Disclaimer: Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones and all related characters and locations belong to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems. I make no profit from this; I only seek to entertain readers.
It's been a year since the War of the Stones ended. A whole year since Prince Ephraim and Princess Eirika defeated the Demon King, along with their band of allies. Soldiers and civilians from each nation fighting together for a common cause, to protect their world. The stories and legends from the ancient past had repeated itself once more. According to Prince Innes, they had done more than the stories had told. The Demon King's body had been destroyed. He could never return. The peace in Magvel would be everlasting this time, right?
But even after the war ended, the battle was far from over. The battle to rebuild the nations, to repair houses and buildings. The hardest part was healing from the grief the people suffered. The grief of losing loved ones, losing their leaders. A year later, and some of the grief had yet to heal.
As for the Sacred Stone of Rausten, the only stone that remained after the Demon King's ambition to destroy them all, it had been stored beneath the royal Castle of Renais, where its own stone had been kept. With the Demon King's soul imprisoned within, the stone itself had become more powerful. The Renais twins had thought it prudent to seal it away with their bracelets, so that no one would dabble with it as Prince Lyon had with Grado's Sacred Stone.
The Demon King, however, was still not dead. His soul imprisoned yet again, his huge, powerful body destroyed, the Demon King was furious. And his own fury would awaken a new level of power within him.
I never imagined I would be imprisoned again, he thought in his dark rage. Accursed humans...accursed dragonkin...all of them will pay. I will escape, build a new body, and cover this land with darkness. Every human will bow before me as their master...
A dark, purple fog began to spread from within the Sacred Stone, seeping through the cracks of the vault...
Ephraim and Eirika had been quite busy during the past year in the restoration of Renais, as well as Grado. Ephraim, especially, had been working with General Duessel to restore Grado, who had no successor with both Emperor Vigarde and Prince Lyon's deaths.
For now, at least, Ephraim and Eirika had found a little leisure time. They were now at a lake not far from Renais Castle, their armor and clothing already lying at the shore. The pair, clad in their swimming apparel, was taking a little dip in the lake.
"Ah...this is so nice," Eirika said, with a sigh of contentment.
"It is," Ephraim agreed. "It's about time we had a chance to do something like this. We've been so busy rebuilding Magvel, we've never even thought about taking time off."
"Hee hee," Eirika giggled.
"Hey sis..." Ephraim smirked. "You want to find out who can hold their breath the longest?"
Eirika rolled her eyes. "Oh Brother...I'm sure you can hold your breath longer."
Ephraim frowned. "Oh, come on. You can at least try to beat me. It's no fun if you admit defeat before you even try."
"Well, if you insist, Brother. You have a point."
"All right, on the count of three. One...two...three!"
With a deep breath, the twins dove under the water's surface. Meanwhile, the dark, purple fog rolled over them, passing by in a matter of seconds.
A few moments went by as the twins waved their limbs gently to remain underwater as long as they could. Eirika, however, could feel her lungs giving out rapidly, desperate for air. Succumbing to the urge, she resurfaced, popping her head out of the water, gasping for air. Ephraim rose after her, catching his breath as well.
"Looks like I won," he remarked, laughing in between heavy breaths.
"Yes, you did," Eirika said, admitting defeat. "But...I'll try harder next time."
"That's the spirit! Come on; let's get back to the castle."
They made their way over to the shore, and spent another minute or two donning their armor. Afterwards, they stood and headed back to the castle.
Up in the Caer Pelyn range, Saleh and Gerik walked along the mountain path heading up to the village.
"Can you believe it's been a whole year since we defeated the Demon King?" Gerik asked. "A whole year!"
"Yes..." Saleh replied solemnly. "It still feels like it happened yesterday, though."
"No kidding. You don't fight battles like that every day. I almost wish I could fight another battle again."
Saleh gave his friend an odd look. "Gerik, you're a mercenary. I thought that fighting never ends for you."
"Well, business has been kind of slow since the war ended. Peaceful times and all."
"Hmm. It is true that the nations have been busy rebuilding after everything. The war has affected all of them, and they have united from their shared suffering. I only hope that they continue to live in peace."
Gerik nodded in agreement, shooting a casual glance at the land below. The purple fog covered the land in a fine blanket.
"Ghastly fog out there, don't you think?"
Saleh glanced out at the fog as well, a look of horror spreading across his face. "Great Dragon...that is no natural fog."
"Then what could it be...?"
Before they could ponder any further, a loud thunderclap boomed from somewhere near the village.
"Aaaaahhh!" cried a young boy's voice.
Saleh whirled around, facing that direction. "Ewan!?"
He ran up the path towards the village, with Gerik following close behind. As they got closer to the source, they found a tree that had been knocked over, a little smoke rising from the trunk.
"Ewan!" Saleh cried out again.
"Teacher..." Ewan's voice came out strained. "I'm...I'm stuck..."
Saleh and Gerik approached to examine the tree and Ewan's predicament. The young pupil was face-down on the ground, pinned beneath the tree.
"Ewan, what happened?" Saleh asked.
"I was practicing the Thunder spell on this tree..." Ewan said. "I didn't expect the tree to fall on top of me!"
Saleh shook his head in mild annoyance. Such carelessness. "All right...we'll get you out. Gerik..."
"Right," Gerik replied, examining the tree. "I'll lift the tree while you pull him out."
They both got into position, Gerik bending over, wrapping his arms around the top of the trunk, while Saleh crouched down to grab hold of Ewan's wrists.
"All right, on three," Gerik warned. "One...two...three!"
He exerted all of his strength, slowly lifting the tree from the ground. Saleh pulled gently on Ewan's arms, so as not to hurt him. When the tree was lifted high enough, Saleh carefully slid the boy out from underneath.
"I've got him," he called.
On cue, Gerik let go of the tree, dropping it on the ground with a heavy thud. He then stood with an exhausted sigh. "Whew...I think I'm losing my muscles here," he said, wiping his forehead.
"Thanks, Teacher, Commander Gerik," Ewan said. "I don't know what I would have done without you."
"Here, let me heal you." Saleh raised his staff, emitting the soothing glow of blue magic onto Ewan.
"Oh, thanks again, Teacher!" Ewan said, more upbeat. "I feel like a million gold now!"
At that moment, Dara, the village elder, stepped out from her house, approaching the three.
"Is everything all right out here?" she asked.
"Yeah!" Ewan replied cheerfully. "I got stuck under a tree, but Saleh and Gerik got me out."
Saleh and Gerik, on the other hand, weren't so cheerful. Saleh glanced behind him, still concerned about the fog he had seen. Gerik glanced at him, reading his expression. The elder needed to know what they had seen.
Saleh approached the old woman, bowing his head respectfully. "Elder..."
"Hmm?" Dara read his expression quite easily, as she had done for many, many years. "Does something trouble you, Saleh?"
"Yes..." Saleh hesitated, struggling to form coherent sentences. "In the lands below, there is a fog."
"A fog, you say?"
"Yes...it doesn't seem natural. There's something...ominous about it."
"Hmm..." The elder pondered for a moment, her tone turning darkly serious. "Have you heard from the Great Dragon?"
"No, Elder...at least not concerning this. However...I do not believe we should wait either."
"Hmm. If it is as obvious as you say, I would be inclined to agree. Please, seek out the Great Dragon, Saleh. And take your friend with you."
Saleh bowed his head once again. ""As you wish, Elder."
"Hey, can I go, too!?" Ewan jumped in.
Saleh made another brief hesitation... "Very well."
There was no reason Ewan couldn't go at this point. After all, he was involved in the War of the Stones, and the battle against the Demon King. Like any other dangerous situation, they could use all the help they could get.
Gerik was thinking the same thing, though not just about bringing Ewan.
"Al right, it looks like I have a job," he said. "We should head to Jehanna and pick up my troop. And then we can head to Darkling Woods."
"A sound idea," Saleh agreed. "Let's go."