Chapter 21
Northwestern Valm
Approximately two days passed after the takeover at the Valmese fort Steiger, and in that time, Chrom's band of soldiers had toppled another large faction of Walhart's empire. This one was lead by the brother of fellow Shepherd, Say'ri, ending with his untimely death at the end of her blade. Since then, tension within the ranks of the army have reached a boiling point and the decisive battle for the future of Ylisse hung just over their heads. The road to the final stronghold was long and tiresome, but nevertheless, they had made it to their destination. Now, they stand at the checkpoint that served as the final barrier between them and the Conqueror himself.
Already a massive battle had broken out against the Valmese troops. Among their ranks was none other than Walhart himself. Whether his motives for joining the battle were to stamp out the rebellion himself or to simply instill morale in his troops and fear in his enemies was unknown. Either way, it was a perfect opportunity to eliminate him while the chance was at hand. The ensuing chaos was a bloody one indeed. The casualties on both sides began to rise as steel clashed between armies. Yet, no deaths had been accounted for on either side. Just before the battle started, Robin urged his comrades-in-arms to try to their best abilities to not completely silence their foes. This particular fight was consisting entirely of Say'ri's former rebellion members. Robin had seen enough needless deaths as it was, and wished no more blood on the hands of the Chon'sin princess.
Regardless, numbers on both sides still began to shrink as the fighting continued. Even the tactician and prince themselves had sustained some injuries, but both of them were too stubborn to step away from the battlefield. Even standing just before the Conqueror himself, they refused to give in. As the prince and emperor traded verbal blows, the fighting around them slowly descended to a stand-still as all who saw the two titans of war face off. The sound of steel clashing and bolts of lightning crashing down took over all sounds of the battlefield.
"You fight quite well, young prince." the Conqueror grumbled. "Strong as you might be, you can't possibly hope to overturn me. You'll die, clinging to your childish values, just as your sister did." The two crossed swords, holding their strength against each other. Unbeknownst to Walhart, he had played right into Robin's trap. Just before their confrontation started, Robin had formulated a simple strategy to use against the Valmese emperor, should Chrom not be able to cut him down on his own.
Staring intently around him, his fingers pressed against his temple, Robin formulated his latest tactic to eliminate Walhart as first priority. Should he fall, his troops would surely retreat.
"Chrom, I've got an idea. It's nothing too complex, but it will require synchronized focus on our part." he said, turning to his friend. "I can't guarantee it will work though, or that we won't walk out with more than a few bruises, but it's a decent chance we can get an edge."
"I know better than to second-guess you, Robin. Injuries are nothing, so long as we stay alive." Chrom responded.
"Well said. Now then, here's our plan: You and me will try to advance through the brunt of the army and go for Walhart himself. I'm confident that his troops will give in when their emperor is down. What you need to do is fight Walhart to a stand-still in any possible way you can. While you do that, I'll try to use my magic and strike him from behind. That should knock him from his stead, and the heavy armor will conduct my magic enough to do significant harm to him."
Chrom nodded as he processed and visualized the plan in action. It did seem like a simple maneuver, one that even he could have planned, but it only proved to strengthen the trust in his friend's decision. "Alright, I'll do the best I can. I'll be counting on you."
"And I you, my friend. Let's do our best."
The blades of the emperor and prince continued to stay locked, held in place by their impressive strength. Robin began readying a bolt from his Thoron tome, and raised his arm, aiming at Walhart. For the very moment, it seemed like the plan would work, but the hum and crackle of Robin preparing his attack alerted the tyrant to his location. Immediately, Walhart used his brute strength to throw Chrom to the ground, and turned to the tactician. With a swift motion, Walhart was able to grab his great axe from his horse and fling it deftly in Robin's direction. Caught off guard by his plan suddenly shattering so quickly, Robin was barely struck by the axe. Instead, it flew just by him and lodged itself into the stone wall of the fortress. The attack itself was not completely dodged and Robin sustained painful slashes across his chest and right arm. The sheer pain caused him to fall to the ground. The Conqueror had not entirely seem the fruits of his actions, and had mistaken the strategist for dead, turned to Chrom and raised his blade over his head, the prince laying before him, his vision blurred, and head aching from his impact with the ground.
"See how easily you fall? You are not worthy to unify the world, prince. Now, I shall send you to meet with your sister in the afterlife..." The crimson clad tyrant was set to strike his blad downward, but was thrown off his horse quite suddenly, and lay paralized far from where he fell, his stead running off in the opposite direction from the sudden attack. Rubbing his eyes, desperate for visual clarity, Chrom watched yards across from him as Robin lay on the ground as he did, with his hand extended, small crackles of lightning surrounding his palm. It seemed his tactician, despite his wounds had pulled off one last attack, saving his life in the process. Forcing himself upward, Chrom rushed to the aid of his friend.
"Hey, hold on!" Chrom yelled, turning Robin on his back. His wound from the great axe wasn't deep by any means, the the cut itself was quite long. Robin tried to keep himself conscious through sheer force of will, but eventually, he could no longer muster the strength, and as he became light-headed from blood loss, he passed out in Chrom's arms.
"Okay, that should do for now." Lissa said, having tended to the last of the Shepherds wounds. The fighting had come to a violent end, yet still quite satisfying. All of the turncloak rebellion members had, in actuality been putting a ruse to fool Walhart into thinking he had control over the resistance. Their loyalty to Say'ri had not wavered, in truth, and through the act of the Shepherds sparing them through mercy had once again given the army much needed support. The Conqueror's army had all but fallen apart through these missions across the continent, and only a small vanguard of his finest men and women stand holed up in the northern castle. For the time being, the army was resting in the checkpoint fortress that was a half day's march to the castle. With so few men at his disposal and in light of the force the Shepherds showed, it would be sfe to assume he would not try to attack them at all. Instead, it seemed as if he would wait for them to come to him.
This momentary rest was very much needed as continuing on the way they were would not be tactically sound. Robin himself stated once he came to, that everyone was utterly exhausted from their latest battle, coupled with the constant Risen attacks and the increasingly grueling marches. Their next fight would surely be their last, and in light of that truth, it seemed like a better idea to simply stay put, taking up short residence in the fortress here before continuing on the morrow.
"Aaaand... there." Lissa said, wrapping a layer of bandages over Robin's injured arm. "I'm sorry, but the last of my staff's power was used up treating that nasty wound you had on your chest. Not to mention it was the last staff we had in stock, period."
Robin looked upon his bandaged hand and balled his fingers into a fist, flexing his muscles a bit. Fortunately, he still had full use of his arm. He could still fight, but he would have to cease using swords for the remainder of the campaign. " THat's alright, Lissa. I have no one to blame but myself for this. I can't believe how foolish I was." he sighed. "I should have known better than to think Walhart was so simple that he wouldn't look past my strategy in the first place."
"Don't be too hard on yourself." Lissa responded, gently putting Robin's hand down. "What matters is that you helped Chrom out back there. You know he'd probably be dead if you didn't act as fast as you did. And, hey! You even made sure the resistance members were alive after the battle! They're back on our side, and we stand a better chance now!"
"You're right, I should count my blessings. We're all alive and we're almost at the endo fthis. Thanks Lissa."
"Don't mention it. Now you should get some rest for the day... Is what I would say, but you'd probably just stay up all night thinking up strategies and whatnot, right?"
"You know me too well, princess." Robin mocked playfully. "Tomorrow is the day we settle all of this, then we can finally return home and settle other matters."
"'Other matters'?"
"Do you remember what Lady Tiki said when we rescued her from the Mila Tree?"
"I think... It had something to do with the Fire Emblem, right?"
"Somewhat. She said that she could feel Grima's life force slowly returning. I've been thinking about ever since we met her. I've even read a few books on the matter too. Apparently, he was struck down about 1,000 years ago."
"So, what do you think it means?"
"I don't want to jump to conclusions... But it may be possible that someone may attempt to bring the fell dragon back. I don't know when, and i don't know how, but the fact that the Voice can sense him, even if he should be dead is troubling. I have this feeling that peace may not be so long lived after this war."
The blonde princess felt her stomach knot over at the foreboding way her friend spoke. Sometimes she had forgotten that Lucina and the others came from a time where Grima had decimated everything, and hearing this only made her uneasy about it. "You know, this whole thing is just unfair." she pouted. "Here we are, on the verge of winning another war, and we still have bad things on the horizon... It's especially unfair to you. Always having to work yourself to nothing trying to make sure we all survive. Sometimes, I worry about you, you know?"
"Probably." the tactician responded, looking at his bandaged hand again. "Maybe I'm just destined to be a warrior until I die. But as long as I can make a difference and keep my loved ones safe, I'll always fight. But it really means a lot that you care, Lissa."
"It's not just me, either. Every single night, Chrom tells me how much he worries about you and how hard you work. Frederick worries that you push yourself too hard for everyone's sake, heck, Sumia almost burst into tears when she saw you so beat up today."
"I know, I know. But i can't afford to slow down just yet. We're so close..."
"Even so, you should take it easy. At least for today, just relax. Spend some time with your wife and kids. Don't ever forget that unlike your family, you're not exactly immortal. Any day could be your last." Lissa held Robin's bandaged hand before him and cocked her eyebrows knowingly to prove her point. "Cleric's order."
"Okay, if you insist. I'll take the rest of the day off. Can I go now?" he asked jokingly. Lissa huffed in response and dismissively waved her hand, signaling Robin to leave now. He rose from his seat, and the two went their separate ways from there. Robin walked down the halls of the fortress, running his uninjured hand across the smooth, cold stone walls. It had been a while since he had a bed indoors. So many months away from home. It was almost painful at this point for him to continue. As hard as he worked, his willpower to continue fighting was beginning to wane. He just wanted it all to end. The idea of their final confrontation being at hand excited him more than anything, as it meant the end of this horrid war and he could go back to being a normal man. For a while, anyway.
He made his way to the left end of the fortress, where some of the barracks were located. Normally, he would have found a nice quiet spot to sit and study a few tactical books, but for once, he just wanted to relax. Upon entering the barracks, he was welcomed warmly by his companions. All of them seemed to be just fine after their ordeal. Aside from scars and light bruises of course. Only he was the one who had bandages mark his body apart from the others. A mark that garnered the concern of many of the Shepherds. However, he stayed strong and assured his friends that this won't deter him from fighting his hardest. With that settled, he took to finding a place to settle down for the day. Scanning the room, he saw a majority of his family had not been there at the moment. Specifically, Nowi and Morgan were absent. If he had to guess, they were probably patrolling the grounds to make sure they were safe. After all, no one wanted to be on the business end of their dragonbreath. Nah, however, was present with another dragonkin companion; Lady Tiki, who the former had grown attached to after she joined the army.
Casually walking over to the two Manaketes, Robin politely sat with them. Immediately, Nah noticed his injuries and rose from her seat to inspect the damage. "Father, your arm!" she said. Gently holding his bandaged arm in both of her hands, she caressed the soft fabric in concern. "You're going to be okay, right? I mean, you can still fight, can't you?"
Robin gently pulled his arm away from Nah's hands and assuredly patted her shoulder, looking up at her with a sincere smile. "Don't worry about a thing, sweetheart. Trust me when I say your old man has had worse than this."
"If you say so. I suppose I shouldn't doubt you after seeing you take such harsh beatings this entire time." The two shared a mutual laugh at Nah's japes. Tiki, who sat across from the two smiled at seeing the genuine love between a father and child. It almost made her jealous. It made her think back to the days of her youth when she was under the protection of an elderly Manakete, one who she was proud to name her grandfather. Nah returned to Tiki's side and the two continued their conversation. As they did, Robin reached into his coat for an old book that he had barely had time to read with all the constant late nights and planning. It was the same black book that he had received from Anna a while before they left Ylisse.
While Nah was expressing some topics on the Manakete way of life, Tiki noticed the all-too-familiar crest that adorned the front cover of the book. She had definitely seen that symbol before. Pardoning herself with Nah and putting their conversation on hold momentarily, she turned to Robin. "Excuse me Robin, but would you kindly tell me of that book you are reading?" she asked.
Robin looked up from the pages of his book and half heartedly examined the outside of it. "Oh, it's not a book per se. It's more of a record." he explained. "I've been wondering just what my Brand means, so I used some connections of mine to find anything that could tell me of my lineage."
"Ah, I see. Judging by the symbol on that book, would I be right in assuming you bare the Mark of the Fellblood?" Tiki asked, absently rubbing her chin.
"Is that what's it's called...?" Robin asked, remembering the Brand imprinted on the back of his right hand. "I suppose that's what it would be called then. Honestly, you would probably know a lot more than I. That's why I wanted to get my hands on this book, so I could find out more about my family's bloodline. It won't do much for my memory loss, but I would like to know where it is I come from."
"And have you found anything of interest?"
"That I have. A while ago, I found out that because of this Brand, I supposedly descend from Dragons, and my lineage stretches as far back as the Holy War thousands of years ago. Since this is one of the oldest records in the Plegian library, I have actually found out about my ancestors a great deal."
"Wait a second..." Nah interjected. "Father, if you descend from Dragons, doesn't that make you a Manakete, too?"
Robin chuckled a little at Nah's question. "I highly doubt that. Maybe if I were born in an earlier time, that might be the case, but since I was born just recently, probably some 23 years ago, my blood would be far too diluted to be considered Dragonkin. But, through this book, I have found one of my oldest ancestors. Care to know who that might be?" Robin smirked as he asked his question. Whoever it was, he was sure proud of it.
Nah's eyes turned upward as she searched through her memories of the few books she read. Not too many of them chronicled the Holy War of old, however. All she knew was a very general depiction of the events that took place, barely anything of the heroes involved came to mind. She shook her head in response, "No clue."
Robin then flipped through some of the pages in the book and turned to a singular entry that depicted a sage-like woman with radiant white robes and matching waist-length hair. He presented the book flat on the table to Nah and Tiki and waited for either of them to recognize the figure. Nah continued to look puzzled at the woman in the pages. Tiki, on the other knew exactly who this woman was.
"Is that not Deidre, the holy shaman?" Tiki asked.
"It is." Robin responded, continuing to smile.
"I see, but if you have the Mark of the Fellblood, then that also means you descend from her son's lineage."
"I do... Though I'm not exactly proud of that fact."
Nah was still confused at the conversation. She had no clue who this Deidre woman was, or her son. She rested her arms on the table, rubbing her temple trying to make sense of all this, "Okay, I'm missing something here..."
Robin then went on to explain the woman's significance in the war, and their family line. Her marriage to another crusader known as Sigurd, a subsequent forced marriage to another man and baring his children, twins named Julius and Julia, the former of which he, Nah and Morgan directly descend from. He then went onto explain just why it was that he wasn't exactly proud of descending from such a man, going onto telling her how he murdered his own mother and sparking a large scale war.
"I suppose war runs in the family, huh...?" Nah remarked.
"I know. It's a curse." Robin shot back, rubbing his left temple in slight exasperation. "At the very least, the war I fight in will have a happy ending. I guess we'll see tomorrow. In any case, I'll just keep reading up on these records and see what else my birthmark means." On that note, Robin rose from his chair, excusing himself from his companions to go and read somewhere more secluded to himself, leaving the young and old Manakete to continue conversing.
A/N: Yaaaay, more fight scenes that drip with suck. Apologies for my terribru fighting dialogue. I'm more of an interactive writer than combat. Aaaanyway, this chapter actually took longer than expected because I wanted to shove in more of my fan-speculatory stuff in there. For instance, the part about Robin descending from Julius from FE4 makes sense to me because he carries the blood of a dark dragon. Just like Robin. Also, Julius murdered one of his parents... Just like Robin. :D On top of that, Deirdre, Julius' mother, has white hair, again, just like Robin. Also, Julius tried to kill Seliph. Need I go on? Besides, I already stated back a few chapters ago that he might have had a connection to the Twelve Crusaders and whatnot so I thought this would be a nice way to wrap up that side-plot.
Also, a bit of a fun factoid for anyone patient enough to read this far: Julius' half-sibling was Seliph, who inherited Naga's blood during the holy war, and now carries the Mark of Naga. Which means that after hundreds of generations, Chrom and Robin are actually distant cousins!(Remember, fan-spec!) You have my permission to weep now, RobinxLucina/Chrom fans. :3
EDIT: Aha... Yeah, I kinda found a spelling error saying Deirdre married "Seliph". My bad~
