Final Chapter - Answer


We ride south, for the Dragon Sanctuary. Uncle Eliwood, Aunt Lyn, and their half of our forces remain behind in Bern to defend it, and to tend to the injured. Since we deal with Bernese stragglers, Guinevere comes with us, riding with Miredy. Galle had actually wanted to come, but his injuries are still too great, and so, he remains behind to reassure the people that all will be well.

Everything ends today, and it starts with the destruction of the last pieces of Zephiel's Bern.


"So, this is the Dragon Sanctuary," I murmured, looking over everything from our perch on the hill. We already had everything set up, and Cinead had already returned to his village to let them know we were here. I wasn't interested in the Bernese set up here. I was more interested in… "The last battles of our Campaign are being fought in the same place as the last battles of the Scouring…"

"They are," Fiona confirmed. She stood next to me as I let my horse graze on the grass a short distance away. "The village wasn't here, though. That came later. And there were dragons. Not a human in sight."

"Whereas this might be the last battle this campaign even has against humans." My eyes fell on the nearby cliffs, noticing how they almost looked speckled with crimson, with blood. "Why are the rocks red?"

"I don't know why they're still red after a thousand years." Her eyes glinted, and I had a feeling she wasn't seeing 'our' battlefield, but the one she fought on, long ago. "They were pretty blood covered when the battle ended, thanks to all the dragons we killed." She pointed to a spot covered in bright red poppies, the only patch in the whole field. "That's where Hydra died. Sacae… Amir… ran him through, there."

"...Is that so?" Now that I looked at the patch, I saw that it was, eerily enough, about the same size an adult humanoid might've been. "Ah, Elphin's waving." I saw him a short distance ahead, gold hair glinting in the sun. "Our messenger must've returned."

"Then I shall return to my post." She gave me a smile. "I… look forward to your answer. Whatever it may be. I'm glad there will finally be one."

"We'll figure it out, once we're there." I smiled back. "But I promise. We'll give one." I left her behind then, clicking my tongue to get my horse to follow without me tugging on her reins.

Elphin smiled when I approached, before turning his attention to Roy and Guinevere. "So, as I was saying, to my not-surprise, they have refused to stand down," he explained. I closed my eyes, sighing heavily. It was expected, but still aggravating. "They say that our terms were appreciated."

"I suppose I should be grateful that this one didn't return as only a head, like the one at the Western Isles," Roy groaned. He looked exasperated. "Why will they not surrender?"

"Some are likely because they do not believe in Guinevere, or… well…"

"You can just say it, Mildain," Guinevere replied. She smiled wryly. "It's because they're prideful. Bern was the strongest military might on the continent. They refuse to surrender because of that."

"So now, they're forcing us into a battle that will only weaken us for the coming trial of fighting Idenn," I grumbled. Why couldn't these people be as reasonable as they were stupidly loyal? "Well, we've already set up our strategy. Defend the village, route, spar anyone smart enough to surrender, and gather up any who don't die instantly for healing. It's not like Merlinus doesn't have healing staves coming out of his ears."

"Lady Serra was very insistent that we take all that we could carry." Guinevere giggled softly before her expression turned grim again. "Oh. They're moving, aren't they?"

"So they are, and so are we. See you guys later." We scattered, each heading to our positions for the battle. We had so many damn advantages in this battle that it was almost ridiculous. We had numbers, we had power, and we had morale. I could not understand this suicidal charge.

But it was important to them, and so, we'd give them their 'honors' with a fight to their deaths.

I'd feel bad, or even sympathetic, but there was just something so… maddening about how, after everything, they still refused to give up. I wondered if this was what Zephiel had felt about us. Of course, the difference was, we'd win. It was that simple.

The battle started almost as soon as I mounted up, but there was honestly very little for me to do then except switch a few things around to account for things not quite expected, like Brunja throwing long ranged Boltings, or the ballistae they'd set up. Those ones did actually kill quite a few of us, to my frustration. We did predict the status stave assholes, though. They were just a freaking constant thing, so much so that half of our healings staves were restore staves, just in case.

After watching the battle for a moment, and redirecting forces to account for the long-range tome and the ballistae, I decided to ride into the village itself to make sure things were going well there. However, as I rode in, I noticed something odd. Fir was in the village, instead of fighting like I'd expected, and chatted happily with an older man who… slightly resembled her.

"Oh, Irene!" Fir called when she saw me. She waved enthusiastically, Darkness Blade glinting darkly in the sunlight at her side, and so I dismounted. "Over here! Don't worry; I made sure things were secured before popping in! I wanted to check on people!"

"Since that's what I did, I certainly can't fault you," I replied, smiling slightly as I walked over. I glanced at the man, noticing the resemblance between them was only stronger at such a short distance. "Fir, you know him?"

"Yep! This is my uncle, Karel." She smiled sweetly, beaming. "He's crazy strong!"

"Is that so?" I smiled at Karel, thinking I knew the name from somewhere, and held out my hand. He took it after a moment, studying my face closely. "Is something wrong?"

"My apologies. You remind me of someone I fought alongside with long ago, in my… demon years," he explained. He still studied my face closely. "Well, two perhaps. A Sacean Hunter with a face of stone and the eyes of a hawk, who shot brilliantly, and a tactician who was on the edge of death, and used her mind as her sword, keener than any I've ever seen."

"...Were their names 'Rath' and 'Katri'?" I asked softly. He nodded and my smile became a little sad, and a little bitter. I knew the name now. I remembered it from Mom's logbook. "They were my parents. They died. I've a letter for you in my pack from her. She wrote letters to everyone in the Campaign, that survived her at least."

"I see." He nodded, and there was a strange resignation in his face. "My own path to the sword robbed me of much. My sister, seeing her family, and it seems, my chance to meet again two people who had caught my eye, years ago." He smiled slightly. "Still, I'm pleased Fir's had led her to friends, and a new family."

"We love her dearly, and trust her even more." I grinned as I noticed Fir's face going super red. "We are working to defend the village, and to head inside the Sanctuary"

"I guessed as such when Cinead returned." His hand fell on the sword at his waist. It looked like the Wo Dao Fir used to wield, but there was something different about it. It felt almost alive, and the wind almost bent around it from sheer fear. But it was also very muted, as if it had been tamed. "Please, allow me to assist. I want to see where everyone's path has taken them."

"I won't say 'no' to another fighter." Though, I had to admit that I didn't expect any more recruits at this point. "Thank you." I waved as the two of them ran off, noticing how the two of them held themselves so similarly, and smiled slightly. Fir clearly had two role models: her mother and her uncle. It showed.

"Well, looks like things are picking up." A laughing, lilting voice signalled someone's approach, and I whirled, unnerved that I hadn't heard her walk up. "Sorry for startling you," she said, smiling. My eyes fell to the numerous scars on her, including what looked to be a messy burn scar on her neck, and her bright blue eyes. "You're the tactician, right?"

"I am, yes," I replied slowly. I gave her a curious look, thinking she looked rather familiar, like I'd seen her, or someone who looked like her before. I tried to focus a bit more on her looks, but other than the dark brown hair, a fairly common color, I just couldn't quite place it. "Why?"

"Well, that Brunja lady is nearby." She shrugged, pointing towards where Brunja 'apparently' was. I saw nothing but buildings. "Sorta."

"How is one 'sort of' nearby?"

"It's more that she's heading this way." She smiled. "I thought you might want to get a jump on that. She's all fire and determination, but blood and damnation, she's got a thick skull."

"Ah, yes?" I felt my thoughts trip up a little at the very strange curse. "I'll… go check on that then."

"Sure. I'll go reassure Cinead." Her smile widened, and she walked off, moving with total silence. It was a bit unnerving, but I didn't have time to muse on that, or try to figure out the missing piece on why she looked familiar.

I returned to my horse and mounted up, heading in the direction she had pointed. I felt almost a little silly for it, but something on the wind told me to take it seriously. I ended up glad for it, since she was right. Brunja was right there, and she had clearly not been expecting anyone to come for her.

However, that surprise didn't last long. "Bern will not fall!" Brunja cried, dropping her Bolting tome for another, reaching out towards me. Her eyes were almost wild with how stubborn and determined they were. "Even if I die, Bern will-"

"The only one talking about Bern falling is you, idiot," I retorted. I had an arrow in my hand, but I paused, something just… telling me to wait. "The war is over. You lost. You killed them all, and yet you still lost."

"You…!" She fired the spell, but I tilted my head to the side, and the blue-white burst of cold just whizzed past my ear. "You…!"

"Apologize to the dead for what your fanaticism and loyalty did." I twirled the arrow about my fingers once, aimed, and fired in one smooth motion. The arrow thudded straight into her chest and she stumbled back, gasping for air. She reached up towards the arrow, but it had already burst into light, driving straight through her back and letting the blood pour down. "You really should've worn some armor to protect your heart."

"I…" She coughed wetly, blood speckling her lips. The little bit of whistling I heard hinted I'd gotten her lung too. She wasn't long for the world. "You…" She smiled. She actually smiled. "Finally… I can go… to his side…"

"...Yeah, go ahead." I sighed, shaking my head. "You have the worst taste in men, and rulers."

"I suppose… so…" Her eyes clouded over and she collapsed, blood puddling under her. She was dead before she even hit the ground. I dismounted to check, though. If she hadn't been, I would've mercy killed her. I'd never forgive her, but that didn't mean I had to have her suffer on the way to her judgement.

It felt hollow killing her, though. It didn't feel like anything. Perhaps it was because I'd already ruined her life. Killing her felt more like a kindness, and one I wasn't quite sure I wanted to give her, even if I didn't want to kill her. Emotions sucked.

"Oh, you killed her." Roy walked up then, looking a little ruffled, but otherwise, untouched. The Sword of Seals all-but-shimmered in his hands, clearly loving being used. "I was wondering why the bolts disappeared," he murmured. He peered at me worriedly. "You all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied, shrugging. It was just another kill, at this point. "Regardless, though…" A terrifying roar suddenly pierced the air, and I gasped as I saw at least ten dragons suddenly just appear on the horizon, right behind our forces. "That's… uh…"

"...Damn it." Roy grit his teeth. "They must be here to defend Idenn…" He glanced at me. "I need a plan, and I need one-"

"Small group inside. You, me, Wuotan, Fiona, and the Divine Weapon holders. Clarine will stay out here with the Saint's Staff, because they'll need it more." My mind was already spinning, rapidly trying to think of what to do. "Everyone gets the strongest things Merlinus has, no holding back for anything. Elphin can keep things under control out here while we head in..."

"Ah, there you two are." Cinead walked up, looking incredibly calm despite everything. Then again, Fiona had said he was a child during the Scouring. "I've been talking with my fellows," he explained with a small smile. Roy and I exchanged a look, a bit weirded out. "We'd like to assist."

"That's… appreciated?" Roy replied. He looked skeptical. "But, forgive me, how do you intend to…?"

"Why, with this." Cinead produced a brilliant red-orange gem, scarily similar to the Fire Emblem, and it pulsed with power. "Little Fae is not the only dragon with a dragonstone around here."

"Oh, okay." Roy paused briefly, and then yelped. "Wait, you're a dragon?!"

"A full blooded one at that. We planned to move anyway once the demon dragon was dealt with. There's no real risk in revealing ourselves now, and perhaps it might help our hopes if your people saw dragons fighting alongside true dragons." He smiled warmly and casually walked off. "So, we'll go do that. You mentioned an Elphin, so I'll go talk to him. You need to head in."

"Y-yeah, sure?" Roy's voice was distinctly squeaky and he turned to me with wide yes. "He's a dragon? He's a freaking dragon?!"

"You didn't freak out this much when Wuotan revealed he was a dragon, you know," I pointed out. I felt entirely too calm now. "We really should head in."

"Wuotan didn't casually say 'oh, hey, I'm a dragon' and then walk off!" Roy protested. He glowered and then sighed. "Oh, whatever. It's a good reminder that I can be thrown off balanced by things. Let's head-"

"Roy! Irene!" Fae's cheerful voice made us both yelp as she flew over and casually landed right next to us. "Can I come to?" she asked, eyes pleading. Roy and I shared a startled look, and protests bubbled to my lip. "I can hear someone crying." Her simple declaration made the protests die. "Someone is crying and screaming. It's really faint, but I can hear her." She pointed to the Sanctuary. "Somewhere there, deep in the darkness. I want to give her a hug." Roy and I exchanged another look, and I could see the question in his eyes: 'is it Idenn?' "Please?"

"...All right," Roy whispered. I hesitated before nodding. We'd keep her safe, but maybe she could… help us figure out our 'answer'. "Stay close to me, Fae. Irene?"

"I'll handle recruiting everyone," I reassured. Flashes of light erupted behind us, and I turned to see dragons, of various colors, appear to shield our soldiers from the War Dragon's ambush. "You work on calming the freaked out soldiers."

"I'll give them a speech, like always." He grinned and I laughed. "See you soon."

"Yes, I'll see you soon." Then it was into the Sanctuary, the final battle for us.

This all felt a bit unreal, but I knew that was just my shock kicking in, since this was far more of a whirlwind than expected. I'd move past it before long.


Inside, it was just a single, long path. At first, I'd thought nothing of it, since temples in the Sacae often had 'one path', but at some point during our mad run, Wuotan whispered that the 'other paths' were blocked and Fiona murmured that it hadn't been that way a few months ago. At that point, it became quickly obvious just what we were running into, but we had no choice. We didn't have the time to find ones Jahn missed.

Still, I hadn't expected to run into three War Dragons, bellowing in fury as we entered a room. We all had to hit the ground in order to avoid their surprise attack, and we all paused, trying to think of just what to do. We had to get by, but we couldn't leave these guys at our back.

'Go,' Rutger had said. 'We can catch up later,' Deke had added. Then the two of them fell on the War Dragons, and got them out of the way of the door in the back. With no choice, we let them stay behind, and continued on.

Sofia and Ray stayed behind at the next room. 'One use, and then our normal spells to clean up!' Ray had laughed. 'Go on, and be the sun and fire, you two,' Sofia had whispered with a smile. That she only addressed two of us hinted what was likely to happen, but I chose to not acknowledge it.

I felt I had to though, when in the next room, Lilina and Sue stayed behind. 'Wind to your back, everyone,' Sue had prayed. 'We have this!' Lilina had boasted. I paused long enough to give them hugs before racing to catch up to the others, who hadn't hesitated.

To no one's surprise, the next room had even more dragons, and Miredy and Tate stayed behind. 'Fear not. I won't die,' Miredy had reassured. Tate had said nothing, simply gave me a warm smile that promised more than anything she could have said. I gave them my best, confident smile, and raced on, not even getting a chance to think about hugging them. The dragons had attacked, and I just barely avoided losing my damn arm to their flames.

I was legitimately surprised when Jahn was in the next room, sitting casually on a stone throne embedded with bright red rubies, with Idenn simply curled up in the shadows of the corner. I'd expected much more of a runaround.

"Well, it looks like you used the same tactic with me that you did with Zephiel," Jahn noted lightly. I studied him, recognizing him as the man who had given me the creeps in Aquelia. "How arrogant, thinking you can make me submit with so few."

"Perhaps it is your arrogance to think you can take us," Roy replied instantly, voice as cold as ice. I was reminded of Aunt Ninian when someone actually managed to make her lose her temper. "Then again, perhaps this can resolve this peacefully?"

"Peace has no meaning between humans and dragons." Jahn stood slowly, each movement seeming like it took eternity. It was like he had all the time in the world, and moved accordingly. "Still, I find it interesting that once again at the end of things, I face down a half-dragon." He smiled, and it was just as slow. "The last was the little sun child. She and her friend made a mistake, just letting me fall."

"Hilda and Elimine did always regret not making sure he had a fatal wound before pushing him off," Fiona muttered. She glared, tenser than I'd ever seen her, and poor Fae looked frightened of the look, actually ducking behind me. "Gods, damn you."

"There is no reason to damn me for another's mistake," Jahn scolded, smiling distinctly mocking now. "One thousand years… I have waited and healed. I waited for someone to break the seal…"

"I don't suppose it occurred to you to get a life?" I asked dryly. I couldn't help it, and it was worth his eyes narrowing. "Is this where you go on about the truth of the Scouring or some droning nonsense? Because we know enough."

"No, I have no interest in monologuing to corpses." He gestured towards Idenn, and she stepped out of the corner. As she did, she brought up a strange gem of muted purple, shimmering with some sort of dull light. "Idenn, finish them."

"Yes…" Idenn whispered. She held the stone high above her head, and it pulsed with power, purple-black light slinking around her slowly. Wuotan instantly moved to stand in front of Roy, Fae, and me, while Fiona brought up her hands. I thought at first she was going to attack or dance, but she simply clasped them in prayer. I wondered why.

Then, there was another pulse of power, one that nearly sent me to my knees, and a flash of bright light. But it was soon followed by a horrible screech of pain, one that sent chills down my spine. Idenn flung the stone away, and it clattered to the ground, a brilliant sky-blue instead of the muted purple of before. It looked like Fae's dragonstone.

Utter silence followed, born from pure shock. But then, Fiona began to laugh. She began to laugh and laugh and laugh, the sound bouncing off the walls, and it sounded almost mad, but there was such triumph in it that it was hard to call it anything else.

"You fell for it!" she cackled, smile wide and bright. Her eyes sparkled and for a brief moment, I thought this might have been what she looked like before the Scouring, all energy and life. "You fell for the trick! Ah, I love those guys so damn much!"

"Trick…?" Jahn repeated, his eyes wide. All traces of confidence fled for confusion. Idenn just flat out fled into the darkness, through a door in the back I hadn't seen until then. "But… Zephiel… the Archives…"

"Hilda stole it. Elimine and Hartmut hid it. And they hid it by putting a fake in Aquelia, and making sure the Archives Hartmut left behind purposely said it was there! He even made absolute certainty to be perfectly honest about everything else in the Archives, just so that the ruse wouldn't be discovered!" She kept on laughing, actually clutching her stomach like it hurt. Maybe it did. I wondered how long it had been since she'd laughed this much. "It caused a mess of trouble, thanks to Desmond finding it and Nicholas refusing, but it did its job You fell for the trap!" Tears streaming down her face, and I had no idea if they were from bitter laughter or bittersweet sorrow. "Worse, you didn't even check! So now, Idenn's weakened because a Demon Dragon can't utilize a divine dragonstone! My dragonstone! You sealed your own loss because you didn't think!"

"You…!" Jahn hissed, eyes flashing in pure rage, and without even another word, fire whipped about, and disappeared to reveal his dragon form, the one from Aquelia. "You'll regret making a fool of-!"

"Am I?" Wuotan asked softly, his voice carrying easily as Fiona's laughter died for snickers. His smile was calm as he walked up, but there was a distinct aura of sheer authority, of sheer power. It was just like way back at the Western Isles, before we fought that first dragon, and like then, all my attention was on him. "Jahn, it's so easy to make a fool of you because you go through such great lengths to be one. This is the Dragon's Sanctuary. While here, I have no need of the Fire Emblem to transform, and that means I do not need to use that weakened form to fight you."

"...Weak…?"

"I made that dragonstone over a thousand years ago. It's power has diminished, and it is no longer attuned to me. But now, I can fight you to my fullest strength." Wuotan's smile grew vicious. "How about a proper duel this time? Your full strength against mine, for once in your long life."

"I'll…!"

"Die, of course. But I'm hoping you can last long enough to make it worth the exercise. There's a reason why I was the leader of the strongest Fire Tribe in Elibe, and you always knew that!" Fire wrapped around Wuotan, the heat enough to make my eyes water and my skin prickled. But it cleared quickly and instead of Wuotan, I saw a dragon with scales that flickered like flames in the night, with golden claws digging into the stone and matching teeth bared in a snarl. I saw a dragon with bright blue eyes, and realized I knew those eyes, and I knew this dragon. It was the one who had saved us in Aquelia, and I wondered why I hadn't put the pieces together sooner. He had known the plan, and his eyes were the same. But, I supposed it didn't matter. It didn't matter since Wuotan was already lunging for Jahn.

"Don't worry about Wuotan," Fiona reassured, having calmed down during the exchange. She smiled slightly, despite the tears stubbornly clinging to her face. Her eyes still sparkled. "He's got a lot of issues with Jahn, and they're bubbling over. He's got as fierce a temper as all his descendants." She shrugged and turned towards the door we came in from. "Well, that's a bit of trouble." She pointed when she realized Roy and I were confused, and I turned to see War Dragons forcing their way through, cracking the foundations in their blind push. "You'll be fine without us. Fae can lead you the rest of the way. She can 'hear' Idenn." She flashed us a smile. "Leave this to us. Jahn… is someone we should've dealt with a long, long time ago." Llight wrapped around her and flooded the air. When it dissipated, Fiona was a dragon, and her form looked like a smoother, older, version of Fae's. She was just as blue and gold, but lither and more proportionate, with the 'feathers' looking more like extensions of her scales. Even in the darkness, she shimmered, glowing from an inner light. "Go! Finish this!"

I took Fae's hand and bolted for the door, Roy just two steps behind me. There was nothing we could do but get in the way, at this point. The best way we could help… was to get to Idenn.

I hoped everyone would still be alive when we did.


We ran. We ran, hard and fast. We said nothing, as all our breath was taken up by simply running as fast as we could, faster than we could. At least, that was what I thought.

"Roy? Irene?" Fae suddenly called. Both of us slowed to a stop as we noticed she was behind us, wings flapping as she hovered. "Is Fae also an enemy?"

"What?" I replied, startled. I walked over and bent down to hug her. "No, of course not. Why would you think that?"

"That man… the Scouring…" Her expression crumpled. "Will Fae become a bad dragon when she grows up? Will she have to leave everyone?"

"No, sweetie, of course not."

"Jahn is a narrowminded idiot, trapped in the old world, never realizing how the world has already adapted and changed," Roy stated firmly. He moved next to Fae and hugged her too. "You lived with humans in Nabata, right? You love Igrene."

"I do," Fae whispered. Her expression didn't change. "I love everyone. I love you two, and I love Igrene, and I loved Athos and I love Sofia and I love Alberich, and I extra-love Fiona…" Her voice cracked. "But the demon dragon… she's like me! So, when I'm older, will I…?"

"You'll always be Fae, no matter what." Roy smiled at her. "And we're going to help Idenn."

"You are?"

"Yep. And you are too. You're the one who can hear her screaming, yes?"

"...Right!" Fae's eyes lit up, and she became determined. "So… so, I'll take you to her, and then you and Irene can save her!"

"Yes." She flew ahead. "This way! We're close!" Roy and I shared a smile and a shrug before following her, actually having difficulty keeping up.

But, thankfully, Fae stopped right in front of an open doorway, and the three of us entered the large room together. There was nothing really unique about it. It was just a large, empty room, with a silverish throne in the back, and a shivering Idenn in the center.

"Idenn?" Roy called. He walked forward, towards her, while Fae and I hung back. "Idenn, might we speak?"

"Why?" she whispered. Her hood was down, and so, we could see her face fully. Her eyes were dull. "Why do you hinder my path?" Her voice was just as soft as before, and just as monotone. But this time, I knew why, and my heart broke for her. "I will lead the world to a new era. Why do you stop me?"

"No, please…" Roy shook his head. "The one who ordered you is already dead. You have no reason to fight anymore!" Roy held out his hand to her. "Please, enough. I want to help you."

"Help…? No reason to fight…?" She tilted her side, almost in confusion, but her expression remained blank. "A long time ago… I heard words like that. Soft words, like a warm breeze… strong voice, like the bright sun… clear eyes, like burning hope… so bright, so much light…" She shook her head. "But that was long ago. I fell asleep in the darkness, dreaming endlessly of nothing. Empty dreams, pitch white, colorless. Nothing. But then I woke up, and saw eyes burning like the sun again, though there was nothing warm about them. His Majesty woke me up, and willed me to save the world."

"But…"

"I will do this. I must. He woke me up. He took me from the nothingness. Without his call, his will, I am nothing." Power pulsed around her, less staggering than before, but someone more painful to look at. "I must… I must…!" It wrapped around her like a blanket, or a lover, and scattered apart, revealing her dragon form. I winced when I saw it, noticing the similarities to Fiona's, but seeing where the wings were withered, crimson lines etched through almost like wounds. I wondered how she was broken. I dreaded ever learning. "I must!"

The room trembled as she screamed, and poor Fae winced, tearing up. I pulled her towards me, and looked at Roy. His eyes were confused and his expression was pained. He'd been hoping he wouldn't have to think. But that was just how things were.

"Roy," I whispered. He glanced at me. "You have as much time as I have arrows." I brought up Rienfleche and pulled an arrow out of my quiver for emphasis. "That's all I can buy."

His smile was all the thanks I needed, and I spun, aiming and firing at random. It splintered off her side, and she lashed out with her claws. I managed to roll out of the way, and Fae just flew out of reach. As soon as I got to my feet, I pulled out another arrow and fired. This one caught the edge of her eye, and for a split second, I worried I'd hit her in the eye, and maybe even kill her, depending on how deep Rienfleche made the arrow of light go.

Then she nearly bit off my head and I stopped worrying. I didn't have much of a choice. She might be 'weakened', but she was still a damn dragon, and I fought her only with Rienfleche, a weapon never designed specifically to fight dragons, and she was a demon dragon, even stronger.

I focused on her eyes, mostly to keep holding her attention. Even a doll didn't like things hitting her eyes.

One by one, my arrow supply dwindled, the remaining clattering and rolling about in my emptying quiver. Roy stood to the side, holding the Sword of Seals, still sheathed, in his hands, trying to decide just what to do. I didn't begrudge him. It was overwhelming, coming up with an 'answer' to a question that was asking a thousand years ago.

One of my arrows went wide as Idenn swung her tail at me, the wind sending me skidding backwards. Before I could catch my bearings, Idenn's eyes flashed and she breathed out a black mist that seemed to devour the very light. Fae, however, transformed in an instance and countered the breath with her own. The two attacks met in the middle, with a dull thunderous sound and another blast of wind that actually took me right off my damn feet. I hit the ground hard, all the breath leaving me in an instance, and it took me a few rolls to get my feet under me. I winced as I noticed most of my arrows actually broke from the impact, leaving me with only two usable ones left.

So, as the two dragons stopped their attacks and broke apart, I fired my second to last arrow and yelled, "Roy!" It took me a moment to find him. He'd been pushed to the other side of the room, and there was blood dripping down the side of his face from where he'd hit a pillar hard. "Sorry, but I've got only one left!"

"It's fine," he yelled back. He unsheathed the Sword of Seals and fire wrapped around it. The Fire Emblem pulsed and glowed in the hilt, shining like the sun. "I've… I think I've got it. I just need…!"

"Fae, you and I need to open her guard for Roy!" I pulled out my very last arrow, and took careful aim. Fae glanced at us worriedly, but nodded. She said nothing, but her eyes held total faith in us. "Now!"

Fae roared and loosed another mist-breath attack. Idenn shifted to dodge it, all of her weight going on her left two legs. I took that opportunity to shoot, striking the side of her right eye, and forcing her to jerk her head back, tilting her even further off balance, exposing her belly and her chest.

Roy was already moving, small sparks trailing after him almost like little stars. He bellowed a war cry, and swung, the flames of the Sword of Seals erupting from the blade and screeching forth, dancing around like dragons desperately clawing at each other.

The flames hit Idenn square in the chest, and she screeched. I actually had to duck and cover my ears as it echoed on and on, sincerely wondering if my ears were going to bleed from how loud and high it was. But I kept my eyes open, and I watched as the flames wrapped around and around her, binding her legs and pinning her wings. I watched as the flames clawed up her scales and into her face. I watched as the flames enveloped her like a hungry beast and grew brighter and brighter, as intense as the sun. I eventually had to close my eyes, for fear of going blind from the light, and it grew so bright that I swore I saw it clearly through my eyelids anyway.

But, all at once, everything went dark, and I slowly opened my eyes, blinking slowly as I tried to adjust to the sudden silence. Fae was back in her humanoid form, curled up in a little ball with her wings tucked tight, and Roy was near her, kneeling with the sword still clutched in his hands, eyes still closed.

So, I was the first to see Idenn sprawled on the floor, in her humanoid form. I was the first to push myself to my feet, and stumble over to her. I was the first to kneel next to her and check her vitals. Her breath was even and her pulse was strong. She was unconscious, but alive.

"Did it work?" Roy's voice was barely more than a croak. I glanced back and saw him limping towards me, smiling slightly. "Is she alive?" he asked. "I mean…"

"Yeah, she is," I replied. His smile grew. "What did you do?"

"It's the Sword of Seals. So, I willed it to 'seal' her draconic power. I mean; I don't know if that'll actually work or heal her, but…" He shrugged. "If it doesn't, then we can mercy kill her. But maybe without the power, her soul can… well…"

"There's no more screaming." Fae floated over and landed on the other side of Idenn, taking her hand with a smile. "There's still crying, but there's no more screaming," she explained. She beamed at us. "You did it!"

"It's a little soon to call that, Fae," I chided. Still, it was an answer. Our answer… was to bring Idenn out of this hell, one step at a time. We might never see her recover. She might never recover fully. But, one step at a time, we'd at least keep her out of the darkness she hated. "So…" A loud rumble cut me off, followed by a huge amount of trembling. Little pieces of stone fell by my face, and it wasn't until I looked up that I put all the pieces together. "So, any explanation for just why the temple is suddenly collapsing now?"

"Well, maybe it's because of the Divine Weapons being used?" Roy suggested. He looked a little two curious. "I mean; if they once managed to warp reality, bringing down a building doesn't seem that absurd? Or maybe Jahn triggered something? Or maybe-?"

"Roy. Theorize later. Run first." At that moment, a large piece of the ceiling crashed down, right on the throne. "I'll carry her."

"I'll help her on your back." The seconds crawled by as he did that, and the pillars by us crumpled, sending jagged shards in our path to the door. "...Damn."

"Running now!"

Roy led the way, with Fae in the middle, and me trailing because I was carrying Idenn. She was slight, and probably weighed less than she should, but considering she was still a grown person, that was still a lot of extra weight on my back that my tired legs had to carry. I was a lot slower than I would've liked, and sadly, so was Roy. The blow to the head clearly addled him, and the constant shaking of the ground and falling pieces of rubble did not make for an easy journey.

At one point, he yelped and fell, sliding to a stop just in front of where the path had completely collapsed, leaving only a gaping hole. His foot actually dangled over that abyss, and I had to pause to process just how damn close that was.

Fae, of course, continued on, flying over the hole easily. "Wait, you two can't fly," Fae yelped. Her eyes were wide as she turned back to look at us. Rubble still fell, some particularly jagged bits dangerously close to her wings. "How are you two…?"

"We'll… look for another way," I called. I made myself smile as Roy slowly pushed himself up. "You go on ahead, Fae."

"But…!" Her eyes filled with tears. "But…!"

"Go on, Fae! It's okay!" Honestly, all I could think at the moment was getting her at least back on solid ground before something fell on her wings and sent her falling. It would be all the better if she met up with the others. I hoped they were okay and weren't trapped too. "We'll…" I couldn't say anything else. I just couldn't. I couldn't because…

"We'll catch up," Roy finished for me. He knew why I couldn't. Little 'white lies' weren't quite a sin, not to make children feel safe, but it still felt wrong, especially right now. "So, go on. We'll be there soon."

"...Okay!" Fae called. She started flying down the path again, but paused and turned back to look at us. "I'll be waiting! So don't be long!" She gave us a tearful, fearful smile, and flew off.

I could only pray she didn't realize just why I couldn't tell her those same words.

"There must be a path we missed," Roy whispered. His voice shook, and fear clawed at my own heart. We certainly had no way forward this way, and we were fast running out of time. "Let's head back?"

"We can try," I replied. My own voice was steady, and I hated it. I hated it, because I could still think, but there was no 'thinking' our way out of this. "You want to keep leading?"

"I might as well lead until the end of this." He tried to smile, but it looked small and fragile. "This way!" He ran back down the path, and I followed as best as I could. Idenn remained sleeping on my back, breaths steady against my neck, no matter how many times I teetered and tripped. The path was becoming more and more littered with bits of rubble, and parts cracked and broke off as we raced past. A few even crumbled under our feet, though we managed to push off before falling.

Two loud crashes in front of us made us slid to stops, and we could only stare as we realized what it was. Two large chunks of the ceiling collapsed, and blocked the path in front of us. A glance back confirmed that the path behind of us was too precarious for us to even attempt to run back. There had been no signs of another path.

"...Seriously, after all of this, a damn building is going to be what does us in?" I asked softly, laughing a little. It just felt ridiculous. "We went through everything, even found an answer…"

"Yet, it seems we're trapped, and will be buried alive," Roy mumbled. His smile was broken, rueful, and resigned. "Everyone is going to kill us."

"Yes, they are." I sighed, and looked up at the ceiling. The piece above us was cracking bit by bit. It would likely fall on us before long. "Do you want to try and put up an ice shield? It might protect us."

"It could." He shrugged. "I could also try to ice the path, but honestly, I'm rather drained. I think the Sword of Seals took some of my own power for the sealing."

"Neither of us would be able to do anything but slid on the ice." I looked down and around, still trying to think. It was my job as a tactician to think, and I supposed I would think until the end of everything. "If this was a story, we'd get a mysterious rescue now."

"There's enough ghosts." Roy barked out a laugh. A loud 'crack' above us hinted the slab was about to fall and crush us. "Maybe one will appear, like in Ilia."

"That would be convenient." I laughed as well, and it sounded hollow to my ears. Another crack, and a slight creak, hit my ears. "Do we give up, or cling to hope?"

"We hope." He managed a smile. "I will not give up hope just because it burns, Irene."

"You said that to Oswin, when we learned about Araphan."

"I believe it still."

"I suppose belief is catching." I looked around one more time as a third crack and a louder creak told me how little time we had left. "What would…?" I trailed off as I noticed something. My earrings… my earrings, the ones I inherited from Dad, the ones he had worn during the Campaign of Fire, were moving, slightly, and not from my own breathing. The movement was off. "What is…?" It didn't take me long to figure it out from there. There was a faint, faint breeze and it was nudging my earrings, trying to catch my attention. "Hold on…" I followed it. I had to strain to feel it, hear it, but I followed it, caught the whisper on the wind, and that's when I found it. There was a small hole in the wall, just large enough for someone to squeeze through, and there was a path beyond. "Roy!"

"Are you serious?!" Roy appeared at my side and started laughing. "Holy hell! How…?"

"Father Sky sent his wind." I nudged him at the hole. "Go! I'll pass her to you and then I'll go through last! Quickly!"

"Right!" Roy pushed his way through, his clothes and cape catching on the edges. Idenn, still unconscious, went through a little more easily, thanks to being so thin. I really had to squeeze, mostly because I was too tall for the damn hole and had to lean awkwardly. But I stumbled through just as the ceiling behind us collapsed fully with a loud, cascading thunder of a crash. Roy and I stared at the plugged up hole for all of half-a-second. Then Idenn was hoisted back on my back and we ran. We ran as hard and fast as we could, harder and faster even. The walls creaked and cracked as we raced past. The floor underneath gave way at parts and we had to stumble past. The ceiling fractured and fell and we had to twist away and try not to fall.

But as we ran, the wind got stronger and stronger, urging us forward. Before long, a light shone at the end of the hall, and it grew brighter and brighter. As the hall completely collapsed behind us, we burst out into the open air, and our feet thudded onto rocks and packed dirt. We stumbled to a stop, desperately gasping for air, and a loud crack made us jump. We whirled and we saw the Dragon Sanctuary collapse on itself, becoming nothing but rubble in seconds.

We could only stare in total shock, keenly aware that we had been less than seconds away from dying. If not for the pain screaming down my legs, the sweat pouring down my face, and the burning pain in my chest from everything, I might've thought it was a last dream, a final hallucination before the life escaped me after being crushed.

Father Sky and Mother Earth, that was too damn close!

"Oh, good, you made it out." The sudden voice made both of us jerk our heads up and whirl. There, casually sitting in the branches of a tree just above our heads, was that strange woman with brown hair and blue eyes I'd seen in the village. "I was worried for a moment," she continued lightly, smiling sweetly. "Thought you two might be too slow. Sadly, though, I couldn't figure out a way in to help. But, it seems you two didn't need it."

"I had Irene, and she had her intuition," Roy replied. His eyes narrowed. "Who are you, exactly? You look familiar."

"You might've seen a portrait of me at the Hanover Estate, or maybe you met my son in Arcadia. He took after me in looks mostly, though he got his father's eyes." She grinned, eyes dancing. My jaw dropped as I put the pieces together. "Is that enough of a hint? You've met the others, so I'm sure it's more than enough."

"I'm too tired to think."

"I'm not," I instantly retorted. I just stared. "You're the Lady Hildegarde."

"Hilda, please," she corrected, scowling. "I can't believe that's the name that went on into the history books. I hated it!" She huffed a bit before laughing. "Well, that's a complaint for another day. Yes, it's me. I chose to linger here, at the Sanctuary, so that I might see the 'answer' the future came up with first hand." Her smile was bright, cheerful, and proud. "I was so amazed what I realized what it was. Amazed, proud, and frustrated. Frustrated that we didn't think of that. But that's what children do. They think of what their parents never did, and make the world better.

"I suppose we'll try." I glanced back at Idenn, still unconscious. "Is she okay?"

"Yes, physically. Her body is simply adjusting to the sudden sealing, much like how the body has to adjust to a sudden surge of power. Roy, you know that pain, I'm sure. I hurt, when I 'awakened'." her smile became kind. "There's a path down right over there." She pointed to a spot hidden by some bushes, but when I went on my tiptoes, I could catch a glimpse of the path. "You should go and meet them. They're scared."

"Of course," Roy whispered. He smiled, tired but happy. "I'm glad you liked the answer we came up with."

"I would've liked anything you came up with, so long as you didn't leave her hanging, as we did. All of us would have." Her form suddenly became transparent, fading a little bit with each breath. "And now I get to go rest, and have more happy conversations with my descendants." Her voice began echoing, as if she was calling from far away. "I'm glad. I was having such a lovely conversation with Amanda about assassination tricks." She giggled, and it sounded… young. She sounded young, barely older than me. I wondered how old she had been, during the Scouring. "Go forth. You have a lot of work to do. But you can do it. If we could, so can you."

She disappeared then, in a flurry of tiny little motes of light that scattered on the wind, twirling up into the bright, cloudless sky. Roy and I watched them disappear into the sunlight and shared a smile before walking down the path, one shaking step at a time.

Someone must've seen us descending, as when we hit the bottom of the path, the whole damn army was rushing for us. Lilina, sooty and scraped up, was one of the first ones, and she didn't even bother with a greeting or a scream. She just tackled Roy with a hug, pulled back slightly, and kissed him full on the mouth in front of everyone.

I laughed, unable to help it, especially since quite a few in the army whistled at the public display. A limping Fiona skipped close to me, and took Idenn off my back silently, with a giant smile and tears of happiness. She carried her over to a bleeding, but smiling Wuotan, who gave me a giant, proud grin. I wondered why they were being so silent, but then I was tackled off my feet by a laughing Fae, who babbled something about how she knew we wouldn't keep her waiting long. From there, I was enveloped in hugs from all sorts of people. Sue and Guinevere were among the first, I remembered, followed by Tate, Miredy, and Clarine. I barely caught hugs from Rutger and Cecilia, reassuring shoulder squeezes from Deke and Perceval. Some, like Sofia and Ray and Igrene and Astore, didn't even try to get close, just caught my eye to smile reassuringly. Others forced their way through, like Fir and Lalum and even Cinead surprisingly enough, to grab my hand and babble something out that I just couldn't remember because I was too busy trying to not get buried by all the people cheering.

At some point, though, Elphin snagged my arm and tugged me a little bit out of the crowd, saying nothing but giving me a reassuring smile. I wondered why for a brief moment, but then a hand wrapped around my waist, and I looked up in time for Klein to kiss my cheek and smile softly at me. I smiled back and leaned against him, using him as a crutch as I smiled and praised every single person who came to reassure themselves that I had actually survived.

It was all right. I didn't mind. We did it. It was over. We won.


Why did the Sanctuary collapse? Fiona and Wuotan are only able to speculate as well. Their theory is that the Ending Winter weakened its infrastructure and that it's been slowly deteriorating for the past thousand years. The sudden influxes of power, from everything, might've just weakened it too much. At the same time, though, there didn't seem to be signs of such potential destruction any of the other times the Weapons were used, so perhaps we'll never know. For all we know, it was the ghosts of the dragons who died, angry that we had defeated, and saved, their demon dragon. Then again, Wuotan and Fiona released a lot of power too…

Bah, I suppose it doesn't matter much. It happened, and we survived. That's enough.


Author's note: Well, here we are, the final chapter. I combined the last three chapters since they're rather short, both in length and in plot. Karel is the final potential recruit for the army, and holds the honor of having the highest growths of any character in the series (he is GUARANTEED a perfect level up, guaranteed +2 HP, with a chance of +3, and has a chance to get +2 to in everything but Res, though the catch is that he can only use those awesome growths once. Since his recruitment comes at the very end, I don't have Irene making notes for him.

I had War Dragons show up mostly to provide an explanation for why you have a small group heading into the Sanctuary in the first place, and to take the place of the dragon reinforcements that appear during the final chapter. Brunja is actually quite the powerhouse, but since she suffers from the low defense most mages have, it's damn easy to one-round her.

Chapter 24 in-game is a loooong exposition dump with multiple mini-bosses (seven in game, I think) and then Jahn, who does not live to the hype, and is plagued by the same weakness that the other dragons are. Now, you can say that it's because the Divine Weapons are so strong, but he still only has one-range. I shortened it considerably since most of the exposition already happened, and changed it for Wuotan and Fiona doing the honors, since… I felt it the most fitting, considering the rest of the series.

The 'trap' mentioned is hinted in the last epilogue of Thief's Legacy, and this is the payoff for that: an explanation for why Idenn is such a weak final boss (although, tbf, Idenn is only weak because the game literally gave you a plot coupon for one-rounding her with base Roy; she has good stats). Fae is a required party member for these last couple of chapters, which is why she's with Roy and Irene during the final bit.

I had the last battle be with so few people because it's less of a 'battle' and more of a 'decision', and as a callback to Thief's Testimony, where the final battle there was fought with only two people. The Amanda Hilda mentions is the POV char for Thief's Testimony.

Did I ever put Irene's growth rates? I don't think so. So, here they are:

HP - 105%, Str - 40%, Mag - 0%, Skl - 65%, Spd - 55%, Lck - 30%, Def - 10%, Res - 25%

Next Chapter - Epilogue 1 (there will be two epilogues)