Author's Notes

BLAH BLAH BLAH SPOILERS AND CANON DESTROYING FOR FE4 CHAPTER 3 ONWARD! Yes, that's right. THREE. I probably should have mentioned that a tad earlier too, but it's a bit too late for that now. In fact, the spoilers progress to past chapter 5 as well...

And by the way, in case you didn't know, Loptutousu and Loptyr are simply two different names for the same person.


Chapter 7: The Truth

"Alright, let's get started," Claude says, clearing his throat. "I'll relate to you everything that occurred at the Tower of Blaggi, where Lord Blaggi himself informed me of every detail of what's going on. While I cannot tell you everything at the moment, I can explain the rest at a later time."


Flashback:

Leaving his bodyguard, Tiltyu, outside, Claude enters the sacred Blaggi Tower for the first time in his life, and he is awed at the artifacts he finds there; he notices the elusive Wind Sword, a blade possessing the power of Holsety to attack the enemy from afar as well as up close. He stumbles upon the rumoured Blaggi Sword, a holy weapon blessed by Blaggi himself that has the unique ability to negate the power-halving effects of its evil twin, the Lopto Sword, which is, in contrast, cursed by Loptutousu, the Dark God. It is unknown if the Lopto Sword is in the hands of the Lopt Sect, the religious group that follows him, or another party...

"Hello, Father Claude. I have been expecting you."

Claude whirls around at the mention of his name. Who is calling him? Could it be...

"Yes, it is I, Lord Blaggi," the voice confirms, and Claude immediately bows down, even though he does not know where he should be bowing. "Please, rise. You do not need to prostrate yourself. You share my blood, so essentially, we are the same. And do not bother to attempt to change my mind on this matter."

Claude holds his tongue from responding. He was going to refute being in the same league as the God he is serving, but clearly Blaggi is not going to listen to it.

"I hold a great deal of respect for you," the booming voice compliments. "You serve the kingdom well, and you bring praise to my name. It is an honour for you to be my 'vessel', for lack of a better term. I thank you dearly for all you have done, are doing, and will do in the future, for it will be a dark one..."

"A dark future, my Lord?" Claude asks, hoping for clarification.

"Yes, a very dark future. One where the Dark Lord, Loptyr himself, is restored as the ruler of the continent, and essentially, the world. Perhaps, I should start from the beginning of what needs to be known. You know of Sigurd's wife, Deirdre, correct?"

Claude nods in affirmation. "I have never met the woman, but I know of her purity and her strong affinity to Narga's power. I have never heard of anyone able to wield the powerful Aura tome in battle before other than Prince Kurth, and yet she supposedly used it with such ease and grace befitting a princess. Sigurd had many wonderful things to say about her. It is a shame about her death."

"Well, it's interesting how you mention that. Not only is Deirdre not dead, but she is Prince Kurth's long-lost daughter. She inherited Kurth's, and essentially Narga's, holy blood, effectively making her the heir to the entire kingdom of Grandbell once King Azmur passes on, since Kurth has just recently perished, as you know."

Blaggi then proceeds to explain how Deirdre even exists, considering the fact that Kurth never married or had children. After the story is finished, Claude is astonished at the revelation, happy that Narga's bloodline will not fade out from existence, and happy for Sigurd as well. But what does this have to do with Loptutousu's rise in power?

"Now, this is important," Blaggi starts. "Even though Deirdre possesses the full holy blood of Narga, the blood of Loptyr flows in her veins as well. And of course, you know of Lord Alvis, the Duke of Velthomer. You know he is the direct descendant of Fala, like Deirdre is to Narga, but he is of Loptyr blood as well. They are the last ones in existence that consist of Loptutousu's bloodline."

Claude is incredulous at the information he is receiving. What is Blaggi trying to tell him?

"I'll get right to the point, Claude. The Lopt Sect, the ones who worship the Dark Lord, have kidnapped Deirdre and plan to have her marry Alvis so she can conceive the child that will eventually become the incarnation of Loptutousu. Recently, Alvis found Deirdre in front of his castle, and he took her in out of pity, especially since her memory was erased... secretly, of course. Even as we speak, they are involved in the most impure of pure courtships; neither of them have any idea they are being used, and yet they are genuinely beginning to fall for each other."

Lord Blaggi is revealing so much... how can such events occur? Why couldn't anything be done about these things?

"And there is nothing Sigurd can do about it," Blaggi continues, regret seeping into his voice. "Her memory loss is more than just amnesia. She can never develop feelings for Sigurd again. The Sect needed to remove any possibility of remembering her former life. Sigurd has no chance of rekindling any relationship with her, and he will be better off never seeing her again."

Claude swallows nervously before nodding in understanding.

"It gets worse. You will lose this war, everyone in Sigurd's army will perish the minute they step into Barhara, and unfortunately your presence in Barhara is guaranteed. But there is hope... the descendants. Yes, all of the children of the soldiers will grow up, and there will be another war... but they'll have the ability to win. Along with Loptyr's revival, Narga's bloodline will also live on..."

The entire army... killed? Everything the army worked for will be for naught?

"My apologies, my Lord," Claude interrupts, standing up in fury at the injustice of the situation, "but why must this happen? Is there no other alternative? Can we not simply retreat before the appointed time?"

Blaggi does not respond.

"My Lord?"

"There is another future that may occur..." Blaggi slowly articulates, thoughtful in how to word his reply. "A distant descendant of Tordo will serve as a comfort for Sigurd, and him as a comfort for her. She will heal his heart, and he will heal her loneliness. Their eventual children will serve as the leaders of the army that will defeat Loptyr and his dark Sect. However, if Sigurd and this descendant ever find this out, their love will not be genuine, and they, along with the army that follows him, will still perish. And unfortunately, no matter what happens, they will find out. So either way, the outcome is the same..."

"No..."

"It is grim, yes. But what will happen must happen..."

"I can't accept this!" Claude cries out, and he starts weeping, not only from the horrible future that lies ahead, but also in his outspokenness to his Lord. The guilt within him is strong because of this. "Lord Blaggi, forgive my brashness, but neither of these futures will come to fruition. I will do something about it. Our army will live, we will win this war, and while I know nothing can be done about Sigurd's situation with Deirdre... he will not have to live with the truth. I will not accept this fate you've sentenced us to."

Silence permeates through the tower, and it is an eerie one. Soon, though, a comforting laughter can be heard throughout its depths.

"Claude, your optimism is refreshing. Yes, I challenge you to change the hand that has been dealt to you. Make another future, one where the army will not die in vain, and where Sigurd can live happily again. You have my blessing, and my gratitude, for not giving up. I will tell you one thing, though: nothing you do will allow you to win the war, and nothing you do can prevent the rise of Loptutousu. However, if you heed these words... you just might be able to change your fate to at least save your lives."

Once again, Claude is surprised at his master's behaviour, and he bows graciously, muttering prayers of thanks. Eventually, Blaggi's presence disappears from the tower, and a stave manifests itself in the middle of the room where Claude is; the legendary Valkyrie Staff, a staff that can raise those who have fallen in battle. Claude, being the direct descendant of Blaggi, is the only one who can use it; at least until he has children; and he picks it up with awe, appreciation, and determination.

"No, I will not fail. You can count on me, my Lord."


"Oh, I remember that dirty ol' stick!" Tiltyu suddenly interrupts, chuckling. "Did ya ever clean it? It was so gross an'... not shiny!"

"You're missing the point of this entire conversation, Tiltyu," Claude groans, rubbing his forehead in slight annoyance. "The point is keeping everyone safe. I did plan to tell all of you not to go to Barhara, but I was so preoccupied with the two of you that it never happened."

Claude turns towards Tiltyu. "Honestly, no offence Tiltyu, you're truly a sweet girl, but I didn't think there was any reason to believe Sigurd could ever take an interest to you, because of Deirdre..."

"Huh?" Tiltyu cries out, clearly upset at Claude's words and apparently not hearing certain parts of the sentence. "You really think I'm that unappealin'? You know I used to love ya! Was I ugly or somethin'?"

As Claude mentally rolls his eyes, Sigurd takes the opportunity to look over Tiltyu. There's no way that someone can find her ugly. Her small and delicate body just asks to be held and protected; her bright violet eyes and innocent smile can cheer anyone up in the deepest of despair; and of course, her peach-scented hair is so soft to the touch that you can use it as a pillow. She is very pretty, and there is no way that can be denied.

"Of course not, Tiltyu," Sigurd responds cheerfully, but he immediately gawks at the impulse answer he's just given, as do Claude and Tiltyu.

Wait... why am I thinking these things, especially after finding out that my dear wife, who I've assumed was dead for a long time, is alive?

"No, I didn't... wait, no, uh..."

Sigurd pauses briefly.

"I'm a... horrible husband..." Sigurd finally spits out, and he simply holds his hands over his face, refusing to face his two peers. Claude does not respond to Sigurd's accusation of himself, but Tiltyu easily senses his guilt and remorse, and holds Sigurd in a tight hug, trying to offer a small dose of relief for the poor man.

"No, it's my fault, Siggy," Tiltyu admits, tears beginning to form in her eyes. "I took your kindness seriously... and I felt so happy whenever I was with you. I felt accepted, welcomed, and yet it was a bad idea to go an' try bein' friends with ya. Why did I try to get close to you... when in the end, it only hurt you?"

Tiltyu releases Sigurd and sprints out of the room, bursting into tears as she runs.


"Honestly, I don't think she listens to a word I say," Claude remarks, averting his eyes. Obviously, the overall plan has failed spectacularly, and now the two nobles are most likely even farther away from a relationship now. The saving grace is at least the army can be spared death, now that Sigurd knows about the deadly consequences waiting at Barhara. The question is, what will Sigurd's actions be, now that the truth has come out?

His question is answered when Sigurd suddenly stands up, determination burning through his eyes, and says, "I have to go after her. I'll answer my moral dilemmas later, but for now, I can't leave her like this. Excuse me, Father Claude."

Nodding curtly to Claude, Sigurd takes off after Tiltyu, leaving Claude alone with his thoughts.

"Interesting..."


Sigurd searches the castle for Tiltyu, but she seems to have disappeared. He tries looking for her in her room, the kitchen, the nursery... and yet, there's no sign of her. Stumped on where to go next, he glances out the window and sees her outside, carrying a pack and leaving the castle... in the middle of a blizzard.

Running as fast as he can, Sigurd eventually exits the castle and catches up to her, and he is alarmed when he notices that she's still crying over what happened earlier. It is painful to watch, and he pulls her into his chest and covers her with his cape in an attempt to keep her warm.

"Don't ever do that again, Tiltyu," he calmly reprimands, slowly rubbing Tiltyu's back. "You could have died. Where were you going?"

"Away... from everyone..." she sniffles, her tears subsiding from being held so tenderly. "I was goin' to just go elsewhere, because I knew I couldn't... stay near you..."

As Tiltyu cries the last of her tears, Sigurd releases his hold on her and kneels down to eye-level... before closing the distance between their faces and kissing her warmly on the lips. Tiltyu is surprised at the gesture, but soon she closes her eyes and deepens the kiss, adding to its intimate, yet innocent pleasure for the two of them. When they finally end the kiss, they simply watch each other, smiling affectionately.

This time, neither of them feel any guilt over their actions.


Author's Notes

Yay! A happy ending to a chapter for once! But wait, the story's not over yet, even though I said it would be? Basically, I started the flashback, but it ran a heck of a lot longer than I expected. And in the end, I knew I couldn't resolve the plot without adding another chapter.

I thought it would be more interesting to explain the situation via flashback than attempting to just explain the whole story by conversation, but obviously I needed to add Claude's views since it's him in the situation, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to insert a bunch of FE4 (and a bit of FE5) lore. :D It just ended up taking too much space in the end, justifying the extra chapter.

We don't really know much about Blaggi's personality, but I would assume he is humble, and would support the noble notion of not giving up. Hopefully you guys agree! But he is right about a few things...

So, the big exciting explanation... turned out to be not too different from what actually happened in-game. :p But there were some changes, some assumptions made, and some canon destroyed, as usual. I just hope it makes sense. If major plot points don't make sense, it kind of ruins the story a little bit.

Tiltyu never can stay interested in things that are important. I'm surprised she didn't fall asleep. :p Apparently, she likes to think about Claude's dirty old stick, though! GAH! WHY AM I SO IMMATURE?!

The plan, then, is to write the next AGOH chapter and then, hopefully finish this story! There are a few things that need to be accomplished. Some important enemies still need to be defeated before escaping the war, and didn't someone swear revenge on Tiltyu during the first chapter? Of course, we need a comforting epilogue as well! Stay tuned!