Mad King's War: Deliverer

Written by: ExposedWiresExposedVeins

Beta'd by: DarkEclipse45

Chapter One: "Beginnings and Endings"

Fort Meritenne. Even the name sounded dark and dull to the two new "prisoners" of Daein: Mia and Malin.

The two Crimean-hired mercenaries had been captured and imprisoned by soldiers loyal to King Ashnard of Daein. They were to be sent to a prison camp; for now, however, they were to remain in the fort until a horse-drawn carriage had arrived to take them to Ashera knows where. Malin, the brown-haired archer, stayed in a sitting position against the cell door and he looked over to his neighboring cell that Mia was sitting inside of. Malin was tempted to lighten the mood with a friendly "So, how's it going?", but decided against it. Instead, he made another vain attempt at untying the ropes that were keeping his hands bound together. Malin's wrists were burning and turned a shade of pink due to how tight his restraints were.

Malin and Mia were the only ones currently imprisoned in Fort Meritenne. Both were kept in separate makeshift cells. The only things that kept them company were the small, crackling fire of a torch and one black-clad soldier making sure the prisoners made no attempts at an escape. Not like it would be possible from where I'm standing… or sitting, thought Malin. We both were careless, resulting in our imprisonment here. If only we had a way out…

A second soldier walked to inform his companion of the carriage's arrival. Malin thought of the likely scenario they would be put into. He could see it now: being placed in a cell much smaller than the ones they both were currently in, being fed slop and very little of it, getting tortured for whatever information desired by the Daeins, staying there until the two met the same dark, lonely and hopeless fate prisoners of war did before them. Two words immediately came to mind to the young man: This sucks.

"Let's get these two out. The sooner they're out of here, the sooner we're out of this fort!" They took the keys to the cells and unlocked the doors. Malin stood back up on his feet and backed to the end of his cell in response. Mia stood still, however.

"Come out quietly and we promise you won't get hurt!" one of the Daeins warned. None of the prisoners responded. After a moment, one of the soldiers walked up to Malin and grabbed him.

The only thing Malin could offer was some snark. "What a load." He then spat on the soldier's feet.

"I'll make you regret that, cur!" the same soldier yelled at him and immediately punched his stomach. The archer groaned and bent face forward, but offered no more resistance. The Daein then took out the lance that was hanging over his back and kept it trained on Malin's chest.

The other soldier didn't have much of an easier time. As he entered the myrmidon's cell and approached her, Mia swiftly landed a forceful kick on the man's groin. The soldier bent over with a coughing fit. "You wench!" He grabbed his lance and rested it on Mia's pale white neck.

Before the soldiers could do anything else, three unfamiliar men rushed into the scene. One burly man equipped with a large axe led the charge. Behind him were a red-haired sniper and a blue-armored knight. Dear Goddess, we're saved! Malin rejoiced. He and Mia watched in utter disbelief as they took out the soldiers with little to no effort. The axe-wielder killed Malin's captor, smashing his axe into the man's skull. The soldier fell into a heap not a second after.

"Intruders!" the second soldier yelled out in response to the surprise attack after removing his spear from Mia's neck. "Intru-!" The sniper quickly ceased his warning to others with an arrow in his neck. A short chocking noise followed afterwards, with a collision onto the stone floor.

Both Malin and Mia sighed in relief at their rescue. Right after Malin's sigh, though, he looked at the victim's head in his cell that was leaking out crimson fluid. He made a short "ugh" in disgust and stepped over the dead body.

"Are you both all right?" asked the axe-wielder.

"We sure are, now that you're here," Mia replied gratefully as she stepped out of her cell. Malin simply nodded in agreement and did the same. "But who are you guys?"

"We are the Greil Mercenaries. I am the leader of this pack, Greil," the man introduced himself. "These two with me are Shinon and Gatrie." He nodded to the others in turn. The sniper known as Shinon made no acknowledgement. Gatrie, the knight, smiled at Mia with a wink.

Mia stepped out with a grin etched on her face now that they were free from the clutches of Daein. Malin stepped out with a big yawn; once he exhaled, he put on a small smile. "Thank you for getting us out of here, Greil! My name is Mia, and I was hired by Crimea to bolster the army's numbers," the excitable myrmidon introduced herself.

Malin hesitated before speaking. "Name's Malin," he finally said. "I was also hired by Crimea. We just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time with these damned Daeins."

"But perhaps this isn't so, Malin," Greil replied. "We're all here now, so we should be grateful for this occurrence."

"And what do you mean by that, Sir Greil?" Malin asked with a raised eyebrow, whilst crossing his arms.

Greil didn't waste any time and held nothing back. "Mia, Malin. We would benefit greatly if you two would join us. We are escorting the princess of Crimea to Gallia. The Crimean army is not faring well, and I would hate to see the same fate fall upon you."

Mia's face beamed with approval. "You freed us, sir! We would be more than happy to help! Right, Malin?"

"Your carelessness dragged us here, Mia..." Malin replied with a sneer, "Although I may have had part in that. Oh well. I've no problems with helping out; the less Daeins around the better. Thank you."

"Come. We haven't the time for pleasantries," Greil said as he beckoned the two former prisoners down the hallway. "I heard soldiers say that my son Ike is in the south side of this fort. Go there and speak to him in my stead. We shall meet up afterwards." He turned back to his companions. "Shinon, Gatrie! Let's go find the one leading this group. I'm assuming my dumb pup of a son came here looking for us. Make sure he won't have him or her to deal with." With that, the three rushed past the cells and into battle.

Mia pulled Malin by the arm. "You heard the man, Malin! Let's go find that Ike person!"

"Don't you mean 'dumb pup?'" Malin asked with a small smirk. "I quite like that name better. Let's just grab some weapons and meet up with him."

They found their way into an armory that had barrels full of an assortment of killing tools: swords, lances, axes, and bows. Malin quickly grabbed a bow and a quiver full of iron-tipped arrows and tied the quiver to his back before handing Mia an iron sword. As Mia sheathed her sword to her belt, they continued down past the armory to meet their new employer's son.

xxxx

"This is what we get for investigating some 'abandoned fort,' huh?" a green-haired fighter asked himself with some annoyance as he fended off a soldier with his axe. Bearing his weight with a swing, he knocked the soldier feet away with a bloody gash on the victim's torso.

"Stay calm, Boyd," commanded a red-haired paladin who was also wielding an axe. "We all need to maintain battle formation around Soren and Rhys. This won't last too long, hopefully." The small group was holed up in a small room with two gaps that had teemed with armed enemy soldiers. They were outnumbered by far, but no one had suffered wounds aside from few small scratches as a result of poorly-aimed spears.

They stood their ground for what seemed for quarter of a mark's time, and they were tiring gradually. A blue-haired swordsman stood opposite of Boyd and the paladin, fighting off axe-wielders. A mage behind him helped from afar with soft mutterings of his voice, quoting his leather-wrapped spell book. Once the mage had casted a spell, winds gusted from his free hand. The winds had formed a sharp arc that cut through a fighter with ease.

The priest known as Rhys kept himself busy, tending to the small wounds of the group with little to no effort. He was physically and mentally exhausted as he would raise his staff to one's wounds. He was breathing hard with concentration and all the while felt alive, as if he would not prefer doing anything else.

On the blue-haired swordsman's right was a green-haired horseman that closely resembled Boyd's looks, but not personality. The lance knight continued to keep a level head as he impaled opposing soldiers. He would pull his reins so neither he nor his mount would face any injuries.

This isn't over. We will not fall to Daein, not when so much is on the line here, thought the son of Greil.

xxxx

"I think I spotted Greil's son, Malin!" Mia exclaimed with a mischievous smile. "It looks like his group is dealing with a bunch of bad guys! Let's go lend a hand!"

"You really think that's Sir Greil's son, Mia? He doesn't look a thing like him!"

"Well, Malin, they're the ones not dressed in black like all the Daein soldiers we've seen; is that proof enough that they're the good guys?" Mia countered.

"…Good point. Can't really argue with that," Malin replied with a small frown. Mia was just about to go on a full-out run if it wasn't for Malin grabbing the myrmidon's lean arm. "Be careful. We can't afford to be reckless here. Stay by my side; as much as I hate to admit it, I can't protect myself at close range."

"Understood." With that, Mia stood by Malin's side with her sword unsheathed. Feeling a little unnerved, Malin grabbed an arrow from his quiver should a soldier approach the two.

Thankfully none of the Daein soldiers had noticed the escaped prisoners as they were busy engaging the group. As the two Crimean mercenaries approached the room housing the Greil Mercenaries, Mia rushed to cut down a fighter that was fighting a blue-haired swordsman. A short distance away, Malin shot down a soldier who was giving the lance-wielding horseman a difficult time.

The swordsman was shocked to see some aid come from inside the fort. With their help, the small group had eliminated resistance that rushed to the room they were all in.

"Your name wouldn't happen to be Ike, would it?" Mia asked directly.

"It is, but who are you?" Ike asked.

"My name is Mia," she introduced herself as Malin caught up. "This is Malin. We were both hired to help Crimea's army."

"What are you two doing here, then?"

"We got careless and were captured…"

"Mia!" Malin shouted with a frown etched along his face. "It was you who was careless! I only tried to get you out of trouble. You got me into this!"

"Relax, Malin. It doesn't matter anymore. We're with Ike and we aren't imprisoned anymore." Mia attempted to comfort her friend with a hand on his shoulder. "Anyways, they were about to send us to a prison camp when Greil saved us."

Surprised at the mention of his father, Ike inhaled sharply. "You've seen my father?"

"Sure did," Malin spoke up. "He's a little north from here. We should be able to meet up with him soon if these numbers will start to dwindle."

Ike exhaled in relief. "So he's safe… That's great to know."

"So, who exactly are you guys?" Mia questioned with some curiosity.

"We're the Greil Mercenaries. As you can see, we're fighting against Daein."

"With these small numbers? Are you all crazy or something?" Malin incredulously asked.

"Taking on an entire Daein battalion with these numbers? Nice! We're in," Mia cut in.

"Mia, since when did you think you could decide for me…?" Malin questioned with a sour expression. Mia only showed a sarcastic-looking frown. "...Ugh! Fine. This group looks a little better than what Greil said about the Crimean army, at least." He turned to Ike. "Today's your lucky day, dumb pup." With that, he went to the center of the group to avoid direct combat.

"Wait just a second; who are you?" a nearby green-haired fighter asked when Malin took an arrow out of his quiver from behind.

"There's no time to talk. For now, let's deal with these bastards, eh? We can make time for introductions later."

"He's right," the paladin said. She then spotted another group of enemy soldiers approaching them.

A swordfighter raced to meet the green-haired fighter with an upward slash. Malin pulled his arrow back and launched it, landing in the enemy's shoulder. As he was about to tend to his own wound, the fighter swung his axe diagonally, finishing off the foe.

Then two heavily armored knights attacked. Malin made an attempt to make short work of one of them by aiming at the gap in the knight's armor: the neck. He nocked an arrow back into his bow and let go of it. Unfortunately it didn't hit the target; instead it bounced off the knight's heavy armor. However, the fighter and paladin were able to cut them down with their steel axes.

Now, with the arrival of their two new allies, the battle was finally turning in the favor of the Greil Mercenaries.

xxxx

"What? The mercenaries are cutting down our numbers?" the leader yelled out to his subordinate. "No matter. They are still vastly outnumbered. Men! Everyone attack them! Don't let a single one survive! We cannot afford to fail General Petrine!"

After he announced his command, another soldier raced to meet him with a panicked look. "Sir Balmer! They've pushed through the front lines! We stand no chance!"

Balmer immediately grabbed his subordinate's shoulders and firmly shook him. "Soldier! Would you dare retreat? We must fight to the end, lest our heads meet the tip of General Petrine's spear! She would be upset to see our forces fall back after she cuts down that fool she is fighting!"

"I… I… I understand, sir! My apologies!"

Balmer let his grip leave the soldier and softly sighed. "Damn it." He then commanded the remainder of his troops. "Rally here, men! We will not fall here when more than our lives are at stake! I will see that they all burn to cinders!" The rest of the Daein numbers then surrounded their leader without hesitation.

"For Daein!" the soldiers yelled while lifting their spears up above them. Without a moment's rest, the Greil Mercenaries marched to meet them.

xxxx

As the tides were turning, the Daein troops were shrinking more and more in numbers until the leader of the group and a small group of soldiers surrounding him were left. Two of the original Greil Mercenaries, Shinon and Gatrie, made their way to the remaining mercenaries without turning their backs to the black-clad troops.

"Shinon! Gatrie!" Ike exclaimed at the sight of the sniper and knight.

"No time, Ike!" Shinon said with a small smirk. "Let's cut these fools down. We will meet with Commander Greil soon."

Shinon and Gatrie combined their forces with Ike's and met the Daein troops head on.

Before they could launch their assault, they beheld a huge ball of fire floating above the Daeins. Before it made its landfall, the group dove out of the way of the magic attack, save for the two mounted allies who pulled their reins to avoid any harm.

The Greil Mercenaries immediately regrouped, except for Shinon and Gatrie. Gatrie helped his friend up on his shoulders as Shinon swiftly nocked an arrow to aim for the leader: a sage, the source of that elfire spell. The sniper found his target that was already muttering chants to launch another attack. Before the sage could finish, Shinon let go of his arrow, nailing the sage in his neck.

The sage fell to the ground without any more sound than a soft thud. The rest of the soldiers did not budge. "Daein will not move!" an enemy soldier announced with pride.

"Then we'll just have to cut you down and walk over you! Greil Mercenaries, attack!" Ike commanded while holding up his sword in the direction of their targets.

At least it's almost over, Malin thought to himself as they met the soldiers.

xxxx

The Greil Mercenaries made short work of their foes. While the Daeins' last stand was admirable, it did not take much for them to fall. As Ike wiped blood of his fallen foes from his blade, he heard more fighting past a hall the Daeins had protected. "Come on, everyone! Commander Greil must be there!"

Everyone followed Ike as he sprinted down the hall. At the end of the hall, they found Greil standing a short distance away from his foe: a black-tressed paladin that wielded a blood red spear.

Malin and Mia stood at the back of the group, watching what was about to unfold. Without a moment's waste, a voice yelled out behind the two. "There they are! Let's surround them, men!" Then soldiers and archers stood at the four entrances of the large room.

Mia unsheathed her sword at the sight, sweat still dripping down her forehead from the past encounter.

Malin held his arm in front of his friend. "Are you serious, Mia? We all might as well surrender. We thought we were outnumbered before, but that was an understatement compared to what we're facing now! I'm not lifting my sword arm to these fools, not when I'm sure we'll all fall!"

As the Daeins drew closer to the Greil Mercenaries, a loud roar became audible. "What in the name of Ashera is going on?!" Malin shouted as he jumped at the sound.

One of the groups fell back but met the Gallian beast tribe face to face. A few screams were heard, but they were cut short by the jaws of the laguz. A few cats and tigers made their way into the room moments later. The leader, a blue cat, reverted into his beorc form and announced to the Daeins, "Attention, Daein soldiers! Leave this place at once! If you do not comply immediately, you will face Gallia's full strength!" With that, one of the tigers let out a bellowing roar that was heard in the entire fort.

After the tiger roared, the troops behind Malin and Mia had made whimpers and quickly turned their backs to leave their leader. "Cowards," Malin muttered under his breath. "Mia, I think this is all over." Mia then sheathed her sword.

Malin turned his attention back to the Gallians and the paladin, who didn't seem like she would budge from her place.

Then entered a knight encased in black armor. He had a huge sword of beautiful construction in his gauntleted hand. He let out a deep, almost inhuman voice to the woman. "Withdraw, General Petrine."

"Mia…"

"What?" Mia asked as she sheathed her sword again.

"I was just making sure you weren't going to do something ridiculous like fighting the man in that armor. You're a talented fighter, Mia, but I don't think you, or anyone else for that matter, can put up a fight against him," Malin explained as he rested a hand on his friend's shoulder.

As Malin and Mia finished talking, so were the armored knight and paladin. Both retreated as well as the remaining Daein soldiers. "Damn, Mia. You made me miss what they were saying. You need to quit doing that."

"Does it even matter, Malin? They're both gone now."

xxxx

Malin and Mia, along with the Greil Mercenaries, now rested in Gebal Castle, nestled on the road to Gallia's palace: home to the valorous King Caineghis. Gebal Castle was an abandoned structure composed of stone. It offered some warmth from the light cold of the night. The two new mercenaries were talking in a room when Ike walked in.

"Mia. Malin," he greeted.

"Good evening, Boss-man!" Mia returned with a smile.

"Ike," Malin acknowledged with a tired look.

"I was wondering if I could talk to you both, if only for a short time."

"Please do, Ike," Malin answered. "Then perhaps the others won't be unsure about us. They know we're army mercenaries, but they're not sure we can be trusted quite yet. Go ahead."

"All right," Ike started. "You both were hired by Crimea, if I recall correctly back in the fort."

"That's right," Mia spoke up. "We were hired to bolster their numbers. Sadly, we were captured and were gonna be placed in a prison camp. And, of course, Greil got us out of there."

"You two know Crimea's current state, then?"

"Crimea's in trouble, obviously," Malin said. "Daein's scouring through the country in search of a princess. We didn't know there actually was an offspring of the late king until we had been hired. Sir Greil told us that you guys were to take her to Gallia, which I take it you were successful, since I see no frail ladies in distress around… Anyways, that's all she wrote, I believe."

"Correct. The late King Ramon wanted Princess Elincia to retreat to Gallia. Upon finding her unconscious in a battlefield, she employed us to take her there."

"…Did I hear that right?" Malin chuckled. "You found her unconscious in a battlefield? Goddess, that's a riot! I would have thought the Royal Knights could take care of her at first!"

"Malin!" Mia elbowed her friend's side.

"Oof! Sorry about that. Ike, Mia. That wasn't warranted on my part. Hehh."

"Hm. You seem to be a capable sort, Malin. You are talented with a bow, but I find the things you say to be… as you said, unwarranted."

"Don't hold it against him, Boss!" Mia cut in. "Believe it or not, he was hired alongside me. He is a Crimean sympathizer."

"Yeah," Malin agreed. "You heard the girl. I've just been unsure since Daein invaded us with no warning. King Ashnard cutting down the royal family like livestock… Nothing could have warranted these actions. Perhaps we might have hope now that this Elincia made it safely to Gallia. But what are we to do once we reach her and the king of beasts? Live there happily ever after with the laguz?"

"I… I'm not sure what my father would have us do when our job is finished," Ike said with uncertainty. "But first thing's first: the Greil Mercenaries meet with Princess Elincia and King Caineghis in Gallia. We must deal with the task at hand before considering what happens afterwards."

Malin shrugged. "I guess you're right. Sir Greil knows what he can and cannot undertake, I feel. I'll be staying around if you would still have me. He seems quite capable as both a warrior and leader."

"I feel I should help in return!" Mia chimed in. "Greil did free us, after all! You'll need a spatula to peel me from your side, Boss!"

Ike smiled. "Malin. Mia. I thank you both. I am glad to have you on our side."

"Don't get too soft there, Ike," replied Malin with a smirk. Ike walked out with no reply.

After a moment of awkward silence, Mia broke it. "I still don't think what you said was appropriate, Malin. You should watch what you say about Crimea; heck, we're both from here, you know! The Royal Guard was sure to have put up a fight against the Daein army!"

"Hm. I guess. No one would be able to handle a fight if someone incited without any kind of warning. The only warning we had was our history with Daein. We never were particularly friendly, but that doesn't mean they had a justified reason to invade."

"That's right," Mia said with a tired voice. "Well, it's been a day, huh, Malin? It'd be a good idea to get some shut-eye early." The purple-haired myrmidon left Malin to himself in the small room for privacy.

"Took the words right out of my mouth, Mia," her friend replied.

xxxx

Half a mark's time passed, and some of the mercenaries were sleeping. All of a sudden, a roar from a laguz boomed throughout the castle and its surroundings. Malin jumped off of his bedroll and walked out of his room with a frown. He voiced with thick sarcasm, "I was kind of hoping the laguz would be as inactive as beorc at night…"

"No, Malin!" Mia answered as she ran up to her friend; she then pulled him by the arm and dragged him with her. "I think something happened!"

Malin pulled his arm away from her grip and followed Mia to the entrance of the castle. "You mind not dragging me around?" the archer asked with some annoyance. His companion failed to answer, whether it was due to urgency or disregard for her friend. The cold drizzle poured on top of the duo as they caught up with the rest of the mercenaries.

They found Ike kneeling over his beloved father, the commander of the mercenaries, breathing his last as he suffered a gaping wound in his stomach. The gore was seeping onto his son's grip, but Ike held on all the tighter, silently praying in vain that his father would somehow get back up like nothing happened.

Not a word was spoken.

End of chapter.

xxxx

(Author's Notes): Greetings, readers. Just as the summary suggests, this is an attempt at a novelization of Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance. I was unsure of using an original character simply because of common pitfalls that include them, but I do hope the fact that he's there doesn't take away from this story. (Note: I tweaked my OC's backstory just a tad to better fit the following chapters.)

Doubtful I'll update this story very often, as it's not number one on my list of priorities, but I hope to put more effort into writing more often than before.

I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Thank you for reading; feedback of any kind is welcome and appreciated.