Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem.
Author's Note: Here it is, chapter 13 of Fire Emblem, Wake up already! This chapter concludes the Plegia arc, and the Valm arc shall show major deviation from the game story. Next chapte will also take me about a couple weeks, but as I said, in February chapter frequency should increase.
As we marched towards Plegia once again, the country was starting to fall into chaos. A great majority of the Plegian forces had fallen into disarray, or had outright deserted. Gangrel and his most loyal men had chosen to withdraw to the northwest border of their country, a couple of hills at their back, the walls of Ferox a few miles to the north. Yet we had chosen not to attack from there. We'd strike from the east, cutting any possibility of escape.
The fresh Feroxi reinforcements had allowed us to move much faster and deal with any minor opposition, as we marched towards our only objective. And Gangrel had nowhere to escape now, his fate sealed by his own hand. Plegia's Mad King had truly earned his title. The Feroxi would distract the majority of the enemies as the Shepherds focused on putting Gangrel down.
And today would be the last day of this war. After breakfast, we got ready to fight. In addition to my two swords, a hand axe was attached to my belt. Somehow, I had some sort of natural talent with axes.
The plan was quite simple. The Shepherds would divide in two groups, one to handle the enemies at the north, one for the enemies at the south. Then both groups would keep advancing west to crush King Gangrel's last forces.
Chrom would lead the northern group, whereas I'd be at the lead of the southern one, in case any enemies would appear.
Gangrel had decided to focus his hired mercenaries to the northern part, as for them not to escape in the middle of the fight, with a contingent of mages in the south. In the distance I could see some wyverns in the sky. And that formation was completely predictable.
As we got in formation, Gangrel appeared at the lead, mocking Chrom: "Good day, little prince. Still dreaming of your squashed sister?"
"This is not the time for us to exchange words anymore. Today you'll die, and peace shall return to Ylisse and Plegia."
"You think there will ever be peace? Fool! Men are wild beasts, that will not stop at anything from annihilating their enemies! I'll enjoy hanging your corpse alongside your sister's!" As the Mad King retreated, he ordered: "KILL THEM ALL! NO MERCY!"
And the Plegians started moving. An interesting fact about army soldiers is that they rarely change specialization, which often ends with non magic users having weak resistance to magic, which usually increases faster with its use. Therefore, in mages accuracy and speed tend to sometimes be preferred over raw magical power. Yet this does not work as well against someone that like me, has constantly practiced magic.
As a fireball approaches me, I channel magical energy, also called mana, into my left arm. This effectively allows me to deflect the fireball with my shield, and the mage, shocked, understands that he should have worked on increased his raw magical power. Yet it is too late for him, as my blade slashes his throat after the few seconds that it takes for me to reach him.
There are more mages nearby, and as they focus on me, I shout: "Fire!" All the magic users of the Shepherds unleash a barrage on the enemy spellcasters, who unleash equally powerful spells to counter them, yet as this happens, they fail to notice the rest of us. When the exchange concludes, Gaius, Nowi and Cherche take them down.
A quick look at the other side tells me that the battle is proceeding well. Experienced pegasus knights tend to pick up a second weapon specialization, or staves, and Sumia's Wind tome is causing havoc amongst the enemy while the Falchion slashes around. Frederick is protecting Olivia as she dances for them, her dance having a strange revitalizing effect. I had read of it before on some books, yet it is one thing one must see to truly believe.
As I focus on my side again, I notice a group of wyvern riders are approaching us, as well as some mage reinforcements. I shout "Cover us! Fliers, to the skies!" Cherche quickly lands by my side as I hop on Minerva, Gaius doing the same on a transformed Nowi. A quick look to the ground showed me that our casters had the clear advantage. Only half of the enemy managed to get into range, as my hand axes and Gaius's arrows had whittled their numbers.
As Nowi's breath and Cherche's axe finished them off, we went back to the ground. And there was an opening, and Gangrel was within reach. Yet more enemy reinforcements appeared, but a shout from Gaius, saying: "Go, boss! We can handle 'em!"
I keep moving forward, and two mages stand in opposition. I block one bolt of thunder with my shield, enduring the small pain, as my hand axe tears through the slower mage's chest. The Killing Edge I wielded takes the life of the other in a moment. A wyvern rider appeared from the side, but Cherche then said: "Darling, I got this one!" and I keep moving, Gangrel now in front of me. He cackles, saying: "Oh, so Chrom sent his tactician to face me? Is he too scared of facing me himself?"
"I am the one leading the tactics here. I am going to fight you, as I am the most prepared one to defeat you." I take the time to notice what kind of weapon he is carrying. A Levin Sword, which is used to attack with lightning from afar. The blade itself isn't really sharp not designed to stand much physical pressure. The best tactic is to rush towards the enemy and attack directly.
"Come on then! I crave to tear the prince's body, but the tactician who made me look like a fool will make a fine appetizer!" He cackles, and I charge towards him.
Yet the Mad King does something unpredictable. He charges the sword with its thunder and savagely attacks at me. The moment the two blades enter in contact, a surge of thunder magic goes through me, and I have to back off. That is indeed, a reckless yet powerful style of combat.
This means I have to match his combat speed and unleash an additional attack. Yet as we keep exchanging blows, my body starts going numb. All around, enemy reinforcements keep coming, but the Shepherds are holding their ground, but for how long? I then notice that my mind, for an instant, disconnected itself from what was happening right in front of me.
Gangrel is in front of me, his blade aiming at myself again. Yet I don't have the time to position my blade to deflect it, and I instinctively commit a mistake. My armshield enters in contact with the weapon, and the increased surface allows for a larger amount of lightning to get to me. I growl in pain as I take a quick leap backwards. My left arm has gone almost completely numb, and my weapon is now in the ground, right in front of me. I cannot bend and pick it up, as Gangrel would take my life in that very instant. Time freezes, and I hear that voice again.
"Come on, bask in my power! We'll overpower this fool and tear him to pieces! We'll become invincible; none shall survive in the ashes that we'll leave in our wake!" Victory would be sure, but at what cost?
No, I cannot give in to that. Yet my reflection on how Gangrel uses his weapon gives me an idea. I then draw my iron sword, and Gangrel looks at me with pity, laughing. I then focus, and the concept comes to my mind naturally.
"Ignis." Fire.
My magic naturally channels itself around the blade, inflaming itself on a pink fire. Yet as sparks would fly out of a normal one, this fire disperses itself as petals of an orchid. The skill in itself is a piece of art, I recognize.
"With THAT you expect to defeat me? You Ylisseans are truly PATHETIC!" The Mad King then charges at me. My legs still respond, good. I kick the ground and dash, all my strength concentrated on my right arm. And the two blades clash.
The fire in my blade naturally cancels the thunder coursing through the Levin Sword, and my blade's iron and my arm are the stronger. The Levin Sword is sent flying, planting itself in the desert sands, and Gangrel looks surprised.
I force my left arm into moving, and my shield bashes him in the face. Yet I do not give him any time for recovery, as in that instant I reposition my blade, and stab him in the stomach. I notice his body's resistance go away as my sword pierces him completely, and I then twist the blade, before pulling it back.
Gangrel's breathless form lies on its knees, eyes filled with fear of death. I am not a merciful man, especially not towards a dastard like the one that lies, wounded, in front of me. My voice becomes cold as ice, as I say: "Gangrel, in the name of King Exalt Chrom, I find you accused and guilty of the charges of pillage, impersonation, difamation and multiple attempted regicides. The penalty is death."
I hold my blade with one hand, as I raise it. The swing comes fast and precise, and the head of the madman is lost in the sands as the body now falls to the ground. I then shout: "Absolute victory!" The last few Plegian combatants surrender in masse. I take the moment of relief to grab Gangrel's cloak and use it to clean my sword. I do pick up his Levin Sword and my Killing Edge, the former as both a trophy and a valuable weapon.
I then approached Chrom, as he said: "Well, I guess Emmeryn wouldn't have wanted me to lose myself in desire of vengeance."
I laughed, and said: "Did you see how he fought? Without Ignis, you wouldn't have stood a chance."
"Had you planned for that all along?"
"Not really. Honestly, I did not expect for him to attack in such a reckless way. Had I not come with the idea in the middle of the fight, you'd have found yourself with a dead tactician."
"Well, in the end everything turned out alright. We should go meet the khans now."
We then walked to a small nearby hill, Flavia and Basilio waiting there for us.
"So, as soon as the messenger delivers our terms, that's it." Flavia looked satisfied, yet not fully content. "We should see to our dead now. The Feroxi that survived need to be attended to after that."
Chrom, understading, says: "I appreciate the sacrifices that you've made for us, Flavia. If you need anything in compensation, Ylisse will be-"
"Oh! Then how about the Fire Emblem and we call it even?" At our confused looks, she laughed, and continues: "Just a little Feroxi humor, Chrom. Plegia has a vast treasury, and surely they can afford the reparations."
Basilio laughs, saying: "Pity the man between Flavia and a treasure hoard, boy!"
Chrom then comments: "Guess I'll have to remember that whenever you come to visit!"
"Yes! By the way, Olivia seems to have taken a liking to you Shepherds, and there should be no problem with me lending you Lon'qu for a couple years more."
I then reply: "I'd like to thank you again, Khan Basilio."
"No problem boy. I also heard you defeated the Mad King on personal combat! I think you can keep this." He handles me a sword
"A brave sword? Khan Basilio, this weapon is terribly rare, and-"
"Even more powerful, especially in your hands. Use it well!"
"Many thanks." I then turn around, and say: "Wait, where did Chrom go?"
Flavia laughs, pointing at the side. Chrom and Sumia are there talking, her pegasus nearby. "Guess we should let these lovebirds some space!"
"I'll have the Shepherds return to our camp. The battle was long and we could use some rest today." I then make my way back to the Shepherds.
Everyone seems to be laughing, as Frederick is chasing Stahl around. Confused, I ask: "What's going on?"
Cherche giggles, saying: "Oh, Lissa decided to reveal that Stahl had proposed to her last night."
"Well, at least Chrom won't be that mad at him."
"You mean?"
"Right now, he's probably proposing to Sumia." After Frederick scolds Stahl and makes him swear to never dare make Lissa cry, I say: "I guess we should go back to the camp, guys."
During the night, we hold a small celebration in the largest tent we have available. Apparently my efforts to pair up almost everyone in the Shepherds have been succesful, as the couples are chatting together. Chrom and Sumia are the ones receiving most of the attention.
"By the way, where's Virion?" Vaike is amongst the group, talking with Chrom, yet I cannot spot the cerulean-haired archer.
Gaius comments: "Ruffles? As soon as the we got back here, he said something along the lines of the archest of archers needing to perform heroic deeds somewhere else, and headed back to the camp. Seems to have taken one of our horses for the ride."
"Well, it's not like he was really vital to the Shepherds in any case."
"Maybe he saw that none of the girls were interested in him, and decided to go find some others to try to charm."
"We should stop worrying about him, anyways."
"Aye boss. These honeyed figs are really good. Who made them?"
Cherche answers, smiling: "That'd be me. It's a shame Minervykin isn't really fond of them, however."
"Guess that's more for me!" Given Gaius's excitement, I try one. They are really good.
As the celebration goes on, my mind focuses on something else. Ylisse's forces as of the moment are limited to the Shepherds, the Exalt's pegasus guard, and each city's and village's guards. Yet that is something upon the which I'll decide once we return to Ylisstol.
With the moon high in the sky, everyone heads back to their tents.
As I join Cherche on the bed, she says: "Darling?"
"Yes, my love?"
"Charles, I'm pregnant."
I smile at her, and after a passionate kiss, we fall asleep in each other's arms.
Author's Note: The chapter is a little short but it makes for a good break point. The next couple chapters will be an interlude between both arcs, amongst them one to give some backstory on the bad future. In any case, playing Luna+ atm, finished getting the eight 2nd gen characters I'm going to use (Gerome's paralogue is HELL, used 2 Rescue staffs to make it, had to sacrifice one villager though, would have been much easier as Defeat Boss), and as of now I've cleared chapter 15. It's great to have passed down Locktouch to Severa from Lon'qu.