And I'm back with another chapter! I meant to make it and put it up last week, but then I had two tests on Friday, and my parents and siblings came to visit me over the weekend. Anyways, it's here now, that's all that matters. Let me just say, Leif and co. won't be introduced until the protagonists actually meet him. I'm doing this for two reasons: one, I feel that I already have to many rough jump cuts as it is, and there really isn't much to see on Leif's side of the fence right now. Two: I want to introduce characters from Leif's army, but I am currently on chapter 14 of Thracia 776. AKA Defend-Tahra-From-a-rediculous-number-of-enemies-how-the-hell-am-supposed-to-reach-that-village-at-the-bottom-left-without-getting-slaughtered-I-want-to-break-my-goddamn-computer.
On a side note, I updated my profile to show character ages. In other words, my imagined age for each of the playable characters is now listed on my profile page. Give it a look if you are interested. Tell me if there are any continuity errors, and I'll fix it. Please read and review!
"Are you sure you don't want us to come with you sir?" Dimna asked Seliph.
"Yes, I am certain. I know that you want to help our cause, and you will be. You can help by safeguarding Isaac. The imperial leaders aren't going to be happy about losing Isaac to us, and they may try to re-conquer the country. I need to leave people that I trust behind in order to help defend Isaac while I'm gone." explained Seliph
He shrugged his shoulders "I can't exactly leave the rightful ruler in charge, considering that he's not here. I probably won't be sending him back once we find him either. We'll need him, and he'll probably refuse to leave us anyways. So that's why I'm leaving you. You won't be alone, you know, half of Johan's troops and a good number of our Isaacian fighters will remain with you, and Tristan and Mana are staying as well." Seliph told him.
"What about Roddleven? Is he staying as well?"
Seliph glanced at the tragic swordsman "I... I am not sure. I was going to leave him too... but now that I think of it, we should probably take him with us because..."
"Because he isn't in the best emotional shape, and waiting for an attack that may never come might drive him mad. He'll need a distraction and someone to keep an eye on him." Dimna finished. Seliph nodded. "I understand sir, I'll do as you say." Dimna saluted and then he walked away.
After this, Seliph walked to the chair where Roddleven was sitting, staring blankly into the middle distance. Ulster had a hand on his shoulder and was speaking softly to him. "I can't imagine what you must be going through. I can't imagine a life without my twin, but I imagine you must be thinking about what you could have done differently. I assure you there wasn't anything, there was nothing at all that you could've done that would've prevented this, so please don't beat yourself up over it. Just know this... that in whatever you do from here on out, you will have the support of others.
"Yes," said Seliph, choosing now to speak up. "But it would be easier for us to help you if we knew what you intended to do now. Are you going to stay in Isaac, Roddleven?"
Roddleven turned his hollow gaze to Seliph. "No. There is nothing left for me here. Freedom means nothing to me if my sister can't experience it and enjoy it. She wanted it more, and the fact that she can't have it has left a bad taste in my mouth. I have no family now; all have now are my blades and the ability to use them. All I can do with my life now is use them to ensure that the breaking of families is no longer the normality in the world. To render the number of lives lost to evil on a daily basis to single or low double digits rather than being numbered in the hundreds or thousands. You are not leaving me behind. I shall follow you for the rest of my life in pursuit of this goal. I swear it on Radney's grave."
"Very well Roddleven, if that is how you feel, I won't try to stop you," declared Seliph then turning to Ulster, he said. "Now if you'd please excuse me, I have to have one last strategy meeting with Lewyn before we sortie."
"So you're saying that crossing this stretch of desert is going to be a bit of a hassle for us."
"That is correct, Seliph. We will be traveling relatively near to the Yied Shrine, the home base for the Loptyr sect. Due to that, we are bound to encounter dark mages who'll attack any passing traveller they see without any provocation whatsoever. There is a reason that the region is commonly referred to as the Desert of Death." Lewyn explained.
"Well, in that case, we really should take the shrine before we move on to Thracia."
"That's easier said than done. One does not simply march into the Yied Shrine and conquer it. It is sure to be protected by at least one very powerful dark mage. We will surely loose a number of men doing it. It would be a bit easier if we have some Silessean pegasus knights with us."
"But!-"
"My daughter doesn't count, Seliph."
"But!-"
"No! No buts! I swear Seliph, your'e acting like a child! Say but one more time and I swear...!"
Seliph sighed and decided not to tell him. So he said something along the lines that Lewyn wanted to hear. "We are all prepared for that. We steeled ourselves for that kind of loss before we left, and the loss of Radney has served to harden our resolve, especially among those of us higher in the command chain. Besides, we need to determine the fate of Shanan. He still hasn't returned to us. We need to determine whether he is still alive or not."
Shanan was very much alive, and very much annoyed. He had finally been able to break into the shrine in order to retrieve his lost heirloom, only for a random thief girl to snatch it up as soon as he reached the room where it was hidden. He was in a hurry to catch her, but he had to remain cautious at the same time. By the time he reached the exit to the shrine, he heard the shouts, the warning signs that the the dark mages had noticed the theft. When he got out and his eyes adjusted to the sunlight, he saw that the girl had stopped to take a breather.
"Boy, this is the best haul Iv'e had in months! For once, rumors of treasure in a dark, creepy place held true! No mortal peril caused by my break in! Then again, since there actually is treasure here, those who live here will not be happy about losing it. I'd better get a move on!" she said to herself.
At this point, Shanan caught up to her. "Now hold up a second!"
"Forget it! You think you can freeload off of me? Go find your own shrine to rob!" she cried while waving an oddly shaped sword in the air.
Shanan rolled his eyes. "I don't care about anything except the sword you got from that last chamber you visited. So save us both a lot of trouble and hand it over."
"Nuh uh! This sword wasn't easy to come by. If you want it, you're going to have to buy it! But now is not the time for sales!" she said before dashing off, with an exasperated Shanan giving chase. His pursuit ended rather quickly, however. Within a matter of seconds, he grabbed her by the arm pit and he forcibly turned her around. "Gah! Stop it! Get your hands off of me you pervert!" she cried while directing a kick at his groin in order to make him let go.
Shanan sighed and blocked the kick with his leg. "Iv'e got your upper arm in my hand, and I'm not interested in touching anything else. Stop exaggerating and listen to me. Hurting you is the last thing on my mind right now, I just want my sword back!"
This made the thief girl stop short. "Wait, your'e saying that this sword is yours?"
"Yes, it has been in my family for generations. These cultists took it when my father was killed at the end of Isaac's war with Grandbell."
"Wait a minute..." the girl muttered to herself.
"There is really no point in you keeping it. It is the holy weapon known as Balmung, and I am currently the only man living who can even wield it properly."
"Wait a minute! You're not Prince Shanan, are you?"
"That I am miss..."
"Patty. My name's Patty, and... OH MY GOSH I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!" she exclaimed and she dropped her bag, clapped her hands together and squealed in delight. Shanan's expression changed to one of utter bewilderment.
"Iv'e been an admirer of yours since... since my birth 15 years ago!"
"That's nice, sword please."
"This... This just can't be happening! I'm dreaming!"
"Your'e not. Sword."
"And he touched me! Oh how-"
"JUST. GIVE. ME. THE. GOD. DAMN. SWORD!" he shouted. Needless to say, Shanan was thoroughly fed up at this point, especially since he noticed a group of dark mages and mercenaries closing in on them.
"OH! Sorry! Here you go, one god sword coming right up!" she said, handing the blade to Shanan.
"Finally! The power of my bloodline is finally mine!" he exclaimed, and with a burst of adrenaline, he rushed forward and took down 3 mercenaries hired by the cultists.
Patty, in the meantime, was on the verge of swooning. "This is all to much!" she was saying. She was snapped out of her delirium by a burst of dark magic erupting mere feet from where she was standing. She turned to see a dark mage approaching her. "Thought you could take me while I was admiring the prince, didja? Well, take this!" and she smacked him upside the head with her weapon. All it did was irritate him.
"The Hell do you think you're doing thief brat?"
"Trying out my new sleep sword."
"Hah! Those are pathetic! You wasted your money, girl! Those almost never work the way you intend them to," he said, unleashing a wave of dark magic, knocking Patty to the ground. "Now let me show you how you really leave your opponent at your mercy!"
"Perv!" Patty cried, picking up her sword and swinging it with all of her might, and since she was on the ground, at a low angle. The dark mage went to sleep.
The young heroes were surprised by how easy their journey currently was. Quickly finding a path to the shrine, they made their way with little resistance. Soon, they were on the most dangerous part of the path, the mountain pass directly below the shrine. Suddenly, in front of them, a body dropped down in front of them and rolled off of the cliff.
They collectively looked up to see Shanan battling by the upper cliff's edge. Lana noticed that he looked slightly wounded, so she used her Physic staff. His surprise only lasted a moment, as he made a quick glance to the side, delivered a lethal blow to his opponent, and then turned around and looked down. The young warriors heard him call someone, and were surprised to see a youthful looking girl approach the edge."Seliph! Get her out of harms way!" he called down to them. Then, he picked her up and dropped her off the edge.
She landed squarely in Delmund's arms. "Hi, I'm Patty," she said, blushing ever so slightly. She immediately found herself on the ground as he deliberately dropped her.
"Not interested." Delmund said brusquely.
Oifey stroked his mustache. "If he wanted her out of harms way so badly, it must be a very dangerous situation up there. We'd better hurry," and with that, he set his horse on a sprint, with the twins in hot pursuit.
Seliph sweat-dropped at this. "Aren't they forgetting that there is an easier solution? Arthur! Fee! I want you two to... oh, I see that you're already on it," he said as he saw the pair fly up and around the cliff.
Meanwhile, at the top of the shrine, a dark mage ran up to the dark bishop who was left in charge of the shrine. "Sir! I finally found the book of Fenrir!"
"Finally!" the bishop exclaimed, and grabbing the tome, he immediately turned around and took a potshot at the liberation army. "Flawed but effective. Limited in damage range, but great in that range. It works well in cleaning up and removing scum!"
"To bad the next thing that will be cleaned is your flesh!" The bishop turned in time to see that the dark mage had been skewered by a pegasus knight, and that a young mage was sending a wave of wind magic his way. It hit him square in the face. This normally wouldn't have been a problem for a dark mage of his caliber, however, he had climbed on top of the wall so that he could aim better. Therefore, this hit disrupted his balance, and he fell 150 feet to the steps below. "By vultures!" Arthur exclaimed as he looked down to examine his handiwork.
"Well, that was a great one-liner!" Fee told him.
"Thanks, Iv'e been practicing. Though, do you think I should have said 'To bad that scum is you!'?" Fee shook her head, deciding not to tell him that she'd been sarcastic. "Well, then, partner, shall wanna help me clear out the battlements?"
"Nah, I think Femina can handle the rest of them, and the others can take care of the ones beneath us," she said indicating the quad of pegasus knights swarming the shrine and the liberation army entering it.
One person was particularly surprised by this sudden turn of events. Other than every member of the Loptyr sect inside the building. It wasn't Arthur. It was Lewyn. "Wait, what? When-"
"I tried to tell you, but you were to busy calling me a child." Seliph said, interrupting him. "Fee sent a request for some reinforcements from Silesse just as we were leaving Sophara. They arrived while we were at Rivough, preparing for this invasion." tilting his head, he said. "I know you're just here to be an advisor to me, but don't you think you should at least listen to the ideas or information that I have, rather than assuming that you know better?"
Lewyn decided not to argue and concede the point.