Chapter 1) The Holy Swordsman

Blood ran through the sand, marking strange dark crimson blotches that were soon covered up by fresh sand, kicked up by running and falling soldiers. Sand was the bane of most armies. Most soldiers couldn't keep their footing, and horses were even worse off.

"Cavaliers, keep on the less sandy ground so that your movement isn't hampered! Remember that the enemy is better at fighting in these conditions than you. Don't give them any more advantages."

Feathers fell from the sky as the pegasus knights fought overhead, from the newer recruits, to our prized Falcon Knights, who killed with one hand and healed with the other. Flying healers were our key advantage in most battles, particularly since we had a greater supply of healing staves.

"Fliers, remember to rely on your speed! Wyverns are slow, and cannot turn quickly. Again, stop giving the enemy advantages. They don't need it."

In the desert, mages and fliers ruled the field, because the sand didn't bother them as much. Unfortunately, they had not only mages, but dark mages, with spells that could actually devour our own, and curses that did who the hell knew. But arrows took them down quickly enough. They wore no armor, after all.

"Mages and archers, coordinate your strikes so that there is a constant barrage. Don't let up for anything, and make sure to cover the entire field."

A bit of movement caught my attention, and I looked up to see an axe user clumsily charging for me. I sidestepped them easily, and cut them down in one smooth motion. It was an easy kill. They were young, reckless, and had worn little armor. So, they hit the sand, making it poof up a little even, and their blood ran through, just like the others I'd killed.

"Someone check to make sure there's not a hole in our defensive line," I called, maintaining my air of calm. I'd been shouting orders all day for the soldiers, and they depended on me as their leader to keep cool when everything was chaotic. "That's the fourth one that's gotten to me, and if they can get to me, they can get to the clerics."

Something grabbed my ankle, so weakly that I thought I'd just stepped in a hole in the sand. But when I glanced down, I saw the axe user I'd slashed had snatched my ankle. They tried to pull it out from under me, but they had too little strength already. All they managed was that weak grip, and so, instead, they turned their face up towards me.

"Why…?" they rasped, blood pouring out of their mouth. Tears streamed down their face as they looked up at me with such raw anger, hatred, and despair. "Why do this…? Why attack us…? Why…?"

I brought my sword down on their skull, driving the point through so that they couldn't say anything more. One eye had been ruined by the blow, the other was intact, and it stared at me accusingly, even as the life faded from it.

It was… it was to save the world. I had to believe that. It was the only way I was getting through this war.

Ylisse and Plegia have never gotten along. Ylisse worshiped Naga, the god of light and rebirth, while Plegia worshiped Grima, god of destruction and darkness. Still, even with that, the two nations existed in harmony. The world needed both light and darkness to survive, after all, and both needed each other to exist. There were even superstitions of how if one fell, the other would before long. Equal and opposite, living in harmony.

That all changed about two years ago. A spy who managed to infiltrate the inner circle of the Grimleal brought back horrible knowledge, at the cost of his own life. Plegia was actively trying to resurrect Grima, and they had almost succeeded. They had their Vessels, and now, they just needed one final piece.

Adair, the Exalt, struggled on how to deal with this knowledge. He sent messengers, to ask King Bran of Plegia about this, but all the messengers were returning in pieces, one after another. The nobles and people burned in anger over this breach in diplomacy and so, finally, Adair declared war and launched an assault, using Themis as his launching point. Thus, the Ylisse-Plegia war began, and dragged on for two very, very long years…

I breathed a sigh of relief as I stepped inside the inner gates of the castle, relaxing. I was home. I was back in Ylisstol. I was inside the castle, with it's soft white marble walls, and soothing colors of blues and golds. The sounds rushing around were just of servants and nobles heading to their next job, and not the sound of enemies trying to ambush. The air was blessedly cool instead of the dry, crippling heat of the desert. I wasn't splattered with itchy blood and itchier sand. I was home. Thank the gods and all that was holy.

"Clar!" That little cry was the only warning I had as Chrom appeared from nowhere and barreled into my legs, looking up at me with a bright smile as I struggled to not fall on my butt. "You're back!" he cheered. "You're back! You're back! You're back!"

"Yes, I'm back," I laughed, bending down to pick him up. I grunted as I did, since he was heavier than I remembered. I couldn't believe he was almost four years old. "Did you get bigger again?"

"Yep!" He grinned and wrapped his arms around my neck. "Mama says so, anyway."

"Mama also says you shouldn't run in the halls, Chrom," Emm scolded as she walked into the big open entrance hall. She held herself with more dignity than an nine-year-old should have, but then she tripped over nothing, and she sulked. "Oh, I'd hoped to impress you, Clara, with how elegant I'd become."

"I'll be more impressed with a hug, Emm," I teased, shifting Chrom to one arm and holding out the other. "You've got years to learn how to be elegant, Emm. There's no need to force yourself."

"But I want to be like Mama and you as soon as I can." She still rushed over for the hug, though. "I'm glad you're back. It doesn't feel like our family is whole without you."

"Now you're philosophizing." I grinned and poked her forehead, right where her Mark was. "Relax. Be a kid."

"But…" She sighed, but instantly perked up. "Oh, guess what, guess what!"

"Hmm?"

"Baby!" Chrom exclaimed, laughing. He squeaked and tried to hide as Emm pouted at him. "What?"

"Baby?" I repeated, confused now. Both of them simply grinned. "What exactly do you two mean by that?"

"They mean I'm pregnant with my third child, Clara." Candance and Adair walked in then, gesturing to the guards in a silent 'leave us be'. Chrom immediately wriggled out of my arms to go to his father, while Emmeryn shyly ducked behind her mother's skirts. "Oh, now you two are going to be shy," she teased, eyes sparkling. "What am I to do with you two?" She giggled, and came over to hug me. "Welcome home, Clara. I'm so glad to see you."

"Glad to be home, Candace," I replied, hugging her back. I smiled slightly when I noticed she was wearing the diamond earrings I'd given to her as a wedding gift. "Did you know I was coming back today?" I pulled away and pointed to the earrings. "Otherwise, that's a happy coincidence."

"It's no coincidence. I wear them every day that you are away, as a prayer that you will return as you always do." She smiled sweetly, fiddling with them. Her wedding ring caught the light then, and my smile widened as I took in how well they matched the earrings. I'd done that on purpose, but I was always a little pleased by it. "You were delayed a bit."

"We got ambushed right on the border. Nothing I couldn't handle, of course."

"Of course, Holy Swordsman!" Adair popped over then, and gave me a one-armed hug. He held Chrom with the other. "I'm glad you've returned, sister," he told me, smiling. 'Sister' was our old joke. He and I weren't related, by a long shot, but we were childhood friends. When he tried to court Candace, she'd been under the impression that he and I were dating, and that resulted in a huge laugh of how ridiculous the notion was, to the point that he called me 'sister' to prove the point. "So, report now or later?"

"Now, if you can get Chrom to let you go," I teased. He sighed mournfully, and Chrom clung a little, sulking. Chrom was very attached to his father, and Adair spoiled Chrom silly. "Now, is it just me or is he looking more like you every day? Heaven help him."

"Hey!" Adair sulked, mirroring Chrom's expression perfectly, and Candace and I laughed. "You're both turning against me! That's not fair!"

"Oh, relax, you big baby." I grinned and crouched down to look at Emm, who smiled back, giggling. "Emm looks like she'll take after Candace, thankfully."

"Clara!" Adair sulked more, and the rest of us laughed at him, and laughed more when he joined in.

Moments like this were what I lived for, and what I fought for. I loved coming home.

"So, we're slowly making our way through to their capital," Adair murmured. He and I were in his office, with me delivering my report with my normal air of professionalism: sitting sideways in a chair because screw being proper. "We're not far?"

"We made it to Midmire, just west of the capital, before the rains flooded us and I called for a retreat," I replied. I groaned, thinking of how much we'd lost because of the damn floods. So many people… "We'll need a different route."

"Damn it." He sighed, resting his face in his hands. "We only tried to western approach because they'd blocked the eastern and northern."

"Please don't remind me." I sighed, tilting my head back as I remembered that. They'd exploded the eastern road to keep up from approaching in that direction, and the north had such a large defensive line that we'd lose half our force just approaching. "Well, there's always the south?"

"I'll send the scouts out for another path." Adair sighed again. "Still, it seems like we have more victories than defeats, and we have a large amount of our army still intact. I was right to send you to the frontlines." Adair smiled wanly at me. "It gives the troops morale, and you're far more skilled than I am at fighting."

"That's because you've been doing desk work ever since you became Exalt, while I got to continue to train." I swung my legs around so that I was sitting properly in the chair. "We knew that would happen when your dad died. That's why I kept training." I'd trained to be his bodyguard, after all. Someone had to keep him safe. "Anyway, must we talk of war? I've done nothing but war for the past few months."

"I think at this point, sure." His smile warmed. "Thank you as always, Clara. My Holy Swordsman."

"I still can't believe they're calling me that, now." I groaned, thinking of when I'd gotten that title. I'd done a reckless charge at a Grimleal, and the charge had been enough to throw the caster off, causing his spell to miss me entirely. Instead of attributing it to dumb luck, the soldiers had called it 'divine grace'. "Damn the one who termed it."

"I think it suits you, especially since you always wear silver and white armor."

"At your insistence. I thank you so much, by the way, for the 'shoot me now' armor."

"And a dark blue cape."

"At Candace's insistence. Because capes are awesome or something." I glowered at him, and he just grinned. It was an old argument. "Whatever." I sighed, and smiled at him. "No more war talk. So, what's this I hear about a baby?"

"Ah, yes, Candace is pregnant again." He smiled softly, laughing a bit. I knew my own smile grew sad, though. Growing up, he had always hoped to be a father to his kids, but his dad's early death meant he didn't have as much time for them as he'd like. "Our third child… I hope they'll be happy." His smile fell and he glanced out the window. I knew he wasn't seeing Ylisstol, but Plegia. "I… this war has to end before their birth. I don't want them born into a war. It pains me enough that Emm and Chrom must live through one."

"So, you need me to end the war in… what? Nine months?"

"Seven. She's two months in." He gave me a wan smile. "Think you can do it?"

"I'll have it done in five, just for you." I grinned, even though we both knew how empty the boast was. War was an untameable beast, and had dragged on for two long years. If it ended in five months, it would be a damn miracle. "I am, after all, your miracle worker."

"You are indeed." He managed to smile back, but both of our cheer faded. "Though, I won't have you do it alone. I'll do what I can here." He paused, glancing up at the ceiling in thought. "Think I can use this victory as a foothold to sending another messenger?"

"You're still doing that?" I sighed, giving him an exasperated look. "You've been sending them for two damn years, and the answer is always the same. Our messenger dead, the letters unopened and soaked in blood."

"I know, but still, I have to try, Clara!" He slammed his fist on his desk, glowering. His temper had flared up again. "I have to! This war is just bleeding us both dry and, damn it, I'm tired…" He trailed off as I continued to simply look at him and he sighed, drooping. It was far more effective than yelling back, staring. "I know. You're even more tired than I am. You never did like fighting, for all that you loved the exercise."

"I am a warrior, a knight of Ylisse, and your best friend." I smiled gently at him. "I will see you through your path, Adair. All the way to the end."

"I know. I'm grateful for it." He smiled back. "But still…"

"Do what you want, but let's make sure it's someone good at dodging, and do our best to prep them."

"Of course." His smile grew. "Thank you, Clara."

"Always, Adair. Always."

Information on Clara, the Holy Swordsman of Ylisse:

A childhood friend of Exalt Adair, she is a commoner who worked her way up through the ranks to become a general, and the personal bodyguard of the Exalt. A genius with a sword.

She's close to the entire royal family, with Queen Candace viewing her as a sister, and Princess Emmeryn and Prince Chrom looking to her as an aunt.

Blonde haired and red eyed, she wears distinctive white and silver armor, paired with a blue cape, to all battles. Both the armor and the cape were personal gifts from the royal family.

Author's notes: Welcome to Shadows of the Exalt, a story about the last few months of the Ylisse-Plegia war mentioned in Awakening's backstory, which set the stage for the first arc's conflict. This story's focus will be a little different from the others, mostly because of the subject matter, and will also be shorter compared to the others (about 20ish chapters), so fair warning on that. Also, fair warning, this is not going to be a happy story, as can be guessed based off of what's known in Awakening. You've been warned.

Now there were no names for… most background characters, so I chose some. Adair is the Exalt, Chrom and Emmeryn's father, and Candace is his wife, currently pregnant with Lissa (I.e. Lissa isn't born yet). Clara, our POV char, is Adair's right hand, serving a role similar to Frederick.

Next Chapter - Pieces