Chris: To those that read this fic, I'm probably going to take a long, long break from Fire Emblem writing. I seriously need to focus on the stories I have for other sections (and I'm getting tired of Fire Emblem), as well as my original writing. So all FE fics will be put on hold, other than these:

Life's Quest (Finishing Florina's segment, then it's break time.)
Just Friends (I want to put this out of the way.)
Restoration (Until I get to the spot where I want to stop.)

I will be writing fics for other sections though. The Price of Failure for SC III, Adventures of Melissa for Riviera, random Tales of Phantasia fics, and my Ragnarok Online fic will still be going on.

P.S. Thanks to all that reviewed. I really appreciate your support and your suggestions.


Mission 12: Conflict of Faith

Isaac looked at the bloody battlefield, panting with exertion. The battle was pretty much over, with no casualties on his side. He walked across the grass, avoiding the fallen bodies of the bandits. The blond haired leader of the mercenaries was met outside the remains of the bandit camp by Sarai, who grinned cheekily and slapped him on the back.

"Heya boss! Looks like we're all done!" Sarai grabbed Isaac's hand and led him towards the center of the camp, where the rest of the mercenaries were gathered around a strange looking swordsman with silver-gray hair. The swordsman was sitting cross-legged on the ground, smirking at the mercenaries. "Well, other than this guy, but he says he wants to join our group."

"Hey, you the leader of this traveling circus?" The swordsman called.

"…" Isaac grimaced. "Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. Why do you care?"

"Well, you guys fought well enough. And since I'm without work again, how about I come with you? I'm a good enough fighter." The swordsman shrugged and stood. "So, how about it?"

"Fine." Isaac nodded. "What's your name?"

"Peter. That's all you need to know." Peter grinned and pointed behind him. "A couple of my friends are over there. Let me introduce you to them." He sprinted away before anyone could stop him.

"What do you think of him?" Isaac looked at the others, most of which showed expressions of displeasure. He nodded. "Yeah, I feel the same way about him. I don't know if we can trust him. He seems too erratic to do well in a mercenary group."

"Hey, hey! Here they are!" Peter raced back, her eyes glinting. He led a weary-looking monk and a sick girl towards them and Isaac raised an eye at the battered condition of the newcomers. He motioned to Eliza, who immediately examined their wounds.

"My name is Kyril. Were you the people that killed the bandits?" The monk, a young man with light-red hair and a serious looking face, stared dazedly at Isaac. "If so, then thank you from the bottom of my heart. May the blessings of Ashera go with you."

"It was no problem." Isaac said, interest in the monk rising. He had some very interesting things to ask the monk, mainly about the relationship between Ashera and Pravus. He looked at the girl, who was pale and slightly green around the neck. "What's wrong with her?"

"She got sick." Kyril said, looking worriedly at his companion. "Her name is Caroline. Would it be okay if we accompanied you on your travels? It is too dangerous to travel alone these days."

"Why not?" A small smile graced Isaac's face and he extended a hand out to the monk. "Every new person you meet on the road is a friend you can count on for the rest of your life."

---

"You're heading towards Begnion?" Kyril asked amazedly, a frown on his face. Caroline, who had recovered a little from her illness, also seemed displeased at Isaac's choice of destination. "Caroline and I just left there!"

"So you two are natives of Begnion? I could use your help navigating through the city. It's my first trip to the capital." Isaac said. "But why don't you want to go there?"

"Everyone has places where they would rather not be seen in." Caroline folded her arms, looking at the ground. Her brown hair fell in little ringlets across her face and the cavalier didn't bother pushing the loose strands out of her eyes. "But if you must go…"

"If it brings unwelcome memories, I can't stop it. However, I need to go to Sienne in order to research some things about the goddess Ashera." Isaac explained. "There are some questions I must have answers to."

"I understand." Kyril said, looking thoughtful. "We all have questions that have to be answered." He gave a weak smile and shrugged. "They just can't all be answered today."

"I agree. Kyril, since you're a monk, you should know some of the histories of Ashera, right?" Isaac looked at Kyril, who nodded. "Then perhaps you could answer some of my questions. Caroline, you don't need to stay if you don't want to."

"No, that's okay." Caroline stayed in her place. "This might be interesting."

"Okay, first of all, Kyril, do you know anything about a god named Pravus?"

"Pravus…" Kyril looked at the sky, seemingly searching for an answer. "I believe we studied a little of him, but he is often considered a heathen god and has no bearing among the true goddess Ashera. I will tell you all that I know of him." He took in a deep breath and began his tale.

­---

It is said that in the beginning of the world, when the earth was young, the gods arose from the spirits of the world. Caelum, the god of the sky, Exuro, god of the flame, Terra, goddess of the earth…They are just examples of those that arose from the ranks of the spirits. They were considered the smartest, the strongest, the most wise of all of the spirits and they gratefully accepted their positions. One spirit, however, inwardly seethed against this treatment. He was just as strong, just as smart, and just as wise as the rest. His name was Pravus.

At first, Pravus did nothing to outwardly show his jealousy and envy. He praised the greatest of spirits as well as the others and offered his help and magic towards the gods. However, unknown to the rest of the world, he raised his own cult to worship him. He became a god in his own right to those that served under him. The gifts that he received as a spirit slowly became corrupted and perverse. He led his own cult and taught them ideals of wickedness and evil. They became perverted. They became the world's first demons.

It wasn't long before Pravus accumulated enough of an army to finally declare his hatred of the gods. The war, which was given no name, erupted for hundreds, thousands of years. At the end, both sides were almost annihilated. Pravus was left only with his life and a few loyal demons left at his side, the demons he would later call his Maluin. Only the gods remained on their side, the remaining spirits destroyed in the fighting.

"Give me recognition! Show me the terror! Show me that I am more powerful than you!" Pravus shouted at the gods, gesturing at spirits that had given up and surrendered to him. "Look at them! They bemoan their fate, curse my name, yet they cannot bear to face the fact that they were weak! If they were true to the gods, they would never submit to one such as me! That shows that I am the true god now!"

"They submit because they have more sense than your mindless fiends!" Caelum shouted, holding a sword fashioned out of clouds. "They have the sense to realize that life is more important than anything else. That is why they submit. That is why they know that someday, they will destroy you from inside."

"My children…" Terra whispered sadly, clutching a wooden staff to her chest. "I pity you, but I understand your worries. Pravus only wants you for your spiritual power…Once that is gone, you shall all be safe." She closed her eyes and lifted her staff towards the air. She chanted a few mystical words only known by gods and waved her staff in the air. The spirits slowly lost their luster, their power. Soon, they became what we now know as humans.

The war is said to have had no ending. The gods and Pravus clashed, over and over again. It is said that there was no victor. At the last minutes of the war, Pravus launched one last attack against the gods. He and his Maluin swarmed against the gods, forcing them to keep to the defensive. Terra fell first, pierced by a demon's sword. Caelum avenged the goddess' death, slaying two at once with his cloud blade. Finally, Exuro slew the last two demons with his fire spear and it was Pravus versus the two gods.

Caelum was the first victim, falling to a lucky strike from Pravus' sword. Exuro and Pravus faced each other, rotating around the field of death. At the end, however, they attacked at the same time. Exuro's spear pierced Pravus's body from stomach to spine. However, Pravus managed to thrust his sword through Exuro's throat before he died.

So, at the end, the only people left on the world were the humans.


---

"I see…" Isaac nodded thoughtfully. "Hmmm…Thank you for the story, Kyril. I will remember it when I search through the libraries of Sienne."

"Why does this matter? I haven't heard of Pravus's name in a very long time." Kyril asked. "It is an old story and barely any people even know his name."

"Let's just say…His name has come up very often recently." Isaac grimaced, looking hard ahead of him. "More often than I would like…"

"Hmmm…Pravus's story intrigues me, though." Kyril muttered. "He wouldn't have committed any of his evil actions if he only received recognition for his powers or deeds. Is it a crime to want someone to acknowledge your accomplishments? I wonder…if Pravus was still alive in this world…Would he have been an evil god?" He stood up and walked away, murmuring to himself.

"Kyril?" Caroline turned to look at the monk, who ignored her. "Isaac, do you know why Kyril acts like that?"

"How should I know? You've known him longer than I have."

"I just don't understand him at all. He's a monk of Ashera and dedicated to her teachings. Why does he question her so much? Why doesn't he believe in her?" Caroline mused out loud.

"Everyone has their questions. His questions just deal with his faith whereas mine deal with my future. What do your questions deal with?" Isaac asked curiously.

"My questions? My questions deal with myself." Caroline let out a laugh and stood. "I'll speak with you later. Questioners should always exchange ideas."

---

Pravus looked at his assembled demons. His Maluin stood in front of him, grinning wildly at the aspect of warfare and destruction. The god raised his arms in triumph and addressed the horde. "My demons, now is our time to rise back from the dark! Show this world that we all belong in this world, that we are one with this world! That we should rule this world!"

The demons cheered and Pravus smiled. "However, there are some that are determined to stop our progress. They wish to research about us in the great library of Sienne. That is why I want to split our forces. Some will travel to Crimea to assault the mercenaries' home base. The others will travel to Sienne…" Pravus grinned, "and set fire to the city."

"You and you! Assault the headquarters! Do anything you want! Just make those mercenaries dead!"

The two Maluin departed with their own regiments of demons. Pravus pointed to the last two Maluin. "You two will assault the capital city of Sienne. Do not bring many demons and if you do, make sure they won't get noticed by the populace."

One of the demons departed, motioning with five of his lesser brethren. The last demon stayed behind, watching as Pravus walked down towards her. The black haired god placed a hand on her shoulder, a comforting smile on his face. "I know you're unused to this, but I have the utmost confidence in you. Maya, you can do this."

She brushed back his brown hair and smiled, holding a coiled whip in her hands. It was, ironically, the same whip that Pravus used to convert her into a demon. Pravus had given her the whip as a gift to christen her rise to demonhood. "Thank you, my lord. I could never do all this without you by my side."

"Thank me by completing your mission to the utmost of your abilities, Maya. You might be new to our ranks, but nobody doubts your prowess. You are one of us, Maya. Now make us proud." Pravus smiled and pecked her on the cheek.

"I won't fail any of you!" Maya said, bowing. She departed, racing towards Sienne as fast as she could. Pravus watched her leave, stroking his bare chin with one of his hands.

He smiled and stretched. "Ah…Maya, you truly are one of us and I couldn't be more proud."

---

"So this is Sienne…" Isaac breathed. "It might not compare to the capital of Daein before it was destroyed, but it is remarkable in its own right. The monastery to Ashera is amazing."

"The pride and joy of Begnion." Kyril muttered angrily. "People spend more time on looks than on prayer. The people that we claim are bishops are nothing more than those that have money. They buy their way into the church. They aren't devout. They aren't divine. They are criminals, criminals of the soul, criminals of the spirit."

"Father…I wonder if I can return…" Caroline whispered under her breath. She shook her head and looked worriedly at Kyril, who looked uncharacteristically angry.

"Amazing…" Sarai breathed. "I can't believe I'm actually here."

Shirley looked distastefully at the city. "A place overcome by greed, by gluttony. Spending much more money on appearances besides helping those that are in need. Ashera is ashamed of these people…"

"Quite a fun place." Arrin reined in his horse and looked at the city. "I hear they have some of the best brothels in all of Tellius."

"My type of town!" Cyrus said joyously, grinning. "Oh boy, can't wait to see what type of fun I can rustle up."

"Animals…" Aran grimaced, looking angrily at the two jokers.

"Wow…How much money was invested in this place? I could become rich from one of the wallstones of this place!" Rima gasped, looking at the various riches scattered throughout the city.

"Give me strength…" Eliza prayed.

"Okay, people. Let's find lodging and we'll set out on our mission." Isaac clapped his hand and walked towards the city. He would find out everything he needed to know and therefore, he would find a way to wipe out this Pravus nuisance once and for all. God or not, everyone falls to a well-timed strike of a spear.


Chris: Well, I hoped you enjoyed this. I might update sporadically, but don't count on it. I probably will get to the part where…Uh…No spoilers. Anyway, I'll go to a part where the storyline takes a break before slipping into a new story arc. Of course, you might want to kill me because of where I stop…but you can't find me! HAH!

Just kidding. Anyway, review please!