A Summoner's Journey
Chapter 3: World of Binding
Current heroes: Alfonse, Sharena, Anna, Robin, Chrom, Lyn, Maria, Niles, Eliwood, Odin, Virion, Olivia, Nino and Caeda.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
"Lucian, get up! We have an emergency!", Anna and Lyn's voice rang from behind the door.
"Ugh.. what's wrong…?", I groggily get up from my bed and bask in the sunlight coming from my window.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
"You can come in!", I called and Anna opened the door, with Lyn behind her, fully dressed in her usual robes.
"Lucian, spies report that Embla is attacking the World of Binding", Anna reported, "We have to mobilize our heroes before going to liberate it".
"Wait… is the leader of the World of Binding Roy?", I asked.
"I'm afraid so. Roy led an entire army against the invading Bern kingdom and managed to win the war with no casualties. I'd say that he matches you when it comes to strategy", Anna remarked.
"It'll be a tough fight then. I'll need strong heroes to fight with me".
"I'll volunteer", Lyn said, "I heard that the World of Binding is my world in the future. I want to see how much it has changed".
"Alright, so Lyn's coming", I smiled at the lovely swordswoman, "Robin is a must and Nino wouldn't be a bad choice".
"Don't bring Niles this time", Lyn said sternly, "He's just so… dirty minded".
"Niles has fought hard in the World of Mystery and World of Conquest. I think he deserves a break this time", I said, "So Niles isn't going. That leaves Chrom, Maria, Olivia and Caeda as our potential options".
"What about me, Sharena or Alfonse?", Anna asked, a hint of suspicion in her voice, "What's wrong with bringing us?".
"Okay, to be brutally honest, you three serve better as the teachers of Zenith instead of fighting", I blurted.
Anna gasped in shock, "What?!".
"I noticed that the star rarity determines a hero's power", I explained, "Alfonse, Sharena and you are two gray stars while Lyn and Robin are five golden stars. See the difference?".
"Wow, you're pretty forceful with your words", Anna said sarcastically, "Makes it seem like we're nothing to you".
"Huh?! Don't think like that!", I cried, "You, Alfonse and Sharena were lifesavers when I came here. I wouldn't get my grasp on it without you".
"Then bring us into the fight and we'll prove ourselves", Anna said, "Let Lyn, Robin and Nino take a break. Alfonse, Sharena and me got this covered".
"Alright, whatever you say", I said, "But I'm bringing Robin with us, just in case things go south".
"Fine enough", Anna said, "I'll meet you in the lobby after breakfast".
The two girls left. I got out of bed, found my usual hooded robe and boots outside my quarters and took a shower before getting dressed. I went downstairs to the mess hall and ate a quick breakfast of pancakes, buttered toast and a glass of milk. While I was eating, Eliwood slid beside me.
"You're fighting the World of Binding today?", Eliwood asked.
"Yeah, I heard the leader, Roy, was an expert tactician", I said as I took a sip of milk, "Apparently led a whole army and won a war with no casualties".
"Sounds impressive. My son has grown well", Eliwood said.
I coughed, "Yeah umm, sorry for having to fight against your son. Embla has taken over, so it's our job to liberate it".
"It's fine. I know he's not the real son that I know", Eliwood waved his hand in a "brush it off" motion, "But when you do see him in the World of Binding, tell him that Eliwood sent his compliments".
"I'll do that", I finished my food and got up from the white marble table I was sitting at, "Looks like it's my time to go. See you when we get back Eliwood".
"Alright, see you. Good luck and be careful!", Eliwood called as I left the mess hall to join my heroes in the lobby.
Going through the portal to the World of Binding, we ended up in a plain nearby a mountain with a river rushing nearby.
"You must be the Order of Heroes in the Askran kingdom", a short red haired boy greeted, "Pleased to make your acquaintance. My name is Roy".
"Oh yeah, Eliwood sent his compliments from Askr", I said, "He said he was proud of you for winning the war against Bern".
"Ah, I would love to visit him in your world, but me and my army is bound by contract to Embla", Roy said, "Which means that I must fight you, as ordered by the princess of Embla, Veronica".
"Fine then. On your ready", Alfonse drew his Iron Sword.
Roy smiled, "I know that it's rude to point my blade at other royalty, but I have a job to do. En garde!". Roy ran back to join with a group of Emblian soldiers.
There was a Sword Cavalier, a Lance Cavalier and a bowman facing us.
"Anna! Lure out the lance cavalier and take it out. Sharena and Alfonse, help Anna fight the Sword Cavalier and Roy! Robin, take out the bowman at range!", I commanded. The battle begun. The Emblian bowman shot his Iron Bow at Robin, who deflected it no problem with his Blarraven.
"Wrong move!", Robin cast Blarraven and a flock of blue birds stormed out from his tome, smashing the archer to the ground. The Sword and Lance Cavalier galloped to Anna and Sharena. The Lance Cavalier thrust his Iron Lance down at Anna, who dodged to the right and slashed her axe onto the horseman's side. The cavalier staggered back and Sharena finished with a swift stab to the chest. Alfonse clashed with the Sword Cavalier, sword to sword. The cavalier swung down at Alfonse's shoulder and made a deep cut. Alfonse gritted his teeth and countered back, cleaving the horse's head in two. As the cavalier's mount died, the rider dismounted and engaged Alfonse on foot. The cavalier attacked at the prince's waist, drawing another cut on Alfonse's body.
"Be careful Alfonse!", I shouted, "Fall back!".
"It's fine Lucian!", Alfonse shouted as his blade glowed with yellow light, "Daylight!".
Alfonse leaped into the air and smashed his glowing sword onto the cavalier. As the cavalier fell, the light spread onto Alfonse's body, mending some of his wounds. Roy dashed towards Alfonse, sword in hand. The prince raised his Iron Sword in defense and blocked Roy's blade, but just as fast, Roy pushed Alfonse back and slashed his waist.
"Sharena! I need help!", Alfonse cried as Roy continued his powerful assault with his sword. Roy made a broad cut at Alfonse's shoulder, then slashed his legs, pushing the prince back to the portal.
"Gotcha!", Sharena spun her Iron Lance dramatically and impaled Roy in the back.
"S-strong as they say…", Roy croaked weakly, "But the contract isn't… isn't broken yet. And so… I'll s-see you again…", and the swordsman vanished in a puff of gold light.
"Gah! Sharena, be gentle!", Alfonse cried weakly as Sharena treated his wounds with their first aid kit. I silently laughed. Niles would of made a lewd joke if he heard Alfonse's cries.
"Alfonse, just relax", Anna said soothingly as he held the prince's shoulder, "Sharena's almost finished".
"Glad that you taught me first aid back then", Sharena smiled as she pressed white bandages onto Alfonse's injuries, "I almost forgot to appreciate the lesson". As Sharena continued treating Alfonse, Robin came back from his scouting mission.
"Lucian, there's a plain with twin bridges up ahead", Robin reported, "There are two Emblian Lance Cavaliers, along with a young blond girl on a horse and a green haired woman with a tome".
"What are their positions?", I asked.
"The blond girl is with a Lance Cavalier on one side and the green haired woman is beside the other one on the other side", Robin said, "I think we should send Anna and Alfonse on the side with the older woman and me and Sharena on the opposite side with the blond girl".
"Alright, that's a good strategy", I grinned, "I'm glad that I summoned you". "It's a simple strategy with the Weapon Triangle though", Robin frowned, "You could come up with that. No need for a compliment".
"Yeah umm…", I coughed into my fist, "Sorry about that".
I turned behind me to check on Alfonse, "Is he good?".
The prince groggily got up from the ground, "I'm alright, but I might fall behind a little in the coming battles".
"Alright, that's fine. Let's hurry along then", I said.
"Ah, look at these dirty, uncouth peasants coming towards us", the blond girl smiled confidently as she watched the four emissaries of the Order of Heroes marching towards them.
"I wouldn't underestimate them, Clarine", the green haired woman advised, "I hear that they conquered the World of Mystery and the World of Conquest. If that is true, then they are strong foes".
"Hah, but they haven't faced me yet!", Clarine said confidently, "I learned from the mage general of Etruria herself. My magic is unrivaled!".
The woman sighed, "Well, do be careful".
"Don't be worried, Cecilia"
The five of us barrelled down the hillside like barbarians towards the group of four stationed near the bridges.
"What are they doing charging like that?!", Cecilia cried, "Do they have no mind for strategy at all?". The valkyrie's Wind tome glowed green and a singular wind blade shot towards Alfonse. The prince leaped forward in a downward strike and slammed his sword onto Cecilia's head, taking her out in one hit. The Lance Cavalier stabbed Alfonse in the chest, but Anna came in and cut the cavalier in half with her axe. Meanwhile, Robin led the charge against Clarine and her escort.
"Blarraven!", Robin's tome spewed out a torrent of spirit birds and they bombarded Clarine, who screamed and wailed in frustration and pain.
"What are you doing? Attack them!", Clarine shouted to the Emblian cavalier as the birds flew away from her face. The soldier galloped forward and thrust his lance down onto Robin. Because of the lack of space on the bridge and Sharena behind him, Robin was forced to take a stab to the shoulder. Robin gritted his teeth and kicked the cavalier in the leg and swapped positions with Sharena. Sharena thrust her lance onto the cavalier, who backed away to get healed. Clarine came over and rose her staff.
"Heal!", she called and the ivory rod glowed with white light. The light enveloped the cavalier and it healed his stab and kick wounds.
"That's enough!", Anna jumped like a feral berserker and slammed her axe onto the cavalier by surprise, completely demolishing him.
"And to end it off", Alfonse slashed at Clarine's side and ended the battle.
The next fight was a skirmish in the desert. Two similarly-clothed mages were on the right and center, while a young girl wearing a light yellow dress was on the top left of the desert. At the entrance of some desert city, a regular Emblian axe fighter was there.
"Well, here they come", the male mage said as his pulled his Flux tome out.
"Do… do we really have to fight…?", the female mage asked slowly, "Fae… Fae doesn't seem to enjoy it…".
"We're bound by contract to Embla. They care nothing for our feelings or emotions", the male mage replied, "Stinks, but we must comply".
"Raigh…", the purple haired mage said softly, "If that's how you feel… then at least be careful".
"I will Sophia. Thank you", Raigh said as he watched the five come towards Arcadia.
When we arrived, we immediately took our positions planned by Robin. Robin and Alfonse would charge the right side to attack Raigh, Sophia and the axe fighter, while Sharena and Anna would fight Fae.
"Rawr!", Fae growled and she clutched the light blue stone in her hand tightly. Blinding light seared through the desert and when it faded, a large white dragon was in place of Fae.
I stifled a laugh, "Why does it look like a chicken?".
"RROAARRR!", Dragon Fae roared and spewed fire all over the desert battlefield.
"AHHH!", I leaped back as the fire licked my boots, "Sorry, sorry! I take that back! I take is all baacckkk!". Fae shot a jet of flame towards my direction. I ran as fast as I could to get away as the flames charred my hooded robe. Meanwhile, Sharena slashed her lance onto Fae's draconic body, then stabbed her in the stomach. Fae looked barely fazed and breathed fire downwards onto Sharena. The Askr princess raised her gold and white shield and blocked the flames, but the sheer power of the Manakete knocked her down into the sand. Sharena rolled away as Fae blew a column of fire at her former position. After the flames faded away, Anna went with her usual strategy: jumping like a berserker and sky slamming the enemy like some kind of basketball player. Anna smashed her axe downwards onto Fae, then slashed it upwards. The dragon flinched and retaliated, but Anna, the super fast person she is, darted behind her and executed her special attack.
"Night Sky!", Anna glowed purple and a dim vision of a night sky blazed into the air. Anna jumped and executed three swift attacks with her axe before pivoting on one foot and smashing her weapon onto Fae's back. The white dragon roared in pain and collapsed on the ground with a loud thud, transforming back to her human self and fading into gold light.
I popped out from a rock spire nearby, "Is it dead?".
"We got it. You can come out now", Anna said. I came out and scanned the desert battlefield. It was empty. Alfonse and Robin dealt with Sophia, Raigh and the axe fighter and was about to help Anna and Sharena, but they defeated Fae before they could come over.
"Well now… that was pretty tough", I said to break the silence.
Sharena sat down on the hot sand, "This is how powerful Embla is. They have heroes like this and more. Wish we had them with us instead".
"Yeah, it's a bummer", Alfonse said, resting on a flat rock nearby the entrance to Arcadia.
I picked at my charred robe, "Let's rest and hurry along. The battles ahead won't get easier".
After a short rest, we continued on. Crossing the blazing desert, we found ourselves on a snowy mountainside.
"By the great god Duma… what kind of ridiculous weather is this?", I chattered as I shivered in my robe.
"The World of Binding has some inconsistent weather", Robin said as he pulled the black hood on his coat up, "First we were in a plain, then a desert and now a freezing mountainside!". As we hiked the cold peak, we found four more Emblians heroes waiting for us. On the left side of the mountain was a muscular man with an awesome mustache. In his hand was a giant double bladed axe. On the right was a short girl with purple hair tied in a ponytail. She was wearing a rather short teal tunic along with a thin white vest. In her hand was a long katana. Finally, flying in the mountains on a pegasus was another girl, wearing a light blue breastplate and a white skirt. She had short blue hair and a thin white headband.
"Oy, there they are!", the axe man called, "Shanna, Fir, get ready for a fight!".
"I don't know why you guys are here in Ilia, but I'll be happy to hone my blade on you!", Fir drew her sword and pointed it at us.
"Sharena and Anna! Attack Shanna and Fir on the right side. Alfonse, fight the axe man on the left. Be careful of Shanna", I commanded. The battle begun and we split up. Fir charged at Sharena and slammed her blade onto her shield… that did no damage.
"Uhh… okay", Sharena thrust her lance forward, but Fir darted to the side and swung her blade to her waist. The Iron Sword bounced off of Sharena's armor.
"Kid, just save yourself the trouble", Sharena said and slashed in a wide arc with her lance. The spear point caught Fir in her rib cage and the swordswoman stumbled back, holding her wound in pain.
"Let me help!", Anna dashed from the left side of Fir and smacked her axe onto Fir's arm, knocking her to the ground. Shanna lunged with her lance and attacked Anna, but the axe fighter rolled out of the way. However, as Anna got up, Shanna swung her spear behind her, hitting Anna in the face.
"Anna!", I cried, "Robin, go help Sharena and Anna! Quickly!". Robin took off and summoned a flock of ravens to distract Shanna. Sharena was dragging the unconscious Anna back towards me. The spirit birds flew away from Shanna and the pegasus knight lunged towards Sharena's back.
"No you don't!", Robin jumped in the way and used his body as a shield. Shanna stabbed Robin through the shoulder, but the tactician took the hit surprisingly well. His tome glowed with hot orange light and he shouted, "Glowing Ember!". He cast Blarraven and flaming spirit birds swarmed out from his tome and took out Shanna. On the other side, Alfonse managed to take out the axe man.
"Get ready to fight Bartre the Bravest, little man!", the axe man shouted and swung his axe in a giant arc. Alfonse darted backwards and retaliated with his sword, making three long cuts across Bartre's body.
"Time to end this!", Alfonse lunged forward while Bartre was stunned and stabbed him in the stomach, taking him and his group down.
Hiking down the snowy mountain, we found ourselves in front of a large volcano.
"Another case of weird climate", I said, gawking at the volcano.
"First a plain, then a desert, then a snowy mountain and then a volcano", Robin summed up, "The World of Binding has some odd landscape".
"Odd is an understatement", Sharena said, gesturing the other four to walk through the volcano entrance, which was carved on the side. Inside the boiling volcano, I was lucky to even survive the burning heat around me. Molten rock formed a pathway for us to walk on and lava bubbled beside us. Going through a cave entrance, we found a large piece of rock shaped like a circular battlefield. Standing on the other side was Roy, a blue haired mage, a pink haired knight and an Emblian troubadour.
"Ah, you have arrived", Roy drew his Iron Sword, "Your group is more impressive than I thought, but we won't hold back in this duel! I will deliver the full power of my sword and you Lilina…", Roy faced the blue haired mage, "...you'll unleash your fiercest flames! Charge!".
Roy dashed towards Alfonse, while Lilina followed behind him. Roy clashed sword to sword with Alfonse, generating a storm of sparks from their blades. Roy broke away from Alfonse and as fast as lightning, he grabbed the prince's collar.
"What the?!", Alfonse grabbed Roy's wrist, but Roy dragged Alfonse back with him, easily allowing Lilina to come in and cast a bright and powerful Fire spell on Alfonse. The fireball collided with Alfonse's chest and he was collapsed onto the rocky floor, fading like any other defeated hero.
"Alfonse!", Sharena cried, then glared at Roy in anger, "You'll pay for this!". Sharena rushed and stabbed Roy through the stomach. Roy retaliated and lunged to drag back Sharena, but the Askr princess didn't fall for the same trick. She darted to the side and got behind Roy, taking Lilina by surprise. Sharena thrust her lance and skewered Lilina through the chest. Roy was about to strike Sharena in the back, but a flock of ravens collided with Roy from behind, ending Roy and the fight.
"Watch yourself", Robin said as Roy faded into light, "You could have fallen into the lava there if he attacked you".
"What?", Sharena looked beside her, then leaped back, screaming. Both Robin and Anna and I let out a weary, but genuine laugh. We were about to leave the volcano when Roy reappeared in a flash of light.
"You have proven to be stronger than us", Roy said, smiling, "Well done, Princess Sharena and Commander Anna. But I believe the highest credit should go to your tactician". Beside me, Sharena slapped my back and grinned.
"Now I must go", Roy said, "May we battle on the same side one day", and he left the volcano.
"Excellent work guys", Anna said, "We have released the World of Binding from Embla's control".
"Phew, that was probably the hardest fight we have ever done", Sharena said, wiping sweat off her forehead, "How are you holding up Lucian?".
"It's hot, but I'm okay…", I said, tiredness straining my voice, "Let's hurry back. I need a nap…".
Robin chuckled, "Adapting to different terrain and weather is hard on the human body and it really puts a large toll on us…".
"Speaking of which, how is your world like?", Sharena asked, "You already saw what we have, but what do you have in yours?".
"Uhh, we got stuff like skyscrapers, cars and…"
"Wait, wait, wait, what are "cars" and "skyscrapers"?"
I spent the next two minutes explaining what both of them were.
"Ohh, so cars are like horse carriages, except made of metal and aren't run by horses", Sharena said, "And skyscrapers… they sound so magnificent! A building that touches the sky… I'd love to see that!".
"I can tell you the rest when we get back to Askr", I offered, "But right now, let's head home. This lava is starting to kill me…".
So we left the World of Binding. Once we got back to Askr castle, I immediately took a shower, got into my nightclothes and flopped onto my bed.
"Hey Lucian!", Sharena's energetic voice rang from behind my door, "Me and Alfonse want to learn more about your world! Can you let us in?".
"The door's open!", I called, placing a book of recorded heroes down on my bedsheets. Sharena opened the door and was followed by Alfonse, Nino, Robin and Olivia.
"Sharena, you didn't tell me that you were bringing this many people to storytime", I said.
Alfonse gave me a faint smile, "Sharena spread the word about your world while you were in the shower. She kinda attracted a lot of attention".
I sighed, "Fine then. Looks like I'm going to have a big audience. Okay everybody, sit down in front of Grandpa Lucian". Everybody sat down and I told them about my home world until sunset.
"And there's these stupid things called fidget spinners", I said with disdain, "It's a big trend in my world right now. You spin it around to relieve stress, supposingly, but the thing I don't get is that people pay roughly $35 for it!".
"And how much is that in gold?", Olivia asked. "I don't know. Maybe 3500 or something", I answered, "But it's ridiculous how much people pay for such things".
Nino raised her hand, "Can you tell us more of your world's "vehicles"? I want to know more about your "helicopters" and "limousines"".
"Helicopters and airplanes aren't much different from riding a pegasus", I said, passively twirling my black hair with my finger, "It's probably safer and more efficient, given that it's made of metal, can carry more people and doesn't need food to function".
"You said something before about "tanks"", Robin began, "Can you expand on that?".
"Uhh… tanks are these giant metal combat vehicles", I said, "A soldier controls it from the inside and it can launch missiles, rockets and can withstand tons of impact".
"Interesting. So it's like a machine that shoots Bolganone magic or something like that", Robin noted.
"Sure, it's like that", I said as I slid off my bed, "Well, that seems to be enough for today. We're late for dinner".
"Can you tell us the rest next time?", Sharena asked.
I smiled, "No because it'll probably overload your brain. Now let's go to the mess hall. I'm hungry".
"Wait, what do you mean overload my brain?", Sharena cried, "You come back here Lucian!", and she dashed down the hallway.
Alfonse sighed, "Still as spirited as ever Sharena…".
After dinner, I spent the night time hours reading. I spent the morning and half the afternoon in the World of Binding, then used the hours until evening telling Alfonse and Sharena about my home world. Usually around this time, my heroes would still be mingling around the castle. Lyn and Nino would be relaxing in the grassland nearby the castle. Eliwood and Caeda would be talking in the cafe, Chrom and Odin would be training and Robin read in the library with Alfonse. Virion was in the game room, playing chess with some of the butlers and Olivia would be doing a dance performance for the maids and Maria. For me, I was reminiscing about my world. How would I get back? How are they doing without me? Does time flow slower in this world than in my world? Was this all a dream? Those questions swarmed by head for a while now until I decided to let it slide and put down my book. If I was going to live in this world now, I may as well enjoy it. I rested my head on my pegasus down pillows and drifted into a deep sleep...
To be continued...