Chapter 1- Harvester Of Sorrow

It was funny to him, how humans fantasized about the demise of their own race. Whether it be through religious prophecy or local hearsay, it was a topic that intrigued almost everyone. They would laugh and smile as they tried to imagine hard times that they thought would never come. But they did, and then the laughter died.

Robin needed to stop drinking. His thoughts always got depressing the moment the alcohol started pouring in. Then again, if there was a silver-lining to this end-of-the-world ordeal, then it was unquestionably the empty bars. It almost made the economic collapse, armed conflict, and senseless death worth it.

Through the reflection of an empty bottle, Robin became all too (drunkenly) aware of his sorry state. There were bags under his eyes, his chin was stubbly, and his hair pooled around his neck. He was the spitting image of a sad, worthless alcoholic; at the age of twenty-one.

"Barkeep! Another bottle for the table!"

"Sir, you're going to drink through a year's worth of ale in only a few months if you don't slow down-"

"Naga," Robin groaned. "just bring it!"

"Don't use the goddesses name in vain, sir." The barkeeper reprimanded Robin, but brought another bottle to his table anyway.

"I actually found it quite useful, thank you." he retorted under his breath.

Around the time Robin had finished off the bottle, the singing swing of the old bar door marked the arrival of another patron. They were obscured by a long cloak, which played off as a poor attempt to be inconspicuous. Despite his condition, Robin had enough sense to rest his hand on the hilt of his sword.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" asked the barkeeper.

"No, I've already found what I'm looking for." the conspicuous patron said.

Upon hearing this Robin was already unsheathing his sword, nice and slow. Naga, this person doesn't know anything about keeping a low profile, do they? he thought. Then the patron began walking in his direction, and that was the last straw.

Robin jumped to his feet, pointed it at the conspicuous patron, and said something really threatening like, 'If you take one more step, I'll turn you into the world's bloodiest pin-cushion.'

At least that's what he meant to do.

He didn't even make it past the first step of his master plan. He stood up too fast and in his inebriated state, fell over and blacked out.

When Robin came to, he wanted to black out again. His hangover made even the silence he awoke to seem earsplitting, like a thousand needles goring his eardrums. Robin rested his head in his hands, and his elbows on his knees.

"How's the hangover coming along?" asked one of the men guarding the exit.

"Feels great, thanks for asking." the irritated Robin retorted with a biting tone, making sure not to leave even an inkling of doubt that he was being facetious.

After giving his senses a moment to recuperate, the pain subsided a little and Robin was able to focus on other issues at hand. The first being that he actually recognized where he was. Waking up in this room hungover had quickly become a common occurrence in Robin's schedule since it was an extra upstairs room that the bar had available for irresponsible drinkers like himself.

So we're still in the bar, and their objective isn't to kill me…

The swinging sing of the bar's extra room marked the arrival of another guest.

"Good, so you are awake."

Robin raised his head, and his eyes widened. "I think I might still be drunk."

His first impression of her was that she was easy on the eyes. Her hair cascaded like a curtain cut from the same cloth as the night sky itself and her eyes glistened with a feline intensity. Even that wasn't what had him so floored, however.

His second impression of her was that she was the Exalt of Ylisse and that made him feel a mixed cocktail of emotions; the two most prominent ones being fear and curiosity. Fear of death and curiosity on as to why that couldn't possibly be the case. After all, if she wanted him dead, then why wasn't he already? One thing was certain for him, the sudden entrance of Exalt Lucina of Ylisse had made this the most interesting night out he'd had in a long time.

"Bow before the Exalt!" one of the guards admonished Robin.

"Relax, there is no need for royalty to bow before each other." Lucina interceded on Robin's behalf.

"Him?" the guard asked, surprised.

"So you know who I am?"

"And you know of me, I presume?" Lucina asked, to which Robin affirmed with a nod. "Good, that takes care of the introductions then."

Lucina signaled for the guards to exit the room, which they did, albeit with much reluctance. The singing swing of the door was punctuated by a grinding shut that left Lucina and Robin alone in the room.

"So why are you here?" Robin kicked off the conversation.

"I am where I was told you would be. We have been looking for you for a while now."

"Why?"

"There are a few reasons. Some of which you will learn of later, and one of which I will reveal now; I need all the information you have on the Last Day."

"Is that what they're calling it? How dramatic." Robin joked.

"I would appreciate it if you took this seriously." Lucina said, her intense eyes zeroed in on his relaxed ones. Her convicting gaze made him feel uncomfortable, like he was some kid being interrogated by a knowing parent. Robin averted his gaze and threw his hands up, casually resting them behind his head.

"What is there to take seriously? I don't have any information to give you. I'm as in the dark about the whole thing as you are."

Lucina let out a quiet sigh, clearly disappointed in how little information Robin was able to give her; or rather the lack of any at all. "So why are you wasting away here? Do you not want to get to the bottom of everything that has happened?"

It took a lot for Robin to keep his composure, but he still couldn't keep his right foot from anxiously tapping the floor. "Do you even need to ask that question? I think the answer should be obvious."

"Then what are you doing here?"

"Grieving dammit! What else is there to do?" Robin's composure didn't last long. His shouting prompted an exaggerated response from the waiting guards. They would have skewered him with spears had Lucina not stepped in and told them to leave. A demand that they again obeyed with reluctance. With a swinging sing, they were left alone to a silent and empty room once more. Lucina used the silence to answer the question Robin posed.

"What is there to do, you ask? Well, you could join us."

"Nope." it was almost comical how quickly his answer came, which threw Lucina off-balance.

"Why not?" she asked.

"I saw that proposal coming from a mile away, Naga. And I think that the reason should be pretty obvious; you guys are going to lose."

"That's why we need your help." she reasoned.

"Please, with my help, you would only lose slightly less bad. So bearing that in mind, my options are these; die a hideous death with a bunch of foreigners, many of whom probably hate my guts; or forget my sorrows in a pool of alcohol until my impending doom finds me. Both are depressing, I'll admit, but between the two, I know which one I prefer." with that, Robin got up and walked to the door, but before he could turn the knob, Lucina said something.

"We have the Fire Emblem and all the jewels." this gave Robin pause, and he looked at her to see those eyes, burning with conviction, peering straight into his. Her constricted pupils reminded him of a wounded cat's; defeated, but too obsessed with how to win to really give a shit. "We can kill him, just give us one shot at the bastard."

Robin sighed and scratched his head as he thought for a minute. He didn't realize they had gotten hold of the Fire Emblem. Still that fact alone certainly helped their chances, not by a lot, but it still helped. Before, he had assumed that their chances were nothing, but now, though the chance was still slim, he had a shot at revenge. The only question now was whether that shot was worth taking. To hell with it…

"One shot?"

"Yes, one shot."

"You got it."