The First Tactician (A Fire Emblem: Fates Fanfiction)

Chapter 2: Cruel Fate

Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem. I own my OCs.

"text": Dialogue

'text': Thought

~xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx~

The next morning, Shay was escorted outside the Northern Fortress.He was given a pack of vulneraries and a proper blade, an iron sword. Leo had personally walked him out to the border of the fort's defenses. "I am sorry your efforts didn't convince my brother." The prince sighed. "Your skills are truly amazing, though. I suggest you leave for now, and come back a bit later. I could attempt to convince my father that you would be valuable to our conquest."

Shay chuckled. "I will keep the offer in mind, Prince Leo." He shook hands with the young dark knight. "I thank you for your hospitality."

"Pay it no mind, Shay." Leo cracked a bit of a smile. "The royalty should help citizens once in a while, right?"

"I suppose so." Shay laughed. "Until we meet again." He walked across the bridge that led outside the fort.

~xxx~

A young boy had struck a bandit with a sword. Another boy pierced one with a lance. The two turned around to see a woman on horseback approach. In unison, the boys spoke. "How did we do, mother?" The Strategist smiled.

"You did wonderfully, my children. I am proud of you both." She hopped off her steed and embraced the two. They smiled.

"We'll take care of the rest for you." One spoke. The other nodded. They went off into the forest, seeking more bandits to slay. The mother sighed.

Shay had gotten very far down the road. The dirt path led into a forest. In that forest, he noticed a woman next to a horse. Having nothing to do, he approached her. "Er, hello!" He waved as he was walking to her. She flinched and shot a burst of ice from a tome.

"O-Oh! I'm terribly sorry!" She laughed nervously. "I must have accidentally shot one off. Heh..." Shay stood guard.

"... Right. Anyways, what are you doing out in a forest?" He shook his head. "Ah, forgive me. I haven't even introduced myself. I'm Shay, a tactician."

The woman smiled. "My name is Elfira. I'm a strategist." She let out a chuckle. "Which is more of a troubadour with a tome than anything."

(Battle Theme: Awakening- Conquest)

A childish scream came from within the forest. The pair looked towards the direction of the cry, where a man in a large suit of armor had grabbed one of the kids. He was struggling, when the general cut him down. A loud yell came from the other twin, as he struck the man. The armored beast laughed. "Please, such weapons will do nothing to me!" He pierced the boy with a lance. "A pity." The general shook the child off his weapon.

Elfira screamed at the sight of her kids, and fell off her horse. Shay went to her side. She had fainted. "There's no way I can take on all these enemies by myself..." He huffed, hiding the unconcious strategist. "But, I suppose I must." The tactician opened his Thunder tome. A few burly knights were approaching him. He scoffed. "Your armor may protect from physical strikes, but how does it fare against magic?" A large bolt of thunder shot from the book, knocking multiple knights out of the way. "Wow." That was all that could escape from his mouth. Shay had danced around the knights for a bit, defeating each one with magic. Then, reinforcements had been called. Wyvern riders, more specifically, Wyvern Lords. "What great timing." He unsheathed his iron blade. A couple of riders came in close to him, wielding lances. He couldn't block them and took a couple of hits, and holes pierced his side. "Damn... I'm done for..."

An arrow came flying past his side, going straight through one of the wyverns. Shay turned towards the arrow's direction. An adventurer and what seemed to be a mage were behind him. The mage was wearing a... peculiar hat. "You okay there?" The adventurer took out a staff.

"I think I'll live." He waved off the adventurer's offer, before facing the wyvern riders. "So... what are we doing about these guys?"

The adventurer drew back his bow, nocking an arrow. The mage pulled out a tome, it had a green gust like design. Shay gave him a quizzical look. "It's a tome that emits wind energy. Apparently it's effective against winged creatures." The mage answered. "It's extremely rare, too."

The tactician nodded. "Alright, let's do this." The bowman started their attack, taking down another rider. Muttering a series of words, the mage shot forth a brilliant hail of wind. It took out another rider. Shay advanced to take out a rider, countering it's attack and hitting a weak point. With the reinforcements taken care of, the trio made their way towards the murderous general. The tactician pointed his blade at the burly knight. "Justice will be swift, you monster."

The great knight laughed. "Justice? Who do you think you are, boy?" He kept a tight grip on the lance by his side. "You dare talk about Justice in front of me, Daren the Judge?!" The knight charged forward suddenly, which made his lance impale Shay's shoulder. Unable to attack, the tactician motioned for the mage to strike. He nodded, sending a large swipe of wind at the knight. It didn't seem to do much damage to him, but it released Shay from Daren's lance. "Damn you!"

The Judge swung his lance around to strike the mage, but he was shoved out of the way by the adventurer. He took a hit, flying back. Filled with rage, the mage gripped his tome tightly. He outstreched his palm, letting the magic gather all around him. Shay noticed this and did likewise with his thunder tome. A slight flash enveloped the mage for a moment. "Prepare for oblivion!" The mage yelled, letting the wind fly from his hands towards the knight. Daren took the force of the magic head on, yet he was still standing.

Seeing his chance to finish the battle, Shay gathered a bit more magic. A flash surrounded him, too. "I've outsmarted you!" He released the pent up energy of his thunder tome, which hit Daren dead on. The Judge fell from his horse, hitting the ground with a loud thud.

The mages fell to their knees, exhausted. "Gods... I'm surprised we didn't need another round of attacks." Taking off his hat, the mage showed off his blue hair. "Now's the time for introductions, I suppose. My name is Henek, and this is Valor." The adventurer smirked. "We're... retainers to royalty. Thanks the Gods we happened upon you at the right time, or else you could've died."

The tactician shook his head. "I don't want to imagine that..." He looked up at the pair. "You have my gratitude. My name is Shay. I'm a tactician by trade." Taking sips from a vulnerary, he stood up and clutched his shoulder.

"Damn, this guy's a giant." Valor said while approaching the body of The Judge. He crouched down to examine the armor. "How did you two even-" Before he could get another word out, a hand tightly grasped his neck.

Daren rose, choking the adventurer. "Your sentence..." He grasped him harder. "IS DEATH!" Valor's face was turning blue. The mages couldn't do anything, with Henek being exhausted and Shay injured, they were helpless. The adventurer was passing out, when a large bolt of thunder struck Daren in the head.

Henek turned around, spoting a strategist. "That's for my kids, you bastard." Elfira trotted up to them, dismounting. "Are you all hurt?" A spit of blood from Valor, a nod from Henek, and a groan of pain from Shay answered her question. After she healed them all, the two said their goodbyes and departed. That left Shay and Elfira alone.

"So... where are you off to?" The tactician tried to make conversation with the sullen healer. She stayed silent. He huffed. "Come with me." Shay offered a hand to her. "It's not very safe to travel alone. You could always have someone watch your back."

She slowly rose her head to gaze over him. "I..." A tear rolled down her cheek. "I couldn't protect them..." Elfira fell down, sobbing. Shay crouched to her level. She was crying into her hands. "I'm a... horrible mother..." Not knowing what to do, Shay slowly wrapped his arms around her, to give her a hug.

It was going to be a long journey.

~xxx~

A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long. Hit a bit of a wall, but I'm back... I hope.

-Guardian Demon