Author note:
I'm not surprised considering it's the Fire Emblem section, as reviews are often hard to come by. With that in mind, I want to thank both of my reviewers who provided their thoughts, and everyone who took the time to read the story.
The only other note is to expect two more characters from different games. With that in mind, on to the next chapter! I hope that you'll find this enjoyable.
Chapter 1.1: Escape to Frelia!
Decades ago, when Renais and Frelia bickered often, the king of Frelia ordered the construction of a military fort in Mulan, an area near the border of the two countries. If the royal family of Renais opted to invade the country, there was a military force waiting to greet them at the borders. While the formidable pegasi riders of Frelia could cover much ground with relative ease, they were frail as front line attackers. Their armored knights couldn't reach the front lines in time, so they stationed at Fort Mulan to assist the pegasi riders.
The strategy, in theory, was brilliant.
However, at that time, the princess of Renais forced the kings of Renais and Frelia to make peace with each other weeks after construction of the fort finished. The Frelian people deemed Fort Mulan a waste of taxpayer money and grew irate. To appease the people, the king of Frelia allowed new pegasi riders and foot soldiers to train there. That tradition continued to this day.
Inside the fort, a female soldier approached a young girl with dark blue eyes and hair to match.
"Princess Tana!" the soldier said. "Grado forces are approaching."
"What? So soon? We had no time to prepare!" Tana said with widened eyes. She understood many of the details involving Renais. Given the word, soldiers could march to Renais and help defend their neighbor, but Frelian soldiers remained scattered around the country and those available must protect the capital and the people.
She knew that Ephraim was on the front lines on a counter-assault. She also understood that Eirika was on her way here, a sign that Renais fell to Grado, so she came to Mulan on her pegasus in hope of meeting her friend as soon as possible.
"Milady, we lack the arms to defend this place," the soldier said with a serious tone. "You must return to Castle Frelia."
"I can't! Not yet Nephenee," Tana shouted while the soldier nodded. She closed her eyes as she continued with a composed voice, "We haven't found Eirika and her companions yet. Eirika is my friend, and she needs my help. I won't abandon her."
"So what should we do Princess?" Nephenee asked, while Tana remained in deep thought.
"Oh, I know," Tana said. "Go and ask Father — I mean King Hayden for more troops."
"Yes your majesty," Nephenee said as she walked out the door. "I'll send a messenger to deliver a message to the king immediately." Walking in the halls of the fortress, she thought that the king would send an entire army away from the city if it meant protecting his only daughter.
"Eirika," Tana whispered, "please be safe."
x X x
Moments later, outside the fortress, a female knight straddled on a pegasi and prepared to fly to the capital.
"Grado is beginning to approach," the woman said to several men outside the fort. "Princess Tana is here. Guard the fort with all you have against the invaders while I get reinforcements from the capital."
"Yes lady Sheeda!" the men said as they saluted the woman. One of the men unsheathed his sword, performing basic sword maneuvers to show that he was competent in defending the country. Two other soldiers from inside the fort joined him.
"There's no need to show off," Sheeda said with a smile as she took flight. "I have faith you can defend the fortress."
"Yeah, there's no need" one of the soldiers responded as he turned to the showoff. "We're just hired swords. She's from the Talis noble house."
"That's right," another soldier added. "She's probably betrothed to some other lord or a prince already."
The swordsman shrugged before he slouched his posture in defeat.
x X x
Meanwhile, a Grado soldier noticed the Frelian troops patrolling outside the fort. He also noticed a single sentry standing outside the gate. With the surveillance of the opposition completed, he returned to a Grado camp, where several soldiers lingered as they prepared an assault on the castle.
"Commander Breguet," the scout said with a salute to a knight. "The enemy appears to be entrenching its position inside the fort." He continued on to speak about the various details, and information gathered about the fort.
"Humph," the knight said with a smirk. "They're tenacious with their patrols, but they have no hope of stopping our advance."
"What are your orders, sir?" the soldier asked.
"Orders?" Breguet asked. He laughed as if that was the most absurd question he heard. "You just stand here and watch. I'll crush the patrolmen and sentry myself while the rest of you invade the fortress."
"As you command sir," The soldier said as he rolled his eyes, while Breguet approached the fort without assistance.
"Halt!" one of the patrolmen asked Breguet as he approached the fortress, aware that there was a contingent of Grado soldiers near the fort based on what Nephenee reported. "What is your business here?"
Breguet did not respond.
Instead, he slammed his spear upon the patrolman's head, knocking him unconscious.
"You must be a Grado soldier," the other patrolman yelled as he readied his lance! "Prepare to die, coward!"
He slammed his lance into the armor knight with all his might.
The Grado knight didn't budge.
Breguet laughed with confidence as he attacked the second patrolman. He missed when the soldier jumped over the lance. However, Breguet elevated his lance, striking the soldier in the groin.
The soldier collapsed to the ground, holding his crotch in agony.
Breguet added to his suffering by slamming his lance onto the soldier's back, breaking his spine.
x X x
The sentry guarding the fort continued practicing his skills in hopes of impressing Sheeda, despite what the patrolmen said. Fortunately, he stopped after noticing that two of the patrolmen haven't circled outside the castle in a while. He scanned the area, realizing the two soldiers that were with him were critically injured or dead.
Worse, the person responsible approached him, preparing to do the same. Said person also had several troops behind him.
"Knights have strong armor, but they are slow to attack," the sentry said to himself as the patrolmen engaged the Grado soldiers in the attack. "If I can strike his weak points, and evade his attacks, I can defeat their commander and force them to retreat." With those thoughts in mind, he charged towards Breguet.
However, despite the sentry's best efforts, Breguet never allowed the soldier in his reach, as every time the swordsman swung his sword, his lance deflected it with considerable ease.
Growing tired with the battle, the Grado knight allowed the sword-wielding soldier in his guard and allowed their weapons to clash. The weapons remained locked in a stalemate of power, until Breguet punched the mercenary in the gut, forcing him drop his weapon as he lost his breath.
With the mercenary unarmed and scrambling to obtain his weapon, Breguet impaled the mercenary in the abdomen with his spear.
The mercenary screamed in pain as blood gushed from the large wound.
"Ha!" Breguet yelled as the rest of the Grado soldiers approached the fort and defeated the remaining patrolmen. He stepped on the sentry, causing him to bleed more as he taunted, "That's what happens when you face my lance!" He stepped off the soldier and pulled out his lance from the soldier as he ceased breathing.
"What's the next order," a Grado soldier said as he approached the knight.
"Search the fort," Breguet said. "Imprison all the soldiers and bring anything valuable to me."
As the Grado soldiers raided the castle, they captured everyone and locked them inside the cells of the prison once they found a pair of keys.
Tana and Nephenee were among the captured prisoners.
"Stop," Tana yelled as she struggled to free herself from the grip of the soldier, but to no avail. "Call off your forces and turn back, or you'll have me to deal with!"
"Is that so?" Breguet said as he grinned smugly while Tana continued to squirm. He wondered how this small woman planned to fight him, much less defeat him. "And who might you be?"
"Who – I am Tana, princess of Frelia," She said with an air of confidence. Some of the Grado soldiers narrowed their eyes as she added, "I will not permit you to abuse my country any longer!"
"Why did she say that?" One of the imprisoned soldiers muttered as he palmed his forehead. Nephenee closed her eyes and remained silent, while many of the soldiers groaned in agreement.
"Frelia's royal brat, huh?" Breguet said with a hearty laugh after noticing the reaction from the soldiers. "How convenient—"
"Leave this castle immediately!" Tana yelled as she stomped her foot on the ground, missing the foot of the soldier. "If you harm me, my father and brother will chase you to the ends of the earth."
"Yes, I heard how King Hayden dotes on his precious little daughter," Breguet said with a smirk. "Let's see how true that is. You'll make a fine hostage, my dear." As Tana widened her eyes with fear, he turned his attention to the soldiers nearby, "Lock her up in a different cell!"
"Right away, sir!" the Grado soldier holding her replied as he and another soldier took her to a different holding cell, throwing her inside.
"No!" Tana screamed from the floor as Breguet walked out of the prison area. She staggered to her feet. "Let everyone go!"
"Like that's going to happen," the soldier said as he slammed the cell door behind him and locked it.
x X x
After traveling for several hours with some injuries, Eirika and her group converged upon Mulan, only to discover Grado soldiers occupied the area. Eirika glanced around the area, and noticed three soldiers on the ground lying motionless.
"Seth!" Eirika screamed as she pointed ahead while riding in front of Nanna. "Look!"
"I see it," Seth replied as he and the knights glanced around the area. Not far away from them, three Frelian soldiers laid on the ground motionless. In another area, another soldier had his guts ripped out of him.
The latter scene and the nauseating stench of death made Nanna vomit on the ground.
"You okay," Ares said as he checked on his cousin.
"I'm fine," she said as she wiped her mouth. "Never saw someone with their bowels ripped from their body. Whoever did this showed no mercy to their opponent."
"It seems that Grado's army has already reached Frelia," Seth said. He turned northeast, away from the fortress, saying "Princess, this place is perilous. We should bypass Mulan altogether and head straight for the capital.
"I agree with Seth," Ares added. "It's prudent that we get you to Frelia as soon as—"
"We can't just ignore this!" Eirika interrupted as she dismounted off the horse. "You were there when Renais was invaded. You saw what I saw." Nanna nodded her head in agreement as Eirika continued, "You saw how people suffered at the hands of Grado's Soldiers. Homes were destroyed, possessions stolen, women kidnapped." Ares frowned and Seth released a sigh as she added, "Anyone who resisted was executed without question. Without hesitation!"
"What do you want us to do Princess," Nanna asked, understanding how Eirika felt about the situation. She also knew that unless the order was ridiculous, her orders held priority over Seth and Ares.
"Please everyone, I cannot allow that to happen here. I don't want to see any more people harmed by Grado's atrocities."
"Alright Princess, I understand," Seth said as he surveyed the area. "Perhaps we can retake Mulan."
"Are you sure about this General Seth?" Ares asked with a raised eyebrow. "It seems that Grado has a sizeable force here. There's only four of us here, and the princess is an inexperienced fighter at that." Ares clutched his abdomen as he added while glancing at Seth's shoulder, "Not to mention that some of our injuries haven't healed fully from the previous battle."
"Judging by everything, this was the work of no more than a dozen soldiers," Seth said. " I'd say they're crude and inexperienced fighters as well. If we divert them away from the fort, we can take them on individually."
"If there's only a dozen soldiers, how did they take the fort?" Nanna asked. "Shouldn't there be several Frelian soldiers stationed at this fort?"
"From our resources, Fort Mulan was understaffed to hold off a possible invasion by Grado in Fort Rigwald," Ares said. "With some of the knights defending the capital, and the fort being a training ground for new recruits, Frelia lacked the resources to hold such a fort." He sighed as he added, "It's not a surprise. The fort fell because Frelia stationed mostly new recruits there. That, and Grado probably expected us to come in this direction."
"I understand," Eirika said as she unsheathed her sword. "Let's take back the fort and drive them out."
"But Princess," Seth said as he clutched his lance, "you must act with caution. Your people need you too."
"Of course Seth," Eirika said with a nod while Ares and Nanna glanced at each other. "Come on, let's go!"
"Before we fight," Seth said as he pointed to two nearby houses, "we should warn those civilians that Grado has taken over Mulan so they can escape."
Eirika nodded as the four split in two groups. Eirika went with Seth to one house while Ares and Nanna went to the other.
As Eirika knocked on the door, an old man answered.
"Ma'am, this is no place for a lady!" the geezer yelled. "Grado soldiers took over the fortress!"
"We're aware of that sir," Seth replied as the old man moved between the princess and the Renais general.
"I suggest you head to the capital before Grado sets up patrols around the area," He left his house unattended, and followed his own advice by traveling northeast to the Capital.
Eirika placed her hands on her hips as she thought about the uselessness of the information, as she and Seth walked back to the meet Ares and Nanna. However, she was glad that the Grado soldiers haven't slaughtered the citizens here yet.
Soon, Nanna and Ares regrouped with them. While Eirika told them what happened with the old man, Ares and Nanna told a different story.
"The owner of the other house refused to leave," Nanna said. "He muttered something about the leader being an armor knight, and how they're vulnerable to weapons like heavy spears and rapiers, and that he didn't have any weapons to give us."
"The man is right," Ares said. "A heavy spear will damage the thick armor like a war hammer, and a rapier can pierce the weak points of the armor with relative ease."
"This might be useful," Eirika said as she clutched the weapon on her side.
"First, we need to find a way to lure out the soldiers," Ares said. "We'll worry about fighting the armored knight if that time comes."
"We don't have to worry about that," Nanna said as she gripped her sword. Ares copied her and Seth did the same with his lance as she added, "They're coming in our direction now."
x X x
Near the fort, Breguet stood outside as he noticed a woman and three horse riders in the distance near two houses. Noticing the blue hair on the woman, he recognized that she fit the description of the missing princess of Renais.
"Ha! This is my lucky day! Fame and fortune ride to meet me," he said quietly to himself. He yelled to his men, "Move out you slugs! See the woman in the distance with the knights? That's Princess Eirika. Bring that girl to me!"
As the soldiers left the castle, he thought about the capture of two princesses from enemy countries. This would certainly earn him respect in Grado.
x X x
As Grado soldiers rushed toward the group, Franz arrived on the potential battlefield with an armored knight and two pegasi riders.
"Sir Gilliam!" Franz said to the armored knight. Is that Mulan? Have we reached Frelia's border already?"
"Aye, we have." Gilliam responded.
"Her highness, should be inside the fort," the first pegasus rider added.
"The country side is crawling with Grado soldiers!" Franz said in response as everyone turned their attention to the fortress then glanced around the landscape, noticing several people engaged in battle.
"Where's the fort sentry and the patrolmen?" the second pegasi rider asked. She surveyed the battlefield again, noticing several dead bodies near the entrance of the fort. "Has Mulan fallen? Are we too late?"
"Too tough to say from here Sheeda," Gilliam said, realizing that if Mulan is captured, they have Frelia's princess in their possession. "Princess Tana is in no danger if they want her as a bargaining tool. I'm sure the soldiers of the Eastern Watch will see her to safety."
"Yes!" Sheeda said. "Yes of course!" We mustn't give up. We must move!"
"We must retake the fortress, then ride forth to Princess Eirika's aid." Franz added.
"I have stronger armor than all of you," Gilliam said. "I'll take the lead. Franz, watch my back." He turned as he glanced at the pegasi knights. "Vanessa, either you or Sheeda return to the capital to inform the king. The other should take to the skies to help survey the field."
"I'll return to the capital," Vanessa said as she prepared to take to the skies. "Sheeda has a better understanding of the situation and would be more helpful."
"That's okay with me," Sheeda said with a smile as Vanessa and Franz nodded. Gilliam and Franz advanced towards the enemies while Vanessa flew back to the capital.
As soon as Sheeda took to the sky, a soldier came from behind a tree and prepared to engage Franz in battle ... only to fall by Gilliam's lance.
"The battle has already started," Sheeda said from the sky, "There's two cavaliers coming in our direction. One is a woman, and the other has red hair."
"Those are Renais soldiers," Franz yelled in return. "One of them is my commander."
"There's no other dangers nearby," Sheeda said. "Let's meet up with them. We can take the fortress with larger numbers."
"Aye," Gilliam said.
"Is that you Franz?" Seth said from a distance as he and Nanna approached the group. Franz nodded.
"I'm relieved to see that you're still in one piece, Franz!" Nanna said. "This is the second time we engaged Grado soldiers."
"Y-yes, and you as well Nanna and General Seth!" He saluted the red-haired man as he continued, "I haven't engaged in any battles before this." As Nanna bit her lip, Franz added, "As long as you lead us, the Knights of Renais cannot lose!"
Seth appreciated the comment, but he remained impassive.
"Franz, you and I must work together to protect Princess Eirika," he said in a calm voice. "I want you to ride with us from this point forward."
"With honor sir!" Franz said. He prepared to head into battle, but told Seth, "The man in the armor is Sir Gilliam, and the pegasus rider in the sky is Lady Sheeda. They're both from Frelia."
"Duly noted," Seth said with a nod. "I'll inform Princess Eirika and Ares of this to avoid any friendly attacks." Gilliam and Sheeda nodded in agreement while he added, "We already lured the enemy out the castle, so now may be a good time to regroup."
x X x
Seth rode ahead as he and Nanna informed Eirika and Ares of the situation, who dispatched the remainder of the Grado soldiers, by either knocking them unconscious or giving them a fatal wound.
During a lull in the battle, Seth introduced the Frelian knights to Eirika and Ares.
"Pleased to meet you both," Eirika said.
"Likewise," Ares added. "Do either of you know the situation on Fort Mulan?" Ares asked.
"There were only thirty men in the fort, not including myself and Princess Tana," Sheeda said as she took to the sky again on her pegasus.
"Tana is here?" Eirika said with a shriek. As Sheeda, Gilliam and Franz nodded, Ares folded his arms in disgust.
"It seems that sixteen of soldiers died out here while trying to defend the fortress," Sheeda said. "I'm not sure of the status of our men or Princess Tana inside the castle."
"That's great news to hear," Ares said as he glanced away.
"Surveillance from earlier also revealed twelve Grado soldiers making camp not far from here," Sheeda continued as she ignored Ares. "I assume they are the ones that assaulted the castle, as their camp is empty."
"What do you suggest we do General?" Ares asked, although he knew the answer by the way he clutched his sword.
"We continue with our objective and capture the fortress while finding out the status of Princess Tana," Seth said. "Chances are, they'll probably hold Tana as a hostage while they await a response from—"
"Enemies are approaching from the East!" Sheeda screamed from the sky. "Definitely Grado soldiers!"
Ares and Seth groaned in displeasure while Gilliam clenched his teeth. Eirika glanced at the area behind her, understanding that more soldiers followed her group from their initial skirmish in the valley.
"There are the stragglers from Renais!" A man with an axe in his hand screamed. "Don't let them get away!"
"The rest of the Grado soldiers are also approaching from the fort!" Sheeda added. "However, their forces are minimal."
"Nanna, I want you, Franz and Gilliam to attack the soldiers approaching from the east," Seth said as he took charge of the situation. "Eirika, you will come with Ares and myself to fight the soldiers near the fort. Sheeda, I want you to stay with Gilliam and keep surveillance on the area in case more reinforcements from Grado arrive on either side and help when necessary."
Everyone nodded in agreement and split into their respective groups, going on the offensive in this battle.
Franz, Nanna and Gilliam had minimum difficulty defeating the fighters that approached from the eastern valley.
Gilliam, like most armored knights from Frelia was not a fast fighter due to the excessive amount of weight he carried. Rather than bring the fight to them, he waited for the fighters to attack him with their axes. The fighters managed to strike Gilliam, but with the strong armor, none of the blows affected him. Gilliam used his lance to defeat one of the fighters, while Franz and Nanna surprised another fighter by striking him on his sides.
The fighter countered by attacking the horse that Franz rode, but he missed.
The horse responded by kicking him several yards, crashing into a tree headfirst with a sickening crunch.
The last remaining fighter decided his best option was to remain alive. Rather than fight Nanna, he retreated to the valley.
"Sheeda," Gilliam yelled. "Are there any more reinforcements coming?"
"No," the pegasus rider said. "The valley is clear."
"Let's help Princess Eirika," Nanna said with hardened eyes.
Franz, Gilliam, and Sheeda nodded in agreement. To travel there faster, Gilliam traveled with Franz on his horse.
x X x
Seth, Ares and Eirika had an equally easy time defeating the soldiers, for in the case of Seth and Ares, they had superior weapon skill, and in the case of all three, better dexterity in battle with their weapons. Before the soldiers could defend from an attack, they took a fatal blow from Eirika's rapier, Ares' sword, or Seth's lance.
Ares wondered how the Frelian soldiers lost to these guys, but he remembered that this was a training ground, and many of the soldiers here were either recruits in training, or fresh out of the military academy.
Eventually, they reached the fortress gate, where Breguet waited for them.
"Are my men that useless?" Breguet whispered to himself in disgust. However, he thought that if he caught Eirika in addition to Tana, the emperor would give him a promotion for crippling two nations. Perhaps he would become one of the jewels of Grado.
Then again, it seems every ranked commanding soldier in Grado aspires to become one of the jewels – the highest generals in Grado, and one of the most feared warriors.
Breguet snapped out of his reverie as Seth began the battle against him with a test of lance skills. Seth matched him in strength, and had superior skill, and speed, and it appeared that Breguet's defeat would be inevitable.
However, Breguet parried Seth's lance, and followed it up by striking him in the shoulder.
The same shoulder that Valter severely wounded several hours earlier.
Seth dropped his lance on the ground. He grabbed his injured shoulder while he screamed in agony.
Breguet saw an opportunity to take out the young leader of the Renais knights.
However, he felt a hard strike to the back of his head, followed by a sharp object piercing his oblique muscle, and penetrating vital organs.
While he focused on the battle with Seth, Eirika and Ares sneaked behind him unhindered, thanks to the lack of reinforcements. Ares clubbed him in the back of the head with the broad side of his sword. At the same time, Eirika pierced her rapier through a weak spot in the armor, remembering what Nanna said earlier about weak points of an armored knight.
"No! This isn't the way it ends!" Breguet groaned as he clutched the wound on his side while collapsing to the ground. As the ground beneath the Grado knight changed from brown to crimson, Eirika took the sword and cleaned the blood from it with a cloth.
As Seth picked up his lance, Ares did the honorable thing.
He slammed his sword down on his neck, killing Breguet instantly as his head severed from the spinal column, nearly decapitating him.
With three sword strokes, he went from being an ambitious knight to just another cadaver on the battlefield claimed by war.
x X x
Shortly thereafter, Franz, Nanna, Sheeda, and Gilliam caught up with Eirika, Ares, and Seth, who still held his shoulder in pain.
"Sheeda and I will look for Princess Tana inside the fort," Gilliam whispered to Franz. He glanced towards Eirika, noticing her approaching them. "Go talk to Princess Eirika." Franz nodded as Gilliam left.
Before Eirika could speak, Franz followed the knight's advice.
"Princess Eirika, it's good to see you're well," he said with a smile.
"Franz!" she replied. "I didn't get a chance to say it before, but I'm glad you made it through unscathed through the mountains and in this battle."
"Y-Yes your highness," Franz said, scratching the back of his head, embarrassed that his liege gave him some praise. He dismounted from his horse as he added. "I met with Sir Gilliam, Lady Sheeda and another pegasus knight and explained the situation in Renais." Eirika nodded as she smoothed her forearm with her hand while he continued, "Sheeda told me that Princess Tana was in danger as well here in Mulan. We rode as swiftly as we could to aid both of you while word was sent to King Hayden about the situation."
"Come Franz," Eirika said as she glanced around the dead bodies. "We should help search for Tana as well."
"Understood," Franz replied with a nod, with the rest of the Renais knights dismounted from their horses as they entered the fortress.
x X x
The search didn't take long, as Sheeda was familiar with Fort Mulan, and knew the location of the holding cells. To their relief, they found the rest of the soldiers and Tana unharmed.
It also helped that Sheeda knew the location of the cell keys. After she released the soldiers – Nephenee included as she stayed in the area – she released Tana as well.
"Princess Tana—" Gilliam said.
"Sir Gilliam. I'm sorry," she said, interrupting the knight. "I never meant to cause you, Nephenee, and Lady Sheeda such trouble."
"It was no trouble," Gilliam said as Sheeda and Nephenee nodded. "I live to serve, Princess. It's my duty."
"Tana!" a woman shouted from the entrance of the holding area.
"Eirika!" Tana said as her mouth opened in surprise, recognizing the woman instantly. "Is that really you?"
"Tana, what are you doing away from Castle Frelia?" Eirika asked, relieved that her friend was safe.
"I heard Renais has fallen and I was so worried, so I flew here to begin a search for you." Tana said. "I'm glad to see you're safe." She glanced around as she added, "Where is Ephraim? Is he well?"
"I wish I knew," Eirika said as she looked up in the sky. "He's out in the front lines, fighting Grado troops. I'm not sure if he knows that Renais has fallen."
"You haven't heard from him?" Tana said with a choked voice. "I hope he's unharmed." Silence took over the room, before Tana spoke her thoughts. "Come, we must go to the capital. My father may help you or know something."
"Thank you Tana," Eirika said as she and Tana left the cell. To their surprise, Nephenee, Seth, Sheeda, and Ares waited outside the room for them.
"Come Princess Eirika." Seth said. "We received word from a messenger. Frelia Castle still awaits for our arrival."
"Yes," Ares added, "Franz got his message through apparently. King Hayden is expecting you. We also told the messenger that we recaptured Mulan."
"The king must know the details about the battle here," Nephenee added. Sheeda and Tana raised their eyebrows as she continued, "Our men will bury the fallen, while Sheeda and I escort Tana to the capital."
"Sir Gilliam must also return to the capital," Sheeda said.
"That's too bad," Nephenee said. "The soldiers would've loved to learn something from him if he could stay for a while."
"Okay everyone, let's go to the capital," Seth said. "We should make it there by dusk if we travel without any interruptions."
"Hopefully, there won't be any battles along the way," Eirika said as she glanced at her rapier. Unsheathing it once more, she noticed the crimson stains that haven't disappeared.
x X x
That marks the end of the first real chapter of War of the Stones. Since I introduced two characters not familiar to Sacred Stones, I must introduce them.
Nephenee: Anyone who played Path of Radiance or Radiant Dawn knows this country girl. For those who don't, in Path of Radiance, she is a Crimean soldier captured by the Daien army. Ike's mercenary group rescues her. In Radiant Dawn, she takes up arms to quell the rebellion against Elincia. Now, if she would only take off that helmet ...
In this iteration, she is still a soldier, and carries the same personality. She is one of Tana's vassals, but any orders by King Hayden trump that of Tana. *whistles*
Sheeda: In the original Fire Emblem and Mystery of the Emblem, (not to mention the upcoming Shadow Dragon, on the Nintendo DS) she is the princess of Talis, an island nation. She is also the romantic interest (and lover) of the main hero of the story, Marth. In that game, she is a pegasus rider who promoted to a Dragon knight. (Where the inspiration of the branch promotion comes from in Sacred Stones.) She has a sweet and somewhat bubbly personality.
In this iteration, she is a pegasus rider from Frelia and part of a noble house (named Talis). I have major plans for her in this story, but right now.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. My goal for this particular chapter was to introduce more characters, and make the battles as realistic as possible while involving strategy and ideas. (e.g.: using a pegasus rider for surveillance in the sky.) I hope you truly enjoyed reading them.
There is still plenty of time to submit your character requests from any of the games. Once I reached the branched paths, I will not accept any more requests.
In the meantime, as always, I ask that you review the chapter and let me know your thoughts about this chapter (or the story overall if you waited.)
