Chapter 27 - Dream - Chalysane

Historically, a few days after the assassination attempt, the Shepherds escort Emmeryn to the Eastern Palace. Generally under Frederick's suggestion, the logic behind the move is that, while Phila investigates how they were able to slip past the guard, that the Eastern Palace would be a suitable place to protect her. During the week-long move, we are accompanied by a Hierarch who poses as our guide: when we are ambushed en route to the Eastern Palace, he seeks sanctuary with the captain of the attacking force, Orton. However, said captain ridicules him for having sold his loyalty, choosing instead to execute the Hierarch. We proceed to engage Orton and his force, but, while we initially have the upper hand, Cordelia approaches from behind and warns us of reinforcements on her tail. This requires quickly subduing what's left of Orton's forces to prepare for a pivot, or leads to a drawn-out struggle if we aren't quick enough.

After quelling the attacking, Cordelia informs us of a dire situation in the Capital: that, in our absence, a Plegian force had coalesced and razed the city. During two timelines, it is revealed that the attack was more or less brought down by the Hierarch: he conveys the information about our march to the Plegians, which leads to the ambush by Orton's forces. However, the Plegians also take this information a step further: taking advantage of the fact that the Shepherds have accompanied Emmeryn, they stage the assault on the Capital in a bid to quickly win the war, or at least undermine faith in Emmeryn's ability to rule. However, Emmeryn chooses to return, easily reversing any damage done to her repute, and, in fact, setting the stage to place herself as a martyr: news of the assassination attempt spreads much more quickly than expected, and the people, knowing her history, understand her attempts to avoid the threats posed to her life. When the city is ransacked, they responded with general relief that the Exalt had avoided the danger, even if it did seem somewhat suspicious. However, when she returned the next day to call for the release of her people…

Emmeryn, in the words of Chrom, had built herself up as a symbol of peace from the moment she took the throne, whether or not this was her original intent. While it is undeniable that the ire her people carried for her father had been passed onto her when she rose to power, it is similarly undeniable that her efforts did not go unrecognized: her work to undo the damage was not forgotten in their wrath. And, once again, just as she always had, even when she had stones cast upon her, she had placed herself in harm's way for the sake of her people. In this way, her actions culminated in an uproar that sought to protect that symbol of peace - an uproar by a people that aimed to repay the debts that they owed her. And when that symbol threw herself from that precipice, martyring herself in a desperate last bid to create that peace which she knew all peoples deserved, Plegian and Ylissean alike, she transcended symbolism and became the concept itself. And, for the sake of this concept, this lofty goal that had stood just out of reach for far too long before falling to the earth as if a meteor, a divine hammer came crashing down upon those that had sought to destroy it.

Such was the fall of the Exalt.

As I swing down my new silver sword in the pale morning light just before sunrise, I feel a droplet of sweat seep from the brim of my beret. During my discussions with Robin yesterday, she conveyed that she would like it if, for the time being, I were to continue on as a Pegasus Knight. While I had scared her back at the Borderpass, she had noted that I was nonetheless exceptionally experienced with Pegasi. First and foremost, Sumia had been our only Pegasus Knight: while we could still defend from aerial attacks, her loss had closed the skies to us, and having me as a Pegasus Knight would reverse that loss.

However, while a Pegasus Knight's flexibility in combat opened up a lot of tactics, she also specifically referenced the fact that I could switch to a ground combat role if necessary. She had also noted the fact that I could convince my Pegasus to leave me behind to take someone else to safety, which was a feat that was normally impossible for Pegasus Knights: from what she heard from Lieutenant Wellspring, Pegasi ordinally couldn't be convinced to leave their riders, even to the point of death. This information was what made it so unusual that we had found Sumia's Pegasus by itself in the first place - and it's what made it unusual that it continued to stay to have me as its rider. But I digress.

If Robin wanted me to become a Pegasus Knight - or any other class for that matter, I would agree to the change without hesitation: her word is the law of the battlefield. However, I now had an issue in that I needed to wear glasses, and they would surely fall off mid-flight if I were on a Pegasus. The solution, therefore, was to wear a hat: though I'd normally never wear anything on my head, seeing as that has always given me a headache, wearing a hat would keep my glasses from falling off if I kept the band tight enough. In the end, I chose a beret: the wide-brimmed hat that Miriel and Ricken use would limit my peripheral vision, and its large surface area made it unsuitable for flight.

On the other hand, a beret serves its purpose of keeping my glasses in place, while remaining relatively compact - therefore, it's much more suitable for flight. That said, it's notable that its "brim" is still wide-enough to block sunlight and limit light exposure if I angle it right: during the same conversation yesterday, I noticed that my eyes had become somewhat sensitive to bright lights, and I found that the beret helps mediate that problem. Also of note, while wearing the beret still gives me headaches, Ricken and Maribelle know how to make tea that can remedy that if it ever became a serious issue. Therefore, wearing the beret has two overall benefits: one, I can wear glasses mid-flight; two, being in the sunlight isn't as uncomfortable.

I replace my sword and switch to a practice lance, and I select a training dummy as my unfortunate practice target. The wood is painfully light, but my experience with an actual lance is somewhat lacking in comparison to my experience with a sword: it's a piercing weapon instead of a slashing one. My Blade-Lance was only called such because, when linked at the pommels, their combined length was similar to that of a lance, if not longer in some cases. However, no matter its length, a sword is still a sword.

"Why do you not use a real weapon like you did with the sword?"

I pause my strikes after I force the point of my weapon through the training dummy. Panne is quiet. Extremely quiet. Even if you're paying attention to her, expecting and looking for her, if she doesn't want to be found, she won't. If she really wants to remain unseen, she can even approach approximately 30% of Kellam's invisibility. That said, it's not as if I hadn't seen her: she had been observing me since I first walked down here. What surprises me is the fact that she's talking to me: she hasn't talked to me since the fifth timeline.

"Because I'm not as experienced with a lance."

Though my answer is truthful, Pann's own point remains true: while I'm not as experienced with an actual lance, it's not as if I'm a complete amateur either. In truth, axes are the weapon I'm least experienced with, and that's expressly by virtue of the fact that, despite everything, I still can't throw them. In summary, I guess my best to worst proficiencies are… Any staff, tomes and swords, lances and bows, then axes at the bottom. Or maybe tomes and swords are above staves, but I'm not entirely sure.

"I thought you hated humans for what they did to your people."

As I pry into Panne's intentions, I pull the practice lance out of the dummy, leaving it lopsided and malformed from damage. As I push its parts back into place, Panne approaches to assist me as I follow up by adjusting how it stands. If I didn't repair this dummy post-haste, people would probably place the blame on Chrom or Sully again: while it wouldn't necessarily be an unjustified guess, I'd rather not reveal that it was me just then.

"I do."

With Panne's solemn response and ready assistance, the work is quick. Once the training dummy's standing has been restored, I loosen the band on my beret and pull it off my head. Immediately, my glasses come out of position, and I similarly immediately push them back into place. I've worn glasses before, but I can't remember when: all I'm sure of is that adjusting them is something that comes naturally to me, to the point that I do it automatically and in different ways depending on circumstance, such as on how off-center they are or whether I'm holding something in my hands. I walk over to my canteen of water and take a sip before tossing it to Panne, who catches it easily. Her reflexes, as always, are impeccable: she's never missed a catch, whether she's talked to me or not.

"It just seems like you're used to working with Taguels."

As I begin stretching, I consider her explanation: It's fair and justified. When she joins, everyone is wary of her: almost nobody has seen a Taguel before, if not in a long time. So the same can be said of Nowi when we meet her, for that matter - the main difference between Nowi and Panne is that Nowi doesn't let her discomfort show nearly as much as Panne. But then that's probably because Manaketes weren't necessarily hunted to the brink of extinction, as were Taguels. No matter the specifics, Panne's response is fair and justified: I'm used to seeing Taguels at this point, even if I can only say I've only ever seen her or her son.

"You'd be right in that regard."

Delivering my response, I reach up my arm as she tosses back the emptied canteen. She disappears into the empty space of the training grounds as it reaches my hand, and I turn to watch Robin approach. As a Pegasus Knight, I'm expected to be capable of using a lance, but Robin seems to have other plans for me: during our discussion, she stated that, if I felt that the weight wasn't going to be too much, that she'd like me to carry a sword and tome with me as well. A Pegasus Knight uses lances because the weapons are best able to take advantage of the speed that a Pegasus offers: a skilled Pegasus Knight could pierce straight through a shield if needed. However, Robin stated that, in the best case scenario, she'd rather I break from that tradition and carry a sword and tome instead, especially considering her intent to have me in a combined air and ground combat role. She further explained that the only reason that she'd like me to carry a lance was because we had no other Pegasus Knight.

Robin joins me as I replace the practice lance as I pick up a practice tome, and she picks up the second tome that we have. Training with tomes is an unusual case: practice tomes are exceptionally expensive, sometimes more so than combat tomes, but have a negligible use in actual fighting. The expense, however, comes in the fact that they're designed to never require replacement: specifically, no matter how many times someone uses them, they'll never stop working. This requires very complex coding, and, the more powerful a tome, it becomes exponentially more difficult it is to achieve that coding. However, according to Ricken whenever you ask him or by Robin later in the timeline, apparently there were once mythical countries that had perfected that art. No matter the specifics however, the result is that the only tomes that will never deplete themselves are practice tomes that have little to no actual combat power.

That said, however, I can perform the mana-weaving necessary to add a rudimentary version of that coding to a tome, no matter how powerful it is.

"When did you figure this out?"

I link my words with the beginning of our practice session. Whenever I get a hold of a new tome, the first thing I do is add that coding. Adding that coding takes less than a second for me, and the only drawback is that it results in a somewhat slower recast speed because of increased processing instructions. However, with the coding that I can do, in order to take advantage of the change, you can't cast from the tome like a mage normally would: instead of using the incantations, be it through memory or by reading, you need to draw the mana out. Casting normally from a tome would undo the weave, expending the mana used to achieve the cast, and returning the tome's coding to its initial state. That said, I only ever made contact with Robin's Elwind tome once, and, since I pushed it into her arms back at Southtown, I haven't been able to touch it since.

"I felt the difference when you gave me your Elwind tome when we first met."

Her answer is enigmatic, but the concept is not unfamiliar to me: mana, in its purest form, is felt. That said, I'm not sure if "given to her" would be the right word so much as "forced onto her", considering I basically pushed the thing into her arms without her asking. But, if she saw it as a positive, then…

"I… Just figured it out, I guess. It made sense to me."

Her explanation is reasonable. From the beginning, she had carried a thunder tome, and whether or not she remembered being able to use it, she was always able to. Lissa's description of her, "swords, sorcery, and tactics", was accurate, and Robin would go on to become a master of all of them. So if it simply "made sense" to her, I wouldn't be surprised. That said, feeling the difference in a tome is one thing, but actually using it is something entirely different. But maybe that's why Robin is the only person who can settle into virtually every class of combat: Pegasus Knight, Sage, Swordmaster, Sniper - she can pick up virtually any role if she so chooses.

So the same could be said of her during the two year's peace: any hobby or profession she chose to pick up, whenever she picked it up, she could quickly master. On the other hand, while there were always things I was good at, specifically anything that required the use of tomes or my swords, learning anything else was always so… tedious. And, if ever I am better than Robin, it's only ever because-

"Are you okay?"

Robin's hand grasps my wrist, keeping me from firing another cast towards the dummy, which has once again been unbalanced. Her grip is firm, but gentle, and her eyes draw mine in. Calm and clear focus - the only time I haven't seen that serene peace in her eyes, no matter her emotion, is when she knows that her strategies won't work. And when she speaks with other people, I've always seen the same perpetual determined confidence - in both herself and the person that she's speaking with - that they will be able to connect to each other. Her unwavering sense of purpose was something that never changed throughout the timelines: an odd sense that she knew who you are, and that you knew who she was as well - that no matter what the conversation focused on, you would always hold an irreplaceable importance to her.

And yet, for the first time this timeline, I've started seeing something else other than that determined confidence. When I spoke with her for the first time in Southtown, I saw an enthusiastic and excited curiosity - that someone could give her an answer she didn't already know. I saw it when she was playing chess with Lieutenant Wellspring - a sense of slight boredom, that there were other more important things that she could be attending to. When she scolded me at the Borderpass, I saw anguished relief and the remnants of desperation - a desire for me to promise that I'd never risk myself like that again. When I told her of Sumia… a glare like molten steel - one that told me that she knew exactly who was responsible for the loss, the anguish that everyone faced - and that she intended to repay that sentiment in full.

It was an expression that made my heart skip a beat - that she could help me repay my debts and give Sumia the vengeance that she deserved; that, so long as Robin were here, such a tragedy would never happen again.

I release the magic from just beyond my fingers, and the mana wisps away into the aether. In truth, I've been exceptionally stressed out as of late. But then, anyone who knew what was to come - anyone who knew what I did - would understand why. However, if this is part of Robin's plan, then I'm willing to see it through to its completion.

"I'm just a bit… Worried."

Robin releases my hand as I turn to walk to a bench. I know specifically what's coming, and it breaks completely from the timelines that I've seen up until know. Ever since Robin told me that I'd be staying at the Capital, even if they only went on patrol, I had been experiencing feelings of unease that threatened to progress into nausea. When the situation progressed, and I was informed that they were going to depart for the Eastern Palace after all, it was as if I couldn't breath. Robin, however, had helped calm me down. But it would be wrong if I didn't admit that I still had… deep reservations about the plan. As I take a seat, Robin sits down next to me, offering me a canteen of water as she pulls out a second.

"You don't need to worry. I have it all under control."

Two days ago, Chrom and a detachment from the Shepherds departed to escort Emmeryn to the Eastern Palace - or, that is, a decoy posing as her. Emmeryn, as she stands, is currently in the Shepherd's Barracks. It was a plan designed by Robin in tandem with Lady Eirza: that, while it's absolutely logical to send Emmeryn away to the Eastern Palace, that the enemy is probably expecting that - and that they expected us to send our best as accompaniment. As a result, Chrom, Lissa, Lieutenant Wellspring, Phila, and the rest of the Shepherds have deployed to escort a ghost, specifically Lady Eirza's own recently adopted daughter, who she would send with a guard - her adopted son, a talented fighter. As a result, the only Shepherds present here are Panne and Gaius, who had joined us after the assassination attempt at the request of Chrom and Emmeryn, as well as Ricken, Ena, and me, who weren't in the best physical conditions. This is not including Cordelia, who remains stationed here with us.

All of this said, there was an issue with the plan: Me. When sending "the best we had to offer", Lady Eirza contended that the Plegians knew I was alive, especially after the Borderpass: If I didn't accompany Emmeryn to the Eastern Palace, the move would draw suspicion of a ruse. In response to this, Robin acknowledged Lady's Eirza's claims in that having me stay here would draw suspicion, but that in my injured state, it still wouldn't be a good idea to send me out - also of note that my Blade-Lances were damaged beyond repair. But, in light of that, Robin had already requested a replacement for me: at the Ferox Arena, where the Plegians had been unable to gain entry, it was revealed that I wasn't the only person who fit the bill of "Blade-Lance".

The night of the assassination attempt, after taking note of my injuries, Robin had asked Chrom to request Marth's and Avelea's direct assistance, to which they accepted. While my Blade-Lances had been rendered unusable, Avelea had his own set just as Marth had a Falchion - and, if necessary, he could one hundred percent look and sound like me. The only remaining issue was the matter of armor: I had been in possession of the only set. While it seemed more feasible to repair the set of armor than the swords, it would still take time that we didn't have. To that end, Robin had suggested modifying Pegasus Knight armor, which already closely resembled my armor in the first place. To further the illusion, and coinciding with my most recent direct contact with Plegia, Robin assigned Sumia's Pegasus to Avelea for the duration of the mission. While Avelea helped perpetuate the illusion that the Exalt had departed, Marth would stay behind in the Capital to help protect Emmeryn along with the guard, and the Shepherds that stayed behind.

The only people immediately privy to this plan, other than Emmeryn and Lady Eirza are Chrom, Lieutenant Wellspring, and Robin, along with Marth and Avelea by necessity. After departure, Avelea would only see the inside of a wagon or the skies - the reasoning being that, after each patrol, I would need rest because I was still recovering from my injuries. Avelea would be using a Pegasus's Knights helmet to hide his features: while the Plegians had only ever seen the Blade-Lance as symbolic of me, the Shepherds could recognize me. While it isn't necessary to hide this from the Shepherds, keeping the information a secret as long as possible would contribute to keeping the ruse in play. Until they came back, I was to fight on foot and to prioritize using tomes instead of a sword; any time I was out in public, I should be wearing my beret, glasses, and stock Pegasus Knight armor. Robin reasoned that, while it probably wouldn't be necessary of the purpose of perpetuating the ruse, that it would summarily be best if I got used to it for obvious other reasons.

I hear Robin tilt the canteen back as she takes another sip of her drink. On the other hand, it's the most I can do to keep my heart from pounding back out of control as I watch the movements of the water inside. Two days ago, they had departed for the Eastern Palace. Robin stayed behind to care for the injured, and to coordinate the guard if the need arose. Contrary to the rest of the Shepherds, Robin's role in combat had gone virtually unnoticed in the presence of Lieutenant Wellspring, so it was acceptable if she stayed here. If Robin's ruse worked as expected, the attack on the Capital would probably happen tomorrow, and we would be there to witness it.

"I didn't forget what you told me."

From the side, Robin's hand covers mine just as her voice covers my thoughts, her ungloved hand displaying her Grimleal symbol. Despite an uncertain future, I can find comfort in the fact that this timeline's Robin has never seemed unsure of herself. Maybe it's a result of the faith I placed in her since Southtown; maybe it's because I had prevented suspicion from being cast on her, if only by accident. This Robin is more clear minded and certain than any I have seen before, and she never ceases to remind me of that fact. And hammering that point home, she repeats my words from yesterday: a phrase I had drawn from a faint memory of something else.

"Three steps ahead, right?"

It has always been my dream to save Emmeryn.

For once, Robin has given me that chance.


A/N.

She's always three steps ahead. I wish I were too.