Hello, friends and fans! I am back and ready for more keyboard-pressing action! ;) Jobs and family stuff have kept me from working on this story for a while. Working for twenty hours on a weekend is new for me, so I am completely wiped out. And now it is time for the third chapter of this epic story to begin!

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to either Dragon Age: Origins nor Fire Emblem: Awakening. Dragons would be killing each other for eternity if I did :P

OOOOO

Alim took one look at the swarm of men and women rushing towards him, with one thought in mind. 'Well, this is going to hurt more than Ostagar... ah, the good old days'.

As he began gathering all of the mana into his hands, his peripheral vision took in the going-ons of the battlefield around him.

The left flank was doing as well as could be expected. Since no cavalry were able to move across the potholes, it was down to a bogged-down infantry struggle that could only end badly for Alims' troops. Stationing archers and the thunder mages with them was blunting their charge long enough for his plan to work. At least, that's what he hoped for...

The right flank was in significantly better shape than their other half. The warriors he had stationed up front covered the debris long enough for the enemy to come into range. The rebels quickly ducked under the trench behind them, and what they revealed would haunt the nightmares of thousands for years to come.

Alim had used the remnants of the oil as strategically as he could, lathering the stones in the scorching fluids. The fire mages had lit the oil covered stones ablaze, and as soon as their allies were in cover, mages with wind tomes practically spat the flaming stones at Yen'fays' men.

To the men loyal to Yen'fay, it seemed as if a demon had risen from whatever hell they believed in and engulfed them in his rage, slaughtering them by the hundreds.

To Alims' men, it looked like they actually stood half a chance at winning this seemingly unwinnable battle. As the second wave approached, slower than before, in case any more flaming projectiles were on their way, the scattered mages and archers did their best to hold them off, praying to Tiki that Alim had another trick up their sleeve...

OOOOO

Yen'fay was, admittedly, at a loss for words. He thought that his men would roll over and squash the scant numbers that had sacrificed themselves for his sister. He hated that he had to do it, but if he wasn't ruthless, Excellus would have his way with Say'ri.

Yen'fay would rather gut himself than allow that to happen. Even so, he resolved to give them what their honor demanded; a swift death.

What happened instead, however, was the complete antithesis of what he could have ever imagined. His right flank was being stalled by dips in the ground, leaving them in perfect positions to be picked off by arrows and lightning bolts. Though their progress was impeded, sheer numbers would eventually win the day for them.

The left side of the battlefield, however, was going far, far worse. Somehow, the enemy had found what appeared to be flaming stones to fling into his lines. Hundreds were killed upon impact, and hundreds more were burning to their deaths. A rather grisly way to go, but Yen'fay conceded that, given the circumstances, desperate times called for desperate measures.

Speaking of which, he and the only uninterrupted flank of the army was only a few hundred feet away from the center of the line, where there were an eager duo of men looking forward to crossing swords. Questioning sanities aside, Yen'fay had a job to do. He had to kill anyone who stood in Walharts' way. For his sister, nothing less could be demanded.

As the gap closed, Yen'fays' movements became sluggish, as though he was wading through mud. 'Wait a minute', he thought, 'this IS mud... Wyvern dung...'

It was clear to Yen'fay that he clearly underestimated his opponent, and he might just pay for that with his life.

OOOOO

Alim was shaking and panting as a result of complete mana exhaustion. His entire body was throbbing as if there was a heart in every cell of his body, blood was dripping from his nose, and his stomach was doing more twists and turns than he and Morrigan had together in their more... private moments.

None of those things mattered, though. His plan worked. Actually worked! A plan that he came up with on the spot was working flawlessly for the first time in his life, and dammit, he was proud of it, despite the pain.

In order to cast a spell learned in the Circle of Magi, one needed to gather the latent energy within themselves and change its form to match the desired spells' element. As Alim had grown up surrounded by woodlands throughout his childhood, his affinity with earth was far stronger than any other element, and thereby extended into his elemental magic.

Despite this natural affinity, and the fact that the ground was already pre-soaked, and the fact that this elf was a highly experienced arcane warrior, he was only one elf. The earthquake spell he used normally affected an area of around fifty feet in diameter, causing immense damage to all who enter. Spreading the area of effect not only lessened the overall power of the spell, but also required a complete understanding of earth-based magic to master, something he had in spades.

Still, to cover over two kilometers was, in all practicality, impossible. This was a perfect storm that would likely never happen again, but Alim was going to make the most of this while he could.

With everything going the way it was, his earthquake was strong enough to make the entire center of the battlefield a swampy mess. Perfect for slowing down and enemy.

And an even more perfect way to pick of the slowest ones.

OOOOO

Shigeru couldn't believe his eyes. One hundred thousand men were dying in droves, were being pushed back, all because of the man next to him.

Alim was definitely unique. His ears, for starters, were pointed. Only those like Tiki had such a thing, and there was no sign of a dragon stone in his possession.

Then there was his intuitive mind. To come up with a plan as successful as this when he was practically thrusted into a leadership position spoke much of his mental fortitude. Besides himself, Shigeru seriously doubted anyone else would accept the pressure of leading a seemingly doomed force.

Speaking on the subject of fortitude, the sheer power that Alim had unveiled couldn't be believed, even though he was right next to him. To use tomeless magic at such a degree was impossible; everyone had known that for as long as they could remember. A tome was what channeled the magic within a mage into an outward force. Without a tome, magic was unapproachable.

'Well, this looks like one for the history books,' Shigeru thought with a chuckle. Archers and mages were nailing as many of the bogged-down enemies as they could, which would only impede the progress of everyone around them. One in black armor, however, seemed to be escaping from the pit of mud, and was approaching them.

Upon glancing at Alim, Shigeru saw the man doubled over, nearly passed out. Figuring it was time he pulled his own weight, Shigeru stepped up to face the approaching opponent.

'Rest easy, my friend,' the short Chon'sin thought. 'You've done your part. now it's my turn to shine...'

OOOOO

Yen'fay was becoming more and more agitated. He needed to hurry up and get to his sister so he could tell her what was going on before she slipped out of his grasp, and this fight was wasting his time.

At least he was finally getting a chance to end this, he consoled. Though the initial swing of the battle was definitely not what he expected, he still had two-thirds of his men left, and they were pushing the rebels back inch by inch. Soon, numbers alone would crush them, as he had counted on.

'Still,' he thought, 'Their leader is surprisingly capable. To do something that effective and apparently dangerous to buy time for my sister speaks well of him.' Resolving to ask this man some questions after the fight, he turned his attention to the small blur in front of him, moving almost too fast to track.

Reacting on pure instinct born of natural talent and two decades of combat, Yen'fay unleashed his sword from its sheath to block the overhand and slash aimed at eviscerating him. Straining from the force of the blows, he looked at his opponent, who was almost a foot and a half shorter than him.

By the shocked look embedded on his face, his enemy wasn't expecting him to block those strikes, because he was much more unbalanced than he should have been, given his age, and by extension, experience. Not being one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Yen'fay thrust his sword at his opponents' throat, aiming to make him bleed out.

The older man's reaction time was still fast enough to move his blade, and had begun to angle his weapon away from his neck. Unfortunately, it wasn't fast enough; Metal slicing through flesh was heard, and the aged, unnamed warrior fell to the ground.

Turning his head to look at the man responsible for the mud trap, he quickly realized that despite his exhaustion, he just earned himself the ire of possibly an even more powerful enemy.

"Looks like I may have to kill him after all," Yen'fay groaned. 'Damn. I was hoping to ask him a few things, but it looks like it's killed or be killed...'

OOOOO

Alim knew that as soon as Shigeru's strikes were blocked, he was in deep. Perhaps he underestimated how quickly Yen'fay would escape the mud trap. Perhaps he overestimated the power of his magic, given the effect it had on every other enemy. Most of those immediately in front of him were laying atop one another in lifeless piles of corpses, and the rest were still struggling to even move their legs, the mud was so thick.

Yen'fay just happened to be close enough that he didn't get stuck in the worst of it. If Yen'fay was further back, if Alim had released his spell a second earlier, his comrade may have been able to survive.

But when Alim thought about what Say'ri would say to him, knowing that he had killed her brother, he knew she would be devastated, despite her current view on him. Families, especially siblings, always loved each other, and having that connection severed would be one of the worst things to happen to anyone.

But looking around the battlefield, what he saw had his hopes of there being survivors getting squashed like an ogre crushing a genlock. Even though his tactics had temporarily put the battle in his favor, numbers were proving to be the deciding factor. The 'Smash Force' was doing their best, but they were too spread out. They would be cut off from their allies in ones and twos, surrounded by five times their number, and slaughtered.

He could hear the cries of fallen warriors; most of whom were coming from his troops.

How could he tell? The screams sounded absurdly young, as if they were coming from children. Children were dying because he couldn't figure out a way to save them.

Rage began giving him his second wind, and he could actually feel everyone around him. Their blood, coursing through their veins, the desperate hope for him to come up with another grand plan to save them all. There were no more plans; this was supposed to demolish the enemy, but instead, they just plowed through them as if nobody but themselves mattered.

There was no sympathy for the enemy, and Alim figured it was about time he do the same. He wanted everyone that stood in the way of his soldiers' freedom was going to pay. So, even though he knew this was going to, in all likelihood, kill him, he needed this last gambit to work.

Using every remaining ounce of strength left in his ragged body, Alim unleashed his malevolent magic, with the wish that all his enemies suffered for what they did.

As unconsciousness gripped him for the second time in as many days, there was a small tug in his chest. Something sinister, something.. familiar...

'No,' Alim denied, 'It's not possible. That damnable, twisted, vile dragon died when my sword went through its brain. I'm in a different world, nowhere where that corruption can reach us, so why do I feel such dread? No.. No... NOOOOOOOOO!'

OOOOO

And that's the chapter. I know it was shorter than the last two, but life has been getting really dynamic lately, high school drama and all that jazz. Frankly I just needed to get something out there so I could get past this bout of writer's block and move on to the next chunk of the story.

Right now, someone deserves a hellishly huge thank you. Archer1eye, you are my first reviewer of my work. Your words help me get motivated into finishing the second half of this beast off. For that, no amount of thank-yous would be enough, especially with as rough as my writing skills are right now. I hope you (and everyone else reading my work) continue to enjoy what I am trying to do.

I'll be working on my next chapter soon. I would gladly appreciate any suggestions you guys have for me. It'll help to get the juices flowing :) See you guys and gals later!