Chapter 13-Travellers

I opened my eyes and saw a blighted mud brown colored landscape far below covered with nothing but burnt-out stumps of trees that once been a magnificent forest. The skies above were covered with a perpetual dark grey cloud cover, and it looked like twilight even though I somehow knew it was midday. I tried to scream in terror as the wind whistled past my ears, but no sound issued forth.

It took a few more seconds for me to gain my bearings as I saw a pair of scaly forelimbs just at the edge of my peripheral vision, and felt the contracting pairs of muscles flexing her massive wings. I realized that I was once again linked to Mika's dreams; she was the sweet young half-Manakete girl who had seen far more horror in her seventeen years than anyone should ever witness in a lifetime. I also felt the pressure of a warm coiled, snake-like body curled around her midsection. That must have meant she was giving Lilith or Jezebel a lift.

I saw out of left her eye a Pegasus with a charcoal-grey coat flipping its wings as it carried two riders; her Pegasus Knight master and a female Myrmidon suiting behind her in the saddle. All four of Kasrin's Irregulars were covered in a layer of dusty grey ash, and flew through the hellish landscape in stony silence. Up ahead I saw some sort of ancient ruins resolve through the choking haze.

Suddenly my intangible jaw flopped open as I saw that it wasn't an old castle, it was a completely leveled town. The town ramparts were toppled and scattered like a pile of pebbles. Every wooden structure was reduced to neat geometric black patches of ash and splintered wood; every stone building was blown apart into piles of burnt rocks. I had a brief view of a familiar mountain pass in the distance and recognized the layout of three trade routes that converged on the ruins, even with the town obliterated. I realized with numb horror that this was-had been Vicateria, the only town of any size within my Domain. How many hundreds of graves were down there? I had no idea, nor did I ever want to know.

To my relief the four warriors overflew the town and headed straight past the flattened Evonrue forest utterly devoid of any living being. Just where the grey mountains converged to nearly a point, I saw a sight that made me regret that we hadn't stopped in Vicateria.

My heart broke as I saw my Sunstone Keep was nearly completely razed to the ground, with only the fire-scorched south façade still intact up to the roofline. It was a hollow shell dotted with windows gazing out with a view to nowhere. The north face only went up to the second floor. All the central sections of the Keep lay buried in jagged heaps of rocks, rubble fill, burnt timbers, and doubtless too many bones to count.

I heard Mika's telepathic link, Risen below. Get ready!

"Yeah! Get away from my lover's grave ya dastards!" The irrepressible Lilith hurled herself to the ground and sunk her fangs into the neck of a masked Risen Dark mage, causing her body to rot apart into two halves, before hissing apart into putrid smoke.

I felt Mika bank around a lay a blanket of blue flame over half a dozen of the marauding undead, setting them ablaze. Mika screamed, You'll pay for what you did!

The Myrmidon, yelled as she hopped onto the ground, "Sakuya, watch out for archers!"

The Pegasus Knight wore the classic armor design, although it was badly dented and sooty. Sakuya had long, light colored hair hanging to her waist and bangs that hid her eyes from view. She sighed, "P-please Nobuna! I'm n-not as helpless as I look."

Nobuna was wearing a leather breastplate, a short-sleeved tunic over dark pants and boots. She wore a headband, had long hair in a slipknot ponytail, and covered her face with a cloth mask; I simply could not deduce what color her hair or clothing was due to all the dust on her. The only brilliant flash visible was her highly polished sword slashing through a Beserker causing him to stagger back and drop his ax. A mercenary stabbed her shoulder, and she roared as she lopped off his head. She hid behind a dead tree trunk as a Risen Archer unloaded several shots at her.

The Pegasus Knight charger swooped in as she skewered a second archer, pinning her into a cliff and her foe weakly struggled and disintegrated.

Mika flew past with another pass of fire putting a few of the wounded Risen out of their misery; they writhed in torment as their grey flesh seared, and then dissolved. The Manakete landed on the ground, and saw Lily use her venom attack to burn a hole through the torso of the lead Risen knight. The leader roared as he slashed Lilith with his sword before he wobbled then toppled over. Nobuna calmly sheathed her sword after swigging a vulnerary.

I had to admit these warriors of the ruined future were impressive.

I saw a brief blinding flash of light and suddenly I knew Mika was back to her diminutive human form. "Nice job, everyone! Thanks for helping me fulfill my foolhardy quest."

Lily turned and beamed with glowing red eyes as she drunk a healing potion herself, "Naw! Thank you for letting me cut loose. I've been itching to punish a few Risen for all they've stolen from us!" She slithered up a terraced slope dotted with vertical stone markers where cremated remains had been buried for centuries. Only five of the most recent gravestones still looked intact and upright. The sight of their names became instantly burned into my mind: Matillia Cooper, Siffra Meyer, Bhavin Anand, Ronna Gantulga, and Lady Mimika Paraglaive.

Nobuna gave a stiff salute and muttered, "Rest well brave warriors. We promise our lives that we will aid Master Kasrin and our Exalt to save this world no matter the cost." She stepped to the side to let her comrade speak.

Sakuya bowed deeply, "M-my apologies. I know I'll never be as talented as you warriors of legend were. But I will strive every day to meet your expectations."

The Myridon chuckled, "Modest and adorable. You're quite the catch, Kuya."

"Una, p-please stop teasing me like that," the Pegasus Knight protested weakly. She shook her head as Mika took her place and clasped her shoulder.

The Manakete sighed and sniffled, "I'm so sorry Auntie Mimi. I let you die five years ago on this very day. I should have helped you fight off the Risen. I should have done more." She laid a pressed sky blue rose in front of my marker. "I'll try to live up to your name, although I will fail."

Yet you did more than most, I silently added. If I had been capable, I would have been weeping pathetically on the girl's shoulder.

Lilith came over and gave Mika a tight hug, "As her namesake, you've done her proud. She's beamin' at ya from the clear blue skies we'll all see someday."

She was my what? I was in a state of pure disbelief. Her parents named her after me? Why in Naga's name would any parents burden their child with my name?

Lilith took her turn last and drew out the black pommel of my family sword with only two inches of the blade remaining. She brushed back her spiked hair, and spoke with determination. "Lady Mimika. I've never met ya', but know this…I love ya. I love ya tons. I don't care if your name is spat on. I don't care if you were maimed by a Risen claw. If we had had the chance to meet, I'd have hoped…what am I saying?" She shook her head with as she choked up and her resolve wavered, but then her eyes narrowed. She jammed the broken sword deep into the earth, "Hell with it, I wanted to bear your child! Please Naga, I know it's impossible. I know, but let her love me back if we ever meet. Please!"

Only now did I realize the black despair hiding behind her playful flirting when we had first met on the Southroad. I sobbed, as Mika hugged the bawling Lamia, I'm sorry Lily. Forgive me…I am the one that doesn't deserve you.

…

"Mistress?"

My eyelids fluttered open as I saw Dia already in her frilly outfit resolve into focus looking at me with deep worry. I hugged my young maid and cried, "I'm so sorry Lily! I had no idea what I put you though. It's my fault. You should despise me."

I felt Dia's tight embrace as I heard her softly sob as well, "M-milady. Please don't feel bad over Miss Lilith. I'm sure she wouldn't be capable of ever hating you."

I finally came completely to my senses. I blew my nose on a cloth and smiled weakly to my faithful servant, "I'm sorry you had to see that. Miss Mika gave me a view of the ruined future, and Miss Lilith pledged her h-heart to me at my grave marker." I frowned, "I know that sounds complexly crazy…"

"No. Not at all, milady." Dia wiped my face as she composed herself, "Miss Lilith is pretty awesome, isn't she?"

I nodded as I fumbled to my feet in my nightgown, "She is a kind soul. I will do all I can to lend her my aid this time around." I patted my maid on the head and chuckled softly, "I'll try not to die on her this time."

"Don't fret, mistress," she reassured me. Dia curtsied and brought over my clothes as I had an appointment to keep. I blinked as I belatedly spotted atop my nightstand a single pristine rose tied off with a white ribbon…with sky-blue petals. I picked it up and knew Mika had somehow delivered to me a message of hope.

A few minutes later with the rose pinned to my cloak, my friend Aabis and I were escorted down a long corridor by two polearm-wielding guards in blue cloth and leather armor and pointed helmets. The lead guard rapped on the door, and a gruff voice replied for us to enter. Aaby and I filed in and the door was shut behind us.

I found the room was a study and research chamber that I instantly liked. Two arched windows admitted slanting beams of sunlight into the room. A sturdy desk at least eight feet wide and piled up with stacks of books and parchments dominated one side of the room. There was a neatly made up single bed up against the wall under one of the windows. Ringing around the room on three sides were bookshelves with volumes of every shape and size. There were also fossils of various sizes adorning the shelves including stone bones, stone casts of seashells and amber specimens.

However what took me aback were the occupants of the circular table in the center of the room atop an intricately woven rug. Under the legs of the table, a rusty-red furred fox slumbered peacefully. A man of mixed ancestry with shoulder-length black hair with a hint of red intently looked over an unfurled Genealogy chart. He was attired in red jacket with Ylissian symbol on with the black back panel, a black cotton shirt, pants, and leather boots. Seated to his left was a beautiful lady with Golden hair pulled back dressed in a simple pale green long sleeved dress with gold trim. She was not wearing her cloak and semicircular tiara, and she eyed our entrance with benevolent amusement showing in her grey-blue eyes as she took a delicate sip of her tea.

I nearly fell over as I gave as deep a curtsy as I could manage. Aabis gave a hasty bow as well. I stammered in shock, "Y-y-your H-highness! This is an u-unexpected pleasure."

Exalt Emmeryn calmly gestured to the unused seats, "Mimi, Aabis, if you please."

I sat down with legs that had suddenly transformed into pudding, "T-thank you, Your Majesty." I couldn't believe that she was dressed so plainly. The only indication that she was my ruler was her regal demeanor and peach-hued Brand of Naga on her forehead.

"Thank you for coming so quickly. Good luck on your journey to Regina Ferox today. I trust you will safeguard my precious siblings."

Both Aabis and I nodded urgently.

She handed each of us a china cup on a saucer with steaming black tea inside and continued, "This is Master Mitsuji Sakurada, one of our best Archivists. He will be outlining your special side quest."

He turned to us and glared at us coldly with piercing brown eyes, "Don't screw this up, Mimika and Aabis."

I had to fight the urge not to shrink back at his intimidating glare; but dropped my gaze and asserted, "I w-won't. I swear." I finally realized that one of his parents hailed from Chon'sin.

"We've got this," Aabis spoke with youthful zeal shining in his violet eyes.

Mitsuji huffed and frowned, "We will see. Your mission is to find, recruit and rehabilitate the scions of the Sieghart and Drachenfels clans. They will serve the Halidom as Arrowhead Scouts."

I looked around the table in puzzlement, "W-with all due respect, Your Majesty, if I find them, why not simply bring them back to the palace?"

Emmeryn smiled gently, "They must redeem themselves with heroic deeds, just as you have, Mimi."

I nodded slowly, disliking the idea that a daughter of traitors would be responsible for the children of two other tainted families. "I swear I will do my best, Your Majesty."

"If I may continue," Mitsuji interjected coldly. "Obviously Count Alferdo Sieghart died in the explosion claiming his wife's life in the process. Their elder son and heir Jhon poisoned himself and his family the next day rather than sufferer the disgrace of arrest and a trial. The younger son Junya was across the ocean in Valm. When word of his family's treachery reached him, he must have changed his identity and gone underground. Obviously their estate was subsequently broken up and dispersed to other clans." He paused while thoughtfully rubbing his chin, "One aspect of your quest is to find Knight Junya or his scion, recruit them into your Scouts, and have them prove their loyalty to the Crown."

I shook my head sadly, "However, Prince Chrom needs me in Ylisse; I cannot in good conscience go on an overseas journey. You have my most sincere apologies."

The Exalt took another sip of her tea, "Yet, word of your redemption will reach their shores swiftly. They may yet decide to come back."

"I u-understand." I was starting to get a glimmer of the true situation. I could not conceive that Emmeryn would send me on a pointless quest, or deploy me across a vast ocean when we both knew I was needed here.

"The second goal is to find the Drachenfels family. As you are no doubt aware, Baroness Malacia Drachenfels did not participate directly in the attacks, but she was instrumental in the assembly of the Crystal shard bombs. A week after the attack, she dismissed her staff and blew up her castle into rubble. As she was childless, the title fell automatically to her younger brother Anthony who had been badly wounded in the attack on the Exalt. He escaped to the Western border and vanished in the war-torn lands bordering Plegia along with his pregnant wife Rhea. As she was of Plegian birth, we suspect they may have crossed over and joined the Plegian court."

By now I was certain of my hunch, "Your Highness and Sir Mitsuji, there are Sieghart and Drachenfels clansmen already in Ylisse, aren't they?"

"So perceptive for someone so young", Emmeryn spoke soothingly. "Indeed you are correct. As Master Mitsuji has said, you will find them on your journeys, and their aid to save the Halidom will redeem their family's stains." She flashed both of us a tender smile, "Go and may Naga bless your endeavors."

I stood up and hastily bowed but noticed my friend was sitting still in his chair, his face chalk white. I nudged his shoulder, "Aabis, we need to depart."

"Wha-?" He jolted into alertness and stood up. "So sorry, Your Highness. Thank you for trusting so important a mission to us. We won't let you down."

She nodded with a serene smile, "Naga go with you Lady Mimika, and Sir Aabis."

Mitsuji grunted, "Bye."

…

Once we were out in the hallway, the guards escorted us outside. Once we emerged into the gardens, he turned to me with a voice wavering with pain, "What is my family name, Mimi?"

"Its Ceruli-"

"That's crap," He shouted. "Its not Cerulia-Agate! It never was, was it?"

I took a step back, and then after taking a deep breath, I pulled him close to me.

His body shivered as he choked out, "Gods. How could I be so dense? I bought my parents lies for so many years without giving it a second thought. Dad always claimed Plegians maimed him and stabbed my mother. I never for a second thought that he got those burns on his face from an explosion caused by his sister." He hugged back, "What am I going to say to them? Naga preserve me."

I stayed quiet and stroked his hair, as my words were utterly inadequate.

After a long pause, he asked pleadingly, "Mimi, w-what's my name?"

I steadied my nerves, "Aabis D-Drachenfels."

His shoulders sagged as the truth was finally sinking in, "You're so clever. How long have you known? Years?"

"No, Aaby." I vigorously shook my head, "I had it spelled at to me at the same time as you. I always thought to let the past perish and be buried in an unmarked grave…but it never dies does it?" I gently pulled back and rested my hands on his cheeks, "Aaby, look at me."

"I'm….so ashamed. My family are all frauds…and I betrayed the noble people in Cerulia-Agate too."

My voice became sharper, "Look at me."

He finally glanced up and smiled weakly as I felt the dampness from his cheeks on my palms.

"You did nothing wrong," I spoke emphatically. "Yes, your aunt was a traitor. Yes your parents fled to the borderlands. Yes they falsified their identities." I gave him a reassuring half-smile, "But know this; they could have easily fled to Plegia, but they chose to stay and rebuild Ylisse after the terrible war left Cerulia-Agate in ruins. I now know that Emmeryn outright knew where your clan was all along. She could have called for their heads at any time, but she let them be for all of these years. Why is that?"

"I…don't…"

"You do. You do know."

"I…," he cried and nodded gently squeezing my shoulders. "Yeah, I know. They were atoning for the family sin, by h-helping the Exalt. They saved my home in the mountains and its people as an apology to Emmeryn."

"That's right." I kissed his cheek, "You're not alone. Your subjects won't care what your name is. They only care that your family saved their homes. I really think that your family embodies the ideals of the Cerulia-Agate clan far better than the Drachenfels clan. When you next visit your parents, I will go with you."

I saw the relief in his eyes, "T-thanks, Mimi. Gods, I'm such an idiot."

"I never realized the truth either, so I'm in the idiot box with you, my friend," I noted dryly.

He gave me a tight bearhug, "Thanks so much!"

Arm in arm we waked over the Shepards and Arrowhead Scouts making their final preparations to begin our journey. I knew with every piece of my soul that Aabis would make his family proud and serve Prince Chrom and the Scouts with distinction and honor. We would travel the long road of penance together.