Azure


He left the tent without looking back and got to the Shepherds' campfire. He took his seat next to Owain. Owain leaned his head towards him and whispered: "You mentioned her nickname huh?"

"Yup… That's exactly what I did," He responded.

"Everybody heard her shouting. But please answer me this: Is there anything between you two?"

"Ha! A nice and straightforward question, but the answer is simple: No Owain," Robin responded with confidence, but he soon felt embarrassed when he saw the others staring at him with their bulging eyes. Owain then sighed and told the others: "Darn it! I lost this one! Here's your money everyone!" He got a small moneybag out of his pocket and gave it to Inigo. Then everything went back to normal, with them chatting again.

"Thank you Owain. Better luck next time! Who else said "yes"?" Inigo asked, proud of himself. Robin couldn't believe his eyes.

"Whoa, whoa! What in the world is happening? Did you make a bet out of me, again?" He asked.

"Dude! Chill. Everything ya see is basically a bet. From how much food we'll bring to if you have the hots for Severa. But be careful, coz this is still debatable, so Inigo give our Ow his money back," Brady explained. Inigo followed his words. "This isn't over Owain! I'll win!" Inigo told him.

"What! This is infuriating! How could you bet on something like this? I get it for a one on one in training, but guys… What I do in my personal life has nothing to do with you, ok? May I have some privacy?" His words made them feel sorry. They stared and nodded at each other.

"Robin is right. I've also told you countless times that this isn't fun nor will it ever be. I apologise on my cousin's behalf," Lucina told him. Owain, Inigo and Brady then apologized, but Robin got up and left. He decided to go for a walk, leaving everything behind.


Under the moonlight and the shimmering stars, he continued his walk. He was still troubled about Morgan. And the more he tried to find an answer the more he couldn't. After a while he stopped and looked above. Gazed at the infinite universe that expanded before his very eyes.

"Beautiful isn't it? I believe this is the only beautiful thing left to this world. It's something the dark lord will never take from us. It's the fading light of hope that keeps me going." Robin heard the female voice and recognised it immediately.

"What are you doing here, Nah?" He asked, surprised, and saw the green haired girl holding a red candle.

"Nothing. I mean I'm here for two reasons. First is to give you this candle to ensure that you'll get back to us and the second is to tell you that Lucina needs to see you in her tent. Nothing too important."

"Great. I'll be there in a minute," he said.

"So, what are you doing here exactly? You left without saying a word."

"Let's say that I have a lot on my mind right now."

"You know you can always trust me. You helped me the other day and I would gladly do the same."

"Look Nah. I really don't want to bother you with my problems, so I'm fine."

"Mm-hmmm! So it's about Morgan? Go figure!"

"What? How do you kn-… Anyway… it's pointless… " He said and lowered his head. "It feels like a great burden; not being able to know who you really are. Was I a good person? Was I a bad? And then there goes this guy who tells me that I burned down the village that you found me in. That I'm one of them," he continued, rubbing his eyes with his fingertips.

"Robin. I'm sure that in your past life you were a great person. Just look at all the good things you've already done in this week; you've proven to be trustworthy, beat a Risen yourself, saved Lucina from an unfair trial, helped us escape from a well-guarded town with the map to defeat the dark lord and saved Severa and the others from death with your unbelievable powers! You are a good person and never let anything Morgan says to you make you think otherwise."

"Do you think so?"

"I know so." She told him and stared at the tactician's deep brown eyes. Robin felt that weird feeling again, but let his thoughts aside, because he didn't want to ruin this moment too, by overthinking it.

"Robin?" "Yes Nah?" He responded quickly. "I also had a third reason to come here. I heard the rumor about you and Severa, as well. I-Is this true?" She reluctantly asked.

"Yikes Nah. Just because I visited her tent, it doesn't mean that I'm in love with her."

"Great! I'm glad to hear that."

"Excuse me?"

"I m-mean, I'm glad b-because… I've bet against it. That's it! I've bet against it! Heh."

"Then I'm glad that I too made you happy," Robin said and decided to head back. They needed rest in order to be ready for tomorrow's journey. When they got back the fire shone bright. Nah then thanked him for the walk and went back to her tent. Robin gave her a faint smile and made his way to Lucina's tent. He stood outside and waited.

"Lucina! May I come in?" He asked. "Yes," he heard and got inside. It was just like Severa's and probably everyone else's tent; the wooden pillars were a little taller than himself and multiple candles were lit to see. Lucina was lying cross-legged on the sheet.

"Come! Don't worry I don't bite," she told him.

"Well we'll see about that!" He said and she actually giggled. Robin took a seat next to her.

"You wanted to see me?" He asked. Lucina nodded and gave him the wooden case that bared the crafted Brand of the Exalt. Robin opened it with caution and saw the map inside it. "It's about this right?"

"Yes but before we continue, I wanted to ask you something. I would like you to work for me as our team's tactician. Your extraordinary skills in planning and predicting our opponents' moves have proven to be extremely useful. So what do you say?"

"Uhm… Wasn't this Laurent's job?"

"No. Did he say it was?"

"Nope, it was just that he made all the planning, until now."

"Maybe, but your skills are way beyond his. Even your magic! That wind magic you used against Morgan was so powerful; I've never seen anything like it! So what do you say?"

"I would gladly accept, but I have to be honest here. That move against Morgan was pure instinct. I can't remember what I was thinking at that time and it might have something to do with my past."

"It seems to me that you could have been an experienced tactician. Think about your over the top way of thinking, your great tactics and your tome ability. You were definitely a tactician."

"And how do you know it?"

"Because my father's tactician behaved like this. I may have little to no memory of him, but I will never forget the way my father talked about him. He was his greatest friend and his greatest companion, alongside our mother, of course."

"I will try to live up to his name. I can ensure you of that. So let's take a look at this map."

He took the map out of the case and spread it on the ground. On its front side there was still Chrom's portrait, but it didn't matter. Its backside though had a golden like colour. Also the continent of Ylisse, Plegia, Regna Ferox and Valm were drawn on it with black ink. The lines were thin and it had extreme detail. There were roads designed here and there and also little crosses in some places. The towns or important places like a capital or a mountain were shown with a small circle with their respective name next to them.

"This must be it! The places of the legendary jewels are marked and also apparently there are some notes concerning them. Where are we though?" Lucina at once pointed with her finger at their exact position.

"Here!" She said. "And Lady Tiki is residing at the Mount Prism [1], which is here," she continued.

"Ok I know this may sound a bit of a suicide but how about getting to Tiki, while also getting the stones that are close to our path first? We could use the notes to help us get them. I can already see… two crosses in our road. So when we arrive at her domain, we would have two of them."

"I agree. See? That's why you would make a fine tactician. Which one is closer?"

"The map says Azure and the note says…"

"This sounds weird, is it like a riddle?"

"Whatever it is it, I think it will be fun,"


The sun has rose and its warm rays warmed Robin's body. He slowly opened his eyes, yawned and stretched his body. Then he got up, put his boots and his robe on and went outside. He greeted his friends, as they were already preparing to leave. Laurent walked past him and gave him an angry look. Robin didn't pay the look any attention and instead went straight to talk with him.

"Good morning Laurent. Do we have anything for breakfast today?"

"No. We didn't collect any food, but my guess is that we will today. By the way, for the record, your attack on Morgan required "Weapon Proficiency Rank A". Even I don't have that much! It is remarkable that you have shown such excellent signs of brutal force."

"What? Oh! I remember… It's your list about categorizing our strengths and weaknesses in battle. Good job on that! And I beat Morgan by relying on my instinct; it felt like someone else was controlling me, like I lost myself. So don't give it too much attention."

"Whatever you say Robin," Laurent left with a clear smirk on his face. Immediately after their chat Kjelle approached him. Her shiny armor made it difficult for him to see her. Eventually she reached him.

"Good morning tactician. Lucina told us we're leaving, but she didn't mention Tiki. I believe you will know our true destination," she said.

"Yes, I do. We're heading to Tiki, but let's say that we'll make some stops along the way."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning that the map has revealed the closest jewel to us right now and we're going to get it. It's Azure."

"And what about the riddle in the note next to it? I wasn't able to figure it out. What does it mean?"

"It means that we'll have to be careful of what we see in there. But more on that later. I should better prepare my stuff too. I'll catch up with you later," Robin told her and did as he had said. He packed the sheet and the tent, then left to meet the others. A while later, everyone had prepared for their next big mission; to find the first sacred stone and make the second step in defeating the dark lord. Before they started, they gathered all together and Lucina explained the situation: "Our target is to get there, take the jewel and leave. It's very simple. We are mostly looking for a temple, probably likely built by rock. Now Robin will tell you the note that was next to the location of the temple."

Robin then took the word. "Alright fellas. The notes are written in this form to probably protect the jewels from thieves. Most thieves nowadays or in the past were illiterate, so they would have no idea with how to read this to get to the jewel. And even if they did know, they wouldn't understand it, because it's written like a riddle. I will tell it to you and then I'll express my opinions about it and how it will help us: "You have no control over me. I am not real, though sometimes you believe in me. I can make you happy. I can make you cry. I'm clear as a day, but yet you can't see me with your eye."


Fire Emblem: The Man That Never Was
Chapter 5: Azure


A/N (Author's Note): Hello again everybody! How is everyone being? I am not quite sure if everyone is reading these A/N 's, but I'm fine. I saw the magnificent 40 follower support and I'm so happy. We've come a lot way and I would like to thank everyone for his contribution. I'm thankful that you like the story so far and for your positive comments. I also want Antex for his help in editing this chapter.

-So have YOU solved the riddle? ;) It's a bit harder than it looks like. You can always follow to get alerted when the newest chapters are coming :)

-Clarification:

[1]: I mistakenly wrote the Tiki's place as Origin Peak in the previous chapter. She is at Mountain Prism. I apologise if it caused any inconvenience.

Please don't mind any grammatical errors. No copyright intended.

As always, until next time, please have yourselves a darn good one ;)


J.D. King