A/N: Sorry for the late chapter. Had a busy weekend testing out the Beta for a game and looking at the good and bad. This was a more quickly written chapter, taking about a day to write in about two sittings rather than over three to four days, so I near certainly missed a thing or two in my revision read through. Hopefully things aren't too bad at this time as things start to move in the background, independent of Nicola.

If you do like this story and want to find more stories by other authors that don't necessarily write Fire Emblem related stories, swing by the Fanfiction Treehouse Discord Server (Code: 9XG3U7a). There are plenty of brilliant writers there in the process to telling their own stories or having already told their stories and it's a pretty nice place. They also have a Podcast on Spotify called the Fanfiction Treehouse Podcast if that interests you. With that, onto the Chapter.

Nicola felt like he'd been hit by a Fafnir when he cracked his eyes open. He could hardly see because of how blurry everything was and his limbs felt like they were weighed down by rocks. It was a struggle for him to raise his arms and rub his eyes until he could see properly. Where was he? Not in the room he blacked out in, that was certain.

With a groan, the former summoner forced himself to sit up to get a better look of his surroundings. He promptly found himself lying on his back, dizziness rolling over him like a cloud. He groaned a second time as he laid there and waited for the dizziness to pass.

"Was I poisoned," Nicola asked no one in particular. It was unlikely, given where he was and who he'd recently been around. Still, he hadn't felt this ill since Loki had stabbed him while disguised as a child in a collapsed building. The blade had been poisoned and had left him in a bad spot even with constant attention from numerous healers. It was a miracle that he'd recovered from that, healers from across multiple realms hadn't been able to neutralize or even identify the poison. Once he had started to recover, he'd been weak, heavy and lethargic like he was now. It had taken him longer to recover then: he'd been bed ridden for weeks and it took the better part of two months to get back to his usual self once he'd been allowed to move about.

As things were now, Nicola could feel his strength returning. It was happening at a snail's pace, but he could feel his limbs lightening and his head clearing. He was still going to be out of it for another day or so. Hopefully. He'd need someone to confirm that before he got up and collapsed again. He frowned at the thought, he wasn't some frail thing.

The frown deepened. There it was again. He'd felt his thoughts shift before he went to sleep, but the dream he'd had felt nothing like that. That had been a warped memory, the shift was more like a foreign mind intruding on his own. Then there was the reflection he saw before blacking out. Maybe he was cursed? He was going to need to talk about that with a member of the clergy if he found the time. Actually, wouldn't someone need to be here to watch over him? If so, they were failing their post.

"-at do you mean no visitors are allowed," an irate voice yelled from beyond the curtain.

"I-I was told that the Exalt forbade all visitors to the guest before she g-gave her permission," another squeaked in return.

"She clearly didn't, considering she told me today would be a good day to visit," the irate speaker returned. Once his head cleared a bit more he recognized the voice as Lissa's. He didn't recognize the other person.

"Lady Lissa, I believe that they are telling what they believe to be the truth," another speaker, Virion, stated much calmer in tone. "May I ask who told you that, madam? I was with Princess Lissa when the Exalt gave her the advice to come by today. Sir Frederick can verify this, along with the Exalt's personal guard."

"One of my superiors in the church. They said it came from another member higher up than them."

"I see. How interesting." the noble archer mused. "With that being said, I believe the princess and I will be visiting our friend now. We will also let the Exalt know of this... incident, but will make it clear that you were not at fault."

"I-I... Thank you, milord."

There was a huff and the curtain was pulled aside moments later, revealing the princess and the nobleman. Lissa had an angry scowl etched upon her face, but it brightened to a spritely smile when she saw that Nicola was awake. Virion offered a roguish grin that dipped for just a moment as he looked over the former summoner.

"Nicola, you're awake," the princess exclaimed, rushing to his side. "When I heard that you collapsed, I wanted to check on you right away, but sis said that you needed your rest." She looked off to the side and pursed her lips as she muttered the next part. "She let Chrom and Robin come by that night though..."

"From what I can gather, our amnesiac friend played an invaluable role in helping with his recovery," Virion remarked, giving Nicola a contemplative look. "Are you well, Nicola? You look rather well, if tired, for a man that slept for three days."

Nicola started to answer when that hit him. Three days? Three days!? He'd been out for that long? No wonder he felt like death turned over. Whatever sparked his collapse had figuratively decked him in the face and then some. Still, that was good to know.

"I've been better," he offered. "Nothing hurts at the moment, I'm just tired and feel pretty weak. I should be better in a day or so, I think."

"Hm, let me check." Lissa placed a hand on his forehead and hummed. Her eyes flashed with blue light as a wave of cool air washed over the spearman. The princess tilted her head to one side then the other and nodded. "I'd say about two days. I'm still getting used to this healing with a touch thing while I wait on my new staff, so it could easily be a day or three days."

It was better than nothing. Nicola thanked the young woman and she flashed a bright grin in return. He found it cute, with a bit of an impish twinkle clear in her eyes and just the right amount of levity. He hardly realized he returned the smile with a near matching one until Virion commented on it.

"You've the look of a dashing young rogue in the making," the older man smirked. "A bit... sharp, but workable."

Nicola covered his mouth in a hurry. Sharp? He ran his tongue over his teeth reflexively and hid a frown beneath his hands. He had fangs, he wasn't supposed to have those. A- He forced the intrusive thoughts away by thinking of happy things. Fields of flowers with petals scattering along the wind. The rising sun over a clear blue sea. Alfonse being teased by Marisa. He'd definitely look into getting checked for curses now. He wasn't some monster.

Nicola made a closed mouth smile once he uncovered his face. "I see. I don't think I'm cut out to be a rogue, Virion. Perhaps just a mild charmer?"

It was the nobleman's turn to fall silent. A look of faint familiarity passed over his features, but he blinked it away as he chuckled in response. "Perhaps, but that's a conversation for another time."

"I can see it, I think," Lissa chirped as her smile grew more impish. "If we gave your hair a quick comb through and dressed you up a bit, I think you'd cut quite the dashing figure."

She winked in jest as Nicola turned scarlet and Virion's laugh devolved into a coughing fit.

"It seems our dear princess can read you quite well," the archer managed between coughs. Lissa giggled in reply. From there the three spoke for a few hours, exchanging lighthearted banter until Nicola felt tired. The princess and noble managed to get him to eat something before they left, Lissa promising to come by later in the evening or on the next day if he was asleep when she returned. Virion made a similar promise, offering to come by with a chessboard at another time if Nicola knew the game. He did, but wasn't particularly skilled at it.

Once he was alone, Nicola stared at the ceiling quietly. Not much happened today, but having friends visit helped pass the time and keep his mind off the things bothering him. Dealing with that later in the evening would likely be a challenge, if he wasn't able to sleep through the evening. He let his eyes rest and, with some coercion from a pillow being used to cover his face, slowly drifted off.

The star filled sky glimmered overhead as the pale moon illuminated the field below. A colorful sea of flowers swayed in a gentle breeze, luminescent petals floating towards the sky in lazy trails. Pulsing violet crystalline spires rose beyond the field, some short and shattered while others jutted ever skyward. A familiar scent filled the air, like chilled apple cider sprinkled with cinnamon and freshly baked bread tinged with melancholy.

Nicola remembered this place well. Beyond the ash and beyond the edges of a ruined world, beyond a gilded kingdom with an iron blade pointed at its throat. He wasn't sure if this place had a name, but he knew it as a place of respite. Yet, this time it was lonely.

Gunnthra would never visit this place again.

The summoner's heart flew to his throat for a moment. His guide was long dead, killed by a monster that styled itself as a king. He remembered her fondly. Her pink hair that faded to blonde. Her snow colored eyes that remained warm and inviting. The gentle and nurturing smile she wore as they spoke. He could almost hear her now, remembering the calm yet sharp tone she had taken on occasion.

"Kiran, it's fine to trust your allies once you get to know them. Secrets like yours will eventually see the light of day, so it is far better to reveal them on your terms."

"And if they make a big deal of it?"

"I believe they will make a 'big deal' of it if you don't tell them first and they find out on their own."

"But-"

"Kiran, it's fine to be afraid. Please remember that trust goes two ways. You must give your trust as much as you accept theirs. Do you believe that Alfonse and Sharena would abandon you or that your Anna would allow them to do so without reprimand? I suspect even your archer friend and the other Heroes you've called would have a word or two to say about that as well. Have faith in them."

"I... you're right."

"Indeed. Have I led you astray yet?"

She hadn't. Gunnthra had been wise beyond her years, at least in his eyes. When she'd gone silent, Nicola became worried. Then they found her at Surtr's feet, dying. Nicola hadn't found the time to tell Alfonse or Sharena his secret, only barely having mustered the courage to tell Anna by that point. The others found out then, when his outrage spilled forth and his wrath became as flame. When the king's head left his shoulders for the first time, neck severed by a blade of molten hatred.

If not for Sharena calling out to him at that moment, he would have become no better than Surtr. In all but name a-

"Monster," a sharp voice rang out. Nicola snapped awake. An elderly man wearing green palpal robes and a miter emblazoned with Naga's crest. An ornate silver monocle rested on the bridge of his nose as he looked down at the once sleeping youth. His grey eyes were narrowed and his wrinkled face set in a stern look of disapproval.

"And who might you be," Nicola returned.

"My name and designation are none of your concern," the older man retorted venomously. "I will relay this message once: you are unwelcome here and it would behoove you to leave the walls of our halidom the moment you are able to do so. I have no clue as to how you wormed your way into the good graces of my lady or her siblings, but the Church of Naga will not tolerate those who would harm her people."

"Right, and what leads you to believe that I'm opposed to your god's people?" Nicola rolled his eyes at the threat. He hardly knew anything about Naga except that her name was known across realms and that she was the mother of Tiki. His interest in harming her people was minimal, nonexistent even.

"A divine oracle from our leader," the elder replied. "You will lead to our halidom's ruin, heralded by a storm of ash and soot that eclipses the sun. We will not allow such a thing to happen. You will either leave by choice or be forced to leave."

"And when I bring this up to the Exalt, that a man of the church chose to threaten me over a 'divine oracle.?' What will you do then?"

The older man clearly hadn't thought that through as he blustered angrily and struggled for words. Nicola wasn't feeling generous enough to let him continue. "I've no ill will towards the people of this halidom or Naga's church, but if you threaten me or attempt to force my hand in any way I will not hesitate to defend myself. If that means coming at odds with members of your church, so be it. Don't expect me to be lenient should we come to blows from such a thing."

His tone could have frozen a wildfire in its tracks. His eyes were a faded amber, gleaming faintly as the robed man felt the room closing in on him. The clergyman uttered a frightened prayer under his breath and took a single step back, then a second before fleeing the chamber. The priestly man managed a final quip as he left the room in a hurry.

"The Hierarch will hear of this, monster!" What in the world had that been about? He may have been different, but wasn't a monster. Perhaps he'd been close to becoming one a year ago, but he'd been helped through that.

Nicola ultimately chose to pay the man no mind, opting to go back to sleep instead. He could deal with that once he was out of bed proper or once Emmeryn came to visit, whichever came first. Unfortunately, sleep decided to be difficult for the remainder of the evening. When morning came, Nicola was irritable. He hated nights where he slept poorly, which had been a rather frequent occurrence back on Zenith. He'd chalk it up to the clergyman interrupting his rest this time around, what with how good if... emotionally charged his dream had been.

He heard a door open and the sound of several pairs of shoes enter the room after what felt like hours.

"Lissa, are you certain he's awake," Robin asked as the curtain was drawn aside, revealing the tactician and several others. Lissa nodded and shot Nicola a smile as he gave her a lazy wave in turn. Robin cocked an eyebrow at the exchange before offering a small smile of her own. She looked a bit better now: less sickly and more stable on her feet, but still bone thin- if to a lesser degree.

"See? I figured he'd be up before noon," the princess beamed. "Morning Nicola! Feeling any better?"

"Aside from being tired? Much better," he replied. He still wasn't quite ready to get out of bed, but he would definitely be better by the following day. He felt lighter and his lethargy from the day before was mostly gone. He offered Robin a greeting as well before asking the first thing that came to mind. "Who do I have the pleasure of meeting today?"

He gestured to the small group of people that remained behind the curtain.

"Oh! Guys, it's fine for you to come in," Lissa called. At her signal, several figures moved from behind the curtain. Nicola recognized all but one of them.

"Oh, Stahl, Sumia and you're the mage I ran into back in town. Rickel, was it?"

"Good morning, Nicola," Stahl greeted, offering a polite nod.

"Oh, it's you," Sumia exclaimed, eyes lighting up in recognition. "Thanks again for the help out in town!"

"It's Ricken actually, but it's a pleasure to meet you, Sir Nicola," the young mage said.

"Ah, sorry about that, Ricken. It's just Nicola though, no need for a title I haven't earned," Nicola grinned, showing as few teeth as possible. "And think nothing of it, Sumia. Anyone would've done it."

"Most people would have asked for compensation..."

Robin and Lissa looked on in baffled silence.

"You all know each other," the princess asked once she had a moment to collect herself.

"We met the day you brought Robin and I to the capital," Nicola replied before the trio explained how each of them had encountered Nicola across the day. Once that was all said and done Nicola piped up again. "What about the fourth fellow? The man a little to Stahl's left?"

The group gave him quizzical looks as the person in question offered Nicola a polite nod akin to Stahl's. When the group turned to look at the indicated point, each person had a different level of surprise. Stahl took a step back, recognized the figure and gave a knowing look to him. Sumia and Lissa both jumped back, the former nearly tripping over Ricken in the process while the latter latched onto Robin. Ricken let out a startled yelp and braced himself as Sumia nearly fell over him, managing to keep them both standing. Robin tensed and thrust a hand forwards, faint arcs of lightning gathering in her palm until she realized no one was in danger.

The figure in question offered a sheepish look.

"Hi, I'm Kellam," he greeted. "We've technically met as well, I helped carry you here when you collapsed. You're surprisingly heavy."

"I... No, that makes sense. A pleasure to meet you, Kellam," Nicola offered just as Robin had an epiphany.

"You're the source of that presence I've been feeling around the barracks," she exclaimed. "I thought I was losing my mind."

"People don't tend to notice me at first," Kellam nodded. "Some do, but not many. I'm used to it."

From there, the group finished their introductions and talked in general for a few hours. When lunch came around, Sumia brought out a mouth watering apple pie while Stahl carried in a tall pot of nearly transparent soup alongside sandwiches of thick cut meat with thin slices of cheese. Nicola hadn't tasted anything better outside of very few occasions despite the simplicity of the meal. The pie was just as good and according to Sumia it was something she did every few days as a hobby.

"That will be the last one for a while, though," she sighed once everyone had eaten their fill.

"Why's that," Nicola asked.

"Most of the Shepherds will be heading out to Regna Ferox in a few days. The trip there is supposed to take a few weeks and we'll be there for at least a week or two depending on how bad the weather gets before we can make our way back."

"Ah." This was news to him, but it didn't really affect him too much beyond losing conversation partners and most of the people he was comfortable around... Damn, this affected him a lot actually. Considering that Regna Ferox had a leader that wasn't the Exalt if Sully's banter had been anything to go by, it was easy to figure out that it was another nation or part of one at least. "I wish you all a safe journey."

"It shouldn't be that bad in just a few days, but thanks anyways," Lissa said more flippantly than anything else. "The cold will be annoying, but trekking through it shouldn't be the worst thing. Having to potentially fight the Feroxi people though, that'll be an issue if it comes up because they're supposed to be really good at it. When we get back, I'll tell you all about how things went if you're still here."

"I'd love to hear about it, just remember to be safe. The cold can be treacherous and hide all sorts of dangers if you aren't prepared. Don't treat it lightly, especially if the area is icy and flat or if it starts snowing suddenly and there's no real place to set up camp nearby."

The former was especially dangerous if you weren't aware of bodies of water in the area, while the latter was a good way to end up trapped under snow if it happened closer to the end of the day. It was also a good way to lose track of other people if wind became involved, which Nicola made very clear. Robin nodded along and explained that she'd read up on that for the past few days and been working out ways to work around those issues with signals and flares. She'd come up with a system alongside Chrom, Lissa, Frederick and another mage that was supposed to be tested several times this evening and the next. Nicola gave an approving nod at that, having a way to find one another if people were lost in the snow was always good.

"Just make sure things aren't too complex and that everyone in each group knows the signals if possible. They may not be able to produce them, but they can tell the person that can to send them off if things start to feel off."

"Everyone will be given an outline of the basics and what they mean. The more complex signals will be left to the ones actually sending the signals, since those will represent a rapidly evolving situation."

"Right." The pair went back and forth naturally, with Nicola offering advice and tips to Robin to make things simpler on her end. As it turned out, he had a fair amount of experience travelling through deep snow and other harsh conditions, some of which made no sense. When was someone going to deal with electrified earth or open lava flows? He chose not to elaborate on many of the more outlandish conditions, making Robin somewhat skeptical about them. She kept that to herself however, choosing to take some of what he mentioned in those scenarios as factual and the rest with a grain of salt.

It wasn't much later that the others did have to go, though not before Nicola thanked the group for coming by and Robin in particular for helping him with whatever had landed him in the bed in the first place. The amnesiac gave a casual nod in return and told him to get well soon as she left. Only Lissa stayed behind.

The princess sat at the foot of the bed quietly.

"Are you sure you'll be alright," she asked after a longer period of silence.

"I'll be just fine Lissa," the former summoner replied. "I'm a bit hardier than I look, despite needing bed rest at the moment. I'll be right as rain soon."

"Got it," she nodded, looking away. "I was just worried. Big sis said you were, but I would have felt bad if I didn't at least ask you that myself."

"That's fair. I'd have done the same in a similar position." He left out that he'd experienced worse, knowing that it would be less than reassuring. Silence returned after that as Lissa turned to face him. Her eyes held a pure blue glow as she looked over the spearman anxiously.

"You'll still be here when we get back, right? You won't just vanish the day we leave, never to be seen again?"

"I..." Nicola stopped himself. He knew he wanted to research a way back to Zenith and another way to slay Hel without sacrificing the lives of millions, but that realistically would take time. He also needed to find Breidablik and, more than likely, find a group of skilled individuals willing to undertake such a monumental task. The Shepherds were out in that regard, he wasn't going to ask them to help his quest when they had matters much closer to home for them to deal with. He'd need to summon, calling paragons and legends in their own right rather than a ragtag group, for such a task. That was going to take a few months at least, likely more than that if Ylisstol didn't have any texts related to what he was looking for. At that point he would need to move on. It was a logical next step, but it would have been callous of him to just up and leave.

"Nicola?"

"I'll stay until you return if I can help it," Nicola answered after a time. So long as he didn't have a very limited time frame to get back and the church didn't take action. "Just make sure you and the others come back in one piece."

Lissa hummed in response. "I'll try to keep them out of trouble if I can help it."

"Take care of yourself as well, your life is just important."

"Is i... Y-yeah, I'll do my best." The princess gave the least reassuring smile Nicola had seen.

"Lissa, when you get back, we should have a talk," Nicola breathed. "About your experience in the forest."

"Alright. Just be here when we make it back, okay?

"It's a promise, Summoner's honor."

"Summoner's honor?"

"It's a phrase from back home. There was a story about a legendary hero that had the power to reach between worlds and call mythical heroes from across history and other legends. They were said to be a unifying force, bringing together all nations in the land through their might in combat and gentle heart."

"Ah, could you tell that story one day?"

"One day, just not today."

"Then it's settled. When we get back, you'll tell me more of that story and I'll talk about that evening." The princess offered a much more reassuring smile after that, then left the room to join the others. Once Lissa was out of earshot, Nicola cursed to himself. Of course he'd bring up that legend mid conversation. He hardly remembered all of it and he'd only lived half of it at best. That was going to be tedious, but maybe he could wing it just a bit. He did promise, after all.

Something was happening to the gate to the Outrealms. There were now three disturbances. The first had occurred just over a week ago and was relatively minor. The gate hadn't been affected in the slightest by it, but a disturbance still needed to be looked into. The second and third were different stories, occurring hours apart from one another.

The second caused the gate to dim, as if a large number of people had passed through it at once. Curious. There were restrictions on mass travel through any of the adjoining gates to prevent large forces from going through without coming out of the main gate instead. The only people with the authority to do such a thing would not, knowing that there were dire repercussions for doing so. The only person who would do such a thing in spite of that was exiled, excommunicated, stricken from the books and marooned in a land with a destroyed gate. That meant someone held something they had no business having and would need to be hunted down.

The third disturbance caused the gate to shudder and dim for a moment. Something large had passed through, but not by traditional means. It was more apt to say that something had torn a hole in the gate and used that to pass through before the hole sealed itself. That was alarming and needed to be immediately looked into: something that could tear into the gate was a threat to all gates and a great deal of work for the singular gate guardian.

"I'll need to check in with them then," the guardian breathed, raising their rust colored hood. "Hopefully they have an idea as to what's happening now that things have gone quiet. If not..."

The guardian shook their head as they adjusted the position of their black gloves, then moved on to tightening their boots. Their blades were already sharpened and their coin purse secured at their side. The only thing they needed to do at this point was to double check their supplies and make sure their bow was in good shape after a long period of disuse. Then it would be time to seek out the disturbances and crush them underfoot if need be.

Elsewhere a group of four fled for their lives, hounded by the dead and beasts of old. Two were clad in lies and illusion thrice, while another was lost yet recently found. The last was an observer, one who knew far more than they told and gently nudged things to go as they intended.

"Are we nearly away from them," a black haired youth wheezed, coming to a stop next to a trio of hooded figures. They were in a worn stone room with crumbling pillars and a trickling flow of water passing through cracks in the ground. There had once been two adjoining rooms, but the entrance to one had long collapsed and while the other stood firm. Clearly, this place had once been a grand labyrinthine temple of sorts, but it was now a death trap filled with hunting undead and old fiends that should have long left the world. This room was a brief respite after hours of running, fighting and sneaking past the creatures that prowled the ruins.

"There's not much further to go," replied the rightmost of the trio, voice sultry and not the least bit tired. "I knew they'd be chasing us for quite awhile, but this level of dogged pursuit is surprising to say the least."

"Coming from one used to pursuing, I'll take that as a sign to not take a rest just yet," huffed the tallest member of the group, his voice tired and cold sounding. He looked to the youth and the third hooded figure. "We shouldn't be that far from the exit of these ruins. Do you think you can make it?"

"If it's not much further, I can manage," the third cloaked figure answered in a robotic tone, kneeling as she took deep breaths. "It's Morgan I'm worried about."

"I can push myself a bit further," the youth managed as he nearly flopped to the ground. "I'd rather like to stay among the living and keeping up with you three is my best bet."

The lead figure nodded. "Right. Let's keep moving then, I can hear them closing in now."

"Already...?" Morgan took a heaving breath and forced himself up. Sieg, as the leader of the trio called himself, had exceptional hearing. It had saved them several times in the past few hours, more often than the kneeling woman, Aria, and her terrifying magical prowess. The third of the group claimed that she was useless without her healing staff, but Morgan was almost certain there was more to her than met the eye. Sieg and Aria didn't like her in the slightest, but appeared to begrudgingly allow her to follow them unlike how they actively saved him.

"Yes. The sooner we escape this place the sooner we can look for a proper place to rest and look for civilization," Sieg nodded. "Let's move."

The group vacated the room they'd taken refuge in, just as the moans and snarls from the living dead and worse reached Morgan's ears. Yes, following these three was in his best interest at the moment.