DISCLAIMER: *Holds up a sign saying that I don't own Fire Emblem and that I only own the OC of this story*
*REVIEW FEEDBACK*
Mattyboy91: Glad to be of service… bro. LOL…
Scuttlest: It's a pretty difficult task to try and show the characters' thoughts and viewpoints without it overtaking the action. I haven't been too successful in trying to find the perfect medium for the two…although that doesn't mean I haven't stopped trying.
*END REVIEW FEEDBACK*
NOTE: Samson will appear for the rest of this book, but Arran won't appear until Book 2.
Alright, now let's get this chapter rolling…
CHAPTER 9
Freedom and Vengeance
Once again, our previous mission to recover the Falchion ended in failure. It took the death of another comrade to realize that Gharnef and his Imhullu magic cannot be beaten by normal means.
That said, we decided to do what we came here to do originally, and so we all marched south… to Altea, our home.
From the time I had grown up, I had always known Altea to be a beautiful realm, with its clear waters and rich greenery…
So when I laid eyes upon the land, I was nearly brought to tears when I saw that the empire had reduced this great kingdom to near ruin…
Well, no more. It's time to put the people's torment and suffering to an end, and take back our home by driving away Doluna's forces!
Then… the kingdom may return to the peaceful land I remember from so long ago…
XXXXXXXXXX
(Marth POV)
2 years…
For 2 long restless years, I had spent several nights worrying about the safety of my sister… and wondering if I had the power to take back Altea.
But I can't second-guess myself now. We are here, and we will rout Doluna from here, or die trying…
Chris, Nyna, and Linde were beside me, surveying the now barren lands and ruined villages.
"This is Altea…" Nyna began, "We've made it, Marth. It is your home…"
I nodded… but then I noticed Chris focusing only on the ruins of one particular village just ahead…
"Chris? Is that…"
"Sera village…" he cut me off, "The enemy destroyed the place when Altea came under attack. I doubt anyone is alive there now…"
His fists clenched…
"But I swear… when this war ends, I will rebuild this place and make it prosper like before…"
"And I will be there to help you." I told him, "I'll do whatever it will take to rebuild the places that the empire left in ruins."
"Thanks, sire…"
I looked onward as we surveyed the surroundings… and I made my thoughts known to those with me.
"It's been two years since Doluna took my kingdom from me… and it's only because of my sister's sacrifice and that of many others that I still live…"
"Do you know what became of your family?" Nyna questioned.
"You know that my father fell in Gra, and the last that I saw of my mother and sister was as the castle was being taken over…"
I looked towards the castle…
"I don't know if they live still… but if they do, I will rescue them. Make no mistake about that…"
When I turned back to face them, Malledus was approaching me…
"Sire, preparations are complete. Everyone is ready to attack."
"Right… thank you, Malledus."
Standing tall, I motioned for everyone to pay attention.
"Alteans and friends of the league!" I called, "I want to thank you all for sticking through these countless battles and for your dedication in bringing down the empire! Now more than ever, this is where I will need your assistance! Join me now in this endeavor, so that my people may no longer live in suffering under Doluna's rule!"
Everyone raised their voices and let out a call to war.
"Now! Let's move out!" I shouted once again as I raised my weapon.
With no further delay, I led the charge westward. As expected, the enemy knew we were coming, and so they sent a few dracoknights to hamper our movement. Gordin and Jeorge were quick to shoot at them, and I witnessed first-hand the power of the Parthia bow…
I don't think I had ever seen the same arrow pierce right through the wyvern AND its rider before…
In any case, there were a couple of villages not too far from where we were currently situated. My father once told me about these villages. For some reason, they've always been in a dispute over something, and negotiations between the villages have always failed…
I decided to have a look inside the eastern village to see if everyone was okay. When I arrived, I received a very warm welcome from my people. Once they received word of the battle raging on outside, they immediately retreated to their homes… save for the blue-armored hero that was coming for me.
"Well, looks like Altea's prince has returned!" he greeted.
"I have, yes… but who are you?"
"My name is Samson, sire. I was formerly an arena-fighter of some fame…"
"Yes, I have heard of you…" I replied, "Our knights once tried to recruit you into their service, didn't they?"
"Yes, well… I wasn't interested in any of that at the time. Although, now it looks like you could use some help in this battle…"
"Are you offering your sword?"
"Hey, if you're looking for another man, I'd be honored to fight by your side. Too bad the other soldier in the neighboring village won't be joining us, though…"
"They're still feuding even after the empire has taken over? Are they really that stubborn?"
"It's not really my place to say, sire. I'm just telling you what I know."
"Well, regardless of all that, it's good to have you with us." I told the hero, "Now let's hurry and get moving."
Rejoining the clash outside, I noticed that several cavaliers and horsemen were riding in from the south. Draug, Macellan, and Roger (who was now sporting heavier armor) all had ridersbanes handy, so we had a pretty good chance of holding our positions. Meanwhile, enemy forces were attempting to come in from the north, but Chris, Linde, Caesar, and Gordin were keeping them from advancing.
After a half-hour, the enemy cavalry ended up falling to our armored knights. Draug and Roger were mostly unharmed, but Macellan felt a little more pain, so Wrys was left to tend to those three. Chris and Caesar were pretty scratched up from the cavalry coming in from the north, so Lena had to patch them up before we could circle around to the eastern prison.
As we made our way south and east, the prison came into view. With Julian's help, we got the door open, only to be accosted by a couple of heroes. Fortunately, Cain and Abel were quick to ride in and run them through on their lances. Neither hero got up after that…
"Hey guys! Thanks for savin' my hide in there!"
Huh? Who is this person?
A strange-looking male stepped into view after Cain and Abel cleared the way…
"Who are you, sir?" I questioned him.
"Name's Xane, princey! I'm from a place that is not well known to the outside world…"
"And that is?"
"I don't want to bore you with the details, really. The important thing is my folk and I have the ability to shapeshift into other people. Observe!"
He raised his hands, and in a bright light…
Woah! He… he looks just like me! Although he took my form, his voice was still the same as his original form…
"Pretty cool, right? Doluna tried to force me on their side when they noticed my ability, but I'm not interested in working for those evil coots! How about I join with you from now on? I'm pretty useful to have around… wouldn't you say?"
"Well… sure, if you're really interested."
"Swell!" He cheered, then changed back into his original form, "I won't disappoint you, princey!"
Nodding, I decided it was time to direct my forces north now, to the castle. On the way there, a general attempted to confront us, but Linde was faster on the draw and obliterated him with Boah's Thoron magic. He went down after the blast of lightning tore through his armor…
Soon, we fell upon the castle gates and a black-armored general was waiting for us there. The insignia on his armor told me that he might've been one of Grust's Sable Knights…
"Very impressive, Altean whelp. Any normal army would've fallen to my soldier's might by now…"
He hefted his lance…
"However, these castle gates will be your resting place!"
"Not if we've anything to say about it!" I challenged him.
Ogma and Barst had an armorslayer and hammer ready, and so they charged at the general. The reach of his lance was enough to keep Ogma at bay, but Barst made a hard swing with his massive hammer, leaving a good size dent in the general's chest-plate. With the enemy commander now staggering from the blow, Ogma was able to rush in with the armorslayer and slice right through the metal and his flesh. With his innards now ripped open and exposed, Gordin took the opportunity to fire a couple of arrows into the exposed wound, causing him to fall to the ground, blood pooling beneath him…
"Nngh… General Camus… it's up to you… now…"
And thus, the general was no more…
XXXXXXXXXX
(Chris POV)
Once again, I was in awe at how my two teachers handled the general. They really made it look easy…
Of course, I couldn't forget about Gordin. He made the killing blow, after all…
"Whew… it was tough, but they're gone now." I sighed.
Nyna then approached the prince…
"That was well done, Prince Marth. On behalf of House Akaneia, I wish to congratulate you and your friends."
I decided to speak up here…
"We can't officially call it a victory yet, Lady Nyna. I'm sure there are plenty of foes waiting in the castle itself…" I turned to the prince, "Sire, do you have anything you'd like to say before we assemble and reclaim the castle?"
"Yes… I do." Marth replied, so I fell in with the rest of the crowd…
"Altean soldiers, and those who have decided to join our cause, I am truly grateful to have you on my side. After coming through a long, treacherous road, Doluna has finally been routed from our homeland…"
He took a moment to regain his composure…
"I cannot thank you all enough for helping me in this endeavor… however, there are still several enemies that are still in the castle! And so I ask once more… my friends, help me to drive them out so that Altea can truly be free from the empire's hold!"
Every one of us let out a war cry, and without any further delay, we charged into the gates…
XXXXXXXXXX
We were successful in eliminating the enemy commander and his forces, but there was still the matter of retaking the castle.
The few village locals remaining told us who it was that was occupying the castle… the mage dragon, Morzas. It was then that I learned the atrocities that my opponent had committed during his stay...
According to them, after General Camus of Grust left this place, Morzas was left to occupy the kingdom. He was a cruel, evil individual who would kill innocent Altean citizens if they so much as looked at him funny. My family's last letter to me had proven true, it seemed…
Morzas…
This bastard slew my mother and father, and he continues to slaughter innocent people on his own whim. I was going to make him pay in blood for his transgressions…
Mom… Dad… I hope you're watching. With this wyrmslayer, I will strike him down for good.
XXXXXXXXXX
"Sire…" grandpa told the prince, "During the clash outside, I've received word from the locals… and it's about your mother, Queen Liza."
"Mother? Is she okay?" Marth asked frantically.
"I'm afraid… that she's gone. The one occupying the castle, Morzas…"
"He killed her, didn't he…" I finished, a bitter tone in my voice. Grandpa's answer was a slow nod…
"No… mother… not you too." Marth looked down.
"It doesn't get much better from there, sire…" he continued, "Apparently, while Princess Elice is still alive, Gharnef has taken her prisoner. She's probably in Thabes if that is the case…"
Marth looked down in sadness. He's gone through too much in this war… all of us have, really.
I approached the prince and spoke to him…
"Sire… please allow me to face that mage dragon. The queen, mom, dad, and everyone else who was mindlessly slain under his occupation… in their names, I want to take him down myself."
Marth only nodded when I said this, "Chris… be careful."
"Understood."
As grandpa directed Lena to warp Rickard and Julian to the treasury to secure whatever goods were left, I broke away from the majority of the forces going to the western halls of the castle, and instead made my way to the doors of the throne room, just to the east. Taking a spare door key one of the enemy soldiers had left behind, I opened the door…
Before me was a dark green-cloaked man with a sinister expression looking down at me from the throne.
No doubt about it… this was Morzas, the one foe I've been waiting 2 long years to slay.
"Kee hee hee… so that fool of a prince was too much of a coward to face me himself, was he?"
I said nothing to him, opting instead to glare hatefully at him…
"Speak, you wretch of a human! What have you come here for, other than to meet your end?"
I growled, "You're going to die, Morzas. For all the lives you've ended during your occupation here…"
"Kee hee… they are all wastes of life. They serve no purpose in this world and that is why they deserve nothing more than death!"
My knuckles were surely turning white from all the clenching I was doing at the moment…
"You will NOT speak of my family that way, you damned monster!"
"I've killed many wretched humans in my time, so those worms you call your mother and father make no difference to me…" He grinned sadistically, "All attempts to oppose me have been met with failure, and yours will be no different. Don't tell me that you're still thinking of killing me…"
I couldn't take it anymore…
"Oh, I'm going to do more than kill you…" I snarled as I drew my wyrmslayer, "I'm sending you to hell where you and your brethren belong!"
He sneered, "Witless little vermin! None have defied a Mage-Dragon and lived to speak of it!"
"Then it'll please me to be the first!"
With that, Morzas raised his dragonstone and enveloped himself in a bright light…
His form had taken the shape of a dragon, like I expected. However, unlike the fire dragons I had seen, this dragon had a dark purple color to its scales and while he wasn't quite as bulky as all the other dragons I had seen, he was still much bigger than the average human…
"Come and face your destruction, wretch!"
He swung his left claw at my position, but I rolled in front of him and sliced at his body. He reared back when the sword cut into his scales, so I quickly backed away to avoid getting smashed, but the force of his weight coming down on the floor caused me to stumble. While I was attempting to regain my balance, he was taking in a huge breath!
Crap!
I barely got out of the way of the ensuing blast of flames Morzas blew at me. These tongues of fire were actually blue, signifying that they were either hotter than normal flames or contained magical properties…
I couldn't be bothered to know what was so special about them, as I was busy trying not to die.
I attempted to get to one of his back legs and immobilize him from there, but his tail caught me in my mid-section and I was sent crashing into a pillar.
Argh, damn it… I think he cracked a couple of ribs… ow…
I struggled to stand back up, but his right claw was reared back, ready to swipe at me. I had to think fast, so I mustered up a little strength and swung the wyrmslayer downward as Morzas' claw raced at me. A roar of pain from the dragon told me that my hit was a success…
Still smarting from the blow, I tried to approach the dragon once more, but his left claw caught me by surprise. It tore through my armor, leaving a pretty deep cut where his tail hit me earlier. I fell to my knees, struggling to stand up again…
"Just like all the other pathetic humans I've slain…" Morzas snarled, "Say goodbye, vermin!"
He drew back a huge breath, intent on incinerating me in his flames…
The pain was excruciating. I could barely stand back up, much less move out of the way…
Jerking my body to the right, I haphazardly rolled aside from his flames, but I didn't escape the attack completely. I let out a scream of agony as Morzas' flames partially torched my left arm. With only adrenaline fueling my battered body, I got to my feet as my now destroyed shield was discarded from my burned left arm. It was barely functional, and it hurt a lot to even move it.
"Foolish boy… you don't know when to die, do you?"
XXXXXXXXXX
(Linde POV, 15 minutes ago)
I had witnessed that Chris was speaking with the prince about something, and I was certain it had something to do with the occupant of the castle… Morzas. I wanted to follow him inside the throne room, but I was called by Malledus to assist in routing what was left of the empire's soldiers in the castle.
Along with Ogma and Caesar, I let the swordsmen take care of the mages while I set my sights on a fire dragon in another hallway. I had to move quickly to avoid the cloud of flames blown towards me, and I responded with a couple of Aura blasts. The beams of light shot forth and smote the beast and he collapsed lifelessly in a heap.
Once the west end of the castle was cleared, we went east and brought down a sniper along the way. Oddly enough, in his bag seemed to be some kind of card…
I'll need to ask what sort of card this is later.
Putting it away, we moved to where the throne's chamber was…
Wait, that scream! It had to be Chris!
"Chris is in trouble! We have to help him!" Marth called, and we opened the door…
Before our eyes, we noticed that he was facing a massive, purple dragon. The dragon had cuts on one of his claws and on his body, but Chris…
He was in very bad shape. He was barely standing and he was holding his bleeding midsection with a badly burnt left arm. I had to work fast here, and I quickly raised my hands to unleash Aura on the dragon…
The beam shot forth… but the dragon didn't even flinch as the attack hit his body.
This was the power of a Mage Dragon? I couldn't even faze him, and Merric probably can't either…
The dragon then turned and faced all of us…
"Grr… more humans!"
But while he faced us, Chris was already running at him. Using only one arm and whatever strength he had left, he swung wildly at the beast's body, leaving a couple more slashes on Morzas. The dragon buckled as the sword cut into his scaly form, and so Chris concluded his attack by thrusting his wyrmslayer into the body, all the way to the hilt. The dragon roared in pain as he finally collapsed in a heap…
"Argh… such power…"
"Hah… you're finished, Morzas! Say hello… to the reaper… for me… you damned dragon!" Chris taunted.
"Don't get… full of yourself… whelp… your friends… will never… defeat… Lord Medeus…"
Those were his final words before Morzas, mage dragon of Doluna, breathed no more.
"It's… over." I barely heard Chris mutter. The fight had surely taken a lot out of him, as he fell to his knees and slumped to the floor face down.
"Someone get help!" Marth shouted, signaling for healers to get him out of the area. I approached the fallen hero…
"Hold on, Chris… you're going to be fine. Stay with us!"
I made room for a few people as they carefully lifted the hero up and brought him to an empty room, and I stayed with him as Wrys, Lena, and Maria spent hours and many Recover staves in an attempt to treat his injuries.
It would be nearing dusk when they finally finished…
Nervously, I approached Lena…
"How is he?"
Gasping a little from all the concentration, Lena replied, "His suffered heavy injuries to his mid-section and it took a lot of work to treat the magic burns on his left arm, but other than that… I think he'll be fine after a few days."
"I see… thank you, Lena."
She smiled lightly and nodded, then followed Wrys and Maria out of the room. With nothing else left to do, I took a look at Chris' still form…
He looked… peaceful, as though a great weight had been lifted from his heart and mind. I wonder what he's thinking about now…
'Hopefully good thoughts now…' I smiled a little as I thought to myself.
I must say… all of his training must've paid off very well. He looked pretty fit despite his lean stature and his injuries, both current and previous…
Wait… why am I…
I looked away quickly as a surge of heat rushed to my face. Ah… what if Chris saw me looking at him like this?
"Nngh…"
He's waking up!
XXXXXXXXXX
(Chris POV)
Was it all a dream? Did I really slay that beast?
Wait, scratch those questions… the fact that I was currently wracked with pain all over told me pretty clearly that I was successful.
"Chris? Are you alright?"
I slowly sat back up, hissing in agony as the pain in my mid-section flared up from the movement. My vision was blurry but I was able to make out the form of the one who made that voice… Linde.
"Well… let's put it this way… I've seen better days."
Once I regained my focus, I got a better look at Linde…
Wait… is her face red?
"Um… is something wrong, Linde?"
"Ah… no. Everything is fine…" she hesitantily answered.
"Er… okay then. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask me."
She only nodded. I was tempted to question her further, but I decided against it.
"I'll go send for the prince now…" Linde offered, but I called out to her just as she was getting to the door.
"Wait! Before you leave… I… I want to thank you again."
"What do you mean? It was just as I had heard… my magic didn't do anything to help you."
"No… you're wrong. It gave me a long enough distraction to finish him off…"
"I… yes, I guess it did…"
That was all she could say before she left the room.
Gee… pretty odd behavior she was showing…
After a couple of minutes of waiting, Marth, Nyna, and my grandfather all entered and were at my bedside…
"Christopher… thank the heavens you're okay…" grandpa told me as he gave me a light hug, being careful not to squeeze too hard.
"Yeah… I just wonder if this was what they wanted…"
"You did a terrific job, Chris." Marth told me, "On behalf of my mother, thank you for defeating that dragon."
"Don't praise me too much, sire. It's only because of your guidance that we were all able to come this far…"
I chuckled a bit, despite the pain flaring up again as I did that…
"Besides… it's always the commanders that get the most coverage in the records of war. No one's going to remember some random refugee turned soldier that fought alongside the prince in his time of need."
"We will, Christopher… and I believe that's what really matters." Nyna encouraged.
Well… she did have a point there.
It shouldn't matter who gets well known as a hero in the pages of history. If our friends knew about one another's efforts that they contributed to this war, then that should be enough.
Yeah… those sound like good words to take to heart.
"Thank you, everyone…"
"Can you move?"
"I'm a bit stiff, sire… but give me a few minutes."
"Right… but make haste if you can, Christopher. Can you hear all the voices outside the castle?"
Huh?
As I slowly got out of bed, I focused my ears…
Hey… grandpa's right! There's a lot of people cheering outside…
"Guess the people got word of our victory, huh?" I grinned weakly.
"Seems so… and I believe we should greet them. Let's go, everyone."
"Hey! Wait up!"
They left the room, allowing me to get myself dressed and follow them. It took a few minutes, but I made it to the upper levels of the castle. I took one look at the prince and put a hand on his shoulder…
"Well, sire… the people are waiting. Let them see their hero…"
He smiled and nodded, stepping out onto the scene to greet his people.
XXXXXXXXXX
And so, thanks to all of our hard efforts, Altea was freed from Doluna's tyrannical rule.
The people, having suffered much hardship at their oppressors, were quick to flock beneath the walls of the castle in celebration of our victory.
But the greatest moment of all was when prince Marth appeared above to greet his citizens. All at once they saluted their hero with a deafening cheer…
"Glory to Marth, our prince of light! Glory to our star and savior!"
From this day forth, history would mark this event as the day that Marth – Altea's Shining Star – finally took back his kingdom after two long, grueling years of strife and travel…
And I couldn't have been happier for him at that moment. After all the pain and sorrow, there was no doubt in our minds that we earned this moment of joy for the people.
XXXXXXXXXX
Once the celebration had ended, I was back in my room once again. Grandpa was with me this time, and we were once again testing ourselves at a game of chess.
"Well, we did it… we got our home back, and I've completed my mission…" I said, moving a knight upward.
"Yes, we have…" Grandpa nodded, "Now it's time we mounted our own offensive."
One of his rooks took out a pawn.
"Our own offensive?" I asked, "So now this means we're actually going to launch an assault on the empire itself?"
Alright, I'll have the bishop take out one of his knights!
"Precisely, grandson. However, it'd probably be easier if we wage our campaign against Doluna's allies first."
Oh geez… his queen's moving, and it took out my knight!
"It's allies, huh?" I noted, moving one of my rooks out, "That means we'll have to face Grust and Medon then. Of course, we'll also need to work on getting the orbs we need for the Starlight magic."
"If that's the case, we should attack Grust first." Grandpa told me, "The Fane of Raman is just north of there, so we can get the orbs on the way there…"
His other knight's on the move now…
"Any luck on finding Thabes yet?" I asked him, sending my other bishop to remove his other knight, "Check."
"None, I'm afraid… only Gotoh might know anything about that."
He's moving his king now.
"Well then… once we reach Medon, we'll just have to ask him…"
Now, my rook attacks his queen and traps his king! He's got nowhere to run now!
I looked up at him and grinned, "Checkmate."
"Ho! That was well-played, Christopher!" he praised, ruffling my hair as he said this, "You've truly grown since our journey began."
"Yeah… I guess I have…"
"I'm serious. Your mother and father would be very proud of you right now. To come this far and help free our nation is nothing to scoff at!"
I only nodded, knowing that he was correct in that regard.
"Well, grandson… it's getting late now." He said as he put away the pieces to the chess set, "Keep yourself rested now. Wrys, Lena, and Maria all worked tirelessly to heal your injuries. We'll be spending a few days resting here, so that should give you sufficient time to recover…"
"Right then… goodnight, grandpa."
He shut the door on the way out, and so I decided to log the records of this battle into my notebook. With that done, I blew out the candle and laid back in my bed…
We finally completed one of our core objectives in this war. We reclaimed Altea from the empire…
Now… it was time to strike back. Once we obtain the orbs we need, we'll target Grust and Medon and bring them both down.
Then… Gharnef and Medeus will follow, and we'll finally put an end to this awful war…
END OF CHAPTER
With that, this chapter is complete.
For those wondering, Roger is a General(Again in GBA style) now.
If you've any commentary or reviews, I'm listening.
Until next time, farewell.