from it.

"Um, excuse me." The man gave a slight turn of his head to acknowledge her and she pointed out the distant town. "Will we be heading anywhere near that town over there?"

"…Nay." He turned his head back forward. "Our way leads elsewhere - a camp."

With those short words left hanging in the air, they kept walking in silence on a beaten dirt path that was circling around the hill. For the rest of the trip she moved her attention from her surroundings to herself – specifically her clothing. The most eye-catching piece of clothing she wore was a hooded cloak that clung to her form. It was a heavy and certainly an exquisite-looking piece with black as its main coloring with gold trimming on the outside of the cloak and a dark red hue on the inside, a golden woven rope tying the front together securely. The cloak also had purple lines trailing its outside as well – primarily on the sleeves where it took the shape of eye-like ovals running down the lengths. It was very comfy and felt familiar on her figure. Underneath, she wore a tan short-sleeved shirt with a high collar and an almost embarrassing low cut in the front. She was sure if her…assets were any larger it would be very revealing indeed. For her lower half she wore a belt in the same gold and black design as her cloak with a broken clasp on the left side of her hip, holding up white breeches that tucked into high black socks and worn, brown traveling boots.

While the outfit appeared extravagant it was rather practical and of tough material; it was perfect for traveling. A search of her pockets revealed nothing but a pair of leather gloves which she put on. During the course of her search, she also discovered that her cloak had an inside pocket as well. She reached in to only be rewarded with a small tingling current that ran throughout her body with a rush and made her pale-blond hair stand on end. She felt something like dry dust and her glove came out blackened. It seemed like ash, but she had no reason why she would have ash in her pockets of all things. In the end, however, there was nothing to identify who she was.

She sighed in disappointment, and glanced up in time to see more smoke rising in the air. That shouldn't been odd except for the fact that she was facing the opposite direction from the town.

'How strange. I couldn't see that before. Perhaps the hill was in the way?' She was so busy wondering about it that she almost ran into the man, who had stopped with a raised hand.

"Listen to my words carefully if you wish no harm to come to you," he began with a deadly serious tone, making the woman's back straightened by reflex. "Walk near me at all times. Do not stray and speak to none. Most important is that you hide your fear and show naught but strength. Do you understand?"

She held back a gulp. "I…I understand." She had no idea why he would say that, but his tone was oozing such warning that she was sure there wasn't just a minor reason for it.

'Just what exactly lies ahead?'

She took a couple of long, deep breaths to calm her heart beat and straightened her spine, standing tall. The man still had the strong-looking and height advantage in leap and bounds, but apparently, she was good enough to past inspection because he nodded his approval. "Good. Now we go forward."

They went on and she found they were moving downward into something like a valley but not nearly as large. Passing some large rocks, she finally laid eyes on their destination and couldn't help but gasp.

It was like she was looking at a sea of red in constant movement. There were hundreds of red tents arrayed on a wide plain. The whole area was buzzing with activity as many people moved about the tents like red ants, lifting and carting armor, weapons, and horses in great numbers.

'It's an army camp,' she realized in amazement.

"Do not stop." The man's voice urged her onward, making her realize she had actually stopped at the breathtaking sight.

"I'm sorry. It's very-"

"Overwhelming to the senses, I understand. But the time to falter is not nigh."

With that, they walked right into the midst of the camp. As they walked, the soldiers nudged each other and pointed out the duo walking past. There was a low buzz of whispers all round them, but they kept their distance, so she couldn't hear a word of they were saying. The whole ordeal made her nervous. She continued to follow the man's advice though: her head held high and without emotion, but that turned out to be a much harder task to attempt than she thought. She had no idea how the man did it.

A strange occurrence happened as they moved through the countless number of tents that sent her mind whirling with questions: she found that she could name the majority of the gear that that were being shipped in carts around her, such as armors, weapons and basic supplies. This set her mind whirling with questions.

'Hmm. Did I perhaps learn this sometime in the past? If that's so, why would I remember something like military equipment and not my own past?' She fought the urge to groan angrily; why couldn't anything make sense for her?

They passed by all of the soldiers to a tent-less area that was more deserted then the adjacent areas; she assumed this was the center of the camp. The man stopped her before the biggest and most decorative tent she had seen so far. It was guarded by a pair of soldiers, suggesting to her that whoever was inside held important status.

"Halt! Who are you!? General Bartholomew is busy with preparations and is not to be bothered by anyone!" one of the guards rudely declared with a pointed spear.

The man calmly brushed away the spear point and produced a scroll from a small satchel he had. "Then give him this and inform him that General Yen'fay of the southern forces is at his doorstep to offer assistance. Then we shall see if he still finds himself too engaged to speak with me."

The guards paled at the name Yen'fay, trembling at the man's calm yet edged tone and their own error. "Y-yes sir, General Yen'fay! As you command, sir!" the first guard squawked, taking the scroll and running inside the tent.

"Wait, y-you're a general!?" the clueless woman asked, shocked at the revelation that she had been traveling with a general of all things!

"…Aye. That is the title I hold now," he revealed, his voice soft.

"I-I am so sorry to have troubled you, um, sir!" she spluttered, raising her hand for an awkward salute. She found herself suddenly tongue-tied and struggling to think of how to correctly address someone with such standing. She knew at least that a general was no small thing. "Please forgive me for inconveniencing you, sir, and um, forcing you to drag me along with you, sir!"

For the first time since she met him he smiled, amused at her fumbling actions. It was a small smile, but a smile nevertheless and it helped to calm her somewhat. "I told you once before: lay any need for apologies to rest. My actions were my own, and I chose to give you aid because it would have been the actions of a cruel man to have left you alone in such a state."

"Well, okay. If you're sure, sir," she said hesitantly, lowering her hand.

"I am, and I ask that you call me by my proper name. I am Yen'fay of Chon'sin."

"Chon'sin?"

"Aye, 'Tis my homeland," he revealed with a touch of fondness and another emotion that was hard to decipher. Pain? Sadness? He continued on before she could dwell on it. "But that matters not for now. I ask you: do not see me any different now than when I found you. One tends to lose the valuable ability to say their true thoughts when one sees another atop a mountain."

"I suppose so," she agreed slowly, then nodded with firm resolve. "Yes, I think I agree with that. Very well then, I will. And I want to thank you again for helping me, so thank you, Yen'fay."

The guard came back out cutting their conversion short (as well as Yen'fay's smile) and announced that Yen'fay was allowed entry inside. He turned to her. "Tis better that you remain behind for now."

"You want me to stay here?" she asked with a worried glace around her.

"Do not let fear trouble your mind. I will not be gone for long," he assured her. "Be brave."

"Now what?" She asked herself as Yen'fay went inside, leaving her alone for the first time since she woke up.

Sighing, she began pondering just what she was going to do next. It was now established beyond a doubt that she had no idea whatsoever who she was before waking in a field. All she could assume is that she was a traveler of some sort, but was she traveling with a place in mind? Or was she merely a wanderer? What happened for her to wake up in a field with no memory? There were too many questions with no answers within sight. She supposed she could go in search of her past, but she still didn't know where to even start in order to do that!

Then her thought shifted and she began to think of the man who found her: the general, Yen'fay. She had to admit that being around him made her feel secure. No, not just that. There was an aura of strength around him that seemed to wash over her, fortifying her. And it felt so familiar too, like a memory in her past perhaps…

"Well, well, look at this: a lost-looking flower in a place like this? It's unheard of!"

A loud voice that oozed confidence quickly snapped her out of her thoughts, and she whirled around towards the source.

A young man stood before her, arms crossed. He was soundly built with a long chin and bold features. His light brown hair was tightly brushed back all the way to the base of his neck with not a strand out of place. The armor of a mounted solider, a Cavalier, covered his solid frame (making her wonder how she didn't hear him clanking near). The armor differed from the standard set that she saw the others in the camp wearing, lacking any armor for his arms except for the pauldrons, showing off his muscular arms. The color of the armor also differed, a dark maroon unlike the bright red she had seen so far. The most noticeable thing about him though by far had to be was his wide smile. Shining like the sun, it was almost eye-watering at how intense it was, but it was a smile that sent a wave of warmth through her as well because of how genuine it was.

"Well? Had your fill?" his creamy brown eyes twinkled with amusement and his smile somehow grew even bigger if that was possible.

"Oh, I'm sorry for staring," she apologized with a start, snapping out of her grin-induced daze.

"Oh, don't be tellin' me, you haven't learned rule number one yet? Oh man." He laughed, shaking his head.

"Rule number one? And what would that be?"

"Never apologize!" he shouted, stomping his feet together and pounding his fist to his chest. "Only the weak apologize! The strong don't need to feel sorry because to be sorry is to say you were wrong! The strong are never wrong!"

"Oh…I see," was all she could say.

The man burst out in laughter at her reaction. "Oh, ain't no need for you putting on such a blank face! I reckon you must be even more of a new recruit then I am! But hey, it's no reason we can't work together to make the world a better place for everyone, right? Heh, though not all of us can chew nightshade and destroy armies with a breeze like our great leader and emperor! Ha ha!"

"Emperor? And who woul-"

"You. Return to your duties." The voice of Yen'fay interrupted her, turning both hers and the young man's heads. The cavalier gave a salute to Yen'fay, his attitude turning serious for the first time since he arrived.

"Yes, sir!" He turned, flashed another smile at her, and went strolling on his merry way, a rather bemused woman left in his wake.

'He is certainly a cheery sort, now isn't he…?' she thought, a bit mystified.

Blinking away her feelings, she gave Yen'fay her full attention while trying to read his face as to guess what happened inside the tent. She failed miserably. She might as well been looking at a rock for all the emotion he showed.

"Well? What is to happen to me? I hope it's good news, heh heh…" She chucked weakly, a nervous undertone cutting in.

"Supplies are to be given to you and then you shall leave. This is a warzone and as such no place for one like you."

"Leave? I see…" she murmured softly, her eyes drifting downward as her mind raced. She found she didn't what to leave this man's side. It seemed like such a silly and whimsical reason, but she had the faintest sense of nostalgia when she stood by his side. It was like she had done so before, but that wasn't quite right though. It felt similar yet was markedly different at the same time. And, for some reason beyond her, she felt the strong need to clench on to that feeling. It certainly wasn't like she had anywhere else to go that she knew of after all.

"And what if I were to join your army?" she proposed. "I'm sure I could be of some help."

"What!?" His stone mask cracked to show his shocked face before hardening into a frown. "Why would you ask for such a thing? You hold no obligation to me nor would I hold you here a moment longer. Go now, there is nothing for you here."

"I believe that's for me to decide." She went on with a rush, going against his protests. "I know I'm capable fighting with the sword." And she realized as she said that, she did indeed know how to use a sword. A few techniques for wielding a sword came to mind when she saw some among the gear being carted around so she knew how to handle one at least. "And what you fight for is a worthy cause, is it not?" Call it intuition or ungrounded reasoning, but it was hard for her to imagine this man fighting for a selfish reason or with ill-intention. What he was fighting for was important, she was sure of it.

"…Aye, we fight to unite all under one flag in the name of peace," he answered quietly after a time, his face revealing not even an inch of emotion once more. "A goal many consider worthy and have taken up steel for. There is no need for you to do the same. Prithee, listen to my words: begone from this place."

"And where would I go?" she shot back "I don't remember the first thing about my past, not even my own name. I would only be wandering in search for some piece of it, but I doubt I could simply uncover my past doing that. I understand you're trying to protect me, but if I can do some good fighting then I would gladly do so. I can make my own decisions," she finished resolutely.

"You…" he started before a small sigh escaped his lips. "…I see you are determined not to yield an inch. If my words cannot move you then so be it…Your blade now fights for the Valmese Empire." He turned his back to her and added something so softly that she almost didn't hear it.

"I only hope you do not regret your decision."

With those ominous words, he strode away and, only after a moment's hesitation, did the nameless woman followed.

Ending Note: There it is. The beginning of what I hope to be my magnum opus – at least for Fire Emblem Awakening. Now this is an idea I got from the A support between female MU and Walhart when Walhart said this: "What if I met you instead of Excellus?" With those words this concept grew and expanded in my mind and took control of it like one of those Khan worms. Of course, it won't be as cut and dry as Robin replacing Excellus, but still a way different story than Robin meeting Chrom.

Please review if you think this is a story that deserves to be continued or not. Also, tell me what you think of it and if any problems popped up such grammar issues or spelling mistakes that you saw. Lastly, as I put in the description, this will be a story with a LOT of OCs. That is the only way I thought I could make this story work, so if you hate that sort of thing, here's your warning. But with that, I bid you a wonderful morning/afternoon/evening/night! (Just to cover my bases!)

Edited on 3/1/17