Arthur jolted awake, unsure of what had happened. He looked around and noticed he was in some sort of bedroom. Fuck, he must've fallen asleep. Where was he now? The last he remembered was getting on top of a horse with Nanna.
"Oh! You're awake! Do you feel any better?" The girl sitting beside his bed asked, it was that very same girl, Nanna.
"I-I...I don't know, I...how long have I been sleeping for?"
"Only for a day. We are in Connaught now, Lord Seliph and the others successfully liberated it's castle!"
Only a day...okay good, he thought he had been in a coma for days or something. It messed with his head. But the sudden realization struck him once he processed the place he was in, "Connaught...wait, then that means-" He paused for a second, trying to get his brain working again. "That means Blume is dead…"
"Yeah, everything went according to plan! Everyone is getting ready to go into the Manster District now, we sure can't catch a break!" Nanna giggled. Then she got up and looked for her staff. "Now, let me patch you up once more, just for good measure."
As Nanna began to use her staff on Arthur, all of his thoughts came down on him at once. So his sister did succeed? Perhaps he underestimated her too much. At least he hoped it Tinni was the one to kill Blume, the thought of a random person of the army taking Blume's life away made him furious. But...all that studying and training only to not be able to use it at all? He didn't even get the chance to fight Blume, what the hell was he supposed to do now? Blume was dead, and yes, a part of him was happy, yet it just felt so wrong.
He had to listen to reason, he couldn't just get mad at his own sister! She had to put up with so much, so how should he react? Should he really just accept it? That might be his only option, and it wasn't like all hope was lost anyway, he still had to find that father of his.
Realizing he was silent for far too long, he looked at Nanna and said, "Thanks...I think I feel better now."
Nanna beamed, clapping her hands lightly. "Wonderful! Now, I hope you don't end up like that again, I was worried for your safety the whole time, being a healer does that I suppose."
Arthur attempted to force a smile. "Yeah...but...thanks. I shall head out now."
"By the way, if you ever need help, I'll always be here! Just say the word and I'll be with you in no time!"
"Heh, I'll keep that in mind." He looked at her again, and she seemed to smile back.
With that, he left the room and walked through the halls, curious as to where everyone was. It felt a bit empty if he were honest. He looked out the window, it was indeed daytime, mid-afternoon to be specific. As he lingered at the window a bit longer, he saw his sister outside with another girl who looked to be around her age, she had flashy green hair. He was curious to see who this girl was, but he also wanted to check on his sister, so he decided to go to them.
Soon enough he found the exit out of the castle and into the gardens, it was a small garden, but one nonetheless. Tinni didn't take long to notice him, he couldn't read her expression, though a part of him felt that pang of guilt again over what happened...one, two days ago? He had forgotten at that point. Regardless, he wanted to maintain composure, so all he did was wave at the two.
"Arthur, you are alright!" Tinni said, then looking over at her brother, he looked calmer than she had expected. He probably figured out what had happened with Blume already, but she expected him to be furious.
"Oh! So this is your brother, right?" The other girl asked, looking over at him. "My name is Fee! Your sister has told me a lot about you."
"Ah, so she has, huh? Well, hello there Fee. You seem neat."
"Yep! I am very neat if I do say so myself! But hooray, now that you're finally here, perhaps I can finally find Cedsy somewhere along the way too."
"Interesting...regardless, I had originally come here to see Tinni, but something about you...you seem awfully interesting. And you are a friend of my sister's right? So perhaps…"
"Arthurrr you're saying weird things again," Tinni said, looking at him disappointingly.
"Oh, forgive me, I've been a little bit too into what has been on my mind today." Arthur sighed, rubbing his forehead. "But what matters is that you are alright. I was panicked about your safety."
"I am alright, a little shaken up from yesterday, but I'm good. You seem more calm this afternoon too, perhaps everything will be alright now. Even though...Hilda is still out there, we can take care of her when we see her," Tinni said.
"Ah...yeah, but, I think we can do it! Just a bit more, right?"
"Yeah, anyway you better start getting ready to go. We were all waiting for you to recover." Tinni said as she stood up.
"Alright." Arthur simply said and went to prepare himself for battle, Tinni and Fee went to reunite with the rest of the army. It was nice to see him coming back to himself, even if slowly. Hopefully things would only get better from now on.
The Divine Wind. The weapon of the Crusader Sety.
It was so...powerful. And yet so easy to use at the same time. Ced almost couldn't control its immense power, it was just that intense. He had cleared out Castle Manster almost entirely and was now defending the castle from oncoming Dracoknight attacks.
It sucked, he was about to reach Southern Thracian territory, and he didn't recall Father ever asking him to go there. It felt wrong to fight all of the wyverns...perhaps he should've stopped. But he needed to control the tome's power, but it was not as easy as the other tomes he had used before. Why did Father want him to use it so badly?
As the final Dracoknight was taken down, Ced sighed. Closing the book, once he did that though the book began to glow. Strange...that had to be from his holy blood's reaction to the legendary tome. None of this felt right, he shouldn't be using this, what if something detrimental happened to him?
He scanned the area again...nothing. Good. He was fortunate to have a Light tome with him at least, but that was only for emergencies. But he had kept the Light tome with him, because it was a sign of hope for him that he would see Julia again. Even with his optimism, he can't help but fear for her safety...she was the inheritor of Naga's light, after all.
Once he was further away from Castle Manster, he heard running sounds approaching him. Which made him shake up a bit. Were there more enemies? He sure hoped not. As he was about to turn around, he saw a sage...a familiar sage...wait a minute.
"Hawke!" Ced said. Trying to get his attention, then the sage-Hawke looked over at him.
"Ced! You've returned! And in the Manster again, of all places!"
"Y-Yeah, I was told to defend here again...still not sure why...but it feels so pointless at this point."
"You have a point, yeah...were you sent from Silesse again?"
Ced nodded, still gripping onto the Forseti Tome. "Mhm...and I still do not understand why I am sent here often. But I cannot disobey...him…"
"Hmmm I see, I see. That tome you wield in your hands right now...wait...I recognize those symbols. That's the Book of Forseti, isn't it?"
"Oh! It is...I do not think I told you. I am the son of King Lewyn and Queen Erinys. Therefore, I am a descendant of Sety. And my father wanted me to have it...for some reason."
"The Divine Wind, I never thought I would ever see it in person. I've heard so much about it."
"Really now? Interesting...I must admit it is a fascinating weapon," Ced said, looking down at the book.
"You know, I've always wished to go to Silesse. I've been told my sister is there, I cannot be sure now but…I want to go to Silesse. But you can't really do that when the Kingdom is safely guarded."
"Hmmm…so your sister is in Silesse. I might know her, do you know her name by any chance?"
"Ummm, I think Hermina? Or was it Femina? One of the two."
"I think I have heard of a Femina, she's one of the pegasus knights of Silesse, so maybe it is her."
Hawke's eyes lit up upon hearing that. "So, so she's there! I have to see her once this is all over."
Ced chuckled at his friend's enthusiasm. "Yes, I think that'll be quite nice, hopefully the situation in Silesse improves a little by then."
"Yeah, hopefully. Oh by the way, Lord Leif's army is nearing this place as well. We joined forces with Lord Seliph's Liberation Army. I don't know if you have heard about them."
"Huh, that is good to know. I have heard of him, he seems like an admirable person. If I'm being honest I would like to meet him, maybe if I join the army I could get some answers, it would also make my job easier."
"Perfect! He will arrive soon I hope," Hawke said,
Thank goodness, he wouldn't need to hold his own for long anymore. He was getting tired of being alone all the time if he was honest. He put the Forseti book back with the rest of his stuff and sighed. It would all be fine soon.
The journey from Connaught to Manster was, for the most part, uneventful. Arthur had ended up getting lost in his own thoughts; in theory, everything should've been fine now, but still, something didn't feel right. Perhaps it was because he was now caught up in a war. That of course was not going to help him. But really, he shouldn't have expected himself to feel better immediately, but it wasn't even that in particular that was making him anxious.
He took out his wind tome and opened it. He hadn't gotten the chance to use the tome ever since he was sent off to defend Connaught. Given his Holy Blood, his alleged birthright should be the Book of Forseti. The thing was: He had no idea where it even was, he hadn't even been to Silesse since he was a small child. Did his Father have it? He didn't know, but the probabilities were high. Well he had to get accustomed to wind magic first if he ever wanted to use Forseti, this simple wind tome should be enough for that, he thought.
"So, we are getting close to Manster, aren't we Fee?"
He suddenly heard. It sounded like his sister's voice, she was talking with that Fee person apparently. Interesting…
"Yeah, everything went well, Cedsy should be around there...I'm a bit worried though, what if we don't find him? What if he...died…?" Fee replied.
"But you said he was strong right? I doubt he would let himself get killed, especially since he has you and Julia to take care of!" Tinni assured her friend.
"Fee, we must trust him. He will be safe!" Someone else cheered, someone he hadn't seen before. Her hair was similar to his, apparently her name was Julia. She wasn't that important to him in this current conversation though. Regardless, he continued to listen.
"Th-Thanks you two...I-I believe in him! We just need to make it out alive ourselves I guess."
So this…'Cedsy' person she was referring to was near...interesting. He had no idea who he was but he sure sounded like an interesting person. They mentioned he was powerful, maybe he'd be a fine training partner. With all of that in mind, he continued his own way towards Manster. Hopefully nobody noticed he had overheard the conversation (On accident, though!). He knew that his sister was a bit protective over what she talked about with whom. It wasn't like it mattered though.
Soon enough, they reached the border of Manster. The city was pretty big, more so than Alster. He went on his own to explore the city and hopefully find something interesting, this Cedsy person perhaps. Luckily there weren't any signs of battle, so he had time to look around.
Nothing was interesting enough to call his attention. He had overheard a lot about Manster from Blume and castle guards from Alster, but it was nothing like he had imagined. Maybe he was just late, that was a long time ago. Maybe Leif had already cleared all of the interesting stuff from here, what a shame.
Then, just as he was leaving back to the group, he saw somebody in particular that caught his eye from outside of the town. Only a glimpse, though. But...he looked to be a magic-user of sorts. Judging from the way he looked, it gave off that energy.
Curiosity got the best of him again and he tried to get a bit closer, to see him better. He noticed that his hair was a flashy green color, it looked...awfully similar to Fee's. But the thing that caught his attention the most was the tome he wielded. Now, Arthur wasn't great at analyzing symbols on wind tomes, but he had seen Mjolnir once or twice, it had symbols on the center; more decorative than other basic tomes at least. And while Mjolnir's was yellow, the outline of the symbols was white on top of the green. ...Wait a second…
That was the Book of Forseti…?
He hadn't ever gotten a look at what the Divine Wind looked like, but judging the colors and the similar design to Mjolnir. It just had to be, what else could it be instead?
And that...that set him off.
"Hey, you!" Arthur shouted at the person, who hadn't noticed him before. Causing him to turn around looking absolutely confused.
"Huh? Who are you?" The man asked him.
Ugh...of course, he wouldn't know, Arthur doubted he even knew his father had children. "Oh, I take it you have no idea who I am? I suppose there is no surprise. But my name doesn't matter, the only thing I'm focusing on is that tome you have in your hands! Which, if I'm not mistaken, is the Book of Forseti, or 'The Divine Wind' as one calls it."
Ced looked over back at the tome, then to Arthur. "You would be correct in this being the book, yes. But why are you so focused on it? I'm the only inheritor of it."
"The only inheritor? The ONLY INHERITOR? Huh, I bet you didn't even know that I'm the true wielder. BECAUSE I ALSO BEAR THE BLOOD OF FORSETI! I HAVE A BRAND AND EVERYTHING!"
"What are you talking about? I apologize, I'm very confused."
"YEAH. That'd be me, Arthur descendant of the crusader Thrud and Sety. My mother got taken away by Friege soldiers after my father disappeared! Apparently, he cared so little that he raised children with another woman! Oh isn't that sweet!"
"Wh-what? I-I had no idea that Father had any other children besides my sister and me. I have so many questions right now, why does everything have to get so complicated!? This is messing with my head."
"Oh, of course you didn't know! You don't look smart at all!" Arthur shouted, he couldn't believe this man.
Ced held the Forseti close to him, taking a step back at the other mage's sudden insult. "H-How dare you?! You have no idea who I am and you came here just to insult me?"
"I don't care! I don't need to know who you are to know you are a piece of shit."
"Wh-What? Agh, I just keep getting put into situations like these, huh. First Father and now you? I've had enough of all this bullshit!"
"Don't act like you're a victim, I bet you are no better than him. You don't deserve that stupid wind tome. It is mine! Do you hear me? MINE!" Arthur shouted and brusquely reached for the tome in Ced's hands.
"H-Hey! What are you doing?!" Ced asked, grabbing Arthur's arm and pushing him aside.
"But it is MY birthright. Dammit you shouldn't even be alive." Arthur shouted yet again and opened his Thoron tome, ready for combat.
"What!? Oh that's it!" Ced replied, using Forseti's power to try and scare Arthur off. Strong winds surrounded Ced, but seeing how his opponent didn't show any signs of backing off, launched an attack on the thunder mage. Perhaps it would be too much, but it wasn't like it mattered, at least he knew for certain it wouldn't kill him.
Arthur was then met with a powerful wind magic blow...fuck...that tome was definitetly a force to be reckoned with. Dammit he might've gotten a bit too careless, but he wasn't going to back down. He took out his wind tome. He still had a fight left in him, that much he knew. He had tolerance from wind magic damage, more so than thunder magic. So it was all working in HIS favor. He had a chance to win and take the tome, it would all work! He would make sure of that!
Unfortunately, his attacks failed every time he tried to hit him. Wow, the tome of Forseti really made the difference, if only he could get his hands on it. Soon enough he got beaten down with yet another Forseti blow. Fuck. How did he never get to win? Despite all of his training and studying every aspect of magic he still couldn't do anything in a real fight. No no no no NO! He couldn't let that happen, he had to fight back. He opened his tome and tried to unleash an attack, but was quickly stopped by Ced's powerful wind magic.
"I'm surprised you haven't realized that you can't do anything against me this far into the fight" The sage told him, such a dead expression on his face. "I would ask you to stop before I actually kill you. We both don't want that, do we?"
"I don't want to die, no...not when I still...gah, why can't I just win!" Arthur grunted, stomping his foot on the ground.
"You should've known better than to start a fight when I clearly had the upper hand," Ced bluntly stated, his normal heterochromic eyes began to glow a bright green. Then he casted another Forseti spell in his hand. "Now...do I kill you for all of this? Or do I not? Hmmmm…"
"Cedsy!"
"Arthur!"
Both mages heard their names being called from above, which caused them both to look up; a pegasus landed between them and two girls jumped from it, it was Arthur and Ced's respective sisters, they both looked very angry.
"What the fuck are you two doing!? I wasn't expecting this from you Cedsy!" Fee gave her brother a deadly glare and shouted.
Ced was taken aback from his sister's lecture, but didn't have time to say anything as Tinni followed with her own brother.
"Arthur! I swear I leave you alone for one second and this is what you do?! I expected better from you, did you not learn anything after what happened with Blume!?" Another deadly glare from Tinni.
"Tinni! If you could understand my point of view, you would agree with me! He's at fault here, I'm just trying to get vengeance!" Arthur argued, pointing at Ced.
"I don't care, no matter what you don't have to attack him! You just met! What is wrong with you?!"
Ced looked back at Arthur, scowling. "You see, he was the one who decided to come at me with random nonsense I didn't know. I was merely minding my own business when it happened."
"But you almost killed him! I never thought my dear brother would be so aggressive, what would Julia think about you now?! You are coming with me, we have to talk about your behaviour!" Fee said and grabbed her brother by the ear, forcing him to follow her.
"Ow! Is that really necessary?" Ced complained, though Fee didn't reply and kept walking.
"Tinni, you must understand he's-" Arthur said but got interrupted by his sister.
"Nothing will justify your actions so you better give up. Fee and I will talk to you two in the castle," Tinni said and did the same as Fee; though he tried to struggle his way out. But she didn't even flinch and only gave him yet another deadly glare. His sister was really tougher than he anticipated.
Both mages were terrified by their sisters, more so than the fight they just had. Though Arthur hoped Tinni would come to understand him once he told her the truth. He needed to get that book back, it was the only way to defeat his father; he couldn't let this opportunity go to waste.