I'm not dead! I promise, I'm actually still writing! Anyway, sorry about the long wait. This is the part where I'm supposed to tell you why I didn't update sooner, and I do have an excuse, but it's a dumb one, so I'll spare you the details. I'll have more to say after the chapter, but until then, enjoy the real reason you came.
Deital Agents
Robin dusted off his new possession. As far as books went, it hadn't been cheap, but since his sword took the full weight of an axe two days prior, he had no choice but to sell the deformed bronze to a blacksmith in Ylisstol.
The text had a nondescript, dark green cover. The book was unmarked, so it was a wonder that he stumbled across it at the shop. Inside was research on fighting techniques from all over the world; there were descriptions of their procedures, comments on their ups and downs, and information on their origins. Opening to the middle of the book, he silently skimmed through a few skills.
Naga's priests at the Mila Tree had recently created a technique, which they referred to as 'Naga's Miracle', to save them from fatal strikes; however, anyone who used it suffered an inability to properly wield magical weapons and tools until healed. The process involved healers focusing their magic energy to preserve their life force outside their physical body, and as such required a great deal of discipline. Despite the challenges, Miracle was now widely known and practiced by the world's priests and clerics, and those who use it are known by their exceptional calm during battle.
Turning to the end of the book, he came across a section titled "Bloodline Abilities". It seemed that the skills in that section were not learned techniques, but rather hereditary powers. How such a thing were possible was unknown to Robin, and needless to say, he was intrigued. Skimming through names such as "Shadowgift", his eyes were drawn to the label "Ignis":
'This ability belongs to the 'Keepers of the Table', the curates of the Grimleal faith. It is said to blur the boundary between the magical and the physical. None know of its origin.'
"-Mmphh!" Robin's face was now buried in thick, wet mud. His foot and a large root had apparently had a difference of opinion. Rolling onto his back, he opened his eyes to the all-too-familiar sight of Marth's hand offering a much appreciated assistance.
Accepting the help, he stood quickly. Marth was clearly having to restrain his laughter upon seeing Robin's mud-stained face. Breathing deeply once, he spoke seriously. "Perhaps your reading can wait until later."
"I suppose it can," Robin attempted to sound dignified while wiping his face off. "Still, I'd like to be prepared should we be forced into battle again."
"That reminds me-" Marth removed an iron sword from his belt. "You will need this blade. Your magic clearly needs practice, so you obviously shouldn't rely on it."
Accepting the sword, Robin tucked it under his robe. "Not to sound ungrateful, but how did you get this?" he inquired, trying carefully to remove the dirt from the open pages of his book without damaging the paper or smearing the ink. "You said you didn't have much gold."
"This sword belonged to the Risen which you struck with lightning."
"Risen?" Robin pondered this comment. Risen? If he knows what they're called, then he probably knows more about them.
"The monsters we fought are known as the 'Risen'."
"Yeah, I gathered as much. But you've seen them before?"
"I have, many times… but I'm afraid I don't know how they came to be, if that is what you are asking," Marth stated, grasping the hilt of his own sword tightly.
He's hiding something. Then again, it always seems like he's hiding something. Maybe the mask just makes him seem more secretive than he really is. "Huh. Thanks for the sword."
The two walked on in silence for some time, Robin prudently tending to his damaged book. What seemed like only a few minutes to him were, in reality, hours spent restoring the ruined text. Lucina, on the other hand, was preoccupied with thoughts of her future. Or past. Or whatever she was supposed to call it. She was constantly shifting her train of thought, from the desolate villages and the burning forests, which Grima had decimated, to her friends, the children of the Shepherds, with whom she grew up. Finally, one memory began to replay itself vividly in her mind.
Lucina ran up to her father, who was dressed in his blue and white armor. She herself wore her nightgown, a faded pink. Her bare feet were barely visible underneath said gown.
"It's so early," she moaned. "Why didn't anybody wake me up?"
"You needed your sleep," Chrom explained.
Tears forming in her eyes, she asked, "You were going to leave without saying goodbye?"
"No, of course not." he pulled his daughter into a tight embrace. "I was just about to come wake you myself."
"Oh, ok…" she accepted. "Daddy?"
"Yes?"
"Why do you have to go now?"
"Lucina, we've already talked about this," Chrom reminded her. "I have to go meet with the king of Plegia."
"I know, but why now? You just got back from the war in Valm. Can't you at least stay two more days?"
"I wish I could. I really do," he sighed. "But King Validar isn't going to wait any longer."
"... He should," Lucina moped.
"Come on, Lucina. Cheer up! As soon as I get back, we'll have that huge birthday celebration, just like I promised. All your friends will be there, and we'll have the chefs cook up all of your favorite foods."
She gave a weak smile, sniffled, and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Alright. But don't forget it."
"I won't." Chrom reassured her, smiling with pride. "I could never forget anything so important."
Father and daughter continued their embrace for several more seconds, Lucina resting her chin on Chrom's shoulder."Did you say goodbye to Mom yet?"
"No, not yet."
"Ok, then. She'll want to see you again before we leave." Chrom heaved a sigh, releasing his daughter from his arms. "Take care of your sister while we're gone, ok?"
"I will."
"And keep up with your studies."
"I will." Her smile was now full. "I love you, daddy."
"I love you, too," he whispered, kissing her cheek.
"There! Finally!" Robin interrupted with a triumphant cry. "I can read the first letter now!"
"One letter?"
"Huh. I guess that's not very encouraging."
"I can agree with that."
"Still, I'll just have to keep working at it. I'll be able to read it eventually."
"You have conviction and optimism in equal measure, I see," Lucina noticed.
"Of course! I mean, I've managed to survive on few possessions and little money. I was, in a sense, rescued when I was lost."
"And yet you have almost nothing, you were lost and unconscious to begin with, and you have no memory of who you were. I wouldn't consider myself lucky to be in your shoes."
"I guess I'm just not so upset about my problems, since they don't seem to be dragging me down. I suppose I might be more pessimistic had I woken alone in that field."
"I have trouble believing that," Lucina remarked.
"Why's that?"
"You're ignoring the problems you have right now. I believe you would do the same in any scenario."
"I'm not ignoring them, they're just not prudent." Robin explained.
"Not prudent? You're in the middle of nowhere with somebody you just met. Not to mention you have no memory of who you are. The only thing you have going for you is that you can read, although that won't do you any good out here."
"I meant important ones."
Lucina rolled her eyes, though Robin couldn't see it through her mask.
"First of all," Robin began to explain, "If you were going to kill or hurt me, you would have done it already. Second, I can survive fine in the wilderness, which you know good and well. And while my amnesia is a problem, it's not worth getting worked up over. I mean, my memories might have been nice to have, but I'm doing just fine without them."
"I still wouldn't want to be in your position." She sighed. "Let's set up camp."
"Sure. I guess it'll give me a chance to read that other book I bought."
Wind Magic, Robin thought. The most easily controlled and aimed form of Anima Magic. He pointed his fingers up, closing the gaps between them as the diagram had shown. His palm was out, and his wrist was bent back. Extremely effective against aerial soldiers, he recited mentally. It'll have to work against a deer, too.
Watching his target intently from behind a particularly thick oak, he prepared to try his hand at magic once again. Finally, the animal entered a small clearing, and Robin saw his chance. Unleashing what turned out to be an underwhelming gust of wind, he let out an immediate groan, alerting his prey to the oncoming blast. The deer sprinted forward, straight into the blade of a well-hidden Marth.
"You should be more careful. We almost lost it."
"Yeah, I know," Robin sighed. "I was just disappointed with my attack."
"Wind magic is the weakest magic. Perhaps you could try a more powerful kind next time."
"Thanks for the tip. My book seems to have left that out," he remembered. "But wait- if you're out hunting, you must have finished making the fire already."
"Unfortunately, I have had little success. Nearly all the wood in the area was soaked in a recent rain. Maybe you would have better luck."
"I should hope so, or else this deer meat will go to waste."
The pair returned to where they had agreed to camp. Just as Marth had said, the gathered wood appeared unusable. On the other hand, appearances could be deceiving.
Fire Magic. The most energy efficient form of Anima Magic. Noticeably stronger than wind magic. Forming a fist, Robin straightened his wrist so his palm was facing downward. Within seconds, a flame emerged from his hand and shot towards the pile of logs.
"That ought to be hot enough."
"It appears so," Marth agreed. "And you also appear to be conscious."
"I guess I am. My book says thunder magic takes a lot more energy than fire and wind. It was right; I'm drained, but I can still walk and everything just fine."
"Then I trust you will make use of this knowledge in battle."
"You can count on it."
The sun was out, and there were no clouds in sight. The air was warm and clear, and there wasn't so much as a hint of a breeze. "It's nice out, and we haven't done anything fun outside in weeks," one of them had said. "Why not raid a village?"
As a result, the villagers were now huddled away in their homes and shops, hiding from the Plegian bandits.
Robin had stationed himself atop a roof, where he could send spells down on the street-bound brigands and possibly divert their attention. He had instructed Marth to defend the inn across the road.
At first, the bandits didn't notice Robin, as they focused on and pursued their original target, the people at the inn. A lancer approached Marth at the door, but due to his opponent's speed and experience, he quickly found his lance pinned against the doorway. After a swift kick to the stomach, he was immediately impaled and thrown aside.
As a group of three ruffians neared Marth, Robin saw his chance to do some real damage. he cast a blaze into the trio, narrowly missing the one in front and catching the other two in the flames. Proud of his success, he barely noticed the flapping of wings approaching.
Turning toward the high-flying pegasus rider, he cast a quick wind spell, which his opponent dodged with practiced ease. It was apparent now that Robin was the rider's intended target. Taking another shot, he managed to land a solid hit on his foe. Beneath the flailing airborne duo, he could see a thick, purple haze several miles out of town, just in front of the forest. Meanwhile, a grunting marauder that had taken notice of him was approaching from behind. Immediately refocused, Robin sent a ball of fire across the rooftops toward the bandit, his overuse of magic catching up to him. At almost the same time, he felt the pegasus he had hit bowl him over from behind, knocking both beast and man off the building.
Fortunately, Robin managed to avoid hitting his head in the fall, landing solidly on his left leg. Unfortunately, he had landed solidly on his left leg.
The pegasus landed far from gracefully several feet from Robin. It injured its front right leg and right wing in the crash, but its rider sat triumphantly atop her steed, miraculously unharmed.
"Ughhh…" Robin moaned, too weak to let out a real cry of pain. Totally immobilized, he tried to form a fireball, but it merely flickered in his hand. The pegasus rider slid off of her mound. A sick grin was plastered to her face, indicating she was thrilled to take out her troublesome foe. With each step she took came a loud thunk, as if a whole body were dropping dead. Somehow, it didn't seem to fit that the companion of such an elegant species would carry such weight in her stride. I must be pretty disoriented right now, Robin thought, noticing his enemy's steps were not landing at the same time as the thuds which seemed to emanate from them.
The rider now stood over the strategist, casting an elongated shadow across him. Robin managed to fuel his fire spell, causing it to grow into a viable threat; it wouldn't kill his enemy, but it would certainly impair her. In response, she backed off. Her expression turned to a scowl, letting out a slight gasp. Dropping the lance from her hand, she slowly collapsed, falling forward. Her figure was replaced by Marth's as Falchion was removed from the corpse.
"How timely," Robin mentioned weakly while he rolled his eyes.
"Considering there were five ruffians between us to begin with, you should be happy I made it in time."
"I would have been just fine," Robin argued. "But thanks anyway." For what was the fourth time in less than a week, Marth extended a helping hand. "Maybe one of these days I'll learn to stand up on my own," he mused, though his train of thought was interrupted by a piercing pain in his thigh. "Or maybe not." Robin grimaced, returning to the ground only inches from his original position.
"Luckily, no bandits remain in the area … And don't think of us as friends; I simply don't enjoy needless death."
"Hehe. If you say so."
"I'm serious," Marth insisted.
"You always are," Robin pointed out.
Lucina sighed.
"... There is a shop on the corner. I'll go get a vulnerary."
As Marth walked toward the aforementioned shop, Robin couldn't help but wonder what could have inspired such reluctance, such resistance to friendship and trust.
"Gods, what are these blasted things!?" Chrom wondered aloud. His enemy had been unphased by the gash it had received from Falchion.
"They're certainly not human," Kellam gathered, though no one heard him.
"These brutes don't behave in a sentient manner. Humans are far from capable of the tolerance which these atrocities have displayed," Miriel observed.
"Er… yeah, of course!" Vaike pretended to understand the mage while pinning a creature to the ground.
"She means they can really take a hit," Chrom explained. "I think." He proceeded to behead the monster that Vaike was restraining. Purple smoke rose from the creature's corpse, causing the prince to choke.
"What's the matter?" Vaike teased. "The mighty Chrom can't handle a little- EGH-Echhh!"
"At least you guys had breakfast," Stahl remarked as he stabbed an enemy that had snuck up on Virion. "The smoke is really upsetting my empty stomach."
"The whole damn lot of you can quit your griping," Sully called out. "We have a battle to win."
"Ahh, your beauty is matched by your focus and your ferocity," Virion admired.
"I take it back. The complaining was better."
"Your words sting me! I wish only to please you."
"You wanna please me? Then put an arrow to your bow, or I'll cram it down your throat."
"Milord!" Frederick announced. "Their numbers appear to be thinning, as does the smoke." He pushed an enemy from his lance.
Lissa, who rode on the back of his horse muttered, "Says you. I can't see a thing."
"Perhaps it is because you've a full set of armor blocking your view."
"Sheesh, Frederick. I know the difference between metal and smoke."
"It's not that bad, Lissa." Chrom impaled another foe. "Besides, Frederick is right: We've almost finished them off, and we can leave immediately after we're done."
"Alright, alright. … But this is boring!"
"Would you prefer one of us was injured, milady?" Frederick asked. "Then you could tend to our wounds instead of sitting on my horse, where I defend you constantly. Maybe you could even fight a few enemies yourself."
"Hmm… I guess I'm not that bored."
"I suspected as much." Frederick drove his lance into an oncoming monster. "I believe that's the last of them."
"I think you're right," Chrom agreed. "Fortunately, they don't seem too smart. If they had any skill with their weapons, we might've been overwhelmed by their strength."
"Blah, blah, whatever," Lissa interjected. "Can we get out of here? There's a town nearby we could stay the night in."
Chrom sighed. "It is getting dark. I suppose it wouldn't hurt us to stay at an inn tonight."
"Yay!" Lissa cheered, hopping from Frederick's steed and hugging her brother. "Thank you so much and I'm so happy and I also need to buy a couple of things in town, thanks!"
"Hold on. This is a diplomatic visit, not a shopping trip."
"Aww. I promise I won't get anything I don't absolutely, totally need!" Lissa begged.
The prince rubbed his forehead. "Fine. Get your dresses or whatever it is you need. Just don't hold us up tomorrow morning."
"Yipee! Thanks, you won't regret it!"
"Geez, I thought we took out those monsters," Stahl groaned.
"The town appears to have been ransacked, albeit not by the same beasts we encountered on the path," Miriel clarified.
"What, by bandits? In this area of Ylisse?"
"It appears so. What baffles me is the extreme normality of the actions and expressions of the town's inhabitants, despite the obvious indicators of recent destruction."
"Yeah, sure. But they're acting pretty normal, considering their houses seem to be in shambles."
"Did you not-" she sighed. "Nevermind."
"We should ask the villagers what happened," Frederick advised.
"Of course," Chrom agreed. "Hey, there! Was this village attacked recently?" He directed the question at a man crossing the street in front of them.
"Yes, traveler. We was raided by brigands not two hours ago."
"Why are the people not panicked, then?"
"We was rescued by a masked man and 'is friend. Ain't a single thief what escaped with his life. So all them people what got attacked can pay to repair their homes an' such."
"A masked man?" Chrom pressed. "What did he look like?"
"Hmm… well, the masked one was short and thin. And he had blue hair, and wore blue, too. The other fellow was normal-sized. He had a fancy purple robe and silver hair."
"I see."
"Of course, I went and made a mistake, I did. One still lives who's a bandit. Well, sorta. That pegasus laid down acrossed the street down yonder was with 'em."
"Thank you for your help."
"I'm glad to help."
The Shepherds continued down the road to the inn, where they planned to stay.
"Chrom! I mean, captain!"
Chrom jumped in surprise. "Sumia, you don't have to yell. I'm standing right here."
"Of course. My apologies."
"It's fine, Sumia. What did you want to say?"
"Oh, it's nothing, really. I was just hoping I could take a look at that pegasus; you know, treat its wounds. I would hate to leave it like this."
"Yes, of course. Go ahead." Chrom took a deep breath. Between the Plegians and those creatures and these mysterious heroes, this was going to be a long journey.
"Hmm... It's strange. Here on the battlefield, I can... Well, I can "see" things... The enemy's strength, their weaponry, the flow of battle... I must have studied this somewhere." -Robin
While playing Fire Emblem: Awakening, you can see enemy stats, damage bonuses, etc. Of course, Robin doesn't have a screen full of numbers to work with. In Awakening fics, authors explain '22 strength' by describing the physical appearance of a character or detailing the impact of their attack. Lots of authors explain why wind and arrows are good against pegasi and wyverns. One of my goals with this story is to take the information which the player is given in-game and show what they would look like from Robin's perspective. I want to make the different aspects of the game seem like things that could actually be a part of medieval war.
In order to add skills to the game, I had to change them so they seemed real. 'Miracle' wasn't just some cleric getting 'lucky' and surviving a bad wound. I hope I was able to make it seem natural, almost normal. However, if it was distracting to you, or it seemed forced, please tell me; the last thing I want is for you, as the readers, to read about the story. If you're not actually reading it like you are actually there, I'm not doing my job, so please review and tell me if it bothers you.
On a happier note, I finally got a hold of Robin and Lucina amiibos. This is good for me, but it's also good for this story, which means it's good for you. It's good for this story because I can look at these characters any time and force myself to imagine them doing what I wrote down. Now you might be thinking, Why couldn't he just look it up online? Normally, I would. However, I write my stories using pencil and paper, which means I can take them wherever I go. I can't look up their pictures online, though, because I don't have a computer I can take with me places
I'd also like to thank Han-Ko for letting me know my cover art was showing up.
Finally, thanks to gokart48, who (pardon the analogy) worked like a proud janitor to clean up my big messes. I really encourage you to read his stuff, and he just updated "Bedtime Story", like he does on most Sundays.
Farewell, and thanks for reading!
-Exalted Fellblood
