Chapter 46: Spirits Revived

It had been a depressing week. The army had left Roseanne and were making their way towards the capital of Valm. Despite their impressive victory though, the morale could not be lower. After all, the revelation of Yen'fay's true loyalty and the death of Basilio was a blow to everyone. Two strong warriors and noble souls were lost.

Lucina was feeling like a failure again. Just like with Emmeryn, she failed to save Basilio. Robin tried to reassure her, but to no avail. Lucina was practically kicking herself. She should have put in more effort to save him, to stop him from going. She knew his death was helpful in a way, but it didn't make it any less painful.

For the first time since she met her, Lucina noticed that Flavia was very quiet. Despite their constant bickering, Flavia and Basilio had been the truest of friends, so it must have been painful to see him die before her very eyes. Gregor was rather distraught too, but he took to comforting those who were mourning over the Khan's death. Lucina figured it was his way of mourning as well.

Say'ri was extremely despondent since the day of Yen'fay's death. She hadn't said a word to anyone and was only ever seen when they were marching. Lucina tried talking to her the other day, but she refused to say a word or even look at her.

The only ones who seemed to still be in high spirits were Chrom and Robin. Not that they weren't sad or mourning, but their morale didn't seem to waver one bit. At first, Lucina figured it was because they were trying to keep the army in top form, but now she thought it was something else, something they weren't telling everyone. It was almost as if they anticipated Basilio's death, like it was part of their plan. However, that couldn't have been the case. Robin and Chrom wouldn't willingly sacrifice someone, especially someone like Basilio. Then again, Basilio did volunteer and this was essentially a suicide mission.

Whatever the case, Robin and Chrom were fired up. Lucina observed as the two of them trained harder than ever before. Since Say'ri wasn't interacting with people at the moment, Chrom was training with Hyun-Jum and Hyun-Ki while Robin was training with Father Eric. At the moment though, only Father Eric and Hyun-Ki were on the field, doing some hand to hand combat.

It was an excellent battle to watch. Both used a style that mixed offense with defense, but Hyun-Ki's movements seemed far more elegant while Father Eric's movements had more aggression. Either way, neither was giving an inch, easily keeping up with each other's strikes.

"My father is expert in martial arts." said Hyun-Jum. "I have yet to see someone best him in combat."

"He is impressive." said Robin.

"I'm afraid your teacher stands no chance." HyunJum chuckled.

"Don't count him out yet." said Robin.

Father Eric tried to jab Hyun-Ki, who easily parried his strike. He then chopped Father Eric in the gut. Father Eric grunted, but countered with a kick to the ribs. The two separated for a second, allowing them some breathing room, but not for long. Father Eric attempted a high kick to Hyun-Ki's face, but the old man quickly ducked the kick. He then grabbed Father Eric's leg and threw it aside, causing the monk to fall off balance. Father Eric tried to get up, but Hyun-Ki slammed his arms onto the monk's back, knocking him back down. Hyun-Ki then grabbed Father Eric by the scruff of his robes and began to slowly raise one arm, forming a chop.

"What is he doing?" Lucina asked, concerned.

"Relax." said Hyun-Jum.

Lucina wasn't feeling relaxed though. There was no question that Hyun-Ki was focusing all of his power into this one strike. Hyun-Ki began to grunt, louder and louder as his hand drew back further. Father Eric looked in, dazed and nervous.

"Stop!" Lucina cried out.

"Wait." Hyun-Jum said calmly.

Hyun-Ki then let out a loud cry and swung his arm. However, he stopped his strike inches from Father Eric's neck. He then calmly put his hand over Father Eric's nose. He then squeezed Father Eric's nose, saying "honk!" as he did. Hyun-Ki let go of Father Eric, who fell to the ground in a daze. Robin, Chrom and Hyun-Jum chuckled as Lucina let out a sigh of relief.

"Well done." Hyun-Ki smiled, helping Father Eric up. "Long time since I had such a good fight. Trained well."

"You're very impressive yourself." said Father Eric, breathing heavily. "You could've killed me with that last move, couldn't you?"

"Aye." said Hyun-Ki. "Very deadly technique. Very effective too."

"Perhaps you could teach me?" Father Eric asked.

"Of course." said Hyun-Ki.

"Well done father." said Hyun-Jum. "You as well, Father Eric."

"Thank you." said Father Eric.

"Alright, time for some sparring." said Chrom. "Hey, Robin, how about you and me go a few rounds?"

"Sounds like fun." said Robin. "It's been a while since you and I fought."

"This should be interesting." said Hyun-Ki.

"Good luck." said Lucina.

Chrom smiled. Robin winked to Lucina while Chrom wasn't looking.

This should be interesting. Lucina thought. My father against my boyfriend.

Chrom and Robin grabbed a pair of practice swords and took their stances. They sized each other up, slowly beginning to circle each other. Chrom made the first move, swinging towards Robin. Robin quickly blocked it and swung the strike away.

"Oooooohhhh." an excited voice said near them. "I gotta see this."

The voice came from Morgan, who quickly sat next to Lucina. Lucina smiled and made room for the young girl.

Morgan was an interesting addition to the Shepherds. The young girl was vibrant, eager, and very studious. It was as if Cynthia and Laurent had child. It was hard not to feel a jolt of energy around her. Lucina also noticed that she seemed to catch the eye of a few of the gentlemen in the army, including Inigo (though Inigo would hump any girl with a pulse).

Going back to the battle, Robin attempted a stab at Chrom, who easily parried it back and tried a downslice at Robin. Robin stepped back right before it could hit and tried to counter with a slash. Chrom ducked it and kicked Robin away.

"Not bad." said Chrom. "But still not good enough."

"Let's change that then." Robin smiled.

He closed his eyes for a second. The flames of ignis then ignited all over his body, but were quickly diminished. However, when Robin opened his eyes, they had turned purple.

"Woah." said Chrom.

"I've been practicing." said Robin. "Not only can I access Ignis on command, but I can control how much of it I want to use. If I had to guess, this would be about ten percent of Ignis' actual power."

"Well, let's see what you can do with it." Chrom smiled, readying his sword.

Lucina smiled in excitement. She had seen some of Robin's training with controlling Ignis and was eager to see how it would pay off.

As Chrom and Robin continued to spar, they certainly seemed more evenly matched than before. Robin was visibly much faster and his strikes seemed far stronger. However, Chrom still easily kept pace. Lucina has a feeling that this was due to his training with Say'ri.

"Get Em Robin!" Morgan cheered.

"Atta boy!" said Father Eric.

"My money is on Prince Chrom." Hyun-Jum whispered to his father.

"Aye." Hyun-Ki smiled.

"Who do you think will win?" Morgan asked.

"Um, dunno." Lucina shrugged.

Chrom and Robin's sword locked together. The two stared each other down, smiling.

"How about whoever wins this last push ends it?" Robin asked.

"You're on." Chrom grinned.

The two pushed their swords against each other, neither giving an inch. Everyone cheered them on as they struggled to gain control.

However, Chrom managed to push Robin back with an enormous shove. Robin fell to the ground as Chrom pointed his practice sword at Robin's neck.

"Gotcha." Chrom smiled.

Robin closed his eyes and sighed. When he opened them again, they returned to his usual brown.

"You got lucky." Robin smirked.

"You got beaten." said Chrom. "You can thank my Azesian teachers for that."

Hyun-Ki and Hyun-Jum smiled at that remark. Everyone then clapped as Chrom helped Robin up.

"Well fought." said Lucina. "Though, I'm not surprised my father won."

"Oh-ho." said Robin. "Glad you have confidence in me, partner."

"Please, my father will always be a better swordsman." said Lucina.

"Can't argue with that." said Chrom. "Though, admittedly, Robin took the fight out of me. Who's up for lunch?"

"I am." said Robin.

"Same here." said Lucina.

"Father and I will remain here and train." said Hyun-Jum. "We have some practice to do."

"I'll stay as well." said Father Eric. "I'd like to learn a bit more from Hyun-Ki."

"I'll eat." said Morgan.

"To the mess tent then." said Chrom.

Thus, they all left to get some food. As they left, Lucina whispered into Robin's ear as they walked to the mess tent.

"I knew my father would win." She whispered. "But I was rooting for you."

Robin smiled at this remark. Lucina smiled back, giving him a little nudge.


It was late afternoon and Robin was going over notes, preparing for their next move. There was serious debate as to what they should do next now that Yen'fay had fallen. Though it increased their chances of success, they still had a huge hurdle to get past and that was in the form of Cervantes, Excellus, and Walhart himself. Despite all of his generals now being disposed of, Walhart was still a force to be reckoned with and they needed a strategy.

Robin thought it would still be good to lay low and take down some smaller Valmese forces in order to gain more allies. Chrom and Flavia disagreed, saying that they should go after Walhart while he was wounded. However, Robin knew Walhart wouldn't double over and retreat just because Yen'fay was gone, no matter how big of a blow it was. He still had most of the continent in his clutches and, from what Flavia said, Walhart had some magical weapon called the Sol Sword. Tiki and Hyun-Ki described it as a weapon that could harness the power of Sol, allowing the user to recover from damage and sap energy from whoever they harm with it. It was how he defeated Basilio and Robin didn't want anyone to meet the same fate.

Let's see. Robin thought to himself. There are few towns nearby occupied by some Valmese forces. If we free them, we could at least get some extra supplies, maybe some more soldiers.

"Hey, Robin!" Morgan's voice sounded out from outside the tent.

"Yes, Morgan?" Robin answered.

"Over here!" said Morgan. "Come with me a minute!"

"Is everything ok?" Robin asked, getting up from his desk and walking outside, where his future daughter was waiting for him.

"Well, I need to talk to you about something." said Morgan.

Robin noticed that there seemed to be a little gleam in her eyes. Robin knew that look, because he usually had that look when he was plotting something.

"Well, what is it?" Robin asked. "I am kind of busy."

"We, uh, can't talk here." said Morgan. "I promise it's nothing super important, it's just we can't talk here. Come with me."

Without warning, Morgan yanked Robin out of his tent and began leading him towards the woods. Robin smiled and rolled his eyes. She definitely got her tenacity from her mother.

"Are you sure it's not urgent?" Robin asked.

"No, not at all." said Morgan. "Well, sort of."

"You're acting very strangely Morgan." said Robin.

Robin's eyes then noticed the tripwire. Morgan carefully stepped over it. Robin then carefully stepped over it as well.

"Nice try Morgan." said Robin.

"Huh?" Morgan asked. "I don't know what you mean."

"Oh, no?" Robin smiled.

Robin then took a knife out of his pocket. However, instead of cutting the tripwire behind him, he leaned over to behind Morgan, where another tripwire was. Once it was cut, a pitfall was revealed.

"A pitfall, huh?" Robin said. "Now that's a classic."

"How did you know?" Morgan whined. "I even made a decoy and everything."

"Yes, your work was impeccable." said Robin. "First class I'd say. However, your performance was lacking. Subterfuge and misdirection are half of any good trap, Morgan."

"I'll get you next time." Morgan said. "In the meantime, mind helping me fill this back in? It'll be dangerous if someone accidentally fell into it."

"Of course." said Robin. He then looked into the pit and frowned. "Wait, how deep did you make this?"

"Oh, about ten feet." said Morgan.

"Ten feet?" Robin asked.

"Yeah, so?" Morgan asked, handing Robin a shovel.

"This must have taken you all afternoon." said Robin.

"All day actually." said Morgan.

"You've sure got dedication." said Robin. "You haven't been shirking any of your duties, have you?"

"Of course not." said Morgan. "This was my day off."

"Interesting choice of activity." said Robin.

"Well, you were busy." said Morgan.

"Yeah, I've been planning our next move." said Robin.

"I've been thinking about that too." said Morgan. "Would you like my take on it?"

"Sure." said Robin.

"Well, we've mostly bringing larger forces to other kingdoms." said Morgan. "Have we tried using smaller forces to villages and cities to get the help of sympathizers?"

"It hadn't really occurred to me." said Robin. "Mostly because we've been able to get better forces from those who aren't aligned with Walhart."

"Well, I doubt everyone in Walhart's army is really loyal to him." said Morgan. "If we can get in contact with any deserters, we can increase our forces."

"Tell you what." said Robin. "If you can assemble a stealth force to do this, then you can lead them to gathering some extra hands."

"You would trust me with something like that?" Morgan asked.

"I've seen your skill." said Robin. "You certainly take after your old man."

"Thanks." Morgan smiled.

Robin then gave Morgan a quick hug and a peck on the forehead. Morgan smiled and blushed furiously.

"Hey, remember our rule?" Morgan teased.

"Nobody is watching." said Robin.

"Robin!" someone called out. "Robin, where are you?"

"That sounds like Chrom." said Morgan.

"Better go see what he wants." said Robin.

The two of them then left the pit alone to find Chrom. Unbeknownst to them, a certain blue haired pegasus riding princess had seen and overheard their conversation. She popped out from behind a nearby tree, a worried look on her face.

"Oh, Lucy's not gonna like this." said Cynthia.


The infirmary was significantly crowded. Chrom, Robin, Lucina, Libra, Maribelle, Brady, Stahl, Helena, Tharja, and Nelson were all inside, standing over Donnel's bunk. Chrom observed as Helena, Nelson, and Tharja did their final prep work. They stood over Donnel, who was still lying lifeless on the bed. Despite the fact that he was breathing, it was very faint and very weak. Donnel also looked worse and worse as the days went by. His once brown hair was greying and thin. His skin was paler than any corpse.

Maribelle was right next to Donnel, holding his hand tightly in hers. Chrom figured she had to have been the most eager to see him revived. Hopefully, this would work.

"Alright." said Nelson. "Tie him down."

"I'm sorry, what?" Chrom asked.

"I don't recall stuttering, your highness." Nelson said, producing some thick rope. "We have to tie him down."

"Why?" Maribelle asked.

"His body is full of dark magic." said Helena. "We need to remove it from his body. And the only way of accomplishing that safely is if he is awake."

"You didn't do that with the dragon." said Robin.

"Undead dragons are different compared to living humans." said Helena.

"The process will take two stages." said Nelson. "First, we need to wake him up. When he awakens, he'll be a bit, ah, uncontrollable."

"Why?" Chrom asked.

"What part of his body being filled with dark magic do you not understand?" Tharja asked.

"Right." said Robin. "So that's why we have the restraints?"

"Correct." said Tharja. "It will keep him relatively secured while we removed the dark magic."

"Relatively secure?" Lucina asked.

"We have no idea what effect the dark magic will have on him when he wakes up." said Nelson. "All we know for sure is that he will be violent. VERY violent."

"Then let's not waste any time." said Stahl.

He then took one of the ropes and began tying Donnel's right arm to the bedpost. Libra took a rope too and tied Donnel's left arm, while Brady took the last two and tied Donnel's legs.

"Alright." said Nelson after checking the ropes to make sure they were tight. "Let's get started."

Nelson and Helena then placed their fingers on Donnel's forehead.

"Now, with our power, awaken!" They said together.

Suddenly, Donnel's eyes shot open. Immediately Chrom knew something was wrong. Instead of their usual light brown, his eyes were a sickly green. They were also yellow instead of white. The veins in his eyes were jet black.

Donnel then began to shout and shake. However, it didn't sound like Donnel at all, at least not the one they knew. His screams were fierce and distorted, with an almost echoing tone to it.

"RRRAAGGHHH!" Donnel roared.

"Ydob siht morf uoy evomer su tel, live traeg!" said Nelson, forming a circle above Donnel's head. "Ydob siht morf uoy evomer su tel, live traeg! Ydob siht morf uoy evomer su tel, live traeg!"

Green mist then formed a circle around Donnel's head. Chrom watched as Nelson put his hands through the green cloud of mist. When he did, his hands seemed to become transparent.

"The orb, quick!" Helena said to Tharja.

Tharja nodded and grabbed an orb resting on a nearby table. It reminded Chrom of a crystal ball.

Nelson's transparent hands reached inside of Donnel's head. The young man howled in pain. Nelson then removed his hands and took out a glob of dark clouds. He then placed the glob of dark magic in the crystal ball. The process reminded Chrom of what Helena did to the undead dragon back in Duminion.

"I'll kill you!" Donnel screamed. "I'LL KILL YOU ALL!"

"Keep him steady." said Tharja.

Everyone nodded and began to push Donnel down. The young farm boy struggled and squirmed with a strength he did not have before.

"You'll all die!" said Donnel.

He let out another roar of rage as Nelson removed more dark magic. Tharja then put down the crystal orb and switched it with an empty one.

"Donnel, calm down." said Maribelle.

She then leapt onto his chest to hold him down. She struggled to keep him down as he continued to squirm and thrash.

"We're nearly halfway there." said Nelson.

"Can you pick up the pace?" Stahl asked.

"This is as fast as we go." said Helena. "We need to be careful."

"Donnel, look at me." said Maribelle. "Look, it's me."

Donnel continued to growl in rage as his eyes locked with Maribelle. However, his struggling seemed to lessen as they looked at each other. A red mark then appeared on Donnel's hand. It was similar to the mark of Ignis.

"Donnel, it's us." said Maribelle. "Please, stay with us. Fight the darkness."

"C'mon my friend, stay strong." said Stahl.

"I'll kill you!" Donnel shouted.

"Fight it." said Maribelle. "Donnel, you can do this. Please, come back to us."

THe group continued to keep Donnel down as Nelson continued his work. They had gone through at least seven orbs by this point.

"Last stretch." Nelson said after ten minutes, wiping sweat from his brow.

Donnel had visibly began to calm down. He was still squirming and struggling to break free, but much of it had begun to subside.

"Here we go, last bit!" said Nelson.

He yanked the last bit of dark magic and put it in the orb Tharja was holding. Donnel let out one last howl of pure pain. His eyes then rolled into his head and he plopped right back onto the bed, out cold.

There was silence between the group. Nobody knew what to say. Everyone watched with baited breathe, watching the young farm boy.

Donnel then let out an enormous gasp. His eyes shot open and Chroms aw that they were his own eyes again. Some color began to return to his skin and hair as well.

"Donnel!" Maribelle said in excitement.

Donnel looked very dazed. He then began to make a lurching sound.

"Bucket!" said Helena.

Libra quickly grabbed a nearby bucket and gave it to Donnel. Maribelle then leapt off him as the farm boy threw up into the bucket. He looked up when he was finished, looking around the room and at everyone around him.

"Whe-where am I?" Donnel asked weakly.

"The infirmary." said Chrom. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"The...the battle…" said Donnel. "We was fighting Drekkam...Tiki... is Tiki…"

"She's ok." said Maribelle. "We won. Tiki is with us now."

"We won." said Donnel. "We won."

"How are you feeling?" Chrom liked.

"Like pig shit." said Donnel. "How long have...have I been out?"

"About a month and half." said Robin.

"A month...and a half?" Donnel asked.

"We'll catch you up to speed later." said Chrom. "I think you still need some rest."

"I can't." said Donnel, trying to get up. "Not if I've been out for a...month and…"

"Hey, take it easy." said Stahl. He gently tucked Donnel back into his bunk. "We just got you out of a coma. We don't want you to be put into another one."

"Stahl." Donnel asked. "Stahl, you're here too."

"You saved my life." said Stahl. "Why wouldn't I be by my best friend's side?"

"I..I remember…" said Donnel. "You was protecting Maribelle...then Drekkam showed up...he was about...about to…"

"He would have killed me." said Stahl. "But you took the blow instead. I don't know how you're alive, but I don't care."

Stahl then enveloped Donnel in a huge hug. A few tears rolled down his face.

"I'm sorry." said Stahl. "I'm sorry for being such an idiot."

Donnel returned the hug, smiling a bit.

"I was an i-idiot." said Donnel. "I'm sorry."

"Oh, you two." said Maribelle. "Can we please not make any more of a scene than we have already?"

"I missed you too, Maribelle." Donnel smiled.

"Alright everyone." said Maribelle. "Out. Donnel is alive and awake. We have succeeded in our endeavor. Now he needs rest! Go on. Out. Out, out, out!"

With that, Maribelle shooed everyone present out of the infirmary. As they walked out, Chrom approached Nelson.

"Thank you." said Chrom.

"Thank the Duminion princess." said Nelson. "It was her magic and her plan."

"But it couldn't have been done without you." said Chrom.

"Probably could have." Nelson shrugged. "But you're welcome all the same."

Chrom and Nelson then went their separate ways, with everyone in brighter spirits now that Donnel was awake.


Sumia was searching all around the camp, looking for Say'ri. The Chon'sin princess had not been seen much around camp lately and everyone was getting worried. It was understandable given the circumstances, but Say'ri shouldn't be avoiding people for this long. It wasn't healthy.

Sumia asked around, wondering if anyone had seen Say'ri. She wasn't in her tent, Sumia had checked. Some of soldiers told her that they last saw her near the training field, a bottle of alcohol in her hand and asking not to be disturbed. Sumia thanked the soldiers and headed towards that direction. Sure enough, there was Say'ri. She was sitting on an empty barrel, slowly drinking from a large bottle with brown liquid.

Sumia was little nervous confronting Say'ri, but she knew she had to say something. After all, Say'ri was their friend and Sumia hated seeing her so miserable. If there was any way that she could help, then she wanted to try. Plus, Say'ri made a pass at her husband a few weeks back and Sumia was not going to take that lying down.

Sumia carefully approached Say'ri as the Chon'sin princess took another swig. Sumia didn't know what she was drinking, but it must have been some strong stuff, because she could smell it as she got closer.

"Say'ri?" Sumia asked.

Say'ri turned to Sumia. Say'ri's eyes were bloodshot. Sumia suspected that it had to do with the alcohol and it looked like Say'ri had been crying at some point. She gave her a snort, then turned away again.

"Fie, leave me be." said Say'ri, trying to sound calm.

"You know I can't do that." said Sumia. "Not anymore at least."

"I'm not in the mood to talk." said Say'ri. "Go away."

"No." said Sumia. "Say'ri, everyone's worried about you."

"Let them worry about other things." said Say'ri. "We have more important matters to attend too."

"Matters that we need you for." said Sumia. "And we both know you won't be much help to us like this. Say'ri, c'mon. Let's go back to your tent and we'll talk."

"No." Say'ri said. "Leave me alone."

"Say'ri, please." said Sumia.

"I said, NO!" Say'ri shouted.

Say'ri then got up and pushed the barrel away. She breathed heavily, staring down Sumia. Sumia did not flinch though, standing her ground.

"I don't want to talk." said Say'ri. "I don't want to talk to anyone. Least of all to you or Chrom or Lucina."

"Say'ri." said Sumia.

"Lucina is a liar." said Say'ri. "She could have saved my brother, yet she let him die."

"She didn't know." said Sumia. "If she knew-"

"You would defend her lies!" Say'ri said loudly. "You lousy wench! She made a great effort to try and save Basilio and the Exalt and Chrom. But did she bother to save my brother? No, she let me kill him! Let me spill his blood!"

"Lucina cares about you." said Sumia "She must have known how much Yen'fay meant to you. I know she would have-"

"Shut up!" Say'ri shouted, smashing the bottle of alcohol on the ground. "If that were the case, my brother would be alive now! We'd have a united force to destroy the Conqueror! And what do we have instead? A broken force of so called soldiers who Walhart could squash like ants!"

"I know you don't mean that." said Sumia.

"Damn you!" said Say'ri. "Damn you and your soldiers! Damn you all for coming here! If you hadn't come, I could have tried to save Valm! If you hadn't come here, I wouldn't have met Chrom! I wouldn't have…"

Say'ri stopped talking for a moment, still fuming. However, Sumia was starting to feel a little frustrated herself. She knew Say'ri was drunk, but she still had a lot of nerve.

"Don't you dare drag Chrom's intentions into this." said Sumia. "He came here to help you. We all did. I didn't bring him here either, I came of my own accord."

"I don't give a damn." said Say'ri. "Things would have been easier without him."

"Right, cause you were in such great shape before we got here." said Sumia.

That did it. The moment Sumia said that, she knew she shouldn't have. This was especially clear when Say'ri screamed at her, drew her sword, and swung right at Sumia, who narrowly dodged the strike.

"Say'ri, stop!" Sumia shouted.

"I'll kill you!" Say'ri barked back.

Sumia rolled away as the Say'ri swung again. Sumia quickly looked around, realizing that she needed some kind of weapon. She saw a shelf nearby with practice weapons. She rolled towards it just as Say'ri swung again. She then grabbed a practice lance from the shelf and blocked another strike from Say'ri.

"Chrom is mine!" Say'ri shouted. "I deserve him more than you!"

"Say'ri, get a hold of yourself!" Sumia shouted.

Say'ri continued her onslaught. It took everything Sumia had just to keep up. And, unfortunately, Sumia didn't know how long she would last. After all, Sumia was only using a practice lance, which was made of wood. It would not long last in battle against a real sword. Sumia did her best to delay this by blocking in different spots.

"You can't defeat me, you clumsy bitch!" Say'ri said. "I've seen you fight! You're a joke!"

Sumia ignored her and tried to strike at Say'ri's head. The Chon'sin Princess dodged it and swung at Sumia's side. It managed to make a small cut in Sumia's abdomen. Sumia winced as she blocked another strike from Say'ri. Blood began to slowly poor down Sumia's wound, but Sumia had worse wounds in her life, so it didn't bother her.

"Say'ri, please!" said Sumia.

"Shut up and fight!" Say'ri screamed.

She pushed Sumia hard, causing her to trip. Sumia fell to the ground, dropping her practice lance. She tried to reach it, but Say'ri kicked it away, out of reach. She then raised her sword, prepared to stab Sumia. Sumia closed her eyes, waiting for the sword to pierce her skin.

Instead, she heard the familiar sound of steel clashing against steel. She opened her eyes to see that Chrom had appeared, blocking Say'ri's strike. He looked furious.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Chrom shouted.

"Get out of my way!" Say'ri shouted back.

Chrom then pushed her aside and readied himself. Say'ri did the same. The two of them stared each other down, eyes locked. Say'ri then let out her battle cry and charged. Chrom sidestepped her and then hit her on the head with the blunt of Falchion. Say'ri toppled to the ground, out cold. Chrom then turned to Sumia and helped her up.

"Are you alright?" Chrom asked. "What happened?"

"I'm fine." said Sumia. "Say'ri and I were just having a little chat."


Chrom watched as Sumia continued to put ice on Say'ri's forehead. It had been a couple of hours since Chrom broke up the fight between the two and Sumia explained everything that happened to him. He didn't blame Say'ri for her actions, but it certainly didn't excuse them. Chrom knew from experience that there were better ways to deal with these kinds of things.

Say'ri groaned, starting to stir. She opened her eyes, which were looking significantly less bloodshot.

"How are you feeling?" Sumia asked.

"Fie, like crap." said Say'ri. "Where am I?"

"In your tent." said Chrom. "We brought you back. What where you drinking earlier?"

"It is called Shochu." said Say'ri. "Though my people nickname this particular blend 'Fire Water' due to the high alcohol content. You're only supposed to take a few sips. Fie, I have a feeling I went overboard."

"You did." said Sumia. "You're ok though."

"You don't look that way." said Say'ri, pointing to Sumia's bandaged side.

"Oh, that…" said Sumia. "I just, had a little accident. You know how clumsy I can be."

"No need to lie." said Say'ri. "I did that, didn't I?"

"I'm afraid so." said Chrom.

"By the gods." said Say'ri, covering her face with her hands. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

"You weren't in the best state of mind." said Sumia. "Besides, I've suffered far worse injuries."

"That is no excuse." said Say'ri.

"Say'ri, I think we need to talk." said Chrom. "If you need to rest, then please rest. But-"

"No, we can talk now." said Say'ri. "You're right. We do need to talk. I think it would be more productive than killing your wife."

"I suppose." said Chrom. "Should I go first?"

"Go ahead." said Say'ri.

"I'm sorry Say'ri." said Chrom.

"You do not need to apologize." said Say'ri.

"Maybe not, but I'm going to do it anyway." said Chrom. "I really am touched and flattered that I mean a lot to you. You mean a lot to me as well. You're a good friend, a strong warrior and leader, and a great person. And, if you don't mind me saying, you are also very beautiful. However, I don't feel that way about you. Maybe in other time, in another place, I could. But I'm love with Sumia and that isn't going to change. I'm sorry."

"I know." said Say'ri. "Fie, you are right. I should be the one to apologize. I was foolish and selfish. I was so wrapped up in my feelings that I thought nothing of what I wanted. My brother's death didn't help in these matters either. I know you do not love me like I love you."

Say'ri sighed, tears starting to form in her eyes.

"It's just…" said Say'ri. "I've never felt this way about someone like I do for you. My feelings have never been this strong. And it hurts sometimes. It hurts knowing that the person you are falling in love with is already in love with someone else. I wanted to take a chance and hope, pray, that you felt the same way. Fie, I knew it was a long shot though. I'm sorry Chrom."

Say'ri covered her eyes again. Sumia then put her arm around the Chon'sin Princess.

"Hey." said Sumia. "It's alright. These things happen sometimes. Did you know that Cordelia was once in love with Chrom?"

"Fie, I never knew." said Say'ri.

"It's true." said Chrom. "Cordelia was madly in love with me. She has even admitted that she still has some feelings for me. I don't think those feelings ever go away. However, they improve over time. It becomes easier to deal with them."

"Aye, but she also has Sir Frederick." said Say'ri.

"True." said Chrom. "But who knows. Maybe you'll find your own Frederick some day. Metaphorically speaking, of course."

Say'ri chuckled a bit at this. Chrom then saw her smile a bit, something she had not really done since Fort Steiger.

"Chrom!" someone called out. It was Robin. "Chrom, where are you?"

"In here!" Chrom called back.

After a couple seconds, Robin walked into the tent, along with Flavia. He then took in the scene and frowned a bit.

"Sorry, am I interrupting?" Robin asked.

"No, we're fine." said Sumia. "What's wrong."

"That depends." said Robin. "If what the scouts just said is true."

"The scouts?" Chrom asked.

"They just returned and got some news." said Robin. "Walhart's army has retreated to the capital."

"What?" Sumia, Chrom, and Say'ri said together.

"They've retreated to the capital." Robin repeated. "Apparently, so have the dynasts' army as well."

"I don't believe it." said Say'ri. "This can't be true."

"I do." said Flavia. "Steiger and Yen'fay have fallen. I'm not surprised that Walhart would pull back to regroup."

"Right." said Robin. "Which gives us an opportunity we didn't have before."

"No kidding." said Chrom. "We may be able to hit Walhart were it hurts."

"Perhaps the dynasts will consider changing sides as well." said Say'ri.

"If they see cracks in Walhart's empire, then maybe." said Robin.

"To think, how quickly our fortunes have shifted." said Say'ri.

"We have Basilio to thank for that." Flavia smiled. "The fate of Valm, of all of our homelands, hangs in the balance of our next move."

"We move to the Valmese capital." said Chrom. "This 'Conquerors' reign ends now!"


In a tavern in a small town, people were bustling and hustling. There was merry music and laughter filling the place.

In the back of the tavern, the dynast of Proma, Horace, was enjoying an ale with another man. This man was an older man, who looked tall and strong. He had bright gray hair and a beard, as well as a brown patch over his right eye. He wore leather armor and had a silver sword strapped to his side.

The door the tavern burst open with such force, the entire bar went silent. Everyone stared as a young man walked in, gasping for air. Horace and the man looked to the young man, recognizing him.

"Calvin." said the old man, in an accent like that of Say'ri's. "What has happened?"

"I've gotten a report from our spies." said Calvin. "Yen'fay has fallen, his remaining army joining the Ylisseans. Walhart's forces have also retreated to the capital."

"Are you sure?" Horace asked.

"I am." said Calvin.

The bar went silent. The older man then stood up, everyone watching him.

"It's time." He said to everyone in the tavern.


Authors Note: The series is not dead! It's just taking a long ass time nowadays. Anyhoo, sorry for the wait. Please enjoy Chapter 46 of A New Awakening! Chapter 47, coming soon!