Exalt Lucina's grandfather, a man whose name has been lost to history, left behind three children following his death in the war he initiated against Plegia. The mother of the children had passed away by then, leaving the eldest child, Emmeryn, to be shoved onto the throne in front of a weary, angered, and grief-stricken people. Her reign is viewed with a skeptic eye, for on one hand, she was talented in turning her subjects to her support. Within several years, she had transformed her adversaries back into adoring citizens. Yet, on the other hand, her actions were driven by a naïve set of ideals, leading her to neglect her kingdom's military power. Her assassination at Plegian hands would leave her younger brother Chrom with less than half an army to wage another war with Plegia.
Though Chrom would go on to win victories in both the Ylissean-Plegian war ignited by his sister's assassination and the Valmese war against Walhart the Conquerer, his reign is ultimately considered a failure. This is so because of what followed: the collapse of the world's kingdoms, for the wars would leave most of them leaderless. The result of this was a void spanning an estimate of twenty to thirty years, from which very little history can be drawn. One might say that placing the blame on Chrom's actions as exalt is unfair. Both of the wars he fought were primarily in self-defense. Plegia had been launching small attacks on Ylisse's border, and, truth be told, it was only a matter of time before they grew to a larger scale. Walhart would have turned his path towards the eastern continent after Valm had complete control over the west. As aforementioned, Ylisse's army was small at the time of Emmeryn's death- even with help form an alliance with Regna Ferox, it was too small to win one war, let alone two. So, then, it begs the question: How did Ylisse prevail? Chrom was at the very head of the army, having final sway over any and all decisions his commanders put forth, but directly underneath him was his tactician, a woman named Robin.
In this chunk of history, Robin is an interesting case. I say "interesting" because of her origin, or rather, lack thereof. Several writings survive that recount what the woman was actually like, but they
are all in conflict. None of the authors could find a common ground on Robin's personality or origin. One claims she was a fiery soul with a short temper, another that she was a quiet sort, yet when she spoke her words could calm storms. Yet another recalls a lighthearted young woman loved and respected by her soldiers. Thankfully, several things can be certain. At some point before Emmeryn's death, Chrom encountered and befriended her. From there, she joined the Shepherds, Ylisse's small fighting force led by Chrom himself. She would rise to become the tactician, and with Chrom led Ylisse to victory. However, prior to Robin's first meeting with Chrom, her history is a muddled mix of fanciful fiction, perhaps sprinkled with droplets of fact. A bard sings of a childhood in the countryside, fed with the stories of cynical merchants and farmers who were once soldiers in the Exalt's service. A poet writes of a girl who tasted blood as soon as she could walk, who traveled the land, cutting out a life at the drop of a coin. A scholar records a birth of twins to an uncaring father and nurturing mother. Each account is different, as each person had his or her own vision of how Robin came to be the woman that quelled the Mad King Gangrel and Walhart the Conqueror. Yet, surprisingly, there are several aspects that these people could agree on.
First, there are her actions as tactician of the Shepherds. Like his sister, Chrom was spurred by a naïve vision of world peace. Unlike her, he was willing to shed blood for it. He was naïve in his persistent pursuit, yet not naïve enough to believe he could accomplish it without violence. A soldier in the Ylissean army once said, "It takes more than pretty words and noble purpose to build a better future. Someone's gotta dig the latrines and haul out the rubbish." After some study, it was discovered that this particular soldier was an assassin. This is significant because under Robin, there was a rather large division of soldiers whose duties were espionage, sabotage, and assassination. Of course, one would expect that underhanded tactics were utilized to make up for differences in army size, but many of Robin's methods focused exclusively on maximizing enemy casualties. The most famous example of this is the destruction of a Valmese fleet, which would later be dubbed the "Burning Seas". Robin became one of the best mass-murderers of her time. As Chrom waved the shining banner of peace and justice, Robin accomplished the dirty work. Nevertheless, her tactics worked. There is no dispute among her admirers and critics that the Second Ylissean-Plegian War and the Valmese War were won by her hand.
The second deals with her personal life. Poets, bards, and scholars agreed: Robin loved her husband above all else. Interestingly, while every account differs in the time period during which Robin married, they all agree on the identity of the man she wed: a Feroxi swordsman by the name of Lon'qu. Their romance would become the subject of several poems and epics, again, all differing in the portrayal of the relationship. Later, at some point before the death of Exalt Chrom, they had a child- a son they called Morgan.
Robin's trail comes to an abrupt end after Chrom's death. Ylisse launched an attack on the Dragon's Table, a sacred gathering place for the Grimleal. At that point, she simply ceases to exist. There remains no record of her actions after said event. Attempts at explaining Robin's end are as varied as explanations for her beginning. Some claim she fell in battle, others that she fled Ylisse, never to return. Another portion argues that she was finally overcome with the grief of losing her comrades and closest friend, and took her own life. Her chapter in history remains enigmatic, but no less pivotal.
Why, one may ask, is there so much unknown regarding this figure? Take into consideration-
Two medium-sized hands with medium-sized fingers closed the book. The pages slapped together with a resounding clap. Then, the book, "The Graceful Fall of the Exalts", was carelessly tossed forward onto a desk. Its owner leaned back into her chair, groaning.
"I can't do it, Sam." She whined to her roommate, who sat behind her on a bed. "It's too fat. The struggle is real." Sam, a short, slightly chubby girl with red hair, looked up from her homework on manakete lore and tried to offer an encouraging smile.
"Don't worry, Freida. I'm sure you'll finish it." She was met with a large, unenthusiastic moan from her friend.
"But it's so fat. And it's so boring. And we have to discuss it for the next week. And if I have no idea what they're talking about I'm gonna get slammed on my grade. Kill me now."
"Weren't you the one who signed up for that course?"
"I didn't think it'd be this bad."
"Well, it's only as bad as you make it out to be, Freida." Freida sat up straight and spun around on her chair to face Sam.
"Don't pull that philosophical crap on me." Sam looked a little surprised at Freida's response, but shrugged it off. Literally.
"Look, I'm only trying to help by being encouraging. It's your work, not mine." With that, she returned to her homework and the room fell silent. Freida spun around again to face her desk to glare at her book as if it was an old food stain. Before long, the scratching of Sam's pencil on paper and the smearing sound of page turns was too much, and Freida decided that she needed to distract her mind with something. Her eyes fell back to the book. Closing them, she took a deep breath in and let it out. Why do I do this to myself? She picked up the book and opened it.