Chapter 6: "You know that battle in Arena Ferox? That one where the leader of the whole country is decided? Well, we've got only one trained fighter on each side. The others are either amnesiacs or untrained videogame fanboys. Have fun."
Albireo
"Are we there yet?"
"No"
"Are we there yet?"
"No, milady"
"Are we there-"
"OH FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS GOOD AND HOLY IN THIS WORLD WILL YOU PLEASE STOP IT, LISSA!?" I suddenly burst out
"... Are we there yet?"
"You have got to be kidding me" I deadpanned
"What?" she pouted "It's too quiet around here"
"Chrom, I swear to Naga, if your sister doesn't shut up, I will shut her up- PERMANENTLY"
"You know, I'm half-tempted to help you do it" he answered
"Milord, perhaps there's a way to do so without causing lasting harm to milady?"
"What do you suggest?"
"My training also improves character besides-" nope. Cut him off
"Frederick, you said- and I quote 'Without causing harm to milady'"
"Yeah, I'd rather-"
"Uh-uh Lissa. Let the grown-ups talk" I said putting a finger to her lips. She graciously reponded by smacking me upside the head with her staff
"Lissa" Chrom said sternly. Lissa gulped
"Yes, big bro?" Chrom grinned like a shark
"You're grounded" I swear, Lissa's screaming could be heard from Valm
"I just noticed something" I spoke up
"What is it?" Chrom asked
"Isn't Reflet like, our tactician?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"Why isn't she with us then?"
"Well, we're on a diplomatic mission so we probably won't need a tactician"
Chrom, you have no idea what you're talking about
"Milord" Frederick's voice snapped me out of my thoughts "Risen, straight ahead" he pointed towards a bridge on a river
Wow. Way to prove my point. Well then, time for chapter 2. Let's see...
We got six units: one mage, one flier, one healer, an archer, our lord and our resident early-game murder machine.
Well, we're outmanned so... Fuck it, GO MURDER MACHINE
"Frederick, you're our shield. Sumia, take Lissa airborne, keep her out of danger and strike wherever you can. Everyone! Form up behind Frederick! Miriel, spread fire at 15 degrees. Chrom, cut down anything that gets close. I'll take out anything that's too far"
"Got it! Lissa, go with Sumia!" Chrom barked "Everyone, form up!" we packed in tight behind Frederick's armored horse
"Now, advance!" we approached the Risen at a steady pace. Those directly in front of us were either impaled, incinerated or cut in half while Sumia swooped in all over the place. Things were going smooth
A little too smooth. I could swear that Risen was still standing just a moment ago... JESUS CHRIST THAT RISEN'S HEAD JUST EXPLODED
"Well done, Kellam. Now return to formation" Frederick said
Right... The Kellam joke
I squinted a bit and finally saw the knight
"Milord, I read over the mission document and noticed that Kellam's name is in fact, on the mission roster. Perhaps you just missed it" Frederick stated
Wow. They're really gonna milk that, huh?
"Oh. Sorry Kellam" Chrom replied
I swear to god, this is just another bad fanfic... Oh wait, it is
A few hours after that lousy excuse for a battle, we are now on the verge of another one.
"Travelers! State your business!" Commander Whatsername shouted
"I am Prince Chrom of Ylisse and I seek an audience with the Khan!"
"Hah! Filthy trespasser! Do you really think we would believe you to be Ylissean!?"
"What-"
"Turn back now or face justice, bandit!"
"HOLD IT!" a female voice shouted and its owner walked into view
"Commander of the Feroxi Border Guard, you are in the presence of the blood of Ylisse's exalt!" Reflet declared
"Hah! All right then. Prove it!" the Feroxi commander countered. Reflet froze, unable to reply when suddenly, I remembered something
"The royal line of Ylisse possesses the Brand of the Exalt. Prince Chrom has it on his right shoulder!" I called out to them "If you require more proof, you may also inspect his sword, the divine blade Falchion! If you do not, then whatever violence will be of your own doing!"
"Threatening us eh? Why I ought to-"
"JUST INSPECT THE DAMN SWORD!" Chrom yelled out, removing his sword's strap and holding out Falchion
"Hmph. Fine then" the commander said before disappearing from view, presumably towards a stairway
"Okay, so why did you come?" Chrom asked. We were in the main hall after the Feroxi officer- Raimi, apparently-inspected Chrom's brand and sword.
"Not that I'm complaining but yeah, why are you here?"
"Well, um..." Reflet started before I raised my hand
"I asked her"
"Oh? Well then, good call I guess."
"Prince Chrom" Raimi returned "I've sent a raven announcing your arrival to the capital. Please, allow me to escort you there"
"Yes, that would be most appreciated"
"Of course, milord. Again, I offer my sincerest apologies"
"It's fine. Now then, let's be off"
"Yes milord"
"Prince Chrom, please wait here while I summon the khan"
"Of course" he replied
"Alright, here's what I know" I spoke up "Regna Ferox is governed by two Khans, east and west. We are in the East Khan, Flavia's territory. Now, every few years, the Khans hold a tournament to-"
"To decide who would rule over the whole nation" a woman's voice spoke up
Yep, here she is. Timing: Perfect
"Ah, of course, your grace" I gave a slight bow "Or would you rather I call you something less formal?"
"My, aren't you the smart one? That's right, we don't quite honor formalities here as much as you southerners do so please, just call me Flavia. It's an honor to meet you, Prince Chrom"
"Likewise" he replied, offering a hand which the Khan firmly shook
"Now, it is as your man here says: Every few years, we hold a tournament to decide who gets to rule over the entire nation. And, well, I guess your man- what's your name?" she asked me "-could tell you the rest"
I nodded in affirmation "My name is Albireo, Khan Flavia. Now, in the last tournament, the West Khan, Basilio's champion won. Therefore, he's reigning Khan which means if we want an alliance with Ferox..." I stopped, glancing at Reflet signaling her to finish for me
Because she's the tactician here dammit! Wait, that means... Oh god, please don't say "Go to Basilio"
"... we'll have to help Flavia take the throne"
YES! PLOT WINS THROUGH
"Ha! You got yourself two clever minds working for you, Chrom. Yes, that would be my offer: Represent East Ferox-and win-and you get yourselves an alliance"
"Well, if my two 'clever' minds- though I'm not so sure about Albireo- think that's best then we'd be glad to help" Chrom said
"Excellent! Now, to celebrate this friendship between the Halidom of Ylisse and Eastern Ferox: a drink!"
Reflet
In the three days we've been in Ferox, we've done nothing but train. Oh, and eat. And drink. And train again.
Whatever it is that the Feroxi are known for (*cough* ale *cough*), it seems that they excel at it.
Anyway, Albireo's been taking charge lately especially with training. He's been studying and consulting Flavia about "anti-sword techniques" for some reason. When I asked him why, he said:
"I just have this feeling... When the tournament starts, you'll understand"
And now here we are... Well Albireo, you had better be right about this
We were in the Arena, crowds filled the stands and the Khans seated with their guards in their respective booths
The Khans had agreed to a three-on-three battle and Chrom chose Albireo and me against three lightly-armored men with fox masks. When I asked him why he didn't take Frederick, he gave the same answer as Albireo did:
"I just have this feeling"
Just great, one of you chose to specialize at the cost of flexibility and the other one left out his best soldier in favor of some stranger he just picked up at some town. Men and their guts, ugh, whatever, let's just see what we're up against. Light armor so that should mean they focus on speed. That means Albireo got it right unless they use daggers. The masks seem familiar, where did I see them before?
"Alright then!" Khan Basilio's voice boomed "Let's get this show started"
No sooner than he had spoken did two of our opponents brought out tomes (!) and simultaneously cast a spell. Within seconds, ice started to form all over the arena and one of them switched tomes to fire a more powerful spell.
We were left struggling against the freezing gale. Over the howl of the wind, I barely heard Albireo say:
"Shit, I forgot Dread Fighters could use magic"
Dread Fighters, right. Elite, mid/close-range combat troops. That means-
Suddenly, one of our opponents rushed at us, leapt into the air and brought out a collapsible staff and landed right in the middle of our formation and started attacking all 3 of us at the same time. Holding off Chrom while delivering blows to Albireo and me in between.
Then, just as suddenly as he had attacked, he broke away and ran off-into a newly-formed ice maze.
"They're planning to split us up" I said
"What do we do?" Albireo asked, now a lot less confident
"We don't" Chrom and I said in unison.
We entered the maze together with Albireo always just a few paces away just to be able to give fire support
Neutralizing our range advantage. Smart. How do we cope?
"Albireo, try to climb one of those ice crystals. That should at least give you some room"
"But what if they sneak up on me?"
"This is a chokepoint. To get to you, they have to get through us"
"Fine" he said before going to one particularly large crystal
"What about us?" Chrom asked
"These guys are offensive fighters. They won't just be sitting around for long. We wait for them to come for us. When they do, then we engage. Albireo, tell us when you see any movement, got it?" no response. I turned to look at his perch and saw that he wasn't there"
Shit, they made this maze. Why wouldn't they know how to use it to their advantage?
Sure enough, the staff-wielding fighter and another one-this time with a sword-dropped in on either side of us.
Damn, I guess it's time to see how well this works
I switched Grimoire to my left hand and focused its energy in my right to form a sword shape before falling into a defensive stance
Too bad I have to hold Grimoire to keep this up. A one-handed grip won't last long on the defensive.
"So, you take sword guy, I take staff guy?" Chrom asked. I nodded
"Well then I guess I should bring this out then" sword guy said before sheathing his sword and exchanging it for a shorter- yet more sinister looking- black sword
"Where did you get that?" I heard Chrom ask. Sword guy lowered his sword and gestured for me to look behind me. I turned and saw staff guy- except now without a staff and instead, with a sword identical to Chrom's
"Well now, let's get to it" black-sword-guy (I swear I have nothing better to call him) called my attention before striking
He fights fair at least but wait- where'd I hear that voice before?
He struck again. With every swipe of his blade, lightning danced in the air. If I weren't in this fight, I'd say this was the most beautiful light show ever- lightning and darkness.
He suddenly kicked my leg before running off.
Hit and run? Definitely speed-based. Even if we lose, at least I could say "I was right"
"Chrom, you good?" I turned only to see another ice wall, apparently set up by the other man
Advanced disruption with ice walls? Why do I get the feeling this happens a lot?
"Chrom!" I called out louder
"Yeah, I'm good" he answered from the other side
"Okay, so sitting tight's not a good idea right now. Navigate the maze and try to link up. Avoid confrontation if possible"
"Alright then" and he (presumably ran off)
I started heading off on my own before realizing just how FUCKED we are. Here we are, split up in irregular terrain against three opponents with superior terrain usage skills.
Suddenly, all three fighters dropped in around me
Yep, way to prove my point.
"Well then, I guess I should yield" I said, holding up my arms
They nodded to each other and took off their masks revealing the faces of Robin, who was holding the black sword, Lucina who had the Falchion lookalike and Grayson who was equipped with two daggers.
"Keep quiet for now. Can't let Chrom know what he's up against. Don't worry, we'll tell everyone later" Grayson said smiling as he put his mask on with the others following suit. I just nodded before they leapt up onto the ice crystals, presumably to Chrom. Knowing him, he won't go down without a fight.
Well, good luck, Chrom. Don't get yourself beat too badly
And I went off to look for the exit
Robin
"Well done boys! And, er-girl" Basilio clapped Grayson and me on the back
"Right. I guess there's more than one way to win a match" Flavia spoke as she entered the west booth. She continued "Anyway, what'll we do with all that ice that your champions made?"
"Don't worry about that, Flavia. I'll have my men clean it up"
"Okay then. Anyway, I still have to tell Chrom that the alliance is off" she said
"Not necessarily" Grayson spoke up
"What do you mean by that?"
"Well, he set some conditions before he agreed to fight for me. One of them was that Ferox would ally with Ylisse" Basilio said with a grin
"What!? Why?" Flavia asked in shock
"Bring us to Chrom, then we'll talk"
"So, you're the ones who beat us?" Chrom asked. We just nodded.
"Well then, good fight" he shook our hands in turn "Anyway, Flavia. Sorry we couldn't help you. I'll call my party and we'll go back to Ylisse. We have a war to prepare for" he said almost grimly
"Not alone, boy" Basilio said "We've discussed it already. Regna Ferox will ally with Ylisse"
"What!? Really? Khan Flavia, thank you for bringing it-"
"Don't thank me, thank these three"
"Thank you all" Chrom bowed "Please, may I have your names?"
Grayson held his hand to his mask.
There's the signal
We simultaneously took off our masks as well as our head wrappings- balaclava, Grayson called them.
"Why am I not surprised?" Albireo deadpanned
"Wait, You didn't know?" Reflet asked
"AND YOU DID!?"
"Yeah, they took off the mask after I yielded. What, didn't they do that for you too?"
"Well, I would've yielded if I hadn't been shoulder-hoist POWERBOMBED OFF MY PERCH INTO THE FLOOR AND KNOCKED THE FUCK OUT! Who was that anyway?"
Grayson raised his hand with a smirk
"Figures" Albireo crossed his arms
"Anyway, thanks for that" Chrom said
"Anytime. Remember, we don't work for you but we're still your friends" Grayson replied, offering a fist that Chrom promptly pounded
"Wait, so that was your plan? To fight for me with mostly the same condition?" Basilio asked
"Yes, you oaf, we got screwed over" Flavia punched him in the arm "Damn kid, you're good" she regarded Grayson
"Wait, 'mostly the same condition'? There were other conditions?" Chrom asked
"And with that, we take our leave" Grayson said, getting ready to leave
"Right, time to go. Sorry kids, it's confidential" Basilio stood up and motioned for us to follow him out
"Alright then, bye guys" I waved cheerily, motioning for Lucina to come with me
"Bye" Albireo and Reflet waved back
"Who's the girl?" Chrom asked
"That's Marth" Albireo answered
"MARTH'S A GIRL!?
End of Chapter 6
A/N SO SO SO SO SO SO SORRY about the long update time. I have a few excuses but decided you wouldn't want to hear it...
Who am I kidding, I'm gonna end up telling you anyway. My laptop gave out on me after 10 years. I've literally been using that since the fourth grade. When I got a new one, I realized that all my files- including my story layout- were on it and my backups were lost because ONE OF MY NEANDERTHAL CLASSMATES "ACCIDENTALLY" DELETED EVERYTHING on my hard drive so instead of winging it to keep this running, I had to re-read what I was able to put out and re-type the notes and layout.
Oh, right, Reflet's tome can do that and it has a name now: Grimoire
Thank you and please remember to review!
-NS01 out-