A harsh wind coursed through out the battlefield, carrying with it the stench of burning flesh. Crows littered the landscape, reaping the rewards of the bloody battlefield.
The king turned away from the awful sight, disgusted at what his enemy had caused. He turned his gaze skyward, past the towering pillars of Plegia's towers, at the sky itself. His vision was met with a beast that would strike fear into any man.
The Fell Dragon, Grima, towered above the mighty castle, its four feathered wings each stretching as far as the eye could see, its scaled body casting a shadow over the entire battlefield. Its gigantic horns almost formed a diamond, its mouth a gaping abyss, ready to devour any and everything in sight.
The dragon let out a thunderous roar, shaking the very earth itself. The king thrust his sword into the ground, using it to try and stay upright. As the shaking came to a halt, laughter drifted across the battlefield.
The king looked towards the source of the voice, his eyes meeting a sight that made him cringed. Bodies were piled one atop another, some wore the crimson colours of Plegia, others were garbed in the blue of Yilsse. Sitting atop the pile of corpses was the source of the laughter. A giant of a man sat there, short crimson hair held his crown in place, his beard the a darker crimson. His dark robes, drenched in the crimson blood of those below him, covered most of his body, the areas they didn't cover revealed a set of steel armour beneath. In his right hand sat his sword, a blade that was as jagged as its wielder, blood still dripping from the tip.
The Mad King, Gangrel, cackled madly at all the destruction he had wrought. He continued laughing, paying no attention to the figure approaching. He suddenly stopped, the laughter continuing to echo, and looked down at the figure before him, a smile still covering his face, a mad light shining from his crimson eyes.
"Well, well, well," he chuckled, "if it isn't the 'righteous king' himself, Edwin! Enjoying the view?"
Edwin glared daggers at the Mad King, "Gangrel, what reason could have possibly driven you to summom him?" he pointed at the dragon above, still towering over battlefield, "What made you cause all this death and destruction? What was your reason Gangrel?"
"Reason?" Gangrel asked, He then let out another burst of laughter, "I don't need a reason to start a war, any excuse is all I need. It's so boring most of the time, politics are such a waste of time. Why bother with diplomacy, when we can simply slaughter our enemies?"
"You disgust me, Gangrel!" Edwin shouted.
"And what are you going to do, Edwin?" Gangrel mocked, raising his sword towards the dragon above, "As long as I have Grima on my side, nothing can stand in my way!"
Silence settled over the battlefield, the sound of the dragons wing beats the only thing breaking it. Then laughter began to echo, at first barely more than a chuckle, rising in volume until it was a booming laugh.
Edwin was bent over, clutching at his sides from the laughter. He continued to laugh for a few more seconds before finally managing to stop, his gaze returning to Gangrel, the mad king's smile replaced with a scowl.
"Oh, do tell, Edwin, just what you find so amusing?" Gangrel spat, his voice laced with hatred.
Edwin wiped a tear from his eye, a smile still on his face, "Oh, it's nothing so important, just that you've overlooked something."
Gangrel's scowl deepened, "Oh really? Because from where I'm standing it doesn't look like I've overlooked anything, so please enlighten me?"
"Oh, I'll do better than that," He reached behind his back, pulling out a bronze shield almost a meter tall, "I'll show you!"
The shield started to shine, bathing Edwin in a heavenly glow. The light turned harsher, blinding anyone that would be foolhardy enough to look at it. If anyone had looked, they would have seen the form of a person begin to take shape.
The light reached its pinnacle, shining brighter than the light of a thousand suns, and then dying down in an instant.
A new figure stood before Edwin. She stood at least three meters tall, towering over both kings. A dress of pure white flowed down past her knees, barely scraping the ground, a ribbon of light blue trailed behind her, each end wrapped around her wrists. Her olive hair ran past her waist, partially obscuring her face. A blue aura radiated from the woman, it was powerful but gentle, unlike the dark aura pulsing from above.
The woman turned to Edwin, her face devoid of emotion, "What is your desire, O bearer of the emblem?"
Edwin snapped out of his daze. His eyes locked with the woman's. A moment of silence passed, not even the dragons mighty wing beats could break it.
"I wish for Grima to be stopped!" Edwin shouted.
"No!" Gangrel cried out. He thrust his sword forth, lightning shooting forth from the tip of the blade, striking barely a few inches from the woman.
"It shall be done." The woman cupped her hands together, a small ball of light forming in them.
Gangrel swung his sword again, more lightning arcing from the blade, this time directed at the woman. Just as it seemed to reach her, a pair of crossed wings intercepted the attack, disappearing as quickly as they had appeared.
The ball of light had been growing the entire time, starting from a small pinprick, and reaching the size of the woman's head. She turned, thrusting the ball at Edwin, just as the Mad King raised his sword for another attack.
Edwin raised his hand's to cover his eyes as the ball of light expanded, sucking him into it. Edwin struggled against the weightless feeling that surrounded him, unable to see outside the light of the orb.
The ball flickered once, before disappearing all together. Edwin's reflexes kicked in, curling into a ball to reduce the damage on impact with the ground, clenching his eyes shut, but instead of a gigantic drop, he almost immediately hit something, he kept his eyes closes, reaching tentatively with his hand downwards, expecting the rough feeling of dirt, instead his fingers were met by a much smoother surface.
Edward's eyes flickered open, unsure of what to expect. Instead of the charred battlefield he had just been on, his eyes were greeted by a much more terrifying sight.
Purple scales spread out in front of him, each at least the size of his fist, spreading for at least a mile in each direction. Past the scales on the left, two gigantic wings, each easily large enough to carry a hundred men, to his right were another set of wings.
Edwin swallowed dryly, realising where the woman had sent him, he was standing on top of the Fell Dragon, the battlefield miles below him.
Edwin snapped out of that train of thought when he saw a figure approaching, a steady walk across the top of the dragon. What is someone doing here? Edwin thought, trying to discern more of the figure.
A cloak of deep purple, almost black, covered the figure's arms and most of their torso, the cowl obscuring their face, a golden trim ran down the edges of the cloak. A sword of bright silver gripped loosely in his right hand, a purple tomb dangling from his belt by a cord.
As the figure drew closer, Edwin could make out more of what they looked like. The figure was around five foot tall, barely tall enough to reach Edwin's shoulders, even with his armour on. Strands of pure white hair managed to escape the hood of the cloak, obscuring the figure's eyes. The persons figure seemed very slender, as though they had almost no muscle beneath that cloak of theirs.
"So, this is their final attempt, one feeble human, against the might of the Fell Dragon?" a voice boomed. Edwin searched for the source of the voice, but the only other person in sight was the robed figure, a smile stretching from ear to ear. "What's wrong, human?" The figure asked, the same as before booming in to his lips.
"You're him, aren't you?" Edwin stuttered, trying to ignore the rising panic in his mind.
"If by him, you mean the all-powerful dragon known as Grima that you happen to be standing on? Then yes, that would be me," Grima let out a short bark of laughter, "I'm surprised your tiny brain was able to figure that much out, human."
Edwin gulped, trying to rid himself of the alarm bells that were ringing in his head, 'this man is dangerous,' they screamed, 'run!' Pushing through it, Edwin levelled his sword, Falchion, at Grima, bringing his shield around to protect his front.
"Do you intend to fight me?" Grima boomed, "You, a single, insignificant human, against me, the dragon of the apocalypse, the end of hundreds of humans? Now how did your tiny mind possibly think that was a good idea?"
Edwin remained silent, focusing solely on the figure in front of him. Without any warning, Edwin rushed forth, covering the few meters that were between them in a second. Bringing Falchion down in an arcing, he aimed to end the fight in one decisive blow. Grima simply flicked his sword, parrying Edwin's sword with about as much effort as he would to swat a fly. Edwin tripped and skidded, the momentum he had built up carrying him, several meters from the grinning maniac.
"Naga damn him," Edwin cursed as he struggled back to his feet, "how am I supposed to kill him if I can't even hit him?" Edwin shook his head, trying to rid himself of the fear coursing through it.
"Come now, little human," Grima taunted, "is that really the best you have? Ah, and here I thought I might have found something that could amuse me for a while, but now I see that one finish you."
Tired of the taunting, Edwin rushed forward again, putting all his speed into the attack. He thrust Falchion forward, hoping the thrust would catch Grima off guard. Instead Grima merely twisted to the left, gliding past the edge of the blade, and rammed the pommel of his sword into Edwin's stomach, forcing blood and spit to fly out of his mouth. Edwin struggled to stay on his feet, managing to stay upright for a few seconds, before slumping to his knees.
How am I supposed to defeat him, Edwin thought, dragging himself back to his feet, I'm just one man, how do I fight him? An idea occurred to him, it was irrational, impossible even, but it was all he had.
A quick glance showed that Grima had walked away, bored of fighting. Edwin mustered every ounce of courage he had left.
"Where are you going, coward?!" Edwin shouted, his voice drowning out even the dragon's mighty wingbeats.
Grima stopped mid-stride, and pivoted to glare at Edwin, a glare so deadly it would kill most men.
"What did you say, scum!?" Grima roared, "You are nothing, you insignificant, pitiful insect, and you dare to call me a coward? Oh, I was going to spare you, but now you shall witness the true might of the Fell Dragon as it obliterates you to nothing more than dust!"
Grima walked towards Edwin, savouring every step. Edwin stood stock still, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. As soon as Grima was barely ten meters away, he flicked Falchion around, gripped the handle with both hands, and plunged the blade into the scales below with all the strength he could spare.
The dragon bellow roared in pain, the wings holding it aloft faltering, leaving the dragon and the two combatonts on top of it to the fate of a gigantic fall.
Grima stumbled back, shocked from the pain of the wound. Edwin ripped Falchion out, tearing several scales in the process, the once shining blade coverfed in the purple ichor of the dragon. Grima clutched his chest, fear alight in his eyes.
Siezing his chance with both hands, Edwin covered the few meters left between them in the blink of an eye, Edwin lunged forward, impaling Grima through the stomach.
Ichor leaked from the wound, the same that already coated the blade. Silence hung in the air, not even the wind around the fighters could break it. Then Grima took a step forth, sliding further down the blade, showing no signs of pain, then another, and another, until eventually he was at the crossguard. His hand shot out like a snake, fingers wrapping around Edwin's neck. Edwin struggled against the vice-like grip, but to no avail.
"I…" Grima coughed, ichor spurting from his mouth, "will never…die!" Edwin was rapidly fading into unconsciousness, his vision fading, the talon like fingers digging into his skin.
Then the pain suddenly stopped, Edwin could feel the fingers loosen their hold, the precious air he sought returning, his vision clearing. Once his vision cleared, he saw the blurred shape in front of him for what it truly was. Grima was disintegrating; his body was being blown away, as if it were nothing more than dust. His legs had already disappeared, his torso was starting to be whisked away, his arms and head would soon follow.
"Know this, human," Grima hissed, his torso and arms already completely gone, his head soon to follow, "I may have fallen on this day, but I will return, for as long as men have darkness within them, they will thirst for the power I possess, and next time you won't be able to stop me!"
Edwin shook his head, "True, I may not be there to stop you, but that doesn't mean there won't be other who will be willing to bear that burden, for while some men are controlled by darkness, there will always be some who will dispel it, those who stand against the dark. They will eb the ones to stop you."
Grima had almost completely blown away, only his eye's remained, the purple orbs glaring in anger at the being before them, "Foolish human," Grima sighed, "you fail to realize that the brighter the light, the darker its shadow is." Edwin opened his mouth to retort, but was stopped as the last trace of Grima blew away, leaving Edwin alone atop the falling corpse of the dragon.
Edwin slumped down, the battle finally taking its toll, unable to fight the urge to rest any longer. The last thing he heard was the soothing voice of a woman, "You have done well, now rest hero king."
A/N Well, this took a lot longer then I thought to finish, it took me around 4 weeks to write this! But I'm proud of it, I believe I have done well with the start of this story, and it can only get better from here. If you haven't realised yet because you haven't played it yet, this is a fan story of Fire Emblem Awakening. The idea was to give a creative narrative to the entire game, and maybe add in a few extra things of my own. I will be sticking with the default name an appearance though, I think Robin would be the best fit for this, and since they announced him/her for smash, then he would be the most recognisable . So, please follow this story if you wish, I intend to put out a chapter at least once a month, maybe more with school holidays on the horizon. Until next time, Wade.