An honor to serve

The sweet scent of morning dew carried through the wind as the dawn slowly approached, the cool spring air sending a refreshing breeze that lifted my long hair as I continued with my vigil on the mistress. My halberd rested upon my shoulder, always within arm's reach. I shifted slightly, finding another comfortable spot before halting again.

It was odd, sitting in such a lush environment; green grass covered the rolling hills and meadows and the trees sprouted everywhere, varying in sizes from the smallest shrub to oldest oaks that towered above walls. Where I and my mistress were from, all that the eye could see were the flowing sands of the desert and the small villages and forts built out of stone and clay. It was a harsh environment, but it was there the strong found their strength and the weak were exiled.

I took another deep breathe of the cool air and felt a shiver travel up my body. The shocking difference in the environment did wonders upon my calloused body. It felt like a soft caress from a significant other, one that told me there were no troubles to worry about. It made me feel relaxed and safe.

My eyes shot open and scanned the horizon as I heard the sound of footsteps. Immediately I grabbed the halberd and held it at the ready, the crimson tassel attached to it dancing in the breeze. The end of the halberd rested upon the ground as the gleaming metal shone menacingly towards the origin of the source.

Once again, I thanked my weary instincts as three figures appeared over the hill. Immediately I shifted my position, bringing myself between the intruders and my mistress. The halberd swung around to face the three possible threats. Already I could see the three figures halting and staring at us, before they continued moving. One of them mounted an armored horse and drew a lance as they continued towards me.

They continued getting closer and closer, and I began to make out several details as they got closer. The one in the lead wore a lordly armor, clad almost completely in navy-colored leather with a metal pauldron sitting upon his left shoulder, a cape hanging off the clipping and covering his left arm. A strange tattoo was implanted on his right shoulder, and a sword hung by his side, slightly covered by his cloak. I noted with a bit of surprise that his hair was the color of blue, before quickly focusing again.

Following closely behind him was a girl wearing the strangest battle clothing I have ever seen. She was draped in a gown usually seen in a ball or festival, with a leather corset wrapping around her thin upper body. Her pale blond hair was tied into two twin pigtails, and she held a healing staff behind her. She was biting her lips in nervousness, and was mostly hiding herself behind the man in the royal armor.

The final person was the one who had mounted his warhorse, and he was the one that I kept my attention onto. Excluding the helmet, he was fully clad in steel armor and was holding a large lance that he kept pointed towards me. His brown curls may have been attractive, but his stern face and cold, calculating eyes detracted any thought of that. Upon his warhorse, sitting at ease with the expertise of a trained veteran, he gave off a cutting image. He was probably the most intimidating fighter I have ever had the honor to face.

Soon they walked too close to my liking. A small growl escaped my lips, and with a quick movement I sent off a threatening gesture to the man in the front. Immediately the entire procession stopped. The man put his hand upon his sheathed sword. The knight had urged his horse forward so he was now the one in front, the lance still pointed towards me. The young girl had yelped slightly and jumped back, but she was still within range to mend her comrades.

I felt myself unconsciously shifting backwards towards the mistress as the knight's horse shifted forward. My eyes watched every movement of the two men as they continued to stare at me. They seemed to have a small talk before the one with the sword approached me again, this time with both his hands raised in a placating gesture.

He said something. I wasn't sure what it was, but once again he walked too close to my comfort zone, and I decided to force him back.

I jabbed my halberd forward in a quick movement, releasing my left hand and shoving with my right, my forearm supporting the shaft of my weapon. The superior range of my halberd managed to quickly close the distance, and the metal end slammed into his chest.

Or, it would have. The knight on the horse had moved with surprising speed and batted my halberd away easily, the weighted end going against my will as the momentum it gained was misdirected.

Now, the thing about halberds was that they were possibly the one of, if not the least maneuverable weapon that existed so far. It was a long shaft of treated wood that extended up to one and a half to two meters, with a large metallic piece at the end. The halberd was meant to be a combination of many different weapons, with the lance-like tip, the axe blade and a small hook all forged into a hefty metal piece attached at the front of the shaft. Because of this, the halberd was adaptable to most situations. Unfortunately, the sheer weight of the metal that was left on one end resulted in an unbalanced weapon due to the structure of the tool, and left the wielder susceptible quick movements and a longer recovery time after each movement.

I felt my halberd swing off course. Immediately, the knight spurred his horse right into my face, his lance coming down to cut my arm off. I spun quickly, using the halberd's momentum to quickly reposition myself and swinging it around to collide with the knight.

I must have caught the knight by surprise, as he probably did not expect me to recover that quickly. Just as the axe blade was about to reach him, it was blocked yet again, this time by the man I had tried to stab. I quickly pulled back and positioned myself between them and my mistress again. She was still resting underneath the shade of a tree, and I thanked whatever Gods there were that the intruders hadn't touched her while I was distracted.

I gripped my halberd tightly again as I stared towards the knight and swordsman. They were watching me warily. As one, they approached me again, this time the swordsman strategizing with the knight. They split up, and they approached me from both sides, each with cold faces. I started to retreat again, attempting to keep both of them within my sights. Before long, I was near the foot of my mistress and I stood my ground again. I took a deep breathe, and gripped my halberd tightly. My legs tensed, my entire body leaned forward as I prepared to engage and hopefully force them back. The knight sensed my movement and quickly spurred his horse forward, lance lowered in a deadly point. The swordsman followed the knight's lead, quickly closing the gap in tandem.

I swung my lance towards the right, against the charging knight. My eyes widened as the swordsman suddenly appeared in front of me, his sword already forcing my halberd away, before quickly dashing out. I looked back up only to see the hooves and gleaming lance of the knight bearing down on me, my halberd nowhere near in position to halt the advance.

The world tumbled into chaos as I was knocked heavily by the cavalry. I attempted to grab my halberd only to feel a sudden burst of pain in my arm as I fell, my hand unknowingly releasing my weapon. My head was smashed against the ground as the horse trampled me, and with bleary eyes I realized the knight's lance had pierced my left arm into the ground. The knight galloped past me, leaving a cloud of dust. As I moved my eyes I realized the swordsman now held his weapon to my throat, his foot on my chest and his eyes covered by the shadows of his hair.

I quickly glanced around, noticing that my mistress was still sleeping by the tree that I was knocked away from. The knight had circled around and the cleric had begun approaching. The swordsman slammed his foot into my bruised chest again, demanding my attention. I scowled at him, trying desperately to hide the pain.

He spoke something to his comrades, gesturing in a direction. With a startled gasp, I noticed the knight and cleric walking towards my mistress. In desperation, I bucked my body, squirming and thrashing to get the man's boot off of me. The sudden action thankfully unbalanced him, and I tore my left arm from the lance that anchored me to the earth. The pain was unbelievable; it felt as if the area was skinned and being slowly roasted over a fire.

But I ignored it. With the last of my strength, I kicked the knight who had only dismounted, sending him tumbling backwards with the weight of his armor pulling him down the hill. I pulled out a small knife; the type used for preparing food and would probably fail in piercing skin, and held it in my right hand. I leapt over my mistress, my body over her form, legs on both side with the knife pointed threateningly towards the cleric, who quickly retreated.

The swordsman returned, recovering quickly from my frenzied movements and charged towards me, his gleaming sword shining menacingly in the morning light. Unwillingly I felt a tear rise to my eyes. Is this where I would fall? Where I would fail my previous master's orders, to defend her daughter?

Time seemed to slow down, as I watched the sword thrust at me. I attempted to move the knife to deflect it at the very least, but the sword easily sheared through the weak metal of the knife. With no wasted movement, the swordsman smoothly moved his sword into an overhead position, about to cleave me from head to foot, and I closed my eyes.

I could feel blood flowing from my chest and arms from the wounds that I've sustained.

There is nothing I can do, but wait.

And so I waited for the blade to descend.

A panicked voice sounded through the air, and I watched with relief as the swordsman was knocked back, head over heels as a wind spell sent him flying. My mouth morphed into a small grin as my mistress finally woke up, and I thanked the gods that she always woke up fully alert. She pulled out her Elwind tome and gestured threateningly towards the intruders, her old bronze sword hanging by her side as she stood in front of me in a reversal of roles. I faintly heard her demanding something of the intruders, who replied in similar tones. Not that I would understand any of what they were saying.

My mind started to cloud up as the adrenaline began to leave me. Only just then did I realize how much blood I had lost with my reckless move to tear my arm from the lance. The mistress turned to look at me as I slowly began to lean against the tree and sink towards the ground. Her olive-colored eyes watching with concern.

I muttered out the only word I knew in their language. "Mistress." I gave a small smile to her, before I slumped against the tree, my body giving out to exhaustion. She crouched in front of me, grabbing onto my shoulders as she pleaded me with words that I could not understand. She looked at her hand in shock as she noticed the amount of blood that flooded out in a few seconds of contact. She screamed something. I wasn't sure what, and I felt my eyes close tiredly.

The darkness welcomed me.


For the longest time I wondered why people preferred the light to the darkness. It was so bright and damning to the eyes. It burnt against the skin and tortured the bodies of men. It was a cruel taskmaster, always whipping away on those who dared venture out. The darkness was when the light was forced back, where the cool winds approached the tired workers and sheltered them within her loving arms. The dark was where all was kept secret and kept safe, its shroud of protection extending over everyone who would willingly accept it.

While I slumbered in the dark, my body was detached from the mind. What pain the body felt was removed and the mind was freed from suffering, and I was content at last. No more hardships. No more pain.

But there was that damnable light in the corner of my eyes. I sought to snuff it out but I had no method of doing so. I glared at the tiny speck of light that ruined the darkness, and scowled even more when it grew larger and larger. Soon the light covered the room and I felt agonizing pain and burning again. I struggled to flee back to the darkness, but the light reached out and grabbed me, pulling me back into…

A bed? I felt my body resting upon a mattress of amazing softness, like none I've ever felt before. It was amazingly comfortable. My eyes slowly opened as I peered at the wooden ceiling, before looking around. It was a small room dimly lit by a candle. I scanned the room again, only then realizing there were occupants in the same room. The swordsman was in a chair slumped over the table. The cleric was lying down on a sleeping bag; her staff leaning near her. The knight was standing by the window, looking outwards.

My eyes widened slightly as I searched for my mistress. With a soft exhale of relief, I found her slumped over the bed I was in, her head resting on her forearms right beside where I was. I slowly relaxed into my pillow again, and examined my body. The bindings on my chest were removed, as well as the light leather armor that I had been wearing. My left arm was healed, mostly. It was occasionally sore when I attempted to move it around. My body still ached slightly, but the cleric that had healed me had done a surprisingly satisfactory job at repairing my body despite her young age.

I moved my arm slightly and slowly shook the mistress awake. She awoke almost instantly, and the moment she saw me she grabbed me in a deathly embrace, shaking and weeping as she did so. I held back my wince as she grabbed my left arm, and continued to accept her hug.

She continued to mumble into my ear, her tears continuing to flow. Looking past her I saw the other occupants woke up as well. The cleric had the widest smile on her face and a tear trickled down her eye. The swordsman had a small grin, though his eyes had a sign of guilt. The knight still stood by the window, but his shoulders were slightly drooped from his once perfect form.

I ignored them. As long as the mistress Robin was with me, I had no fears. I am her living shadow. Where she goes, I go. Whatever she wishes is my command. And where she treads, I will be by her side.

That is, after all, what a Guardian will do.


This was a quick short story that hit me while I was reading a couple of other Fire Emblem: Awakening fanfic. I wrote this up in around three hours attempting to do something that soothes the plot bunny hopping about in my head.

See, I've always wondered what happened to Robin's mother. All we know from the game is that she ditched Validar and ran away with Robin. But what happened before?

Assuming that she was treated close to nobility due to her marriage with Validar (at least amongst the Grimleal), I assumed that the Avatar's mother would have at least one personal servant, and that her last wish would be for this servant to protect her daughter.

Or something like that. So this character was the result of that plot bunny.

Reviews appreciated, criticism upon grammar or plot holes even more. this story will probably sooner or later.

New Second-Tier Class Unlocked: Guardian
The guardian class is a frontline-support class with special emphasis upon soaking up damage and providing excellent boosts in defensive stats when paired up with other units. Boasting high health, defense and resistance against magic after many years of training, the Guardian becomes a formidable presence that can easily survive many blows without faltering. Wielding a heavy halberd that holds the attributes of both a lance and an axe, the Guardian is adaptable to most, if not all situations in exchange for a decrease in speed. Although slightly lacking in the offensive counterpart as compared to most other classes, a Guardian is always desired to protect the less protected.

Optimal Skills:
Aegis – Halves damage from Bows, Tomes, and Dragonstones (Skill %)
Pavise – Halves damage from Swords, Lances, Axes, Monster weapons, and Beaststone (Skill %)
Vengeance – Adds half of the user's current health difference to their attack (Skill*2%)
Dual Guard+ – Boosts the chance of Dual Guarding by 20%
Martyr – Stats grow higher as more health is depleted. If you fall in battle, bonus stats are transferred over to paired/surrounding units for 3 turns.

Growth Rates:
HP: 110%
STR: 55%
MAG: 10%
SKL: 55%
SPD: 25%
LUK: 35%
DEF: 80%
RES: 80%

Final Stats:
HP: 85
STR: 45
MAG: 15
SKL: 40
SPD: 25
LUK: 45
DEF: 55
RES: 55
MOV: 5