Remember me? The writer of the somewhat cult fic "My Stalker" (The first Knoll/Lute fic) if it can even be described that? Well it doesn't matter I'm actually getting around to my second Fire Emblem fic, and it's featuring Knoll again. Its not that I'm fond of the character but he has a good design and some interesting supports. This is my second time with the whole story around a support again but maybe I can make this better then the first. Well this is set differently and it's not a comedy so you will not have to deal with my humor (which is high brow) unless its there which I doubt. But like the summery said this is somewhat a Knoll/Natasha fic but it's more of hinted then it's actually there. Like the other this should be 3 chapters with an epilogue added eventually but who knows where this may go, so enjoy.
Chapter 1
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It was dark, moonlight had already settled as the wind howled. Two hours earlier, prior to night fall there had already been fighting between Grado and Rausten.
There were some Clerics going through advocating and converting claiming to purge the land of immorality. They certainly didn't take kind to Knoll the Shaman but didn't overstep their bounds as they seemed to have a passive attitude to quite people in the group regardless of the affiliation.
It wasn't into that some band of 20 Grado Summoners and Druids came through.
It was possible that neither side knew the other would be there but on point they bolt sent a barrage of spells at each other attempting to get the upper hand.
Knoll found himself facilitating some members of Grado but then killing other members for reasons only known to him.
And his fellow spell user the cleric in white Natasha was on the other side helping her fellow clerics and bishops and monks.
Well the battle had concluded in a stalemate. Neither side was winning and the surplus of the Tomes and spells where shrinking as the demands for spells in the battle was too high.
Knoll had also uses up too many tomes by casting summons to attack mercenaries for hire without paying attention. As he had prior to the event no true battle experience save for occasional spares with fellow Gradoin Druid Lyon when he was still in his right mind that used logic and reasoning.
Knoll actually wasn't fighting for Grado but rather a handful of Shamans, Druids and Summoners he worked with his time there. He knew they weren't fighters like him but rather was sent to provide help as sometimes wondering Grado militias would be attacked by bandits and monsters. It isn't as if Grado was a peaceful pacifist group however as they weren't above plundering villages for resources but they would probably have not waged an attack without warning; had the ecclesiastics who were doing their little crusade, had not been there as they both attacked instinctively.
Natasha had been quite to Knoll since battle time, likely steaming from them being on opposite sides earlier and partially due to them never talking. Well today was her day to talk as she called the former Grado elite Shaman.
"Master Knoll..." She started quietly before pausing to think.
Knoll on the other hand was rather blunt and didn't hold any feeling to earlier. It was always weird for him as he spent time killing people she likely knew before he joined up with her, so going back to his old roots momentarily was natural; and going back after the battle felt like his first time meeting the group so it was more awkward if anything.
"I know you... You're Natasha, from the sanctuary." Knoll said coolly, well as calm, as he could because he really didn't care to converse as he'd probably forget what they talked about.
"Yes. I remember seeing you many times back in Grado. But this is the first time we've ever actually spoken." Natasha said as Knoll nodded not really paying attention. He believed he talked in small chatters such as hello and where is such and such.
"I don't know what it is, but clerics and mages seem to be like oil and water. And we mages can be an enigmatic bunch at times. Shadowy and sinister... Or at least, that's how I've always imagined you clerics saw us." Knoll explained as he never would imagine talking to her based on the facts that they came from two different schools of magic and studied different tomes and forms of arcane magic if they were ever used.
"Oh, no! I never-- Well, no. You're right. We had few dealings with the mages. But that's in the past. I have a question for you, Master Knoll." Natasha said as she probably wanted to avoid the discussion of the battle of earlier times and recent times.
"I think I can guess. It's about the Sacred Stones and Prince Lyon, is it?" Knoll asked as Natasha nodded her head. He knew it would come around eventually between them as they both knew what the battle of earlier should have been about.
"It is. My mentor died... trying to warn us about the threat our Sacred Stone posed. I want to know the truth. What is Emperor Vigarde up to? What is Prince Lyon's role in this?" Natasha explained before her face eventually flushed from holding her breath for a riposte.
"There are as many truths out there as there are people to tell them. Perhaps it's best simply to choose the truth with which you are most comfortable." Knoll said careful to choose the correct words that should satisfy her.
"..." Apparently he chose correctly but the silence was getting to him and he knew she was about to ask something so he elaborated on her mentor.
"In the eyes of your mentor, I would imagine we must have seemed quite evil. He imagined our magical studies using the Sacred Stone were sacrilege. I suspect he quite loathed the antediluvian magic he called "dark." Knoll said as Natasha seemed to be shocked as her eyes bulged open.
"You're wrong... My mentor wasn't like that at all! And isn't that war the direct result of all your dark magic research?" Natasha said raising her voice in a defensive manner.
"..."
"..."
"Hm... Well, I suppose you are right about that. Your magic stems from faith in the unknowable, the divine presence. In contrast, dark magic stems from knowledge, from understanding. We distrust what we do not understand, and we strive to know the unknowable. Perhaps our disciplines truly are incompatible." Knoll said as he left the subject alone. Well as the entire conversation as he walked away leaving Natasha to ponder his words.
He had not really known what made him decide to talk to Natasha then sheer timing as he hadn't really looked to speak to her for his tenure of being in the traveling band. He had seen a many of the group lose their life in battles that those people waged and yet he never talked to them and yet he fond himself talking to her.
If anyone he talked to it would be Ephraim as he was the one to get him to join with his faction of warriors. He suspected the cerulean headed lord was liable for him learning to be open to teammate as he constantly asked or rather pleaded with him to sit down and indulge Ewan the young conjurer in training, in the finer arts of using magic rather then crude methods of casting it that cost you too much energy.
Or explaining to the Moulder how using certain types of Magic like dark tome spells such as Lunar degraded your overall speed due to the tomes used being cumbersome and it fatiguing you easily.
Not to mention having to play some type of games with the men in his group as they celebrated victory in the nearest town for a price of 400 pieces of gold and had him sharing rooms with people while he had to watch Ephraim be the only one with his own room.
Knoll was far from anti-social but he never really had anything to say to people so he would just stay quite. Knoll was just learning to be open to talking so he still talked as if he were discussing spells all the time but he was making small gains.
Not unlike Natasha who wasn't shy but never really open to say much. She was well the more timid appearance woman who would actually be open to all things to discuss as long as it didn't cause her conflict with her belief.
It was an old thing to see them talking but Colm said it probably was because since they shared the same nation that neither would feel alien to each other when it came to talking or the first time as he learned Natasha never really went in depth into magic unless she was talking to people who stayed near Grado's boarders like Joshua or Cormag.
In any case both didn't do anything to put forth another effort to talk again until one started the conversation which neither would do so they just left it alone.