"Chapter Three, comin' at ya!"
Hey, who let Vaike into the intro? ... Is he gone? Oh, thank-
"Enjoy the Chapter! TEACH'S ORDERS!"
Damn.
A warm breeze caresses my face as I step outside, and I can feel my mood lighten with every breath of the fresh summer air. The Training Yard is a wide open space behind the Barracks, and there are fenced-off areas with everything from weights to targets to a sparring ring, which is where I'm headed now.
"So Lucan, my man," Vaike says, dropping a free weight to fall in step beside me. "You here for Teach's "Get Shredded" work-out program?"
I laugh, then reply, "Not now, Vaike; I'm sparring today. I need to see if I still have my skills from before the… well, you know."
"The Vaike's decided to call it the Vanishing," the Warrior says. "And alrighty! But who are you gonna spar with?"
"Well," I say, "I was planning on working on swordplay first, so…"
"So I'll be his challenger," a gruff voice says. I turn to see Lon'qu standing behind me, and as soon as he speaks, it feels as though ever person in the Yard is watching us. Even before I left, Lon'qu was one of the best swordsmen I've ever encountered… and I can only assume he's grown stronger since then.
I think for a second, then say, "Thank you, Lon'qu. I'd be honored if you would spar with me." He nods, and a small smile crosses his lips as we shake hands and make our way to the Ring.
A few minutes later, Lon'qu and I are facing off from opposite sides of the Sparring Ring, and it seems as though almost all of the Shepherds are either gathered at the fence or watching from where they themselves are training. An audience… delightful, I think, and I see in Lon'qu's dark, flashing eyes that he feels the same.
The preparations are quick: I enchant both of our swords, allowing us to hit each other with them without doing any damage, aside from giving our target an unpleasant shock. Due to the sheer heat of the day - Ylisse can get get quite muggy in the last weeks of summer - we're both bare from the waist up, and I'm glad that my physique hasn't been negatively affected by my time spent… elsewhere.
"Are you ready?" Lon'qu calls out, hushing the crowd. We both drop into our stances, which reflect our vastly different styles of fighting: his katana is made for quick, precise attacks, while my schiavona is perfect for parries and ripostes. Though polar opposites, our styles make for… interesting duels.
I take a deep breath, and I can feel the eyes of our audience on me. I look at Lon'qu, and I see excitement in his eyes; he's been waiting two years, I think, and now his old sparring partner is back. And he's… "Ready."
As soon as the word leaves my lips, Lon'qu throws himself forward, his blade lashing at the left side of my neck. Damn, he's gotten even faster, I think, and I barely have time to whip my sword-hand up, the basket around my fist knocking his sword aside. I try to clip him with my pommel as he passes me, but my backhanded swing only meets air. He lands lightly behind me, and as he turns, I thrust my blade towards his chest, and our weapons meet, sparks flying as the enchantments clash atop steel.
A few swings later, we're both untouched and locked at our crossguards, standing mere inches from one another. Our eyes meet for a moment, and what I makes me grin: He's been training for this.
And I'd hate to disappoint.
Lon'qu and I sparred for over an hour, without a single break break called for by either side. The crowd has died off - mostly due to Frederick dragging a number of the rubber-necking Shepherds back to their training - but a few are still standing at the fence, one of whom waves me over as I towel myself off.
"That was one hell of a bout, Lucan," Chrom says with a smile, and I return it. He isn't wearing his armor, but Falchion is still at his side, and his arm is around Sumia's waist. The Pegasus Knight is starting to show, and her hands are resting gently atop her bump as she looks at me.
"It's so good to see you out there," Sumia says in her soft, delicate voice. "It's like this big, jumbled-up family is whole again."
I put my hand on her shoulder, and say, "I'm just glad to be back."
"Ol' Teach can think of someone else who's glad you're back!" He saunters up and throws an arm around Chrom, who sighs deeply. When he sees my quizzical expression, Vaike goes on, "You and Lon'qu had some avid fans when you were prancin' around all shirtless and shit out there," he says, and when Chrom glares at him, he mumbles something that sounds less like 'sorry' and more like 'chill out'.
"What do you mean?" I ask.
"Well you didn't hear this from me, cause the Vaike ain't no gossip," he said, leaning over the fence conspiratorially, "but I've heard that the Valkyrie has a thing for your sparring buddy."
"Mirabelle? Really?" I turn and look across the Yard, and it only takes a quick glance at her to see the way she's looking at Lon'qu. "Hm, wouldn't have expected that," I say.
"Then again," Chrom says as he and Sumia turn to head back inside, "I doubt you expected Sully to choose Vaike, eh?"
"True..." I say, "I wouldn't expect her to stoop that low." Chrom, Sumia and I share a laugh, and even Vaike joins in, being a good sport as always. I then throw a plain white shirt on and hop the fence to head over to the weights, and Vaike tags along, seeing as when it comes to sheer strength, he's practically unmatched. We walk in silence for a moment before curiosity gets the better of me and I say, "So…"
"Don't worry, Lucan, the Vaike wasn't gonna leave you hangin' about your 'fan'!" he says, winking obnoxiously. Well at least he isn't telling me about this really loudly or anything. "Well first off, that gloomy honey with the killer body was creepin' on ya from behind a tree. Surprise surprise, eh?" He says with a laugh.
"Not really… Tharja was always a bit… infatuated with me. And I think that's putting it lightly," I say. "Any other inane wisdom you'd like to share with me?"
"Well there was another lady, see," Vaike says, "and she actually asked Teach about ya… she seemed real interested in ya, too. Didn't know her, though."
"Wait… what?" I ask, stopping in my tracks. "Was she a Shepherd?" He shakes his head. "Well what did she look like?"
"She was real pale, with white hair and blue eyes… pretty strange-lookin', if ya ask me." Vaike turns and looks around the Yard with narrowed eyes, and a moment later he says, "There she is!"
I turn and see a young woman running towards me. Her porcelain skin and piercing eyes are almost… ethereal, and as she nears me, I notice that a number of nearby Shepherds are equally as entranced by her. She suddenly comes to a halt right in front of me, and before I can say anything or ask why she's come looking for me, she says, "I need your help, Lucan of Ylisse."
I stand motionless for a moment, thrown totally off-guard by the sudden arrival of a stranger, who inexplicably knows who I am. "Who are you?" I ask, my hand on my sword, "and why have you come here?"
"My name is Mila," she says, "and I have traveled here from my homeland of Fraustfel to find you, and to transmit a message."
"Wait… did you say you're from Fraustfel?" I turn to see that Chrom has come back outside, apparently having heard about the mysterious stanger. "The Northern Continent?" he asks.
"You are correct, Exalt of Ylisse," Mila says. "My people, the Fel, do not often leave their home, but in light of recent events, I had no choice but to travel here, to Ylisstol."
"Why?" I ask again. "Did you say you're looking for help?"
"Yes," she said, her voice raw. Her eyes flicked over our shoulders, and I saw Chrom look back, confusion evident on his face. "I… I'm not safe, and it's only a matter of time until they find me… but I came here to beg for your help, Lucan of the Shepherds. Without your legendary skills, I… we are without hope."
"Until who finds you?" Frederick asks. "Are you in danger?"
"He sent some of his Wraiths to track me down and bring me back…" she whispers, her eyes wide and her entire body trembling with fright. "He won't rest until Fraustfel is a graveyard…"
"Over our dead bodies," Chrom says, and she looks at him, surprised by the confidence and courage in his voice. "Frederick, alert the others that we are now harboring an endangered emissary from another nation, and that we might have some... unwanted company before this is sorted out." The Great Knight nods, and as he walks away, Mila looks at me, her sky-blue eyes drilling into my own.
"You have to stop him," she pleads.
"Who?" She goes very still, and when she speaks, I feel a chill run down my spine, as if a winter breeze is whirling through the air.
"Galgoreth."
Chrom suddenly draws his sword, and when I look at him, he says, "Did you hear that?" I shake my head, but I draw my own weapon all the same, and I hear some of the others follow suit as they make their way back towards the Barracks. "It sounded like… I'm not sure. Sort of like… whistling?…"
Before I can respond, Mila screams, the sound shattering the air. "Help me!" I look back to her and when I glance down, I see a pale, skeletal hand of ice jutting out of the ground, its bony, splintered fingers wrapped around the Fel woman's slender ankle.
"We're under attack!" Chrom bellows, his sword flashing as he points across the Yard, away from the Barracks. As I grab Mila and try to pull her out of the hand's grasp, I glance over my shoulder and see others like it rising from the ground, followed by… oh gods, what are those things?
The Wraiths are all different in form and size, but they at their cores, they have a lot in common: they look like spirits or demons made entirely of ice, and they do not look friendly. I look back down and kick at the hand that's grasping Mila, and when it shatters, I laugh. So they might be fragile, I think, but I'm sure they're more than they seem. My suspicion is suddenly affirmed when a spear of ice flies past my head, stabbing deep into the ground several yards away. "Everybody inside!" I bellow, ushering a trembling Mila towards one of the doors of the Barracks. "And someone bring me a fire tome!"
"Here, sir!" I look up to where I heard the voice, and I see an open window, which Frederick is hanging out of. He tosses a crimson book down to me, and I catch it with my left hand, the spine landing in my palm and the pages flipping open.
Time to see how they like a taste of flames, I think as I turn to face the Wraiths. The other Shepherds are safely inside the Barracks, and all of the doors are closed tight save for one, and I glance back to see Mila looking out anxiously over Sully's shoulder. Our eyes meet for a moment, and I flash her a smile before I look back to my frigid foes.
My sword pointed to the ground to my right, I glance down at the open tome, and in a brilliant flash, an intricately crafted wave of knowledge crashes over me. Though the human mind cannot comprehend the true workings of magic, we can serve as its vessels, channeling the power held by our enchanted texts. As I tear my eyes from the scorching pages before me, I feel the power coursing through my body, and I toss the tome aside, my lips curling in a wicked grin. The Wraiths are still charging, but little do they know that Frederick was very clever in his choice of tome to provide me.
"Hailfire!"
My left hand held towards the Wraiths, I feel a sudden pull on my body as the magic leaves my mortal frame. Sparks leap from my hands, sparks ignite into flames, and flames roar into a raging inferno, splitting and twisting through the air like the heads of a hydra. As I stagger backwards, the flames tear through the Wraiths, vaporizing their crystalline frames with ease.
My knees hit the ground, and spots dance before my eyes. Damn, I can't remember the last time a spell drained me this much… I definitely need to get in some practice. I cough into my elbow as I sheath my sword, and I feel a hand clap onto my shoulder.
"Remind me not to piss you off, mate," Gaius says as he offers me a hand, and I laugh as he helps me to my feet. "That was one hell of a show, and it looks like all those floating ice-cubes are gone."
"Good," I say, and I glance over the thief's shoulder to see Chrom running towards me. My breath quickens when I see the look in his eyes, and I quickly ask, "What's wrong? Has something happened?"
"It's Mila," he says, wiping sweat from his brow. "She collapsed, and we can't rouse her." I tense up, and I hear Gaius gasp under his breath. "Vaike and Gregor are carrying her to the infirmary, and every healer we can find is on their way."
"Let's go," I say, and Chrom nods. My head spins as I pick up my tome, and as I do, I think, Gods, what have we gotten ourselves into? Shaking my head, I run after Gaius and the Exalt, and as the wooden doors of the Barracks swing shut behind us, I fear that Ylisse may very well be in danger once more.
Yay, mysterious OCs! Shirtless swordfighting! Magic!
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