Chapter: 1
Title: My name is Origeld
Rating: T
Disclaimer: I do not own the Fire Emblem series, nor do I own the epic storyline to Awakening. All I own is just my character, whom might I add is kinda a part of Awakening, and my beat up iPod. Thanks Apple!
...
Chrom and Frederick glanced at Origeld, the battle surely did open their eyes. "She certainly is no helpless victim, that much is for sure." Chrom stated softly to Frederick.
Frederick nodded, "Indeed. Perhaps she might even be capable of an explanation for how she came here." The way Frederick said it, implied that she might be playing them for fools. He would be damned if he let their throats be slit in the night.
Chrom shook his head as he made his way to the girls, placing a hand on Origeld's good shoulder. "You fought to save Ylissean lives. My heart tells me that you shall be a wonderful ally."
"And your mind, milord? Will you not heed its counsel as well?" Frederick cut in, ignoring the still cheering villagers.
Chrom shook his head at Frederick, "Frederick, the Shepherds could use someone with Origeld's talents. We've brigands and unruly neighbors, all looking to bloody our soil." Chrom looked towards Origeld, "Would you really have us lose such an able tactician?" His gaze returned to Frederick, "Besides, I believe her to truly having amnesia, odd as it might be."
Origeld couldn't stop the relieved smile grace her face, "Th-Thank you, Chrom."
Chrom's eyes twinkled with mischief, "So how about it? Will you join us, Origeld?"
She fell for it, hook line and sinker. Be nice to someone to get what you want. Clever. She should feel betrayed slightly that he would purposely be nice to her to get her to work for him, but then again, he did help her in the beginning, when he thought of her as nothing more than an oddly dressed woman. She had seen how noble he was to charge in to save a village the moment he saw something was wrong. People like that are hard to find. She could over look the small trick, knowing it was just to try and convince her to join these, Shepherds. She nodded, "I would be honored."
Frederick knew there was nothing else he could do at this point. Whatever his lord decided to do, he could do nothing except support him. Even if it did include welcoming a stranger they met not only a few hours ago into the Shepherds. He only sighed, he would get over it. Besides, if she did turn out to be a wolf in a herd of sheep, he wouldn't hesitate to show her a ram's horns. However, another much more pressing matter was begging to be addressed. "Did you notice, milord? The brigands spoke with a Plegian accent."
Origeld blinked at the name, "Plegian? You mean how they talked like snakes?"
Chrom nodded in affirmation, "Plegia is Ylisse's westerly neighbor, situated in the smoldering deserts and steep canyons. They send small bands into our territory, hoping to instigate a war."
Lissa nodded, her face dropping, "And it's the poor townsfolk who suffer! Totally innocent, and totally helpless..." Her eyes started to water at the thought, showing how passionate she was for the people of Ylisse.
Frederick spoke, "They do have us, milady: Shepherds to protect the sheep." He procured a handkerchief from inside his armor and handed it to Lissa, who started to dab her eyes with the cloth. "Do not be swept up in your anger. It will cloud your judgement."
"I know, I know..." Lissa murmured. She perked up almost immediately, "Dobt worry! I'll get used to all this."
"Miliord, please! You must stay the night!" A murmur of agreement resounded through the crowds, "We are simple folk of simple means, but we would gladly toast your valor with a feast!" A man in the crowd said, obviously inviting them to stay and be treated as heroes. Origeld perked up, if being a Shepherd meant being given free favors... She grinned mischievously. Lissa excitedly started to clap, already starting on what she would like to eat for the feast. Though, with how generous the villagers wanted to be, now she wonders why these people keep calling Chrom, 'milord'.
Frederick chuckled good naturedly, "A most generous offer, sir, and no doubt your hospitality would be grand..." He climbed onto his steed and gripped the reins, "But I'm afraid we must hurry back to Ylisstol."
Lissa kept going on with her list of dema- food. "Dark meat only for me, white meat is too fatty, make sure it's medium well, and no salt in the soup. I simply-" she suddenly realised what Frederick just said. "Wait, what!? We're not staying!?" At Frederick's disapproval, she animatedly began to wave her arms towards the sky, "But, Frederick, it's nearly dark!"
Frederick let out a laugh, light yet deep in sound. "When night falls, well camp. Eat off the land, make our bed of twigs and the like..." Lissa's face paled comically, which made Frederick grin at her in a teasing way, "I believe you mentioned you would be, 'getting used to this'?" He used his fingers to make air quotes as he recited her words. Origeld now knew to never think about getting the free favors and to not ever make Frederick angry. If this is how he is teasing, one could only shudder at how he is when angered.
Lissa gave Frederick a dead pan stare as her body relaxed. "Frederick? Sometimes I hate you."
Origeld bit her lip, "You've quite the stern lieutenant there." She mused.
Lissa groaned, "Yeah, well, 'stern' is one name for it. I can think of a few others!"
Chrom sighed as he watched the spectacle, the villagers who had been swarming them earlier were now cleaning up the village from the earlier attack. "Frederick only smiles when he's about to bring down the axe."
"Duly noted." Origeld mused blandly.
Frederick cleared his throat, "You do realize I AM still present?"
Origeld smirked, "Duly noted." She snickered along with Lissa and Chrom, who all had grins on their faces.
Frederick rolled his eyes, "Milord remains as amusing as ever." He stated humorlessly. "Now then, shall we be going?"
Chrom waved a hand, the grin never leaving his face. "All right, all right." He turned to Origeld, "ready to go? The capital isn't far."
She nodded as they began to make their way through SouthTown, back towards the pathway they had walked on earlier. Origeld chuckled to herself, she definitely was in for a treat by staying with these people. As she passed by a shop with the small party, she caught a glimpse at her reflection. She had been wondering what she looked like, but didn't want to sound silly by asking the others.
She had porcelain skin with orchid pink hair. Her almond shaped eyes had shining red irises with thick long lashes and heart shaped face. She had a button nose and a pair of lightly shaded pink lips. In her opinion...
She was a natural pink disaster.
Of all the colors, why pink?
She sighed as she gripped the long sleeves of her black cloak, noting that she wore a very short white low cut sleeveless tunic with black and grey seams. She paired it up with a black mini skirt that ended at her mid thigh with honey gold trim and white tights underneath with calf high scuffed up brown boots. She looked like she was ready for winter to start soon, she realized as she took in the date in the shop's window.
May 22nd.
She blanched, this down low in the south? Near the end of spring and close to summer? She now had a new respect for Frederick, who was donned with his heavy armor and countless protective clothing underneath. At least she could take off her cloak when it would no doubtedly get hotter.
They walked on, going through the gates of the village, waving to the villagers who were shouting out last minute 'thank you's and 'safe journey's.
Frederick and Chrom walked/rode in front, Frederick's horse carrying not only Frederick, his armor, their weapons, the horse's armor, and even the supplies of the party without a problem in the slightest. Origeld wondered how much more that horse could carry, if given the chance. "Ylisstol is just beyond the wood. If we continue walking until nightfall, and camp inside for the night, we should arrive in the morning." Chrom filled in.
Origeld bit the inside of her cheek, "Ylisstol? That's the capital you mentioned earlier, is it not?"
Lissa nodded, "Yeah! We live in the capital, and it's also the Shepherd Headquarters." She intertwined her fingers as she began to think about the capital. "Want to hear about it?"
Origeld nodded, "Of course. I need as much knowledge of the place as possible. It is going to be my new home." Origeld shoved her hands in her cloak pockets, already bracing herself for the impending doom of Lissa's talking.
Lissa smiled brightly, thankfully not knowing of Origeld's thoughts. "You're gonna love it Ori! Ylisstol is a beautiful city with thousands, maybe even millions, of Ylisseans." She started to skip slightly as the party passed a group of flowers. Birds were already heard chirping. "Though, the streets are kinda cramped, but the good kind of cramped! The streets always look like they're alive, even with only a couple of people out. But then again, the main streets- there's four in each direction- are especially thick. They're made for parades or carriages and anything else that could come to mind."
Origeld nodded along with Lissa's statements. "The capital was made a really long time ago, by the first ruler of the lands, the exalt is what we call them. The buildings, streets, fountains and even the castle itself are made from the most plentiful of materials in Ylisse, limestone. It also is not just what we build with, but what we also use to create fertilizer, fuel, medicine and even with our magic community since it's so pure and conductible with magic."
Frederick chuckled, "Milady has been paying attention to her history lessons."
Lissa stuck out her tongue towards Frederick, she was still sour at having to leave the village early to travel. Origeld giggled at the exchange, Frederick looked like a steward as he chuckled good naturedly at Lissa. She was surprised though, Lissa really did know alot about the capital.
Chrom cut in, "We also have state of the art armies, armories, and have top notch horses. Along with the Ylissean Grand Library and even the Exalt's Museum." Figures that Chrom would bring up the boring stuff.
Lissa nodded, "Even better, with all the fertilizer, Ylisse can grow a lot of yummy crops, which explains all of the restaurants and cafes. We have the best tasting sweets in the whole continent!" Origeld's mouth began to water at the thought of sugar. This Ylisstol was sounding better and better! "Oh! I could also tell you about the Shepherds! The Shepherds are the sworn protectors of the people. We protect the weak and aid the able!"
Chrom and Frederick smiled to themselves, thinking about home and the other Shepherds. "There are a lot of different people, all of them like us! We have mages, cavaliers, knights, healers -like me- and even some axe fighters. But we're still nothing compared to the Pegasus Knights."
Origeld blinked, did Lissa just say 'pegasus'? "Pegasus? Like... Horses... With wings?"
Lissa stared at Origeld, "um... Yeah? That's what a pegasus is."
Origeld puffed up with excitement. A pegasus! A real one! She held back the squee of excitement of getting to see a pegasus. Though, she didn't know why she was so excited to see a pegasus. It would clear up with time, she surmised to herself. "I'm sorry, Lissa." Ori smiled softly as her face relaxed, a nostalgic look on her face. "I don't know why, but I got so excited when you said 'pegasus'." She shrugged, "perhaps it was a childhood dream? To see a real pegasus, to touch a real pegasus and -dare I even think it- to ride a real pegasus." She chuckled to herself, her face regaining its original state of quiet content. "I'm sorry, I did not mean to interrupt you Lissa. Please, do go on."
Lissa looked like she wanted to talk about what happened, but from experience from others, she wisely pushed aside the subject. Lissa smiled to herself, don't worry Ori! You'll get to see a pegasus! Lissa promised to Origeld silently.
...
Hours passed as the small party continued to walk through the forest -which was called White Bark forest, Origeld would add, along with an extensive history on the place and why it was called White Bark- Lissa had been adamant on telling her new friend everything on anything that came to mind, all on the excuse that she was teaching Origeld. At one point, Origeld had wanted to rip off Lissa's arm and beat her to death with it. She was that annoyed.
Not annoyed with Lissa per se, but with her nonstop chatter.
Origeld yearned for the moment that Lissa would kindly shut up so Origeld could be alone in her thoughts. She quite enjoyed having Lissa inform her on practically everything there was in Ylisstol, Ylisse and anything that had to do with the quote unquote, "fascinating history of the great White Bark". But Origeld drew the line sometime when Lissa started talking about everything and nothing. Definitely after the long history lessons on limestone, the balls of Ylisse and the mundane lesson on sewing.
Origeld had many a time looked to Chrom and Frederick for help on getting Lissa to stop talking, but she realized that they seemed to hurry up slightly whenever she tried to bring them into the conversation. They had dumped Lissa on her and were trying to get as much time to themselves as possible.
Oh... She'll make them pay.
She sighed again as Lissa moaned for the nth time. She really enjoyed listening to her, but not so much as the huge chunk of time in knowing her for so little a time. Too much too soon as most would say.
At least now she could safely say that she knew the entire structure of Ylissetol.
But what really seemed to bug Origeld, was that why did Lissa know so much on the history of Ylissetol? Did she and Chrom have high standing parents? Or did she really like history that much that she memorized as much as possible?
Origeld highly doubted the latter.
It was nighttime now, the sun having gone down a few hours earlier. Origeld was swearing profusely, the air was humid, the heat still lingering from earlier in the day. The heat would have been easily ignored, if not for the humidity and the fact that she wore a heavy black cloak that seemed to get heavier with each step. Not wanting to look weak for a single second, Origeld held her tongue and had not complained once as they marched -okay, more like casually walked- on towards the capital.
However...
Lissa stopped in her tracks, her face was flushed and she was breathing heavily. She looked around as the other party members stopped to see if something was wrong with her. "I told you- It's dark already!" She stiffened as a buzzing came to her sweaty face. It was a mosquito, looking for it's dinner. She swatted it away, her face green. "...Ech! And now the bugs are out!" She shook her head quickly, her hands shaking, "Noisy, disgusting bugs that buzz around and crawl all over and bite you when-"
The mosquito had come back with a vengeance, not liking how Lissa had slapped it away. It flew to her cheek to try and stab her, but it unintentionally flew into her mouth. "AGH! Won goph in mah mouph!" She tried to cough it out, even putting her fingers in her mouth to scoop it out before it stung her, "Blech! Ptooey!"
Chrom laughed, "Aw, come on now, Lissa. Hardship builds character." Origeld was glad to just see something interesting happen, even if it was in the form of Lissa being attacked by an angry bug. "Want to help me gather firewood?" Chrom offered, trying to hide his smile with a hand.
Lissa began spitting on the ground, "Tpht! Tpht! Yeeeeeeuck!" She stopped, her eyes spinning as her cheeks dyed a dark green shade. "...I think I swallowed it... I'll pass on finding firewood, thanks." She growled and stomped her feet into the ground, her arms pounding against Chrom, "I think I've built QUITE enough character for one day!"
Origeld chuckled, the spectacle definitely raised her spirits and effectively erased her thoughts of homicide. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her painfully of the fact that she had not eaten anything since waking up. "We should probably think about food. I don't know about you, but I'm starving."
Frederick dismounted from his horse, pulling a tinder box from a bag. "Yes, I should think a little hunting and gathering is in order." His gaze flicked to Chrom and Origeld, "now, who wants to clear a campsite?"
...
They all sat around a roaring fire, Chrom was patting his stomach with a contented expression. "Mmm... It's been too long since I last had bear meat." He licked his lips, "delicious!" He glanced at Lissa, she had only eaten the few meager berries Frederick had found. "What's wrong, Lissa? Dig in."
Lissa pouted, "Pass! ...Gods, couldn't you spear us an animal normal people eat for once?" She gestured to the pile of now drying bear skin and the roasting bear meat. "I mean, come on! Who eats bear!? You're meddling with the food chain!" Lissa nagged to her older brother. She turned expectantly to Origeld, "Right, Origeld?"
Silence.
Lissa sweat dropped, "...uh, Origeld?"
Origeld had a skewer of bear meat in her hands, she was tearing at it anomalistically, already on her eighth skewer. Who could blame her? She couldn't remember the last time she ate, so she took advantage of the situation.
Lissa closed her eyes, groaning. "I suppose a person would enjoy just about anything after not eating for days..."
Chrom laughed at his sisters expression, he loved his sister dearly, but her antics were just too funny sometimes. "Just eat it, Lissa. Meat is meat."
Lissa flushed red, her frustration breaking. "SINCE WHEN DOES MEAT SMELL LIKE OLD BOOTS!? Wait! I take that back- boots smell better!" She grabbed her pigtails and pulled them, letting out a disgusted cry.
Frederick sat with back straight, sipping tea in a small tea cup and saucer. He had brewed tea for the others as well, with a small cooking pot he always seemed to carry in his big bag of mysteries he carried on his horse. "Every experience makes us stronger, milady. Even those we don't enjoy."
Lissa growled as she let go of her pigtails, "Really? Then why don't I see YOU eating, Frederick?" Lissa challenged.
If Origeld was t too busy tearing apart the meat, she would have seen the small, almost imperceptible shudder run through Frederick. "Me? Oh, well..." He cleared his throat, "I'm not hungry. I..." He paused shortly, "I had a large lunch! Yes, quite." He added quickly.
Lissa rolled her eyes, "Yeah, right, Frederick!"
Origeld couldn't tell you what happened after, since when she was done eating, she collapsed on the ground on the sleeping bag Frederick let her use. The man always carried three spares for anything he had.
As she slept, she dreamt of darkness. A quiet darkness that seemed to swallow you as you stay longer. But for some indiscernible reason, she felt safe there. She didn't think, she didn't speak and she didn't hear anything. It was calming, feeling nothing and being alone.
But then she heard it.
A soft voice, almost angelic to her ears. It was saying something, but for the life of her, she couldn't understand it.
All she could understand, was the word 'pegasus'.
...
As the small party slept, Chrom awoke with a start. He could feel it deep inside if him.
Something was wrong.
His eyes glanced around the small clearing they had claimed for the night. Nothing was out if the ordinary, the trees were still standing, the bushes didn't have any missing leaves and the small pile of belongings was still intact.
But he still felt that something really bad was going to happen, he could feel it in his gut.
Where was Sully? He thought as fretted over what could be wrong. Sully had gotten separated a from their group earlier that day when they were crossing White Bark. She ignored Lissa's warning on not taking the path with the trumpet mushrooms, promptly ending up in a different part of the forest then they did. They had searched for her along the edge of the forest when Lissa had spotted Origeld in the field. Pure luck that they found her and that Sully hadn't listened to Lissa.
Though, now he couldn't stop worrying over the red knight in training. Sure, she boasts on being as tough as nails and braver than any man in the seven kingdoms, but she is only human, and that worries him.
He stood up to get a better look at their surroundings, accidentally dropping his sheathed sword on Lissa's feet. She rubbed an eye, yawning as she sat up, "...what's wrong, big brother?"
Chrom picked up his sword and quickly tied it to his belt. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you, but... Something is amiss..."
Lissa finally rubbed the sleep from her eyes, standing up and smoothing out her dress. "Define 'something'."
"I'm not sure... Perhaps it has to do with Sully and why we haven't seen her yet." He turned and started to walk away, "I think I'll have a look around."
Lissa clenched her fists, "not alone, you won't! I'm coming too."
Chrom softly smiled at Lissa, happy to know he has such a caring sister. "Thanks, Lissa."
...
They walked along the pathway, the air was no longer humid and was everything was eerily quiet. The only sounds they heard were the crunch of their boots against the dirt path.
Lissa glanced around, much more curious than frightened of the situation. "It sure is dark." She took a deep breath, "...and quiet. Where did the birds go? And why does everything feel dryer now?"
Chrom steeled himself, not liking the situation one bit. "Something is wrong here..."
...
Origeld awoke with a cry, sitting straight up. Frederick was awake instantly with the sound, he had already unsheathed his weapon, pointing it at her.
"I awake to find milord and milady gone? You better have an explanation for this!" He challenged her, venom dripping off his words.
Origeld was breathing quickly, something really bad was going to happen. She shook her head, "I didn't do anything! I woke up and now Chrom and Lissa are gone!" She pointed to the footsteps that led away from the campsite. This made Frederick realize that he had jumped to conclusions.
"I am sorry. I did not mean to point fingers-"
"-lances." Origeld corrected. She stood up. "We need to find them now. Frederick, help me gather everything up!" She order as she rolled up the sleeping bags and poured dirt on the already dying fire.
Frederick nodded, he would let her orders slide for now. He needed to find milord and milady, now!
As soon as everything was packed, a sudden earthquake happened, along with a scream. "AAAAH! Chrom!"
Even with the earth shaking, Frederick mounted his horse, who was fully awake now and ready to charge. Without a word, he grabbed Origeld and plopped her behind him on the horse, 'hyahing!' With a snap of the reins and into the direction of the scream.
...
"AGH! What is this madness!? Lissa!" Chrom cried, "stay close!"
In the dark of night, trees began to fall with a loud crash. The crashing seemed to get closer, as if something really large was charging towards them.
"Lissa, run." Chrom ordered.
"Eh?"
"I mean it! Go, now!" Chrom grabbed Lissa and they started to run away from the crashing sounds.
But nothing was chasing them, oh no...
The ground was being pushed upwards!
A crack formed in the ground, the ground rising behind them, fire spreading from the inside when the ground was pushed up enough, fire and molten lava spewed out, sending flaming balls of earth flying in random directions, quickly setting fire to the now dehumidified forest.
Lissa and Chrom were running as fast as their legs could carry them. The heat of the blaze around them burning away excess oxygen and heating up their bodies to almost painful temperatures. The sweat they secreted would get into their eyes and stick their hair to their faces, blinding them until they pushed them away.
Chrom, who was now breathing in short gasps, darted his eyes from side to side, only seeing blazing tree after blazing tree. If he didn't think of something to get him and Lissa out of the blaze soon...
He could have jumped for joy when he saw it. There was a gap in the burning foliage, it was right next to a cliff. The gap was dark, giving Chrom hope that whatever was at the bottom of the cliff, wasn't on fire. "This way!" He shouted to Lissa. That in itself was a challenge. He was so dehydrated from the heat, his voice cracked and he feared that Lissa wouldn't hear him.
Thankfully she did as they both took a sharp turn to the gap and jumped over the edge.
...
Frederick sweated, the now unbearable heat seemed to make his armor like an oven. His horse was snorting with exhaustion but refused to slow down, he knew that it was not safe to stop.
Origeld screwed her eyes shut, she was holding onto Frederick with all of her strength. She whimpered as a memory resurfaced, although it was fragmented.
She remembered seeing a blaze like this before. Only, it wasn't just natural fire, it was dark magic fire, Fiend Fyre. The flames were alive and were burning everything in their path, screeching with evil power and voices of the damned. She remembered being huddled in a corner- she could not remember how old she was- watching the Fiend Fyre scream as it devoured the walls and and edged closer to her. Her breath was short and quick, her skin feeling like it was being singed off with just how close the Fiend Fyre was.
It was like looking into the fires of hell itself.
The memory suddenly ended when she heard the same angelic voice from her dream, only this time crying out in agony, "Run!"
Origeld was brought back to the present when Frederick's horse reared up on it's hind legs, a tree had fallen over in it's pathway. Frederick gripped the reins, turning their direction- when steadied- onto another pathway.
"Trumpet mushrooms!" Frederick cried out in joy. They could get out of here! "My lady! Hold on tight!" He ordered, which Origeld followed without question. He snapped the reins, "onward Ulysses!"
Ulysses neighed, he understood- in his own way- that his master found their way out. He galloped onto the path and raced down the tunnel of trees, fire and mushrooms. Frederick kept murmuring, "Don't worry my friend, we're almost safe." Over and over again to Ulysses, who was getting exhausted.
Frederick and Origeld almost started panicking when Ulysses started to wobble, swaying side to side slightly as his head bounced with less vigor. He was snorting quickly, his mouth foaming slightly as his heart raced in a pace that could kill him if he didn't rest.
Origeld didn't understand, Ulysses was tiring out too quickly. He was fire before they-
She gasped in realization when she heard the screeches. "Fiend Fyre!" She cried out to Frederick, who stiffened.
"Fiend Fyre!? Why is that black magic here!?" He continued to soothe Ulysses, who was slowly succumbing to heat exhaustion. "Please tell me you can counter act this!"
Origeld shut her eyes. What could she do!? Fiend Fyre is tricky magic! She's just a beginner Mage! At best!
Suddenly, the screeching stopped when she felt her body let out a quick pulse of magic. Frederick was saying something her, but for the life of her, she could not hear him.
She felt like her body was unleashing a cooling pulse, a pulse of pure light magic to counter act the black magic of the Fiend Fyre.
Origeld couldn't stop the sense of déjà vu.
She gasped as the heat of the flames disappeared behind them, Frederick slowing down Ulysses and pouring water on his steed's head. "It's ok, my friend. You got us through." Ulysses just snorted deeply, finally getting the rest he needed.
Origeld slipped off of the horse's back, landing on her hands and knees. She gasped in the much needed air, ignoring the sounds around her.
However, she couldn't rest yet.
...
Chrom and Lissa landed on the ground, thankfully the cliff wasn't too high, and even better, the forest below wasn't on fire.
Chrom and Lissa stood, hunched over and taking deep breaths as the adrenaline rushed out of their bodies. Chrom peered up at the cliff, seeing flaming balls of earth streak through the sky above the forest. What was going on!?
Lissa glanced up and stopped. She grabbed Chrom's cape, "Chrom, what IS that!?" She cried as she pointed to the sky.
The sky, covered in stars, seemed to gather the stars in one point in the sky, causing an explosion of light in between a ring of runes- the ancient written language of magic. The resulting hole shone brightly, as if they were staring a blue sun.
But something came out of the hole.
They bled out of the hole and plopped onto the ground below. They stayed still for a while, then slowly they stood up. Lissa screamed as she saw the rotting corpses of soldiers stand up and snarl at them, clouds of black magic spewing from their mouths.
"Lissa, you'd better stand back." Chrom ordered as he unsheathed his sword, Falchion. Even though he was dehydrated and half cooked, he still had to fight. Lissa whimpered as she hid behind her big brother.
The soldiers stood and looked around, until their gazes locked onto Chrom. They snarled as the ones closest to Chrom charged at him, raising their weapons to attack him. Chrom raised his weapon and charged at them, slashing through them. He stood, waiting to hear the sound of the bodies fall to the ground.
But they didn't.
Their heads slowly did a 180, their red glowing eyes boring straight into Chrom's. They snarled again as their bodies finally turned with their heads, and swung their axes at Chrom. He turned Falchion horizontally and held the now immobile axes against his blade. He grit his teeth as he struggled to hold back the axes, who were being forced downward with immense strength.
With a cry, he pushed them back, sending them falling to the ground. He took his chance and lit up Falchion, jumping into the air and stabbing into the undead bodies, disintegrating them as they met their fatal blow.
Chrom used Falchion to hold him up as he tried to catch his breath, but it was short lived as his blood ran cold when he heard Lissa's scream.
Oh gods no!
"Lissa!" Chrom cried, watching with horror as Lissa was backed up against a large tree, three undead warriors approach her with weapons on ready. She glanced around, her eyes wide with fear as she clutched her staff.
She realized that this could be her final moments.
She glanced up to pray to the gods, but something else ran out of the shining hole.
A thin warrior burst through the shining hole, wearing blue clothing and armor and black swallowtail mask. The warrior abides on the ground and unsheathed their sword, slashing the undead and blocking the axe that was coming down to Lissa. The warrior grit their teeth, standing in front of Lissa and holding back the attack. Lissa watched with astonishment, the warrior protect her. "Help!" The warrior cried in a young man's voice.
Chrom stood shocked as he watched the young man block the axe with a familiar sword. His train of thought stopped as he realized that his sister was still in danger. "Right!"
Chrom cried out as Falchion pulsed with power, he dashed to the last one of the undead. The young man noticed that the undead turned their gaze to Chrom, lightening the axe from his sword. He quickly turned around and slashed at it, at the same time as Chrom. The undead stood still, as if its body was trying to register what happened.
Slowly now, the undead fell down into pieces and they faded away as the magic inside spewed out and disappeared. Chrom and the young man sheathed their swords, sharing a short silence. "Quite an entrance..." The young man stayed silent, watching Chrom and Lissa from behind the mask. "What's your name...?" Chrom asked, grateful that this stranger saved his sister.
The young man stayed silent, refusing to answer.
Before Chrom could question him again, Frederick and Origeld burst through the woods, coming from the secret path with the trumpet mushrooms. Origeld slipped from the horse and landed on her hands and knees, looking like she was in shock.
Frederick poured water on Ulysses's head, telling the horse they were safe. Frederick looked up to see milord and milady, a relieved expression on his face. "Milord! Milady! Are you hurt?"
Lissa dashed to Origeld, patting her back, trying to get Origeld to calm down as she dry heaved on the ground. "Frederick! Origeld!" She cried as she saw more undead plop onto the ground onto the battle field before them. The clearing was spacious with a large ditch to the west, the ditch was aglow with molten earth, still cooling from being exposed to the air.
Lissa rubbed Origeld's back, helping her stand up. Origeld stared at the aimlessly shambling undead, who did not notice the other people around them. "Are... Are such horrific creatures commonplace in these lands?" Origeld asked as she composed herself.
Chrom glared at the shambling bodies, "They're not from Ylisse, I promise you that."
Frederick looked amongst the party, "No one is injured, then?" They shook their heads, which made Frederick sigh in relief, "Thank the gods..."
Lissa smiled gently, "Thank the masked man who saved me! If it wasn't for him, I'd be..." She stopped, glancing around. "Hey, where did he go?"
The masked man had disappeared when the attention was on their friends. Frederick brandished his lance, "We can worry about him later," he turned to the battle field, leaving Ulysses to rest, opting to fight on foot. "AFTER we put these... Things... To the blade." He glared, "Eyes open, now. We know nothing about this enemy."
Chrom nodded, getting his sword ready. "Right."
Origeld grabbed her tome and sword, ready to fight these monsters. Lissa stood beside her, ready to support her if the need came. They nodded as they ran to the nearest of the undead, Lissa putting up a shield around Origeld as she let loose a bolt of lightning, letting it hit the first one and using her bronze sword to slice the weakened body in half, disintegrating it.
Chrom jumped into the air as Frederick charged forward with his lance, lodging the silver blade into the enemies' skull as Chrom stabbed it from above, using his body weight to stab deeper. They pulled out and parried the blows of the next couple of undead that tried to attack them from behind.
The other undead approached them slowly, their mouths hanging open and breathing out the clouds of dark magic. If they didn't get back up soon, they may be overwhelmed. Chrom sorely wished they had had enough time to form a plan.
"Captain Chrom! Wait! I'm coming!"
Chrom grinned, he knew that heavily accented voice. "Frederick! It's Sully!" Frederick smiled as he stabbed an undead and used his strength to lift it and use it's body to sweep the other undead away from them.
On the other side of the battle field, a stocky woman was brandishing a bronze lance above her head. She had wild short red hair with piercing red eyes, pale skin and splashes of freckles across her cheeks, shoulders and knees, which were seen from the gaps in her blood red armor. She rode a wild looking red-brown mare with over grown mane and tail. The mare snarled as she dug her hooves into the ground, ready to charge. "Agh! I knew I shouldn'ta left 'em." She cursed to herself in a heavy accent.
She snorted, "All right, you ash-faced freaks! Which one of ya wants to try my lance on for size first?" Her mare reared up on it's hind legs, stomping back on the ground about to charge. "I know just the spot for it: shoved right up your-"
She charged, ready to finish her threat and start fighting when her mare, Pyrra, lurched to a stop, making Sully lean forward to far and smash her face into the mares strong neck. "Hold, milady!" Said a posh voice.
Sully peeled her face from the mares neck, glaring at the elegant man who stood in front of her horse. "Muh?" She sneered, it was THAT guy again...
He flipped his long silvery blue hair, she could see those cheap looking sparkles in the air. He spoke, holding a rose that he had brought out of his quiver. "Life may be long, but attraction is fleeting! Would you leave me in your sweet dust?" He threw the rose into her hanging mouth. She didn't move, this guy had been following her all day, and he still didn't get the damn message! She was going to retort, but he cut her off, "Leave war to the warriors, dear bird! A beauty such as you need wage only love."
She could feel her eye twitch in irritation, noticing that the battle literally STOPPED. Chrom, Frederick, Lissa, the stranger and the undead goes were watching with blank faces. She turned back to the daft Casanova. "...The hell are you!?"
He smirked with an air of pure arrogance and flamboyance, "Ha! Is the lady intrigued?"
"No-"
"Of course you are- its only natural." He brandished a bow from his belt, striking a pose that most would call daring. "I am myth and legend! I am he who strides large across history's greatest stage!" He winked at Sully, who leaned back with disgust. "The man who puts the 'arch' in 'archer'!" (Sully rolled her eyes and started to have her horse just walk around the man.) "My name, dear lady' is Vi-"
Sully called out, without looking back at him, as she rode towards the battle field, "Sorry, Ruffles- no time for this. Onward!" She whipped out her lance and was ready, like everyone else, to continue the battle.
"Virion! ...er, my name. It's Virion." He said with a falling voice. He quickly ran after her, "w-wait!" The people who were fighting a while ago, including the undead, all sat down to watch the spectacle. Might as well just watch the rest. "Where are you going? Pray, at least tell me your name!" He cried as he latched onto Sully's hanging leg.
Sully could feel a vein popping out of her head, that's how angry she was at this point. She sighed and decided if she humored him for a little bit, maybe this exchange would be a little less painful. "I'm Sully..." She ground out, "and I'm a Shepherd."
Virion's face melted into one of gratitude and reeked of suave. "'Sully'! How divine!" He let go of her leg and took her hand and placed a kiss on the palm. "A starkly beautiful name, as befits its owner, truly." He gazed up at her, "will you marry me, my dearest Sully?"
Sully was too dumb founded to even react anymore. "Will I what now?" She took a breath, "Oh wait, I get it..." She glared at him, "this is a joke. And when I put my boot through your face- that's the punch line."
Chrom watched, astonished that this 'Virion' clearly was not getting the message. He so dearly wanted to stomp over there and give him what for, but he knew Sully wouldn't like that one bit.
"I realize my manly figure and noble bearing can be overwhelming. 'Tis common!" Virion continued, not seeing Sully raise her boot, "so please, don't feel pressured to answer right a-"
"How's THIS-" Sully kicked Virion in the face, sending him flying into a tree, "-for an answer!?"
Virion slowly got up, he was going to have a boot shaped bruise on his face for years to come. "G-Goodness, but those shapely legs certainly can kick, can they..." Sully grabbed the reins, ready to make her escape. "P-Please, milady!"
Chrom and the gang wanted to scream in frustration, how could a life and death situation turn into a comedy act!?
"Allow me to accompany you, at least! Mine is a cold, empty world without you!" Despite the tremendous pain he no doubtedly felt from being kicked into a tree, Virion jogged to Sully again, "I shall be your most willing servant, and you, in turn, will give my life purpose..."
Sully was about to tell him to die in a ditch, but she heard the hushed voices of the battle participants. "Sully! For the love of the gods, just let him come!"
She groaned and hung her head in defeat. "Fine... Anything to shut you up." He smiled up adoringly at her. She sighed and turned back towards the battle field, looking at all the people who were staring at her. "...What? Stop staring at me like that!"
The humans all glanced at each other, while the undead glanced at each other while shrugging. They let out snarls as they charged at the humans, who all finally had the chance to rest and get ready for battle.
Chrom and Frederick quickly dispatched an enemy with their sword/lance combo, Origeld fried a few more undead with her lightning and sword techniques.
Sully charged forward into a small group of the undead and stabbed and slashed at them with her lance. Arrows flew by and lodged themselves into the undead's heads, effectively finishing them off.
However...
No one could really put their all into the battle. Not after seeing a display such as THAT not two minutes earlier.
When the undead disappeared, and everyone sheathed their weapons, ("Oi! Let go o' my leg ye' bloody dastard!" Sully cried as Virion attached himself to her leg.) Frederick spoke up as the young man who saved Lissa appeared from behind some trees, the tell tale signs of battle on his clothes. "It seems all the creatures are vanquished. This young man must have taken care of the others."
He stood up straight, staying silent as six gazes fixed on him.
Lissa blushed slightly, "Um, I never got to thank you... For before." She cleared her throat and curtsied slightly, "So...thank you. You were very brave."
Chrom smiled and nodded to him, "You saved my sister's life. My name is Chrom. Might I ask yours?"
He spoke with a gentle voice, "...you may call me Marth."
Chrom blinked, "Marth? After the heroic king of old?" He shrugged and continued, "you certainly fight like a hero. Where did you learn your way with a sword?"
Marth shook his head slightly, "I'm not here to talk about me." He glanced at all of the faces around him, "this world teeters at the brink of a horrible calamity. What you saw tonight was but a prelude." He paused as he turned to go, "...you have been warned."
"Huh? What's teetering where now? Hey, wait!" Lissa cried out. He walked away without looking back as his cape billowed in the wind of the dying fires of the forest. He disappeared in the dark shadows.
Origeld sighed, she was worn out from the events of today, since the sun was starting to rise from the horizon. "Not much for conversation, is he?"
Frederick 'hmmm'ed in agreement. "It appears his skills lie elsewhere." Frederick watched the spot where Marth was last seen, "I wager we'll hear his name again..." He nodded to the party, "but for now I'm more concerned about the capital. We should make haste."
They nodded to each other and began to walk down the path, the fires had already died. Origeld glanced at the two new additions. She shuddered at the thought of more strangers being around her.
Like she said, she definitely was a ray of sunshine...
...
AN: Gotta love Virion.