Crimson Red and Shining Green
It surprises her how much the world has changed during her sleep…
Waking up to a world where every one of her dear friends was gone, lost long ago to the unforgiving passage of time. The loneliness she felt, the sadness…
But she was no longer a child…
She understood the way of things, that not even the voice of the divine dragon can stop time. Because of that she was able to move forward to face the new world, with only the memories of her dear friends.
The young Tiki that once traveled with Prince Marth was gone, in her place was left a wise and beautiful woman, with the looks of a twenty year old and the experience of many lifetimes…
And once again she finds herself surrounded by new friends, the descendant of her dear Marth and the soldiers under his command. She likes them; they are kind and funny, especially the one who always refers to himself in third person.
Even former enemies now fight under their banner, from the Mad King Gangrel who spends every waking moment guarding the now amnesiac Emmeryn, to the quiet Yen'fay that spars daily with Basilio, Lon'qu and Gregor.
Only one remains alone, eats alone and trains alone…
The Conqueror Walhart…
There's a reason for that of course, the man is, for the lack of a better word, intimidating, but not because of his blood red armor, not because of the fact that he is one of the biggest men in the army...
No…
It is because of his eyes…
Those empty pools of white that make him look like a heartless monster, something beyond human.
However Tiki vows to speak to the man that once intended to stop the reawakening of Grima without Naga's blessing, without the falchion.
As usual he stands guard near the edge of the camp, standing perfectly still; his great axe the Wolfberg resting at his side. Tiki moves quietly to his side standing besides him looking towards an empty road.
"So…it is now the voice of Naga who approaches me" he says, his voice breaking the silence. "State your business dragon priestess or leave" his words, much like him are blunt, said with no emotion, he doesn't turn to face her.
"Tell me Walhart, why do you stand guard here when you could be with Chrom and Robin?, surely they could benefit from your knowledge in warfare" she turns her head to gaze at him, a little impressed by the fact that she barely reaches above his elbow. Once again, he makes no move to turn and meet her gaze, however, a smirk spreads across his lips.
"There's nothing I can say that will be of help for them, all that I can offer to them, to this army, is my strength, I am nothing more than a simple foot soldier" he pauses for a moment, the smirk disappears. "The weak must follow the strong; I was defeated so now I must follow".
She moves to stand directly in front of him, at its then and only then that their eyes meet, emerald green clashing against empty white. "Is it true that you wanted to stop Grima?" she asks, and he simply nods. "Then tell me, how would you have accomplished such feat?"
And the smirk returns to his lips "It is quite simple dragon priestess, I would simply crush those intending to awake the beast and any others in my way".
She's surprised by such answer "But…why conquer other countries when allying together would have been a better move?".
His expression turns angry, his white eyes meet hers with unspoken fury "Because that's how true peace will became a reality, all countries under one banner, one empire, one ruler!" he growls. "I thought that you, the great dragon priestess from the age of legends would understand the futility of countries allying together!"
She stares at him confused "What are you talking about?". She takes a bold step forward looking up to meet his gaze defiantly "Prince Marth saved this world from the brink of destruction more than once, never losing his kindness, rallying whole countries under his banner!"
The anger disappears from his face "Then tell me priestess, how long did his peace last?" he asks. "How much time it took for those allied countries to start battling each other?"
Tike falls silent, lost at words, and slowly lowers her gaze to the ground…
Deep in her heart she knows he is wrong, true peace can never be achieved through bloodshed and war.
And yet, she is unable to answer…
"Leave now voice of Naga, this discussion is over"
She leaves quietly…
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"Walhart"
She calls his name as she comes to stand besides him…
He is guarding the camp once again, alone as always...
"You come to me once again dragon priestess, what do you need of me now?" he asks calmly, like the night before he never turns to face her, his gaze focused straight ahead. The voice of naga turns her gaze to the dark sky and the bright stars barely visible behind dark clouds…
"I came to the realization that you are not evil Walhart" she says quietly "At first I thought that you were just like the many tyrants that I have meet before, wanting to conquer the world to satisfy your lust for power" she turns her gaze to him "But I was wrong…you are different, you wanted peace".
A moment of silence…
Walhart lets out a deep sigh…
"You are correct dragon priestess, I thought that true peace could only become a reality by the use of power" his deep voice breaks the silence "I was wrong, I lost my path and became obsessed with acquiring more power to crush those opposing me, I wanted peace even if it was build upon fallen kingdoms and blood" and then he turns his gaze to the dark sky "But no matter, my conquest is over and I now follow this new path, for one such as me, who believes that strength is everything, there's no other option but to follow those who have bested me".
And once again she steps before him, so their eyes can meet…
And she smiles, a kind friendly smile…
"That's why you are different Walhart…" and the smile on her lips grows a little "You know that you were wrong, now all you have to do is correct your mistake by saving this world".
"Hmph, go now voice of Naga, I tire of your words" he says gruffly, even when small smirk appear on his face.
The dragon priestess nods, the smile never leaving her lips "My name is Tiki" she says moving past him. "When I return tomorrow night you must call me by name".
And she's gone…
Leaving the former conqueror alone with his thoughts…
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He's already aware of her presence even before she moves to stand at his side, out of all the people in the camp, the voice of Naga is the only one besides the tactician brave enough to approach him.
"Lady Tiki" he says in form of greeting.
"Walhart" she responds, and carefully moves to stand in front of him, a serene smile spreading across her lips "I wanted to thank you…" she says, her soft voice barely above a whisper "You fought beside me today, and took blows that where meant for me".
"Hmph, think nothing of it lady Tiki, we are allies in this army, I will protect all my allies" like always his voice is cold, his tone blunt "My armor is almost unbreakable, I will not suffer a wound from such weak attacks".
However, a warm hand reaches up to his armored chest, tracing the dents and scars in the metal; a distant look takes over her eyes, like she's trapped in a memory from a long time ago.
"A long time ago, I swore to protect my friends, but they always protected me instead" she looks away from him, but her hand never leaves his chest "I wanted to be useful, I never wanted to be left all alone again, though, Prince Marth never left me, he and his army were always kind…"
A quiet sob escapes her, another hand comes to rest upon his chest "And now, after such a long time I can barely help his descendant".
"And you feel useless because a human protects you?" his cold voice reaches her; slowly she raises her gaze to him…
"No…never" she whispers, silent tears running down her cheeks "I am the voice of Naga, the protector of humankind, I should be the one protecting them".
A crimson gauntlet lands softly on her shoulder, she's surprised by the sudden move, but the expression on the conqueror's face betrays no emotion.
"If you want to protect this world voice of Naga, then you must simply become stronger" and then his hand falls once again to his side "Dry you tears now, we will train in the morning".
Without another word Walhart turns around and walks into the camp, his great axe Wolfberg resting on his shoulder, and his black cape moving lazily on wind.
As the tears stop, a small but beautiful smile slowly spreads across her lips…
"Walhart…"
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"I overheard an interesting story about you today"
She's once again in front of him, a friendly smile on her lips. They stand once again at the edge of the camp, away from unwanted stares, it was not a secret that the whole army was aware their talks, more than one was surprised to find them training every day, but Say'ri was the only one to voice her concerns about her current friendship with the Conqueror.
But Tiki pays no mind to her words, she liked to talk with Walhart, she knew that she had grown stronger thanks to his training. Even in her dragon form she could barely match his strength in combat, for no other that Walhart was strong enough to face a dragon without the mighty Falchion.
They train daily and for hours, holding nothing back, and at the end of the day they talk, sometimes about the war, some other times about the army. She enjoys is company, the silence that always seems to surround him.
"The archer, Virion says that some call you the second coming of the first emperor of Valm" there's a playful tone her voice…
Walhart lets out a low growl "Foolishness, I never asked to be called by such title nor I consider myself the second coming of a hero long lost in the sands of time" he states bluntly, his deep voice breaking the silence.
She likes that about him, his blunt honesty…there's no secrets or hidden feelings for a man like him, all is said without doubt or restrain.
Tiki smiles kindly "The hero Alm was a great ruler and leader, though I never meet him in person, I was sleeping during his crusade" she says "However, Virion also said that you lack something, and that prevents you from being Alm's equal"
Walhart remains silent, but turns his gaze towards her…
"You lack kindness Walhart, according to Virion that is mostly because you don't have a kind queen like Alm did" she's not surprised when Walhart turns his gaze away from her, but what does surprise her is the moment when the former conqueror meets her gaze once again, a broad smirk spreading across his lips.
"I lack kindness you say" he begins, somehow the usual coldness in his voice is gone "Then that problem can be easily solved…" and the smirk grows a little more "Marry me Lady Tiki, voice of Naga".
There's silence, and Walhart marvels at how easily her pale cheeks turn into a pretty shade of pink, she looks down and away from him, her face successfully hidden under strands of green hair and her elegant hair ornament.
However Walhart is not done speaking "I respect your power and courage, even more I…hold affection for you" there's a pause, the former conqueror turns his eyes to the night sky "With you at my side I know I can become a better ruler, you will be the kindness that I lack and I will protect you forever".
This time, she turns to meet his gaze, a pretty blush still covers her cheeks and thousand feelings shining deep within her beautiful emerald eyes, but the smile on her lips holds some sadness "Fine, I will marry you, I will be the kindness that you lack, even if in the end I am the one that will be left behind, you cannot protect me forever".
And then it happens in an instant, the mighty axe Wolfberg is cast aside, two large hands take hold of her waist and Tiki finds herself easily lifted to his eye level.
"Then I will protect you for as long as I live, no harm will come to you while I draw breath, you will be my treasured star" and for the first time, a smile, a true smile spreads across his lips "And I swear to make you happy".
Soft hands slowly take hold of his face and he takes a moment to enjoy her warmth on his skin "I know that to love another, I must watch the world move past him. But such short years make an eternity worth living…" she pauses, and sadness disappears, her smile is beautiful and truly happy "I will love you for as long as I live".
And that night Walhart comes to a conclusion, there's no conquest sweeter than the conquest of her soft lips...
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Walhart- The Conqueror and Tiki- Divine Voice
After the war Walhart returned to Valm where he married Tiki to the surprise of the whole continent. Many thought that the former conqueror had somehow blackmailed the dragon priestess into marrying him, but after a while none could deny that Tiki was happy and that she truly loved her husband. Walhart became a just but strict ruler but always consulted every decision with his wife, the kindness that he had lacked for so long…
Every steps brings him closer to his goal…
And when he finally reaches the top, the familiar sight of the shrine of the voice greets him…
And she is there looking away from him, completely unaware of his presence, standing in a sea of green and flowers of many colors, but none can compare to her sheer beauty.
"My star, I have returned to you"
She turns to him; a beautiful smile playing on her lips, emerald eyes shining with happiness has she runs into his arms…
His crimson armor and black cape are a sharp contrast to the gentle scenery, but she pays no mind to such things, as his arms surround her making her feel loved a protected, she looks up to meet his eyes, those empty pools of white that were once so terrifying now hold nothing but love for her.
"Welcome back my love "