Fire Emblem: Finality
We waited still as statues. I stood tallest, the stubborn brother of the Ostian marquess, my broad shoulders level with the crown of Lyndis' fair emerald head, the daughter of Sacae whose veins ran hot with the noble blood of Caelin. Across from us, gaze cast downward, knelt our kindhearted companion, my friend since boyhood: Eliwood, son of Marquess Pherae. We were three Lycian nobles on a quest for truth, a truth so near we could almost taste it on our lips, feel it with our fingertips.
But Eliwood drew back, hesitant to push onward. His father, for better or for worse, waited just inside the Dragon's Gate, yet Eliwood could do naught but linger here on his knees, his sapphire eyes carefully contemplating this most hated corpse we had gathered 'round. I knew the thoughts of compassion running through my friend's mind, but they were foreign to me. It was not regret but disgust that pulsed through my body and made me twitch for action, Marquess Laus' blood still warm on my axe. Instead, I placed a heavy hand atop Eliwood's drooping shoulder. He sighed deeply in response.
"He was mad," Lyn whispered, her hair dancing about her shoulders as she shook her head in pity.
"Consumed by his own lust… Pitiful fool," I replied.
Still Eliwood did not raise his head. "…Lord Darin…"
"Come on, Eliwood," I said gently. "This is no time for sentiment."
"That's right!" Lyn piped up. She immediately cast off her doubt, her eyes bright with false hope as she helped our companion to his feet. "Your father needs you!"
I admired her optimism, forced though it was. Eliwood rose slowly. His face was drawn with anxiety, but her words had breathed some life back into him. He lingered over the body a moment longer. I watched his brows furrow with apprehension as he mentally relived the unexpected sequence of events that had brought him to hell's doorstep, the Dragon's Gate. He knew we were about to cross this threshold into hell itself and yet he set his shoulders bravely and lifted his chin.
There was a fire in his eyes I had never before witnessed in all our years of friendship as he walked toward the ancient portal that awaited us. He carefully regarded the finely carved marble that arched well over even my sworn man Oswin, the tallest of our motley crew of warriors. Though weak and dappled here on this dread isle, sunlight seemed repelled by this doorway to the unknown, casting an unnatural night under its archway. Eliwood's boyish silhouette seemed fragile framed against this sinister blackness, yet his voice soared resolute.
"…Let's go."
I watched as the darkness swallowed the light, his fiery red hair the last to fade from sight.
"Stand guard," I called to the rest of the group before lowering my voice. "Lyn, do you think…"
Her eyes weren't on me, but rather focused warily on the gateway. I didn't have to voice the rest of my concern; she shook her head, her gaze on the ominous darkness. "I don't know, Hector, but I fear for the worst…"
I nodded slightly in response, turning to the shadows myself. "I thought as much. Brace yourself."
I marched into the abyss, Lyn at my heels. I heard her catch her breath at the sudden chill, but she pushed on in silent determination. I hardly noted the drop in temperature, adrenaline tearing through my body as I tossed my head side to side like a bloodhound on the scent, straining to hear a telltale moan or grunt above the clattering of my heavy armor.
"It's dark in here… Can't see a thing," I muttered in frustration.
Lyn hushed me, pausing for a moment. My eagerness was no match for her keen Sacaen ear.
"This way!" she declared, racing deeper into the darkness.
I followed as close behind as my bulk would allow and I soon heard the faint voice she had so astutely discerned.
"Father! Father?! It's me, Eliwood! I've come to save you! …Father?"
We had flanked Eliwood, whose faint outline we could just scarcely distinguish as our eyes grew adjusted to the murk.
"We're here," I assured him, reaching out to steady him in the darkness. He was trembling. "We will find him."
"Will you louts be silent?" Lyn hissed, more from angst than anger.
A hush fell across our trio. A moment passed, then two. My patience began to wear thin, but then Eliwood gasped.
"I think I hear someone," he whispered. Raising his voice, he cried out once more. "F-father?"
"Eli… Eliwood…"
"Ah! Saint Elimine, he's alive," Eliwood said shakily, unsteady from the combination of the previous panic and this new relief. "Father! Where are you?"
"Back there, Eliwood," Lyn exclaimed. "His voice is coming from back there!"
He bounded forward before she even completed her statement. We followed suit, halting only when we realized the darkness had lifted. Towering in front of us was a gate even larger than the entrance we had crossed seemingly an eternity ago – the true Dragon's Gate. Ancient lettering snaked its way up the gate's dark marble pillars, both magnificent and menacing in its splendor. The surrounding area glowed a ghostly faint blue, casting its peculiar light on a fallen figure.
Eliwood stepped once toward his wounded father before falling to his knees and crawling the rest of the distance. "Ah, father! You… you're all right…"
"Eliwood…"
Even in the dim dusk of this wicked place, I could see the mixed tears of pain and pride in Marquess Pherae's eyes as he reached for his son's hand. Eliwood grasped it tightly, almost desperately, crushing it to his chest. The father had dared to dream of this reunion in his darkest hours throughout this ordeal and although his beloved Eleanora could not join him here as well, the emotion that sprung forth from his tired heart struggled to overwhelm him. The man closed his eyes, relishing the moment before struggling to speak once more. "For-forget me! Take that girl and flee!"
Following his father's frantic gaze, Eliwood turned to the gate of dragons. A second figure had appeared there, her pale skin and hair unearthly in the blue haze. She stepped forward, her eyes blazing rubies. We recognized her immediately.
"Ninian?!" Eliwood murmured, rising hesitantly and stepping toward our lost companion. She glanced at him emptily.
"That girl… she's the key to the Dragon's Gate! Hurry! Go before Nergal notices you!" the marquess claimed, panic rising in his voice.
Eliwood repeated her name, but still the girl did not respond. She stared past him, almost through him, at the prostrate figure of Lord Elbert. There was no recognition in her scarlet eyes, only an eerie look of longing.
"Ninian, this way," Eliwood said gently, extending a shaking hand to the girl. "We must flee."
I exchanged a concerned look with my companions when the girl remained silent. Lyn glanced over her shoulder; time was running short. "Something's wrong with her… Yet we've not time to hesitate."
My nerves at an end, I pointed to Ninian. "Eliwood, I've got your father! You take Ninian!"
Without waiting for a response, I was swiftly at the dying man's side. Despite the dread rising quickly in my chest, my voice was clear and calm as I addressed the man who had been like a second father to me as a child. "Lord Elbert, I'm going to move you a little. Be strong."
"Hector…" he said softly. His eyes were wet with gratitude and I had to swallow hard when he squeezed my hand weakly. "You came too? …Thank you…"
"Don't worry about that," I answered with difficulty. I gently helped him to his feet, allowing him to lean heavily on my shoulder. He was frail and thin; I silently cursed Nergal as I took in the damage that had laid low this strong, noble man. I did not allow the shock to register in my voice. "Come, let's leave this place."
He opened his mouth to reply, but was cut short by a scream from Lyn. I turned cautiously so as not to jar the marquess, only to find her face to face with a black garbed figure, two deadly blades at his hip. His eyes were a deep amber and his hair a dusty red, but there was something about the darkness of his skin and clothing that told me this was a man of the shadows.
"…You will not pass here," he ordered, his eyes deeply intent on his target.
He made no move, but still Lyn stepped back hesitantly. Ever reliant on the skills she had honed on the plains of Sacae, she could scarcely believe this assassin had caught her unaware. She shook her head in disbelief. "…When did you…?"
"You must not fight that man!" Elbert exclaimed at my side. "He is… dangerous. You cannot defeat him on your own."
"Father, there's no time." Bravely, Eliwood stepped forward, Ninian unseeing at his shoulder. "This danger must be faced."
"Be a good boy and listen to your father, young master Eliwood."
The voice, unnervingly silky, was of a third intruder. I cursed under my breath, recognizing immediately the scum who had mercilessly cut down my most trusted Ostian spy, Leila.
Eliwood's voice held as much venom as my heart. "Ephidel!!"
"Even among the Black Fang, this man is feared for his skill… You are no match for him, not even as a group," the golden eyed figure said sweetly, ignoring our enraged cries and chuckling at our incompetence. He turned his attention to his subordinate. "Jaffar, you have done well. That is all."
Without so much as a word, the assassin vanished as quickly and effortlessly as he had first appeared. The chuckle died on Ephidel's lips and he tossed his dark mane of curly black hair over his shoulder.
"Hear my word!" he cried, narrowing his golden eyes dangerously. "I have an invitation from my master. In honor of your hard-fought arrival, he has prepared a special demonstration for you."
"No!" Lord Elbert interrupted, attempting to stagger forth from my side. "You cannot release the dragons!"
I nearly dropped him in my surprise. Lyn's emerald eyes widened in shock and Eliwood glanced at his father in confusion. "Father? What's all this about?"
"You will know shortly…" Ephidel responded mockingly, his lips drawn back in a sneer. "At the expense of your father's life!"
Ephidel raised a hand toward Ninian, tilting his head back and cackling in a maniacal display of amusement. As if pulled by some unseen force, Ninian slid past my shocked friend and halted in front of me. Her pallid face was expressionless as she touched a single fingertip to Lord Elbert's chest.
The scream she wrenched from the helpless Marquess shattered the still air as I struggled to support his writhing body. His groans of pain turned my stomach but still I held on tightly.
"Father! What's wrong? Father!" Eliwood was at his side in an instant, his face white with panic.
"Guwaah! …Gaa…ghaa…" was Elbert's only response.
"Lord Elbert, hold on," I said through gritted teeth.
His son swiveled to the girl at his side, now beginning to murmur. "Huh? ...Ninian?"
"Pow… pow… er… power…"
"Gahaaa!" Elbert exploded again, twisting from my arms as the earth began to tremble and shake.
"W-what's this rumbling?!" I exclaimed, but another voice, cold and cruel, rose high over my own.
"Now, Ninian… at last. Open the Dragon's Gate!"
Robes of midnight, callous face partially masked – the druid of dark was here: Nergal.
His honeyed words called Ninian back to her task. She droned softly as she continued to draw power from Eliwood's father. "Gate… open… gate…"
"Nergal!" I spat acidly, kneeling at Lord Elbert's side, arms struggling to calm his thrashing body.
"Yes, that's it," Nergal hissed. "This way, dragon…"
Fire exploded forth from the gate, its overwhelming light chasing the shadows from this hellish cavern. Flames licked at the chill air, threatening to engulf the harbinger of this madness as she carelessly drifted into their reaching, hungry arms.
Lyn screamed as Eliwood and I looked on, struck dumb with confusion and fear.
"Ninian! Get back!"
"Yes! That's it!" Nergal crowed triumphantly. "Use all your strength! Squeeze every drop from your body! You will call dragons!"
The girl hurled herself to her knees, her arms outstretched, palms up in submission, her voice strained. "Come to me… come… children of flame…"
"…It can't be…" I gasped.
"Ah, no… it isn't…" Lyn whispered, clutching her heart and falling back a step.
The massive head of an ancient beast had rammed itself through the blazing portal and into Ninian's hands. Unafraid, she nuzzled its nose, laying her cheek to its leathery skin before turning and rising, beckoning the beast closer, her slim body framed by the inferno. One enormous claw raked the marble floor, and then another, as the dragon of fire struggled to find footing and heave its weight through the Dragon's Gate.
"I will not allow this!"
"You!" Ephidel exploded angrily, pointing an accusing finger at the latest intruder, a boy bearing a striking resemblance to Ninian. Ignoring the enraged shaman, Nils hurtled forward, filled with purpose.
He stopped at his sister's side, reaching for her hand. His eyes shone bright with tears of sympathy, yet his voice was clear and firm. "Ninian… Sister… Come to your senses. You must not do what they want."
The girl raised an eyebrow in confusion. "… … Nils…?"
"Nils, not now!" Nergal seethed. "Ephidel, stop him!"
"Desist, Nils!" Ephidel growled, striding forward. Yet as he neared the siblings, Nils grasped his sister's wrist and pushed her past Ephidel. The underling spun 'round, something akin to fear in his eerie golden eyes as the dragon was dragged roaring back to the gate. "The power… it runs wild!"
"Here, hurry!" Nils warned us, still leading a confused Ninian to safety, as I lifted Lord Elbert, now limp in my arms. "The dragon is crumbling! Everyone flee!"
Nergal closed his eyes and raised a single hand, vanishing from our sight for a moment.
"Stop! You mustn't come here!" cried his henchman, now trapped along with the dragon in a violent vortex. "Lord Nergal! Lord Nergal! Please!"
But Ephidel's cries fell upon deaf ears as his master reappeared at our sides, watching quietly as man and dragon were torn asunder, their anguished screams raised in one terrifying tremolo. The gate once again grew dark and dormant, smoldering ashes and scratched marble the only testament to the fury that had just taken place.
"Something… happened…" I said shakily as I placed Elbert gently at my feet.
"Is it… gone?" Eliwood asked, shaking his head in disbelief.
"I've… failed…" Nergal said softly, rounding on Nils in sudden rage. "You whelp! If not for your interference… Come! Both of you!"
"What? No!" exclaimed Ninian indignantly, who now in her regained consciousness stepped protectively in front of her younger brother.
"Never!" agreed Nils, placing a hand at Ninian's elbow in support. "We will never follow you!"
Nergal stepped threateningly forward, his hand raised to strike the girl. As she drew back in fear, I felt something spring from my side. Before his hand connected with flesh, the dark druid had lurched back, a dagger embedded deeply in his chest. He watched in surprise as a river of red streamed from between his fingers, his mortality suddenly staggeringly apparent.
"You will… not!" Lord Elbert whispered victoriously, a smile on his lips though he was bent double in pain.
"What?!" Nergal gasped in appall, sinking to the floor as his blood flowed freely. "Impossible… Not… by your hand…"
"…I told you…" Eliwood's father murmured gloriously. "I will… oppose you… always…"
"Why… won't… you… die? Nnn…"
Nergal vanished with a moan of pain as Elbert crumpled in fatigue. Eliwood was immediately by his side, cradling his father's head as he fought back tears.
"…Eliwood. Be prepared. He will return…" the dying man whispered, reaching a hand up to squeeze his trembling son's shoulder.
"All right, but for now… Let's leave this island," his son responded, swallowing hard as he struggled to cling to his last fading shred of hope. "Let's go home…"
"No, my son… My son… I'm done here," Elbert answered with a weak shake of his head, his voice breaking on these last few words. "You, Eliwood… You must finish this."
"Don't say that!" Eliwood cried forcefully, my heart breaking as I watched my closest friend learn the pain Lyndis and I had been forced to bear so long ago, when illness and bandits had so heartlessly taken our parents from us. Refusing to accept the inevitable, he squeezed his father's cold hand, pleading brokenly. "M-Mother is waiting in Pherae… She's waiting for you, Father!"
"Ah… Eleanora…" At the mention of his wife, a contented smile settled on the lord's lips. His son was by his side, yet he felt the comforting embrace of his wife's love as if she were also present. His final words were glorious, thinking only of his life's love and their greatest joy, this son. "She will be cross with me. Eliwood, my son… I'm sorry… Tell your mother… Tell her… I'm so… sorry…"
"Father?" Eliwood whispered, but his father's spirit had already departed this dangerous world for the next. With this horrible realization, the tears he had fought back for so long finally escaped their prison to stream endlessly down his cheeks. "No… no…"
I heard a whimper behind me as this great man's accidental murderer was reduced to tears of agony, her brother crying silently at the death of the savior whose strength and cherished stories had lifted their spirits and kept him and his sister from giving into despair when their futures had appeared bleak and hopeless.
I stepped forward but Lyn drew me back, shaking her head despondently, her own cheeks shining in the eerie blue light. Her vulnerability was uncharacteristic and it moved me; I held her to me as I continued to watch the painful farewell before me.
"No… Please… Not… not now, Father…" Eliwood murmured, crushing his ear to his father's chest, listening in vain for a faint heartbeat. "Not after all we've done to find you again…"
Against Lyn's wishes, I rushed forward, wanting only to shield Eliwood from his pain as his entire world splintered and rained down upon his burdened shoulders. I tried to drag him away but he clung persistently to Lord Elbert, his weeping wild and wrenching as it wracked his body.
"Father… Please…" he whimpered brokenly, pressing his forehead to the cold brow of his father, his unbridled sobs spilling tears onto the sunken cheeks as he continued to beg. "Please, open your eyes… Father… Father!!"
I lifted him from the corpse, pinning his arms to my sides as his tortured cries echoed eerily around us in the silent hall. He struggled violently to free himself but I held firm, choking back my own emotion as I forced him into submission.
He went limp, falling to his knees, panting heavily. I knelt at his side, one heavy hand on his shaking shoulder. Tears dripped silently off the tip of his nose, and his eyes were red and unfocused. Never before had I seen my gentle, soft-spoken friend in such a state of grief.
"Hector…" he choked, his lower lip trembling precariously. "Hector… he's gone… he's really… gone…"
"I know," I answered thickly. "Be strong…"
"He's gone… I'm gone…" he whispered. "I'm gone… It's done…"
"No," I answered firmly, lacing my fingers through the back of his red hair and thrusting his face close to mine. I peered deeply into his eyes, struggling to keep my composure. "You are not gone. This is not done. You must be strong… For us, for your mother… for Lord Elbert…"
"For Lord Elbert," Lyn repeated, kneeling at our sides and covering Eliwood's quaking hands with her own.
"For Lord Elbert," the siblings said in unison, bowing their heads in respect.
"Yes…" Eliwood whispered. "I will do this… for you, Father. I will do this… for you."