"Mommy? Mommy! Wake up!"
Cordelia groaned in her bed as her youngest daughter pulled at the hem of her nightgown. The soldier lolled about, rolling towards the center of the bed and out of the grasp of her caller. As the voice continued to try and rouse her, the Commander's reply was to merely grabbed one of her pillows and cover her own head. Effectively deafening herself to the world.
A good night's sleep was something she rarely got to indulge herself in. Most of her days she found herself finding refuge in a lumpy bed within the Pegasus Knights' barracks. She had to block out the sounds of other knights chattering away through the night, patrolling the halls or having their own midnight rendezvous. That, and the moment anything went wrong, someone would rap their knuckles on the door and force her from her dreams and back into reality.
Tiresome, tiresome reality.
These nights home were a treat that Cordelia cherished, even if it was of her own accord she spent so much time in the castle. Work never seemed to end, and any time she took away from the stack of papers in her office allowed it to quadruple overnight. Something that was sure to happen when she returned tomorrow as well, but that could be dealt with on her arrival.
She was able to spend time with her children, and that was enough for it to be worth it. The younger Severa and Morgan had both been waiting anxiously at the door once word came that their mother was returning.
To the outside world, their events had seemed droll and without note. But to her they were everything she could have ever asked for. Having Severa and Morgan in her arms made all the work and stress she put herself through worth it. She knew it was all to keep them safe, fed and happy.
That being said, she was allowed to be a bit selfish. Another half-hour in the sack wouldn't hurt anyone.
Little Morgan wasn't inclined to allow that. Not happy with being ignored, the girl decided to mount the bed and pounce upon her parent. She sat herself on top of Cordelia's stomach, giggling madly as all the breath was knocked out of her mother.
"Mommy! Come on, wake up!" Morgan continued to cry, bouncing up and down. Each movement sent a jolt of pain up Cordelia's form. The girl was surprisingly good at keeping her pinned down in place.
Begrudgingly, Cordelia sat up and stared at her mischievous child. Morgan was still smiling brightly at her, unaware of her actions. "What…" Cordelia yawned, blinking a few times as the world returned into full color. "What's wrong, Morgan?"
"It's breakfast time!" Morgan exclaimed, hopping off the bed and tugging at her mother's arm with gusto. "Severa's making flapjacks! Come on, come oooooon!"
'A ten year old trying to cook. There is no way this will end well.' Cordelia thought to herself, internally screaming at the mess she probably had waiting for her downstairs. Externally she smiled at Morgan, letting herself get pulled from the bed and down the stairs
The kitchen was as she expected it to look like; a warzone. Batter, flower, eggs and syrup caked the table and stovetop, with little Severa furiously trying to make the ingredients mix together by sheer force of will alone.
Thankfully it was also around that time that the maid arrived. And Cordelia was allowed to focus on cleaning up her amateur chef while the servant came up with something edible.
"I almost had it!" Severa protested as Cordelia kept wiping her face away with a towel, removing the final splotches of egg and flower from her cheeks. "Five more minutes and they would've been ready!"
"And I'm sure it would have been the most delicious meal I ever had." Cordelia hummed as she finished up, smirking as she corrected a few loose strands of hair that covered her blonde daughter's eyes. "But next time, I want you to ask permission before. That way I can get everything you need before hand. Then you, me and Morgan get to make a big stack together, alright?"
"OK…" Severa aquessed, pouting as Cordelia pinched both of the child's cheeks. In the other room, Morgan could be heard happily chattering away with their maid as she tried to salvage what food was left in the pantry into a proper meal.
"Good." Cordelia confirmed, inspecting the small girl. She looked just like the older Severa, if not a bit more childlike in appearance. Shorter, more rounded features. Same murky purple eyes as her father, same platinum blonde hair, same pale skin. Somehow, even though they'd grown up in different worlds, she even shared the same competitive spirit.
Not the same hairstyle, though.
"You're wearing your hair down again." Cordelia noted, the girl letting her length of hair flow freely over her shoulders. "What happened to your pony tails? Did you lose your bows?"
Severa's face tinged red at the remark, looking down at the floor to avert her eyes. Cordelia chuckled, bringing her daughter close. "It looks wonderful either way, dear." She said, softly pecking the her forehead. Severa grumbled something into Cordelia's shoulder, but it was too muffled to make out.
"What was that?" Cordelia asked, pulling back and looking inquisitively at the girl.
"I'm trying to make it look like yours." Severa answered in embarrassment. Her mother's face lit up with that admittance, as if she had just won a hundred gold coins. When fresh knocks came from the front door once more, she almost didn't notice.
Cordelia frowned, not expecting anyone else to arrive that day. Sure, she was due to leave for Valm within the next few weeks, but that was still being planned.
She beckoned Severa away back into the kitchen, then grabbed a red shawl and wrapped it about herself, covering her upper body and opening the door.
The sound of the Ylisstol's outskirts greeted her. Soft chirps from birds fluttering around the house, a farmer's cart creaking as it went up the road towards the city's gate. The sun hung in the sky, some time around nine in the morn. Green grass covered the ground and filled the nose. A few other homes dotted the roadway, persons leaving them and going out to do the day's work.
She was greeted by one of her subordinates, the same Sergeant from that day a few weeks prior. The woman was in full regalia as well, armored up in her Falcon Knight uniform from head to toe. The only missing piece was her spear, substituted for a short-sword that hung from her hip.
"Natalia." Cordelia asked, opening the door further. Dread washed over her as she realized why she was here. "I'm guessing this isn't a social call."
"You know how I feel about being surrounded by commoners." The Sergeant grumbled begrudgingly. Natalia twitched as a fly landed on her shoulder, shooing it away as if the thing was diseased. "Remind me again why a Viscountess lives amongst uncivilized rabble?"
"Because most people don't know, nor care, what a Viscountess is." The Captain answered as her mood soured even further. She wasn't fond of people insulting her home, or her neighbors. But the woman before her came from an ancient family, one that still believed in the old order of things. The very idea of a noble living in an estate such as hers was unthinkable to them. "What's the matter now?"
The Sergeant slipped a hand under the breastplate of her armor, removing a letter and presenting it to her leader. A fine parchment with the seal of the Exalt stamping it shut. "They told me to run this to you as soon as I could." Natalia began to explain as Cordelia jimmied the letter open. "I know you instructed us to leave you be for the day, but Sir Frederick insisted that it was urgent."
Cordelia remained silent as she inspected the letter, reading it over again as she kept a neutral face. Chrom and Sumia were summoning her for a counsel session. The letter was penned by Sumia, and judging by the frantic handwriting the event as rattling her best friend's nerves. Odd, considering the Queen seemed rather at peace with the matters of court these days.
"Dare I ask why they made me come all the way out here?" Natalia questioned as she grew more impatient, slapping another fly as it landed on her neck.
The Captain sighed and folded the letter back together, looking forlornly over her shoulder as the shouts of her children could be heard as they got ready for their food. "Always at the worst times…" She said to herself, shaking away the cobwebs in her mind before looking back at the messenger. "I'm being summoned. Likely something about her Majesty's diplomatic mission."
"Perhaps another report has come from your cousin? You've been away from your office." Natalia pondered, evoking the older Morgan's faked relation to Cordelia. "But if that's the case, I'd like to escort you back."
Cordelia resigned herself to her fate, nodding as she walked back through the door and into the main foyer of her home. As the voices of her daughters continued to dance into her mind, she couldn't stop herself from cursing her oh so benevolent Lord and Lady for doing this to her. Sumia was the one who insisted she took more time off to begin with, and now she was robbing her of it.
Whatever this was for better be good. She absolutely hated politics.
The pair made their way into Ylisstol without any event. Cordelia ordered a quick detour before reaching the palace, opting to go to the Pegasus Knight compound so she could get into a proper uniform instead of the casual long collared vest she wore.
She didn't like the uniform that Dark Fliers were issued. It made her feel vulnerable, not having a chest piece to guard herself from the world. Their outfits were made to remain light and arcanely conductive, with the intent that they stayed in the rear to lob death from afar. But it meant if an archer pushed themselves into range, they were even more vulnerable than a standard knight.
The colors didn't help either. Blue, grey and brown As if she had been dragged through a swamp and didn't have time to clean herself. It felt beyond ghastly, similar to the scheme worn by Plegian dark mages.
Why did the others enjoy these dark, drab, lifeless pallets?
So instead, she opted to wear something more ceremonial. The outfit as a whole resembled something more of Natalia's Falcon Knight attire. Long brown stilted riding boots, with free flowing white trousers. Golden gaiter shields on each hip, with a pair of belts going around her waist. A white aired uniform shirt, red lining her sides up to her arms. Finally a polished golden chestplate with a red ribbon pinned across encased her, pointed shoulder plates and a popped white collar finishing the outfit.
It was a good look on her. At least that's why she figured people were staring as she marched through the halls of the palace. The halls were silent and hallowed as she marched, the only sound being her feet hitting the stone and her arcthunder tome slapping against her side as it hung from her belt.
Traversing the large palace took some time, but eventually she reached the door to the Senatorial chamber. And judging from the lack of yelling inside, the debate wasn't underway.
So she ducked inside and kept her head low, not making eye contact with any of the nobles. She ignores the few platitudes that a few of the men try to extend, opting to make her way up the forum's stands and sit in the rear line out of the spotlight. A few more mumbled hellos, ones that she softly answers before she begins to scan the room itself.
The Senate was an oblong room, with high seats forming a nearly complete oval. Five rows of seats rose along the shape. In the center was a small, rectangular podium, used by whomever was speaking to present whatever they wished to their peers. At the head of the circle, where the two edges of the stand almost met, sat a large booth. Blue, regal and ornate. The brand of the Exalt hanging on a tapestry as two thrones sat unoccupied.
Seating reflected the hierarchy of power within the Halidom. Merchants, business owners, junior officers and others of common or lesser birth. Then came the middling nobles, ones with larger estates and funds, legacies that stretched back to the start of the nation. Finally the Lords, Ladies and Clergy; those who helped run the nation itself under the royal family.
Cordelia grumbled softly to herself. The royal family. Everyone takes orders from the House Lowell. Even if it cost them everything. Just like it had her husband.
"You're in the wrong seat Cord."
Cordelia almost jumped from her seat as she looked to her left and right. Two people had found themselves sitting at her sides. The woman to her right grinned, laughing loudly as she rested back on the bench. The man on her left leaned forwards, offering a gentle smile along with a red fruit that was in his hand. Both wore paladin armor, one red and one green.
"You gonna just stare at it, sky-girl?" The red woman asked her.
"She might not be hungry." The green man pondered, shrugging as he pulled the apple back away and prepared to bite from it. Cordelia smirked, snatching the apple from his grasp and taking a bite from it.
"Ha! So much for that third snack, eh Stahl?" The woman crooned. In response, her gift giver removed another apple from his satchel and took a large chomp out of it.
"Stahl, Sully, you both should know better than to be so loud in a formal setting." Cordelia nagged as she took another bite of the fruit, savoring the sweetness as it came down.
"Oh gimmie a break. You know how much we all hate these stuffy meetings anyway." Sully answered, not lowering her voice in the slightest. A man in the row in front of them turned around to narrow his eyes, but Sully matched his glare with one of her own. Judging his chances against the muscle-bound soldier, he turned around at a moment's notice.
"I think that-" Stahl paused, gulping down his own bite. "-goes for all of us." He comments, before grinning at his friend once more. "Seriously though, you know you're supposed to sit in the second section right?"
Cordelia chuckled, shaking her head as she sat upright. Now that the room began to fill out, her posture corrected itself into something more presentable. "In this room, we're to be amongst our peers. I would think that as Shepherds we're one another's peers, no?"
Sully snorted. "Please, it's been years since we've been Shepherds. We've all got real jobs now, the Captain included."
Cordelia shrugged, but maintained her happy disposition. "How is the army life, anyway? I haven't spoken to either of you in so long now."
"Well I can't complain." Stahl admits. "Pay's nice, and I get a lotta free time down south."
"Speak for yourself." Sully grumbled. "Of course I got put up north, dealing with people coming from Ferox and getting into fistfights every other night. I shouldn't be playing constable, I'm a cavalry commander for cryin' out loud!"
"The Feroxi soldiers guarding the Longfort don't do anything to stop them?" Cordelia asked curiously.
Again, Sully snorted. Harsher this time, her eyes burning as she recalled their so called friends to the north. "Raimi's more stubborn than I am, and that's saying something. Her people never leave that wall, I swear. The one time I ride over to get some help, she served me a pile of schlock about how they can't 'leave their post to deal with Ylissean problems'."
The Knight-Captain tutted at the news, remaining silent as Stahl re-entered the discussion. "Well, you're here now at least. And you get to see you know who…" He teased. Sully, turning a shade redder than her armor, looked away as her eyes began to try and spot her hidden husband.
Moving to the defense of her sister in arms, Cordelia turned to look at Stahl with a sweet smile. Very similar to the one she wore just before scolding them. "And tell me, Stahl. How is Tharja? Still has you wrapped around her finger with those hexes?"
Stahl sputtered, almost choking on his food as the words sent shivers down his spine. Sully in contrast began laughing heartily, clutching her abdomen as she did everything in her power to not topple sideways.
A few more eyes turned to look at the odd trio. One set coming from the hierarch, a long haired blonde Monk as he smiled in mirth at the group.
Another pair came from the very front row facing opposite of them. One young man with a large mage's hat failing to stop his snickering. The woman with curled drills and a Valkyrie's dress shooting them all a murderous gaze.
Sully, Stahl and Cordelia all withered away under the intent, promptly straightening themselves up, preferring not to be blown away by the tome wielding noblewoman.
"Good to see Maribelle's as no nonsense as ever." Stahl drolled, fear dripping off each syllable.
"She's gotten worse. I didn't even think that was possible." Sully protested in a hushed voice, eyeing the blue-blooded woman as she then proceeded to smack her own husband's arm.
"Well, she is Duchess of Themis now." Cordelia commented.
"She's only been Duchess for two weeks, come on!" Sully insisted.
"Keep your voice down, I'm pretty sure she's armed." Stahl pointed out.
Cordelia offered Stahl a deadpanned expression. "She has a parasol."
"You haven't seen her use that thing enough." Stahl recalled with a shudder. "Remember, back in Plegia when we were going after Gangrel that last time? The guy with the axe?"
"She did that with her freakin' umbrella?" Sully asked in disbelief. "Bullsh-"
"Language." Cordelia chastised. Sully groaned once more as she slumped back in her chair. Meanwhile Stahl continued the discussion point that Cordelia had brought up before.
Then the royals walked in, and all others in the chamber rose.
...Had that all really been a month ago?
She should have predicted this. The moment her Sergeant handed over that letter, dread flowed all over her being. Her life was about to be upheaved all over again, just as she'd finally settled into a normal life. When she'd finally gotten used to be a mother, not just a soldier.
But that meeting changed everything. The world was falling apart all over again.
Reports had poured in from all over the globe. Ferox had now devolved into a full blown Civil War, with varying Warlords in the north vying over the throne of West Khan. Flavia couldn't do a damned thing to stop it, she barely had the troops to make sure it didn't spill into her own domain. Correspondence with the agent sent to protect Basilio's chosen successor had gone completely dark.
Plegians were pouring over the border en masse. Not an army, not even bandits; refugees. Refugees all shouting claims about the return of the old ones. Winged creatures ruling over the skies above. Wyverns that knew speech, capable of feats only thought possible by humans. They spoke of the return of the old times, along with the return of those thought lost. Maribelle could barely handle the amount people flooding into Themis.
And then Valm. The Risen were on Valm. That terrified her the most, more than civil wars and rumors ever could. Undead prowling the continent again, sacking entire towns overnight. The Commander of Ylisse's forces there had warned them that they'd likely be overrun if they became a proper, hostile force. But they weren't only in Roseanne, they were even starting to appear in Chon'sin. Say'ri's forces were turned inwards, trying to purge whatever parasite appeared.
No one could believe it. All of this madness happening at once.
But Chrom gave his orders all the same.
Sully was sent North once more, entrenching the border between the Halidom and Western Ferox. More troops were dispatched under her command, along with two of the future children so they could search for their missing friend.
Lissa and her husband were sent west to try and organize some kind of relief effort. Ricken himself would be in charge of finding out if there was any truth as to what in the hell these people were saying.
Sumia, obstinate despite the chamber's protests, was on this boat with her. The Queen's mandate had been expanded. Now an entire retinue of soldiers followed her to the far west. The goal had changed from reinforcing Roseanne to forcing a truce between the warring states, as well as dealing with the Risen.
Now Cordelia stood at the bow of a transport, below her were built in stables and quarters of eighty more Pegasus Knights. Behind her vessel, three more ships crashed through the waves. Each of them filled with a mixture of cavaliers, spearmen and mages. More men and women than Ylisse already had placed protecting Roseanne. Workers and soldiers mulled about the deck, carrying out duties or trying to kill time before they made landfall that day.
The last letter Morgan had sent here was clutched in a fist, crumpled into almost nothing.
The report was more bleak than she'd ever expected. Supplies were reaching a critical level, her daughter planning to rely on raiding her enemy for more weapons and equipment. Her battle plan wasn't even set to defeat the Valentians, just bloody their nose enough to make them retreat for a time. But when they returned… they couldn't hold out forever.
Virion and Cherche's nation would be crippled if this went on too long. Everything the Duchy had was being poured into the fight; crops, ore, pelts, gold. The small farming nation wasn't built to sustain a war economy.
The numbers they were facing made Cordelia pale. Two to one odds, and that was with the troops they knew about. Valentia could bring reinforcements and replacements with ease, but Ylisse couldn't. Each man lost meant a new one having to be shuttled across the ocean. A trip that took almost a month in it's own right.
And all of this, not even counting the Risen.
Suddenly an apple was dangled in front of her view. As she turned, Stahl was at her side once more, smiling casually. "You skipped breakfast. Again."
"I had to check the patrol reports." Cordelia brushed off, taking the fresh fruit and hungrily biting into it. She tried to focus on the flavor as it came down, anything to take her mind off the worst case scenarios that had plagued her nightmares over the past few weeks.
It wasn't working, and Stahl could tell.
"Morgan's going to be fine." Stahl said, trying to assure the worried mother hen. "Going loopy up here won't get us to Valm any faster."
"Would you be doing anything else if it was Noire out there?" Cordelia muttered vindictively between bites, scarfing her new food down. In five seconds the whole apple was gone, and she let the core topple off into the dark blue torrent below.
Stahl shrugged, relaxing as best he could given the shaking vessel. "Nah. I'd bet we'd actually switch roles." He pondered, yawning as he tried to sit up on the boat's edge. "I'd be freaking out, you'd be talking to me about how I should have faith in her."
Cordelia didn't reply to this observation, though she was plainly aware about just how accurate it was. On this blasted ship, he'd been doing quite a bit to keep her from losing herself. Hunting her down, sharing meal times, coordinating ground plans. They'd even restarted their old harp sessions, both of them taking to it like riding a bike.
Stahl was a good friend, he always had been.
"I get it." He picked up. "Really, I do. You've lost a lot, more than most people could usually handle."
"I've persevered." Cordelia commented.
"No one who knows you would say otherwise." He said, comfortably smiling. "You don't want to lose anyone else."
Cordelia shook her head, brushing a few loose strands of hair out of her face as she started to make the outline of land on the horizon.
"...It feels like everything I'll ever have is temporary." She admitted. "Ten years ago I was the lone survivor of twenty women who put my life above theirs. I met the love of my life, and only as able to spend four years with him before he left me. My own daughter disappears just as mysteriously as she came, without a trace."
"You still have plenty." Stahl pointed out.
"And I refuse to be robbed of any more of it." Cordelia proclaimed. "They came back to save us, Stahl. All of them, they did the impossible so we could even live to be as old as we are now." The woman took a deep breath, steadying her nerves. "They all deserve peace. We owe them that."
The viridian paladin nodded, looking over his shoulder to spot the approaching Valmese coastline himself. "After what happened, everyone deserves some peace."
Tiki sat on the shingled roof of the harbormaster's residence, watching vigilantly for the ships that would soon come into view. She sat with her legs close to her chest, the cloak that hung over her shoulders now enshrouding her entire body. Fatigue had worn her down over these past few months, soaring endlessly across the Valmese sky.
The Risen had plagued her mind ever since she first sensed their return. Day after day she would follow the trace of fell essence and burn it to ash. First small groups of the undead, scattered to and fro. But now they were starting to form packs, warbands even.
And yet she still wasn't any closer to finding their origin. She wouldn't be as long as this war continued onward.
Humans were such a fickle species. Even within their short lifetimes, they were oh so ready to forget the lessons they were forced to learn a scant few years prior. In the millennia she'd spent alive, Tiki often had to wonder why these people were so keen on causing themselves so much suffering over trivial reasons.
She could still remember the day Walhart fell. When her friends, the Exalt and Empress both lunged into the man and brought him back to earth. The moment it happened, all the remaining soldiers fighting for the Conqueror threw their weapons down in an instant. Their god had been felled, they had no reason to continue.
Except now they did. Alben had given them a new purpose, trying to reunify the continent under a different intent. Now instead of conquest, it was 'liberation'. One which many people seemed happy to accept.
Still, she had remained neutral in this endeavor for far too long. At this point not acting would be akin to indifference, and there were people who needed help. If not her, then who?
Once the Ylisseans made landfall, she would speak to their Queen. Then with the Chon'sinese Empress, they could hopefully drag the other leaders into some kind of agreement to at least deal with the larger problem at hand first.
Her investigation wasn't totally fruitless at least. These masks weren't purely Fell in creation, that much she was certain of. In fact elder magic seeped out from their being far more than any connection to Grima. Each one seemed to hold the shell of what she believed to be a beetle as well, though why that was the case was beyond her.
Someone was creating these things. But why?
As the boats came into her view, the Voice stood and readied her dragon stone. The blue gem shone brightly in her hand, energy pulsing as she prepared to transform.
Perhaps she would have more success with aid than she had alone.
A/N: This took way longer than I thought it would to write up, but it's out now. A little bit of forshadowing for what Inigo and Owain are going to have to deal with in their own respective adventures, along with how life's been continuing on for the other Shepherds. I'm sure some people are going to wonder why Morgan hasn't told dear old mom why Selena's back. That'll be explained in the next paralogue.
In semi-related news, I started a third story. Gonna focus on it for a bit in the place of the Last Exalt, mostly because I'm trying to figure out some critical stuff about the next step with that story. Plus 'Interim' is just plain fun for me to write.
Review responses!
Otts486: Sev is a good lass, I agree. Outta the three kids that were in Fates, she was my second favorite. But it was a close race between all of them. Can't really say I dislike any of the tykes.
Marengo227: You keep laying on the praise, it'll get to my head. Seriously thought, I'm glad to be pleasing the audience. The story's been a pretty slow burn up to this point but things're gonna really start going crazy now that everything's established.
Guest: Maybe. Maybe not. I'm not afraid to pull a Sin City on you guys :)
Dei: Thanks for pointing that out, I was actually trying to do some rewrites and I ended up uploading the wrong files! It's fixed now though. As always I'm happy to hear that I'm doing the MC justice, and noted on the supporting characters being a bit hard-edged. As for the second generation characters; they'll be present. But not everyone's gonna show up in every story, the cast for Rupture is going to be wholly different from that of Fracture. If things keep going on schedule though, I'll probably be starting book two around summer's end.
Thanks again for the reviews, follows and favorites everyone. Next time we're gonna be back in Sev's head. Until then, take care.
o/