nightelf37: I own only the following; the made-up last names of the characters, my rendition of the Tactician (Mark and Kat), as well as anything that doesn't actually happen in the game.
Lyn and her friends have been branded as traitors, pretenders to the throne. Lundgren has sent word to Caelin's neighbors, warning them of Lyn's approach. He calls for reinforcements to put an end to the "imposters". If the other realms of Lycia choose to act, Lyn will never reach Caelin alive. Lyn places her faith in Eliwood and waits.
FERnKBB—FERnKBB—FERnKBB—FERnKBB
Chapter 9: A Grim Reunion
At an unspecified place near the vilage in Kathelet, Lyndis's legion finally met with Eliwood. Lyn, her tacticians, and her knights were at the front, and the rest were right behind, doing various other things. Facing them was the redhead lordling who rescued Ninian, and with him was a Paladin in orange armor, light purple hair, and it was evident that he was an aged veteran, likely in his forties. (1)
"What did they say?" Lyn asked.
The Pheraean smiled, "I've received word from Caelin's neighbors, Laus, Tuscana, Kathelet, Tania, and Santaruz. They will not interfere in Caelin's affairs. This they have promised."
"Eliwood, I don't know how to thank you…"
"All I've done is convince them to remain neutral in this dispute. However, this means I cannot aid you in any way either. Will you be all right?"
"I will win. I have to. It's the only way that I can help my grandfather."
"I understand. Although I cannot help you directly, as a friend, I pray for your success."
"Thank you. I won't waste the opportunity you've given me."
And with that, Eliwood got on with his knight and they left the village westward. Lyndis's Legion followed suit, but instead went the other way, closer to Caelin.
FERnKBB—FERnKBB—FERnKBB—FERnKBB
"All right, everyone! Let's get going! This weather is turning foul. It looks like a fog is rolling in."
Indeed it is. After they returned to the fort where Yogi had been stationed and resupplied themselves, the skies have been turning cloudy. And it's been getting moreso as they continued onward.
"This is no good," commented Kent. "If the fog thickens, we'll be blind in battle. It will be difficult to fight what we cannot see."
"We can't let it delay us, though. Let us press on. We must get closer to the castle. What's the best route?"
"Let me think… Our best path is to the south… However, that runs through General Eagler's estate. It looks like we still have one final obstacle to pass."
"Ooh, boy," said Kat as her brother began a short incantation. "Fog. A very irritating tactics factor." The Shisno Tacticians weren't really good at using fog (on its own) as cover, though combining that with forests or other concealing terrain is something they could do.
"Done," whispered Mark, having completed the spell he intended to cast: now, whenever there's fog or anything else that conceals the battlefield (the dark of night, mist, unnatural darkness), everybody he regards as in his 'army' can see what everybody else is seeing as if the fog wasn't there. For example, if a keen-eyed person (e.g. likely Matthew) could see a target up ahead, then a person with lesser vision behind them can see that target too as if the fog wasn't covering it, assuming they're capable of seeing that far without fog. It can result in weird perceptions if his people are positioned in different places, like enemies slowly appearing in the eyes of a sniper the moment their allies catch sight of them when the sniper should be the one seeing them first.
Just then, the Legion's thief went over to him and said, "Mark, put me in the lead, please. Surely you know that we…er…thieves, if you must, can see through fog." He then called out to the rest, "Follow me, everyone!"
"All right, you heard him!" the older tactician made clear. "Dorcas, Erk, Wil, cover him! Everybody else, let's move!"
Just then, there came the sound of armor plates clanging against each other. It could only mean an armored Knight was headed their way. Despite a number of their foes being such, it doesn't necessarily mean that all were hostiles. Just like with Dorcas, maybe this one could turn out to be an ally.
Everybody turned (and Kat gave the order to not attack yet) and saw a bald man in his late fifties, but still hale and healthy, and obviously strong, considering the enormous silver plate armor he wore, the lance he wielded, and the axe with him. His expression was grim, and he had the look, posture, armor and expression of a man who was not to be trifled with. Not that that would stop the Legion.
"So you've come…" he said.
"Aah!" gasped Sain. It seems that he knew his man.
"You! You're… Lord Wallace!" And obviously so did Kent.
"Kent, who is this?" Lyn asked.
"He used to be the commander of the knights of Caelin."
"Aren't you supposed to be retired?" the green Cavalier asked the Knight before them. "I heard you were sowing fields now."
"I am, and I was," Wallace answered. "Then I received orders from Lord Lundgren. I was told to capture an imposter and a pair of rouge knights."
"Lord Wallace! Surely, you don't believe us to be oathbreakers, do you?" protested Kent.
"Bring me the girl that claims to be Lady Madelyn's child."
Immediately, Mark gave a silent gesture to Wil and Rath to aim for the (side of the) neck. He didn't want more people dead already, and so he chose the (side of the) neck so that even as Wallace may go down, Serra would be on the case to stabilize him. These were not the enemy; Lundgren is, and he was using men like Wallace (and it was a possibility that the late Yogi and this General Eagler were too).
"What are your intentions?" Sain asked Wallace.
"If I don't like what I see, I will take her."
"We will prevent you," declared Kent.
"You?" the Knight scoffed. "Prevent me? You must be—"
Lyn was having none of this and stepped forward. "Enough! I'm right here! I am Lyndis."
"Ah…" The old Knight began to look her over, judging her.
"I'll understand if you don't believe me. But I've had enough of you and your foolish posturing!"
And then he made solid eye contact, and his expression softened as he smiled. "Hmm… Such beautiful eyes…"
"Pardon?"
"I've been a knight for 30 years, and here is one thing I learned. A person with eyes as bright and true as yours is no deceiver." He then let out a hearty laugh. "Ah, yes! I like you, girl! Why, I believe I'll even join your little band of mercenaries!"
This left the Legion a little confused as Mark gestured the bowmen among them to relax, while Sain was unable to contain himself as he stammered, "Are you… Are you serious?"
"This old bull's pledged his loyalty to Caelin. I would never allow an usurper on the throne. Let's march!" With that, he turned around and advanced.
"Lord Wallace!" Kent's call fell on deaf ears. "He… He hasn't changed at all."
"I like him. He's…honest," remarked Lyn.
"That he is. He deserves our respect."
FERnKBB—FERnKBB—FERnKBB—FERnKBB
A little later, Mark convinced Wallace to pause in his step, as he wanted to revise his planning now that they have an armored Knight in their ranks.
"I'd planned on living out my days in peace on my farm… Ah, well… It looks as though it's time to take up arms once more. Mark! You're the tactician of this group, correct?"
"That's correct, though my sister Kat is one as well." He indicated her as laid out the groundwork for a plan (which started with sending someone to warn the nearby village to close its gates in case of bandits) as he did so. "She's older than she looks."
"I know that is a flat-out lie…"
Dammit.
"…but her eyes show experience beyond her years, and it's not my business to tell her what she should be doing. What are my orders?"
"Well…" As Mark's eyes wandered, they locked on something attached to Wallace's armor. It was a Knight Crest, but not just an ordinary Knight Crest. This type was one of those mystical "promotional items" around Elibe, and the process behind their creation is…classified information. The way they work was too complicated for his head to wrap itself around. They're said to boost the body, change the clothes (and/or armor), modify the mount (doing so out of a nearby steed if the recipient isn't normally an equestrian), and bestow basic proficiency in other weapons. (2)
These items can be found anywhere and are made everywhere, even in the nomadic lands of Sacae. Knight Crests were for Cavaliers and armored Knights, Elysian Whips were for Ilian Pegasus Knights and Bernese Wyvern Riders, Guiding Rings were for all practitioners of magic, Orion's Bolts for all bow-users be they on foot or on horseback, Ocean Seals were for the sea-faring Pirates, Hero Crests were for Fighters, Mercenaries, and Myrmidons, the rare Earth Seals for all the aforementioned Classes (except Thieves and Pirates), the rarer Heaven Seals for specific kinds of people chosen by destiny, and the probably even rarer (and only rumored to exist) Fell Contracts for Thieves.
And then Wallace broke Mark out of his reverie as he noticed what the tactician was doing. "Ha ha haaa! So you've noticed my knight crest, have you? You've eyes like an eagle, my friend! Once I've used the crest, I'll be even stronger! A terrifying thought, isn't it? Ha ha ha haaaa! What are you waiting for? Order me to use the knight crest!"
"Umm… okay. It's just I've never seen these kinds of items in action. Kat and I aren't native to Elibe."
"Well, allow me to give you a demonstration!" Taking the Knight Crest off his armor, Wallace raised it to the air and recited an incantation that seemed to translate to a knightly oath. As soon as the last word was spoken, a light emerged from the crest and began to engulf Wallace, though it strangely did not shine bright enough to lure the enemy.
When the light faded, Wallace's armor was now made of the finest steel, and thick enough to make anything but the finest quality weapon break through. The axe he had with him was now in his hand, and tied to his wrist via a chain. He was now a General. "Ha ha ha haaaa! Look! A giant walks among you! My defense is impenetrable! Come! Break your weapons against me!"
FERnKBB—FERnKBB—FERnKBB—FERnKBB
"Mark, Kat… The fog's rolling in," advised Lyn as the Legion first headed north to the village. "We can't hit an enemy we can't see. Keep your eyes open, everyone!"
"Don't let your guard down for even a second!" added Kat as she disarmed a Soldier (who were like armored Knights, but with much less armor, a little more speed, and cannot use "promotional items") of his spear by twirling around his thrust, then grabbing the weapon with both hands and pulling it out of his hands with the help of momentum and using her back as a fulcrum. A Lightning spell from Lucius (which was distinctly different from a Mage's Thunder) then knocked him off his feet. the younger tactician then walked over to him and said, "If you want to live another day, you will not cross us again."
"Get down!" came Nils' cry.
Kat immediately obeyed…and heard an arrow whistle just above her head. "Whoa! Thanks, Nils!"
FERnKBB—FERnKBB—FERnKBB—FERnKBB
From the village, the Legion has been gifted with Torches, and it was obvious that they do not support Lundgren. And from the house east of it, it's revealed that General Eagler (who was a Paladin like Eliwood's 'guard') was an honest man, and the possibility that have someone dear to him is held hostage might be why the Legion is attacked even here.
After circling a mountain holding a den of bandits (and clearing that out), and crossing a forest that housed a fort, the Legion soon closed in on Eagler's castle, which was large and semi-ornate. It had fancy but functional walls, four towers were with roofs domed with round windows, and lacking murder holes for archers inside to attack from with little risk from return fire. Soon enough, after defeating the Soldiers that were standing by, they reached what must be the man himself, who was a green-haired middle-age man with a mustache and goatee in steel blue armor and a white horse.
"Eagler!" Wallace called as Mark gestured for Serra to come over and stand by and heal.
Almost in a nostalgic tone, he looked back at the newest addition to the Legion. "General Wallace... So you've sided with the girl, too, have you?"
Wallace yelled at the top of his gruff voice. "I fight for Caelin's honor, not Lundgren's lies!"
"Ah... Is that so? You are…" Eagler cut himself off. "Enough! There's nothing more to be said. I name you traitors all! Come! Do your worst!"
"Fool… At the very least, let mine be the blow that finishes you!"
Wallace had proved to be an absolute beast of a combatant with his axe, taking down any Soldier who did not stand down, and scaring off/making surrender those who did. So it was a bit less surprising that the 'fight' was rather short.
It looks like either most of Eagler's achievements were in tactical command, or he's past his prime. Either way, his javelin toss, which was aimed at Wallace's head and even taking leading into account, was a (near-)miss and the General threw his axe, which messily failed to behead Eagler's horse and buried itself into Eagler's own chest armor. It managed to get into his ribcage, and the force knocked him off his (already falling and dying) steed and onto the ground, which in turn dug the axe deeper thanks to the force of gravity.
"Serra! Now!" Mark immediately cried out and the Cleric was on the move as Wallace pulled out his axe via its chain.
"Nnng... Go... Go quickly," Eagler pleaded to the Legion even as Serra worked on his wound. "The marquess... He knows nothing of this... His life is...There's no illness. Only... poison... Please... for the marquess... for all of Caelin…" Eagler then let out a sigh as he fell silent.
FERnKBB—FERnKBB—FERnKBB—FERnKBB
"How is he?"
"I checked his pulse. His heart's still pumping blood."
"Umm…"
"He'll survive given proper care, though whether or not he'll be able to live is a different matter."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I'm saying that even if he'll be able to continue on living, this blow will have serious repercussions on his health. This might even be crippling enough that he can't go our riding or fighting ever again, but that's just speculation."
While Serra and Mark were conversing as they waited for the other residents of the castle to come in and retrieve their thankfully-not-dead general, Lyn and Kat were with the Caelin-native knights.
"What kind of man was General Eagler?" the Sacaen asked.
"When Sain and I first became knights, he was our captain," Kent explained. "Our teacher…"
"He seemed to want to help, yet…" Kat dreaded the answer, but knew that was the only possible reason short of an external party using brainwashing methods.
" think he must have known we were telling the truth. Why did he force the fight?"
"Something must have… Lord Lundgren was exerting some hold on him…" Sain guessed. "Eagler was trying to protect someone. A friend perhaps, or family."
Overcome with the grief that has spread because of the Lord who's after her life, Lyn made a solemn oath/curse on his name. "May Lundgren never know the peaceful embrace of Mother Earth! I care not what others do. I WILL stop that man!"
"We told you before that those who would use and/or throw away the lives of other people for power, they have no respect for the sanctity of life," Kat added. "It's apparent now that Lord Lundgren is this type of man. Mark and I are with you all the way, and while we won't kill him ourselves we'll help you directly when we can."
At that point, Mark returned to them, saying, "General Eagler will live. But I agree with you and Kat; Lundgren's going down, for Caelin, for Lycia, and (I believe) for all of Elibe."
Lyn nodded, then said, "Mark! Kat! The final battle is approaching!"
"That it is." Looks like Eagler's forces have swore allegiance to us, Mark then thought. It's about time we had a real army in our command.
FERnKBB—FERnKBB—FERnKBB—FERnKBB
At Castle Caelin...
The marquess lay in bed, coughing several times as he felt a stinging in his chest. Moaning, he looked as his brother Lundgren came in and prodded him none-too-gently. "How are you feeling today, my dear brother?"
"Lundgren... You... You fiend…" The marquess was barely able to speak from his fatigue.
Lundgren just let off an evil laugh. "Your granddaughter is dead by now. And soon, you will join her."
"Lyndis... Why did this happen? I...I only wanted to see her once." The once hoping marquess slumped back into his bed, deeply regretting his past actions to his daughter, Madelyn.
Lundgren sneered as he leaned into the marquess's face as he spoke in a mocking tone. "Have you lost all hope? Has your life lost all meaning?"
The marquess averted his eyes from Lundgren's face as he kept speaking to him.
"Then hurry up and die, you miserable old dotard! You and your precious granddaughter are in my way!" Lundgren screamed. "I curse your name! I despise you! My worthless wretch of a brother!" And with that, he stormed out of the marquess's room, slamming the door behind him.
FERnKBB—FERnKBB—FERnKBB—FERnKBB
O Wallace Protes
A retired knight of Caelin who was roped into the Legion thanks to Lundgren's play for power. He's constantly testing himself.
X Eagler
The Knight Commander of Caelin. Widely considered to be a just man by his people and his fellow knights, he was nonetheless tasked by Lundgren with stopping Lyn from progressing any further despite being fully aware of the extent of Lundgren's depravity. It's likely that blackmail was involved.
(1) Yeah, I decided to add Marcus in already, but I won't name him until Chapter 11, where I'll somehow do Eliwood's and Hector's chapters at the same time. Mark and Kat have identified his name, I just did not mention they did.
(2) It might seem to be a forced pun, but I'm certain I used the term "equestrian" correctly.
nightelf37: Sorry if Eagler's "battle" was woefully short, but I'll promise I'll do my best to make up for it with Lundgren. Then again, I have to since he's the "Arc Villain". See ya on Third!