Chapter 6: Beyond the Borders

by SodiumChloride12, derived from Fire Emblem content, owned by Nintendo.

A/N: My publishing schedule will be a bit inconsistent as I return to college this Tuesday. I'll aim for one new chapter a week. Enjoy and make sure to review!

N: The rest of the Ganelon receive the news of the defeat. Enraged, they vow to make their revenge. Meanwhile, Lyn's Legion find some new friends, one of whom might awaken a new power from within our tactician.


At the Ganelon bandit camp...

Bug angrily slammed his fist on the table, cracking the oak wood under the force. He held back urges to cut down the messengers where they stood.

"What?!" he screamed.

They were inside his tent, where Bug sat on a rickety chair. In front of him stood the three survivors from the attack on that abandoned fortress.

Three out of countless more. Bug realized his misstep in allowing Carjiga to march off with the majority of the camp. He turned to the three soldiers and berated them for their cowardice.

"You imbeciles! There were twenty of you against a force of five! How could you idiots lose? Why did you abandon your comrades? I should crucify you three on this mountain to make an example!"

Crucifixion was the worst punishment that could be doled out by the Ganelon. The victims would be stripped of all their clothing and nailed on a plank of wood resembling a "T". In addition to the humiliation, they would suffer an excruciatingly painful, slow death. It was the worst possible way to go.

The three survivors fell onto their knees, "No! Please! Have mercy! One of our men betrayed us, and he joined their group. But all is not lost! We know where they're going! Allow us to finish the job there!"

Bug paused and considered their proposition. Surely, these men would be much more useful alive. But these three could not possibly attack these mercenaries alone.

Bug smiled, his crooked teeth were visible on his face.

He said, "You fools! You honestly don't expect to take them on by yourselves do you?"

One of the survivors responded, "N-No my captain. Please forgive our incompetence."

Bug ordered the survivors to rise from the floor. He had made up his decision.

He said, "We will attack with everything we have left. Tell the rest of the camp that we will leave immediately."

One of the men asked, "But what of the slaves? Surely we can't leave them here alone."

Bug snarled, "I know that! We will leave a couple of men behind. Now go, I want everyone at the camp's base by the end of the hour."

The men saluted and quickly vacated the premises. Bug went outside to settle some affairs.

Inside of the tent stood Maria, who was quietly brooming up the dirty abode. She had heard the entire thing and held back her elation.

This could be my chance! We could escape!

That all depended if the mercenaries won their battle. Otherwise, even if they escaped when they left, they would just come back and capture them. Their freedom was dependent on the mysterious mercenaries that had been giving the Ganelon so much trouble.


Near the Bern/Sacae Border...

Somebody, somewhere near Lyn's Legion is regretting every decision they made up to this point. Was he in danger? No. But was he in pain? Definitely.

Small amounts of blood fell out of his strained eardrums. He had accepted a job to escort a "respectful", "quiet", and "helpless" cleric girl through the lawless frontiers of Sacae. This job was supposed to be easy money. But it could be anything but.

This pink-haired cleric had made it her mission to make his life a living hell. The cleric gave a deafening screech.

"EEEEEEEEEERRRRRRKKKKKKYYYYY!"

Erk felt an overwhelming sense of dread fill his body. This was not worth the gold.


The bright sunlight was like needles pressing against my head. The concussion I had suffered had quickly turned into a nuisance. Although vulneraries can work wonders with serious injuries like broken arms, ribs, and legs, they're virtually useless against brain injuries, except for the closure of an exterior wound. Despite that, save for some painful sensitivity to light and sound, after a few days of rest, I felt alright.

After we left the fortress, we made our way through the rest of Taliver pass, and now, we're near some woodlands by the Bern border. About 5 miles from it, another 30 until we reach the Lycian border. When we cross from the comparatively lawless Sacea into the military powerhouse of Bern, we will FINALLY, be safe from these constant bandit raids. And as a cherry on top, Sain even mentioned a nice inn on the Lycian border we can rest at. I can already think about the warm, dark room already!

We took a break near some woodlands, and the foliage kept out the hot sun. I took a seat on a mossy rock, and I was soon joined by two others.

Florina and Lyn were talking about their younger years when they noticed me.

Lyn asked, "Mark! Are you feeling alright? Have your migraines been getting worse?"

I nodded weakly, "Yeah they have. They've already been annoying earlier but now they've just gotten worse. I feel like it's hard to think."

I looked over a Florina, who had a large bandage covering her head.

I asked, "How about you Florina? How are you feeling?"

She smiled meekly, "B-Better. E-Everything's cleared up and I t-think I can f-fight again. I t-think your injury was a lot w-worse."

I breathed a sigh of relief.

Good. I'm glad I didn't hurt her too badly.

All of a sudden, I heard some horrific screeching, louder and more soul-wrenching then anything I've heard thus far. I shot a glance at Kent, who was standing nearby.

"Tell the legion to exercise alertness." I ordered.

"Of course," Kent said, then he rode off to complete the task.

I didn't even have time to wonder where the scream came from when we had incoming intel from the front of the line. Sain had spotted some bandits.

Right when I thought we were in the clear.

I rushed over to his vantage point, and as I feared, there were some enemies past the woods and on our flanks. These ruffians were midway through some sort of flanking maneuver when they were spotted by the green knight. Although I saw 3 bandits, I knew there were probably some reinforcements over the hills.

I struggled to put my head together as a shock of pain oscillated through my skull. These next few moments will be crucial for us, yet despite that, I had to make do with a subpar mind. I squeezed my hand as I waited for the episode to pass.

Sain put his hand on my shoulder, "Mark, are you alright? You look like you're in pain."

I paused as the sensation flowed away. My window of decision-making had returned.

I responded, "Yeah, my migraines have been getting worse. I'm afraid I'm not going to perform like I used to."

The green knight patted me on the back. His leather gloves felt like a cushion of air.

He said, "Don't worry. That's why we're here. Lean on us when you're not strong."

I smiled and gave him a thumbs up, "Thank you Sain, I'll make sure to."

Amid the tension, their leader Bug approached us. Far enough for us to be out of our grasp, but close enough to be heard.

"Heh heh heh. Don't think you're getting away so easily." he scowled. "If you leave alive, everyone will think the Ganelon Bandits have gone soft!"

Lyn raised her voice, "So? We don't care about your lousy reputations! We must get to Lycia! If you know what's good for your health, you'll stand aside!"

Bug laughed, "You'll eat your words! Let's get em lads! And no holding back for the women! Wipe em' out!"

The slimy little bastard then fell back into the rear of his forces.

I rallied my troops around me, and before I did anything else, Florina volunteered to do some scouting.

"Are you sure you're up for this?" I asked.

Florina nodded, "Y-Yes Mark. I-I'm a proud pegasus knight of Illia!"

I looked on as she took off with Huey. I turned back to our troops.

"Alright y'all, I'm not so sure how many troops they have right now, so we need to stick together and fight defensively." I said.

"And what of the ax-man north of us?" asked Wil.

"If he engages, strike him down. Otherwise, stand fast. For all we know, he might be baiting us into an ambush."

Far away, I heard the flaps of a returning Florina, and we turned to face her, she landed with much more grace than at Porrety.

"I-I have some news, Mister Mark." she said.

"Nice job Florina!" exclaimed Lyn. She helped her down from the Pegasus.

"Y-Yes. There's one bandit alone north of us. An a-archer and a swordsman past the w-woods, and a-a ax-man, a-archer, and swordsman near the mountain. The c-commander is behind all of them." she said. "A-Also, there seem to be two people trapped in between us and the first a-archer."

I counted those numbers. Seven of us versus seven of them. Not to mention the wildcard of those people past the woods. They're probably innocent passerby's caught up in this attack, and knowing our luck these past few weeks, they might be able to fight. A nine versus seven matchup would be much more preferable. In hindsight, I'll probably be able to scheme this attack to be much more aggressive than initially planned. Those bandits don't stand a chance!

First things first, we had to establish contact with those civilians.

"Dorcas, I want you to solo with that exposed bandit on our flank. Sain, keep that archer off Florina. Kent, keep that mountaineer busy. Everyone else follows me, we're going for a chat."

Everyone nodded in agreement, but before we could go, I heard a screech past the displeasing as it sounded, it looked like they needed our help.


"EEEEEEEEEEEEK! EEEEERRRRK PROTECT ME!" screamed Serra.

Erk stepped forward to face the assailant, an archer. The archer's gaze frightened him, but as he took out his tome to call upon magical fire, an arrow embedded itself into his left thigh.

"Ah!" he yelled.

The injury punctured an artery, and the ground quickly turned red with his own blood. He nearly fell over from shock.

"Erk fight back!" yelled his client.

Thanks for your concern, Serra...

By instinct, he clutched his tome and recited some words in a language predating the Scouring. The palm of his hand turned red hot, spewing fire unto the archer. Thick smoke surrounded the area.

Got him.

A burning man erupted from the smoke, with red flame littered around his body. Burns covered his body, and his tunic had completely disappeared. Half of bloody face had melted off. Despite his wounds, Erk could see the ferocity in his eyes. The man gave a blood-curdling scream.

The archer pulled back a new arrow, and as Erk looked at the sharp object that was about to end him, for the first time in his life, he felt helpless. The countless hours of studying, honing his craft, and tutelage under his mentor had been for naught. All to be undone by a simple arrow. He closed his eyes to await the inevitable.

At least I won't have to deal with Serra anymore.

But he didn't feel anything. He opened his eyes to see the archer, dead with an arrow pinning him to the tree. He felt a strong hand pull out the arrow from his left thigh, along with an immediate comforting sensation.

Serra's staff...she's healing me?

That cleric is actually helping him for once. He got up to see the green robes of the man who led a group of mercenaries. He extended his hand.

"Hello, my name is Mark, pleased to make your acquaintance."


We managed to save that mage just in the lick of time! I was astonished when I saw Serra heal his wound though. Despite a short informational brief about magic from Erk, I still can't wrap my head around it. How does magic work? What was that chant? This world seemed to hold endless possibilities.

After that episode, I sent everyone on separate assignments, and Serra and Erk joined Lyn and me towards a push for Bug. A lone swordsman stood between him and us.

"Alright you two, stay behind me and Lyn, we don't need you nearly passing out again Erk."

Erk flipped to a new page of his tomb, "Keep him busy so I can land a hit on him, I will show you the true power of magic."

My eyes met with Lyn's. We knew what we had to do.

We cornered the bandit by a tree. In desperation, the bandit flung himself towards Lyn, thrusting his sword into her hip. Lyn immediately fell over but managed to thrust the Mani Katti into his right arm, puncturing an artery and spilling blood everywhere. Before the nomad could deliver the killing blow, the tree was ignited with a huge flame. The bandit screamed in pain, but he quieted as his vocal cords burnt to crisp. He fell onto the floor and did not get back up. I looked over my shoulder to our mage, his eyes still glowing with magic. Although his body may be weak, off of sheer strength he might be the strongest of us all.

Serra kindly (and very loudly) volunteered to mend Lyn's healing staff glowed as the open tissue closed up. Lyn winced from the treatment.

"T-Thank you kind cleric."

Serra piped up, "I'll give that to you free of charge."

I have a feeling those were supposed to be free anyway...

The last bandit in our way was the Bug that had to be squashed. Bug was a man who surpassed Carjica in strength, and he towered over us. His unkempt gray hair flowed in the wind, and the many scars that covered his body showed to me that he is a veteran of many raids. Regardless of his strength, it was his intelligence, or rather lack there of, that will be his downfall. His dumb expression seemed to suggest that.

I had Lyn strike first, and she delivered a blow to his stomach, but Bug didn't so much as flinch at the blow. He took his steel ax and attempted a strike at Lyn, but although he missed, the force of the hit shook the ground with such force that Lyn fell unto the ground.

"Lyn!" I exclaimed.

Bug began removing his weapon from the dirt, but before he could, I lowered my shoulder to attempt a tackle. The blow ended up dislocating my shoulder, and Bug lifted me up with one arm and cast me aside, knocking the wind out of me. In hindsight, a 150lb man trying to tackle someone who looked 260 was not a good idea. Bug looked damn near invincible. After writhing in pain, I opened my eyes to be blinded by the rising sun behind Bug.

"Ah!"

The pain was immense, and every sense I experienced doubled in intensity. I started to feel faint as I crumbled on the ground. The last thing I heard was someone screaming...and all was black.


Erk watched as Lyn and Serra immediately made for Mark's immobile body.

"The tactician is down!" exclaimed Erk.

Erk just saw the tactician crumple to the floor. This man had just saved his life, and now he's on the verge of losing his own. With the tactician's pitiful tackle attempt still fresh in his mind...he knew he had to do something. He flipped over to a new page in his fire tome and started chanting.

Pulvis ex igni summam potestatem ades!

Erk felt magical energy course through his body as flame erupted from his grasp. Bug's looming presence was evaporated as he fell onto the earth, writhing in the same way as the tactician. Bug lifted himself from the ground, his skin baked, and his face nearly unrecognizable.

"YOU! I WILL CRUSH YOUR BONES!" cried Bug as he charged towards the young mage.

"EEEK! ERK WATCH OUT!" screamed Serra.

Erk had just gotten out of his stance when he saw a very pissed off, deformed man come charging at him.

Crap! I don't have enough time to dodge!

"Get back here! I'll make you pay what you did to him!"

Lyn charged towards Bug, Mani Katti in hand. Bug was so preoccupied with Erk that he didn't see the nomadic tribeswoman going for his left knee cap.

Snap!

Bug fell over as his knee gave in to the divine blade. Covered in blood, Bug tried crawling his way to Erk.

"I WILL SHOW YOU WHY THEY FEAR THE GANELON!"

"Go, Erk! Bug's weak to magic! Finish him off!" exclaimed Lyn.

Erk flipped into the next page of his tome and focused all his energies into this next blow. Bug saw as the mage he tried so hard to kill began developing a ferocious fireball. Bug felt a searing heat pass through him, and in his last moment, he felt something not felt since his early experiences with his father.

Fear? What? I'm scared...will the Ganelon...really end with me?

Littered over the battlefield were the remains of the last six members of the Ganelon and the black, charred skeleton of what used to be Bug the bandit.


Later...

I awoke to an unfamiliar voice. Not the voice of a comforting nomad girl that I've known for a while now, but of someone much different. Someone with pink hair.

"You're awake tactician."

I was in a dark, small furnished wooden room. In front of the comfortable bed that I was in, there was a small table with medical gear like a staff, a bucket of warm water, and bandages. The person attending me wasn't Lyn, but Serra, the cleric girl we met earlier with Erk.

I tried getting up, but immediately, I was hit with a painful headache. "Ack!"

Serra laid me back down, "Sit back." she whispered. "I've got something to help you with that."

She went over to the table and took out a vial with a ruby liquid. The liquid almost seemed to move and glow within the glass.

"Take this. My staff can't heal brain injuries, but this can."

She handed me the vial, which I then emptied into my throat.

Returning the vial, I responded, "I hope you didn't poison me."

She chuckled, "Why would I want to poison the man that rescued us? This is the most I can do for you, besides, Lyn and the others have been worried sick."

My thoughts immediately went towards the woman that lost her footing in that fight.

"Where's Lyn?" I asked.

"They're all downstairs; we're in an inn. Lyn was waiting for you to wake up. She should come back soon though. She's getting some water for you."

I heard the auburn door creak open, I heard a familiar voice, "Can I come in?"

I could feel the medicine healing damaged tissue in my brain. My senses had cleared up to the point that the light coming in from the door no longer inflicted pain.

I replied, "Yes, thanks to Serra, I feel a lot better now! She's the real deal!"

Serra's eyes lit up, "DO YOU GUYS HEAR THAT. I'M THE REAL DEAL! ERKY! AT LEAST SOMEONE APPRECIATES ME!"

I instantly regretted my compliment.

Mental note. Don't compliment the cleric. Ever.

Erk came into the room. "What did you say about me woman?"

Serra pointed her staff towards me, "I healed this kind man and he dropped down to the floor to say thank you!"

Uh...what?

"You are on the other hand, fail to recognize my talents!"

Erk scoffed, "I probably would if you weren't so conceited! They probably wouldn't last a week with you!"

"A week! Well you better prepare yourself, because we're accompanying Lady Lyn in her journey to meet her grandfather!"

Erk's eyes widened in shock, "Wha-"

"It's final!"

"But what about going back home?"

"That can wait, I'm sure Marquess Ostia will understand. Besides...heh heh. It never hurts to have someone powerful in your debt."

Erk stormed out of the room, probably to go complain to Wil or anyone that would listen.

Serra smiled, "Well if you feel better Mark, I'll leave you two in here. I've got a green knight waiting to flatter my greatness."

She then left the room. Leaving Lyn and me speechless.

"She's acting like we didn't just hear all of that," I told Lyn, laughing.

"Well, we can use all the help we can get. Who knows if we'll run into something like yesterday again."

Lyn then handed me a glass of water. The clear water was refreshing, compared to the metallic taste of the medication.

"So...you've been waiting all this time for me to wake up?"

"You haven't been out for all that long, only for a couple of hours."

Lyn leaned back against the seat she was sitting on, and a brief silence filled the air. I couldn't help but feel I was home.

She broke he silence, "Besides, I couldn't sit down with the others when I knew my-, our tactician was hurting."

"W-Well, I really appreciate it L-Lyn."

"Y-Yeah."

Something was off about her. Usually, she was a lot more confident talking to me. I looked down on the robes I wore. The same ones I've worn since day one. A lot had changed since then.

"How long have we known each other? I asked.

"A little less than a month."

"It's only been that long? It's only been a month but I already feel like your one of my closest friends."

Lyn smiled, "As do I."

I got up from my bed. I was careful getting off so I wouldn't slip like last time. I looked over at the green haired nomad, whose green eyes were beginning to fade with the setting sun.

"Mark...I was really worried that you bit the dust at that fortress the other day." she said.

I thought back when everything was hazy. When I first suffered my concussion under the clutches of that bandit.

"For a moment I thought I did. I barely remember anything. I never felt more vulnerable in my life."

Lyn said with a serious tone, "You need to stop putting yourself in unnecessary danger. You're a tactician, not a swordsman like me. Don't ever forget that. I get that you always deal with calculated risk, but you need to hold yourself more highly. I'm prohibiting you from hand-to-hand combat. Unless you can figure out how to fight ranged, I'm afraid you'll have to stay in the rear-guard."

I nodded, "Alright. I'll refrain from doing that. Just know that I won't hesitate to save your life."

She rolled her eyes, "Awfully chivalrous aren't you? Last time I checked it was me doing all the saving."

I playfully punched her shoulder, "Do I have to start counting?"

She raised her fist and had a mischievous expression, "If you don't stop, you'll be counting stars."

I raised my hands defensively, "How about we go downstairs and see our friends? I'm just dying to talk with them."

She agreed, "Let's."

We went downstairs to the cheers of our friends. For the first time all day, I finally laid back to relax and enjoy time with the ones I cherish most.


Camp Ganelon...

Maria was thrown onto the ground as unfamiliar faces began taking Carjiga's possessions. Outside the tent, she heard the screams of Ganelon bandits and their slaves.

A man erupted through the tent flap, he exclaimed, "What the hell are you doing in Carjiga's house?! I'll sh-"

The man stopped as a blade behind him pierced through his chest. His throat gurgled with blood as he fell onto the ground.

One of the men approached Maria, grabbing her the chin.

By his appearance, he was obviously a bandit, and he stank with dried blood and must. But it was the tattoo on his right arm that frightened her the most. A tattoo of a green and red dragon.

The mark of the Taliver.

The man snarled, "Tell me, did you know that the Ganelon foolishly allowed most of their men to die under the sword of some girl?"

Maria felt her stomach sink with anxiety, she squeaked, "N-No sir. They didn't t-tell me anything. P-Please spare me!"

The man laughed and threw Maria onto the ground. He fell on her elbows, covering them with a dark bruise.

The bandit took his sword and cut open the tent flaps of Carjiga's tent.

Triumphantly, he exclaimed, "Hahahaha! These mountains are owned by us! Let it be known to everyone, that Camp Ganelon is under new management! Take everything you want men! We do as we please! We are the Taliver bandits!"

Maria scampered off to a dark corner in the kitchen. She prayed to her gods for her life.

Thick smoke covered the air. The ground shook as the men destroyed everything that stood.


Midnight...

I tried going to sleep like the others, but couldn't. That concept about magic was just too interesting for me to sleep on. I walked outside with the red book we had gotten in Bulgar. It seemed similar to the tomb Erk used earlier. I wandered out until I ran into a peaceful stream that was flowing serenely. Apparently, I wasn't the only person that needed time alone.

"Erk? What are you doing here?"

Erk turned around and faced me, surprised. The waxing moon behind made his face visible. "When you have to babysit Serra, sometimes you need some time to think on your own. What are you doing here? Something keeping you up at night?"

I nodded my head and showed him my book, "It's about magic, I-I couldn't sleep on it without learning more about it. I study best when I'm around nature. Do you know anything about this book?"

Erk borrowed the book from me, "This is a fire tome, if you say the correct chant, you'd be able to conjure up fire."

"So could I use magic?" I asked.

Erk shook his head, "I doubt it, the magically gifted are born with the talent. Not to mention all the training it would take to even get a spark out of this. Do you know if you can use it?"

I shrugged my shoulders, "I'm not sure. When I first met Lyn, I had amnesia."

Erk handed back the tome, "It's worth giving a shot, all you have to do is turn to the first page and read out this chant." He turned to the first page to reveal a note that Anna had apparently placed herself, it said: Pulvis ex igni summam potestatem ades. "Face your palm towards that stream over there."

I flipped to the first page of the tome and did as he said.

"Pulvis ex igni summam potestatem ades."

I closed my eyes and waited for something to happen...but nothing did.

I shook my head disappointingly, "I guess I'm not cut out for this."

"Well, that's not how you pronounce it. The V is pronounced like a W."

I flipped over to the first page and repeated the line again. I closed my eyes and waited for something to happen, this time with the right pronunciation.

"Pulvis ex igni summam potestatem ades."

For a brief moment, nothing happened.

"Well...I guess you don-"

Suddenly, I felt a burning sensation journey up my arm. The energy came up fast, nearly forcing my fingers open. A small stream of purple fire erupted from my palm, causing a copious amount of water vapor to fill the air as the flame hit the water. I looked over at Erk, whose eyeballs seemed to nearly pop from his head. Purple embers littered the area in front of me.

"Oh my. You do have it after all."


A/N: Bonus points if you can find out what real-world language they're speaking. Edited 4/6/2019