Review answer corner:

Ace: Yep, Geralt has a lady for his journey. And he definitely won't stutter randomly during their conversations. *Gives Ciri a shot* Ciri: Hey, thish ishn't that shtrung*collapses*

Pyrojack:Yep, he even hails from Rivia. That is one of Geralt's skills, it gives him a trap command, similar to rally, lockpick, steal, or dance.

Cormag:Out of the main characters, I'd have to say Ruby, if only because she's the main character. (Otherwise, it would be a tie between her, Blake, and Weiss). As for my favorite overall, it's a tie between Lie Ren and Sun Wukong. Not certain about the rest because I only have two(maybe three) of the 2nd gen supports set in stone. When I thought of the subplot, I immediately wanted to put those two in there.

To all: All aboard the S.S Kimmeryn, with your captain, Ace, your first mate, Cormag, and your navigator, Pyrojack. I will be your tour guide on this wondrous journey!

Disclaimer: I own neither Nintendo nor the glorious Atlus, the kings of Jrpgs.

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Kira pov

For the recruits, today was an extremely stressful day. It was the day that they would face the first set of examinations. Any who failed would have to repeat the curriculum of the past month, while the top student in each classification would be allowed to skip over the next month. For the instructors, it was rather boring because at least four of the top students were obvious choices.

A blur of black and orange flew by as a myrmidon flew by. Simply from the speed, I could tell It was Kyouko, who was easily the most skilled of the myrmidons. She had long black hair and gray eyes that sometimes made it hard to read her emotions. If I remember correctly, she was the daughter of a swordmaster from Chon'sin and an Assassin who had been sent to train with their military.

She made her way swiftly past the obstacles and to the ring of automated training dummies and pulled out her daito and shoto. The first two came towards her, a fighter and a knight. The she slid easily past the fighter's movements, using the opening its axe swing caused to get in a quick strike to the neck. The knight made an overhead strike that she parried with her daito, a rather unorthodox choice as that was supposed to be her primary took her shoto and sunk the blade into its chestplate.

Next, a myrmidon came charging, the real test. She used a cross block to defend against the first strike, then made a strike with her daito, only to be blocked. As the next attack came, she flipped her shoto into a knife fighting position and used it to hook the blade down. She quickly struck at the mymidon's shoulder pad, then flipped around to strike the other and coming around one last time to split the dummy in half.

"Ah, going for a flashy finish, I knew there was a reason we liked her. I guess you could say she's a super trainee level myrmidon, eh?"

Don't even try to make that reference.

I saw Lon'qu smirk at the last move. We had taught them that technique, which was a prerequisite for astra, a few days ago in class. We hadn't expected any of them to master the technique for at least another month.

It seemed that Kyouko had already taken her place at the top of her class, and was going to skip a month of training.

XXXXXXXXXXX

The other exams went on in a similar manner, and none of the recruits actually failed the test. I was now with Lon'qu, Robin, Khrow, Derek, Crimson, and Vaike preparing to give a special surprise to some of the recruits. In addition to Kyouko, there was Marcus, a mercenary with light brown hair and green eyes. He was the son of one of the conscripts from the last war who had managed to go from a regular soldier to a hero. He was a free spirit who lived every day as if it would be his last, a very good frame of mind to have in our occupation. Despite his carefree nature, he was very determined and put every possible effort into his attempts to become stronger. Judging from some of his actions, it seemed that he was also determined to win Kyouko's heart, as he would occasionally do dangerous things in an attempt to impress her. Kyouko's cold nature made it difficult to tell whether these attempts actually made it across.

There was also Aelia, a fighter who hailed from the slums of Ylisse. She had shoulder length blond hair and sapphire blue eyes. Many of the male recruits took a fancy to her and attempted to flirt with her, although many of them lost their teeth as Aelia bashed their faces in. She had the most physical strength of any of the recruits.

Finally, there was Agrona, who despite being classed as a mage was being trained to become a tactician by both Robin and Khrow. She had long, auburn hair reaching halfway down her back and cold onyx eyes. She had lived on a border village with her parents, a sage and a dark knight, until a group of brigands came and razed the entire settlement. She knew the horrors of war better than any recruits, but rather than being intimidated, the experience tempered the fire of her heart. She wasn't very skilled combat wise, but she had a sharper mind than many of our nation's elite mages.

The other teachers and I pulled out sheaths that we had hidden under our armor. Each of these students had brought weapons that once belonged to his or her parents, but they had to put them into the armory when they came here. With permission and some financial aid from Emmeryn, we had the weapons reforged to become unbreakable. I pulled out a daito while Lon'qu pulled shoto and we gave them to Kyouko. These were the blades that had belonged to her mother during her time as a swordmaster. The blades were named jinsei and shine, because the shoto was used to safeguard the life of the wielder while the daito was used to bring death upon the opponent. The shoto was made of flexible alloys that allowed for easier parries while the daito was light and sharp as a razor.

Derek pulled out a buckler while Crimson fished out a gladius, and they granted them to Marcus. The buckles was called the behemoth and the blade was dubbed the iron fang. As he was now, there was nothing special he could do with the equipment, but according to the twin tacticians he would eventually be able to use aegis and pavise with the buckler and the sword could be used in the same manner as a brave blade.

Vaike bestowed Aelia with a tomahawk named piercer, which had been a weapon her father used to fend off bandits. It moved at a swift speed and could easily rip through the enemy's defenses.

Khrow pulled out a white blade while Robin held a fire tome. The blade was Lethes, a powerful weapon that her mother bore in battle. It's might was equal to a silver blade. The tome was called Inti, and burned like a dying blaze and had the durability of an average fire tome.

I saw a figure wearing knight armor walking up to our group. As he grew closer I could tell that it was Cassius, Brutus' lieutenant. The man had short silver hair and pale violet eyes. The man was very skilled, and there was talk of him becoming captain now that Brutus was in the shepherds. Despite this, he preferred to focus on others rather than himself. This did not mean that he was any form of pushover. According to Brutus, the man one beat the living shit out of another soldier who implied that he didn't deserve his post. Consequently, no one ever questioned the lieutenant's orders.

"I saw some of the exams, you all were much better than what was to be expected of you. You all may just rise through the ranks in the future."

Frederick walked up "I would prefer you not congratulate my students too much, Cassius. I prefer their egos at their current sizes."

We all laughed, and celebrated with them a little more before we left for the castle.

XXXXXXX

Brutus pov

Cordelia charged at me on her pegasus. I brought my spear up, barely managing to parry the attack.

Cordelia's troop had rotated with another troop for the week, and this was her last day before she went back to the post. I was taking advantage of her time here to get some practice against a flying unit.

Her blows were merciless and swift. It was extremely difficult for me to keep up with her mount. I dodged another of her strikes and attempted to counter, only for my training spear to meet empty air.

Before I had time to recover, the shaft of her spear met with my face. I fell to the ground, dropping my weapon as I went.

Cordelia walked up to me, holding out her hand. "Are you alright?"

"Yes. That was rather refreshing, actually."

"What do you mean by that?"

"It's not very often that I get the chance to spar with someone of your talent. Those that can keep up with me usually have their own tasks to attend to. When I first started, pretty much anyone could beat me in a sparring match. I would often lose to Stahl, Sully, even Kellam. In the last year or two before we got all these new shepherds, Frederick and Chrom had become the only opponents I ever lost to."

"So you missed losing?"

"Yes, it takes a loss for one to realize just how much they can improve. Now, I have plenty of opponents to test my strength against." I gave a small smile.

"And what if you run out of opponents?"

"Then the only thing standing in my way will be myself."

"If I remember correctly, I've heard rumors of you having powers no other can replicate. Where was that in our match?"

"You'd like to go again then? I could use the practice, the only other experience I've had with fliers has been against a few amateur wyvern riders."

"Let's begin then." Cordelia said as she brandished her practice lance.

This time I knew what to expect. I rolled out of the way of her charge, then parried the upcoming barrage. I leapt at her, using my trump as I struck her lance.

Her lance snapped in half and Cordelia was knocked towards the ground. She skidded but held her stance, brandishing her broken weapon as if the fragments were a pair of blades. She leapt at me in an overhead strike, but she was much too slow on foot. I sp4n ma spear around, disarming her before placing the tip at her throat.

"Looks like I win this time." I said with a smirk.

"I still have a long way to go." Cordelia said, looking disheartened.

"Don't worry, I have been doing this since I could lift my weapon. You have only been training for a year. The fact that you were even able to keep up with me is a testament to your talent."

Well, there was Kira, as well as the other envoys, but that was beside the point. Being blessed be Naga tended to give a person an edge over others.

"I keep forgetting how long you have been doing this. I honestly should know that, since you used to always stop by and help the recruits with their form. I remember that you spent hours nagging Sumia over every small detail." Cordelia laughed at the memory.

"She still doesn't keep her stance wide enough." I grumbled "But I guess that doesn't matter much, since she isn't a footsoldier."

"Did you know about her and Chrom? She just told me a few days ago." Cordelia asked.

"Yeah, I told Chrom he needed to go ahead and propose before it was too late." I nodded.

Cordelia's face took on a sad tone. "Oh."

"Why? What's wrong?" I grew worried.

"Well, you see…" She mustered her strength, trying to finish her sentence "I had feelings for him."

Oh that was the problem, I could understand "If it's any consolation, the girl I cared for got engaged recently."

"Who is it? I didn't realize you were even looking for someone."

"It was princess Lissa." I sighed.

"Oh, sorry about that. I kind of helped Lon'qu pick out the ring last time I was on break." She laughed nervously.

I chuckled at this. "So we both screwed each other over, huh?"

Cordelia laughed "I guess so."

"You know, whenever I helped with your training and Chrom walked by, a lot of the male recruits would start talking about how they wished you would look at one of them. I know what they meant now." I chuckled.

"And whenever Lissa came by, I heard the other girls saying the same about you. That makes a lot more sense now."

"Hey, do you know where any good bars are?"

"Yeah, there's one that my squad drags me to a couple of blocks out, why?"

"Come with me. It's your last day of break before you have to spend another week and a half at the border. I'll pay for your drinks, since it's your break and I helped mess up your chances with Chrom. I think now's as good a time as any to go wind down some."

"I try not to drink, since it dulls the senses, but I think I'll take you up on your offer." She smiled lightly and walked ahead of me. "I'll show you the way."

XXXXXXXX

Three days later

Kira pov

Today marked two months since the beginning of the war. So far everything was going just fine, but that only served to put me even more on edge. On top of that, today was the two millenia celebration of Marth's victory against Medeus. Today seemed like an apt choice for Validar's attack.

"Relax, Kira. Yes, the attack will probably be today, but it'll be fine. We have a guard set up ready at Emmeryn's chambers, as well as vanguards for Chrom and Lissa, and various guard posts full of shepherds all around the castle. If anything comes we'll be ready. Now you just go and enjoy your holiday built around Naga's previous triumphs."

You're probably right. We have Khrow and Robin guarding Chrom and Lissa is being guarded by Brutus and Lon'qu. Martin, Kellam, Dolce, and I are guarding Emmeryn. We also have Derek, Crimson, and Anna set up at the front of the castle, and the other shepherds prepared to rouse the soldiers in the barracks. I was the one who suggested the plan to Robin, so I know the layout better than anyone. Sadly, none of that helped to ease my nerves.

I saw Khrow walk nearby. "Khrow! What's up? I barely see you these days!"

"I was there giving the recruits gifts three days ago, I sparred with you last week, and I have been reporting for escort duty with Robin every day."

"And those are pretty much the only times you've left the dungeon recently. I'm honestly shocked you aren't as pale as a risen by now. Don't any of your tactics books tell you not to sleep with the enemy?"

"I was not sleeping with the enemy! I was interrogating her!"

"Yeah, 'interrogating' her. I guess that's what they call it these days."

Robin walked up, along with Emmeryn. "Brother! You're back! I was starting to think your girlfriend killed you!"

"Good to see you're back up with the living." Emmeryn said with a faint smile.

"Guys I came up here to have a good time and honestly I feel so attacked right now." Khrow said in a mock whimper.

I burst out laughing at this, and everyone gave me weird looks. "It's nothing, guys. It's nothing." I doubled over again from the laughter and they all began to worry. I stood back up "I'm okay guys." Then I began laughing for a third time. I finally recovered. "Okay, I'm fine now. Khrow was the last person I expected to say something like that."

"Okay…" Robin said, trying to comprehend why I found that so hilarious.

"Oh, that was a popular saying people used in jokes back home." I waved her off.

Emmeryn walked up to me "Hello Kira, would you be fine if I introduced you to a friend of mine?"

"Sure."

I walked along with her, being guided over to … Libra? I wonder why she wanted me to speak to him.

Libra was speaking to Dolce. I wasn't sure whether to be surprised they knew each other. The two both often went around helping the less fortunate, but the city was large enough that it was unlikely for them to run into each other in the slums. Well, I did often run into other shepherds in the streets so I guess it made sense.

"Kira, I'd like you to meet-" Emmeryn began.

"Why hello Kira, pleasure meeting you here. I apologize for the interruption, lady exalt." Libra said.

"Hey Libra, it's nice to see you outside of the infirmary for once." I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly.

"Wait, you two know each other?" Emmeryn asked.

"How did that happen?" Dolce added in.

"Well, between Brutus' training, Frederick's fitness hour, and my sparring matches, I get injured pretty often."

"So I've gotten some pretty good practice with my staff because of him." That was an understatement, the guy must have gained a staff level just from me.

"Well, I brought you here because Libra is also interested in your idea." Emmeryn said.

"Wait, he wants to help re-engineer light magic?" I asked, incredulous. This was a great chance, I needed to know the stylistic similarities for at least two promoted staff users. Base class users wouldn't work because they differences would be too small to separate from the similarities. Falcon knights also didn't work for the same reason, as they don't learn to use a staff until they promote.

I asked Libra every question I could think of, fervently taking notes. I walked back towards Emmeryn, satisfied. With my notes on healing and anima magic, all I needed was a dark mage user to interview and I would have a proper foundation for my research.

"Did you get what you needed?" Emmeryn asked me.

"Yes, I'm on the right track. A little more and I'll be able to actually begin my studies."

"That's good to know, let's go enjoy the festivities, shall we?" The music began to shift, becoming a waltz.

I felt heat rising to my cheeks as I held out my hand. "May I have this dance, Emmeryn?"

Emmeryn smiled and took my hand "Gladly."

XXXXXXX

Aquila pov

We were marching toward Ylisstol, preparing for the attack.

"Okay, we're almost ready to charge in." Validar began "There is one last thing we need to do. Thief, do you remember your part of the plan?"

The thief, Gaius if I remembered correctly, began counting things off. "Yeah, gray. First, I go with little miss doomsday," That was his nickname for Koto. " And I go up through the middle of the castle. Then I take a right and meet up with mister 'Does the carpet match the drapes'," He pointed at me. "Who'll cover for me while I pick the lock and kill Emmeryn."

"Yes, it seems you have something on your mind other than candy. You may prove to be competent yet." Validar continued.

"That's one more thing we need to talk about. You freed me from prison and all, don't get me wrong here I'm grateful, but you didn't give me any candy. You should know my fee after all the research you did when choosing me for the job. Besides that,you call me sugar for brains but you're the one with the awful plan here. They have a castle full of soldiers and what did you bring? Our group is made up of five soldiers and a thief, and you won't even let them summon 's about as smart as trying to steal a sword from a myrmidon." Gaius ranted.

"Don't worry," I said calmly "that's too much firepower in my opinion." I smirked. "This is going to be a wonderful mission. I'll get to meet the shepherds again."

XXXXXXXXX

Well, we got the deuteragonists introduced. They don't have an extreme impact on the story, but they'll appear occasionally. One of them even has a backstory in the other timeline. Next chapter, we'll finally get some progression on the main plot. This is the chapter I've been excited for since before I even got to Ferox!

See you all next time! Please leave a review.