Author's Notes

Obviously this fic isn't canon, but beware of spoilers for the second half of FE4. Also be aware that these names are from the FE4 translation I played.

You know what? There's a ton of things that probably aren't canon in this fic, so I'm not gonna list them all. :p Please sign in before reviewing!

Love's Power

"Ishtar… I need to apologize to you."

"For what?" Ishtar asked, her head tilting to the side in wonder. What would her boyfriend, Julius, need to apologize for? "You've been nothing but kind to me."

That wasn't an understatement. Ishtar, otherwise known as the Goddess of Thunder, was a terror to face in battle. As a woman, though, many of the nobility didn't like the idea of her being the head general of the Freege army, and the eventual successor of Freege itself. Julius, however, was always in awe of her superior abilities, and appreciated Ishtar for not being afraid to show off her strength. He was more of a studious and slightly introverted individual, whereas Ishtar was a bit more outspoken, and perhaps appeared to be less of a "lady" than others would like. Nevertheless, Julius' honest and humble attitude is what initially attracted the Goddess to the heir of the Barhara throne.

"Because…" Julius started, and his eyes averted ever so slightly in guilt, "I… I have to break up with you."

Most women, after hearing a statement like that, would instantly break down in tears. Ishtar, however, was a much stronger person than that. She was also smart enough to know that Julius clearly didn't want to do this; the tone of his voice was an obvious indicator that this sudden change of heart wasn't simply of his own doing. "Can I at least have a reason?"

Julius nodded hurriedly. He knew that his girlfriend deserved an explanation, regardless of how bizarre it may be. "A while ago... I was approached by Manfroy. He said there were urgent matters to attend to at the Yied Shrine. A matter befitting 'the one true heir', as he put it. Not knowing what he was getting at, I of course went with him; he may be the current high priest of the Lopt Sect, but he's still one of my father's top advisers."

"Julius… you know how much I don't like those Loptyr worshippers," Ishtar grimaced. Julius could see the discomfort in her face, and as he looked at her disgust, he felt even guiltier. "They preach about child hunts to brainwash them into becoming followers."

"I know they're not all evil people though… that's partly why I followed him."

Ishtar couldn't help but smile. Of course Julius would understand that not everyone of the Sect was a bad person. That was a reason why she loved him.

"I also knew my father wouldn't be too happy if I didn't go anyway. He's been getting moodier with age," Julius joked, and Ishtar laughed along with him. "He always treats my mother well, though. And my twin sister... he's always calling her 'The Light of the World'. But I wouldn't have it any other way."

Ishtar gently leaned into Julius' side, as she would usually do on occasions where the two of them simply chatted with each other.

However, this time Julius softly pushed her away.

"When we finally get to the Shrine, we descend to the bottom chamber where only the high priest is allowed to go," he explained, and he averted his eyes again. "I should have known something was wrong. I heard a few of the other priests saying things like 'the heir is here!' and 'after so long… he is ready!' and things like that. And when we finally reached the chamber…"

With a sudden groan, Julius grabbed his head in pain, and Ishtar naturally positioned herself closer to him. This didn't look like a normal headache; it was more deliberate, more purposeful. After a minute, Julius was able to refocus himself and the pain seemed to go away, but Ishtar got the impression that this wasn't the first time this happened. "When we finally reach the chamber… there's a dark book on a pedestal in the middle of the room. Without looking at it, somehow I immediately knew that I was looking at the dark tome of Loptutousou."

Ishtar had an idea where this was going. She had heard rumours that the current ruling family of Barhara had Loptyr blood in their veins, but there wasn't much point in bringing it up, because there was no significant proof to put any stock in those rumours.

Maybe she should have said something.

"I was about to run away, but an army of Lopt priests ambushed me and pushed me ever closer to the cursed tome. I… I couldn't…"

Julius held his hands over his face in misery. For the next few minutes, he simply kept that position, almost as if he was collecting his thoughts. Ishtar didn't rush him. She knew he would speak when he was ready.

What she didn't expect was when Julius eventually revealed his face again, his eyes were completely bloodshot, and a faint aura of black circled within them. He appeared to be in a different place mentally.

"J...Julius?"

Hearing Ishtar's voice snapped Julius out of… whatever was happening to him, but even though the normal Julius was back and his eyes were no longer bloodshot, the dark aura remained in his features.

He looked more afraid than ever now.

"My eyes have turned dark now, haven't they."

It wasn't a question. It was a statement. Ishtar nodded wordlessly and pulled a mirror out of her travel satchel. When Julius examined himself, he shook his head sadly before he gave the mirror back to Ishtar.

"It shouldn't be possible, but somehow, someway… I possess the Major Holy Blood of Loptutousou… and being exposed to the tome awoke his dormant genes inside of me…" he explained, and Ishtar, despite wishing to do the opposite, hardened herself to not react to the startling news. She knew it would hurt him more if she withdrew from him in fear. In fact, seeing Julius in such torment was eating away her insides, but she knew better than to let it get to her. "Manfroy said... that this would be the first sign of my permanent change... Ishtar, do you remember when you were first exposed to the Thor Hammer?"

She remembered it well. The Thor Hammer, also known as Mjolnir, was the Thunder magic tome of Tordo. As the inheritor of Tordo's Major Holy Blood, Ishtar had the privilege of wielding the sacred tome. But such a privilege came with a price. "When I first laid my hands on the tome… I felt myself change. I became more self-confident, but more ferocious on the battlefield. And as time passed, I felt I was losing my compassion for people in the process, and I was scared."

She then intertwined her hands into her lover's hands, and gave him a genuine smile. "Julius… you were the one who helped balance me again. Your feelings for me… they helped me keep the good changes and push away the bad ones. You're afraid that you're going to become completely consumed by Loptyr, aren't you?"

That was exactly what Julius was worried about. The twelve crusaders of old originally came together to defeat Loptutousou, for his being was one of evil, not good, and Loptyr's influence on his host was much more deeply entrenched than the rest of the dragons of old. Julius would have no chance of escaping the same fate if he became controlled by the being inside of him, the being just waiting to come out and devour its host.

"That's why… I cannot stay by your side anymore. The ones who are closest to me will be hurt the most by my… by my..."

With the truth of the whole situation now out, Julius could not control his feelings any longer, and he wept. As he cried into Ishtar's shoulder, he thought about how there may be a time he would forget what it was like to have empathy for others, and that would be a terrible thing to lose. His mother was an empathetic individual, and in fact, Julius' mild disposition and humble attitude mostly came from her. His twin sister was the same way, if not more so.

How ironic that even though they were twins, she became the literal inheritor of Narga's light, and he was the literal inheritor of Loptyr's darkness.

A worse fate was if he perhaps lost his feelings for Ishtar.

He couldn't bear to live with that.

"I've t-tried to f-fight it off… but it's b-b-becoming more difficult…" Julius attempted to explain as he still cried on Ishtar's shoulder. "One day… it's g-going to take me over… completely… and I can already feel… the darkness overtaking my heart, more and more, day by day..."

Ishtar rubbed Julius' head in a vain attempt to calm him down. It helped him enough to stop crying, but not enough to stop him from being worried about the inevitable change.

She needed a way to let him know that everything was going to be alright.

Even if she had no indication that such a thing was possible.

"Julius…"

Ishtar may not have done this before she gained possession of the Thor Hammer, but as she had found out, Tordo's influence from the tome gave her more self-confidence, to be unafraid to speak up for what was right. As a noblewoman, though, becoming more outspoken made her even more disliked in the eyes of the nobility.

But Julius had told her the opposite.

"I like this change, Ishtar. It suits your personality. Maybe this is the way you were meant to be as Tordo's successor. It's not your fault that everyone else is afraid of it."

And now, Ishtar needed to let him know that his changes would suit him, and that she was not afraid of him.

Even if he turned into an evil god.

And so, she looked into Julius' eyes and, with a warm smile on her face, gently pressed her lips onto his. The two of them never shared a kiss before, so it was an exciting experience for the young couple, and for those split-seconds, both of them had forgotten the worrisome circumstances that had brought them together today.

"Ishtar…"

As the two of them slowly drifted apart, Julius, for the first time that day, no longer dreaded what was to eventually happen to him, even if it was only a temporary feeling.

"Ishtar… thank you…"

The Goddess was about to acknowledge Julius heartfelt gratitude, but she noticed something different about her lover. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but it was something noticeable about his appearance. Her eyes slowly widened as she eventually figured out what changed, and so she quickly grabbed the mirror again and gave it to Julius. "Julius… are you…"

Julius took a look at himself in the mirror, and his eyes widened. "The aura… it's gone!" He then held his hand to his chest. "And the darkness in my heart… I can feel it melting away. I can't… I can't believe this…"

Without thinking, Julius hugged Ishtar with such force that it was tough to breathe, but she didn't blame him. She could only imagine the anguish he went through; probably warring within himself on how to tell her the horrible news; but now, there was a chance that none of his fears would come true. Julius eventually noticed his tight grip and he loosened his hold, but the relief that coursed through his body was strong enough for Ishtar to feel as well.

With the sudden turn of events having ended happily instead of with heartache, Julius cleared his throat to ask his lover a very important question that needed resolving: "Ishtar… if you'll have me, can we become... a couple again?"

He attempted to look somewhat cool when asking, but it turned into more of an embarrassing confession, which left Ishtar no choice but to chuckle at him for his efforts. Regardless, she kissed him again, this time on the cheek, and gave him a reply: "I would like nothing more."

EPILOGUE

Within a few days, the darkness of Loptutousou began to return within Julius, and at first he panicked, even more worried that perhaps Loptyr was coming back stronger than before. However, after another heartfelt kiss from Ishtar, the darkness disappeared once more.

It appeared that the power of Julius' and Ishtar's love for each other was even stronger than the power of a god. In fact, their love was so strong that they eventually married less than a year later.

As with Ishtar, Julius still changed slightly from his previous self; in his case, he became more charismatic. However, his humble personality, along with the influence of his family and Ishtar, prevented the charisma from becoming a negative trait. As Ishtar stated previously, the feelings of love from their significant other helped balance the person, keeping the good traits while pushing away the bad ones. In fact, Ishtar liked this more charismatic Julius; against all odds, it suited him perfectly, especially as it complimented his own personality and Ishtar's outspoken, yet caring attitude. Their combination of traits led to prosperity for the continent of Jugdral when they eventually took over the Barhara throne as husband and wife.

With Ishtar by his side, Julius never succumbed to Loptutousou's influence. As the Lopt Sect was growing increasingly impatient over the time it took for their god to take over his human vessel, Ishtar and Julius' love only grew stronger, and it took longer and longer for Loptyr's power to re-emerge every time it was quelled, although it never quite disappeared altogether for the rest of Julius' days.

After the announcement of Ishtar's first pregnancy, the two of them made the difficult decision to risk everything for the chance to protect their future children; by the burning of the book of Loptutousou. As only the high priest of the Lopt Sect or Loptyr's vessel could hold the cursed tome without dying, Julius transported the book back to Barhara, Ishtar all the while never letting go of him for fear of Loptyr's direct influence instantly corrupting him for eternity. When they safely made it back to the castle, Julius somehow was able to throw the book into the fireplace so it couldn't hurt anyone ever again.

As the being of the book was deep within him, Julius had cried out in pain for the duration of the book's destruction, but Ishtar held his hand and tenderly stroked his head in a heartfelt effort to distract him from the torment he must have felt inside and out. When the deed was finally completed, the pain subsided, and they rejoiced, knowing that even any of their children inherited Loptyr's Major Holy Blood, Loptutousou couldn't corrupt them with the book containing his essence destroyed. When the Lopt Sect eventually found out about the book's fate, along with the fact that their last chance at reviving Loptyr was basically nonexistent so long as Ishtar was alive, they finally gave up their inhuman practices once and for all.

The two of them brought the continent of Jugdral to an era of peace that lasted for eons. As well, they were blessed with two beautiful children, and both of them inherited the Major Holy Blood of their respective parents. Their oldest daughter was a beacon of sunshine despite having the full blood of Loptutousou in her veins, and their son was a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield when it came time for the Thor Hammer to be passed onto him.

In the end, who knew that love's power was stronger than any other force in existence? It not only joined two wonderful people together, but it saved one from eternal harm, and even prevented the uprising of an evil god. Yes, the tale of Julius and Ishtar's love for each other would become a saga that withstood the test of time, and hopefully provide a warning, as well as hope, for those with similar circumstances, perhaps even in other continents, if such dire circumstances were to transpire again…

THE END

Author's Notes

Well, this was an interesting premise to work with. I love JuliusxIshtar, but as of the posting of this fic, NOBODY ELSE SEEMS TO WANT TO GIVE THESE GUYS A HAPPILY EVER AFTER ENDING! THEY DESERVE ONE! So I'm here to fix that! These two get such a raw deal in the game; nothing goes their way in the long run. And it's not even their fault. Of course, I already wrote another JuliusxIshtar fic previously, Last Resort, and I may have stolen a bit of stuff from it, but this idea popped into my head, so it needed to be written!

Now, very little is known about Julius' real (aka before he was possessed) personality canonically, but one conclusive detail that we know of is that he loves Ishtar, despite being taken over by Loptyr. According to the Fire Emblem Wiki, it's implied in FE4, FE5, and FE Heroes that he was a quiet and kind individual before Manfroy forced him to touch the Loptutousou tome, but it's still kind of inconclusive. I'd like to think he was a meeker individual before being taken over, so that's why I went with that personality trait for him. With Deirdre as his mother, how could he not be?

Ishtar certainly contains a high moral code, and this is shown in-game in FE4, but the outspoken part was somewhat of my own invention. For that time period, it's understandable that male nobility would be intimidated by a strong female, especially if she wasn't afraid to speak her mind, and in-game she was rarely afraid to speak out, even against her father or the possessed Julius... although there were times she showed shrewdness in keeping silent regarding Julius as well. Regardless, I like that personality trait for her; I think it fits her quite well, actually.

I'd like to think it's logical that a meek person like Julius would appreciate (and not be intimidated by) Ishtar being herself and not trying to hold back her magical strength just for the sake of her reputation, especially knowing that when she did speak out, it was always for the right reasons. Ishtar in turn would greatly respect Julius for his mature reasoning on the matter, especially since he's the younger of the two of them as far as I know. I could see these as understandable reasons for the two of them to start developing feelings for each other, as the circumstances behind Julius and Ishtar's courtship is sadly absent for the most part. I felt I should fill in some of the gaps!

For the benefit of absolutely nobody, I condensed my profile slightly. I had a pretty useless section called My Favourites that I deleted entirely, and I shaved off a few sentences here and there throughout the rest of the profile. Still some useless stuff but less than before!

Well, time to write my penultimate chapter of A Glimmer of Hope! It's gonna be a doozy! I'm still not entirely sure what's gonna happen!