Alright, I had fun getting Yen'fay and Severa to trade wits last time, but today we move on to one of the other groups, specifically Lissa's. Their escapades will take place over the same period of time as Chrom and Sumia's group, so Severa's first 'battle' happens while they're well south of Roseanne.

And for the first bit, we get the lovely look at aerial combat in this version of Awakening's world. Lissa does have Cherche after all, and it simply looks weird if a Duchess and Princess isn't astride a falicorn no?

Onwards!

Judge

Much like her brother's caravan, Lissa's train of guards and gifts was attacked not long after leaving port.

However, unlike his caravan, Lissa had a bevy of mages courtesy of Ricken and his regiment. Alongside the Reavers, Vaike's personal platoon of berserkers, and her honor guard the Valmese ambush was swiftly crushed.

"Well, this is a great start." Lissa huffed atop her falicorn, usual robes under a traveler's cloak. She'd barely had to do anything besides dive off her mount in the initial moments, the mages and cavaliers destroyed the Valmese.

Donnel stood next to her mount, a frown on his lips. "Yeah, and I'd bet my crops there's going to be plenty more on the way. Shoulda expected it."

Lissa glanced down at him. "Well… Branden's serious at least. Haven't seen someone form ranks that fast since Frederick got pissed at his recruits."

Donnel chuckled under his breath and focused on the column. The cavaliers had done the bulk of the clean-up after the mages blew away entire swaths of trees in the attack. It was just their luck that the land gave way to forest so soon after leaving the walls.

"I'm just glad I didn't have to get involved." Vaike grunted as he walked up, Armads over his shoulder. "Ricken's bunch did their job and Branden's as good as Evelyn and Stahl said he was. Question now is if we'll still have our men together when we get where we're going."

Lissa sighed and shifted in her saddle. "We can only hope and keep going. Vaike, go get Ricken and have him meet with me, Donnel do the same with Branden. I want us moving the moment we're ready."

Vaike stared at her for a moment before letting out a long belly laugh. Lissa felt her cheeks heat at the show of mirth, trying to figure out what was so funny. It was her job to be the funny one dammit, she should be the one laughing!

"Naga in heaven you have changed." Vaike chuckled as his mirth petered out. "I remember when you were a little lady that followed her bro around like a puppy. Always wanting us to take you seriously then turning around and putting a frog down Stahl's shirt."

Lissa's cheeks turned red in embarrassment, "Y-You don't have to bring that up!"

"Not like the prankster's dead." Donnel drawled, his reward Lissa whining for him to stop. "No one's forgotten your… fun, over at the Mila Tree."

Lissa grit her teeth and pulled at her hair. "Come on! I apologized for that, didn't I?"

"Not in the least," Vaike jabbed, enjoying her misery. "Guess you haven't changed that much after all, have ya pipsqueak?"

Lissa growled at him before looking away with a huff. "For that, I'm telling Cherche you tried to get Minerva drunk."

She didn't need to see the look of horror that spread over Vaike's face, she could feel it. With her victory assured, she turned her attention to Donnel, who had a smirk of his own. "What's so funny?"

"Pride." Donnel answered, making his wife blink in confusion. "For all that's happenin', the position never changed ya. Even out here, across the sea, you're still yourself."

He took her hand and pecked her knuckles, enjoying the deep flush of Lissa's cheeks. "I just love ya darlin, nothin' more needed to make me smile."

Lissa looked like she wanted to jump off her falicorn and take him right there, but Vaike started hollering and destroyed such thoughts. "Ricken, Branden, get out of here! They're being sappy!"

Lissa turned in her saddle, produced her staff, and smacked him upside the head. "That was the most romantic thing I've heard from Donnel in almost a month and you ruined it ya damn meathead!"

A cleared throat made her look over to see Ricken grinning at her, Branden stood a respectful distance behind the Head of the Dark Knights. "No offense, Lissa, but you looked ready to give Owain a sibling. Anyway, that aside, I have the report. Only light casualties, but several of my mages took heavy blows. I'd like your permission to send them back for treatment."

Lissa slipped back into 'Duchess Mode'. "Do it, Basilio and Evelyn need to know Valm's still in our territory. Is everything else in order?"

Branden trotted forward to answer. "Everything is as it should be, the ambush never made it to the center of the column. My men have seen to burying the bodies, we can continue without delay."

Lissa sighed and properly sat in her saddle. "Then let's get on our way. We need to reach the southern border of Roseanne by week's end. After that…"

She shook her head and looked pass them to the horizon. "Wyvern Valley."

The name fell with a heavy thud, shivers passing through all who heard it. The horror stories were widespread across the world, and first-hand accounts via Cherche only made it worse. Unfortunately, it was the only way to cross into Lady Montmorency's lands without crossing into Valmese-occupied flatlands.

Going out there where the Valmese cavalry reigned supreme was suicide.

First things first, they had to make for the border. There was supposedly a village there that served as a retreat for many of Valm's Sages, and Lissa hoped to meet them. Emmeryn had visited the village during a pilgrimage to the Mila Tree and described the Sages as sympathetic. Hopefully they'd be sympathetic enough to join the Alliance.

Lissa shook herself free of the thoughts and ordered the column forward. She couldn't actually take to the air, being the lone rider of a flying mount, but that didn't stop her from trotting up and down the column and chatting with the soldiers.

It was her amiability, despite her position and responsibility, that had long won over the soldiers. Many in the cavaliers had only heard tales of her kind and charming ways, but by the end of the first day, they'd gladly die for her.

And die they did. Every league held some trap or another, ranging from the usual pitfalls and small ambushes to more… exotic tricks. Lissa didn't find the booby-trapped hives and other such things out of place, but…

Well, there was only so much she could do when a cavalier fell into a pit of vipers.

Regardless, most of the day not spent avoiding the Valmese death-traps was used by Lissa to observe Branden. The Shepherds knew him as a young commander from Felds who'd captured Stahl and Cordelia during the rebellion. Beyond that, he'd been under the command of Stahl after the rebellion, a delicious serving of irony.

Now they got to see him in action. He was quick, efficient, and thought on his feet. All the things needed to command cavaliers, and he wasn't shabby with a lance either. All in all, he had promise, and enough sense for Evelyn to keep him around.

"Hey, Branden!" Vaike called out that night, the caravan circled and settled in. "Come here for a second, will ya!"

The captain looked up from his simple meal to see the berserker sauntering up to him. "Sir Vaike, what do you require of me?"

Vaike scowled at the formal greeting. "None of that fancy shit, just wanted to talk. You and yours did well today, felt you needed the congrats. Justified Evelyn's nomination of ya to join us."

Branden blinked in surprise. "The… general suggested I join this mission?"

"That she did." Vaike confirmed, a quick gesture sent away the soldiers nearby. "Originally, was just gonna be me an' Ricken acting as guards this trip."

He sat across from the young man. "But, Eve and Stahl heard 'bout your big charge that helped shatter the Valmese and save Flavia's bacon. You may have been following Basilio's lead, but you got the cavaliers in order and where they needed to be."

Branden shook his head. "I didn't do anything special, just followed orders. It was my fault that mage got into our supplies in the first place."

"Eve raises them humble." Vaike muttered under his breath. "Look, Branden, you made up for that. It was enough of a make-up that Chrom's given you his little sister to guard. This is a big chance for you. And so far, you're doing good."

Before the captain could thank him, Vaike put on an ominous glare. "But you've got a lot more to prove before this is done. Ambushes and traps are one thing, but we're going into the viper's nest. And that's assuming we make it through Wyvern Valley in one piece. For all we know, we're gonna end up on a ship."

Branden cringed at the idea. Much like Severa, he'd discovered a tendency for seasickness on the voyage to Valm, alongside many others. If they did end up on a ship and came under attack, he'd be hard pressed to perform as needed.

Vaike dropped the glare for a friendly grin. "But if you keep up the pace, I'm pretty sure you'll be just fine. Your men respect you and you have a good head on your shoulders. You're a long way from a grunt trying to not screw up his first command."

Branden's mood fell further at the reminder. "That… was a long time ago. I hope I've come quite a ways since that time."

Vaike sighed, his voice turning serious. "You have, but I still haven't forgiven you for that time. Most of the Shepherds haven't. Don't matter if Stahl, Rob, and Cord do. Truth be told… Lissa's going to be watching you real close."

Branden echoed the sigh, not looking at Vaike. "…Why tell me this now?"

"Because you made a good showing." Vaike answered while standing. "If it were up to her, she'd ignore you exist, but not after fighting off all those ambushes today. We're expecting more, so keep it up and by golly, you may just win our respect."

He left the captain to his thoughts and made his way through the camp. Lissa, much to her chagrin, was put up in the largest tent at the insistence of Ricken. His reasoning was 'easier to know what will be targeted' but everyone knew Lissa wouldn't actually sleep in it.

No, she'd be in a nice, small tent with Donnel and a single cot.

"Oi, Vaike, stop thinking out loud!"

The berserker laughed, belatedly realizing he'd made it back to the Shepherds' personal fire. He smirked at "Sorry, Lissa. You gotta admit it's pretty obvious."

The duchess scowled at him, not arguing the point as she leaned against Donnel. Her husband had been fighting all day and she was doing her best to make him relax. But first she needed to know, "You talk to him?"

"I did." Vaike said as he took a seat across from her. "Laid out what you wanted. Still think we're being a bit harsh with the guy, it's been six years since the rebellion."

Lissa grunted and kicked a leaf into the flames. "I don't forgive people who hurt my friends easily, no matter if they were under orders. Especially when they were such… despicable orders."

Ricken handed Vaike a bowl of stew. "We know, but that's the past. Right now he's proved himself at least somewhat capable, so I say the benefit of the doubt is in order. In other news, did you see anything Valm related on the last patrol?"

Donnel answered this time. "Lissa and I didn't see much of anything. Looks like Valm didn't want to lay any more traps so close to our Roseanne base."

Ricken nodded and started drawing in the dirt with a stick he'd found. "Good, then we're on time so far. If we're going to run into more of the same as we did today, at least we have an idea of how to deal with it."

"I highly doubt we will," Lissa muttered. "Good traps only happen once, otherwise people get wise to them. I'd bet my dowry they've got different set-ups at every stage of the route."

Donnel gave her a weird look. "While I know ya speak from experience, when did you have a dowry? Did I miss somethin' prior to the ceremony?"

"I'm tired and grumpy, let me be dramatic." Lissa grumbled back, leaning into him further. "Sheesh, such a long day. I didn't even do that much and I'm exhausted."

No one had the heart to tell her they did all they could to make sure she took part in none of the fighting. Not only was she a royal of Ylisse, she was their best healer and a face of the Alliance. Putting her in any danger was a no-go, especially if Donnel had anything to say about it.

Sure, Lissa was perfectly capable of defending herself, but Donnel knew something that no others save perhaps Emmeryn knew. The more Lissa used her magic, the more she lost herself. It had come to a point that Donnel had gotten her trained to fly by Sumia and Cordelia so she wouldn't have to rely on magic in battle.

But none of that mattered now. There wasn't much more to discuss, so they ate quickly and got the watches set up before turning in for the night. So much more was bound to come their way, but Donnel couldn't fall asleep even after Lissa put out the torches.

"What's wrong?" She asked after settling in next to him. "You feel really tense."

Donnel blew his bangs out of his eyes. "Nothin much, just worries. Lots of Valmese between us and the lady, not ta mention the wyverns. Kind of wondering if all the losses on the way will be worth it."

"We have to try." Lissa soothed, rubbing light circles into his chest. "You saw what the Valmese were like in the ambushes, they don't care about their own lives. How can we hope to defeat them without help?"

Donnel ran a hand through her hair. "I know, but… we don't know these folks. Could all be a big trap, wear us down and kills us at the capital. I still think we'd be better served staying put in the port until next spring."

Lissa sighed and propped herself on her arms to look down at him. "Donny… you know we can't do that. I'm no tactician, but not getting help soon means Walhart drowns us in bodies. We can't wait for reinforcements from home."

Donnel didn't speak, just looking at her for a time. "…You're so beautiful."

Lissa tsked at him. "Don't try and sweet talk me. Come on, Donny, you can tell me anything."

She pinched a spot on his side and he had to stop himself from guffawing. "Or I could just tickle it out of you."

Donnel's hand went from her hair to her back, where he started to tickle her in revenge. Lissa started to giggle, but gave a valiant counterattack that soon had them both squirming in laughter. They did their best to keep it quiet, but a tickle fight couldn't help a few yelps and belly laughs. Eventually, Donnel found himself spooning Lissa with his arms around her waist.

"You're beautiful." Donnel mumbled into her ear, their roughhousing tiring him out at last. "Perty as the day I first saw you."

Lissa gripped his arms, a helpless grin on her lips. "Always a flatterer. I'm… not that vain, anymore. Oh… and Donny?"

He hummed and rested his chin in the crook of her neck. With silent permission given, Lissa turned just enough to peck his cheek. "Thank you, for worrying about me. But I can handle myself, I must. It's not fair for you and the others to fight while I don't. I… I can't shame myself like that, I'd never be able to look Owain in the eye again."

Donnel tightened his hold on her waist ever so slightly. "Honey… you hate killin'. You've hated it from the day I've known ya. There's no shame in wantin' no part a this."

"I don't have a choice." Lissa whispered, stubborn belief hardening her voice. "You saw it today, how little the Valmese care for their own lives. Not a single prisoner, they fought to the death. If they care that little for themselves, then how would they treat our wounded? Diplomatic parties? It wouldn't surprise me if all the envoys we sent were attacked too."

Donnel knew that tone. Once his love took it on, there was simply no winning the argument. All he could do was hold her tighter and take her hand. Lissa said nothing more, letting him stroke the hand that held the old mark. She still didn't truly know why it was there, all these years later, but… she could hazard a guess.

And she didn't like how true that guess felt.

-Next Day, Afternoon-

By the time morning came, Lissa was back to her usual self and the march continued without issue. They linked up with the Roseanne base, restocked on supplies lost in the ambushes, and set off again with nary a Valmese in sight.

But, it merely took Ricken reporting all was well for misfortune to descend. Such was their fate in this.

"Milady!" A harried cavalier called, riding up to the meeting of Shepherds with all haste. "Our forward ranks have spotted a Valmese contingent blocking our path! They haven't spotted us, but the road to the hamlet is impassible while they remain!"

The news made Lissa growl. "And with it, the path into Wyvern Valley. Ricken, we need a plan for this. Something that keeps us all alive please. I… I don't want to write more letters home than I have to."

Ricken nodded and trotted up to the cavalier. "You said we haven't been spotted right? Take me to the front, I'll figure out something once I see the enemy's forces. Lissa, I suggest you armor up. All the magic in the world can't protect us if a lucky arrow hits you."

Lissa grunted and looked to Donnel as Ricken rode off with the cavalier. "Take Branden and gather everyone up. For all we know, this mission's going to be over before it starts, and the quicker we can evacuate, the better."

Donnel chewed on his lip before running off, Lissa watched him go with a melancholy most unlike her. And Vaike was not foolish enough to miss it. "Alright, what's eating at you? Something get talked about last night?"

"There are days I wish you'd go back to being oblivious." Lissa muttered as she dismounted and started to guide her mount to the wagons. "Maybe I'd actually get to enjoy myself."

Vaike shook his head and followed her. "Alright, spit it out. Whatever's sitting in your head isn't going to do anyone any good with a battle in front of us."

Lissa glanced back to him, considering his request. "…I'm not the only one who's changed, am I?"

Vaike gave her a confused look, but Lissa kept walking. By the time he came out of his stupor and caught up, she was already changed and putting on the armor Donnel insisted she bring. "What did you mean by 'I'm not the only one'? If ya mean I'm not near as much a dumbass as I once was, I'm glad for the compliment."

"You're still a dumbass." Lissa shot back as she strapped a hip shield in place. "It's not like Cherche doesn't scold you anymore. Look, it's nothing, I'm just getting the nerves out. It's been years since I've fought other living humans at the end of a lance and we don't have enough medicine to suffer even moderate casualties."

Vaike snorted and set his brow in a glare. "Lissa, ever since we set out you haven't been yourself. I get the nerves, it's your first time leading soldiers, but even the chattering you've been doing is off. What's going on?"

Lissa didn't look at him as she gave her armor a once over. Satisfied, she left him behind without a word and mounted up in a smooth motion. Vaike, seeing she was trying to escape the conversation, gave chase. "Lissa, get back here! Godsdammit woman, I'm just tryin' to help!"

Lissa was in the air before he got within a dozen feet of her, melancholy doubling as she heard him holler after her. He was a good friend, one that in all honesty she should've been able to talk to… but she just didn't know.

Her only hope for answers at this junction waited beyond the Valmese soldiers.

It didn't take her long to reach the front of the column, the time in between spent checking to make sure she had her lance and axe ready to go. She had to fly low, the southern region of Roseanne was much like the rest in being mostly rolling hills and plains. It wouldn't be good if she gave away their presence.

Not like Valm was trying to hide. She could see dark masses on the horizon with streaks of crimson in them, her own caravan beneath her smaller than the contingent, though not by much. Spotting Ricken's ever impressive hat, she passed over and circled to land.

"Glad you joined us!" Ricken greeted as she touched down. "We've got an issue. They've got a majority of cavalry, per our expectations, but they've also got a commander flying around on a wyvern. In addition, they've brought along two platoons of archers."

Lissa frowned and looked to the hill before them, knowing the Valmese were on the other side. "Well that's just great. Vaike and his regiment won't get to do much until those archers are gone."

"Nor will we have a good time dealing with the cavalry." Ricken agreed, "The biggest issue is that wyvern. We weren't informed of any significant flying forces, so I didn't have anyone besides myself pack wind magic. I could shoot them down, but my regiment hasn't tasted real combat yet."

Lissa licked her lips and hummed. "…Right, your guys were one of the regiments pulled back when the supplies got torched. How are we doing this then?"

Ricken pointed to the hill right as Donnel ran up to them. "I'm going to have most of Branden's cavaliers dismount and form up into a thin line. Vaike's regiment will act as flanking units while my soldiers deal with the cavalry and archers. Once the infantry are gone, our side can advance on the archers if they're not gone by then."

He looked to Donnel next. "You and Branden will be anchoring the line. Cavaliers aren't used to fighting on foot and Vaike won't hold the minute the battle is joined. As for that wyvern…"

Donnel cut Ricken off. "You want Lissa to fly up there an' fight the dastard don't ya?"

Ricken reached into his saddlebags and produced a green tome. "I do, but not without precaution. After that mass illusion she conjured at the Mila Tree, the Valmese know we have someone capable of fooling their men on a large scale. We can't let them realize it's Lissa, so no light magic."

Lissa looked oddly relieved. "Ok… I can do that. I may not be Sumia or Cordelia, but I've flown to and from Ylisstol enough to fly circles around a wyvern."

Ricken was grateful for the confidence. "Perfect. I'll signal when we're set to engage, I need to debrief Branden first. Donnel, thanks for gathering everyone, you can explain the plan to Vaike and my men."

Donnel opened his mouth to protest, wanting desperately to speak with Lissa after holding his silence that morning, but she was already in the air. With her climbing into the sky to conduct a scouting run of her own, he turned and stalked off the way he came.

Ricken watched him go with a concerned grimace. "That's… not good. They didn't look like they had a spat, and Lissa's been mostly cheery despite those ambushes. Ugh, I have a bad feeling about this battle if they're at odds."

Ricken massaged his nose and cantered off. Battle was to be joined before long and he needed everyone ready. It was the only way they'd be able to continue the mission and muster the aid they needed.

Well…

If there was even aid to be found.

-Lissa-

Flying was both freeing and suffocating.

Sure, she was alone with her own thoughts in the sky, no one there to try and advise or talk to her when she wanted to be alone. But being alone with her thoughts wasn't always the best thing, especially so high above the earth.

"There they are." She muttered into the wind. "All of them wanting our heads for little more than conquest. Fleeting glory in exchange for destroying the innocent."

It disgusted her. She'd always disliked those who hurt others for selfish reasons, but as the years passed and she learned the ways of ruling, dislike turned to disgust. And at that moment she felt a burning prick in her hand.

Lissa hissed and forced the power causing it away. Whenever she felt righteous indignation rise, the mark on her hand would begin to burn with light. Only a few times had she used that power in the moment, mostly on murderers and psychopaths who were shamelessly unrepentant.

And much like when she called forth light in battle, a part of her burned along with them.

Once it was gone, Lissa eased her falicorn just a little further down. She had a clearer view now, taking in the sight of scrambling Valmese as Ricken organized the battle lines. A cloud overcame her, muffling all sound and sight for a moment.

She emerged to see a massive wyvern's jaws open, ready to bathe her in fire.

"Tits!" Lissa screeched as her falicorn immediately dove under the wave of fire. Lissa could feel the heat singe the ends of her hair. "Naga's Knickers, that thing is huge!"

She rolled away from the large wings and put distance between her and the wyvern. It was a great bull of a wyvern, much larger than any she'd seen back home. Even Minerva would've been small next to the thing. She could also see the Valmese commander on its back, waving a long-hafted axe in challenge.

Lissa scowled and freed her lance from the straps of her saddle. She could tell just by how long it was taking the wyvern to turn about that it was far slower than her. Problem was, its sheer bulk would make it hard for her to get close to the rider and there was armor protecting the beast's vital points.

"Bug bites it is." Lissa muttered and readied her lance. They were too high in the sky for wind magic to do much, the wyvern would catch itself before hitting the ground if she tried. First, she would do as she was taught, and shred the things wings until it was limping in the air.

The wyvern roared at her and she dove away, keeping well above the earth. She heard the cries of battle far below, the fighting consuming the formerly verdant plains, but she couldn't focus on that. A stream of fire attempted to set her mount's tail ablaze, but she rolled up and away from the blast.

"Yah!" She ordered, her falicorn whinnying as it streaked for the wyvern. It reared its wings back and sent a massive gust flying at her, forcing Lissa off course. She scowled and flipped into a turn once she was steady. The wyvern's slow turn let her sink her lance into the thin film of its wing.

The beast roared in anger as Lissa dragged the lance with her as she shot past, tearing a ragged gash in its wing. The wyvern's rider answered with a cleave of their axe, clipping Lissa's saddle as she passed. She felt the blade snap a few straps, a glance showing her axe plummeting to the earth below.

"Dammit all!" She groaned as she dashed off for another pass. "This is gonna take a while now!"

The wyvern bellowed at her once more and the dance began again. Normal procedure for fighting wyverns was for at least two Pegasus knights to fight it, one gunning for the rider while the other went after the wings. It was always dangerous because the wyverns, while slower, did not tire easily and could kill a Pegasus with little effort.

Lissa became intimately familiar with exactly why as the battle wore on. It didn't seem to matter how many wounds she left in its reptilian hide, the damned wyvern just got madder and madder. The rider themselves was no slouch either, every slight mistake Lissa made was punished with a devastating strike.

She endured though. More than once, the wyvern had reared back in an attempt to dive, and she'd intercepted it despite the peril of its talons striking at her. The beast was so big, letting it get down to the point it could hit those on the ground would be disastrous.

So Lissa kept it in the sky, healing whatever wounds it left in her falicorn, but the mount's strength was flagging. The gusts made from the wyvern's wings were enough to break the falicorn's balance, and every strike that landed either broke bone or near gutted the winged horse. It was only Lissa's prodigious healing ability that kept them afloat and alive.

Lissa dragged another ragged gash into the wyvern's wing, grunting as warm blood painted her armor an ever deeper red and the wyvern blew her mount away with an enraged flap. The damned thing was spewing brimstone and embers by this point, all its fire expended, but still it thrashed and roared after her.

"I hope there's not too many more of those." Lissa muttered as she pulled out the tome Ricken gave her. "A pair of wyverns of that size and aggression would be… bad."

She almost chuckled at her own understatement, but the wyvern's continued roaring made her focus. The beast had long stopped listening to its rider, anger the only thing in its mind, and it charged at her with its smoking maw agape.

The tome glowed in Lissa's hand and she could see the commander, who'd been doing their damndest to kill her, realize their fate. Lissa pitied them for a moment and whispered an apology before extending her hand at the most damaged wing. "Arcwind."

Razor winds screeched from her hand as the magic script coalesced, ripping across the gap between them and tearing what was left of the wyvern's wing to utter shreds. The beast gave one, final fell cry. And then it fell, wing flailing uselessly as it roared its hatred at her.

Lissa watched it fall, the great beast slamming into the ground far below and crushing many Valmese under its bulk. She hadn't had time to watch the battle from so high up, but it looked like Ricken's regiment had exacted a heavy toll.

In turn, however, Branden's men had paid a dear price of their own. From her vantage high in the sky, she could see a line of silver and blue amongst the fields of silver and red. On the flanks she could see more blue as well, Vaike's regiment and some of Ricken's laying amongst the carrion fields.

Lissa tiredly returned her lance to the saddle before clasping her hands together. "Eternal rest grant unto them, O Naga, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of the faithful departed, through your mercy, rest in peace. Amen."

Her duty fulfilled, Lissa eased her falicorn down to earth, almost choking on the rank stench of blood and offal. No matter the injuries she healed, nothing could hope to prepare her for the death that covered the fields now.

A bright spout of flame flying into the air signaled Ricken's position, Lissa gliding towards him. Her falicorn touched down only to stumble, barely catching herself before several cavaliers ran up to help. Lissa dismounted, whispered words of encouragement to the brave beast, and strode off to speak with Ricken.

"Before you ask, we did fairly well." Ricken stated as she walked up, blood staining his armor and steed. "Knocking the wyvern out of the sky broke their morale. Very impressive, that's the biggest bull I've ever seen."

Lissa nodded and walked past him. "How many wounded?"

"A full third of the guard we set out with is wounded in some way." Ricken informed as he followed, knowing exactly where she was heading. "Branden's cavaliers took the worst of it. They held the line, but we lost a lot of them in exchange."

Lissa nodded and kept going, the soldiers milling about and collecting the dead parting for her. She entered the carrion fields with clear purpose, uncaring of the blood-soaked mud that stained her boots and legs.

Standing in the middle of the carnage were Donnel, Vaike, and Branden. They were surveying the fields and going over what to do next, only for Lissa to push Vaike aside. "Oi!"

Lissa didn't care, walking right up to Donnel and throwing herself into his arms with a searing kiss. Branden turned away with a surprised cough and Vaike rolled his eyes with a groan. "Geez Lissa, find a better place why don't you?"

Lissa didn't answer, preferring to soak in Donnel for a long time before she parted from him. "…You're safe. Thank Naga."

Donnel smiled at her and wiped her cheek, the wyvern's dried blood flaking away. "Yer safe too darlin', that's all I could hope for. Worried sick when I saw the size of that wyvern."

Lissa kissed him again, tenderly this time. "…So was I, when I saw so many dead."

Vaike cleared his throat and gestured to himself and Branden when he had their attention. "Sweet as this is, we got wounded to take care of. Not to mention we need to get ourselves cleaned up."

Lissa glowered at him before looking down at her stained armor. Branden and Vaike were equally covered in gore, same with Donnel, and the horrid smell overwhelmed her the moment she stopped focusing on her husband.

She gagged and grabbed at her nose. "…Yeah, good idea. Branden, can you get all the wounded together? After that, see to burying our dead."

Donnel gave her a look and she sighed. "Donny, don't look at me like that. We don't have time to give any of the Valmese appropriate burials, or the manpower. Send a messenger back to the Roseanne base and have them see to it, but we have to keep moving."

"That we do." Vaike agreed, jerking his thumb towards the path ahead of them. "When the Valmese broke, they ran that way. Best guess is they're heading for that hamlet you mentioned after we left the port."

Lissa looked utterly horrified. "Branden, wounded, now! Donny, get Ricken and get those graves dug, I'll give the rights when you're done!"

She almost ran out of the carrion fields, the men on her heels. They didn't know why she was so panicked, but seeing her afraid was nothing short of terrifying. Her usual aura of geniality had fled, and the very idea that she could be honestly scared meant that the Valmese retreat was bad.

And it was, just not for the reasons they were dreaming up. Lissa, for all her selfless devotion to the people under her rule and command, refused to let her chance at answers slip away. A panicking force tended to make very bad decisions, especially when in retreat. If a bunch of desperate Valmese made it to the hamlet…

She didn't want to think about it.

-Several Hours Later-

Much to Lissa's frustration, it took a lot longer to gather the wounded than she would've preferred. It may have been good for her falicorn, but impatience was burning a hole in her mind the longer she had to wait.

By the time the wounded were gathered, Donnel had returned from burying those that had died. She should've been more specific by telling Branden to grab all the obviously wounded, rather than scour the fields looking for anyone that had the barest hint of life in them.

The man followed his orders to the letter, but Lissa wished he could think beyond them.

Regardless, with the wounded before her and rites still to give, Lissa set to work. In her hand she held one of the rarest and most powerful staves in the world, known as Fortify. With it and her prodigious experience to work with, this was the most efficient way to get everyone moving.

Lissa took a deep breath and forced her will into the stave, it's ruby headpiece glowing with divine light. She started to feed her magic into it, the spell contained within fueled to the fullest extent she could manage. All the soldiers whom the light touched felt their wounds close and vigor return. Lissa started to pant the longer she fed the spell.

Ricken stepped up and took the staff from her hand, Lissa collapsing into Donnel's arms the moment the flow of magic ceased. Ricken sighed and glowered at her. "I knew this was a bad idea."

"I… told you…" Lissa panted. "This… was the… quickest… way. Just… give me a few minutes… and… I'll do the rites…"

Ricken exchanged nods with Donnel and Lissa found herself being carried towards the circled wagons. "Wait!"

"I'll do the rites, I had priest training too ya know!" Ricken called after her, waving the staff. "Go rest, we'll be on our way to the hamlet before nightfall!"

Lissa looked to protest, but Donnel carried her past the wagons and out of Ricken's sight. The couple were silent for a time, Lissa slowly recovering as Donnel looked for somewhere to lay her down. Then, Lissa grabbed his collar. "Donny… I need to go. I need to get to the hamlet."

Donnel stared down at her with stern eyes. "…You sure? Will I get an explanation why you've been so out of it?"

Lissa bit her lip, but nodded. "I… I'll explain everything after I talk to the sages. Please, Donny, this is important. If… if I don't do this, Owain may not have a mother when this is over."

Donnel's brow furrowed, an undercurrent of anger in his answer. "…Alright then. If this'll get the weight off yer shoulders, I'll do what you want."

He leaned in, looking her dead in the eye. "But Lissa, I may love you more than all the world, but never use Owain to get me to do something ever again. The woman I love wouldn't resort to it, and right now, I'm only agreeing in order to get her back."

Lissa closed her eyes and let him go, guilt weighing her down. "…I understand."

"I'm so sorry Donnel."

Donnel sighed and strode off for the fields behind the circled wagons. The rest of the soldiers were attending the rites, so the falicorn was left to graze with the horses. It looked a lot better after getting some rest, but it still snorted when Donnel walked up.

"Let's get moving." Donnel muttered, hoisting Lissa into the saddle to calm the falicorn before climbing up behind her. "Branden's going to give you an earful if Vaike and Ricken don't get to us first."

Lissa agreed mutely and guided the falicorn to an open patch of field. Despite the rest, it was reluctant to fly and Lissa would have to coax it into a running start.

After a few minutes of soothing the poor thing, it began to trot. Slowly, it sped up into a canter, then a run, and finally a full gallop. Two hard flaps later and they were in the air, leaving behind the glittering armor of the guard.

"How far to the hamlet?" Donnel asked after the battlefield was out of sight. "It's been hours, the Valmese could very well be there."

Lissa gulped, nerves thick in her voice. "With just the two of us, we'll be there before nightfall. Without a leader, the Valmese… should be little more than scattered bands."

That didn't give Donnel any confidence, but he spoke no more. Lissa was the most desperate he'd seen her in all their years together, this flight only served to confirm how scared she was. He just knew it had to do with her… 'patron'.

One who, amongst all the others, seemed to have exacted one of the most demanding prices.

Donnel heaved a mental sigh recalling the price that had been foisted on him years ago. As he thought on it, his left arm seized and started to jerk around with a mind of its own. He looked away as it burst into a purple flame, a strange energy leaking from the limb until it was reduced to a charred husk.

"Dammit." He muttered, glaring at the useless limb. "Had to choose now to do this, didn't it?"

With a groan, he reached across and wrenched the ruined limb free and tossed it away, the dead flesh crumbling to ash. Lissa felt the heat from his spontaneous immolation and swiftly healed whatever damage it caused with the simple stave she kept on hand.

"Let's hope Valm isn't there." Donnel whispered to her, only one arm around her waist now. "Until my arms comes back, I'm not going to be at full strength."

Lissa prayed that would be the case. There was no telling when Donnel's arm would come back, if it came back at all. Ever since these 'flares' began half a decade ago they couldn't have guessed that his arm would come back. Yet, every time so far, it had.

However, as the sun set and they neared the lone spot of civilization at the edge of a forest, their prayers went unanswered. Lissa could see silver and red armor milling about, a pile of items gathered in the center of the hamlet. She also saw a group of people in robes ringing a small crowd of civilians. Lissa was all too familiar with those uniforms.

"Dastards are looting the place." Donnel growled in open disgust. One of the things they'd long drilled into their soldiers was never to loot something, whether it be the dead or buildings. Such greed had no place in war, especially as they sought to build their image as a powerful but peaceful halidom.

Clearly, as a conquering nation, Valm had no such qualms about robbing civilians of everything they owned. It was small wonder the sages remained neutral, but Lissa felt an intense loathing sink into her gut that festered as they drew closer.

The Valmese weren't looking to the sky, preferring to scour the homes and argue over their ill-gotten loot, so Lissa was able to set down well out of sight. The couple dismounted and Donnel grabbed his sword, he furrowed his brow when he saw Lissa bare of any weapons. "Lissa?"

Lissa didn't appear to hear him. Her gaze was focused completely on the Valmese and their looting, hands clenched into tight fists. With the advance of dusk, Donnel could see light leaking through her palm, the source of her focus clear.

"Lissa, love, calm down." Donnel soothed, dropping his sword to grab her shoulder. "We'll save the civilians and drive the dastards away, you just need to be calm and follow my lead."

Lissa started to pant, nails drawing blood as she tried to fight off the sheer loathing that suffused her mind. This wasn't right. These men were supposed to be soldiers, their duty to protect these people, yet here they were robbing them like common brigands. Had they no shame, no decency?

Donnel tried one more time. "Lissa, please! Think of Owain!"

That… was the wrong thing to say.

Lissa's eyes locked on the center of the hamlet, visible even from where they'd set down, and she saw a young boy. He was crying, holding tightly to his mother and trying to be as small as possible. He looked nothing like Owain, but Lissa saw what could be.

And her revulsion knew no bounds.

Donnel was thrown away from her as light bloomed into existence, immediately drawing every eye from leagues around. Lissa began to stride towards the looters, light blazing from her in a dazzling display of colors.

The light was so strong many cried out in pain as the luminous display burned their eyes, an unlucky few blinded outright. When the light faded to a manageable degree, the Valmese would have tried to surround her.

Were they not gaping at what Lissa had become.

Before them stood an avatar of light in the vague shape of Lissa. Lines of light ran across silver skin in every imaginable color, her hair reaching her ankles yet floating freely as strands of shifting luminescence. Upon her stern visage ran more lines, framing the angered face of a god weilding power beyond mortals.

But it was her eyes that terrified those that could see them. Where they had once been bright blue, pentagrams of gold now burned. And they glared at the Valmese with unabashed hatred.

"Oathbreakers!" Lissa boomed, voice filled with power and layered with one not her own. "Marauders and destroyers, you who were sworn to protect! Thoust crime is of highest treason, against those in sacred rites who were promised protection!"

Her hands rose and pointed at the Valmese soldiers; the symbol that sat on her right hand now cloned to her left as well. From them, light shot forth in thick ropes, ensnaring every looter. The sudden imprisonment broke their reverie and awe at her arrival, noise erupting into the air.

Voices begging for forgiveness, blasphemous roars, anger, despair… hope.

Lissa cared not for the noise, bringing her hands together to combine the ropes before she yanked. The force threw every Valmese solider into the air and collapsed before her in a great heap, Lissa glaring down at them. With a gesture, the ropes separated the Valmese and wrapped them tightly, leaving them bound and bowed before her.

"I will hear no pleas!" Lissa boomed again, quieting all save those desperately pleading anyway. "All protection granted unto you was lost the moment you broke thine oaths for thievery! Naga shall not save you!"

As she spoke, it appeared as if she grew in size and stature, becoming to all who witnessed a judge, jury…

And executioner.

Once she was tall enough to stand well above the trees, Lissa glared down at the pathetic men who'd nearly stolen everything from the peaceful sages and those they cared for. Once more, she'd been called on to be an arbiter where all other justice had failed.

And her judgement was absolute.

The chains pulled the looters down until they were prostrated like supplicants, Lissa loomed ever larger above them as holy wrath blazed in her eyes. "Naga will not save you…"

Her right hand curled into a fist and rose into the air, a new star birthed between her fingers.

"For I am her judgement. And you have been found…"

"Wanting"

Her fist fell to the earth, aimed at the front of the looters, and the land was bathed in the light of a second sun.

-Many Leagues Away, Wyvern Valley-

"Naga's Blood."

A young man stared off into the distance, hand shading his eyes from the harsh light radiating on the horizon. He'd been sent here at the behest of his benefactor to keep an eye out for any bandits trying to slip in and assault the wyvern nests.

But now… he saw something that made fear stir in his gut.

Raw power.

He felt his arm ache and he looked away to grip it. "Down, noble hand, now is not the time. Your noble sires now walk the land in order to fight those vainglorious Valmese, you must be patient! The time will come when they see your true splendor!"

As he boasted, the pain and light faded in tandem. Once sure it was gone, the young man wiped the sweat-matted hair from his face, dark-purple strands sticking out at odd angles.

He needed to get back and report that something was coming. Whatever it was, he didn't know, but his liege had to be prepared. Even for all his power, a lack of alertness could be anyone's end. His cousin had been sure to make him learn that lesson long ago.

And Owain "Dark" Spatz de Ylisse would be the hero of it all, just like his parents.

Ch. End

Alright, there it is, first chapter of Lissa's part of the story. Next time we head to Wyvern Valley and get to fully meet Owain, which should be a fun time! Also expect Lissa to get reamed by Ricken, should be fun too. Then, it's off to meet Montmorency!

Now, reviews!

Hskidmore49: We'll just have to see what happens won't we?

And welcome to Silver566! Thanks for reviewing and I hope you continue to stick with us!

That's all I have folks, hope you enjoy and we'll see you next time!

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