Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem
Chapter 11: Attack of the beast warriors
The Black Knight listened as Nathan drabbled on about some dream he had last night. 'The boy must have been drunk' he thought to himself, 'snuck in more than a pint of whisky last night.' To interrupt a war council and expecting to keep his life, he most certainly had to be.
"Gallia's plan is to separate their main force in two," said Nathan, "One half is to attack us head on while the other is to attack form behind-"
"Pardon my interruption dear boy," said a voice from the council.
"Oh, uh…yes General Petrine, what is it ma'am?"
"You say these sub-humans are splitting their main force, one to attack our front lines to serve as a distraction? And another to attack out flack?"
"Yes ma'am, it's called a pincer maneuver," replied Nathan.
"Do not think me ignorant boy, I know what it is."
"Oh, sorry ma'am"
"My question is this: how could a sub-human commander know of such tactics when only humans are capable of formulating strategies?"
"Well, uh, I'm not sure ma'am. I'm only telling you what I saw."
"Can you also tell us what you had to drink?"
The men in the tent gave a not so silent laugh at that.
'Imbecile' thought the Black Knight. After this humiliation was over he would severely punish the boy, perhaps even kill him.
But then, there was something different about him. It was not that he had lost his mind; he certainly did not act like he did. The Black Knight could not be sure, but he sensed that his young steward had gained a new power. Though it felt, strange and distorted. Not powerful, but vast. Yes a vast, far-reaching incredible power.
A power he could make his own.
All he had to do was see if it was really there.
"Ready the troops" he said, speaking for the first time.
Petrine turned, visibly shocked "Black Knight, surly you cannot mean…"
"Ready the troops, General Petrine" he said once more.
"No" was the reply. Petrine was struggling to keep from simply exploding, "You may listen and believe this boy's illogic drabble. But I, Black Knight, will not be made a fool of!"
The Black Knight turned to her, "His royal highness, King Ashnard, has granted me the rank of senior officer during this mission Petrine. Than means you are my subordinate, and that means you will follow my orders without question. Do you understand?" He put a hand to the hilt of Alondite, "of course, if you do not think me worthy of that title, simply say the word and I will prove it myself."
Petrine grimaced, but said no more as she walked out of the tent, Ena not far behind.
The Black Knight turned to Nathan, who was also as visibly shocked as Petrine. If this experiment turns out the way he thought it would then the boy would become a very handy tool.
If not, he would simply kill him.
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Gallia's army charged toward an unsuspecting enemy, a coagulation of tigers and cats running to meet the foe on their boarders. One of them, the tiger in the lead, gave a loud roar. In an instant the gigantic wave of beasts split in two, the other half swerving off a good distance away from the main group.
The plan was initiated; the element of surprise was theirs.
A loud, nerve-wracking screech filled the air.
They looked to the sky and saw a cloud of screeching wyverns, their riders poised and ready to strike.
"Now" cried Shiharam, as he and the riders behind him rained javelins on the feral creatures.
The beast warriors ceased their advance as the javelins struck the ground and flesh. Paladins and soliders charged both at their front and flank, wyverns attacking from above.
It was a trap.
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Nathan stood quietly among the other mages; dressed in a regular mages cloak he figured no one would recognize him. The Black Knight had tried to keep him within the camp, tried to keep him away from the battle. He wanted to hoard the glory for himself, and make others completely forget who had warned him. But Nathan would not be held down, not this time. He would fight in this battle even if it meant certain death, either from the fight, or from the Black Knight's punishment.
Nathan froze as Taruoneo walked past him, making sure his hood hid his face completely. He had to be careful, one mistake and he would be thrown out of the battle.
"Sir, they approach!" cried a solider
Taruoneo stared out into the horizon; the beast warriors were drawing near. In a moment this would be the site of a great battle.
"Positions!" he yelled, "everyone to your positions!"
Nathan was lost, so he followed the other mages as best as he could amidst all the confusion. He watched as Taruoneo brandished his lance and pulled his visor down, then turned his back to the men. He thought he was going to make some sort of heroic speech, and was disappointed there had been none.
The sub-humans were approaching fast; Nathan gripped the fire tome at his side with both hands. What he felt was not fear, but exhilaration. He was no longer the cowardly boy who hid under tables; he was a solider in a war.
They hit them hard and fast.
Nathan looked around, all of a sudden there was battle going on all around him. Claws renting flesh, weapons tasting blood, and he, a mere boy, was lost and confused among it all. He looked form left to right, entranced by the death and devastation around him, of all the blood and bodies falling before him. The smell of blood gushing, tuning the ground soft, it made him want to vomit.
He tuned in order to avoid seeing a faceless corpse fall before his feet, and came face to face with a tiger. At first the two just stared at each other. And in that short duration of time, Nathan remembered why he was here. He was here to bring honor and glory to his family name, he was here to have the adventure of a lifetime, and he was here to prove himself.
The tiger lunged
Instinctively, Nathan put his hand forward. A shot of flame erupted from his palm and struck the beast square in the face.
Nathan stared back at the unmoving figure. He moved closer and could smell the burnt flesh where the face had used to be. He simply could not believe what he saw, lying before him was his first kill.
A roar came from behind him.
Nathan turned and saw another tiger rushing at him, ready to avenge it's fallen comrade.He hesitated before putting out his hand and shooting the fireball. The tiger dodged and continued to charge. There was no time to shoot another; this was the end.
An axe swooped down out of nowhere.
Nathan opened his eyes and saw the tiger lying dead with a laguz axe in its spine.
For a moment he stood there, stupefied with shock. He jumped as he heard the crack of the spine as the axe dislodged itself from the newly made corpse.
"You're awfully young to be fightin' in any wars don't you think boy?" said a voice.
If Nathan heard him, he gave no indication. He simply stared at the corpse.
"Yeah, the near-death thing gave me quite the shock my first time to" said the voice, "But you get over it eventually."
Nathan felt a hand pat his shoulder and the man walked off, he could hear shouts and screams, but they were all ones of joy. The victorious army brandished their weapons in victory. But he continued to stare at the newly dead all around him. Ashamed that he could do nothing to help, that he was useless on the battlefield.
That was war
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The Black Knight strode thought the battlefield, hacking down the demi-humans wherever he went. Taking on a whole regiment by himself, killing at least twenty out of every one hundred. It was childsplay for him, purely childsplay.
A cat lunged at him from behind, seemingly flying though the air. With one movement as fast and sudden asthe blink of an eye, it was a corpse on the ground. Cleaved in half and bloodied, it lay there as the Black Knight strode on.
A tiger, bigger than the ones he had previously faced, appeared in front of him. The Black Knight stood, that being the only indication that he had noticed him. It lunged, and the Black Knight dogged. He decided to have a little fun before finishing this one, he dogged again. Its attack pursued him, yet it might as well have been as if he were standing still. 'This is too easy' he thought as he dogged another attack, 'If this is all Gallia has to offer, taking this pathetic nation of half-breeds will be less than a challenge.'
Suddenly there was a shift in power inside the beasts. All around him, the sub-humans began to revert back to their human form, or at least what could be vaguely considered human. Now the beast warriors were truly doomed.
The Black Knight faced the man he had been fighting, the expression of fear in his face truly priceless. "All too easy" he said as he cleaved him in half with one powerful stroke.