FIRE EMBLEM: A GUARDIAN'S TALE
Fire. If you asked me what I remembered about the Future, that's all I could tell you; fire. A hellish landscape, scarred by that ever-lingering glow of the flames, corpses shambling along, ripping apart those who fell defending that landscape. It's a nightmare come true; how I wish I could forget it.
My name is Arke. Arke Sellith. I used to be part of the Exalt's Royal Guard. And before you ask, no, not the Pegasus Knights. Those ninnies had it easy, nothing like what we did. Besides, it's not like they would let a guy in anyway; whoever heard of a male Pegasus Knight?
My job was relatively simple; keep watch of the Exalt and keep her out of danger. However, the catch was to not even let her know we were there. Absolutely no one was to see, hear, or even smell us when we were doing our job. We were the Exalt's shadow, so to speak, and we took care of trouble before anyone else even knew there was trouble to be had.
However, that was during Exalt Emmeryn's reign. The Guard, after her untimely death, was ordered to disband until another Exalt was chosen. At that time, we all assumed it would be a brief hiatus, since Prince Chrom was obviously next in line to the throne. But, to our greatest horror, and probably because we were forced to disband, the Prince was gravely injured in the assassination attempt that killed Lady Emmeryn. Fortunately, he survived, but those wounds did a number on him; you could tell just by looking at his face when he was walking that he was in immense pain.
At this point, I grew worried about what would happen to Chrom and the rest of the Royal Family if the Guard wasn't there to protect them. I sought out the Leader of the Royal Guard, who we call Guardmaster, and pleaded that we call the Guardsmen back together. But the Guardmaster, claiming that since tradition stated that he must be Exalt, brushed my plea aside and did nothing.
Little did I know that he was, in fact, a Grimleal on the inside; worshipers of the Fell Dragon, Grima, who long for his return so that he may bring ruin onto the world.
I found out later that it didn't matter if he was Exalt or not, the Royal Guard had a duty to protect Chrom and his family. But by the time I found this out, it was already too late; Chrom had been killed at the hands of his best friend, and Grima, the Fell Dragon, had been unleashed upon the world.
As soon as I learned of this, I immediately confronted the Guardmaster and demanded that the Guardsmen be brought back together; the Pegasus Knights were all but eradicated, and there was no one else left to protect the remnants of the Royal Family, which consisted only of Chrom's sister, Lissa, his Wife Sumia, and his daughters Lucina and Cynthia. But the Guardmaster had gone insane; when I arrived at his office I found several corpses of fellow Guardsmen who had the same idea as I, and a severely wounded Guardmaster, sitting in his chair, blood covering his front and laughing maniacally about the return of his master, Grima.
I ended his life there, with no remorse. He was a bastard, a murderer, and a lunatic. It was no mercy killing; I made sure he suffered as much as my comrades-in-arms did. After that, I tried to gather the rest of the Guardsmen who had not fled so that the rest of the Family might be safe, but most of them had mysteriously dissapeared, or had otherwise been killed by the Risen or other means. I did my best on my own to protect Lissa, Sumia, Lucina and Cynthia, but unfortunately, I just wasn't good enough. Lissa was killed in a Risen ambush when she was out helping to heal the injured Resistance soldiers, and Sumia fell in battle, overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of Risen that attacked her. I was only able to keep Lucina and Cynthia safe, for they had been left in Ylisstol, with the biggest part of the Resistance still residing there.
I watched them grow from a distance, always a beat behind in case horror struck unexpectedly, for I was still bound by my code to remain hidden. There was another child too; Owain, Lissa's son, but I was unable to watch over him, for his Father Lon' Qu decided it would be safer to return to Regna Ferox, and took Owain with him. I had heard reports that Regna Ferox was a pretty safe place at the moment, and so I let them be.
As Lucina and her sister grew, the remnants of the Resistance naturally looked to them for Leadership, as they were the only ones left with Royal blood. While I could tell she was reluctant to do so, Lucina decided that she could lead them. At first, I was skeptical; she was still a young woman at this point, probably no older than sixteen, but she was surprisingly efficient, and as she grew older, she grew more and more responsible and level headed. While I admired this in her, I also felt pity; she was forced to cast aside her childhood and try to piece a nation back together that was already broken to start with. Cynthia did her best to help where she could, but she didn't possess the same amount of seriousness Lucina had, and that unfortunately made her seem a little less of a leader to her people.
During the time when Lucina was coming into Adulthood, there was many Risen assassination attempts to end her life. Luckily, I was there to stop all of them. It was actually a little humorous; the next morning she would get a report that Risen had infiltrated the castle that night, but had all been mysteriously bludgeoned to death, and it had not been one of the guards. The look on her face was priceless whenever this happened; it looked like a combination of both gratitude and jealousy, as if SHE wanted to kill all those Risen. These were nearly the only happy times I had with them, and things were just going to get worse from here.
My story starts at one fateful eve, where both Cynthia and Lucina had reached adulthood, near their early twenties I beleive. It was a quiet evening, and I stood watching the night move by slowly from one of the Guardsmen's many balconies. I brushed some of my lime-green hair from my eyes; it always did this when it grew to shoulder length. I took a deep breath and re-adjusted my armor, checking the white colored greaves just one more time before heading back up to the chest piece and checking it as well. When I joined the Guardsmen, they told me having armor would only restrict my movements, but I figured the extra protection always comes in handy, which it did many times. I still got criticized for it by my fellow members alot though, even if it was just armor for my legs and chest. They also hated the white; said it was too visible when sneaking around. I always laughed when they brought this up: "I don't sneak, remember? I punch stuff.", is what I'd always tell them. I smiled at the memory and looked down at my gauntlets.
To the ignorant, what I wear to cover my hands and forearms would seem to be simply a pair of white gauntlets with some red cloth tied around it; but that's where they'd be totally wrong. I held up an armored hand to the moon and began twisting it around, examining it for cracks and stopping at the red jewel in the middle of my palm. I'm rather proud of these beauties; they're my own design. See, my way of fighting is much more...close quarters than other styles. I prefer using my fists.
Why my fists? I'm not too sure myself. I guess I just liked the freedom my fists bring, and so I crafted my Fists of Steel to do this task. However, I didn't stop there. It took years of research, but I finally did it; I found a way to concentrate magic into an object for battle use. In truth, it wasn't hard; it was like charging up a staff's gem so that Clerics can heal, but with this gem in my gauntlets, I can absorb the magic from ANY tome and use it to shoot magic out of the jewels or super-charge my punches. I guess this was half the reason I was recruited into the Guardsmen...
I sigh as I turn from the balcony and head back inside to my chambers; if you can call them that. My room is small, even for a hidden room, and square in shape, but it only consists of my bed, a desk, a bookshelf, and a mirror. I walk over to the mirror and look inside, straightening the red tunic underneath my armor, and I decide to use this time to reflect on- well, my reflection.
My green eyes shine in the mirror as they scan my face. Not that bad, actually...aside from a few wrinkles and scars and the occasional bag under my eye, my face has aged pretty well. I run my fingers through the shaggy lime-green beard I sport as I ponder why this could be; my family has a history of aging rather rapidly. I shrug and step away from the mirror.
"Nothing else to do but check up on the castle, I guess." I say to myself as I walk to my "door" and peek out through the hole in the middle of it and scan the hallway. Seems to be clear, so I grab my red cape from the coat hanger near the door, tie it around my neck, and slowly push the painting, or my door, forward until it's just enough for me to step out. Once my feet hit the carpeted floor, I gently swing the painting back into place. There were many hidden rooms and paths such as these scattered around the castle, known only to a select few people outside of the Guardsmen.
I begin my stroll of the castle at a slow pace. It's a quiet night, and I don't need to worry much about being spotted by the guards; they usually just patrol the grounds outside. However...the stillness in the air is unsettling. It's never usually THIS quiet...you can't even hear the crickets making their simple songs. Something is wrong here. I can feel it.
Turns out I was right, because a sudden explosion from somewhere in the castle rocked me off my feet. I quickly righted myself and sprinted to the stairs. I don't know how, but a mob of Risen had somehow broken through the castle gate! The few soldiers who were guarding that gate were trying desperately to repel the mass of invaders, but were having little luck. I wanted to help them, but my first duty was making sure Lucina and Cynthia were safe. I quickly ran back up the staircase and began the stretch to Lucina's chambers. It took awhile, considering that she sleeps on the fourth floor, and as soon as reached the hallway reaching it, I reeled back in shock. The hall was filled with Ylissean soldiers and Risen fighting viciously.
I quickly reached into the satchel on my side and pulled out a tome; a Thoron to be precise. I quickly held the tome in both hands and watched as the cover burned away and the pages began to swirl into a sphere. The jewels in my palms glow, and the sphere bursts into a ball of magical energy. I hold my hands out underneath the sphere, and the magic begins to flow into the jewels. After a few seconds, the magic has been fully absorbed, and I flex my hands, my gauntlets surging with electric energy.
At this point I had attracted the attention of a few Risen from my little light show, and three undead Fighters began shambling their way to me. I quickly aim my palms at two of them and two Thoron's rip through their torsos. They crumple to the ground and begin to fade away, but the third one is now charging at me, Steel Axe raised, and man, is it fast! I barely have time to sidestep the wild slash, but I quickly recover and deliver a Thron-charged fist right to the back of its head. It goes flying into the wall and falls to the ground, the back of its head completely missing as it fades away.
I turn back to the sea of warriors and scan for Lucina. I manage to spot her speaking to a soldier she has just rescued, and then turns to another Risen just behind her and begins slashing. I sigh as I begin making my way to her, delivering punches and Thoron's to those Risen who got too close.
I was just about to reach her when suddenly the entire right wall was blown inward, sending chunks of brick everywhere and me flying to the opposite wall. I slide down it and fall to the ground, my back in pain but fine. I raise my head and look around at what's left of the hallway; dead soldiers left and right, as well as the remnant weapons of the Risen they were fighting.
"SO ENDS THE HUMAN RACE."
...well, that doesn't sound good. Sure enough, I stand to see Lucina standing in the middle of the room pointing Falchion at the giant purple eye staring at her; the eye of Grima, the Fell Dragon.
"THE FUTURE OF THIS WORLD IS BUILT UPON THE PAST. BUT YOUR KIND WILL NEVER SEE IT!"
I can see even from how far away I am now the fear on Lucina's face. I begin slowly moving towards her, trying not to attract Grima's attention. The purple eyes focus onto Lucina now.
"YOUR MOTHER AND FATHER ARE DEAD, TINY ONE."
At this, I can see that the stoic face Lucina is trying to keep begin to falter, and she begins breathing rapidly, still pointing Falchion. Grima begins to laugh a cold, merciless laugh as it rears it's head back to strike. Thank the Gods he hasn't spotted me yet.
"AND NOW IT IS YOUR TURN..."
I summon all my remaining magical power into my right gauntlet and take aim.
"TO DIIIIIIIIEEE!"
Lucina screams as Grima's head thrusts forward, it's maw open wide ready to swallow her whole.
"NOT WHILE I CAN STAND!"
I shout this as I send all of my magic into one super charged Thoron and shoot it at one of Grima's eyes. It connects successfully, and Grima's head rears back as it cries out in pain. Lucina turns towards my way with a puzzled look on her face.
"Don't just stand there gapping you nitwit, come on!"
My cry shakes her back into reality, and she nods as she follows me down the stairs. The castle is deserted of a single living thing, the non-living ones taking their place. Lucina has trouble keeping up with me, but I always slow down so she can catch up. We stop in front of a large painting of Emmeryn, and I grab the side and fling it open, letting Lucina in first and closing it behind us.
I let out a sigh of releif and turn to Lucina, only to see Falchion inches away from my face.
"Tell me who you are. Right now."
Her tone is serious with with a hint of anger. I sigh as I look at her with an expression of disbeleif.
"Are you really going to kill the man who rescued you?"
"Not if you tell me who you are."
Wow. Haven't heard that line before, Princess. I roll my eyes and try to move past her, but she quickly moves in front of me, Falchion still at the ready. I sigh as she does this.
"Can you let me by?"
"Tell me who you are first."
"Look, I'm trying to help yo-"
"Help me? Do you know how many Assassin's have told me that right before they tried to kill me?"
"Seven."
"...that's actually correct. How did you know that?"
She drops her guard for a moment here, but a moments all I need. I quickly grab Falchions handle from her hand and lightly push her away with the other. She stumbles back, and watches with a surprised look as I insert Falchions blade into my desk and stick it there.
"Look, all you need to know right now is that I'm a friend, and I'm here to help you. Think about it; if I was an Assassin, why would I save you from Grima?"
She opens her mouth to answer, but shuts it quickly as she realizes she has nothing to say otherwise. I walk over to the wall next to my desk and press the third stone from the bottom, which causes the stones to rumble a little, then crumble away, revealing a passageway. I turn to Lucina and look her dead in the eye.
"Grab Falchion and compose yourself. We're leaving.
She nods slightly as she walks to my desk and pulls Falchion out. She turns to me with a puzzled look.
"But...where are we going?"
I turn to look out the balcony one last time before I turn back to Lucina and answer her.
"The past."
Hello everyone! Knight Nate here. Enjoying the story so far? I assume you would be if you made it all the way down here. Anyhow, in case you haven't noticed, this story will mainly follow my OC, Arke, and what he does to help the future from the past. I'm not really planning for him to join the Shepherds; he's going to be doing his own thing really. That being said, he probably would be alone the whole time, and that just won't do! So, I have decided that I might take an OC or two, three at the max. I don't have a lot of experience with writing other people's characters, so I want the group to stay small. However, I will NOT be supplying you with a form. I don't really like forms because they don't really give you room to personalize your OC as you'd want it. Instead, if you'd like to submit an OC and have an idea for it, message me with the Subject as FE: GUARDIAN OC and we can mold your idea together as we see fit, or if you're more comfortable with forms, you may create your own and send that to me. Whatever floats your boat.
Also, I'd like to thank my friend RottoVoce for dealing with me as I was writing this. God knows the poor man deserves it. But hey! If you're a fan of the HOTD anime, check his profile out. He's got some stories I'd think you'd like. Thanks for reading, and happy birthday if it's your birthday today!
-Knight Nate