Oh man, it sounds like passing the Olympic torch, the way I describe it...
Parts were inspired by our school's Founders Day theme, Live the Legacy. I've been itching to write this piece for more than a year...
Burning Legacy
"Do not fret, my son."
As Eliwood gazed up at his father's eyes, he could almost see the strength burning there, literally. This new crisis in Elibe was something he would never put up with, the Marquess of Pherae. It was time for him to act. Eliwood wasn't in the place to stop his father out of concern, he knew.
Almost at once, that realization of his bravery made the young lord question his worthiness to the line of Pherae. To his father's legacy. Would he ever live up to the great standards they had laid out?
War heroes, brave generals, advocates. Even great artistes who had left audiences weeping. Generation after generation, that greatness and exceptionality had descended from father to son, mother to daughter, and now it came to face Eliwood in all its glory, like a tapestry woven in gold and red.
Would he ever learn to pick it up, to carry the shining torch of Pherae's nobles, to shoulder this great long list of victories, glories and successes?
"But...Father... If you fall--"
"You will take over, my son," Lord Elbert replied without any hesitation or fear. Eliwood imagined himself leading, taking over, and he felt his stomach flip. No, Father... You must return, and continue to guide us...
His father's eyes were full of wisdom. They smiled at his son, bright and rich with knowledge and understanding. "It will not be easy." It will not be easy. Somehow, those words brought more comfort than worry. Eliwood smiled. His father understood. "But I trust you, my son."
Lord Elbert turned to the road and sighed. "Now there is something that bids me leave. I might survive, I might not. But I will not leave it be without trying to do somethign about it."
Again, that fire in his eyes. A fire that moved Eliwood, made him tremble under hat sheer force that might best even the power of the gods. He wanted to hold such strength, such courage as well. But he feard that he couldn't...he couldn't...
In a whirl of cloaks and a thundering of horse hooves, Elbert, Marquess Pherae, and his train of guards were gone.
Safety to you, my father. I pray your fire will carry you on the right path, till the very end.
Two years. A bloodstained twilight and a night of horrors. A dragon took to the skies; an impossible line was crossed. A door closed; a hundred doors opened.
And at the hands of the enemy, Lord Elbert fell. He fell, for his bravery and strength, for his quest towards the truth.
The dark rose to encompass the worlds.
Eliwood felt the calling. He rose. He led the light, a single small light--tore the darkness and silenced its heart. The dragon flew no more. The sun rose once again.
Tears of passion, love and fire. Ice and tearing banners. It all ended, and he returned tearful but victorious, brought a new bride with him, back home. Pherae shone in brilliant ceremony, in silent honour for their fallen Marquess, in jubilant well-wishing for their new leader.
A thousand worlds threw their windows wide.
Another twelve years. Roy looked up in his father's face. His eyes and face were creased, lines there from crying, smiling, frowning. No doubt the death of his wife, Roy's mother, had left a few more wrinkles on his face.
But written deeper beneath those lines, and in those fiery blue eyes of his, Roy could see the power he held. Brave, unshakeable power that could stand through strain and pain, both physical and emotional.
How many tales his father had told him, of battles and glory, of shared sorrows and a darkness that never ended, of a distant world he had glimpsed through a shining gate. How brave Lord Eliwood had been!
Would he ever be able to carry the legacy? Would he ever learn to be half as great as his father was? Was he worthy of being part of the line of Pherae?
"F-Father... I am afraid. I am afraid I will never be able to take your place."
Eliwood turned, eyes smiling, bright, powerful. His hands took Roy's.
"It will not be easy. But I trust you, son. And you must trust yourself."
I...I don't know...I will never be great, like you.
But then Roy fel tthe strength of his father's hands, and he could almost hear everything Eliwood wanted to say. "I once feared too. But fear is nothing where love and duty are involved. The time will come, Roy. The time will come for you to live the legacy, and you will be a great person. Someday." Strength. A warm, trusting grip that melted Roy's fears away.
The burning legacy... Roy took it in his hands, and lifted the flame high. It blazed like the power in his blood, in his father's, in his father's before that. Maybe he would slay dragon, as his father had? Maybe he would win a battle. Maybe he would save Elibe. Those were such far-fetched dreams. But he only had to trust himself! Everything was a possibility.
One day, Father. One day, perhaps, I will become as great as you.
Foreshadowing for Roy in FE6? I dunno. I want to play FE6 if it's ever translated...